wanlass_minilesson

I selected a student who has consistent emotional outbursts in class and during free time.  This student often becomes extremely upset/crying etc over small things, and does not communicate his feelings well.  I would like to provide him with better communication techniques for his feelings, as well as familiarize him with the availability of books as examples of emotional coping strategies.    

When I told Jason* we would be doing a special lesson together in the hallway, he was extremely excited and enthusiastic to participate.  Earlier in the day, Jason* was crying because another student was trying to get him to turn in his paper when he was not yet finished with it.  Once we were situated, I began by asking Jason about how is day was going so far, and brought up my witness of his breakdown earlier.  Quickly, he began to speak in an aggravated tone and was using less words than he was whines.  I talked to him about how I get frustrated or upset when I feel rushed on my work.  I said that I have come to find that usually, when I want something to go my way, the best thing to do is use kind and calm words rather than angry words. 

After reading my introduction and reading the story, Jason was very willing to practice, "I feel" sentences with me.  I think that this practice was a good idea because it modeled the structure of the story we had read and was an activity that Jason felt successful at.  He felt proud when I praised him for making such great sentences, and seemed to really be enjoying some attention.  

Although Jason* was not a as willing to complete the worksheet, and his answers were a little difficult to read, it was helpful to have a more objective representation of his ability to convey emotions.  I think that this lesson was a good starting place for Jason.  It was not overwhelming and provided enough guidance for him to complete the tasks with ease.  I would follow-up this lesson by asking Jason to write out a scenario where he had to tell how he was feeling to improve the outcome of his experience.  This task would be less structured and provide me with more insight into Jason's abilities to articulate his feelings.  

I would also be interested to see how Jason would do in this sort of a lesson if I had included one or two other students to do role playing or provide an additional perspective.  The secret sign that we made up has been a helpful tool once so far.  Jason is a special student who may need a little extra compassion.  Having a secret sign with the teacher makes him feel special and cared about, and also re-establishes the expectations for his behavior.  

Grade: Mini-Lesson First Grade Rationale: I selected a student who has consistent emotional outbursts in class and during free time.  This student often becomes extremely upset/crying etc over small things, and does not communicate his feelings well.  I would like to provide him with better communication techniques for his feelings, as well as familiarize him with the availability of books as examples of emotional coping strategies.     Students are struggling with emotional literacy.  Objective for this lesson: Students will be able to make personal statements about their feelings after reading The Way I Feel by Janan Cain. Materials & supplies needed: The Way I Feel by Janan Cain "WHEN ____ HAPPENS, I FEEL______...BECAUSE..." Worksheets Pencils

Procedures and approximate time allocated for each event  • Introduction to the lesson  (What will you say to help children understand the purpose of the lesson?  How will you help them make connections to prior lessons or experiences?  How will you motivate them to become engaged in the lesson?) (I am predicting that this student will have at least one minor break-down today, prior to this lesson) “When I see that you are upset, I want to be able to help you.  But I have a hard time helping you when I can’t understand why you are upset.  Sometimes being able to understand each others’ feelings better, can help us to avoid having a problem or upset feelings at all.  Most of the time when I have a problem with someone, it is because I didn’t understand what the other person was thinking very well.” “Today we are going to work on ways that we can work towards helping other people understand our feelings, and being more understanding of other peoples’ feelings.  The story that I am going to read talks a lot about how the character is feeling.  Understanding the story become easier when you are able to pay special attention to how the characters are feeling.”       (3 minutes)  • OUTLINE of key events during the lesson (Include specific details about how you will begin and end activities; what questions you will use; how you will help children understand behavior expectations during the lesson; when/how you will distribute supplies and materials) 1.We will begin with a warm-up where I will ask Jason* how he is feeling today, and I will talk about my day and how I am feeling also.  I will model appropriate communication of feelings.  2. I will read the book.  Pausing for questions, and featuring the character’s emotions on my own face.  3. We will discuss how the character talked a lot about how they feel, and always attached an explanation to it.  The student will practice making "I" statements about how we feel and link it to a reason 4.  Jason* will complete the sentence structures on the "WHEN ____ HAPPENS, I FEEL______...BECAUSE..." worksheet. (15_ minutes) • Closing summary for the lesson (How will you bring closure to the lesson and involve children in reflecting on their experiences?  How will you involve them making connections to prior lessons or prepare for future experiences?  What kind of feedback do you want from them at this time?)  We will have a discussion about the importance of handling emotions appropriately.  Hopefully there will be a specific circumstance in the day that we can connect this lesson to.  For example, Jason* gets upset when Aryana* bosses him around.  We could come up with different strategies for communicating how it makes him feel to her.  And also being more aware of her good intentions and positive feelings towards Jason* when she is “bossing him around.”     We will come up with a secret “I am feeling____ because____” cue for Jason to be reminded to use his words by when he is feeing upset.  (ex: grabbing elbow) (_3 minutes) Assessment: (How will you know the students are progressing toward your identified objective?  What will you observe for and/or take notes on to help you plan follow-up instruction?) I will read Jason’s* sentence structures and observe his behavioral interactions with his tablemates.  We will introduce further stories that are reflective of character emotions in his personal reading tub.  Jason will have fewer emotional break downs.

Mini Lesson

     For my mini lesson, I chose two students who my MT thought would benefit from the strategy I chose to teach. Both students have a very good grasp of their letters. They know which sound most of the letters make and they can form their letters well when writing. However, these students have a very difficult time focusing on their words and being able to write out complete thoughts/sentences.They are very concerned with whether or not their words are "right." Throughout the year and especially over the past few weeks, I have paid close attention to how these students write. I have noticed this issue they are having with getting their thoughts onto the paper. Often times, these two children only have a couple of words written down when it is time to turn in an assignment while many of the other students in the class have almost half of a page filled. Therefore, doing your best and moving on is the strategy I chose to use for this lesson.
     Overall, I thought the lesson went very well. Both students were excited and motivated to be working with me. During this time, I noticed that they worked very hard to stay focused on their thoughts. Both students were successful in completing their stories. In the same time it took the rest of the class to complete their stories, my students filled up all of the available lines with words and all of these words were readable. I was very excited to see them do so well. However, when I first started the lesson, I came to a realization. There is a difference between rushing the students and having them do their best and move on. For awhile I felt as though I was rushing them to finish their words. After a little bit, I took the time to help them break the words apart by sounding them out. We sounded out one letter, wrote it, and moved onto the next. I was sure to point out that we had tried our best and now we were going to move on to the next word. Eventually, the kids got into this routine and ended up doing really well with it.This worked better than me simply sitting back and urging the kids to hurry up with their words.
     If I were to teach this lesson I would keep the majority of it the same. However, I would definitely take out the part where the students write down what I am saying aloud. I found that this idea was very challenging for both the students and I. I felt like I was rushing the kids and I think they felt pressure from it, too. It was especially difficult because all children write at their own pace. I would try to implement this lesson into our classroom on a daily basis. This strategy should be the first thing students think about when writing.A follow up lesson to this might be another writing assignment where this strategy is implemented. I think that by using this strategy all year, this lesson could be present within many other lessons.

Grade: Kindergarten Mini-Lesson Rationale (Why are you teaching this lesson?): Students in Kindergarten are still learning how to write and spell. Many of my students spend so much time worrying about their spelling that they often only have time to write a few words. By practicing this concept of doing your best and moving on, I hope that students will be able to accomplish more during a set time of writing. Objective for this lesson: Students will be able to… (Remember it must be student centered and observable!!!!!!!) Students will be able to recognize and record the letters they hear in a timely fashion in order to write the story of a time they connected with the character in the book. Students will be able to write a complete story about their past experiences. Materials & supplies needed: White boards Markers Bedtime for Frances Lined paper

Procedures and approximate time allocated for each event  • Introduction to the lesson  (What will you say to help children understand the purpose of the lesson?  How will you help them make connections to prior lessons or experiences?  How will you motivate them to become engaged in the lesson?)    Do you remember when you first started drawing pictures in school? Sometimes you would need to draw something but you didn’t always know how. When this happened you tried your best and kept drawing. Tell me about a time when this happened! What were you drawing? Did people end up knowing what it was? Well, spelling out words works the same way. In Kindergarten you are just learning how to write and there are times where we are not exactly sure how to spell a word. When this happens we should try our best and keep moving on. When we try our best and keep moving, we have more time to write even more words.  (3 minutes)  • OUTLINE of key events during the lesson (Include specific details about how you will begin and end activities; what questions you will use; how you will help children understand behavior expectations during the lesson; when/how you will distribute supplies and materials) I will first talk to the kids about why we are doing a special lesson. I will tell them that even though we are working separately, we still need to do our best work and be on our best behavior. The first thing I will do is model a writing situation. I will take my white board and write a sentence. I will come across a word I don’t know and model the appropriate actions to take. I will sound out the word and write the sounds I hear. I will ask myself, “Does this look right?” Then I will say, “Well I am not completely sure but I did my best so I am going to keep moving on, that way I will be able to write more words!” I will then pass out white boards to the students I am working with. As a way to practice moving on, I will say a sentence out loud and they will write along as I go. I will give them enough time to sound out and write the words but not an excessive amount of time where they might second guess themselves and worry. The activity will be paced. I will then ask the students to think back to when they read the story Bedtime for Frances. What happened in the story? What did Frances do to keep from going to bed? Think about a time where you were in a situation similar to the one Frances was in. I will then have the kids write about their experience using the “moving on” technique we just discussed. I will remind the students to spell words the best that they can and keep moving on so they can write their entire story. (15 minutes) • Closing summary for the lesson (How will you bring closure to the lesson and involve children in reflecting on their experiences?  How will you involve them making connections to prior lessons or prepare for future experiences?  What kind of feedback do you want from them at this time?) I will ask the students to read their story to the group. We will talk about how their experiences relate to Frances’. What was hard about this activity/doing your best and moving on? What was easy? Were you able to write a lot? Do you think that doing your best and moving on will help you to write more? I want the students to make the connection between using this new strategy and the number of words they were able to write. (3 minutes) Assessment: (How will you know the students are progressing toward your identified objective?  What will you observe for and/or take notes on to help you plan follow-up instruction?) The assessment for this activity is mostly done during the lesson. The story that the students write will be used to assess how effective they were at doing their best and moving on. I will pay attention to how many words they were able to write in the allotted amount of time. Since I will be able to watch each student while they are completing the activity, I will be able to witness how well they use this new method of writing firsthand. Also, any writing activity that they do in the future can be used to assess this lesson. This technique will hopefully be something students will use as they continue to grow as writers.

Mini Lesson

For my mini lesson, I worked with a small group of four students. These four students were identified by my MT as struggling with the subject of text identification, differentiation, and using texts across the curriculum.  The students are very successful with student discussion and are attentive and motivated to learn.  Their challenges are based solely on the subject material. They benefit from individual attention in instruction. I have observed them and worked with them throughout the whole year and understand which environments are the most conducive for their learning.  These four students have always worked much better in small group settings compared to the whole-class environment. For the lesson, I focused specifically on the fact that the group of students I worked with is very strong with discussion-based activities.  Because the students were so comfortable with having discussions, the lesson was very successful.  They had much more background knowledge than what was expected, and brought a lot of insight to the lesson itself.  They all were able to identify the texts after we reviewed the differences between fiction and nonfiction.  They were also able to relate the texts to each other in a way that could be used with other texts and classroom topics.  I wouldn't change anything from the lesson, as long as the students I teach are similarly discussion oriented. If I were to do a follow-up lesson, I would have the students create a sample of their own fiction and nonfiction text to share with the group. Mini-Lesson Grade: First Rationale: Students need to be able to differentiate between types of texts and compare/contrast across multiple contexts. Students need to be able to talk about how these types of texts affect them and what thoughts are prompted from the reading of the text. Students should be able to understand how the texts are different and how they can be related. Objective for this lesson: Students will be able to… Explain major differences between books that tell stories and books that give information, drawing on a wide reading of a range of text types. (Common Core Standards) Materials & supplies needed: The Three Pigs by David Wiesner Animals and Me by Marie Greenwood Paper Writing utensil

Procedures and approximate time allocated for each event   • Introduction to the lesson Today we are going to look at the books Animals and Me and The Three Pigs. After we spend some time reading these books, we are going to talk about what the type of the book was. Earlier this year we talked about types of text, like creative nonfiction, fiction, and historical narratives. Today we are just going to discuss fiction and nonfiction texts. Do you remember what a fiction text is? What about nonfiction? (Go over definitions of fiction vs. nonfiction). As we read through these books, think about what similarities and differences you can find and discuss with your group. Also think about how the texts make you think or how they can be related to other topics. (5 minutes) • OUTLINE of key events during the lesson At the beginning of the lesson, I will tell the small group of students I am working with that I expect them to be on their best behavior. I will tell them that it is important to listen carefully when I am giving instructions and reading.  I will tell them that it is also necessary that we respect what everyone has to say, we need be patient, and that everyone will get a turn to contribute to the discussion. We will begin with the book Animals and Me. I will read through a few parts of the book that give information on animals (including page 23 which talks about pigs). After reading a few excerpts from the book, I will read the entire story of The Three Pigs. After I read both of the books, we will have a student-group discussion addressing the following questions: Just from the two titles of the book, how do you think the two texts are similar or different? How were the stories different? How were the stories similar? What type of text was Animals and Me? What type of text was The Three Pigs? Fiction or nonfiction? Did these texts make you think about your own experiences in (and out) of the classroom? What experiences can you relate to these two books? After we discuss the fiction and nonfiction texts, I will hand out a blank sheet of paper and a writing utensil (pencil) to each student in the group. Each student will create a Venn Diagram, highlighting the similarities and differences of Animals and Me and The Three Pigs. This activity will be a student driven activity, but I will refer back to our discussion to prompt student thinking and writing.   (30 minutes) • Closing summary for the lesson Was it helpful to compare books after reading? Did it help you to make a Venn Diagram to visualize the similarities and differences? Now that you have compared and contrasted fiction and nonfiction texts, you can use this same method with any text you read. You can relate texts you read in the classroom to other texts, as well as to your daily experiences. Next time you read, think about how you can identify a text and what information you can gain from reading.   (5 minutes) Assessment: Students will be able to progress toward the objectives through group discussion and by creating a Venn Diagram of similarities and differences. Students will be able to identify what type of text each book is and talk about how the text is related to student experiences. The discussion and student writing will help me to observe student understanding of the objectives as well as give feedback as to how I can improve the lesson for the future.

Mini Lesson

I choose two students to focus on for my mini lesson. I chose them because whereas they are able to read quickly, they still sound a little choppy and do not include inflections when they read. Due to the choppiness of their reading, these students struggle with comprehension questions, more specifically the retelling and sequencing component of comprehension. I have learned this throughout the year by working with them individually in the hallway with comprehension as well as during read-alouds with the whole class.
I decided to focus on sequencing, including the details of the events. This way they can focus on sequencing events as well as retelling main details. The lesson went well. Both of my students were able to complete the sequencing chart and recall details, both with guidance from me. If I were to change the lesson I would try to make it more independent, allowing students to come to conclusions on their own and working with each other to fill out the chart. It was hard not to intervene when both students were wrong about the order of events. If I were to do it again I would start with a more guided sequencing lesson that we do together and use this one as a followup. Since I did not do that however, I would follow up this lesson with another sequencing lesson where they have less guidance from me. Practice with different texts will help them master this concept.

Grade: 2nd Mini-Lesson Rationale: Some of my students struggle with sequencing events in a story. This lesson is designed to walk them through sequencing as well as understand the importance of sequencing in stories. Objective for this lesson: While reading Stone Soup, students will be able to discuss the events of the story at the halfway point and at the end of the story. They will be able to explain the details of each event to the group as well as discuss the events of the story. Materials & supplies needed: Stone Soup by Ann McGovern Sequencing Chart

Procedures and approximate time allocated for each event • Introduction to the lesson (_3__ minutes) Today we are going to read stone soup. There are a lot of things that happen in a story. These are the events of the story and they happen in a certain order. Tell me what you did this weekend (both students share). Retell the story mixing up a few of the events and ask student if it is right. When they correct me respond with “it is important to remember the order of how things happened”. When I changed the events it changed the story right and didn’t make sense? Pay attention to what is happening in the story Stone Soup. • OUTLINE of key events during the lesson (_15__ minutes) Begin reading story, stopping after the halfway point and ask students for events so far. Ask students what is happening, recalling details from the events in the story. When the story is finished I will pass out a sequencing worksheet with a space for each event that happened in the story. Students will be asked to fill put the sequencing chart as we discuss the events of the story. When a student proposes an event we will discuss as a group if that is the next event or not. We will do this for each event in the story. • Closing summary for the lesson (_3__ minutes) Why is sequencing important? Would the story be different if the events were in a different order? It is important to remember the order of events every time you read something. Next time a story is read in class, focus on the order of the events in the story. Assessment: The assessment will consist of the worksheet and discussion we fill out. Students will be able to explain the events in detail as well as support why that is the next event. Students will have to explain their ordering if it is questioned by another student. This will tell me if we need to work more on sequencing in the future based on how their skills are in this area.