STEP 3: Finally, consider
‘what these events might mean’ and ‘implications for your practice.’
Think about the instructional context in
which you are learning to teach literacy and how that may have influenced your
teaching experiences and opportunities for professional learning during Guided
Lead Teaching. Jot down notes about the following:
· Review
your notes from Inquiry One regarding the literacy resources and programs
available to you, and think about what part of your curriculum your literacy
unit fit within (e.g., guided reading program, daily five, writing workshop,
book club, teaching from the basal reading program).
o
To what extent were you were expected to
follow a scripted curriculum, or add your own ideas to a curriculum that
already exists, or create a unit that is entirely new?
§
We do not have a scripted program like
Reading Street. For third grade, Holt is creating a curriculum, so I was able
to follow those loose guidelines.
§
This let me add my own ideas to what the
curriculum had already suggested,
o
What was unproblematic and/or challenging
about planning a unit in this context?
§
It was somewhat challenging, since it made
me feel a little overwhelmed. I felt pressure to come up with creative ideas.
o
What obstacles did you face? How did you
overcome them?
§
Timing. This was hard for me, mostly in my
first few lessons.
§
I began to use a timer to hold me
accountable for my 15-minute time limit.
§
I also think I tried to cover too much
material in some lessons. This made me feel pressured to get through
everything, which didn’t help my timing problem.
o
How did working on developing your ‘core
practice’ influence the types of learning opportunities you were able to offer
your students?
§
Determining importance in text
§
I tried to focus my lessons on not only what
the text features were, but how they could be used to help readers (week 1)
§
I tried to focus my lessons on how the text
structure (sequence of events) could help my readers understand the text (week
2)
o
What dilemmas (if any) did you face and how
did you manage them? Consider issues that may relate to developing your
professional identity, developing strong teacher-student relationships,
constructing relevant curriculum, or assessing students in meaningful and
productive ways.
§
I had a hard time coming up with ways to assess
my students. I wanted the activities to be engaging, but also show me what my
students had learned. This was a challenge, and something I learned how to do
more as my unit progressed. Talking with my mentor teacher helped me see how
different activities were more beneficial than others.
o
What enabled you to be successful?
§
My mentor teacher. She was there to help me
out in whatever way I needed. She pointed me to a lot of different resources,
both in our classroom and online.
· Also
review the ideas you discussed in your reflections on your two lessons for
Inquiry Two (what your students learned, what you learned, what you would do
differently), and think about your unit as a whole.
o
Did the unit proceed as you expected? Why or
why not?
§
Yes, but I was a little discouraged at the
end of the first week. My students did not do as well with finding and using
text features as I would have hoped. I think I tried to cover too many of them
in a short amount of time, leaving some of my students confused as to what
certain features were.
o
What surprises or “aha moments” did you
experience?
§
I was surprised by the amount of
participation that happened during my second week when we did a verbal
retelling of the text I read. I was not expecting my students to be quite that
enthusiastic, since they had not shown me that before.
o
What do you still need to learn about
teaching in this target area, about your developing your ‘core practice’ and
about teaching literacy in general?
§
I need to learn more about how to engage my
students while still teaching them valuable information. This was one of my
biggest struggles, which I think also contributed to the timing (stated above).
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