The 6th grade class that I am observing is reading and writing an essay on the short story "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros. The responses to the questions below reflect the lesson that is associated with the short story.
What texts and materials do teachers have in their classrooms that support students' development of fluent reading?
I noticed my observing teacher has a lot of visual aids set up on the walls around the room. This includes, but is not limited to individualized terms and definitions of: visualize, connect, questions, evaluate, etc to think about while reading a story. Also on the walls were definitions verbs, conjunctions, nouns, adverbs, etc to help with essay writing. The room also has a class library for students to access, which included books, short stories, newspapers, etc.
How do they select vocabulary to teach in all areas of your curriculum?
The observing teacher uses Tier 2 words from the short story "Eleven."
How much time do they allocate to word study?
The observing teacher allocates word study 3 times a week during the Do Now.
What word study routines do they teach and encourage their students to use?
The observing teacher incorporates a vocabulary bingo and review before a test.
How do they differentiate instruction and tasks based on their students' needs?
The observing teacher uses iPad games and small group instruction to differentiate the vocabulary.
We do an entire activity called fast forward on ipads, and it is the most concentrated we see students sometimes. It is nice to see a practicing teacher using technology to engage the students.
ReplyDeleteIt seemed that the students regularly used them, but it was a privilege. Do students went to other sites the iPads would be taken away.
ReplyDeleteI like that your cooperating teacher uses visual aids on the wall. Students that are daydreaming are bound to learn something through osmosis :).
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that your cooperating teacher utilizes iPad games. Unfortunately, most classrooms I observed in my area did not have access to technology outside of a smartboard and projector.
ReplyDeleteGinny,
ReplyDeleteMy building has a set of iPads per grade and are shared throughout the grade. Beyond that there are not many other forms of technology.
Hello Kylie,
ReplyDeleteIt is always great when students have visuals. I like how the teacher incorporates word study the majority of the week. I also like the idea of iPad games. I wish my students had iPads.
~Monique