Asking and Answering Questions while reading Informational Text
On this page you will find a video of my lesson from my second field placement at Canterbury Elementary, my lesson plan, feedback, and connections to The Wisconsin Teaching Standards 7, 1, 9, and The Alverno Ability Conceptualization.
Lesson Analysis:In this video I am teaching a small group of 2nd graders with the focus of asking and answering questions using informational text. This strategy group was formed with assistance from my cooperating teacher. She used her records of assessment to put together a group of students who needed further support with the skill of asking and answering questions using informational text. I begin the lesson with a picture walk using the book, "Tornado". I model for students the thinking I use for developing questions based on looking through pictures. As you watch the video you will see the students begin to participate and use my modeled thinking as they write down a question of their own on a post it. I continue student participation by having students attach their questions on a "I wonder I learned" chart that we create together. Next step of learning is for students to learn how to find answers to the questions they formulated. So again, I begin this process by modeling my thinking of how to use the table of contents in informational books to find answers. I model my thinking aloud of keeping the question in mind while reading the table of contents. As soon as I come across a title that may have the information I need I turn to this section read through it, record my answer, and attach my "answer post it" to the "learned" section of the chart. Students again participate in this process. To assess student learning during the demonstration and participation portion of the lesson I keep an anecdotal checklist to record their participation. Finally, students have the opportunity to practice this skill using their own informational book from their book bins and a "I wonder I learned" chart. During this time I scaffold my support to students as needed. To assess student learning during the practice portion of the lesson I collect their "I wonder I learned" charts as a record of their progress after this small group strategy lesson.
WTS 7: The teacher understands and applies theory. She incorporates what she knows about how her students learn best through use of content and curriculum.
Through this video lesson I demonstrate my ability to plan instruction based on my understanding of theory, content knowledge, and the curriculum. At Canterbury Elementary, they practice of the workshop model for both reading and writing which is required through their curriculum. Using my knowledge of theory in relation to the workshop model I was able to effectively facilitate a strategy group mini-lesson following the workshop model. My belief of Lev Vygotsky's sociolinguistics theory is one that I observed in this classroom. Based on my understanding of the sociolinguistics theory, I designed my lesson with the intent of providing students opportunity to discuss their learning and work cooperatively in our small group through creating a "I wonder I learned" chart together first. I used explicit "think alouds" to model my thinking for students. Another theorists that I applied in my planning was Cambourne's Conditions of Learning. I demonstrated use of many of his conditions in my lesson planning and instruction. The first condition I displayed was demonstration where students experience models of actions, skills, and knowledge. I did this when I models my think alouds for students which aided in developing their skills of asking and answering questions using informational text. Another condition of Cambourne's was one his concept of approximation, which allows students the opportunity to practice what they are learning. I demonstrated this condition when the students used their own informational books and "I wonder I learned" charts to ask and answer question of their own. A clear curriculum goal that was in place for second grade at Canterbury was for students to accurately use text features in informational books. With this in mind, I planned my lesson objectives based on the associated Common Core State Standards and student learning needed with aid from my cooperating teacher. The result was clear effective lesson planning because I applied my knowledge from inside classroom observations and guidance based on discussions with my fellow peers and supervisor. I also incorporated strategic instructional materials of the "I wonder I learned" chart, students individual book bins, and the practice of modeled participatory learning. My beliefs in the sociolinguistics theory and Cambourne's Conditions of Learning are clear in this lesson because it is the way that I believe students learn literacy best.
WTS 1: The teacher recognizes the benefit of knowledge of concepts and uses them to properly lead instruction to facilitate meaningful learning experiences.
This lesson represents my understanding of major concepts addressed in the Common Core State Standards. By the end of second grade students were expected to accurately use informational text features. In this lesson I display my ability to utilize the informational text feature of the table of contents in way that students will need and use in their reading. I adhered to structure of the workshop model used in the classroom through modeling my thinking of "think alouds", and allowing student participation and practice with their own books. This concept can pose as challenging for students because they are not familiar with using informational text features. Also, because this skill was challenging for a specific group of students I set up the lesson as a strategy group to allow for student to practice with the aid of explicit instruction. I began my lesson by first making a connection with students prior learning in the classroom which was the focus of information text features. In my video you will notice that I tell students good readers ask and answer questions while reading. I modeled how to formulate questions with a picture walk which all of the students had experience doing. When it came time to answer those questions I clearly modeling my thinking with the use of the table of contents so students experienced clearly how to use this informational text feature. I allowed students to participate as we answered another group questions with use of the table of contents. During the practice portion of the lesson I continued to scaffold student learning with continued modeling and redirection to using the table of contents as needed. I also provided students with a "I wonder I learned" chart as a tool to guide their ability to ask and answer questions.I demonstrate clear knowledge of how to use the table of contents and strategies and situations where the table of contents is utilized. I modeled this concept for students so they could see how to accurately use this text feature in their own reading.
Conceptualization: The teacher effectively integrates content knowledge, theory frameworks, and real life connections to encourage student learning.
This field placement at Canterbury Elementary was clear in their demonstration of how a successful reading and writing workshop works. I learned important methods about how to create a balanced literacy program in my future classroom. The Common Core standards were explicitly integrated in what students were learning and how student learning was going to progress in order to meet these standards. This classroom functioned with daily routines, which allowed for teacher instruction to happen effortlessly. Before planning and teaching this lesson I had observed my cooperating teacher and learned through my course work about how to plan and teach an effective mini-lesson followed by independent reading and conferencing. My belief in Vygotsky's theory of sociolinguistics and gradual release of responsibility were educational structures that were practiced daily in this classroom. Through my observations and continued learning, I planned and taught a successful lesson in accordance with what I knew about theory, and second grade content and skills. I started the lesson with a picture walk through an informational book. Throughout the lesson I modeled my thinking with "think alouds", and allowed students the opportunity to participate with creating questions and finding answers in our small group aloud together, which is an effective practice of sociolinguistics. Together the students and I completed our "I wonder I learned" chart which then led to the beginning of my release of responsibility. With my knowledge of effective workshop model instruction in mind, I allowed the students to practice the skills we did together with their own informational books at their specific reading level. For the closure of the lesson, the students shared their "I wonder I learned" charts they created with their own informational books and use of the table of contents.
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
WTS 9: The teacher is a reflective practitioner who is consistently evaluating herself with the intent to discover opportunities to better her practice for the benefit of her students.
Through my self assessment and instructor feedback from this strategy group lesson I demonstrate my value of reflective practice with intent to discover opportunities to better myself as a teacher. I reflect through self assessment on all parts of my lesson use this to determine if I successfully met the learning objectives for my students. The planing portion of my lesson discussed how my beliefs in specific theories guided my planning. I state how Vygotsky served as my main guide and I set up my first two portions of the lesson, the demonstration and practice that followed the first two stages of his model of "I do, you watch" and "I do, you help". I also reflect on how I made the classroom environment comfortable for students at our own table and was enthusiastic about learning to spark students interests. I reflected on my clear intent and ability to focus student learning through sharing my expectations and learning target with them. The instruction portion of the self-assessment is where I evaluate how I taught my lesson with the literacy objective in mind. I discussed how students were successful in using the table of contents to ask and answer questions because of their willingness to participate and when they shared their individual findings at the end of the lesson. Also when students shared their findings they pointed to the specific content header they used to find their information which really solidified their understanding of the table of contents and its purpose. I also note how the picture walk portion of the lesson could have been more group centered, and instead of developing questions on their own I would have had us stop on a few pages and develop questions together. This also would serve purposeful for students to model their understandings for their small group of peers. In the assessment portion I reflect on my use of an anecdotal note sheet and informal assessment. Through evaluating my assessment planning from my lesson I saw my development as a teacher. I was able to see that because this was a small group lesson I was able to effectively note student participation and progress. Also through the formative assessment of the "KWL" chart I was able to visually see student understanding and that is was clear for all in the small group. From there I was able to determine next steps for instruction which was to introduce students to another informational text feature, the glossary, and ways to use it. From my self assessment process and my instructor's feedback I show my commitment to reflective practice and the importance of ongoing learning.