Monday, November 11

What did students learn and which students struggled with the lesson?

During my lesson, students learned the initial /k/ sound. I also introduced the letter C to the students. We went over words that begin with C and the/k/ sound. I showed the students pictures of things that to make the connection of C words and /k/. The students were also asked to spell C words that begin with /k/. The students had to put their thumbs up or down for words that did or did not begin with /k/. Last, the students had to find pictures of items on the Smart Board that began with /k/.

            Some of the students struggled differentiating C and K. I reminded them that we are only working on C, so all of the /k/ words today are going to start with C. Also, some of the students seemed to have a difficult time finding pictures on the Smart Board. They wanted to circle different things that did not start with C. They needed some extra scaffolding to circle the correct picture.

What are alternate reads (interpretations of your students’ performance or products?

I was able to work with small groups during center time. This gave me an understanding of students learning. I was able to see exactly what students knew or did not know. It was easier to see this during small group consisting of 4-5 kids rather than whole group. I asked the students to find their own words that begin with /k/ sounds. Many of the students were able to do so. The lower achieving students struggled with this. Most were able to recognized /k/ but could not produced their own word.

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

I learned that students can produced their own /k/ words. I wanted them to recognize and blend words. However, many of the students were able to produced and spell /k/ words. I was really impressed that some of the students could produced and spell /k/ words that were larger than 3 letters.

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

For students who need additional support I would start from the beginning of what sound /k/ makes. I would go over a lot of words that did or did not begin with /k/. I would also show them pictures again of items that begin with /k/. I think these students just need extra practice to gain full knowledge of the information they were taught.

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

If I taught the lesson again, I would do more small group instruction. I think that it is more effective to work with 4-5 students. This way I would know which students understand and which are not. Also, it gives me a chance to ask each student questions and make sure each answers questions.

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

I learned that my “core practice” is very important in kindergarten. I now know that my students are at different places academically and I need to accommodate to all of them