Miller Lessons 1 & 2 Overview

I chose my focus students based on assessment information from my language arts discussion lesson (pre- and post-reading discussions and post-reading assessment) because these students stood out to me most as students who struggled with two important areas of my lesson: big ideas and text-to-self connections. I also used informal assessment information which I have gathered throughout the year at my reading center. The students in each group are at similar reading ability and do the same kind of work in reading centers, so I think it would be good to have them paired so that no one is intimidated or not challenged by the work or each other.

For reading lesson 1, I have chosen to work with John and Jackson. I chose them based on assessment information from my language arts discussion lesson earlier in the year. Neither student participated in the pre- or post-reading discussion (which involved making a lot of text-to-self connections) and seemed very distracted the whole time. John could be seen in the video of my lesson cupping his face with his hands, playing with his shoes, and talking to his neighbors. Jackson was constantly fidgeting, talking with his neighbors, and looking around. When asked a question directly, Jackson did not give me an answer. Also in talking to my MT, the students I have chosen for lesson 1 (text-to-self connections) are intelligent, but because they such have low motivation that it doesn’t seem like they know what’s going on. I think that text-to-self connections could be a motivating activity for them because it will help their comprehension and let them see how the content is relevant to them. I have chosen to work on making text-to-self connections in order to increase their motivation, focus, and comprehension. They will be asked to find similarities and differences between their own experiences and the experiences of the character in a text. Prior to reading, I will ask the students a few comprehension questions to get them thinking about important ideas in the text with which to make connections.

For reading lesson 2, I have chosen to work with Eliza and Dalton. Both are very bright students and at about an average level in the class for reading. These students struggle with identifying big ideas in a text. For example, during my post-reading discussion for my lesson I asked the students what was similar about the two kids from Voices in the Park. Eliza answered, “They both havefeet.” I was looking for something more along the lines of, “They’re about the same age,” or “They both feel happy playing at the park.” Dalton on the other hand was very quiet during the discussion, and on his post-reading assessment (the students had to take on the point of view of one character and describe themselves) wrote, “I am Victoria. I am happy.” Eliza wrote, “Smudge is funny. She is friends with a boy.” I felt like both had trouble pulling out the most important ideas of the story and instead focused on minor details. I have chosen to work on big ideas with these students in order to help them comprehend better. They will be asked to make a graphic organizer of the beginning, middle, and end of a text. This will help them segment the story and pull out the important parts from each segment, ultimately summarizing the story with three main ideas (beginning, middle, and end). Prior to reading, I will ask them comprehension questions in order to get them focused on some important ideas present in the text, and then I will ask them to make a prediction of what the text will be about.