Lesson 3: Venn Diagram

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

-In this lesson students learned what a similarity is and what a difference is. They made text-to-text and text-to-self connections. They learned what a Venn Diagram is and how to use it to compare books. The students compared the two books and the characters in the books to each other and came up with some very good ideas. A handful of students struggled with this lesson because they had been pulled out of the class and had missed some of the stories being read.

· What are alternate reads (interpretations) of your students' performance or products?

-I think the students made very good connections while we were making the venn diagram. If I was an outsider I would have been able to notice right away that they were more interested in the book Iktomi and the Boulder. I would think this based on the venn diagram because the majority of the ideas were related to that story.

· What did you learn about your students' literacy practices that extend beyond your objectives?

-I learned that my students are very intrigued by Native American stories. The two books that I read captivated the students; they were very engaged in the books. I also found out that for many of them it was easy to find things that were similar and different. The students knew a lot about Native Americans to begin with. They knew about teepees and they were able to compare their own lives to the lives of the characters. They could point out that the clothing was different in the story than the clothing that they wear.

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

-I will re-teach the material to students who need extra support this week. I will take them aside from the rest of the class and I will show them the venn diagram that the class made. I will then show them the parts in the book that the students focused on the most when creating the venn diagram.

· 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 have done a sample venn diagram with the students on two books that they are very familiar with. I would have also done a lesson before hand on being able to find similarities and differences between texts. I think if I had done these two things more of the students would have been able to contribute to our venn diagram and they would have found more similarities and differences.