Internship Reflection #4 April 27, 2010

What have you seen in language arts/reading instruction? What connections have you seen between what you observed and our readings  and/or class discussions.

This week was spent rearranging reading groups according to the newest Universal Screening results. We changed those students around who seemed to have progressed enough to be put in a higher level. I noticed a difference in the activities for each group immediately. Now that the Universal Screening was over, the main focus of these groups was to best prepare them for the End of Course test as best they could. I also observed a round robin reading where the teacher oversaw a group of students who took turns reading a story page by page.

Have you done any teaching in your internship? What have you taught ? Have you worked with a child or a group of children? What did you do with them (e.g., picture/word sort, DRTA, Text Talk) ?

This being the last week of our internship, our teacher put my partner and I in charge of  a reading group that was focusing on the parts of a story. I was asked to read a relatively short story book to the group and then help them complete a worksheet about what occurred in the beginning, middle, and end of the story.  The groups focus was on sequencing. I thoroughly enjoyed using my Text talk and DRTA reading skills to help the children focus on the story’s plot rather than just the illustrations. I made sure to read the page, test their comprehension and then show them the pictures ensuring the at they got the most out of my reading. This prevented me from having to read the same parts over and over again. The worksheet ask them to summarize each part of the story. I was able to observe the diffrent level of spellers as well while helping them write their sentences.

Internship Reflection #3 April 27, 2010

What have you seen in language arts/reading instruction? What connections have you seen between what you observed and our readings  and/or class discussions.

This has been spent in full review for the Universal Screening Test which I helped with on Thursday. Early in the week, every extra moment was spent reviewing digraphs, glued sounds, and letter sounds.  They also practice nonsense words that help them practice word pronunciation skills such as silent -e and other silent letters. On Thursday, I was asked to help monitor students as they were given the Universal Screening Tests. My job simply included directing them from station to station but I did get a chance to look over the packet used in the screenings. For language arts, it included giving them a list of nonsense words for the to pronounce correctly according to the rules of English. They are applying what they have learned.

Have you done any teaching in your internship? What have you taught ? Have you worked with a child or a group of children? What did you do with them (e.g., picture/word sort, DRTA, Text Talk) ?

This week I only assisted with the groups but did not independent teaching of my own.

Comment on any interesting things that you have noticed about your school, the teachers, the students, or the curriculum.

My teacher does a wonderful job reaching all our student’s needs in all subjects but takes special care to ensure that they all grasp the concept of reading and sounding out words.

Post any questions that you have about teaching/learning.

Internship Reflection #2 April 27, 2010

What have you seen in language arts/reading instruction? What connections have you seen between what you observed and our readings  and/or class discussions.

This week, I have observed that the children are learning not only to break down the words they are reading but are also learning the reasoning behind breaking down the words the way they do. For example, instead of simply saying that a word is a closed syllable, they are being taught that if the word has one vowel this is enclosed by one or more consonants is the reason for it being closed. The children are given words to practice reading and as part of their practice they are asked to mark up their words, breaking them down into their parts to make it easier for them. This also helps them develop a quicker pace when given nonsense words.

Have you done any teaching in your internship? What have you taught ? Have you worked with a child or a group of children? What did you do with them (e.g., picture/word sort, DRTA, Text Talk) ?

This week I did have to take over teaching the reading group that was focusing the silent -e. I was asked to give students cards that had a picture and a word, then the student was to say the word and tell me if it was a long or short vowel sound in relation to the silent -e. The students then placed the card in the correct column by its ending sounds. I really enjoyed this because it was similar to doing a word sort with the word box. I applied my knowledge of performing a word sort to this activity to make it easier for me to understand.

Comment on any interesting things that you have noticed about your school, the teachers, the students, or the curriculum.

I am not fond of the Universal Screenings that are perfomed with each child. I find that assessing a student on what they can do in a minute is unfair. I feel that this not only could cause anxiety for the students but it also creates another standard that teachers are responsible for meeting and improving upon.

Post any questions that you have about teaching/learning.

Internship Reflection #1 April 27, 2010

What have you seen in language arts/reading instruction? What connections have you seen between what you observed and our readings  and/or class discussions.

In our language arts/reading in this classroom we use a program called Fundations that teaches the children what digraphs are which is strange to hear because I did not know what they where until in class with Dr. Ari. We try to base a lot of what we do on what the children will need to do well on their Universal Screenings and the End of Course tests. I have observed that while reading any book to the class, the teacher does take time to apply Text Talk lesson questions.

Have you done any teaching in your internship? What have you taught ? Have you worked with a child or a group of children? What did you do with them (e.g., picture/word sort, DRTA, Text Talk) ?

I have not done any teaching on my own in the classroom but I have assisted with the small groups during reading. I usually work at the station where they work on sentence structure and applying their writing skills.

Comment on any interesting things that you have noticed about your school, the teachers, the students, or the curriculum.

I truly love the atmosphere of this school. They are very community oriented and are all working together for a common goal. They want each and every student to do well in all areas.

Post any questions that you have about teaching/learning.