Comprehension Strategy Lesson Plan Reflection

REFLECTION 

Comprehension Strategy Lesson Plan 10 minute teach/presentation

 

I was on the docket to teach my lesson on Tuesday April 30^th. Even on the day of, I was unsure if I had prepared the material properly. I work with 6^th, 7^th & 8^th grade. Given my experience and my mind-set, I would love to continue with the middle school age group through my career. There are times where I feel like the material I am presenting due to the school curriculum is weak. Or should I say, beneath the students’ level. I like to supplement my lessons time and again with challenging material, the type of projects that they may encounter in high school. I built a rather ambitious program at my last school for seventh grade that focused on dissection. The final project was a fetal pig. As a seventh grader, fetal pig dissections are uncommon. Most students don’t experience that level of challenge until high school or even college.

As I thought about my CSLP, I began to reflect on my current eighth grade students. What could I offer that would grant a heightened level of reading without intimidation? They have been studying global warming in their Earth Science classes were I teach. While we have been utilizing technology with web quests and creating small group presentations, I wanted them to read and discuss a series of text that was beyond their reading level so they could see what they might experience when they are in 10^th grade. Additionally, I wanted to offer a relative topic with the global warming piece so they could tap into their prior knowledge. It developed into a lesson plan that served a purpose at their school level and mine in TEGR 585.

The problem was how. The book I selected, Gaia, was quite heavy with vocabulary and the concepts presented may be beyond their grasp. I decided to pull a singly chapter that presented several similarities to what had been studied this semester. In order to bring focus to the whole mess, I redesigned a comprehension continuum chart and applied it to the lesson. In addition the chapter was easily broken down into nine individual reading sections. So my lesson plan began to take shape from there.

The idea was to assign reading sections to table groups. They would read their sections as a team; fill out their continuums as well as prepare notes to teach from. They would in turn teach their assigned readings to the class as a whole. Once everyone had done so, we would bring the whole chapter together as a compare and contrast to what had been learned through the school curriculum and my earlier teachings on global warming.

I attempted to reproduce that in a 10 minute teach during class on April 30^th. All in all, I thought it went well. I believe I could have modeled the comprehension continuum better by reading more and possible using a power point to show what I would have written in the columns of the chart. Examples and modeling definitely help in the process. The 10 minute teach was tough as it lacked prior knowledge or any scaffolding to draw from. I felt scattered during my 10 minutes and in hindsight I could have done better.

However, I did ask a few of my more advanced eighth graders to read the same piece I shared with used for my presentation. They were intrigued and wanted to pursue more. They were also openly pessimistic that many of the others in their class would be overwhelmed. So I may need to fine tune the presentation prior to a full scale follow through.    

Catchin up from 3-5

Writing Across the Curriculum

Reader Response   Chapter 9

Content Area Reading Text

 

The opening header speaks volumes about this issue:

Writing facilitates learning by helping students to explore, clarify, and think deeply about the ideas and concepts they encounter in reading. (pg. 278)

 

This hits home with me as I have seen it many times in my own work as well as that of my students. If you truly want to learn a lesson, write it down. The more you write about a topic, the better you understand that topic. It is a simple mantra actually, yet it does work.

This chapter provides a diverse representation of writing techniques to be used I certain situations. Some I have had the pleasure of using here at UST in my grad classes. Others, I can see a place for them in my science curriculum.

 

For instance, Learning Logs were a daily tool used in SPED 750. It was a great tool to end the class period. It allows for reflection on what was yet fresh in your mind and write about it in a quick informal draft. SPED 750 added the “share and sign” portion. After your learning log was complete, share it with a classmate, initial and turn it in as an exit ticket. There is also the response journal. This is similar to what I am writing now as a reader response. This response writing provides me a way to record my thoughts before, during, and after reading an assigned text. The benefit of this response format is the blog post that offers a way to publish our thoughts for peer review.

 

Voices in the Classroom (pg 307) defines the challenge that Math teachers face when trying to blend high-level thinking skills with writing. The woman that teaches middle school math at my school has developed the P.O.W. Journal (Problem of the week). Every Monday she writes a word problem on the board for all her students to solve. First, they must record it in the Journal in the consecutive weekly format. The students are required to spend minimum of 5 minutes daily making notes or calculations in their journals as they peck away towards the answer. The journal itself is turned in on Friday for grading. It is graded on accuracy of answer as well as correct writing techniques that are applied to the weekly problem. This journal does not get graded. However, it is a popular assignment and bragging rights for correctness are held in the highest regard.

Catching up from 2-26 (part II)

Learning with Trade Books

Reader Response   Chapter 11

Content Area Reading Text

 

My content area is science. I guess it never dawned on me that trade books could be used to enhance my curriculum. The school bought sets of text books are the only reading materials available within the classroom. I often find stories from National Geographic or NSTA and make classroom copies for student use. I’m not sure a three page article out of a magazine counts as a trade book as much as supplemental reading material.

 

I couldn’t agree more with the statement that textbooks are, for most teachers, essential classroom tools. I know they are for me. They provide the baseline of my lesson plans for a standards based outline and curriculum mapping. The drawback of textbooks is their inability to update with yearly advances in science. Sometimes, the textbooks are a bit outdated and tend to be a source of entertainment for the students with their antiquated technology references.

 

I believe it is the responsibility of the teacher to acquire supplemental materials to present within a lesson plan. Trade books allow alternate perspectives from the academically heavy textbooks. Fiction or nonfiction trade books will promote an alternate view of a topic with the hope that slight discrepancies will provoke healthy discussion.  Not only that but I believe that teenagers are expecting the “same old same old” every school year. They are expecting to get the same textbook in seventh grade that their older sibling had three years prior. It stands to reason that these same students will display a new found excitement when they are asked to read a nonfiction account on the creatures of the Galapagos Island while studying about Darwin’s theories in the school text book. Providing trade books shows a respect for their needs and desires. In some cases, differentiated instruction is required to grasp concepts in a lesson. The text books don’t always provide adequate alternatives to do this. Trade books, on the other hand, can be used due to their rich text and story lines as well as drawings, photographs, and charts that may not be easily understood through the usual text book format.

 I do have a question for the authors. On page 362 in Content Area Reading; Vacca, Vacca, and Mraz write,

“Of all the goals for literacy instruction, there is none more critical than creating students that read independently. Independent reading provides practice and pleasure and develops a passion for books. It affords students an opportunity to “get lost in a book” –to be so engaged in reading that one loses track of time, of place, of everything but the power of a text to transport and transform us.”

 

My question is, what about the students that don’t like to read? The ones that lose track of time, of place, of everything through a video game, sports, or just being outside in nature. Loosing track of time in a book is OK but not in the others?  I respect the need for literacy in students but I can also respect that not everyone likes to read and that needs to be OK too.

I guess it has to be the right book. Text books are standard issue in a classroom with little or no variety. Trade books on the other hand open up new avenues for inquiry based learning. Figure 11.2 on page 367 offers a short list of nonfiction trade books that could be used in science. While not strictly objective in content, I can see how using these books in a classroom would provide a much needed spark to some often mundane topics.

 

The greatest “take-away” I can boast from this chapter is to give it to the students. Early in the year, at the onset of the distribution of textbooks, I could see an assignment connecting to research and computer use. Pull some topics from the text book and have the students select trade books that could be utilized in the curriculum. Topics unite and students agree. They are then involved in their own education and hopefully more engaged due to

Catching up from 2-26

Writing to Learn

Reader Response   Chapter 2

Content Area Writing Text

 

I guess you might say that I am writing to learn all the time. As the authors state early in the chapter, the humble grocery list is a basic example of a writing to learn exercise. My memory gets a bit foggy at about five items. I have a rather vast collection of colored post-it note pads and find myself writing to learn all day long. A list here a list there, make copies of this, talk with a colleague about that. Post it notes everywhere.

 

As I read through this chapter, I felt a bit “junior high – ish” as I realized I should have read this chapter prior to our write to learn (WTL) presentations we gave to the class. My WTL was a lesson unlike any other yet I thought it held some merit. Man was I off track. WTLs need to be short little bursts of writing energy that go ungraded and need to be somewhat informal. Informal doesn’t mean that it can’t be done well. I’m also a big fan of the no grading option. Sometimes many WTL assignments with informal assessments can provide more useful information to a teacher then one large formal assessment. Students usually perform better with less stress and hence, a more accurate view as to their comprehension,

Page 27 offers an amusing view of using the review questions at the end of a textbook chapter as a good WTL practice. The point is made that while some text books represent better than others, fill in the blank under the guise of WTL is a bit ridiculous. Most students would classify this as lame busy work. As a WTL practice, I would take those questions and re-write them in a fashion that would foster healthy group discussion. Use them as chapter starters in small groups and have them record their answers as exit tickets for the day. Once the chapter is complete, revisit these same questions in a mixed group setting to see if the key topics have been understood. This would be enhanced by the use of larger post-it notes so the students could create answer maps. Stick them on the wall and discuss their findings as a larger group.  

Catching up from 2-12

Writing in the Content Area

Reader Response   Chapter 1

Content Area Writing Text

 

Reading and writing have been an academic “dynamic duo” since the first written word. While reading as a skill that can be learned, comprehension is yet something altogether different. Comparatively speaking, writing is also a skill that can be learned yet the ability to write well and effectively is also quite different.

 

Chapter 1 in Content Area Writing alludes to a writing crisis. I’m not sold on the crisis piece but I think the six link chain of implications is worth noting.

 

1.      Writing helps the students get more actively engaged in subject matter.

2.      Writing helps students meet state standards and pass high-stakes standardized tests.

3.      Writing helps students gain access to further education.

4.      Writing paves the way to fulfilling employment.

5.      Writing prepares young people for involved, active citizenship.

6.      Writing is part of a better life.

In my history as a teacher (5 years now) I can say with the utmost amazement that handwriting and spelling are not as highly respected as they were when I was a student. The middle school students that I work with seem unconcerned about their spelling or if anyone can read their handwriting. It breaks my heart to hear students complain that,

“Spelling shouldn’t count….this is Science class!” 

Crisis….probably not, but frustrating to say the least. Most students these days use writing software on their PC’s to correct spelling and basic grammar errors. These are tools to catch what they missed in their written assignments. Not tools used to write their assignments. If anything, that is where the crisis may be found. It’s an unhealthy reliance on spell check to fix their writing. The details of their “learning” of these skills should be taught in K – 5. There is where they learn to write, spell, group ideas into proper paragraphs in grammatically correct formats. By the time students reach middle school and high school these tasks should be as common and well honed as breathing and walking.

 

My content area is science where spelling can be a challenge. Clarity and neatness should not be.

I agree with Daniels, Zemelman, and Steineke when they point out that accurate writing skills will pave the way to fulfilling employment. Fact of the matter is, well honed writing techniques will pave the way to everything. Good writers with good writing skills are respected and needed in all walks of life. Shorthand is great if you are taking notes for your own personal use. Abbreviations and slang fall into place when it is for the writers eyes only. However, Take inventory of the world around you and see how much written word is out there. Billboards, street signs, directions, everywhere you look there are words and writing helping the human race through their day.

 

Students need to be passionate of the writing quality. Not only in the writing class of the semester but in all courses they may take throughout their academic career. Ask any college student about writing skill. It becomes a true test once you reach the college ranks. 

Chapter 2 Content Area Reading

Learning with New Literacies

Reader Response   Chapter 2

 

I remember some time ago when I was in high school. Mrs. Brown was my English teacher and it was the class everyone feared because Mrs. Brown’s big assignment was the 12 page research paper. This was back in 1980 and the Internet was around yet. In fact, we were using punch cards to run computer programs and the Math teacher was the first person I knew to have a desktop computer. It ran functions and saved information on Floppy Discs. Mrs. Brown had us in the library doing research and writing information on 3 X 5 index cards. I remember having some 100 cards written up with reference info and page numbers. All this was to be combined like a giant jigsaw puzzle and then handwritten for the first draft.

Final draft was to be typed (you know…..with a typewriter!)

That was my literacy training in high school. These days, there are many more options and labor saving features at our student’s disposal.  PC’s, laptops, writing software and the internet have allowed students greater access. New literacies are transforming the way the world reads and writes.

Chapter 2 in, Content Area Reading by Vacca, Vacca, & Mraz, we read that reading and writing aren’t just about print anymore as we move from a page-dominated literacy to a screen-dominated literacy (pg 31-32).

Even in this class TEGR 585, I am learning the power of new literacies via blogging. It is a use of the internet for my own personal growth with commitment to reading, reflecting, & writing in a way that is ultimately shared with classmates.

Voices in the Classroom (pgs. 34 – 35) describes a scenario in which William takes advantage of a grant that helps him bring technology into his classroom. This technology opened new literacy doors for his students as well as opening a door to his own growth.

I have been lucky enough to watch the growth and expansion of the internet and computers in my lifetime. Most, if not all students in K-12 classrooms have grown up with computers and internet access. It is vital that they acquired the necessary skills to use this media to their benefit. It will always be a part of their daily lives and it isn’t necessarily “New” to them at all. However, proper use and referencing techniques may be new forms of literacy.

Students of the 21^st century are tech savvy. They can work their way through internet searches with very little training as many of them spend countless hours online as part of their daily routine. Our job, our goal if you will is to help them do it with clarity and honor. The temptation to use someone else’s work off the internet is quite alluring as there is so much out there to choose from. What used to take hours to research and type up can now be done by a simple search, copy & paste.

This new literacy is a powerful tool and should be integrated into our daily classroom plans. Practice will produce better understanding and teacher guided projects will help hone skills as well as develop a sense of honesty and respect for the information being used.

Writing for Tests and Assessments

Writing for Tests and Assessments

Reader Response Chapter 10

Content Area Writing Text    

 

Tests, assessments, evaluations, no matter where you are in academia or in the workforce, there will always be a place for evaluating your knowledge. What I find fascinating is there are students that enjoy taking tests. They get excited for the day and prepare for every angle prior to test day. On the other end of the spectrum, there are those with test anxiety. These students are quite fearful of test days. It really doesn’t matter how they prepare as their fear can overwhelm their thought process and totally derail their possibility for a score that represents what they actually know. Then there is the student that crams the night before. Short term memory is taxed to the nth degree, the test is conquered and within a day or two, the information is forgotten.

 

While good study habits and solid preparation is the preferred route for test success, it is vital to have options to assess a students’ knowledge of a given unit. I’ve had students overly concerned about high marks in daily work and homework as it would allow them to “mess up” on a test and still get a good grade on the course. Is this what we are teaching students these days?

Daniels, Zemelman, and Steineke state that the reward is an external prize that fails to connect students to our subjects. So when we complain that kids care only about grades but not the real meat of what we are teaching, we need to recognize that the testing situation we put kids in only reinforces that flawed approach to learning. (pg 254) I couldn’t agree more. The emphasis to the student appears to be on the grade, NOT the learning. Too bad really as I think students would remember so much more if they weren’t burdened by the time consuming process of studying for and taking of tests.

 

On the backside of all this is needing to know exactly what the student has learned. Testing is probably inevitable. However, there are many ways to assess knowledge; the trick is quantifying it consistently with a letter grade. When there are 30 – 40 students in a classroom, the task of preparing a unit test is only outdone by the daunting task of grading that many tests. It’s no wonder teachers are tempted to take the easy way out with multiple choice answers that can be “scanned” by a machine. To truly identify student knowledge short answer and essay tests may be the best bet. Again, very time consuming and often difficult (less than perfect penmanship) yet allow students a place to explain an answer with a paragraph or two and it will be obvious if they have the concept down.

Students don’t usually like essay tests either. It puts them in a position to really know what they are taking about and to capture their thoughts, organize them properly, and then write them for a grade? “That’s a lot of work!” I like the piece in our text that referred to the F word. Yes essay tests can be fun. Offering options for writing can provide students a choice that fits their perspective on a key concept. And even better, a take home essay test. Not to be confused with a research paper or temptation trap for plagiarism but a chance to reflect and write without the pressure of a stopwatch. Be careful with this one as I can see that the answers maybe longer and more detailed which makes for extending grading timeframes.

 

As I read this chapter, I could help but ask myself about alterative tools for assessing knowledge. Turning the page brought me to my answer with the oral options. Many students “know” the material in a unit lesson. However, they struggle with proving it for a grade. Oral tests allow for a conversation between instructor and student. Low on pressure, high on content. Allowing the student to make handwritten outline style notes during the conversation will help them remember their thought and threads of the conversation. Once played out, allow time to organize and re-write for the grade portion. Not only will the student be more at ease, there are additional skills learned in the process while proving knowledge through writing.