Running head: WRITING PIECE: DOMAIN 3 - INSTRUCTIONS

My Reflection on a Phonemic Awareness Lesson

What areas of opportunities and areas to sustain do I recognize in this lesson on reading
comprehension / phonemic awareness taught to a group of five and six year old kindergarten
students? As a perquisite to this lesson the children were
to understand and recognize how to make letter sounds to
further their reading ability. To accomplish this, the
children will practice reading by working in small group
to read passages from a poem, Five Little Pumpkins and a
decodable book with appropriate phrasing and
expression. Also, they will develop the ability to
recognize, read, and say high-frequency words by using a group word bank.
Lesson Planning:
Reflecting on the planning and preparation for this lesson, I see that I was able to follow
the state standards to write a developmentally appropriate lesson for my kindergarten students.
Because I have worked with this group of children for nine weeks, when planning and preparing
for this lesson I was able to incorporate the knowledge of the children into planning how best to
put together a lesson that would keep them focused on learning. Further, with this knowledge I
was able to tailor the lesson so all the children would be able to participate through
differentiating the lesson to include two books that would reach across different developmental
level of reading. By doing this, the books provided a challenge for some and a proper fit for
others while still remaining developmentally appropriate for their age level. Additionally, an

Running head: WRITING PIECE: DOMAIN 3 - INSTRUCTIONS

interdisciplinary connection was shown by integrating math into the lesson with the poem Five
Little Pumpkins.
This lesson supports the content and standard, ELACCKRF3- know and apply gradelevel phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words. Also, it provides for the children
learning to read common high-frequency words by sight for
two decodable books differentiated for the class based on their
developmental level of reading. The book, This Rig
introduces high frequency words (e.g., this, my, here, go, gas)
and the book Who Is It? Introduces high frequency words
(e.g., you, out, come, who). The poem Five Little Pumpkins was
used to introduce rhyming into the lesson as well as cross disciplines to introduce mathematics
into the lesson. The essential question, How can sound units be blended to make up words
supports the content and standard of the lesson.
Reflecting on the standard, prerequisite, and the essential question, I recognized that the
instructional objective would be an essential factor to the lesson outcome. This been said, my
instructional objective was for the

students to practice

reading by working in small group

to read passages from a

decodable book with appropriate

phrasing and

expression. Also, the children were

to develop the ability to

recognize, read, and say high-

frequency words by

using site cards from a group word

bank. These site cards

were used to assist students in saying and recognizing the words in the decodable books.

Running head: WRITING PIECE: DOMAIN 3 - INSTRUCTIONS

Quality of Instructions:
The lesson objective was clearly stated to the students in whole group. The children were
to practice reading in small group, passages from a poem and their decodable book to understand
phonemic awareness. Further, the children were told they were to develop the ability to
recognize, read, and say high-frequency words by
using a group word bank. The language arts
focus for the poem Five Little Pumpkins. was
for the children to notice, think about, and work
with the individual rhyming sounds to the words
in the poem. While reading the poem I presented several questions to the class while in whole
group, (e.g., how many pumpkins were on the fence, what were the rhyming words found, and
how did the rhyming words affect their ability to learn the words and to sound them out). The
books This Rig and Who Is It provided a means for the children to learn to read by sounding out
words through repetition.
The instructional procedure to make this happen was to engage the students in small
group in reading and identifying

rhyming words in the

poem, Five Little Pumpkins,

and sounding words in

decodable books 11, The Rig,

and Who Is It. The

instructional outcome of the

lesson was for the

students to understand that

sounding out the words

in print will help them to recognize,

say, and remember the

words. Additional centers were set for the students to rotate through in fifteen minute increments
to practice reading and writing and to identify letter sounds.

Running head: WRITING PIECE: DOMAIN 3 - INSTRUCTIONS

This lesson was differentiated with the book Who Is It for students that have a deeper
understanding of phonemic awareness. This been said, I feel my instructional outcome was met.
I say this because my instructional outcome was for the students to be able to recognize rhyming
words in the poem, to practice reading from a decodable book, and to develop the ability to
recognize, read, and say high-frequency words by using a group word bank from a decodable
book.
Throughout the lesson to determine the students level of learning they were assessed
formatively through observation for meeting the learning goals while in whole group, small
group, and with a partner for their learning level achieved, and for additional learning
opportunities. I was able to accomplish this because the children were in a safe, warm, inviting
environment where they felt comfortable enough to ask questions and participate in the lesson.
The lesson planned for the children to be hands on with plenty of opportunities to be actively
engaged in the lesson (e.g., by using sight cards from the word bank to play a game to stimulate
their minds and them actively engaged. The lesson further planned for the children to own their
learning by participating in a student centered lesson guided by me. This is important, for this
means I was not at the center doing all the talking, rather the children were.
Classroom Management:
As I reflect back I can see the children were engaged in the lesson. They were eager to
participate by taking turns in reading the sight word cards and reading their book. Since I made
the sight words into a game with rewards for their effort, the children were focused and eager to
participate in recognizing, saying, and sounding out the sight words. The children were
rewarded with Dojo points for good behavior and for participating in the lesson. The weekly

Running head: WRITING PIECE: DOMAIN 3 - INSTRUCTIONS

Dojo points earned (15), gives them a chance to draw from a treasure box and receive treats on
Friday of each week. Positive reinforcement was also given to the children verbally with praise,
and nonverbally with a smile, nod, and/or thumbs up. This been said, the reward system in place
provides incentive for most of the children to be on their best behavior and to focus on the
lesson. The children are also aware that if they arent on their best behavior and participating in
the lesson they can have points taken away as well.
Because I recognize that structure is important to classroom management, there is a
posted schedule in the room we follow to ensure no instructional time is lost due to nonadherence to the daily routine. The children are used to structure and appreciate the order it
brings to their environment. The structure also provides the opportunity for the children to be
able to focus and concentrate on the lesson. It also allows for the instructional routine to proceed
with minimum interruptions.
Professionalism:
The learning goals for this lesson were for the students to practice reading by working in
small group to read passages from a decodable book with appropriate phrasing and expression.
Also, the students were to develop the ability to recognize, read, and say high-frequency words
by using a group word bank. This was accomplished by the students saying the high frequency
underlined words and the other words listed in the decodable books. While reflecting on prior
lessons taught and the feedback received, I tried to incorporate this feedback into my planning
and preparation, classroom management, instructions, and in my professional responsibilities.
For instance, my CT gave me an area to sustain which was to keep the children involved by
maintaining an active, upbeat expression. Also, to keep the children engaged to continue to find

Running head: WRITING PIECE: DOMAIN 3 - INSTRUCTIONS

ways to give them hands on activities to inspire them to want to own their learning. This I
tried to do by integrating a game into the lesson using flash cards to see who ended up with the
most card by recognizing and saying the words. Further, I made sure to provide plenty of
positive reinforcement and to have a reward system in place to ensure my students were aware of
the wonderful job they were doing in learning and participating in the lesson. I also incorporated
feedback to ensure I remembered to make allowances for the average attention span of the
children being their age plus two to three minutes.
In sum, I feel the lesson went well with Danielsons entire Framework for Teaching met.
I continue to realize there are areas I can improve on such as finding creative ways to keep the
children fully engaged and focused on the lesson, (e.g., following the print from left to write and
focused by staying attentive to the lesson). With each day I believe the children are beginning to
realize that by following the words from left to right they are able to maintain focus on what they
are reading as well as it gives them an opportunity to recognize and memorize the words by
sounding them out. This been said, the content and standard called for the children to know and
apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills to decode words. Also, the children were to
read common high-frequency words by sight from the book, This Rig (e.g., this, my, here, go,
gas) and from the book, Who Is It (e.g., you, out, come, who). They were able to accomplish this
by reading in small groups from decodable books, This Rig and Who Is It? Recognizing that my
instructional objective was met, I further recognize this lesson was a success because the
children took away from the lesson the ability to sound out and add new words to their reading
vocabulary.

Running head: WRITING PIECE: DOMAIN 3 - INSTRUCTIONS

My Reflection to the Domain Comments

Comments 1, 7, 13, 15, 17, 21 Domain 3c, Engaging students in learning: I feel this
domain was met because I engaged the students with the lesson by grouping them in whole
group, small group, and with a partner to read passages from their reading material, to play a
game using their site cards, during collaborative learning, while observing during collaborative
learning, and while observing to assess their level of learning. The students were grouped in
whole group, small group, and with a partner to ensure they received the benefit of Collaborative
learning while communicating together.
Comments 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, - Domain 3a, Communicating with students: I feel this
domain was met because the instructional outcome, perquisite for the lesson, explanation of the
lesson, the content and standard, the essential question, planned differentiated activity, clear
direction for the activities, and my presentation to the children were all designed to promote and
enhance the students learning potential.
Comments 10, 16, - Domain 3b, Using questioning and discussion techniques: I feel this
domain was met because part of the instructional outcome was for the students to recognize
rhyming sounds in one of their reading materials, Five Little Pumpkins. Through the questions
that were asked the children were able to respond to the questions correctly, (e.g., what were the
rhyming words found and how did the rhyming words affect their ability to learn the words and
to sound them out). The students were encouraged to participate in the lesson with positive
reinforcement and a reward system. This system allows the children to participate by pulling
from a treasure chest and / or treat box every Friday based on the number of points they receive
during the week for good behavior and participation in class activities.

Running head: WRITING PIECE: DOMAIN 3 - INSTRUCTIONS

Comments 14, 20 - Domain 3d, Using assessment in instruction: I feel this domain was
met because the children were assessed while in whole group, small group, and while working
with their partner. The children were given positive reinforcement and constructive feedback as
needed to provide encouragement and incentive for participating in their learning.
Comments 18, 19, - domain 3e, Demonstrating flexibility and responsiveness: I feel this
domain was met because I was responsive to my students need to interact with the lesson. Hands
on activities were provided with sight cards that provided a game like activity for the students to
engage their minds. Also, the lesson was designed to be student centered with guided
intervention.