Lee Reflection #2

Before I read the book to my students, I asked them what this book is about and asked them to predict just by looking at the cover of the book. All three students responded me by giving their prediction. I loved how all three students gave me similar predictions because on the cover there was a woman, a man, and two boys who are playing around the well and they all think that a woman and a man are parents of two sons and one of the son fallen into the well. This was pretty good prediction just by looking at the cover. I also asked students what the title Tikki Tikki Tembo means and no one could guess what it means. After the reading, I asked few questions related to the story including and students were easily answer my question. One of my questions was “now we know what Tikki Tikki Tembo mean because it was mentioned in the book. Who know what it means?” and everyone had raised their hands and said the answer which was name of first son. Not only students could answer this question but also could answer other questions as well. To see if students could retell the story in their own words I asked them to tell me what happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Students took turns to tell me what happened in the story. This made sure that students have met my objective of the lesson.
My CT gave me several books to pick for my comprehension lesson and I picked this book because it was about Chinese folktale and I thought I could be a good chance for students to learn another piece of Chinese culture since they are in Chinese immersion program. As I thought, students were excited to hear about Chinese folktale because they never have heard any Chinese folktale before. I think this was my strength of my lesson that students were more engaged due to their connection between China and themselves. However, I think the story was too wrong for students to sit still on the chair and listen because while I was reading the book, I did not stop and ask any questions. Therefore, I could tell when the book was almost over; students were looked a bit tired just listening to me. If I have stopped or had some interactions with students, students would have paid closer attention at the end of story.
Through out this mini lesson, as a teacher, I noticed that I need to practice reading a book from side while holding a book. It was hard for me to read and hold the book while trying to not cover the pictures of on the page at the same time. However, I enjoyed reading a book to students and asking questions to see if students understood the story. Also, I noticed that I should read more slowly when I read to students because as I read the book, I could feel that I was reading faster and faster.

Lee Mini Lesson Plan #2

Reading Lesson Plan # _2__

Rationale : Throughout the semester, I have not observed students having read a book or CT reads a book to students. Thus, I wanted to know where my focus students are at in terms of comprehension level.

Objective for this lesson (performance, condition, criteria):
Students will retell the story up to three events using their own words or phrasing from an ancient Chinese folktale book that will be read aloud to the students.

Materials & supplies needed:
The book Tikki Tikki Tembo retold by Arlene Mosel and illustrated by Blair Lent

Procedures and approximate time allocated for each event
Introduction to the lesson (_5__ minutes)
By pointing the cover, Just by looking at the cover of the book, who can guess what this book is about?
Does anyone know what Tikki Tikki Tembo means? Or has any ideas what that mean?
After hearing the story, you will find out what Tikki Tikki Tembo means. I want you all to pay close attention to the story and this story is an ancient Chinese folktale.
Have you heard of Chinese folktale before? If you do, please share with us!

OUTLINE of key events during the lesson (_10~15__ minutes)
While I read the book, students will sit tight and listen carefully.
So now we know what Tikki Tikki Tembo is. What is it?
Before we read the book, we were guessing what the story is about. Did anyone guess right?
Was this story interesting? If students say yes, then let them tell peers what was interesting
So, what happened in the beginning of the story?
And then what happened after? And what happened at the end of the story?
Now, imagine you are telling this story to your family. Who wants to try to retell the story?

Closing summary for the lesson (_7__ minutes)
Does anyone have any questions about the story?
Does anyone know other folktale that they want to share?
It is important to understand the story but it is also an important skill that you can retell the story with your own words. I think everyone did a great job retelling the story and I believe everyone will tell this story to others as well.

Ongoing-Assessment:
After finish reading the book, students are asked to retell the story. Therefore, I will know that if students are able to retell the story or not. Also, I can know if students can identify beginning, middle, and end of the story when I ask them.

Based on what you know about your focus students, what Academic, Social and/or Linguistic Support will be needed during the lesson?
Student B and Student H are very quiet and soft spoken. So, I will encourage them to speak up and make sure they get chance to talk and express over Student X because she is very outgoing and talkative student. Other than this, there are no academic or linguistic supports needed to students.

Reading Lesson Overview #2

I did my second mini lesson with same three students that I did my first mini lesson. Since my students do not get much time reading books in the classroom nor my CT reads to them, so I thought students may need to learn to retell the story in their own words or phrasing the story that the teacher reads them. In order to retell the story, students need to comprehend the story that I will read to them. I used the some of the comprehension strategies which were discussed in the chapter 8 of Tompkins such as predicting, questioning, and determining importance etc.

Lee Reflection #1

I think my first mini lesson went fairly well. I was satisfied with all of my students’ participation because especially in the beginning of the lesson, students really participated well such as listening what I was asking without talking among themselves and answering my questions. My objective of this lesson was students will be able to read a short Chinese book with prosody and appropriate speed rate. As a result I think they all met my objective because students read the book with good speed rate and prosody such as expressive rhythmic and movement. Also as they finish the lesson, students themselves felt that practicing reading over and over helped them to read better and faster.
My lesson had some strengths and limitations to it. Normally when students read each chapter, they just read whatever is on the page. However, I added movement to each sentences such as the first sentence was if I translate into English it would be “eyes, eyes, to look”. So I asked them to point to their eyes when they read “eyes, eyes” and to point objects when they read “to look”. This was the strength of my lesson because students did enjoy doing movements while they read and this made them to read with expressive rhythmic. On other hand, there was also limitations to my lesson which was it was too easy for students to read. My CT suggested me to use the chapter 25 and students were already fluent readers of this chapter. Therefore, students got bored after echo reading and when one student read to other students. So I had to make extra effort to make students stay on focus.
As a teacher, I noticed that I really enjoyed the moment and felt really good when I saw my students enjoying my lesson. I also noticed that I like to be an active teacher because it was so much fun for me to do movements while reading sentences just like a kindergartener. One thing I noticed that I should be working on was I got so scared when students were getting bored and did not want to read to other students. I know that I have to finish my lesson but on my head I was thinking what can I do something fun to make them read and do what I ask them to do. In addition to this, I realized as a teacher that I need to learn more skills to work on management.

Lee Mini Lesson Plan #1

Reading Lesson Plan # _1__

Rationale (What evidence do you have that your focus students need to learn this skill/strategy?): I know that my students can read simple Chinese sentences but to become a fluent reader, students not only have to read accurately and with appropriate speed but also with prosody. I noticed that students can read accurately but a bit slow and without expression. In this lesson, I will practice them to read faster and with expression.

Objective for this lesson (performance, condition, criteria):
Performance: Students will be able to read a short Chinese book with prosody and appropriate speed rate.
Condition: Students will read the book via echo reading and buddy reading.
Criteria: Students will read aloud to the group with prosody and appropriate speed rate.

Materials & supplies needed:
The book called 你在做什么? meaning what are you doing?

Procedures and approximate time allocated for each event
Introduction to the lesson (_5minutes)
Who knows how to read in Chinese? Yes, I know everyone can read Chinese.
So today we are going to read a very short Chinese book and see who can read fluently. Who knows what fluent means? Fluent means that a person read correctly, with appropriate reading speed and also with intonation and expression.
I know all of you want to be a fluent reader so we are going to practice how to read fluently.

OUTLINE of key events during the lesson (_10~15__ minutes)
Ask if students can find words that they can read in the book
Read the book to the students using prosody and appropriate reading speed rate
Do echo reading with actions go with the sentences
Do buddy reading except that one student read to two students and take turns
*While students read, I will pay close attention how they are reading.

Closing summary for the lesson (_10__ minutes)
Ask students how they read today compare to the way they read in class
Which way did you like better? I like how we read today much better because this way makes me reading fun!
Was it helpful for you to practice reading again and again?
Who can feel that they can read faster than before practicing?
What other ways you can practice your reading skills? Such as reading to younger brother.
Everyone did great job reading today!

Ongoing-Assessment:
As students read after me and read for their peers, I will listen and pay attention how they are participating and reading. During practicing reading, if students are struggling to read such as they don’t recognize words or don’t know what the sentences are saying then I will make a note what they need to work on so I can plan follow-up instruction.

Based on what you know about your focus students, what Academic, Social and/or Linguistic Support will be needed during the lesson?
Student B and Student H are very quiet and soft spoken. So, I will encourage them to speak up and make sure they get chance to talk and express over Student X because she is very outgoing and talkative student. Other than this, there are no academic or linguistic supports needed to students.

Reading Lesson Overview #1

I did my mini lessons with Student B, Student H and Student X. All of them were not my focus students but I know that they are average students in the class. Before I choose which areas I should do for my mini lessons, I asked my CT if she has any preferences for me to work on certain topic with her students. She thinks that work on fluency would be beneficial to students because students need to practice speaking/reading their Chinese more but they do not get to practice as much as they needed. I have observed their Chinese lessons and I know what kind of materials they use to learn Chinese. When it is time for their Chinese lessons, students are mostly watching video clips from the website, reading words, and listening to each chapter on the better Chinese website. Thus, students do not have many opportunities to speak or read aloud Chinese. There are mini chapter books in the classroom which are also available on the website called “better Chinese”. So my CT suggested me to grab one of the chapters that they learned before so that students can focus on prosody and speed rate instead of trying to read new Chinese words. Also, my CT gave me some strategies that I can use on my mini lesson. To practice their fluency, I could do echo reading with the group first and then they can do buddy reading so students get to practice reading several times.
In Tompkins book chapter 6, she describes the components of fluency. I knew that accuracy and speed was the components of the fluency but I was aware of prosody. On page 208, it explains what prosody means and I think that my students are really missing prosody so I decided to include prosody in my mini lesson.

Final Notebook Action Plan

JENNIFER FARRELL

Final Notebook Action Plan

Think about the next steps in your teaching career and reflect on your learning over the semester. Provide concrete and specific examples for each of the following:

What are at least three steps you will take in the fall to get to know your students as learners and as people?

1. Observation 2. One on one interaction. 3. Assessment (pre and post assessment, variety of methods: work samples, talking, testing, etc.)

What are at least three steps you will take in the fall to learn about your school and its surrounding community?

1. Communication with staff, parents and children. 2. Reading school and class newsletters. 3. Getting actively involved in school activities.

What are at least three steps you will take in the fall to learn about your literacy curriculum?

1. Looking in to the standards the school I teach at uses. 2. Reading philosophy statements and curriculum materials the teachers and school provide. 3. Talking with other teachers and the principal.

If you were writing a letter to introduce yourself to your students' parents and families (which you should all do), what are three things you would want them to know about you as a person and/or a teacher?

1. Student learning requires cooperation and communication between teacher, child and parents. 2. All children should feel safe, comfortable, and respected in their classroom. 3. I love having fun and I believe that the best way for children to learn is through play.

Once you get to know your students as people and as learners, what are three concrete strategies you will use to differentiate instruction?

1. Mini lessons based on a student or group of students needs. 2. Guided Reading lessons also based on where each child is individually. 3. Allowing students to choose books based on their interests and reading level.

Revisit your work in this class (blogs, logs, New Literacies, etc.) and the topics covered in this class (leading discussions, comprehension, writing, emergent literacy, and so on). What is the one area that we have talked about this semester that you feel you need to grow in the most? What are three specific steps you will take to foster that growth?

Topic: New Literacies 1. Continue to educate myself in many “new literacies” throughout my teaching career. 2. Give my students learning experiences with a variety of “new literacies.” (visual, cultural, etc.) 3. Allow “new literacies” to be a tool for students to learn thinking about multiple intelligences and accounting for all types of intelligence.

Reflect on your learning in the course. What are three pieces of knowledge, insights or beliefs that you have gained from this course specifically that you would want to pass on to future TE 402 students?

1. Reflection is very important in order to improve as a teacher. 2. Always follow through with students in order to create order, understanding, and respect in your classroom. 3. Keep an open mind at all times, you can learn a lot from your students if you listen.

Letter to Parent

Dear Parent or Guardian,

Hello, my name is Mrs. Moreno and I will be teaching literacy to our third grade classroom until the end of May. Throughout the year, I have observed your child’s progress in his writing abilities such as his ability to organize ideas, write complete sentences and correct use of punctuation. However, he has shown a struggle with using a wider range of vocabulary in his writing pieces. As he is repetitive with his words, he is failing to make his writing interesting and convey meaning in the best possible way. Although this issue is indeed hindering the creativity of his writing, I have strong beliefs in your child’s ability to get back on the path to successful writing. I feel that with a little bit of adjustment in instruction, your child will overcome this issue. To accomplish this, I will reinforce our word walls that are posted in our classroom and print him a laminated copy to stay at his desk. I will encourage that he refer to this list of words during his writing to help him see and use a range of different words. Furthermore, I will devote additional time to your child during the revision stages and make sure he is adding more interesting words into his writing pieces. Support at home can also influence success in this area by using a wide range of vocabulary with your child at home on a regular basis. Repeated exposure inside and outside of school will have a tremendous impact on a child’s vocabulary. They will not only hear new words, but also identify the meanings of them and help them to apply them in their everyday speech, reading and writing.

Thank you for your time and support,
Mrs. Moreno

If you have any questions in regards to this issue, please contact me anytime.

Writing Approaches

In Tompkins book, few writing approaches were discussed. There are five writing processes which are prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. To be honest, I have not seen much writing in my placement. All the writings that I observed in my placement are just practicing some Chinese characters. I don’t think students have practiced more than 5 times this semester. So I am not sure how students are practicing their writing skills. I am assuming that in their English classroom, they are learning how to write and sound out words in English. Mostly in Chinese immersion classroom, they are practicing reading and speaking. Even though those five writing processes are not happening in my placement, I am certainly can see how it will help students to write better. Myself as a student, I learned to go through writing processes to help my writings better and I think it worked pretty well. Therefore in upper elementary classroom, writing processes definitely needs to introduce to students. I don’t see any journals in my placement but when I was Junior I was also placed in kindergarten class and I observed students writing journal entries every day. Most of students could not write many words. However, as chapter 12 described, words wall on the wall helped them to write their journals. I think with lower elementary students, journals works well for students to practice their writing skills because younger kids like to talk about their own life and they always have something to tell others. In the reading, it introduced Double-Entry Journals which is students divide their journal pages into two parts and write different types of information in each part. They write important facts in one column and their reactions to the facts in the other column, or questions about the topic in the left column and answers in the right column. I never have seen any teachers do Double-Entry Journals and neither have I experienced myself. I think it is a unique way to write journal and it might interest students who does not like to write “traditional journal”.

Tier 1, Tier2, and Tier 3 Words: "The Breadwinner"

The book I am reading for our book club is "The Breadwinner," this is where I will take my words from.
Tier 1: Basic words: Words that are used commonly and don't usually need an explanation.
Some examples of tier 1 words in "The Breadwinner" include: father, outside, sitting.
Tier 2: Academic words: used more frequently in writing than oral language, these words allow you to describe/talk about things more accurately.
Some examples: slump, recognize, and wonderful.
Tier 3: Specialized words: content specific and abstract.
Some examples: Taliban, militia, and chador.