Inquiry 2 Part A- Natalie D'Amico

1.     Target area

a.     My target area will fall under reading comprehension/strategy instruction. The unit itself is focused on improving informational reading, so we will be going over skills and strategies for informational reading, how to respond to texts and share information with others, and pursuing collaborative inquiries critically and analytically.

2.     How much time per day is allotted for instruction

a.     For each lesson, there will be a mini lesson between 10 and 20 minutes long, followed by about a 30 minute time frame for students to read the informational text of the day, and then a brief wrap up discussion. Each session will be around one hour total.

3.     Which CCSS           

a.     We will be working towards the following Common Core State Standards:

                                               i.     CCSS: RI.4.1, RI.4.2, RI.4.3, RI.4.4, RI.4.5, RI.4.7, RI.4.8, SL.4.1, SL.4.1a, SL.4.1b, SL.4.1c, SL.4.1d, LS.4.4a, LS.4.4a, LS.4.6

4.     How will teaching in this target area provide opportunities for students to learn important content and or skills that relate to their lives?

a.     This unit will provide students with a better understanding as to what it means to ‘read for information’—something that they will be spending a great deal of time on as they continue their educations. Reading for information is not only important in a school context, but outside of school as well. It is important as a teacher to provide my students with valuable strategies and skills for reading for information so they will be able to successfully achieve comprehension. In terms of literacy, students will be learning about literacy in a sense that they will become familiar with a whole new type of text. They will also be learning literacy, as we will be spending much of the unit reading, discussing, and asking questions.

5.     What types of classroom talk will take place within this target area?

a.     We will spend each session of the unit with a mini lesson lead by the teacher. I will be introducing certain skills and habits that are important during informational reading, facilitate any discussions, and help students identify any strategies that could be useful. Then, following a mini lesson, sessions will be split up by either providing students with time to read independently or read with a partner. On a day where students are with partners, students will practice reading the informational text out loud to each other while discussing their use of strategies. Finally, there will be a teacher led wrap up discussion as a whole class.

6.     Which core practice?

a.     The core practice that I chose to work on developing/improving during my instruction are monitoring comprehension and activating and connecting background knowledge. Both of these practices are very important components of my unit, because both comprehension and background knowledge are key components of student learning during this time. Also, as a teacher, these practices are valuable skills to improve in. Comprehension and background knowledge are constantly brought up in literacy instruction, which is why I felt that it was important for me to explore these practices a little more.

7.     What resources do you have to work with?

a.     As this unit focuses on having students read for information in informational texts, I will be using a classroom set of National Geographic books about animals from the ocean, rain forest, desert, and forest. Also, our school has a Book Resource Room, where I will have the opportunity to pull other helpful texts as needed. Additionally, the Novi Community School District utilizes an online curriculum website called Atlas Rubicon, where I am able to pull up specific grade level resources that are aligned with the needs of the district and Common Core State Standards. Lastly, the District’s unit plan for this particular unit provides a list of professional resources that I am able to obtain as needed.

8.     What additional resources do you need to obtain

a.     Aside from any text that I will be using, I need to obtain a text features list, anchor charts of ‘ways information readers read with power’ and ‘text structures’, as well as copies of specific excerpts from Oceans (A True Book).

9.     How will you pre-assess your students?

a.     I will be using ‘self evaluation’ checklist on informational reading that I could easily adapt as a pre and post assessment with my students. It features twenty-two items on the checklist that are all important concepts of informational reading. 

10. What else will you need to find out about all students in your class to help you develop lesson plans?

a.     I personally think it would be beneficial for me to find out the reading levels of my students, because my mentor teacher and myself have not had the chance to discuss this yet. I do not really know much about the literacy levels of my students, so this would make me much more prepared when I begin to teach my unit. Also, knowing more about my students as literacy learners will help me better prepare for my planning as well.

11. What else do you need/want to learn about the core practice?

a.     I would personally like to research a little bit more about both of the core practices that I have chosen so that I can think of creative ways to incorporate them into my unit plans. Also, I would like to have a little more time to think of exactly where I could add any spots to practice my core practices in my unit plans.

12. What concerns do you have?

a.     I am a little confused about when we are supposed to start teaching our units, so I would like more clarification on this.