Emily Stamper

EDT 346E
Reflection Week #7
04/06/2015
This week, Bryden did not have school on Friday. The lesson includes one strategy and
one assessment, which were completed on Wednesday.
What Was Successful:
The time management for this lesson went really well. In the past, we have been rushed
for time and had difficulty accomplishing everything that needed to be completed. I intentionally
planned out the time for the assessment, lesson, and independent reading so that we would be
able to complete all activities without feeling rushed. Bryden and I were really able to enjoy our
independent reading at the end of the session. We read I Need My Monster by Amanda Nell.
Bryden enjoyed looking at the pictures, connecting them to the story, and made many personal
comments that connected the story to his life, like how he used to worry about monsters in his
room too. This really helped reaffirm to him that reading is enjoyable.
Prior to doing the assessment, I casually asked Bryden about his weekend in order to help
him begin thinking of a story to write about. He told me about fixing a window in his clubhouse.
Once I explained the writing rubric assessment to him, he had difficulty coming up with a topic
to write about. I reminded him that he just told me a story about his weekend, and he decided
that would be a good story to write about. I also had Bryden read his story to me once he was
finished. Not only did he enjoy rereading the story aloud, but I was also able to know exactly
what he was writing so that I could compare it to the rubric later.
The read-aloud for the lesson also went well. I chose the book Scaredy Squirrel by
Melanie Watt because I knew Bryden would think the squirrel was funny, the pictures were
interactive and engaging, and there were many words at his instructional level to use for a
vocabulary lesson. Bryden did enjoy the book. He was thoroughly engaged during the reading.
He made predictions about what would happen next and offered suggestions as to what the
squirrel could do to not be afraid anymore. We had good discussions about how to use context to
figure out the meaning of a new word. Bryden had never used a dictionary before, so I was able
to introduce that to him in an interactive way. He copied the word advantage from the book
into the dictionary app; then, he chose to have the app read the definition aloud to him. Even
though this is something he may not use independently for a while, he has at least had exposure
to it and will be familiar with the concept when he will be able to use it on his own.
What Was Unsuccessful:
The teacher modeling portion of the strategy was not as successful as I intended it to be.
Bryden enjoys talking, and he is extremely interested in being an active part in the lesson.
Whenever I do the teacher modelling, he often does not pay attention or will interact with me
while I am modeling. As a result, he does not always understand what he is to do when it is time
for the guided and independent practice. I need to work on making it clear that he needs to watch

me model the strategy so that he knows what to do when it is time for him to do it on his own.
This will give him time to practice listening skills, as well.
Before the assessment, I told Bryden the expectations that I had for his writing such as
using capitalization, spacing, punctuation, and having a clear beginning, middle, and end. Bryden
did not seem to understand what I was referring to when I mentioned those three elements of a
story. Instead of elaborating, I told him that he could start writing. He took several minutes to
write two sentences then looked at me. I asked if he was finished, and he said that he could go
on all day and even on the back. However, he decided to just leave it with two sentences. His
story did not align with the rubrics standard for a simple beginning, middle, and end. While the
assessment did tell me that Bryden needs instruction on constructing simple stories, I do not
know if that is because he does not understand those elements or if the instructions for the
assessment were unclear. In order to make the assessment more effective, I should have better
clarified the directions.
Assessment & Strategy Data:
The assessment for this week was the first grade writing rubric. I asked Bryden to think
of something he did this past weekend or was going to do this coming weekend and write about
it. We reviewed the components of good writing, and I provided him with lined paper and a
pencil. He wrote two sentences about fixing the window in his clubhouse. For the first category,
content, Bryden wrote about being in his clubhouse and fixing the window. He did not support
his idea with any details, but he did use complete sentences. He scored a three in that category. In
the category of organization he received a three. His story contained a simple beginning and end
but lacked a middle. The last category was conventions. Bryden displayed most of the
conventions that are appropriate for his grade level. He capitalized the first letter in each
sentence and ended both sentences with a period. He spelled me, and, the, is, and I
correctly. His attempts to spell unfamiliar words were phonetically based. For example, he
spelled window as widow, busted as bustid, and were as wr. His handwriting,
however, is not completely legible, and he did not make spaces between any of his words. He
received a four in that category. Overall, Bryden received a ten out of twelve for the writing
rubric, which is appropriate for his age and grade level.
The objective for the strategy was for Bryden to independently define two words from
our read-aloud and also make two connections with the word. He would dictate the meanings to
me, and I would write them on the card. The first card he did was for the word predictable. I
chose this word for him. He decided to use the context of the story to understand the meaning.
He learned that predictable means that it happens the same way all the time. He related this
to his life by saying, I predict that whenever I get home, I am going to my clubhouse. I gave
him the option to choose a word for the second card. He chose the word advantage. He
examined the page with the word on it and then chose to look it up using the dictionary app.
After listening to the definition, he decided advantage means Something that is good and can
help you. He connected this word to his life by saying an advantage is that I go to school and
learn. Both of Brydens cards clearly explained what both of the words meant. Thus, Bryden
met the objective.

Improvements to Promote Language and Literacy Development:

As I was reading Scaredy Squirrel with Bryden, I realized there were many different skills
that could be developing through that reading. Since he was interested in the book, we could
have had discussions about story development and how authors make stories interesting by
adding details. We could have incorporated the idea of beginning, middle, and end by discussing
the plot, problem, and solution.
There were also many words that were at his instructional level that we did not talk about
because of lack of time. Every time I mentioned something or read a page, it reminded Bryden of
a story he wanted to share. Unfortunately, I was not able to listen to all of his stories because we
needed to complete the lesson. He appears to be an auditory learner and enjoys learning through
verbal interactions. A way to capitalize on this strength and build his vocabulary would be to
identify unknown words within the story and construct an understanding of the word through
personal meaning and context. Once we have learned about these new words, Bryden could
dictate his own story with those same words. This would really allow him to personalize the
words and become familiar with them. He would also receive practice writing and storytelling.
The young nature of children often thrives through exploration. While I wanted Bryden to
be able to explore the meaning of the words through the dictionary app, this was only one means
of finding information. It was also more complex than he would be able to do on his own.
Providing Bryden with other sources of information and methods of exploration could have led
him to a more meaningful discovery of the meaning of the words. For example, we could have
chosen a word and read it within several different stories and contexts. Then used all of the
contexts to uncover the meaning of the word. This would definitely make the word familiar, and
it would reinforce his understanding of that word as well.