Classroom Modeling Lesson 2

3rd Grade
READ 680

Assignment Details:
This assignment allows you the opportunity to serve in the everyday role of a coach or a
specialist. You will model a literacy technique for two different classroom teachers. One lesson
should be at the primary level and the second should be at the upper elementary or secondary
level.
The first step is to meet with the classroom teacher to determine a literacy need based on
the teacher’s assessment data. Another option is to meet with the teacher and discuss a technique
she/he is interested in learning more about. The model lessons should NOT be based on a lesson
that you enjoy teaching or a lesson that you think the teacher needs.
Submit your lesson plans, photos of you teaching the lesson (student faces not visible),
and your reflections to the questions below. You may use any lesson plan format to write your
lesson plans. A lesson plan format is also available for you in Canvas.

Link to ILA Standards in this assignment:

Lesson Plan:

SOL: 3.3 The student will apply word-analysis skills when reading.
a) Use knowledge of regular and irregular vowel patterns.
b) Decode regular multisyllabic words.

Objective: The student will be able to identify and read closed and open syllables with 80%
accuracy or above.

Formative Assessment: Record % accuracy on Syllable Sort activity

Materials:
Activities:

1. Demonstrate open and closed syllables with folding cards. Have students chorally read word
cards. Intro vowel-consonant-e syllable with final two folding cards. Discuss characteristics of
VCe syllables.

2. Review closed and open syllable types with Venn diagram. Have students sort attributes and
examples of the syllable types.

3. Syllable Sort: Model how to complete the activity with 3 words. Then have students sort on
the interactive whiteboard for guided practice.
https://wordwall.net/resource/3419583/english/closed-open-vce-syllable-sort

4. Open vs. Closed Syllable Board Game: Divide students into 2 teams. Make an open and
closed spinner on the iPad using https://www.superteachertools.us/spinner/. Students may
advance to the next open word that matches the syllable type that they spun.

Photo:
Post-lesson Reflection:
Please respond to the following seven questions after each of your modeling lessons.

1. Why did you model this lesson? Please specifically speak to the steps you took to connect
with the teacher for consultation. (5.1) 2 points

Following the initial observation, I asked the teacher if I could teach a lesson to her third
graders, and she selected the skill and students. For my lesson, I modeled teaching
syllable types to a small group needing remediation. Several of the teacher’s students are
struggling to distinguish between closed and open syllables in single syllable words, so I
planned activities that would reinforce this skill.

2. What instructional techniques did you choose for this lesson and why did you choose
them? Please justify your choices by explaining how they are relevant to the identified
physical (environment), social (group dynamics), emotional (maturity levels, student
sensitivity), cultural (student interests, languages), and intellectual (achievement levels)
needs of the students. (5.1) 2 points

For this lesson, the concept was not new to the students. They have been working with
syllable types and syllable division for several weeks. The group of students selected by
the teacher for this remediation lesson have particular difficulty recognizing open and
closed syllables and decoding using the correct vowel sound. They are still ‘using but
 confusing’ the terminology and attributes of the syllables. A small-group format was
used since they exhibit similar levels of achievement. In the lesson, I began by using
folding word cards to provide a concrete model of open and closed syllables, and we
discussed the differences in the syllable types. In the second activity, the students
completed a digital word sort requiring them to locate vowels and determine the syllable
type. The next activity was a Venn diagram that required the children to sort both
attributes and examples of the syllable types, thus requiring a higher level of thinking. In
the lesson, the activities progressively got harder and transferred more of the
responsibility for learning to the children. Finally, I ended the lesson by playing a board
game in teams that required the students to identify syllable types and read words. It
provided additional practice yet in a different format. Overall, the students exhibited age-
appropriate emotional development and social skills, and they were able to engage in
turn-taking and played a game well with each other. Since the children are younger than
my own students, I chose a variety of shorter activities to maintain their focus and
attention. With this group, there was no need to modify the lesson due to cultural or
language differences. Overall, this lesson was designed for remediation and focuses on
student achievement; however, it is only one component of the students’ language arts
instruction, and other needs are met through activities in the general education classroom.

3. How did this lesson meet the needs of the learners in the classroom? Please speak to any
other identified student needs not addressed in the question above. (5.1) 2 points

Since the students in this group were having difficulty identifying syllable types and
dividing multisyllabic words, this lesson met the needs of the students by reviewing the
syllable types in single syllable words. In order to decode multisyllabic words, the
learners needed some scaffolding to master the attributes of open and closed syllables
prior to applying the skill in longer words. The activities in the lesson provided guided
practice for the students and were progressively more difficult,

4. How were students engaged in this lesson? Please specifically address how a variety of
print and digital materials were considered and selected to provide opportunities for
student choice and engagement, as well as, how digital technologies were considered and
selected to enhance instruction. (5.2 and 5.3) 6 points.

When selecting materials for the lesson, I focused on a mixture of print and digital
materials that isolate and reinforce the objective for the lesson (identify and read closed
and open syllables). In this lesson, both individual and group activities were
incorporated, and a mixture of student response styles (e.g. individual, choral, writing on
interactive whiteboard) were utilized to keep students engaged throughout the lesson.
Both print and digital activities required students to identify and read closed syllable
words, and the Venn diagram required students to compare and contrast the syllable
types. The activities chosen were designed to provide multiple opportunities for student
practice and feedback. When selecting a digital activity for the lesson, I chose one that
directly supported the objective and provided immediate feedback as the students sorted
words. During the lesson, several brief activities were used to maintain student focus and
attention, while still providing repetition of the targeted skill, and the tasks became
 progressively harder. I do not know these children very well, which makes planning a
lesson for them more challenging; however, I was very pleased with how well they
participated and remained on task throughout the lesson.

5. What was the important aspect of the lesson you hope the teacher understood? Why was
that aspect of the lesson so important? Please justify the importance by explaining how it
addresses and leverages identified student needs to result in positive, literacy-rich
learning that fits the routines, grouping structures, and interactions of the learning
environment. (5.4) 2 points

The most important aspect of the lesson that I hope the teacher understood was the need
for repetition and guided practice. Struggling students require more exposures to new
words before they are able to automatically recognize them, and they often require more
practice with new information before it is transferred to long-term memory. They also
need to be able to perform skills accurately before being expected to work independently.
By investing more time in guided practice, the students are more likely to be successful
when performing tasks on their own.

6. How would you encourage the teacher to use or implement this technique into her
instruction? This is your chance to explain how you would facilitate the teacher’s efforts
to maintain this literacy-learning environment fit for their students by setting them up for
future success. (5.4) 2 points

In the future, I would encourage the teacher to incorporate ways to practice skills
repeatedly in multiple modalities (speaking, listening, writing, and reading) to help her
students master concepts more easily. Struggling readers generally benefit from
increased guided practice and will be more successful when expected to work
independently if they have received adequate support beforehand. The activities can be
simple, but I have found both novelty and variety help keep learners engaged and
motivated. I could facilitate the teacher’s efforts by sharing ideas and resources related to
word-level reading.

7. How would you continue to support this teacher in her instructional delivery? This is
your chance to explain how you would facilitate the teacher’s efforts to maintain this
literacy learning environment fit for their students by offering a plan for ongoing support.
(5.4) 2 points

I feel the teacher is already quite knowledgeable about reading and skilled in her
instructional delivery. She mainly needs help with breaking tasks into even smaller
components and ideas for struggling students. In her situation, I would serve as a
resource to listen and discuss ideas with as needs arise. We could also try co-teaching
lessons in the future if she is interested.