ESL- First Grade Language Arts, Small Group Instruction/Comprehension

Reflection and Self Evaluation:

After reflecting on all aspects of my unit plan for small group instruction in language arts,
I felt that the unit was successful. The data compiled from all formative and summative
assessments led me to the conclusion that four of the five students met MCCRS standards basic
knowledge and skills. While I found that the Maria Counts Pumpkins summative assessment to
be a misrepresentation of the evidence of student learning due to formatting and the allotment
time with the text, all other assessments represented effective instructional strategies.
In lesson one, students engaged in guided reading based instruction. Students were given
the opportunity to review and add high frequency words found in the reading to the word wall
before the reading of the text. Reviewing these high frequency words were effective as it assisted
students in effectively reading The Fox on the Box more fluently as well as adding additional
sight words to their everyday use. Students successfully understood the instructional strategies of
using prediction and background knowledge as I modeled. They followed suit in guided practice
as well as in independent practice to guide their comprehension of the text. They proved these
instructional strategies to be effective when they were assessed using the formative assessment
of a checklist. All students were progressing or meeting expectations when assessing their use of
prediction and background knowledge to facilitate comprehension. Students also collaborated on
a comprehension worksheet/quiz after reading The Fox on the Box. Students engaged in a grand
conversation that enabled their overall comprehension of the story.
To make this lesson more effective in terms of instructional strategies, I would have
added images to go along with the high frequency words on the word wall. This way, students
would be able to match the meaning to the word as it appears in written form. I would also focus

more on how to effectively use retelling and rereading to aid in students comprehension. By
using explicit instruction and additional time modeling the reading strategies of retelling and
rereading, students may have shown more progress and understanding of the text by utilizing
these strategies more effectively. The comprehension worksheet/quiz from lesson one showed
that four of the five students performed proficiently according to their IEP learning goals while
the fifth student was unable to perform the task due to her specific needs that restricted her from
engaging in the activity. The checklist also showed where students were in the beginning of the
unit in terms of using appropriate strategies for reading. Throughout the lessons, students
progressed in their ability to successfully use these strategies.
In lesson two students reviewed the story The Fox on the Box as well as began a new
reading of Maria Counts Pumpkins by engaging in guided reading based instruction. Students
were given the opportunity to review The Fox on the Box since students needed extra practice
utilizing the strategies learned from lesson one. Students, once again, were introduced to new
high frequency words in Maria Counts Pumpkins. This time pictures accompanied the words to
connect meaning. The addition of the images was an effective instructional strategy in aiding
students fluency when reading this text. After reflecting from lesson one, I decided to focus on
the students ability to appropriately use all reading strategies of prediction, background
knowledge, rereading, and retelling. The additional practice with The Fox on the Box and the reteaching of the reading strategies with Maria Counts Pumpkins showed that this was an effective
instructional strategy. When assessed using the checklist during lesson two, students made
progress in all areas of appropriately using reading strategies to aid in comprehension. The
students that could be observed using these strategies, made great strides as three of the four

students made improvement in using these strategies when reading Maria Counts Pumpkins.
Student E was the only student unable to make improvement, though she remained consistent.
To make this lesson more effective I would have had students paired during the reading
of Maria Counts Pumpkins. This group of students relies on the acceptance and assistance of
their peers. By pairing high and low students together within the small group, this would help
boost confidence among all students within the group. I would also have changed the pace at
which the strategies were taught. Because this is only a three-day unit, I do not believe it is
enough time to effectively teach all of these reading strategies and expect instruction to make a
significant impact. I believe that this unit may be information overload, which does not give the
lower students in this group the opportunity to retain the skills learned successfully.
In lesson three students reviewed both stories The Fox on the Box and Maria Counts
Pumpkins to complete their summative assessments for the unit. Students were expected to read
the stories, utilizing the reading strategies learned to complete the assessment that corresponded
to the text. Students were able to successfully complete and meet MCCRS standards when
finishing The Fox on the Box assessment. I felt that the additional time to review this text and
further explicit instruction of the appropriate usage of reading strategies was an effective
strategy as this assessment is evidence of student learning. When students were given the chance
to review and reread Maria Counts Pumpkins, I thought this would assist in their comprehension
and give them one more chance to practice before the assessment. Instead, this assessment had a
negative impact on students. Three of the four students able to be assessed digressed from their
initial quiz/comprehension worksheet from lesson one.
To make the summative assessment more effective in correspondence to Maria Counts
Pumpkins, I would have spent more time focusing on how to use the appropriate strategies for

this text. The Fox on the Box was focused on the majority of the unit, where as Maria Counts
Pumpkins was only utilized for a small portion of lesson two. In the future, I would spend more
time on this text. The format of the assessment also proved to be complicated and difficult for
these students to navigate and complete successfully. I believe that the abundance of information
on one page was overwhelming. Next time I would reformat the assessment by breaking up the
matching activity onto two separate pages. This differentiation would benefit all students within
this group since they all have difficulty remaining focused.
The instruction of this unit influenced student learning in many ways with the students
specific learning differences in mind. This small group was composed of the struggling students
within the general education classroom, including those with IEPs as well as those that were
cited by the teacher as displaying difficulty in whole group instruction. All aspects of instruction
were differentiated with these students in mind. Student A was included in all activities with an
alternative assignment that allowed her to participate within the small group. She was given
index cards to choose from that displayed two options. She is only able to respond using eye
movements. This alternative assignment displayed one of many differentiated instructional
strategies to influence student learning. The rest of the students had instruction scaffolded
throughout to ensure that concepts were understood. I first modeled how to effectively and
appropriately use each reading strategy, followed by having students echo read to encourage
guided practice as well as think aloud when they were using a necessary strategy. After guided
practice, students independently practiced how they used the strategies to help their overall
comprehension of both texts read in this unit. The additional practice and re-teaching, using both
texts, aided in boosting the lack of confidence these struggling readers were already displaying.
Students confidence in their reading skills improved towards the end when evaluated using the

checklist. These students also have difficulty remaining focused during instruction. To help
students remain focused, I gave students a speaking animal to use as they took turns reading,
discussing, and answering questions. Not only did the speaking animal keep the lesson well
managed it also made students pay attention to where the stuffed animal was seeing that this was
something they were eager to obtain. A token system also helped students remain focused and
well behaved. If students remained attentive during instruction, discussed and/or answered
questions critically they would earn a token. These tokens turned into points with an incentive if
they earned enough tokens.
Based on the implications acquired from the student achievement data, future
instructional activities would be modified to meet the needs of students more effectively. In the
future, I would focus on pacing instruction in terms of the amount of information being taught to
this small group. This group has attention issues that keep them from learning multiple skills at
once. Breaking down the new skills to be learned into segmented parts would benefit this group.
It would allow them to focus on one skill at time and give them the opportunity to master them at
the same level as the students in the general education/whole group instruction setting the first
time. In the future, I would also pair stronger readers with those who struggled more in this
group. Pairing these students will boost confidence as well as give students the opportunity to
work together to create a positive classroom environment. Students would also be able to
collaborate more amongst each other when discussing misconceptions they may have or if they
were having difficulty reading a passage in the text.
When creating a unit it is important to collaborate with multiple school-based
professionals in the education setting in order to have various perspectives on how to achieve
student learning. Collaborating with the two special educators within this school would give me

multiple ideas on how to address the attention difficulties within the small group when learning
multiple skills at once. Their feedback and recommendations would have been beneficial in my
instruction. They probably would have recommended various strategies such as graphic
organizers or specific ways to scaffold in order to achieve effective student learning goals.
Collaborating with the reading specialist in the school would also have been beneficial. The
reading specialist at Chase Elementary often runs guided reading groups that also focus on
building phonics skills. With her expertise, I could have more effectively scaffolded and
integrated building other skills along the way. Developing additional skills would assist students
in their fluency, thus facilitating their comprehension successfully.
Two personal professional learning goals based on CEC standards emerged as I
reflected on the experiences I gained from this unit. CEC standard 3- curricular content
knowledge is an aspect of this unit that I want to focus on further. Without previous experience
in facilitating instruction on how to appropriately apply reading strategies, I found the task
problematic. I was not instructing on grade level students, but below grade level students that
needed additional supports. Though I felt I did my personal best, I believe that additional content
knowledge would have benefitted my execution of instruction for this unit. CEC standard 4assessment is another area of this unit that needs improvement in the future. As I reviewed my
data, I realized that my ability to format an assessment at an appropriate level for this small
group is lacking. Administering an effectively formatted assessment would have allowed me to
gain the data needed to successfully evaluate student achievement.