Module 2 Summary

Module 2 Summary

Videos

In the differentiated instruction video, I really liked how it helped us identify what specific students need and would truly benefit from differentiated instruction (all). Personally, I need to work more on creating challenging and extending activities for my high flyers. I love the idea of differentiation being flexible. To me, many of my ideas of differentiation do not occur or surface until the middle of the lesson. The use of choice boards or menus is something that I have always really liked. My struggle with choice boards is that I want to make some that are so generic, that I do not have to create a new one for every unit and/or topic. Also, some teachers use this tool as an incentive for early finishers, which is not fair. What happens to those students who never finish early? It is also important to keep the standards in mind when creating differentiated activities, to ensure the activity assesses the skill at hand. Often times, we think that more is a way of challenging our students, but I feel that it should be more based on the depth of knowledge that is being required to complete a specific assignment. Differentiation can be challenging and overwhelming at times, but I am always looking for ways challenge, maintain and reteach my students.

In The Story of Differentiation, I really liked how the term flexible grouping was brought up. I constantly find myself using the same groups. I do not have set groups for math or reading, nor have I even created groups this school year. I find it easier and more beneficial to use this method of flexible grouping. It is also important for us to use more of a flexible grouping method to ensure our students are not always in the same group, as they begin to make generalizations about how “low” or “behind” they must be. It is important to pull your high students as well, as many times they are forgotten about because they do not need any extra help or support.

PowerPoints

It is important that when planning a strategic reading lesson plan, that it is teacher-directed. As a fifth grade teacher, I appreciate the approach that this plan takes where groups should be planned with pre-set goals. For fifth grade students, we are focusing on reading to learn (comprehension). Although teacher instruction and explanation of the context is important, I also think that literature circles have a great impact on students to become independent, self-sustained readers.

When developing any type of lesson, regardless the subject, scaffolding and bloom’s taxonomy are a must to me. I believe that using the gradual release approach helps set up your students for success, thus allowing them to become independent readers. When using Bloom’s taxonomy, we strive to engage our students in in-depth conversations, thus having them use their Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS). I really like how the Bloom’s Taxonomy wheel helps us identify key words to use when creating discussion and comprehension questions. With Common Core, I have found that many of the questions asked or suggested are thorough, causing the students to pull from background knowledge and engage in critical thinking. 

Module 1 Summary

Module 1 Summary

PowerPoint-Expository Text-Understanding Text Organization

I really enjoyed this PowerPoint, as text structure is a big part of fifth grade reading curriculum. It served as a good reminder what each structure can be used for and key words that are associated with each. I truly enjoy using the various graphic organizers associated with each structure to analyze text.

Video-Reading Strategy for Struggling Readers

I found this video to be very informative, seeing that it served as a good reminder of the reading instruction that takes places in younger grades. Being a fifth grade teacher, I do not work much with phonological awareness. I do spend time with my struggling readers on fluency and decoding, but for the most part, our focus is on reading for meaning. The definitions of the key reading terms were very helpful and seeing how each of the activities related to the particular skill shown. I am very excited about using the website provided, as the resources are abundant and engaging. It is important for students to understand that regardless the subject; it is not too late to learn. As the student was complaining about reading, it reminded me that many students have it engrained in their head that they are a horrible reader (and always will be), causing them to shut down at the sight of a comprehension passage. As health is a hard subject to fit in weekly, I often times use health comprehension passages for a grade. I have found that my struggling readers do great on the health passages, but when it comes to a comprehension passage completed during our scheduled reading time, they do poorly. We must remember to encourage our students and remind them that they can be lifelong readers at any age. With implementation of the shown activities in the video, I hope students begin to see that reading can be fun, exciting and achievable.

Trip to Hawaii

The Trip to Hawaii videos were very engaging and informative regarding the use and purpose of graphic organizers. I personally enjoy using graphic organizers in my classroom. I find that when I use them, especially during reading time, the students tend to take ownership of their work. One graphic organizer that I do not have experience with but will definitely be using in the near future is the Vocabulary Prediction Chart. What a neat and engaging way to build and develop vocabulary skills. Another point that was made in the videos I really liked was that it is not just important to use graphic organizers, but it’s important that you make the graphic organizers creative and interactive. Graphic organizers are not grade specific which I love, as ones mentioned for kindergarten in the videos have been used and found very successful in my 5^th grade classroom. I also think that students enjoy using graphic organizers, especially ones they are able to create on their own.