Decker 1 Hannah Decker CEP 804 2 May 2014 Teaching Reading Section I: Information About Students The inquiry

unit lesson was taught to a high risk second grade class. The class is composed of 13 students ages seven-eight; six boys and seven girls. Of the 13 students there is one male student with an IEP. He is qualified for special education under OHI for ADHD. The student receives services in a kindergarten through third grade resource room for reading, writing, and math. During instruction the student may stare into space, move about the room, or refuse to participate. The student often needs reinforcement and scaffolding from teachers to complete assignments. In addition, assignments may be accommodated for him. Although he is the only student in the class who is qualified for special education, other students are below grade level in reading and math. Four students received possible retention notices at the end of the second marking period. Three of these students also receive reading instruction from the building reading specialist in addition to their classroom instruction. Another student within the classroom is a selective mute and is currently being evaluated for special education. The student communicates with peers and teachers using limited sign language. In addition, there are ESL students in the class. When planning the inquiry unit it was important to take into consideration the characteristics of all of the students in the class in order to meet their individual learning needs. Section II: Pre-reading Strategies Goals My goal for pre-reading was to teach students strategies they could use before reading any of the text to think about the books topic and what they already knew about the topic. I wanted students to use strategies to activate background knowledge. In addition, I wanted students to apply pre-reading strategies they already used with fiction to non-fiction books. I wanted students to recognize that they could notice things and begin forming ideas of what they might learn without reading any of the text. Lesson Prior to the lesson I divided students into five groups based on their reading levels. Utilizing the reading system Fountas & Pinnell I was able to find leveled non-fiction texts about an animal for each group. I began the lesson by introducing a book I was going to read to the class, All About Dolphins. I explained that I wanted to learn about dolphins and had found the book. Before I began reading I asked students if they could give me any information that they already knew about dolphins. As students shared facts about dolphins I recorded their responses on a sheet

Decker 2 titled What I Already Know. Once students had finished sharing I asked what students usually did with a book before they read it. Students discussed the strategy of a picture walk that they completed in reading groups. I modeled a picture walk, commenting on the pictures and making predictions. After the picture walk I told students that I noticed some other features throughout the book. I went back through the text and discussed with the class the non-fiction text features and how they could also be used to make predictions. Throughout the activity I recorded my predictions on a Pre-reading Organizer. Then I divided the class into the five reading books and introduced the non-fiction texts they would be reading. Each student completed a What I Already Know sheet about their animal. Then they completed a Pre-reading Organizer based on the predictions they made while previewing the pictures and non-fiction text features. Reflection and Critique Students were very engaged and interactive throughout the teacher model of pre-reading strategies. When students broke into their groups and began completing the What I Already Know it was obvious that some students knew more about their animals than others. When students struggled thinking of any prior knowledge I encouraged them to draw a picture of their animal. We talked about being able to draw a picture meant that the student already knew about what they looked like and the different parts of the animal. When filling the Pre-reading Organizer with predictions it was clear that students had a lot of experience predicting based on pictures as they quickly completed the picture section. In addition, students were able to make predictions based on headings, the non-fiction text feature they had the most experience with. Students struggled more with making predictions based on other non-fiction text features such as table of contents and glossaries. Unfortunately, the lower reading level books did not have as many text features as the higher reading level books. Therefore, some students did not get to experience reading a book with many of the text features they will encounter in the future. Section III: During/After Reading Strategies Goals My goal was for students to learn a strategy that could help them remember all of the information they learned from reading the non-fiction text. I wanted students to realize that they could use different tools to assist them in recalling the animal facts they read about. In addition, I wanted students to practice working as a team and combining all of their knowledge. I wanted students to see that peers could assist each other in researching. Finally, I wanted students to see that every group member benefitted from gathering their information. Lesson I began the lesson by reading the book All About Dolphins. Then I thought aloud about the different things I learned about dolphins. When I began to struggle recalling the facts the book included about dolphins I asked students what I could do to help myself remember. Students

Decker 3 discussed different strategies such as rereading the book and writing things down. I prompted students to think about when I should write different facts down. Students talked about writing immediately after reading. I shared with students that one strategy good readers used was taking notes while they were reading. Then I modeled using sticky notes to take notes of information throughout the book during reading. Students discussed and assisted me in selecting what information I should take notes on. The class talked about what details were important and which they did not need to take notes about. I reminded students that they had suggested rereading the text and they could do that while utilizing the strategy of note taking. Finally, students were divided into their groups and each group was given sticky notes and a piece of large chart paper. Groups worked at a table with each member reading, taking notes, and putting their sticky notes on a shared chart paper. Reflection and Critique Throughout the teacher model and think aloud students were actively participating. The most successful portion of the lesson was when groups were working together to research their animal using the strategy of note taking. Groups worked diligently, discussing the different facts they had found and commenting on all of the facts they were able to gather by working together. Due to the students enthusiasm I decided to extend the time I had allotted for students to use the strategy of note taking. I am glad that I spent the time at the beginning of the lesson talking about how to take notes using sticky notes. I do not think the activity would have been as successful if the class had not discussed what qualifies as an important detail. Furthermore, if the class had not discussed rereading to find even more facts the activity would have finished quickly and students would not have had as much information. Section IV: Teaching Principles and Practices Goals My goal was to create a learning environment in which students were active and engaged. I wanted students to feel comfortable working in a group. Throughout the unit I encouraged students to move around the room, discuss what they discovered with their groups, and talk about the different strategies they were using. I wanted students to understand that working in a group could benefit all members and to practice communicating with peers. Lesson During the lessons students moved from their typical seats to a table shared by their group members. On each table were the groups nonfiction books, sticky notes, and a large piece of chart paper. Students were encouraged to communicate and the room was actively noisy. The groups received one piece of chart paper so that the gathered information immediately became the groups as soon as the sticky note was added to the chart paper. By doing so I avoided

Decker 4 students feeling like these are my sticky notes and those are your sticky notes. Instead it fostered an environment in which students were supporting each other and sharing their knowledge. Reflection and Critique Students responded very well to the created learning environment. Although students were standing up, moving around the room, and talking to peers students remained on task. Peers supported group members and were able to talk about the different learning strategies utilized throughout the unit. Students shared resources and talked about all of the research they were able to find, citing the groups chart paper with many sticky notes. While I was able to monitor students and the amount of sticky notes they contributed students did not recognize who added which sticky notes. Therefore, students who would not have found as much information independently were supported by group members. All students were motivated to reread their text in order to find more facts by the amount of sticky notes already on the shared chart paper. Working in research groups was beneficial to all students. Section V: Teaching Tools and Practices Goals Since the inquiry unit was the students first introduction to research and non-fiction writing my goal was to make the experience interesting and motivating. Therefore, I worked to incorporate texts and activities that would capture interest. In addition, I wanted students to feel supported so that they would not become so frustrated that they were no longer motivated. In order to do so I incorporated teacher modeling and think alouds and worksheets with prompts Lesson The texts selected for each group focused on interesting animals and included colorful pictures and diagrams. Throughout each lesson I wanted to allot much of the lesson time to students exploring and researching. I knew that students would become bored and unengaged from sitting and listening to the teacher talk. Instead students spent a majority of the lesson moving around the room, researching in groups, and working together. Students were given time to work with peers as they practiced employing the reading strategies. In addition, I made sure to support students as they were introduced to new learning/reading strategies. Each lesson began with teacher modeling which included think alouds and large chart paper to record information and graphics to heighten student understanding. Furthermore, students worked with worksheets that had prompts in order to remind them of the strategy they could use to help them for pre, during, and after reading. Reflection and Critique The activities and having students work in groups were successful in motivating students and making the inquiry unit interesting. Students liked working in groups and were motivated by the

Decker 5 work they saw their peers completing. In addition, students were engaged throughout the lessons during the teacher modeling but especially during the portions of the lesson in which they were exploring their books and researching their animals. The books used throughout the unit were interesting to students and I observed peers sharing books and showing interesting pictures and facts. By utilizing the chart paper and worksheets with prompts I was able to make visible the invisible. Students were able to see what good readers thought, asked, and explored as they used the strategies of prompting and note taking. The tools allowed me to support students as they began to use strategies that good readers utilize.