Week 9

Assignment 1:

How might small-group literature discussion groups fit into an overall literacy program, designed to help students experience the pleasures of becoming effective readers of literature?

Having small-group literature discussion groups is a great way to engage students in their reading. The positive atmosphere that is created in these groups ignites an enthusiasm for the story that is integral in becoming an effective reader. In these groups students are trained to analyze their reading on a whole new level. Through the questions asked and the topics discussed students' understanding becomes enriched with hearing what their teacher and classmates have to say.
These discussions are important to incorporate into a literacy program since it benefits both strong and struggling readers. If a student had a hard time understanding the story when reading it on his own, he will be able to compensate through participating in a discussion. Small group literature discussion groups can take place after the class was assigned to read on their own. Once students are read up and prepared to contribute their thoughts and logs to the discussion, the discussion will take place.

How does informal assessment such as that demonstrated by Mr. Thompson help a teacher design effective lessons?
Through Mr. Thompson's engaging questions during the small-group discussions, he was able to determine what each student gained and lacked from the story. In addition, the quality of the participation and the log entries were indicative of where the students were holding on their level of comprehension. Once Mr. Thompson, or any teacher for that matter, is made aware of the deficiencies, he can create lessons to fill in the holes.  For instance, lets say in the discussion it became clear that the students were unaware of the setting of  the story. The teacher can then guide the students to look for keywords that would tell them the setting.

What ideas from the video would you like to try in your own classroom? 
I feel that the small-group discussions  would be very beneficial in every classroom. As discussed above, these groups enhance all students' learning experiences immensely. Specifically I thought that the way that Mr. Thompson recorded the students' level of participation during the discussion with a point system was very smart. I could see how some students would take advantage of the free discussion setting by slacking off and not reading the material. Mr. Thompson prevented this behavior by creating a positive point system that motivated the students to cooperate fully.  

Assignment 2:

What are some ways this teacher helps students cope with the complexities of a new literary text?

Mr. Hoonan chose to adopt a post-it strategy where the students marked down their questions on post-it notes when they came across them while reading. This strategy was meant for students to move on with their reading and address their questions later.

As viewers, did you think the use of students to present mini-lessons to the class was an effective strategy? Why or why not?
I felt that the class did benefit by hearing mini-lessons given by other students. It is important for students to know that they are not the only ones with questions while reading. Furthermore, students can gain by hearing others' questions and see how they strategized to find a solution. People gain much more from those who speak from experience as opposed to hearing theoretical problem solving tips from a teacher.

Mr. Hoonan talks about the importance of considering context when assessing student performance, mentioning the example of allowing a normally quiet student an extended opportunity to share his views during the discussion. What examples of this can you share from your own classroom?
In general classroom discussions are safe places for shy students to express their opinion. In my experiences these students need to be prompted in order to perform. In these discussions when these students are given the opportunity to contribute they surpass everyone's expectations. I had a student who was extremely shy. She was shy both inside the classroom and out. To the common passerby this student would seem a bit unintelligent since she did not speak in public. As her teacher however, I knew that she had a lot of depth and many intelligent things to say. To get her to a comfortable place to express her ideas however was a challenge. I knew that her quiet and analytical nature enabled her to think deeply about literature. I desperately wanted her to share her thoughts with the class and therefore asked her to share during a class discussion. I was not sure what to expect her reaction to be. Much to my pleasure however, this student performed splendidly.

What ideas from the video would you like to try in your own classroom?

I thought that the group collaborating together to create a web  was a great way to organize the discussion. Everyone was able to contribute equally and follow the thought processes of their peers.  

 

Assignment 3:

 

"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"

Grade: 2nd

Standards:

Common Core State Standards (June 2010)
Subject: English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects
Grade : Grade 2 students:
Content Area:  Literature K–5
Strand:  Reading
Domain:  Key Ideas and Details
Standard:  1. Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
Standard:  2. Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.
Standard:  3. Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.

Objectives: Students will know the characters, setting, and storyline of "Snow White" to meet the common core standards. Students will improve their literary and comprehension skills.  

 

Procedure: The teacher will begin by asking the class how they wake up in the morning as an introduction to the story "Snow White". During the discussion, the teacher will record the students' comments. Teacher will then ask students if they know the story about Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The teacher will then read story out loud to the class with occasional pauses to ask pointed questions to the class. Questions will include, "How do you think Snow White felt about having a mean step-mother?" "What do you think it was like to live with seven dwarfs?", "Why do you think that Snow White woke up from the prince's kiss?" etc.
After reading the book the students will be asked to summarize the story in their reading logs. Students will then be broken into groups to have a small-group discussion with the teacher to go over the storyline and what they thought about it. During this discussion, the teacher will ask the students to draw a picture of the sky during different parts of the book. For instance at the beginning of the story when Snow White is singing with the animals, the students will be asked what they think the sky and nature looked like. Likewise students will be asked the same thing when the prince was fighting the wicked witch, when Snow White was sleeping, when Snow White woke up etc. The purpose of this is to draw the students' attention to the setting of the book and link the setting to what happened in the story. Next students will be told that they are going to make a puppet show about the story of Snow White. Students will be assigned to make a puppet to represent each character in the story. Then students will be asked to write up a script for the puppet show to present to the class. The purpose of the puppet show is to have students identify the characters in the story and understand how they interact and relate to each other.
Assessments: The teacher will see the level of comprehension the student had based on his writing log, participation during the discussion, and the accuracy and completeness of the puppet show.