Report for Joycelyn and Luna
You both did a terrific job yesterday I was very impressed! Your activities were student-centered; everyone was involved 24/7 and all the students seemed to enjoy the projects. Even though the first activity was only writing and it was very quiet that was okay! We were all still busy at work. I’m curious though if you intended for the students to copy everything on the projector or just fill in the blanks? In the future it might be a good idea to write on the board the directions as well:
1) Copy story, fill in the blanks
2) Share with a friend (For those students who finish faster, they can turn to a partner and practice reading. That way when it comes time to read for the whole class they have already had practice.)
I think the topic of “The Arts” was excellent. I was really happy that you went to the board and kept writing as you talked. While it might feel unnatural or like stopping to jot a word on the board was interrupting your flow it was in fact very helpful! Especially for those students who are visual learners and might only recognize the word only if they see it or for the struggling student in class who needs the visual to help follow along. Writing the list under “The Arts” was great.
Breaking up into two groups for the reading sections was also really key I thought it was a great idea! The small groups were really intimate and gave everyone a chance to work on their pronunciation. Going around in the circle and reading line by line seemed to work fine. One suggestion I would make is instead of asking, “Do you know what rattles are?” you could pose the question, “Who can tell me what a rattle is, who can tell me what a rattle is??” With new vocabulary you often would just ask, “do you know?” when it might be helpful to fits give them the opportunity to describe to you or try to define the word for you, and then if they really have no clue describe for them.
“I think now I’m going to have each one of you say a sentence.” It is totally appropriate to just cut to the chase and say: “Now everyone will read one sentence. We will go around the circle. Let’s start with ___student name___.”
“Do you understand what it is saying?” To do a comprehensive check in about a passage or sentence ask a specific question about the material to see whether or not they understand.
“Who can tell me what life support or premature baby means?” Here is an example of a word I am certain one of the students could of explained to you if given some hints. Perhaps even with out getting up to go to the board but just writing on a piece of paper with in the group:
PRE MATURE
This would help them figure it out without the students having to listen to the definition. After listening to a list of definitions of new words it is less likely for them to stick unless they are contextualized or they have a hand out to practice them or if they come up with the definitions themselves.
Maybe it would be a good idea to type up the terms in the reading that you know are going to be tricky so as they are going they can try to write their own definitions/ideas about what the words might mean. Every time you stop and ask “do you know what that means?” and they nod their heads whether they know or are just learning the new definition it is less likely to stick unless they immediately do something concrete with it to make the word their own. Leading them with hints so that they tell you is always a good way.
The Pros and Cons was also an excellent activity. Next time when you do the instructions, you could make a T-chart on the board and do an example!
Overall, you both did a really great job. Their reading skills will undoubtedly improve a lot because you have selected meaningful subject material at the appropriate level and in class each student is getting a lot of attention. Keep up the good work!
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