Tuesday, November 12^th Lesson Reflection

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

Students were introduced to six amazing words today: sleep, winter, cave, woods, storm and blustery. As I showed each card, students voluntarily raised their hands to stretch out the word and another student provided their definition of the word. I then asked other students (often at a lower-level) to repeat or re-voice one of the words or its definition (occasionally I asked what they thought the meaning of the word was).  Lower-level students were unable to read the words but could give the initial or final sounds and even sometimes the definitions.

 Students also were introduced to the /k/ sound and that sometimes it can appear as a “C,” “K” and “CK.” Students practiced distinguishing between words with the /k/ sound ie/ does church or coat have the /k/ sound? The “ch” blend was challenging for students because they thought that because it had the “C” in it, it makes the /k/ sound but they didn’t take into account that “ch” is a blend and makes a different sound. Students also learned to find pictures on the SmartBoard in Reading Street that had the /k/ sound. Then students identified if the sound was in the beginning, middle or the end of the word. Many of the lower-level students had a hard time finding pictures that had the /k/ sound, especially if it wasn’t in the beginning of the word.

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

The “Sound Muncher” center consists of students sorting the /k/ sound by beginning, middle and end /k/ sounds. Students either did this individually or with a partner so I took the opportunity to observe students and provide additional support as needed by sitting at this center with them.  On this much smaller-scale, I was able to more clearly see what students were struggling with which /k/ sounds and their position in the word at each level. This was very useful for me as I had a better-picture of where each level of students were and where they needed additional instruction and support. For example at the lower-level students were struggling with figuring out what the picture on the card was and therefore they were just putting the cards in random places to go through the deck and complete the center. At the medium and higher levels, I saw students just looking at the word on the card specifically looking for the letters “C” and “K” and putting the card in the slot that matched where that sound was in the word. However, they were overlooking the silent “e” and putting words like “shake” in the middle box when it really should have gone in the ending sound box.

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

That many students at all levels are able to hear beyond the initial and final /k/. Even some lower-level students were able to hear the medial sound which I thought was the last sound they hear in their phonemic awareness progression. Moreover, I didn’t realize how many letter sounds my students knew. I was shocked at their ability to sound out such big words and even give their meanings with our amazing words.

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

A great time to work on recognizing sounds in a word like “cat” can be sounded out by isolating each letter, thinking of the sound it makes, and putting it all together /c/ /a/ /t/ and then identifying where the /k/ sound is at is during literacy centers where I can best meet my students needs. Students will also receive additional support in our intervention groups as well as our tiered groups where they will receive additional instruction on sound-letter knowledge, phonics, phonemic awareness, etc.

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?

For the picture where students circled the /k/ sounds on the SmartBoard, I would like to have two students work together instead of just one. For instance, I would call on a lower-level student to come circle the picture that has a /k/ in it and then a medium or higher-level student to come and say where the /k/ sound is (beginning, middle or end) and then we can stretch the word out as a class to see if they were right. This way, students on all levels are actively engaged and challenged.

Although I tried to scaffold my literacy centers to an appropriate level, I think I still could have done more. For example many students were just looking at the words on the cards and looking where they saw the letters “C,” “K,” and “CK,” instead of sounding out the word. Therefore, I think I should have left the words off of the cards that had an obvious picture on them to accommodate the medium and higher-level learners. I also found that this center was really challenging for lower-level students so I think they would have benefited from some one-on-one practice going over the sounds that each letter makes and sounding out individual sounds in words and then writing the words. This way the medium and higher-level students were challenged more and the lower-level students would gain additional practice hearing the sounds in a word and start developing the ability to stretch out words.

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 there is quite a large gap in my students’ levels and that it is important that I am prepared to teach students on all levels. I have found that the hardest part is how do I engage students on all levels? I find it most difficult to do this at the lower-level. Therefore, I really want to continue my professional learning by focusing on engagement, especially at the lower-level. I’m open to any feedback!