Lesson/Videotape Project

Sara Zapalowski
Canisius College
ECCH 221/222

Introduction

In this video recording, I taught a lesson that was based upon Gail Gibbons book
Farming. Taught to a small group of five preschoolers, the lesson was focused on the
New York State Standard of retelling details of a text. In this particular lesson, I asked the
students to give details about the concept of a farm. In order to aid their learning, a
graphic organizer with pictures and words that indicated the fives senses guided the
students through the lesson.
Promoting a Positive Learning Environment
During the lesson, there were many times when a positive learning environment
was promoted. Through the use of positive and reassuring language, I made certain that
students felt successful about their learning and capabilities. For example, after reading
the book, I asked a student to draw a cow on the graphic organizer. However, when the
student indicated that he was unsure about his drawing capabilities, I reassured him with
the phrase Try your best (Video, 10:50). Then the student knew that if he tried his best,
he would be successful in his learning. In addition to encouraging the student during the
drawing activity, I also allowed for the students who were uncertain about a particular
answer to either take more time to think about the question or to simply say I do not
know. When answering an inferential question about whether a farmer has a difficult or
simple job, one student could not think of an answer (Video, 9:35). As a result, I asked
the student whether or not she would like to think about it and that I could come back to
her if she would like. Although she indicated that she would like to think but not to give
an answer, I allowed for this since she had answered other questions during the lesson.
Since the students were given positive reinforcement as well as the option to think about
a question, there was a positive environment.

In addition to the positive reinforcement, the students and I demonstrated mutual

respect. Since the consulting teacher in the classroom introduced me to the class as a
teacher friend and stated that they should treat me as they treat her, the students already
knew the respect that was expected of them. In return, I was and am expected to treat the
students with the same respect that the consulting teacher gives to the students. As a sign
of respect, the students raised their hands like when they are with Miss C. (Video, 7:24)
when asked to answer a question or when they had a comment to tell. In return, I
answered the students questions, responded to their answers and comments, and gave
immediate feedback. As with any positive student-teacher relationship, the students and I
engaged in respectful dialogue.
During the reading of Farming, I challenged the students to engage in learning by
asking them to recall prior knowledge. When I administered the picture walk, I
introduced and defined unfamiliar vocabulary. Subsequently, throughout the reading of
the book, I asked the students to recall the definitions of the vocabulary. By asking the
questions during the reading, I created a challenge because the students recalled the
definitions recently given to them. Also, it allowed for the students to become engaged
during the reading, for they were asked to think about the definition of the particular
word in context. Since the students were appropriately challenged and were engaged
during the majority of the reading, the students endured a positive learning experience.
If I were to improve upon this lesson in the area of promoting a positive learning
environment, I would administer the lesson at a different time and be more attuned to
each students individual needs. The lesson, which was administered at the end of preschool day, took the students away from their free play. Since the students were not

allowed to play and rid themselves of extra energy, some students had a difficult time
focusing. Although this was the time that I was allotted to teach, next time, I would make
certain that the lesson would not take away from the necessary, explorative free play
time. Instead, I would administer the lesson during their typical interactive read-aloud
time, which is earlier in the day. If the lesson were at the earlier time, the students would
be more focused and have a more positive learning experience. In addition to changing
the administration time, I would also be more attuned to each students needs. Although
this group did not struggle with this lesson, I would have liked to enhance the lesson so
that the students individual learning strengths would be noted during the planning
process. If I know the students learning strengths, I could have more appropriately
challenged them.
Engaging Students in Learning
During the lesson, the students were engaged while developing the essential
literacy strategy of retelling details of a text. In order to do so, the students dictated and
drew. Once I posed a question about what the students would see or hear on a farm, I
asked the children to think, think, think before answering (video, 10:26). By telling the
students to think, they became reengaged in the lesson, for they knew what they needed
to do. Then the students were prepared to answer through dictation. When the student
was called on, the student was able to answer will a full explanation. Also, the drawing
allowed for the students to become further engaged in the lesson. In this small group, all
of the students enjoyed drawing. By giving the students the opportunity to draw to recall
the necessary details of the text, the students were engaged while learning how to retell
details.

In the anticipatory set of the lesson, the instruction linked to prior knowledge.
During the prior lesson, the students read a book that pertained to the topic of farming;
furthermore, their teacher asked the students to retell details of that text. Therefore, I
reintroduced the text, so that both the concept of farm and the concept of retelling details
were brought back into the students schemas (video, 0:51-1:10). Since the prior days
lesson was reintroduced before the Farming lesson, their learning was linked with prior
instruction. In addition to being linked with prior instruction for engagement, the
Farming lesson was linked with the unit on community helpers. This unit teaches
students about all of the different services and people in their Amherst community. In this
particular lesson, the students learned about the recently introduced community helper:
the farmer. Since it is important for the students to learn about the helpers in their
community, this lesson engaged the students so that they could learn about farms and
farmers.
If I were to change my instruction for engagement, I would read the students a
more challenging and meaningful text. Although the concept of the farm and farming had
been introduced only the day prior, the students had a large amount of background
knowledge; therefore, the students were not properly challenged. If the book was more
challenging or more meaningful for these students, they would have been more engaged
during the actual reading of the text.
Deepening Student Learning During Instruction
After reading the book Farming by Gail Gibbons, I asked the students varied level
comprehension questions to promote thinking and to apply the concept of retelling

details. Since the objective focused on retelling details from the book, I asked a variety of
text-based/literal comprehension questions such as What animals did we see on the
farm? (Video, 7:28) and What types of food did we see growing on the farm? (Video,
8:18). By asking these text-based comprehension questions, the students were guided into
telling details about the text. Furthering their learning, the students were asked inferential
and critical response questions such as Do you think the farmer has a hard job or an easy
job to do? (Video, 9:15) and Would you ever like to be a farmer? Asked to dictate
their responses, the students were guided through the objective of retelling details from
the text. Since they were guided, the students were successful in obtaining the objective.
Likewise, the students deepened their learning through the drawing activity that
concluded the lesson. After the comprehension questions, the students drew on the
provided graphic organizer that had columns for see, hear, smell, feel, and taste
(video, 10:45-14:00). Deepening their learning and emphasizing the objective, the
graphic organizer helped to elicit details about the text. Each student chose a sense
column in which he or she would draw; that is, each student chose a specific detail from
the text to draw about. Since the students were orthographically putting their learning into
action, the students learning and application of the objective was enhanced. However, if I
were to change one aspect of the drawing exercise, I would have put each sense on a
different sheet of paper. Since the senses were all on one sheet of chart paper, the students
had difficulty drawing since there was not enough room. If the students had an individual
sheet for the drawing exercise, I believe that the students would have had more time to
draw as well as a more meaningful learning experience.
Analyzing Teaching Effectiveness

This lesson was focused on challenging the higher-leveled students; therefore, the
lesson was administered to the small group of five children. As a reengagement lesson,
these students were chosen to think even further about the details of a farm. By asking the
literal as well as the higher order thinking questions, these students were more highly
challenged (video, 7:25-10:00). Not only did the students have to think about the literal
details of the book, the students had to think even further to answer the inferential
question Do you think a farmer has a hard job or an easy job? (Video, 9:15) and the
critical response question, Would you ever like to be a farmer? Why or why not? Also,
by asking the students to transfer their learning from dictation to drawing, the students
had to think in a different manner in order to complete the task and fulfill the objective
(10:45-14:00). Since these students were challenged further on the concept of farm and of
retelling details, this lesson was a success.
In this preschool class, there is a lack of documented learning disabilities. Since
the students are so young, the teachers and district have difficulty testing students for
IEPs; therefore, there are no students classified with an IEP. However, there are students
who are struggling with letter recognition and other foundational reading aspects;
furthermore, there are two English Language Learners. Although this lesson was not
created for the struggling students or the English Language Learners, I could have
enhanced the lesson so that the entire class would have been appropriately challenged.
For example, I could have incorporated a video to reintroduce the topic of farm during
the anticipatory set. With a video, the students who are visual and audio learners could
have benefited. The UDL standards 1.2 and 1.3, offering alternatives for auditory and
visual information, would have been addressed. Also, for the students who could not

answer the higher order thinking questions yet, I could have asked more literal-based
questions to still fulfill the objective of retelling details of a text while taking each
students needs into consideration. In addition, for the English Language Learners, I
could have incorporated pictures of objects of the farm with the label of the object in their
native language so that the student could point to the object when answering literal-based
questions about the text. In this manner, the UDL standards 2.4, promoting understanding
among languages, and 5.1, using multiple media for communication, would have been
fulfilled. If I were to teach this lesson to the entire I would have enhanced the lesson by
addressing more standards of the Universal Design for Learning.
However, if I were to change my instruction for the five children that I
administered the lesson to, I would have changed my anticipatory set and would have
given the students more challenging questions. Although I reintroduced the book that the
students read the day prior to activate background knowledge, the students did not
respond well to the book; that is, the students did not remember the book at first and as
soon as the students saw the pictures in the book, they did not seem engaged, for they
appeared to truly understand the concept of farm. To change the anticipatory set, I would
have liked to incorporate an informational video about the farm. The video would have
addressed more learning and would bring the concept of farm to life. Since the students
needed more challenge, the video could have introduced the topic with a new type of
media as a well introduce more details about the farm. In addition to adding the video, I
would have liked to incorporate more higher-leveled comprehension questions, for the
students responded well with the questions that I asked. Since I was attempting to further

challenge these students, more higher order thinking questions, such as inferential and
critical response questions, would have been beneficial to the students.
Conclusion
Overall, I think this lesson was a success for the students. Since this lesson was to
further challenge the students on the concepts of the farm and retelling details, the
comprehension questions and the graphic organizer helped to scaffold and guide their
learning. Although there were missed opportunities and ways to improve, I believe that
the students and I learned from this lesson and experience.

References
Sara Zapalowskis Reading Lesson (Video File). Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOK5dT-3YCA&feature=youtu.be

Gibbons, G. (1990). Farming. New York, NY: Holiday House.