During this practicum, so far, I have worked with three students. Two of them I have worked with a bit more than the third person. I have found out quite a bit about each of them and have tried my hardest to make the learning material relevant to their reading levels and interests. Here is what I have found:
Student number one is very talkative and always expresses his opinions (appropriate or not). He is also very eager get work done and has shown he is very interested in what we are doing. He has told me that he likes to work on cars and said it would be very cool to incorporate them into his project. He told me his future goals include going to a college in Texas for certification to work on cars. He is actually from Texas but his family moved here for work. He is Hispanic and stays particularly close with his culture. He has played many sports in school. My second day of working with him, he mentioned that if anyone complements him, they must touch the article of clothing they complemented or he will be cursed. At first I wasn’t sure I believed him, but his teacher seemed pretty serious when telling me to be aware of that. I also learned, as a tenth grader he, is expecting his first child this year and the reason why he is at the center is because of aggression issues.
The second student is much more relaxed. He is also Hispanic and expressed that his culture and traditions are very important to him. He is also from Texas and plans to move back someday. I found out he is in 6th grade and is a decent reader. He has asked me to allow him to read more but isn’t shy to ask for help when needed. This student is very reserved in participation and doesn’t express having much initiative for doing schoolwork. He seems to be much mor...
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...cond book is Discovering Drawing by Rose and Mahan-Cox. I use this one if I feel we need more information. My final source is a set of worksheets that correlate with the elements and have additional readings to remind the students of what they read.
When reading with these students, I have tried to assess how the students read independently. I did this by asking them to read a small segment on a page and watched them. I could tell when they weren’t reading. I’ve found that these students do really well with reading out loud and discussing what they read immediately after. I use this and then apply it worksheets in one day, then review the next time. I plan on using the cube I made to review the elements before we start our projects. In using this I feel it will really help my students get active while applying the terms we are covering in a fun and exciting way.
The poem “Students,” by Tom Wayman and the story, “Crow Lake,” by Mary Lawson presents two teachers who cope with the same difficulties of teaching. Although the teachers are faced with identical circumstances, their resolutions for the problem vary. Wayman, in the poem, and the narrator in the story both fails to make connection with their students, however, Wayman understands his students’ behavior while the narrator refuses to communicate and simply gives up on teaching.
On page 4, we read “Deep-sea Treasure Hunters” by Ramona Rivera. Students once again participated in reading, except one = student (Kristina) who claimed she did not like to read aloud. However, she did answer a few questions. I had students underline what they thought the central idea and supporting details of the story were. Afterwards, they shared their answers and explained why they choose certain sentences/phrases to underline as each. We also filled out the chart on the page
Personal Reflection: To me, it seems as though readability is a very tough aspect to measure success or failure. I feel that the best possible way is to read the same passage 3 times through out the year and record progression. I am currently a high school JV soccer coach and I use this formula every year with my soccer teams. I watch them play in the beginning of the year in a game and I assess them. I then figure out what needs to be worked on and we practice that day in and day out. I watch them again mid-season and do the same procedure again. I watch them a final time at the end of the year and see how much we have progressed. This is, to me, the best way to see if someone is understanding something and how much they are learning. I think that I was a great idea for them to switch the study to this formula. Making them read different passages that are harder each time would be like me taking my soccer team and making them play against beginners, then high school varsity and then pro teams and then looking to see how they have progressed. Im sure by the time they play the pro team, they are going to look pretty awful.
According to “Cognitive Development and Learning in Instructional Contexts,” by James P. Byrnes, in order to best predict a students reading achievement, it is best to see if children are able to repeat stories that were just so recently read to them. This is a better way of assessing the students than any digital span. (Byrnes, 2007, p. 175) With this in mind, I asked questions that provoked a lot of thought and guided the conversations. I also implemented turn to talk into my lesson to hear what the students were saying to their peers about the story as
Once we began our pre-assessment activity, the children were able to respond to my questions about ‘what words begin with the letter C?’ and these responses were added to the anchor chart and later review. The book was a great addiction as well to the conclusion of this week and they had fun while I was reading and participated as I ask them question about the text. The craft activity and center was a great addiction to our routine, the students enjoyed both of the
most likely will not succeed because of the environment they are surrounded by. A student has trouble
Offer breaks during tasks that require sustained attention. Present small chunks of new information that contain many details and allow for consolidation of information before presenting more new information. Encourage use of a graphic organizer prior to writing tasks so that student can think through his ideas out loud and in writing. Allow the student to discuss his/her understanding of a new concept as this helps them to make connections. Encourage students to read out loud to maintain attention and improve comprehension. Edit essays by reading out loud. Use dictation software programs to prepare essays or research projects, this will serve to improve and maintain flow of ideas. Provide audible books or books on tape. Color code school materials. Break down a multi-step assignment into smaller assignments with short-term
Learning my student’s abilities, interest, aspirations, and values of learning and development can be the most beneficial to understanding how to personalize my lessons. Supporting my students learning development is a must. I will set a community environment, by building trust and rapport amongst the class (Powel, 2000). To learn and determine my student’s strengths and needs I will develop a learning profile on each of them. This learning profile will include tabs such as: biological traits, cultural, social status, academic performance, and learning preferences. To help analyze the necessary information I will use different assessments, parent surveys, student self-reporting, prior standards learned, student records, assignments, and activities to determine knowledge, understanding, skills, and interest. Once the profiles have been made I will then use students preexisting and potential interest, experiences, and their way of thinking to personalize and relate lessons to each leaners, learning level and style (Powel,
As an adult we know that we must work for everything that we have. Some students may not realize that this is a very important value. If a student does not do his or her work they know they will not get fired. The punishment for a student not doing their work usually results in failing grades, and the student being forced to repeat the course or the grade. Students know they have a cushion until they are at least 18 years of age. In the work force if an employee we know that if we do not do our jobs or if we leave tasks incomplete we could get fired. I would like to teach Ricky the importance of doing his work and turning in completed assignments. If I could get Ricky to buy into this by telling him how this type of behavior could lead to being unemployed he may accept the challenge and start working to his full potential. Ricky must also understand that communication with his classmates is very important. It will help him transition to the workforce easier if he is able to communicate with his peers, which one day will be his
The teacher has been using district reading series, cooperative grouping for reading activities, using card to follow while reading, cueing before asking questions as well as sticker chart for hand raising and working while in his seat, which has helped.
An Informal Reading Inventory is a great tool for teachers to use with their students to assess multiple concepts. One purpose of the IRI is to monitor the growth of a student’s word recognition, oral reading, and comprehension to determine the reading level of independent, instructional, and frustration. The frustration level is when the passage is too hard for the student even with help from the teacher. Instructional reading level is when a student can read the text with the assistance from a teacher, parent, or peer. Independent means that the student can read the passage alone with no outside help. When teachers administer these tests they can pick the level of the passage given and use the results to help decide how to further instruct
Reading goals must be realistic. Students will not engage if the reading is not authentic. I want to encourage my students in reading and give them the tools they need to succeed while allowing them to choose what they read. I also want to implement different reading assessments that are creative rather than just textbook responses. Genuine reading experiences will help my students find their own passion for reading. These experiences may come from allowing students to pick their own books, having parent involvement, giving specific feedback, or alternative ways of assessment. I believe the more options I give my readers the more realistic my chances of connecting with them are.
Child A is a forty month old male pupil at this setting and attends regularly for five mornings a week since September 2011. He has two siblings and he is the middle child. He lives with his siblings and both parents. He is one of the younger children in his nursery year. He has not yet formed any friendships with his peers at the setting and children are wary of him due to his unpredictable volatility. His behaviour has also been ...
...alance is between teaching content and developing skills and attitudes of my students. How many different ability levels and modalities of learning can I accommodate in a single classroom? These and many more questions linger as I conclude the practicum experience.
My main goal as a teacher is primarily to provide students with the knowledge that will help them further excel in their everyday lives, but also to teach students to apply the knowledge they gained and take advantage of opportunities that will enrich their lives. Many times, students learn better when they feel a certain subject is relevant in their lives. I feel that it is important to have a curriculum that is based on the student’s interest, experience and capabilities. Having a textbook integrated in a curriculum is important, but a student will have a better understanding of the subject area when experience is involved. Although there are many different techniques to education, I feel that the philosophy of progressivism and essentialism best fits my style and belief of teaching. These teaching philosophies focus around student needs, democracy, and the basics of education.