Reflection for Emergent Literacy EDUC
681
By
Sue Biewer
Artifact Description
This artifact was for a classroom
observation and Strategy Implementation.
I observed a first grade classroom for 4 hours, and then I implemented fluency
instruction for my strategy for 5 hours and a written summary of the experience.
Professional Growth
I learned a lot about working with
struggling readers at the first grade level. We specifically worked on fluency
and I learned the importance of modeling fluent reading, guiding students
through reading, allowing students to read independently and then performance
reading. A strategy I used was chunking
words. I was able to practice this with
students and guide them through the process of finding chunks they recognize as
a strategy for decoding words. Then we
repeatedly read the story to work on fluency.
I modeled what a fluent reader sounds like, and I was able to put that
into practice. One thing I learned from
the experience was to front load vocabulary words so that when students were
reading they would not have to stop and decode the words. Most importantly, I learned how much fun the
students have with reader’s theater and they don’t even realize that they are
learning.
Understanding and
Application of WI State Standards
Standard #1: The teacher understands the central concepts,
tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and can
create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful
for students
In this observation and implementation I
learned a great deal about teaching reading, and in particular, teaching
fluency to first grade students. While
doing reader’s theater, my students didn’t even realize they were learning
because of the enjoyment of the activity.
The self-motivation was there also.
Also, I learned of the importance of repeated readings for fluency.
I
know, because of my job, the importance of reading and that’s why I continue to
take classes, and why I am getting my Reading Teacher License. I want to learn all I can so that I can
better assist my students in their learning process.
Lastly, I was building on student
knowledge through the use of the chunking strategy, as this newly mastered
strategy can be utilized through their lifetime.
Standard #4 The teacher
understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students’
development of critical thinking, problem solving and performance skills.
I am aware and encourage students to
use critical thinking skills, problem solving skills and performance skills in
their reading. When a student is
struggling with decoding a word I can effectively prompt them to use strategies
learned to decode the word. Some of the cues
I use are, “Did that sound right? Did
that make sense? or Does that look right?”
These are prompts that students need to use for problem solving and
require thinking on their part. For the
lesson in this class we worked on reader’s theater which is a performance, but
I also taught students how to perform for themselves.
Impact on Student
Learning
Students learned to chunk words
during my time with them. I know this
because one of my students struggled with the word “outside”. I covered up the word “side” and he knew the
word “out”, then I covered up “out” and he read “side”. I had him put the two words together and he
was successful. He continued to use this
strategy as he read. Then, while
rereading he successfully read the word “outside” without any hesitation.
