Ed 325 Field Experience Focus Questions

Directions: Carefully review your field experience journal entries.

Summarize your experience by writing a brief response to each of the
following focus questions. Use examples when possible.
1. Assessing student literacy (listening speaking reading and/or
writing) strengths and deficits
How has the teacher determined the literacy (listening, speaking,
reading and/or writing) needs of the students in her or his classroom
Reports on the unique characteristics and learning needs of diverse
learners (age, gender, culture, or ability) in the classroom? What
assessments have been given or could have been given and/or what
data have been examined or could have been examined?
A: Mrs. Stedeford determines the literacy needs by collecting
data on the mastery of their site words. She has a system in
place that includes an informative check of knowledge. As an
assisting teacher, I contributed to this process by writing my
initials by sections that were completed, and providing any
additional notes about certain struggles the student might
have faced in the particular section of the workbook reviewed.
The work that we as classroom volunteers accomplished was
mainly to bring the lower-level reader up to the standards
established by the classroom teacher through supplemental
literacy work and activities. This model covers the needs of
students with varying learning needs. We, as student teachers,
would creatively assess the students individual needs as we
got to better know them and their habits. The work we did
(aside from the games that we didnt record any data for)
consisted of small, informal formative assessments.
2. Describing student literacy strengths and deficits
Describe the literacy strengths and needs demonstrated by the
students you observed. How have their needs affected their academic
performance? Their attitudes toward reading and writing? Their
interactions with peers? Their motivations?
A: The students I observed and worked with really did have a
wide range of strengths and deficits when it came to their
literacy needs. Most were able to identify grade level sight
words, but some were really lacking in fluency. Although
understandable at the first grade level, when unchecked and
addressed, not being able to instantly recognize certain key
words slows down the overall process of learning how to read,
which effects almost all areas of academic growth (with the
possible exception of math). Not being able to read at a similar
rate with their peers will ultimately deter them from enjoying
reading, and therefore, writing.

3. Incorporating the PA Common Core Standards in English

Language Arts
Were the PA Core Standards in English Language Arts being addressed
in the classroom you observed? If so, which ones? If none were used,
which ones could have been used in this classroom?
A: A number of PA Common Core Standards in English
Language Arts were addressed through these observations.
They include the following:
CC.1.1.1.C: Demonstrate understanding of spoken words,
syllables, and sounds (phonemes). Distinguish long from
short vowel sounds in spoken single-syllable words. Count,
pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken and written
words. Orally produce single-syllable words, including
consonant blends and digraphs. Isolate and pronounce
initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in spoken
single-syllable words. Add or substitute individual sounds
(phonemes) in one-syllable words to make new words.
CC.1.1.1.E: Read with accuracy and fluency to support
comprehension: Read on-level text with purpose and
understanding. Read on-level text orally with accuracy,
appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings. Use
context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and
understanding, rereading as necessary.
CC.1.3.1.A: Read stories, including key details, and
demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
The first two standards were most often used when practicing
sight words with the students, while that last standard work
well for the work I did in listening/reading with some of the
students.
4. Employing literacy strategies
What literacy strategies has the teacher employed or could have
employed to assist students with reading and writing? What strategies
were YOU able to use in working with individual or small groups of
students? How successful were you in designing and teaching
your two literacy lessons? Given the opportunity to teach these
lessons again, what would you repeat and what would you change?
A: I saw the teachers employ a number of strategies, like using
picture cues during whole group instruction, direct instruction
coupled with repetition, and even telling stories that relate to
a given them/concept/word being taught as part of a language
arts lesson. Making the world of literacy a part of their own
world involves the extra steps in pedagogical creativity.
Reading, writing, and speaking are not skills that children

normally take an instant liking to, so its very important during

those formative years (which covers the ages I, for the most
part, worked with) to get children excited about these
processes that will pose for them a challenge. For the lessons I
taught, I was able to employ a few different strategies. For the
puzzle lesson, I used pictures and visuals to link certain sight
words together that I thought had consistent patterns. My
hope in doing this was to give them a subconscious visual
connection to certain patterns I found helpful in identifying the
given sets of sight words. For the marshmallow bingo activity, I
used call-response repetition in asking my students to sound
out the words before they were allowed to identify them on
their bingo sheets. This, in turn, allowed them to both read
and produce aloud the given sight words. If I could have taught
these lessons again, I would have preferred smaller groups
than I was given for the puzzle activity, and a larger group for
the marshmallow bingo activity. I would not change my basic
approaches to these lessons, as they turned out quite well.
5. Using engaging resources
Describe the types of literature students were reading in this
classroom? What other types of resources were used in this classroom
to teach literacy? Were they engaging? What resources did you find in
the library that can foster a love of reading and writing?
A: The literature I helped students to read was varied. A
couple of times the teachers would hand me a particular book
that I was supposed to help them read. At other times, the
teacher would have them bring a book that had picked from
the library to read to me. Almost all of the books were picture
books, except for the enrichments students who read their
chapter books to me. I though most of the reading was quite
engaging, especially the selections the children were able to
pick because these works suited their interests. At the library I
observed, I found a number of resources that would engage
children to foster a love of reading and writing. Feel free to
refer to the section I composed on my experience at the
Greensburg Hempfield Public Library.
6. Using technology to enhance literacy
Did the teacher or you utilize technology and/or other resources to
enhance literacy skills? Describe the type of technology and/or
resources used. If no tools of were being used to enhance literacy,
what types of resources could be beneficial for the students you
observed?
A: Most of the teachers projected their books/lessons using a
Smart board (all the classrooms at Hutchinson Elementary are
equipped with them). I think iPads would be useful as
supplements for literacy lessons. Some of the student interns

used iPads in their lessons, so the children definitely had a

chance to work with with those devices. I think audiobooks or
a listening center might also be beneficial, but I did not find
any of those in the classrooms I observed.
7. Reflecting on this experience
How has this experience changed the way you will approach your own
teaching? How has it changed the way you view the students in your
classroom? What was the most valuable insight you gained through
this experience?
A: This experience has made me realize just how important
and useful additional co-teachers, student teachers, and
learning support teachers can be to the learning process. The
first grade classrooms I worked in were very diversified when it
came to the type of learning. Mrs. Stedefords class and her
co-teachers class dont have a wall between them, and as
many as three Learning to Read students, and up to two
additional teachers could all be using the same space at the
same time. This is the reality of teaching today, for better or
for worse. I think it has its advantages in addressing the
individual learning needs of students, but can also be a very
distracting environment for whole class instruction. I think the
most valuable insight I have gained from these observations is
that students are resilient when you give them the confidence
to succeed. It was very obvious that days when I was energetic
and positive, learning was taking place at a faster rate, as
oppose to days when I showed up and was tired and/or
unmotivated. In other words, students will only learn as much
as what their teachers put in to the learning process.