GLT Reflection 1

• What did students learn and which students struggled with the lesson? 

Students learned initial sounds are the first sound we hear in a word. Students also learned it is important to pay close attention to the order of a story so that they can remember and later retell the story by acting it out. At first students thought words with the same initial sounds meant those words rhymed so I had to clear that misconception. Once students were able to get past that, they were able to identify words in the story with initial sounds and a few even realized that the words began with the same letters. Correctly sequencing the order of the book was also difficult for them. However, once they students got the correct order, they were able to remember other details more easily.

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

By the end of the week, all students had the chance to retell the story and some students have begun pointing out same initial word sounds in other stories and subject areas.

• What did you learn about your students’ literacy practices that extend beyond your objectives?

Once I cleared the misconception of words with the same initial sounds were not the same as rhyming, the students were able to correctly separate the onsets of words and produce different words with the same onset. I was surprised a handful of students were able to connect the same initial sounds in words also meant the words began with the same letter. While this is not always true, it is  a great step for those students' letter-sound knowledge and decoding skills.

• When and how will you re-teach the material to students who need additional support? 

I was able to re-teach the material to students who were absent or needing additional support by reading the story at least once every day during the week. In the additional readings, I was unable to go as in-depth when it came to the initial sounds objective but the students were given the opportunity to hear the story again and remember the sequence for retelling.

• 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 would extend this lesson by asking students to produce words with the same initial sound as a given prompt. I think this would improve learning because the students would not have a limited word bank from a story to choose from and it would give them more freedom to show their knowledge.

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

I have learned my students are incredibly interested in becoming "good readers." They have been open to learning about the different thinking aloud strategies that I have brought to their attention. For example, as I was writing down the "make connections" strategy I had modeled for the students on the anchor chart, a boy asked exactly how and why it was important to make connections. Of course I had planned on explaining those things once I had finished writing but it made me really excited knowing he was so eager to know how this skill he was developing was going to help him in the long run.

Pulling out the anchor chart the students and I have been working on when the students are working in different subject areas would be another way for my students to learn how to implement these strategies and how they are useful in more than just understanding and remembering narratives. Those reading strategies are incredibly important for the students to know and use with exploratory texts as well.