Small Group Reading Lesson Plan #1 Grade Level: ______3_____ Number of Students: ___3_______ Students Linguistic Backgrounds: One

student is classified as an ESL student Instructional Location: __Back Table__________________________________________ Length of Instruction: ___20 Min___________________________ Standard(s) Addressed What Common Core standards will be addressed during the lesson? RL.3.6. Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters. What WIDA standards complement the core standards and will be utilized? ELP Standard 1: Social and Instructional Language, Summative Framework Use sentences to provide information about self or opinions in response to picture prompts Content Objectives What will the students know and be able to do by the end of the lesson? Students will be able to make connections from the book to their daily lives or previous knowledge. What will be the enduring understandings? Students will learn that by making connections to a part of a story, they will be able to understand certain situations better. Language Objectives What language will students be expected to utilize when illustrating their understanding? Students will be expected to use their choice of language when making connections because this is their opportunity to focus on the content itself rather than the use of language. How will the language be differentiated for various levels of students language proficiency? The language will remain open for students choice. Genre: What is the genre of the text? This text is fiction Text Structure: Does the text follow narrative or expository text patterns? This text structure follows narrative text pattern Level: What is the guided reading or lexile level? This book is mainly designed for 7 year-olds

Title: What is the name of the book? Sticky Business Author: Who wrote the book? Joy Cowley Publisher: Who published the book? Dominie Press Incorporated Date: When was the book published? 1995

Theme(s) What themes or big ideas will be explored during the reading? Problem-solving

Strategy Focus What strategies and skills will be the focus of the lesson? Making connections

Vocabulary What words will be focused on: Not applicable

Assessment How will you determine that students are meeting the content and language objectives? Be specific. (checklist, antidotal records, student work, etc) Students will need to write in their journals by answering a few questions that deals with making connections.

Add any relevant information that is essential to understanding the context of your lesson: ESL student has a high reading level, but is labeled as reading below academic reading level because her comprehension skills are not high. The two other students reading level is low, but their comprehension skills are parallel to their reading skills. Reflection NotesQuestions/Concerns you have after teaching the lesson(s)? How do you help a student make connections if he is having a difficult time understanding the story? Day: 1 (Make sure and write-out what you will say to your students.) Before (Introduction) * Preview the skill (Teacher led) Have students preview the book. Look at the table of contents, the pictures in the book, etc. * Activate and build on prior knowledge about the topic (Teacher and Students Together) Ask students what they think will happen in this story from previewing it. * Set a purpose

Tell students that sometimes a story may not make sense unless they are able to link it to something they already know about. * Introduce the focus strategy Inform students that today we will be learning about making connections between a story and what we already know about. During (Engaging in meaning making and strategy/skill practice) Have students read the book. Tell students that a person can make connections to a story/part of a story by sharing about something that has happened to them, by relating it to another story they have read, etc. The teacher makes her own connection to the story and then has students do the same.

After (Clarifying key concepts, extending ideas) Make sure students know that there is no right or wrong answer. Making connections to one story will be different for each person because he/she is applying his/her own knowledge to what stands out to them from the book. Assessment: Have students write a paragraph/make a picture of a time they have felt like Leroy from the story. Students should be able to provide a thorough oral explanation if they make a drawing.

How might you extend the lesson? I will extend this lesson by picking a certain part of the story and have students do the same thing as described above. Discuss how you differentiated instruction for your learners? I allowed students to draw a picture, which allows visual learners to still develop the skill of making connections by using a skill that they are already familiar with.

Small Group Reading Lesson Plan #2 Grade Level: ______3_____ Number of Students: ___3_______ Reading below academic reading level Students Linguistic Backgrounds: Length of Instruction: ___20

Instructional Location: __Back Table__________________________________________ Min___________________________

Standard(s) Addressed What Common Core standards will be addressed during the lesson? RF.1.2. Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes). What WIDA standards complement the core standards and will be utilized? ELP Standard 2: The Language of Language Arts, Summative Framework Blend sounds together to make words, shown visually. Content Objectives What will the students know and be able to do by the end of the lesson? Students will be able to separate words into syllables by using their hands to clap for each syllable. What will be the enduring understandings? Students learn how to orally separate words by using syllables. Language Objectives What language will students be expected to utilize when illustrating their understanding? Students will be expected to use English when learning syllables because all words will be in this language. How will the language be differentiated for various levels of students language proficiency? If a student does not understand English, then he/she will be allowed to use language of choice. Words from lesson will still need to be orally said in English. Genre: What is the genre of the text? This text is fiction Text Structure: Does the text follow narrative or expository text patterns? This text structure follows narrative text pattern Level: What is the guided reading or lexile level? This book is mainly designed for 7 year-olds

Title: What is the name of the book? Sticky Business Author: Who wrote the book? Joy Cowley Publisher: Who published the book? Dominie Press Incorporated Date: When was the book published? 1995

Theme(s) What themes or big ideas will be explored during the reading? N/A

Strategy Focus What strategies and skills will be the focus of the lesson? Using clapping as a method of understanding how to separate words into syllables.

Vocabulary What words will be focused on: N/A

Assessment How will you determine that students are meeting the content and language objectives? Be specific. (checklist, antidotal records, student work, etc) By having students take turns determining number of syllables with different words on small sheets of paper.

Add any relevant information that is essential to understanding the context of your lesson: N/A Reflection NotesQuestions/Concerns you have after teaching the lesson(s)? Some students still had a difficult time understanding that the word plain is split up into one syllable. Some said plain which sounded like playing. Day: 1 (Make sure and write-out what you will say to your students.) Before (Introduction) * Preview the skill (Teacher led) Go over a few of the words in the story by having students say them Some of the words are walking, problem, different, happily, joy * Activate and build on prior knowledge about the topic (Teacher and Students Together) Ask students if they know what a syllable is. * Set a purpose Tell students that syllables will help them split up a word and pronounce it better.

* Introduce the focus strategy Show students how to use clapping as a method for splitting words up by syllables.

During (Engaging in meaning making and strategy/skill practice) Go over the same words, but have students practice how to divide them up into syllables using clapping. Do it as a group. After (Clarifying key concepts, extending ideas) Explain that some words may look like they are more than one syllable, but tell them to split it up by how they normally say the word. Then show them again how to clap to determine the number of syllables. Assessment: Have a few vocabulary words on small sheets of paper. Pick students to tell you how many syllables each has.

How might you extend the lesson? I will extend this lesson including a few words that are not in the book like thorough, through, though, and throughout Discuss how you differentiated instruction for your learners? I will have students make a chart in their journals and have the following columns word, syllables, and number of syllables. Then, as we are going through the words, they are to fill out the chart.

Small Group Reading Lesson Plan #3 Grade Level: ______3_____ Number of Students: ___3_______ Reading below academic reading level Students Linguistic Backgrounds: Length of Instruction: ___20

Instructional Location: __Back Table__________________________________________ Min___________________________

Standard(s) Addressed What Common Core standards will be addressed during the lesson? RL.3.6. Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters. RF.1.2. Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes). What WIDA standards complement the core standards and will be utilized? ELP Standard 1: Social and Instructional Language, Summative Framework Use sentences to provide information about self or opinions in response to picture prompts ELP Standard 2: The Language of Language Arts, Summative Framework Blend sounds together to make words, shown visually. Content Objectives What will the students know and be able to do by the end of the lesson? Students will be able to make connections from the book to their daily lives or previous knowledge. Students will be able to separate words into syllables by using their hands to clap for each syllable. What will be the enduring understandings? Students will learn that by making connections to a part of a story, they will be able to understand certain situations better. Students learn how to orally separate words by using Language Objectives What language will students be expected to utilize when illustrating their understanding? Students will be expected to use their choice of language when making connections because this is their opportunity to focus on the content itself rather than the use of language. Students will be expected to use English when learning syllables because all words will be in this language. How will the language be differentiated for various levels of students language proficiency? If a student does not understand English, then he/she will

syllables. Title: What is the name of the book? Sticky Business Author: Who wrote the book? Joy Cowley Publisher: Who published the book? Dominie Press Incorporated Date: When was the book published? 1995 Theme(s) What themes or big ideas will be explored during the reading? Making connections Strategy Focus What strategies and skills will be the focus of the lesson? Using clapping as a method of understanding how to separate words into syllables.

be allowed to use language of choice. Words from lesson will still need to be orally said in English. Genre: What is the genre of the text? This text is fiction Text Structure: Does the text follow narrative or expository text patterns? This text structure follows narrative text pattern Level: What is the guided reading or lexile level? This book is mainly designed for 7 year-olds Vocabulary Assessment What words will be focused How will you determine that on: students are meeting the N/A content and language objectives? Be specific. (checklist, antidotal records, student work, etc) Checking journals for connections. By having students take turns determining number of syllables with different words on small sheets of paper.

Add any relevant information that is essential to understanding the context of your lesson: N/A Reflection NotesQuestions/Concerns you have after teaching the lesson(s)? N/A Day: 1 (Make sure and write-out what you will say to your students.)

Before (Introduction) * Preview the skill (Teacher led) Remind students why we make connections in stories. We do it so that we can understand a story better because we can relate to it. * Activate and build on prior knowledge about the topic (Teacher and Students Together) Ask students what the problem in the story was. * Set a purpose Remind students that we will be making connections again to the story. * Introduce the focus strategy Remind students that we will be reviewing syllables as well. During (Engaging in meaning making and strategy/skill practice) Ask students how they think Leroy felt when he faced a problem in the story. Ask students to make a connection to that by saying: Have you ever felt that same way Leroy did? After (Clarifying key concepts, extending ideas) Have students draw this connection in their journals. Go over clapping for syllable sounds with the words walking, problem, different, happily, joy Assessment: While checking notebooks, have students work together to determine number of syllables for each word. How might you extend the lesson? I will add new words that are not in the book. Discuss how you differentiated instruction for your learners? I had students teach each other how many syllables are in each word.

Lesson 1-Making Connections After teaching the first lesson, I realized how much of a difference it makes to fully prepare everything the day before than to prepare the morning of. My teacher had previously modeled the reading groups for me the week before and I had thought it was a piece of cake to handle. The moment I started the first small reading groups lesson, however, I almost froze. I was so embarrassed because I had not read the book that my students were reading that day and noticed how that was going to affect the lesson. When I tried to get my students to make connections, I could not think of an explicit question to ask that involved the text. I had started off with a generic question like How can you connect to this story? After the lesson, I understood how much of a difference it would have made if I had read the story; questions would have led to more effective results because they would have been clear, detailed, and allowed students to focus on one specific part rather than the whole book. When I asked them the question, some of my students seemed confused and told me that they had never anything from the story happen to them. I did not know how to reword the question so that it would include a specific part of the story. As a quick fix, I had students pick a favorite part from the story and share with me. I figured that based on this, I would be able to get a quick summary of the book without making it obvious that I had not read. Without a doubt, this technique failed. Students favorite parts were not in order so it was unclear to me which part came first. Next thing I knew, our twenty-minute session was over and I had no time to get students to develop making connections. Although this lesson did not go as planned, it taught me how important it is to plan a lesson step-by-step no matter how small the lesson may seem. I felt more prepared for lesson two so I stayed after school and made a thorough lesson plan with details and sticky

notes so I could keep track of what I was teaching.

Lesson 2-Syllables and Sounds Teaching lesson two was much more effective than the first one. I felt more prepared and not only did students pick up on what we were doing quickly, but they remained fully engaged throughout the entire lesson. The only trouble I came across dealt with words that have a lot of letters but were only one syllable. It was difficult because I did not know how to explain why they were only one syllable. After going through a few words with them, however, most were able to catch on to the technique. I told my students to say each word how they normally say it without focusing on the syllables. Then I told them to say the word the same way, but to clap this time. After they heard the number of times they needed to clap, they seemed to understand the lesson. I think students favorite part of the lesson was the clapping. They showed great enthusiasm and were eager to participate, especially Kayla* who is usually very shy. All three of my students raised their hand for each word because they wanted to try it out. I was satisfied with the turnout of the lesson. I have come to the realization that planning far in advance makes a much greater difference than when you plan a few minutes ahead. I had small strips of paper with each word on it. In addition, I had sticky notes on my lesson with steps so I could keep track of what I needed to do next. Even my teacher gave me positive feedback on this lesson, so I became aware that I had improved a lot more than I thought.

Lesson 3-Review Making Connections and Syllables This lesson was more of a review, which is the way my cooperating teacher had set it up. I think it is a great idea to give students a break from so many lessons because when they are given different material every day, they are bound to forget. Reviewing is an excellent strategy to instill information in a childs brain. Reflecting on all three of my lessons, however, I still think I did a more superb job on my second lesson. Some of the things I learned dealt with planning in advance, which I have been working on a lot more now. In addition to reading, I have implemented new planning skills in other subject areas. I never knew how much planning goes into teaching until now that Im doing the planning myself. I definitely appreciate teaching a whole lot more now. Even though some of my students did not get to develop the skill of making connections in the first lesson, they got it for the most part in lesson number three. I was able to make a short schedule for my third lesson to re-introduce how to make connections and review syllables. Students were more eager to share the way they made connections to the main character, Leroy, in the A Sticky Business book. I am appreciative of this project because it led me to appreciate the field of education so much more. It is imperative to be thrown in the water when student teaching because if certified teachers hold our hand during our placement, then we are going to sink once we have our own classroom. If it had not been for this project, I would have never paid attention to how much work is put into small reading groups. The day I planned for lesson two, I stayed after school for an entire hour planning to plan for those twenty minutes. I asked myself why we have to plan for a whole hour when we are only teaching for twenty minutes, but I think that this is something

that should be stressed to other pre-service teachers because they may realize it too late.

Critical Reflective Paper My teaching overall has improved throughout this semester. This project was definitely a great help because, as I have shared before, I learned the importance of planning ahead. The turnout from lesson one and lesson two varied greatly because of the amount of time I put into preparing for lesson two. When reading with students, it is important to read the book, I felt so embarrassed that I had not read a simple book. I told myself, What might my students or cooperating teacher think? Will they think that I dont know the first thing about teaching? My teacher didnt give me any negative feedback after the lesson, though. On the contrary, she let me make my own decisions to improve the turn-out of my future lessons. I think it was good that she did that because I was able to make my own decisions based on my own judgments as to what a teacher needs to plan ahead. During the lesson, I was left surprised with Britanny* because she usually takes random guesses when answering a question. This time, however, she was actively participating and understanding the material; she was eager to raise her hand. Kayla* was eager to participate, as well. She is usually shy and seldom raises her hand voluntarily, but after learning about syllables, she was enthusiastic about answering my questions. Jacob* had a bit of a harder time breaking out of his shell, but by the end of the lesson he rose his hand to give an answer several times. Although there were some difficulties in the lessons, I know students will be able to pick up on the material because they have a lot of potential, which I learned after these lessons. They simply need to be motivated and encouraged to participate in class through engaging them in fun, interactive activities. Through this assignment, I found it natural to show enthusiasm to my students to encourage them to try out the new techniques I

was implementing. Students participated eagerly and all had a smile on their face because they thought these activities were fun. I did not let my frustration show during my first lesson because I knew students would become aware that something was not right, which is why I kept calm. By remaining positive, I spread encouragement to my students so they would not think of the lessons as a difficult activity. I learned that this group of students has a difficult time giving clear explanations or getting a point across orally. When I asked them questions that required giving me a summary of the book Kayla remained quiet at first, Britanny gave me random guesses, and Jacob responded to my questions with I dont know often. After going over the material with well thought-out examples, I was able to model for my students of how I wanted these questions answered. After modeling the techniques, students participation level rose. I have come to the conclusion that the name of my career should be called planning, not teaching, because that is what we do most of the time. From my point of view, however, I do not find certain lesson plans helpful at all. They are very tedious to fill out, and I feel that I am a more effective teacher when I use my own lesson plan templates. Nonetheless, the turnout of this project was very positive because I have learned the importance of being prepared for every lesson. Two goals I can see myself setting are to plan out my entire semester in a rough draft, but for each week of teaching, I want to take the plan it out in details at least a week before I start teaching it. This way I will know what I need and have time to work on it when Im not in the classroom.