Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Reflection on Mini-Lesson 1 & 2


Fluency
            I’m pleased to say my mini-lesson on fluency went quite well.  The students in my placement have been taught what this means, and how to practice it during their reading café time, however, the student I choose for this lesson has a lot of trouble with this concept.  I was very surprised that she not only didn’t have a clue what the definition was, but she could not remember how to practice it, even though this is something they do almost daily.  Nonetheless, we reviewed what it actually means to be a fluent reader and then we did a choral and echo read to practice the skill.  I choose a poem that was a bit above her reading level because I wanted to challenge her.  I’d stop every so often during our practice and ask her to re-read parts or try to imitate how I sound to help her.  As I released the gradual aid of responsibility, I finally let her read it on her own at the end.  I was very pleased to hear that she did listen to my instruction and even though her expression still needs some work, her tone was less monotone, and her prosody was quite good.  Besides a few minor mistakes on unfamiliar words, she did quite well.  I took a running record and her overall fluency score had an accuracy rate of 89%.


Comprehension
            The students in my placement have had a lot of practice with comprehension.  Like fluency, during this reading café they practice this skill.  They mostly refer to this concept as checking for understanding.  The student I chose for this lesson can read fairly well, but he has not developed very good tactics for finding out the meaning of new words.  I have never seen my MT talk about using a dictionary to look up unfamiliar words; instead she mostly encourages them to use context clues.  I decided this would be my main approach for this lesson.  I began the lesson by reviewing what the concept is itself.  The student was in fact aware of what it meant.  Then I taught him how to use context clues to figure out an unfamiliar word with a practice sentence.  The student understood how to do this but he did not believe the unfamiliar word was the correct form to use in the sentence.  I told him to not worry about forms, and we were just looking for meaning, but this is something he got stuck on a few more times during the lesson.  Then I had the student whisper read the passage of I provided for him, and then I had him read it aloud to me. He used the strategy I provided from him (which worked well!) and he was accurately able to figure out all but one unfamiliar word on his own.  After he finished the reading I had him complete a short worksheet, which, checked for comprehension with three multiple-choice questions and two short answers.  He answered all but one question correctly.  However, in hindsight, I think perhaps the assessment would have been more meaningful if we just discussed the questions.  I thought the worksheet would be beneficial, but he seemed bored and did not want to do it.  In the future I will definitely provide something more interesting because the last thing I want to do is bore a child.



Lesson Plans
Your Name: Christy Naife Grade Level: 2nd   Date: 4/12/12

MT: Kris Bobo      School: Post Oak Elementary

1. Overall lesson topic/title: Fluency

2. Grade Level Content Expectation(s): R.FL.02.03 read aloud unfamiliar text with a minimum of 90% accuracy in word recognition at an independent reading level.

3. Objective:  The student will the poem “I Ran for the Chapstick” independently, while expression all of the components of fluency.

4. Materials & supplies needed: The two copies of the poem “I Ran for the Chapstick”, and pencil.


Procedures and approximate time allocated for each event (Note: use bullet points to outline your ideas) 

BEFORE READING:

Introduction to the lesson  Today we are going to do a little mini lesson on fluency.  Can you tell me what fluency is? In order to be fluent readers we must have a good pace, pronounce the words correctly, and read with expression.  We are going to do a little activity to practice this together.  I brought a silly poem called ‘I Ran for the Chapstick’”.


Activties
·       Choral Reading: The student and I will read the poem together.  After the reading I will go through examples of what the student can work on.
·       Echo Reading:  The student will repeat each line after I read it so I can get a better feel for how they are progressing.

  After Reading:  “Now you are going to practice being a fluency reader all on your own by reading the poem “ I Ran for the Chapstick” just one more time.  I am going to take a running record of your reading, which just means that I am going to be paying attention to the three major components of fluency.  Can you name them for me?  That’s right, reading at a good pace, pronouncing the words correctly, and reading with expression.  Now don’t worry about me writing things down while you’re reading, this isn’t a test that will go in your grade book, but this practice will help you with your literacy.”

CLOSING SUMMARY FOR THE LESSON:

Bringing closure : Tell the student how he/she did with their fluency assessment.  Give them tips on how he/she can improve depending on the evidence of the running record.






I Ran for the Chapstick

By Kenn Nesbitt

I ran for the Chapstick mom keeps in her purse.
My lips were so chapped that they couldn't feel worse!
I dug through her handbag and pulled it out quickly,
then sighed in relief as I smeared it on thickly.
I felt so much better I almost rejoiced.
My painful, dry lips were now mended and moist.
My dad burst out laughing. My mom looked amused.
Her Chapstick was lost. That was lipstick I'd used.



















Your Name: Christy Naife Grade Level: 2nd   Date: 4/17/12

MT: Kris Bobo      School: Post Oak Elementary

1. Overall lesson topic/title: Comprehension

2. Grade Level Content Expectation(s):

3. Objective: R.CM.02.02 retell in sequence the major idea(s) and relevant details of grade-level
narrative and informational text.

4. Materials & supplies needed: The short passage “Plane Trip”, and a pencil for the student.


Procedures and approximate time allocated for each event (Note: use bullet points to outline your ideas) 

BEFORE READING:

Introduction to the lesson  “Today we are going to practice your comprehension skills.  Can you tell me it means to comprehend while reading?  Good, so comprehension is learning how to understand a story while you are reading it.  Before we being a I want to show you a couple of different strategies to figure out how to find the meaning of words that you might not understand right away.
·       Example: The bird flew high in the sky.
·       What words in the sentence show you what the word flew means?
·       Explain context clues to the student.


Activties
·       Have the student whisper read “Plane Trip”
·       Have the student read aloud “Plane Trip”
o   Encourage the student to practice using context clues and talk their way through finding out the meaning of unfamiliar words.

  After Reading:  “Now that you have read through the passage “Plane Trip”, you are going to complete a short worksheet that will show how well you comprehended the text.  Don’t worry this assessment isn’t going in the grade book, but it is going to help you practice your skills.”

CLOSING SUMMARY FOR THE LESSON:

Bringing closure : Tell the student how he/she did.  Give the student some more helpful ideas as to how to help their comprehension.  Ask if they have any questions

 http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/2nd-comprehension.html

(Click on Airplane Passage)



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