Classroom Observation #5 Teaching a Lesson

I have been working closely with Mrs. Burnette this semester in her first grade classroom. Before deciding whether I would teach the lesson individually or co-teach a lesson with Mrs. Burnette I asked her to review some of the lessons I had already written. Mrs. Burnette felt that my lesson plan Hibernation, which was designed to help students determine or clarify the meaning of words in a text, would be the most appropriate lesson to teach. She stated that it would be appropriate because it would be a good extension to the reading strategies her students were currently working on. Mrs. Burnette recommended that I teach the lesson independently stating she was comfortable with my abilities. She also commented on how well written and detailed the lesson plan was, so that helped boost my confidence level. During the lesson, the class seemed engaged. The children were able to follow my directions, they raised their hands when they were unsure of a word and were eager to share what they thought the unknown word meant and what clues they used to come up with their answers. During independent practice some of the students lost their focus, they would select a book and just look through it instead of reading it. However the students who did remain focused during independent practice were quite successful using this strategy. Most of these students used clues from the illustrations to determine what the unknown words meant. I think is very appropriate for first grade reading levels. Overall I was satisfied with how the lesson went but to improve upon it I think it would be better if I presented it to smaller groups instead of the whole class (possibly during guided reading).

Hibernation Hibernation provides information about animals that hibernate and how they stay alive during the winter months. Amazing pictures bring the text to life and draw young readers into the book. Freed, K. Hibernation.DOI: www.readinga-z.com Title of Lesson: Hibernation Jill Shea

Preservice Teacher Name

Grade 1 Academic Subject Area English Language Arts/Reading Academic Subject Standard Code: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.1.4 Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text. Materials: The book Hibernation by Kira Freed Dry erase board and marker/Smartboard Notebook/paper for each student Pencil for each student A selection of books for the students to choose from making sure to have enough for everyone and ensuring they are not too easy (must contain unknown words)

Focus & Review

I will begin the lesson by inviting the students to circle to hear a story. I will explain to the students that during the story they are to listen very carefully and raise their hand if they hear a word that they have never heard before or a word that they do not know the meaning of. I will also explain that sometimes the story or illustrations in a book give clues to the meaning of an unknown word. I will tell them that if there are words in the story that they are unsure of we are going to be

detectives and try to figure out what they mean. Lesson Objective Students should be able to: Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text.

Teacher Input

I will introduce the book Hibernation by Kira Freed. I will then have a discussion with the class to determine their background knowledge. I will ask if they have heard this word before, what they think it means, what animals they associate with hibernation, and what happens to animals when they hibernate. I will then begin to read the book page by page allowing enough time for students to raise their hand if they hear an unfamiliar word. Expected Vocabulary Burrow Migrate Predator Scarce Sound (when used as an adjective) Survive

Guided Practice

As the students tell me which words they are unsure of I will write them on the board. I will then reread the page and have the students listen for clues about the words meanings then we will look at the illustrations and see if we can find any clues from them. For example when we come across the word burrow the book states that Hibernating snakes sleep underground in burrows. First I will have the children listen for clue words within the text. In this sentence underground would be a clue. Next I will have them look at the picture to see if there are any more clues.

The picture is of a snake peeking out of a small hole in the ground. Through class discussion we will determine the meaning of the word. I will write what we have determined the meaning to be on the board next to the word. We will continue to work as a class until we reach the last page or two of the book. At this time I will ask the students to list any unfamiliar words on the papers in front of them. I will still reread the pages and make sure to show the pictures again as well but now I will then ask the students to try to determine the meaning of the word on their own. I will instruct them to write what they think on their paper after I reread the page. We will then discuss their responses as a class. Independent Practice At this point in the lesson I will have the students select a book to read on their own. They will be instructed to find three words that they are unfamiliar with and try to determine the meanings on their own.

Closure

I will ask the class the following questions: What did we do to help us figure out the meaning of a word we were unsure of? Do you think this can help us when we are reading other stories? I will also ask for volunteers to share their independent work.

Assessment

By observing the children during guided practice, their responses to the independent practice, and the answers to the questions asked at closure I will be able to assess the childrens understanding of the lesson. Limit the amount of words the child is

Adaptations & Modifications

expected to learn. Have the student work with a peer. I would try to pair the students in heterogeneous groupings so that each pair has a student who has a better understanding of the concept than the other. Fast Finishers Allow those children to try to use our new words in sentences. The amount of sentences would be dependent on time allowances but I would not think there would be enough time to complete more than three. Allow them to help other students, pairing them with a student who is having difficulty completing the assignment.