Friday, September 19, 2014
Every morning, I sharpen the
student’s pencils and move the clips back to the middle. I usually assist them
with anything they don’t understand about the worksheets or homework. Centers
began during this week and I was excited that I was able to work with one
group. I was in charge of the bingo sight words table. The students express
pure happiness when they knew they were working with me.
When the small group of students
came to my center, I passed out the bingo charts and a few red chips. I told
them that I would be playing along with them and they began to get more
enthusiastic. They would tell me that they were going to beat me and say the
word correctly. The following thing I did was show them the sight word. I
instructed them to raise their hands and to not yell out. They obeyed and
raised their hands to tell me the sight word. I carefully picked each of them,
without picking on the same student over and over. Whichever student I chose
would tell me the word and then I had the others repeat it. Surprisingly, they
followed my instruction with enthusiasm. Every student received the opportunity
to win and get a sticker from me. I didn’t exclude anyone from winning. After
we finished every bingo game, I made each student tell me the words that they
had covered with the red chips. Most of them were able to pronounce and
recognize the sight words. Some of them would even use the words in sentences.
I noticed that when they’re in groups, they tend to participate more. “It
creates a sense of intimacy and belonging, which helps children feel
comfortable enough to take risks” (Clayton, 2001).
Photo credit to Wikipedia.
For Emergent Literature, I had to
test students on whether they are more interested in academic or recreational
reading. The Elementary Reading Attitude Survey consisted of twenty questions
that described how they felt when they read a book. I chose three students to
test, which included one with level A, 6, and 14. What surprised me the most was
how high the boy at level A scored over the girl at level 14. Both students
scored higher in academic books over recreational books. The boy’s overall
percentile is eighty-two while the girl’s overall percentile is sixty-two. Even
though the girl has the highest reading level, she scored low.
I chose to read-aloud I Just Forgot by Mercer Mayer. I told my
first graders that they needed to put on their thinking caps to create a movie
scene and draw it on paper. I asked them if they have ever forgotten to do
something. I received immediate hands in the air and their expressions told me
they were anxious to share their stories. I picked on a couple to share what
they had forgotten. I told them to be on the lookout using their five senses. I
asked whether they knew their five senses and most of them told me the correct
answers. I commenced with the read-aloud. I divided the book into four sections
so that the students get the opportunity to draw four different pictures. At
each stopping point I asked what they saw, heard, smelled, taste, or touched.
Most of them remembered the most recent page I read to them and drew that. I
showed them an example of what kinds of scenes I imagined when reading the
book. They followed my instructions and tried to share stories connected to the
drawings they drew. After I finished reading the book, I instructed them to
turn to their partners to their pictures.
Resources:
Clayton, M.,
& Forton, M. (2001). The Whole-Group Meeting Area. In Classroom
Spaces That Work (p.
63). Turners Falls, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children.
