Module 1: Powerpoint

One of my favorite sections to read out of all of the readings for Module 1 was in the power point that discussed assessment.  I have already found that during the first two weeks of school that several of my students lack motivation to complete any schoolwork. They often time’s either get frustrated or do not feel like completing the work. I really enjoyed reading about how important it is to build on what students already know in order to store a sense of self-confidence. I have used this information and emerged it into how I have worked with different groups of students. I also have seen a significant increase in student’s engagement in the lesson when it involves something he/she is interested in. Incorporating student’s interests into a lesson is key for a successful lesson. When I was able to incorporate sport’s throughout many of my lessons, it was amazing to see the difference in how engaged my students were before and after. Throughout my student teaching experience, I found that many teachers provided students the answer without giving students the opportunity to attempt in on their own. The power point stressed the importance of never completing something for a student for what they can do on his or her own.

Throughout reading the power point, I really focused in on question three that discussed the importance of assessing a student’s home life in order to construct the most effective lesson plan. I have found this to be very important because I have had students in my classroom that have had rather difficult home lives. This can very easily negatively affect a student’s performance in the classroom. I had one student whose parents were going through a custody battle. It was very important for my host teacher as well as myself to be very supportive of her especially when she first arrived to school in the morning. We often time’s altered her morning work because pushing her to complete schoolwork first thing in the morning was not beneficial for her education.

            Distinguishing whether or not an ELL learner is struggling because of a language barrier rather than the actual reading process is essential in the classroom. During my senior year I was placed in a third grade classroom with two ELL learners. These two male students were in the lower reading group. They were taken out of the classroom by an ESOL teacher and she was able to work with them to find different reading approaches that would positively benefit them. These two males students did in fact struggle with reading in their native language so we were able to identify that it was not due to the language barrier. This power point was very informative as a first year teacher and I look forward to further assignments in order to help me become a more effective teacher. 

Module 1: Activity 4

I feel as though some of the main characteristics that I took away from table 1.1 were that students that are less proficient readers do not use their own background knowledge when reading a text. A less proficient reader is so focused on decoding words that they lose focus of gaining meaning from the text. Another characteristic that really stuck out is how students break down the meaning of a text.

Throughout my student teaching experience, I noticed that when students had background knowledge on the particular text we were about to read, they were able to gather a deeper meaning. I had one student that struggled in particular when it came to reading. During a reading circle, I provided students with a preview of a story that was going to be about plants. This particular student immediately became interested and started asking questions about the story. When we read other stories that were not of interest to him, he appeared confused and bored. Throughout the entire story, he was constantly raising his hand to answer questions and tell his classmates additional information about plants. I had never witnessed him to become so excited about reading a text before this day. He did an awesome job on the test at the end of the week because he was engaged in the material.

This particular student showed me the importance of providing students the opportunity to read a particular text that they have an interest in. I found that this particular student not only developed meaning from reading the text, but he also referred to pictures to gather a better idea of what the text was conveying. Often times when I am working with a group of students that are reading a particular text, I encourage them to refer to pictures, graphs, etc in order to develop a better understanding of the story. I did not have to remind this student because he was so interested in the text that he wanted to refer to the pictures and graph on his own. I have found a major increase in comprehension skills in a text when students are engaged and interested in the text that they are reading. 

Video Analysis

I really enjoyed watching this video as it gave me insight for a first year teacher. It is amazing that this particular student excelled in the subject of math but had a rather difficult time with success in reading. The video stated that having a high IQ does not mean that an individual is going to be successful when it comes to reading.  I agree with the importance of completing an on going assessment with students. This provides the teacher of an idea of where the student started and how he/she has progressed throughout the year. This also indicates to the teacher, which areas the student may need additional help in.

Throughout my student teaching experience in my 3^rd grade class, I completed a case study with one of my students. I first completed an assessment on word identification. I began with a list of words that was two grade levels below this particular student. I completed it until she reached her frustration level. Next, I completed a spelling inventory and a writing sample. I also had this particular student read a story and after she completed reading the story, she had to recall details from the story. This allowed me to see whether or not the student comprehended what she was reading. I have found that although students may be able to read every word in a text, often times they are not gaining meaning from the text. In the video, Dr. Lyon stated that better fluency means better comprehension. I often found that when students had a more difficult time reading a story was because they were concentrating on decoding the words that they were not able to recall details from the text. In the current school that I am working at, new students are given the gallistel-ellis assessment during pre planning in order to place students in particular classes. Students that have been to this school in previous years have already been placed into a classroom by the teacher they had the year before. This provides each grade level with a low, middle, and high-leveled classroom. I have found my courses thus far in my M.E.D. and classmates have provided me which such great insight as a first year teacher.