Literacy Lesson Reflections

Monday, October 28, 13: Sound Muncher

What students learned and which students struggled with the lesson.

     Students learned the initial /a/ and identified pictures with the intial /a/, /t/, and /m/ sounds. I felt that many students learned the /a/ sound, and they could distinguish between pictures that began with /a/, /t/, and /m/. Many students were able to select pictures immediately from the stack and state the name, letter, and sound. The students who struggled with the lesson were title 1 or ESL students, and they struggled correctly relating the letter name and sound, and/or identifying the picture on the card. I needed to assist the students by informing them of the picture and letter, and inquiring for the sound.

What are alternative reads of your students’ performance or products?

Other ways to interpret my students’ learning is to notice how much they truly understand the /a/ sound. There are many opportunities to evaluate their understanding during additional centers, such as writing. My Kindergarten class is expected to stretch out their words and listen for as many letter-sound correspondences that they can hear. I would hope that many of my students can listen and notice the /a/ in words. Personally, I think many of my students know the /a/ sound, because we have worked a lot with apples during our fall unit.

What did you learn about your students’ literacy practices that extend beyond your objectives?

I learned that students know letter sounds beyond a, m, and t. Some students recognized that the words have /a/ in the middle. Students could sort the letters individually and many knew the /a/ sound prior to the lesson.

When and how will you re-teach the material to students who need additional support?

The students who need the most support are Title 1 or ELL students. They will be provided with additional instruction during best-fit literacy time. During the classroom, I will ask the students for letter sounds when I am provided with the opportunity.

If you were to teach this same lesson again, what would you do differently and how do you think the changes would improve students’ learning?

     If I taught this lesson again, I would have more picture cards that begin with a, m, and t for students to choose and identify authentic objects from their environment. I think it’s important that students see pictures and items from their environment so they are able to make meaningful connections, and recognize that these letter sounds make up many words in their lives. As an extension to this lesson, I would have students independently sort objects and pictures according to letter sounds. I believe this would improve student learning and help me assess their personal understanding. It would for me to question their thinking about letter-sound relationships.

Another change to the lesson that I would make is to go through the pictures and tell the students what the picture is. This would help students to identify the letter and sound, and would take emphasis off from the picture name.

What did you learn so far about implementing your ‘core practice’ and what do you need to do to continue your professional learning?

    After this lesson, I learned that many of my students recognize that each letter is associated with a particular sound. The students were successful identifying pictures that began with letters and sounds, however I think many are ready to identify medial and final sounds. I will take the information that I learned about each student and adjust my future lessons to make it more engaging and challenging for them.

Personally, my main goal during my unit teaching is differentiating instruction for students in my class. I have a wide range of ability, and I need to ensure that all students are actively involved during the activities. Sometimes I feel that it is hard to differentiate instruction during small group activities, especially if they are independent centers. This makes it difficult for my to assist and assess higher or lower students.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013: Rhyme Time

What students learned and which students struggled with the lesson.

     Students learned to find cards with the same middle and ending sounds, and recognizing that the cards rhyme. For each card, there was one card that rhymed with it. In many instances, I would ask students to think of words on their own that rhyme with the two words. I provided students with certain cards to complete first, these were cards that I thought were easy to identify and pair. Once my higher-level students completed their first stack, I asked them to pair new cards. For my lower-level students, I asked them to pair the same cards again.

What are other reads of your students’ performance or products?

Some other ways to read my students’ performance is to evaluate my instruction and how students can notice if words rhyme or not. I think if I was clearer during the instructions of rhyming words and asked them what they noticed about rhyming words, this could’ve been a more successful lesson. After engaging with students, I noticed that many already had prior experiences and knowledge about rhyming while others have had little to no exposure. I think it is important to bridge this gap and make the lesson attainable and challenging for all students. Additionally, I have had the privilege of working with many of the students who struggled during this lesson, and I found that their accents and pronunciation of words makes it difficult for students to notice rhyming words.

What did you learn about your students’ literacy practices that extend beyond your objectives?

I learned that several students were able to match rhyming words quickly, and were able to produce their own rhyming words. Also, I learned that many of students know what rhyming words are and how to determine if a word rhymes. Students understood that they could manipulate the beginning sound to produce a new rhyming word.  

When and how will you re-teach the material to students who need additional support?

The students who need the most support are English Language Learners; I think that I will support these students during my best-fit literacy time. I think it was difficult for them, because I did not describe each picture on the cards. Also, their vocabulary is very limited and their pronunciation varies, therefore it is difficult for students to determine if the words rhyme.

If you were to teach this same lesson again, what would you do differently and how do you think the changes would improve students’ learning?

There are many changes that I would make to this lesson. First, I think I should have been more clear when I explained the objectives and expectations during the literacy centers. For example, I noticed that some students did not know what to do with the cards that rhymed. I think this change would assist students’ learning because they would understand what they needed to do the entire literacy center. Therefore, I could have explained that they needed to lay the cards out so they could review all their rhyming pairs.  Another change that I would make to the lesson is to have students explain why words rhyme. By asking students to explain their thinking, this would help them understand and recognize all rhyming words.

What did you learn so far about implementing your ‘core practice’ and what do you need to do to continue your professional learning?

     After this lesson, I learned that my students could distinguish between rhyming and non-rhyming words. Also, several students were able to create their own rhyming words. Personally, I need to improve on making my instructions more explicit and understandable for students to be aware of what is expected of them and how they can work independently to discover their rhyming pairs. In terms of my core practice, I believe that many students can recognize rhyming words, but my students are not recognizing that if they manipulate the first sound of a word and keep the same middle and ending sound it will rhyme.