Lesson Reflections

Daily Lesson 1 Reflection

1. What did students learn and which students struggled with the lesson?

            In this lesson students learned how to write introductions to persuasive letters. Students learned that the format of an introduction in a persuasive letter begins by writing the issue of the letter. Next the students wrote the three reasons that they are using to support their issue. The students also learned to use transitional words and phrases to introduce each of their reasons.

            Some students forgot to use transitional words and phrases. I had two students who not only listed their reasons in the introduction paragraph but listed all of their supporting detail. There were also a few students who signed their names at the bottom of each paragraph which is an easy mistake to correct.

2. What are alternate reads (interpretations) of your students’ performance or products?

            The rigid structure of the introduction could be seen as a downfall of the students’ products because it doesn’t allow for the creativity free writing leads to. The introduction came right off of their graphic organizers which we set up to be easy to use. This took away from the creativity of free writing and left the content of the persuasive letter up to planning ahead of time.

3.  What did you learn about your students’ literacy practices that extend beyond your practices?

            I learned that the students are really reliant on examples that they are given. I wrote an introduction paragraph, and explained to them what I was thinking as I was writing. I was modeling choosing transition words from our transition word sheet and many of them used the same transition words I did throughout their entire paragraph. I see the importance of modeling for the students; it is something I am still getting used to. It is challenging to understand what they can do on their own and which things need a lot of support.  

4. When and how will you re-teach the material to students who need extra help?

            I will talk to students in small groups when the students are experiencing the same problems. I will use the writing they have and ask them compare it to the writing I did and ask them what they notice. I will talk about why what I have done is a strong way of writing a persuasive letter. I will ask them to re-work what they have and show it to me before they move on. I will talk to students individually when they have issues no one else has.

5. If you were to teach this same lesson again, what would you do differently and how do you think the changes would improve students’ learning?

            I actually think this lesson went really well. I am happy with the results. I was explicit with my directions and that really seemed to help the students. If I was to change one thing though, I would require the students to use different transitional words and phrases then me. Many of the students used the same transitional words and phrases I did in the same exact order I did.  I want to see what they would be able to do picking out their own transitional words and phrases. They were provided with a list of different transitional words and phrases and as I was explaining I told them why I chose the transitional words and phrases. I explained how sequential words need to be in the correct order so I would like to see if they understood that mini-lesson. I would want to know if they could use sequential words without an example from me in the future.

6. What did you learn so far about implementing your core practice and what do you need to do to continue your professional learning.

            My core practice is creating authentic meaningful writing tasks. I asked students to make two plans for persuasive letters on graphic organizers. I required them to plan one letter for their class student council representatives. I was surprised that only two of them chose to continue their letter to their student council representatives. I know we have read in class how student get more excited when they have authentic tasks. I learned that authentic to them might be writing a letter to my mentor teacher and me, or to their parents asking for a phone, or more computer time. Just because the task is not asking students to make a change in the world doesn’t mean it is not real for them. So even topics that may seem silly as an adult are real and motivating for students.

            I need to practice my conferencing skills. I am challenged by this because students are constantly asking me questions and I find it challenging to conference and answer questions at the same time. I also find it challenging to take notes during a conference; I have realized that is something I need to do. I feel uncomfortable doing that because I don’t want to make the kids feel uncomfortable but it is in the best interest of the students. That way I can take the most authentic notes possible, and best influence the students’ learning.

Daily Lesson 2 Reflection

1. What did students learn and which students struggled with the lesson?

            Today students learned how to write the first body paragraph. Students used their persuasive letter organizers to help them write the first paragraph. They learned to start off their paragraph with their reason in the first sentence using a transitional word or phrase. Then they wrote their three supporting details following the reason in three separate sentences, or more. They also used a transitional word or phrase for each supporting detail. Lastly they learned to restate their reason for the last sentence of the paragraph.

            There were two students who struggled more than others with the lesson. One student wrote not only her reasons in her introduction paragraph but her supporting details as well. So I worked with her to try and break her introduction into three separate paragraphs. After that we worked on inserting transitional words and phrases where they were appropriate. Another student was really struggling with the structure of the paragraph. So I decided to increase the scaffolding for him. In his graphic organizers I number his phrases and told him to make them into complete sentences in this order. I also told him to add transitional words and phrases to his complete sentences. This seemed to help him complete the task more easily.

2. What are alternate reads (interpretations) of your students’ performance or products?

            An alternate read on my students’ performance could be that they did not do well overall because while they had the basic structure of a persuasive letter paragraph set up they are lacking the basics of sentences and grammar. One of the shortcomings of the writing unit was its lack of grammar.  Many students struggle with forming sentences. They either tend to be too short or too long. They student’s also have a difficult time with capitalization. So if a person values the punctuation of a sentence over the content of a paragraph then the students could be seen as struggling.

3.  What did you learn about your students’ literacy practices that extend beyond your practices?

            I am finding out what does not seem like a lot of material to me, is a lot of material for them. During my lesson today I did not use a typed up list of exactly what I was going to say. This made me a little wordy when I was covering all of the topics. That would be fine if I was with an older group of students or adults but with fourth graders it leaves a look of confusion on their faces. This makes me understand that the students are still fine tuning their listening skills. I found this to be very informative because it applies not only to language arts subjects but to any directions that I will be giving to students this year. This is also helpful because I feel that I am lacking in knowledge of the developments of fourth graders.

4. When and how will you re-teach the material to students who need extra help?

            I will talk to students in small groups when the students are experiencing the same problems. I will use the writing they have and ask them compare it to the writing I did and ask them what they notice. I will talk about why what I have done is a strong way of writing a persuasive letter. I will ask them to re-work what they have and show it to me before they move on. I will talk to students individually when they have issues no one else has.

5. If you were to teach this same lesson again, what would you do differently and how do you think the changes would improve students’ learning?

            If I were to teach this lesson again I would not only tell the students what I am writing as I am writing it but I would talk about why I am putting the material in the order I am putting it. I would tell them that I am putting my weakest reason in my first paragraph. I would tell them this because I want to lead up to my strongest reason so it is fresh in my readers mind when I make my plea in the conclusion. I would then tell them that they want to do the same thing with their supporting details of the reason.

            If I tell the students the reasoning behind what I am doing it will allow them to use that information in writings to come. Often times when we are writing we are trying to persuade someone of something. We are often using evidence to do so and if the students know the best way to set up an argument or even a paper they will do better. It is always easier to remember something you understand than it is to just memorize a process. That I why I would want to explain to the students what I was thinking and doing as I taught them the lesson.

6. What did you learn so far about implementing your core practice and what do you need to do to continue your professional learning?

            My ideas about writing authentically are not any different than they were yesterday. The students are enjoying writing a letter where they came up with the subject.

            To continue my professional learning I need to speak carefully with each student I encounter. I need to see what they wrote and ask them about the process behind the writing. This applies to any subject. When I am trying to help a student the best way that I can do that is to ask them what their thought process is. This is not the easiest thing to do because I have found many times that students don’t know how to explain their thought process. I need to work on different ways to question students to get the most information out of their thinking. If I know their thinking then I am going to be able to best assist the student and their individual needs.