Sunday, April 1, 2012

Comprehension Strategies


Sara Wieder     3/31/12

Comprehension: Teaching Procedures

Assignment #1:

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?                                                                                       Small group literature discussion gives students the opportunity to express their thoughts and insights freely and openly. This gives students the confidence in themselves by expressing their personal reflections to their peers and teacher they experience the pleasure of becoming an effective reader.

2)    How does informal assessment such as that demonstrated by Mr. Thompson help a teacher design effective lessons?                                                         Informal assessment is a great tool to assess students’ comprehension and understanding of the text. In this way, a teacher can evaluate what each child comprehended and what they did not understand. Then, a teacher can design effective lessons by addressing the needs of all learners.

3)    What ideas form the video would you like to try in your own classroom?                                                                                                                          I really liked the idea of response logs and “critical reader thoughts. It’s a great way to engage students in the reading by giving them the opportunity to write down and express their thoughts

Assignment #2:

1)    What are some ways this teacher helps students cope with the complexities of a new literacy text?                                                                                                      This teacher encourages the students to write down a difficulty in the text that they may not have understood and ask questions, Why did this happen, or what’s the purpose of this character? Asking questions can help students comprehend the text better.

2)    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 think that the mini-lessons are a great strategy because it builds the confidence of the students by giving the students a chance to express their thoughts to the class and helps them be better readers.

3)    Mr. Hoonan talks about the importance of considering context when assessing student performance, what example of this can you share from your own classroom?                                                                                                                 During my field observation, I have observed the teacher considering context when assessing student performance. The teacher gave a child that has difficulty reading and writing a chance to express her thought without asking her to write her thoughts on paper. This gave the student confidence and developed her reading and writing skills.

4)    What ideas from the video would you like to try in your own classroom?                I would use the idea of the post-it strategy which is a great tool that builds comprehension. Also, I like the small-group discussion and the use of web, in which everyone participated and wrote down their questions and thoughts.

Lesson Plan: The Dairy of a Fly

Grade Level:2                                                                                                                                       
  Standards:

·        Determine the meaning of unfamiliar words by using context clues, dictionaries, and other classroom resources

·        Comprehension strategies, ask questions when listening to or reading texts

·        Work cooperatively with peers to comprehend text                                             

Overview: students will read the story Dairy of a Fly written by Doreen Cronin and use comprehension strategies to understand the story. The lesson plan involves read-aloud, small- group discussions, independent writing, and response journals.            

Time: two 45 minute lessons

Day #1: Activity #1: Read Aloud- teacher will read the Dairy of a Fly to the class on the carpet. Teacher will read that the fly is nervous on the first day of a school. Ask students why do you think the fly is nervous? Were you nervous on the first day of a school and why? Write down the word “regurgitated” on the board, and ask students to use the context of the sentence and think what the word may mean. Then, write the suggestions on the board. Teacher will continue to read about the fly and that it learnt in school that you must always have a flight plan.

Activity #2: Small group discussion and building vocabulary; students will work together in groups and use dictionaries or other resources to find the meaning of the word “regurgitated”. Then, students will discuss about the need to plan ahead, why it is better to have a plan and strategy before you do something.

Activity #3: independent writing, students will write in the journals a reflection of what they learnt today from the story. Students will answer the question; imagine you were a fly and write your feelings and experiences. Also, students will write about an experience that because they planned ahead it was successful or when they didn’t plan ahead and was unsuccessful. Then, students can share their reflections to the class.

Day #2;

Activity #1: Read Aloud, first the teacher will review what they have read yesterday. Then, the teacher will continue with the story. The fly dreams of being a hero. Ask students what is a hero? And why does the fly think he is a superhero? Discuss the food chain, and the importance of all living things in a food chain. Then, conclude how the fly learnt that all people can be heroes in their own way.

Activity #2: literature groups/ small-group discussion, students will discuss the story and add an thoughts or observations they have learnt from the story

Activity #3: independent writing, students will write in their journals:

1)    What is the lesson of the story?

2)    Have you ever dreamed about being a hero, and what do you think makes a person a hero?

3)    Have you ever had a situation where you did something extraordinary and felt like a hero, explain.

4)    What did the worm mean when he said, “the world needs all kinds of hero’s” and what can we learn from this.

Activity #4: Class discussion, students will read aloud their reflections and response to journal questions. Teacher will discuss the moral of the story

Extension: students will be given the opportunity and encouraged to keep their own diary and write down their feelings and experiences every day

Assessment; teacher will assess student understanding by reading the journal response logs and informally assessing their participation in the whole-class and small-group discussions

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