Internship Reflection 4

What have you seen in language arts/reading instruction? What connections have you seen between what you observed and our readings  and/or class discussions.

Today was a little bit different because we had a substitute teacher.  Language arts and reading instruction time consisted of small literature circle groups and spelling word practice.  We also did some Reading EOG practice.  The children were guided by the assistant teacher and were instructed on how to go about the Reading EOG.  First, they read the title and look at pictures, then they read each question and underline important things.  Then, they read the passage and underline more things that are important.  I noticed how much emphasis is put on underlining, which seemed to relate to our readings and class discussions on finger pointing and other forms of reading comprehension.

Have you done any teaching in your internship? What have you taught ? Have you worked with a child or a group of children? What did you do with them (e.g., picture/word sort, DRTA, Text Talk) ?

Today I played a spelling game called ZAP with my students.  I read a spelling word and they took turns spelling one letter of the word.  We went through the entire list and the bonus words.  I also monitored a literature circle group.

Comment on any interesting things that you have noticed about your school, the teachers, the students, or the curriculum.

I think it is interesting how the two third grade teachers work together with everything in their classes.  They have mixed reading and mixed math where they trade some students for others.  They also do all of their lesson planning together.  I think it is smart so that all of the students have a similar background as they go on to 4th grade.

Post any questions that you have about teaching/learning.

Where do the teachers get EOG instructional tips from?

Internship Reflection 3

What have you seen in language arts/reading instruction?

The students have been doing more and more poetry.  This week they focused on writing their own limericks.  They created limericks and made a visual representation to go along with them.  Also, the students got in groups and were given a list of riddles as well as the answers to them.  They acted them out for their classmates to get them to guess the correct answer.  Literature circles are still being used in the classroom, but the unit on poetry has allowed for more of a variety in language arts and reading instruction.

What have you taught in your internship?

I have been able to assist in small reading groups.  The students show me how they use their jobs like discussion director and connector.  I have been able to instruct the children on some ways to analyze the novels they are reading and how to do their job.  I have completed all of the ASU coursework to be done in the classroom that involves individualized and specialized teaching.

Comment on any interesting things that you have noticed about your school, the teachers, the students, or the curriculum.

The students seem to enjoy group work.  They know how to focus as a group and individually and do not get super distracted during group work time.  My teacher utilizes her assistant as a small group leader just as she does with us (the interns).

Post any questions that you have about teaching/learning.

Have the teachers at Moravian Falls been trained to know how to use Math Investigations?

Internship Reflection 2

What have you seen in language arts/reading instruction?

This week I have seen more exposure to different types or reading and language arts instruction.  The students have continued to spend time in their literature circles reading their books, but they are also doing a unit on poetry.  My teacher taught the children how to write a haiku poem.  She did a read-aloud with the class to a book called Dogku and had the children write their own haiku poem as an alternate ending to the story.  I got to read several of the poems and have found out I am working with some very creative third graders!  Here is an example of a sample haiku poem that our class wrote together.

The dog jumps up high

Maybe he is excited

He is going wild

What have you taught in your internship?

This week I did my WRI lesson.  I also conducted 3 interviews for math with 3 different students.  It was nice to get to know the students a little better and see firsthand how they are doing in school.

Comment on any interesting things that you have noticed about your school, the teachers, the students, or the curriculum.

The entire third grade went to see The Boy Who Cried Wolf play on Tuesday afternoon.  Alex and I were hoping to go along, but due to limited seats and liability we were not able to.  I spent the afternoon in a second grade classroom and loved the structured environment.  The lower grade children have a program called Fundations at their school that is really neat to see in action.  It helps them with the blends of sounds and they each get their own word board to use in class.

Post any questions that you have about teaching/learning.

Do other schools have programs implemented like Fundations?

Internship Reflection 1

I have noticed a lot this past week that has to do with language arts and reading instruction.  In my third grade class, at least a third of instruction time is dedicated towards this subject.  Students spend time in groups in the morning doing literature circles, doing reading related computer activities, practicing spelling words, and reading books that integrate science experiments.  The students are split by the third grade teachers by their lexile number.  Students in my class are reading books like Sarah Plain and Tall and The Cricket in Times Square.  My group members and I gave our QIWK assessment during this time on Thursday.  The students seem to enjoy the group rotations during reading time and they stay busy with several different activities.  There is also a block of time during the day scheduled for various activities.  Sometimes during this time students can take reading tests on the computer based off of the books they have been reading.  One comment I have is that there is not a lot of time set aside for science and social studies in the curriculum and it must be integrated through math and reading.  It is obvious that Moravian Falls focuses a lot of time on reading and language arts instruction in the classroom.

Curt Assignment 2

1. What grade is Curt in?

Curt is in third grade.

2. What was the flash score for words at: first-grade level? second-grade level? third-grade level?

First-grade level- 75%

Second-grade level-50%

Third-grade level-20%

3. What was the accuracy score at: 1-2 level? 2-1 level? 2-2 level?

1-2 level-97%

2-1 level-90%

2-2 level-84%

4. What was the rate score at: 1-2 level? 2-1 level? 2-2 level?

1-2 level-65wpm

2-1 level-44wpm

2-2 level-36wpm

Look at the spelling scores in Table 5.2 on page 172.

5. What was the percentage correct score for: first-grade words? second-grade words?

First-grade words-60%

Second-grade words-0%

Consider the following expected scores, then compare those expectations to the scores Curt produced. With the Word Recognition Test, flash scores are generally interpreted as follows: 90-100% indicates Independent Level; 60-85% indicates Instruction Level; Below 50% indicates Frustration Level.

With oral reading accuracy, scores are generally interpreted as follows: 98-100% indicates Independent Level; 95-97% indicates Instruction Level; Below 92%   indicates Frustration Level.

With oral reading rate, expected grade-level ranges are as follows:

Grade–Words per minute

1^st–45-85

2^nd–80-120

3^rd–95-135

With spelling scores, around 50% correct indicates Instruction Level.

6. Which grade-level flash score is the best choice for Instruction Level? (*Note: 92-94% accuracy is marginal; take a close look at Rate.)

Curtis is at the Instructional level in first grade at 75%

7. Which grade-level accuracy score is the best choice for Instruction Level?

The first grade accuracy score is the best choice for Curtis at the Instruction Level of 97%

8. What do Curt’s rate scores indicate about his grade-level reading? Where is he instructional according to rate?

Curt’s rate scores indicate that he is sufficient on the 1^st grade level and instructional on the second grade level.

9. What do Curt’s spelling scores indicate about his Instruction Level.

Curt’s scores are at 50% on the first grade level.  He could still use some instruction in this area, but his 0% scores on the second grade level indicate he needs a lot of instruction.

10. Put all of these scores together, and what do they indicate Curt’s reading level to be?

When you put all of these scores together, we see that Curt is at a late 1^st grade reading level.

Frog and Toad- Cookies DRTA Lesson

Opening Questions:

Teacher: The title of this book is Frog and Toad Together and the story we are going to read is called “Cookies.” What do you think Frog and Toad are going to do with the cookies?

Student: Eat them.

Teacher: What is your favorite kind of cookie?

Student: Chocolate Chip.

Teacher: Do you want to read and find out about Frog and Toad’s cookies?

Student: Yes.

Teacher: Why don’t you read pages 30 and 31.

Stop 1

Teacher: Were you right about what Frog and Toad were doing with the cookies?

Student: Yes, they were eating them.

Teacher: How many cookies do you think they are going to eat?

Student: A lot.

Teacher: What do you think is going to happen next with Frog and Toad?

Student: I think they are going to go outside and play.

Teacher: Let’s keep reading and find out.  Why don’t you read pages 32-35.

Stop 2

Teacher: Do you want to change your mind about what happened in the story?

Student: Yes.  They keep eating more cookies.

Teacher: Do you think they are going to get sick from the all of the cookies?

Student: Yes!

Teacher: How many more cookies do you think they will eat?

Student: All of them.

Teacher: Have you ever used will power for something?

Student: I don’t think so.

Teacher: Do you think that Frog and Toad’s will power will be able to keep them from eating anymore of the cookies?

Student: Yes!

Teacher: Well let’s see what happens next and read pages 36-39

Stop 3

Teacher: Were you right about Frog and Toad eating all of the cookies?

Student: They haven’t eaten them yet.

Teacher:  Do you think that the box, string, and the high shelf will keep Frog and Toad from eating the cookies?

Student: No. I think they will still eat the cookies.

Teacher: What do you think Frog and Toad will do next?

Student: Climb up the ladder and eat the cookies.

Teacher: It looks like Frog might fall off the ladder doesn’t it?

Student: Yes he looks scared.

Teacher: Well let’s keep reading and see if we’re right.

Stop 4

Teacher: What happened in the story with the cookies?

Student: They fed them to the birds.

Teacher: Did you think that Frog would give the cookies to the birds?

Student: No.

Teacher: Were Frog and Toad sad that the cookies were gone?

Student: Yes.  They were happy they had will power though.

Teacher: Do you think you will use will power now?

Student: Yes.

Teacher:  I have one last question.  Did you like the story?

Student: Yes I liked it a lot.  I want to read more stories about Frog and Toad.

Rasinksi Assignment

1.    What are the three dimensions of fluency? How can you assess each dimension?

Accuracy in word decoding- Readers must be able to sound out the words in a text with minimal errors.  In terms of skills, this dimension refers to phonics and other strategies for decoding words.

Automatic Processing- Readers need to expend as little mental effort as possible in the decoding aspect of reading so that they can use their finite cognitive resources for meaning making.

Prosodic Reading- The reader must parse the text into syntactically and semantically appropriate units.

2.    Rasinski refers to fluency as a “bridge” between decoding and comprehension. What does he mean by the “bridge” metaphor?

Teachers can normally assess automaticity in decoding by looking at the student’s reading rate.  If a reader is fluent they are able to read for comprehension and not just to decode words.  Fluency becomes the “bridge” in decoding and comprehension.

3.    What instructional methods does Rasinski suggest for students with difficulties in automatic and prosodic reading?

Rasinski uses assisted readings and repeated readings as two methods to improve reading fluency.  After reading a passage aloud in assisted reading, a student then follows along.  This happens first silently, then aloud, and then as a group.  Repeated reading helps to build fluency among readers.  These methods are coupled with coaching.

4.    Multidimensional Fluency Scale (MFS) is used to measure prosodic quality of oral reading. List components of the MFS and describe briefly what each refers to (p. 49).

There are four components of the MFS.  Each of them is divided into 4 stages which have been summarized in order, below.

Expression and Volume- Quiet reading just to get the words out.  Focus remains on word pronunciation.  Expressionless reading that slowly turns into reading with expression.

Phrasing- Monotone, word by word reading.  Choppy reading with run-ons.  Good phrasing and expression.

Smoothness- Extended pauses and hesitations.  Experiences rough spots and breaks smooth rhythms.  Reads smoothly with some breaks.

Pace- Reads slowly, then moderately slowly, then at an uneven fast and slow pace.  Reads at an appropriate conversational pace.