Lesson 1: Schema and Elements of Realistic Fiction through The Invisible String
• What did students learn and which students struggled with the lesson?
• The students learned a lot in this first lesson. They were introduced to the reading comprehension strategy of using your schema and how that helps you understand the text. After the students learned about using your schema and how that can help you understand I introduced the type of literature: realistic fiction. Throughout the book I modeled using my scheme and making connections throughout the book. After the book was over I introduced the elements of realistic fiction. The students then helped me fill in the elements from the book. For the most part I think the students understood what we were doing and participated. At the end I had the students fill out a paper that said when I think of the invisible string I think of…and they were able to draw a picture and write a sentence of what they thought out.
• What are alternate reads (interpretations) of your students' performance or products?
• For the most part this first lesson was straight forward and a lot of information for them to handle. I think most of the students understood however if I were to say one other interpretation is that students did not make a personal connection to the book they just drew what their neighbor drew.
• What did you learn about your students' literacy practices that extend beyond your objectives?
• I learned that my students were able to sit there and focus on the whole lesson for longer then I thought. I was really surprised at how well my students were able to make connections and find the elements from the story and pick them out. Students were able to use their schema to make connections between their life and the book.
• When and how will you re-teach the material to students who need additional support?
• In the future I will pull small groups and go over the elements of realistic fiction. I will be reviewing these elements with the books we read in the future so this will not be the only time that these students will get exposure to the elements of realistic fiction.
• 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 do this lesson again I would let my students have more say into the lesson. Instead of me giving them all of the elements I would try giving them clues and having them guess. I think that this might deepen their level because they would feel empowered by coming up with the elements themselves
Jen, It sounds like your first lesson went really smoothly in terms of getting through all parts of the lesson and students following directions and reacting positively to the lesson. That's great! I'm a little confused about how you know (specifically) that all students learned about using schema and all the elements of realistic fiction in one lesson, since you didn't offer examples of that. One example you did note is that some students drew the same picture as their neighbor--that might be a 'red flag' that some were either unable to make the connection you wanted, or that they were unclear about the purpose of the assignment. As you continue with your lessons, think about where you do (or don't) have concrete evidence of learning. It could give you ideas about different ways to assess, what needs to be re-taught, or how you might approach a lesson differently in the future.
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