Week 14

Describe and evaluate the approaches you observed from the classroom:

From the classroom I observed, the teacher has built up a classroom library for kids where they can borrow books every week and students would share their reading experiences with the others in class. Share reading and independent reading is applied into daily teaching.

For extended reading, the teacher would pick up a book for the whole class to read together every two weeks. The books are usually a little bit beyond children’s ability and always related to social study. After finishing those books, students are required to hand in their logs. Also, each student were required to pick up one new word, explain with their own words and then let others guess what the word is. I love this method because it allows students to make connections with their personal experiences.

With students who needed extra help, they have a specialist assisting the teacher. She took responsibility with students who needed more exercises or explanation.

How much time will you schedule for student writing?

For my future teaching, I will definitely allocate at least one hour everyday for writing as it is a very important part of ELA.

How do you structure this time to support and advance student writing?

    I will share advanced model writings with students before their writing. I will use differentiation writing approaches for students at different levels as well.  

How do you increase opportunities for students to improve their writing?

I will make my students keeping diaries or journals every day. I will also encourage them to keep down every new idea occurs to them in their daily life on their notebooks.

How do you balance student choice with teacher choice of writing topics?

    I will do it half and half. Maybe half of the week I will let them focusing on topics picked by me and leave them to choose their own topics for the rest of the week.

What challenges/questions do you have in scheduling adequate time for writing?

Maybe the challenge is that it is hard to organized students at different writing levels in limited time. 

Keystone Assignment

Click Keystone Assignment to see.

Unit Description

This is a unit plan create for 6^th Grade students. The purpose of the unit is helping students to learn some skills of reading, writing and speaking through the movie called “Life of PI”.

Movie will be finished before our class. The whole unit consists of three sessions which contains 45 minutes each. For the first session, the students would focus on memorizing the whole movie. The second session, the movie would be present in the form of timeline and students are going to show their own timeline in front of the class. For the last session, students are going to discuss further of the movie according to its main characters.

During the unit, students’ interest will be stimulated by movies. Firstly, they will learn to cooperate with the others within a group. Moreover, they will learn to use technology to organize information they obtained and present it to the audience. Also, students will learn to comprehend the same thing on different levels and aspects. They are able to relate their previous knowledge to what they are learning. Last but not least, students will learn to evaluate the others’ work and give out their creative opinions.

For extension, students need to write journals after the whole unit. They can put their own thoughts into the journal as well as what they have perceived from the others. 

Week 11 Assignment #2

I chose the strategy ------ Writing to learn

Learning can be done with multiple ways, including watching, listening, reading, writing and so on. Among all these ways, writing is the most effective of to enhance people’s memory. Writing can also improve students’ logical capacity by organize their thought.

Writing can be a frequent exercise for students’ daily learning. Students can always write their ideas down in order to remind themselves when necessary. Also, they are able to record new knowledge so that they can go back to refer again. Writing can also be incorporated into other courses such as math and reading. After reading an article, we can ask students to write a journal about what they have learnt from it. Students can also write something to summarize the result.

Here is the article that can support my rationale:

http://wac.colostate.edu/books/bazerman_wac/chapter5.pdf

Here is the lesson plan that I want to share:

https://www.msu.edu/~doupemic/wtltemp.htm

This is a mini lesson that aimed at engaging students personally and thoroughly with the text and its characters through writing.

Week 10: The ELL Reader Case Study

Here is the link of my Report:

The ELL Reader Case Study

Observation Report

I have done my observation about a 10 years-old girl called Jamecia at Public School 188 ---The Island School at downtown Manhattan. P.S.188 is serving students from Pre K to the 8^thGrade. The day of school begins at 8:30am every morning and ends at 3pm from Monday to Friday. Students need to wash their hands before class which is definitely a good habit for everyone. All the students should stay in the same classroom except going to the gym or their music and science class. They have to sign on a sheet by line and get the permission from the teacher even if they want to get some water or use the restroom.

As my observation started, I was quiet and careful. With Ms. J’s help in the class, I began to walk through tables, helped to check students’ work and answer their questions. From the second time, I began to focus on a girl called Jamecia who sat nearest to me. Ms. J told me both of her parents are speaking Spanish and they know nothing about English. Therefore, Jamecia communicate with her parent in Spanish at home and communicate with peers in English at school. Jamecia didn’t have much word but was easy going. At the snack time, she said “hi” to me and even wanted to share her snack with me. Jamecia was ten years old who is quiet and a little bit passive in learning new knowledge maybe due to the lack of self-confidence. In the math class, she was able to finish most of the assignments correctly but always needed more time than the others. She never raised up her hands in class while others were quite positive in making feedback to the teacher. I paid more attention with her daily work. At first, she refused to show me her work, but later she was glad to share her confusion with me and appeared for help when meeting problems.

Jamecia is doing good in reading and writing, but a little bit weak in math. Ms. J said that she just needs some more attention, so she asked a top student called Sara to sit beside her and help her when necessary. Ms. J was actually using the method of peer tutor. More skilled student can help the others in class effectively due to better communication and interaction of the same age.

Since her main problem is lack of vocabulary, I will help her to enhance her word-base. Every time I need the sentences, I tried to read at the slow to normal speed, using an expressive tone. In order to help her with better understanding of new words, I would provide a context before explaining the definition. I will encourage her to use previous knowledge to conjecture unknown stuff. Other than that, I will try to use visual materials to assist her with better comprehension. Informal assessment is quite necessary for Jamecia. I will generate a list of questions about the content to check her receptivity of new information. I asked her to read independently and try not to rely on too much on the others, especially her ability of self-correction. Otherwise, it’s important to encourage her take part in the group discussion where she could share her idea as well as receiving the others’ thoughts

Jamecia’s English is very native as well as her Spanish. Jamecia told me before 4 years old, she only speak Spanish since both of her parents speak Spanish. After 4 years old, she began to attend the kindergarten as well as primary school and during the school time she began to learn English systematically. During the conversation, I can see that she pick up words very quickly. She told me that she like to study languages and social science subjects but math. It is because she considered math is boring and abstract and sometime it’s hard for her to understand. However, as her other classes like English, Second language, Social Science etc. She performed very well. Jamecia also told me that she likes to hang out with her friends. During the conversation I can tell that she is outgoing. However, when I asked why don’t you just raise up your hand in class. She replied that she is little afraid of speaking in public since she doesn’t want to make mistakes in front of her friends. As for her friends, all of them could speak both Spanish and English. Sometime they communicate in Spanish in school as well. However, she likes English since she likes to talk with people in other races.

The following is the my SOLOM Proficiency evaluation for Jamecia

Her total score is 23. After the SOLOM Proficiency evaluation for Jamecia is done, I also placed her in the ELL observation rubric and after the evaluation, I believe that she is at the advanced-high speaking since she can communicate as the native speaker not only in class but also at home. When talking, she was seldom stopped by anyword. She was doing great with word-pronouncing. However, she had some problems with grammar. She was only in primary school, so it’s possible that she is poor in grammar. I believe that she is at the beginning- high criteria for reading. She reads slowly and she told me she doesn’t like to read. It is same happened with her friend most of her native speaking peers are not good at reading as well. As for writing, I believe that she is at the advance - low criteria for writing since she is keeping writing dairy every day. Meanwhile, Mr. J said she has a very high score in writing assignment as well. Probably, she needs some assistance with grammar and some vocabulary but that’s not a problem. As for the listening part, I believe that she is at the advanced- High criteria for listening. She doesn’t have any problem understanding the class and talking with peers.

Overall, her English is almost native even she doesn’t communicate English at home. It is because of the schooling or TV and other factors which provide her a good study environment. Therefore her English is progressing very fast.

Basically, she doesn’t have too much grammatical structure that cause difficulty for her oral language and writing since she is Americanized and her oral language is like a native speaker. For writing part, probably she has little grammatical structures since she is only in the primary school. However it is not problem for her if her continue her study in the future. Her writing skill is progressing.

When talking about oral language and literacy skills based on the oral language, I can conclude that her oral language is good but can say her literacy skill is good. Her oral language is native but much more like casually talk. However, she is not so aggressive in academic. Her literacy skill is intermediate, for now.

The following is her reading assessment. Basically, she is in phase 4 of reading development continuum. For example, she can use the right language features like descriptive language connectives such as because, therefore, if and then at the right place; know how to structure her language. She can retell and discuss own interpretation of texts read or viewed with others, providing information relating to plot and characterization in narrative or to main ideas and supporting detail in informational text. She can selects appropriate material and adjusts reading strategies for different texts and different purposes, e.g. skimming to search for a specific fact; scanning for a key word. Besides she is efficient in using most of the following strategies for constructing meaning. For example, she knows to make predictions and is able to substantiate them; knows to self-correct when reading and have the ability to re-read to clarify meaning. Compare with content-area reading text, she likes to read narrative text since she considers it is more easily and she can read it fluently.

    In P.S.188, Ms J told me the way she used to improve those kids’ English is to give them reading assignment as homework and the second day she will ask them to discuss what they learn from the reading. She considered that since they are 4 grades already, they must have already gotten some reading and speaking skilled. She cannot teach them like a kid anymore. Therefore, she considered that the best way for them to learn by themselves, practices and the next day communicate with each other. It is for one thing to help them to build the reading skill, for another they can enhance the communication skill as well.

    Overall, it is a great experience for me to develop my research on English learning as second language. From the observation I feel like environment is key factor to improve the second language. Especially in the US, since in majority family the parents have their own languages other than English, the kids who are raised from these families need to speak 2 languages. For example, when they are in public, they need English and when they are at home, they need their language. Therefore, the kids’ English will be getting better when they go to school. To help the kids learn English ASAP, we need to communicate with the kids to assemble what kind of help she/he is in need of and then try to help them with listen, read, talk, and write.

Week 9

Assignment #3:

Topic: A Home for Pearl Squirrel

Level: Grade 3

Time: 1 class, 45mins/class

Standards:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.2 Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.3 Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.6 Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters.

Material: Computer, Worksheets and pencils

Preparation:

1.      List all the animals mentioned in the book, including their habitat.

2.      Cut down them separately (for example: “squirrel” on a paper tape, and “in the crook of tree” on a paper tape) and then hide them under students’ chairs.

Objective:

1.      Students will learn the basic structure of a story.

2.      Students will learn to memorize story by sequence.

3.      Students will discover different habitats for different animals.

Activity:

1.      Make a brainstorm of some animals along with their habitats.

2.      Show them the book cover and make a brief introduction of the story.

3.      Go over the digital storybook together with students slide by slide. Stop after each slide and raise some questions to check their understanding of the content (including explain new words). Also encourage students to come up with questions or confusion according to the text.

4.      After finishing the whole story, we make a circle and retell the story one by one. Pick up the key details of the story.

5.      Ask students to find out all the hidden sheet under their seats and match the animals with the corresponding habitats.
6.    Work in groups and share their own opinions upon the ending of the story.

Assessment:

1.      Students’ reflection of the questions asked after each slide of the book will be assessed.

2.      Students’ performance in retelling and summarizing the story will be assessed.

Running Record

       

Running Record Form – EDLI635

Student’s Name: ______Mathew________  Grade: __2____  Date: __11/03/2013___

Title: ______ Fifteen Minutes of Pie      Difficulty Level of Text: ___Medium____

Author: _____  Nikki Aksamit_______          

Running Words: __244__ Accuracy Rate: _95.5%__     Self Correction Rate: _3_

             

Comprehension:

Page #	Text		E	SC		M	S	V
	Fifteen Minutes of Pie The Everson family- Mr. and Mrs. Everson, their sons Ethan and Jason, and daughters Hannah and Emily- were gathered around their dining room table finishing up Sunday dinner.“What’s for dessert, Mom?” Ethan asked as he helped his mother clear away the last of the plates. “Your dad baked an apple pie.” Mrs. Everson answered. “Yummy!” exclaimed Ethan’s sister Emily from her high chair at the end of the table, clapping her hands. “Well, I would like fifteen minutes of pie please.” Ethan said with a big grin as he sat back down at the table. “Fifteen minutes of pie, what does that mean?”  Asked his brother Jason, who was a couple of years younger than Ethan. He was very confused. “Mr. Lavel is teaching us about time in school.” Ethan replied. He was in second grade and they were just starting to learn how to tell the time on a clock. “He told us that the clock can be divided into four fifteen minute sections, like the pieces of a pie.  Fifteen times four is sixty and there are sixty minutes in an hour.” “Very good son!” Mr. Everson said smiling. “So then may I have fifteen minutes of pie please?” Ethan asked again as his mother placed the dessert on the table.   Hands on her hips, Mrs. Everson looked at her son. “How about you have ten minutes of pie and save some for the rest of us!” she answered.		1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1	1 2 1 1 1		1 1 1	1 1 1 1 1 1	1 1
	Totals: 244 words		11	6		3	6	2

            

Error Rate = TW/E= 244/11= 22:1

Self Correction Rate = (E+SC)/SC = (11+6)/6 = 3

Accuracy Rate = (TW-E)/TW = (244-11)244 = 95.5%     

Miscue Analysis:

Mathew is one of the struggling students in the classroom. I was told that he is doing well in both reading and writing. And in fact, he is a brilliant kid. He finished reading the whole article fluently with some small mistakes. With unknown words, he won’t stop and stuck. Instead, he would try several times to pronounce the words. For those really beyond his understanding, he would appeal for help. He did re-read sentences containing difficult words and corrected himself with long words. He told me that with words he hasn’t seen before; he would try to make connections to his previous knowledge. For example “exclaim”, he separated the word with “ex” and “claim”, so he could figure out the right pronunciation.

     One big problem I found with Mathew is that he was unclear about the present continuous tense. He ignored the form of “ing” frequently and seemed not making any sense with that mistake. For example “clapping”, “smiling” and “finishing”. So he needs to enhance that knowledge point.

Mini Lesson:

Level: Grade 2

Objective:

Student will learn the rule of present continuous tense.

Students will apply the right tense into reading.

Procedure:

- Introduce the rules of both present tense and present continuous tense, and then compare the two tenses.

- Give out some examples of the two senses and ask him to distinguish them.

- Let him create some sentences of present continuous tense.

Assessment:

Work sheet of present continuous tense will be given for assessment. (Filling the blanks)

Reflection:

 This is my first time to work with an American student. Mathew had a very fluent reading skill with words that he has already known well. Sometimes he was able to conjecture the pronunciation according to the alphabets. He has a good comprehension ability of understanding the main idea of an article and also was able to go into most of the details. Last but not least, he has equipped with the basic logical thinking ability due to his demonstration of the given article. The only problem he had was that he was still unclear about the use of present continuous tense. His confidence of reading weakened a little bit when meeting unfamiliar words. Even though, he is an independent reader who will always try before appealing for help.

Reading is not just read text out; it also includes their ability of comprehension. Thus, develop a good habit of learning is quite important.  Students are easily to be influenced by instructors. So our job is to lead them to the right direction and encourage them to read independently. Teachers should encourage students to clarify their purpose before reading and check what they have learnt after reading. In addition, students should also be encouraged to raise questions during the process of reading. As a qualified teacher, we should always be aware of students’ ability and problems, and then use proper strategy to solve their problems.

Even though I’m not teaching yet, I believe that applying those strategies into my future teaching would be of great help.

Week 8

Assignment #1：

When reading the paragraph, I was trying to relate my previous experience with what is narrated. First of all, according to the paragraph, it must be a kind of bird (have wings) which lives near the water (maybe somewhere around the rain forest). Secondly, as a good escaper, it must have protective skin color that is close to the swamp. Thirdly, it must be equipped with fast speed to escape enemies. Last but not least, it has claws on the wings which are an obvious symbol of its appearance.

After google “Hoatzin”, I found its pretty close to my imagination expect its body size. I thought it must be quite small because of flexibility. And I haven’t think about the feather on its head. Moreover, its color is also beyond my expectation. it is quite colorful compared to the forest.

Assignment #2:

Schema theory is raised by Piaget which means building up framework gradually with previous experience and adding new knowledge. It is quite useful for students’ ability of comprehension. Just like the first assignment, I don’t know what a “hoatzin” is, so I would always link the description with my previous knowledge. It works somehow, even if it is wrong, I can still make adjustment with my existed schema. Situation model theory is a kind like create a concrete representative (model) of something abstract. It’s better helping students understand and comprehend. It is always direct to use graphic such as charts, maps and frames to illustrate complicated stuff.

In teaching comprehension, teachers should always be aware of what do students understand and do not, then use proper strategy to resolve problems of them. Teachers should also encourage students clarify their purpose before reading and check what they have learnt after reading. In addition, students should also be encouraged to raise questions during reading. We are not supposed to believe everything we saw; we need critical thinking for better comprehension. Moreover, retelling is also an essential part of comprehension. It requires highly understanding and logic to demonstrate what you have comprehended.

Assignment #3:

Mr. Thompson emphasizes a lot on multiple characters which is a big challenge for teachers but also good to build up a great environment for sharing ideas. He believes that working together will always make things happen. In his evaluation, preparation and participation are very important elements. He makes students do literature logs and response logs before meeting which helps students gain their own thoughts of a certain text. In the class meeting, students are asked to retell the stories, make connections and discuss reader thoughts. Students are able to share opinions and take in others’ thoughts. After that, Mr. Thompson will also poses questions and helps them expand their answers which leads to further comprehension of the text. He is always standing at a reader’s position so that he can be involved naturally into the group discussion. At the same time, he will be an evaluator as well. In order to understand the text better, he will ask students to make prediction which is also a good way for comprehension. At the end of the class, positive feedback would be given to stimulate students’ motivation.

Mr. Hoonan will ask students to make demonstration in front of the class which requires highly understanding of the text. He believes that students demonstrations really gives their feedback. He also encourages group discussion, when doing discussion he will incorporate new approaches such as drawing on a piece of paper. In the groups discussion, Mr. Hoonan uses student-direct method and with he himself observing aside. He will still control the direction and throw out some suggestion when necessary. Mr. Hoonan is doing pretty well with his role in a student discussion.

Week 7

Assignment #1:

What texts and materials do teachers have in their classrooms that support students' development of fluent reading?

School has a library for categorized books for different levels from too easy to too challenging. They choose texts that are appropriate to match both the kid’s level of reading proficiency and their level of conceptual development particularly in the area of social studies. They have rich supplies of reading material that tight to key content of standards.

How do they select vocabulary to teach in all areas of your curriculum?

     Vocabulary is categorized into three kinds. The first level of words is quite familiar with kids we don’t have to teach. The second level of words appears often enough in print, normal daily conversation or TV news. The third level of words are highly technical from biology or chemistry which are quite unique. They just focus on the second level, and most of those words can be found in the kid’s reading materials, science & social study books and literature books.

How much time do they allocate to word study?

    Better readers will spend 1.5-2 hrs a day for reading.

What word study routines do they teach and encourage their students to use?

Non-interruptive reading is encouraged which requires self-regulating and self-monitoring. Teachers should point out the key elements of reading. For example, it is shown in the video that a teacher pointed out smooth, correct, expressive as key points. Last but not least, it’s necessary to increase the volume of reading. The more they read, the more exposure they will have to these patterns.

How do they differentiate instruction and tasks based on their students' needs?

  Teachers will do side by side teaching which is also called coaching. They are moving around the classroom and dealing with problems that are specific to the child in the particular text he is reading.

Assignment #2:

How can you ensure that your struggling readers have access to texts they can easily read?

Provide a library filled with books varied of different levels which they can choose from. Books also covered both fiction and non-fiction that might attract different interests. Students are able to access books within their level, or above their level if they want some challenge.

How can you foster a learning environment in which students have many opportunities to practice reading?

    Whole group instruction which is mainly about shared reading is encouraged to foster a great learning environment. Students can share different opinions toward the same text. In addition, coaching is another way to foster the learning environment which tends to be more concentrate to specific needs.

Describe ways in which you can model fluent reading in your classroom throughout the day.

Place weak students into groups with good readers. If the whole group is doing unsatisfactory, then teachers need to read out loud in front of the whole class for students to follow and imitate. Otherwise, the model reading in the video can be played for students to learn from. It shows how reading is supposed to be.

Assignment #3:

Explain the three levels of words and how you can use word levels to decide which words to teach.

The first level of words is quite familiar with kids we don’t have to teach such as “good”, “run” and “luck”. The second level of words appears often enough in print, normal daily conversation or TV news such as “hurricane” and “democracy”. The third level of words are highly technical from biology or chemistry which are quite unique. They just focus on the second level, and most of those words can be found in the kid’s reading materials, science & social study books and literature books.

How do you teach your students to "chunk" words as a strategy for decoding unfamiliar words? When do you provide this instruction?

Use previous knowledge to figure out new words. We can just tear off the front or the back of a big word and ask student to pronounce the middle. Gradually uncover the whole and ask student to reread the word. After a 10-day period instruction practice, they are able to deal with unfamiliar words without a thumb.

Based on Professor Allington's comments and the classroom examples, what are some ways you might foster word study in your classroom?

Whole group instruction might not be the most effective way of teaching. In my future teaching process, I would focus more on the side by side teaching which I intended to get to know every student’s special needs in order to allocate different levels of reading material to different students.

Week 6

Assignment #1:

Short Lesson Plan:

5 minutes  Review the words that he didn't pronounce correctly. 

5 minutes  Explain the differences between though and through; most and must.

5 minutes  Find some other similar words for her to practice the pronunciation.

Assignment #2:

(a)   What you’ve learned about “reading fluency”?

“Reading fluency” means the ability to read aloud without hesitation and with good inflection. It requires students not only be able to decode, but also the speed of decoding and with comprehension. Fluency is not simply to read out a certain paragraph, more importantly it is about understanding of the text and connection with existed knowledge.

(b)   How you can apply “fluency assessment” in you classroom?

As it is learnt the last class, teachers can apply both formal and informal assessment to students. Students’ fluency assessment can be done with observing students reading for both pronunciation and comprehension. It can also be assessed with timed reading and compared their performance with published standards.

(c) How you will plan your “fluency instruction.”

   Prepare an appropriate text for students to learn and make a rubric for assessment. Make students try to read aloud and make an initial judgment for the later instruction. Provide a model fluent reading which students can catch the sense and imitate. Then they need to repeat reading and do some activities according to the text. Activities such as student-adult reading, choral reading, tape-assisted reading, partner reading, readers’ theatre can be applied into instruction.

Assignment #3:

Lesson Plan

Topic: Pronunciation of Initial Letter

Level: K-1

Objective:

Students will recognize the sound of the initial letter of a word.

Students will generalize the rules of pronunciation of single letter within context.

Students will learn to collaborate with each other to achieve goals.

Standards:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1.5a Sort words into categories (e.g., colors, clothing) to gain a sense of the concepts the categories represent.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.1.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

Materials and Preparation:

Prepare several flash cards and hide them somewhere in the classroom.

Print out a song for each student and leave every word’s initial letter blank.

Download the song on the computer.

Procedure:

1.      Have a brainstorm at the beginning of the class. Let the students think of words start with the same sound (For example: “b”, boy, book, box and ball). Ask them to repeat the sound of the initial letter. Try two more examples and help the students to get the idea.

2.      Do some related exercises. I say a word; then the students should say the letter and pronounce the first letter.

3.      Separate the class into two groups and ask them to find out all the flash cards and sort those cards according to the first letter. Each group will be required to read the words on the flash cards and point out the beginning letter with its pronunciation.

4.      Give out the worksheet, play the song and let the students filling the blanks. Play the song again and let them check their work. 

Assessment:

Students’ understanding of the beginning word will be assessed through their worksheet and their performance during the whole class.