Monday, March 16, 2009
Read-Aloud
Reflect on your read-aloud. Write about (1) at least 3 +'s (what you did well, kids learned, what generally went well), (2) one wish (one thing you wish had gone better and what you might do better next time to make that happen), and (3) one question you have about any aspect of the lesson, the kids' response, your planning of the lesson, etc.
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Well, my fourth graders are going to Wilmington this week. So, Mrs. Hunt told me to read them a book. The book was called "An Island Scrapbook" by Virginia Wright Frierson. I read to a small group of students. I started out by asking them if they knew what an island was. We went over that and if any of them had ever been to an island. They did a good job of answering my questions. Also, they were really excited about they story because they knew some of the things they would hear in the book were things they could see on their trip in Wilmington. During the reading, I did not discuss much or ask question of what I was reading. So, I think that is one thing I would improve. Maybe next time discuss the story a bit more as a read to engage the children more. Overall, it was good because at the end we had a good discussion about the book. It also helped them think about possible things they would be experiencing on their trip. I just liked the way they were are engaged in the reading because it made me feel more comfortable and less nervous! One question I have is what do I do when kids are coming in the room and others are leaving during the read aloud? How do I keep these interruptions from distracting with my read aloud?
ReplyDeleteSiomara Castillo
Today I read "K is for kissing cool kangaroos" to my kindergarten class. I thought this went very well. First, I thought the kids listened and were engaged in the story. Second, my students enthusiastically answered every question I asked. Lastly, I felt like the students were excited about the story. However, I do wish I would have discussed the book more with the class after I finished reading it. I think I was a little nervous so I kind of rushed through it. One question I have is, what are some effective ways to get students involved in a story when they are not paying attention?
ReplyDeleteHeather Johnson
For my read aloud with my kindergarten class I read "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom". I think while reading the story I didn't rush through like I often tend to do when I'm nervous. The kids seemed to enjoy the book and liked when I asked them questions. For the most part everyone seemed to pay attention and stay quiet while I read so I thought it went well overall. One thing that I thought I could have done better was let the kids see the pictures longer. I read slow but I think some of the students couldn't see the book as well as I hoped. One question I have is how do you keep one child from over shadowing the others when you ask a question?
ReplyDeleteKatie West
For my read aloud I read “Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig,” to my third grade class. First, one of my goals was to be very expressive while reading. I felt like I did that very well because my extra enthusiasm allowed the kids to get into the book. Second, my partner Laura and I both read “fractured” versions of the Three Little Pigs. We did this so at the end we could compare and contrast the versions. I did my best to try to remind them to be thinking about how my version was different from her version. Thirdly, I felt as though I did a good job at the end giving feedback to the students when they were telling me how the two stories were different. Finally, one improvement I feel like I could have made was talking slower and engaging the students more. The only question I had was I noticed a student sleeping during my read aloud. How would I approach that student without calling him out and disrupting the reading?
ReplyDelete-Christin JOnes
For my read aloud I read "Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook" The students loved it. The three things that I believe I did well were: At the beginning of the lesson I got the students on task and ready to listen (crisscross apple sauce legs, hands in your lap, ears open to listen). Second I got the students involved before even reading to book by asking them what they thought the book would be about. I third kept their attention throughout the book by asking questions and showing them the pictures. The one thing that I hope to have more control over next time is the talking and answering while reading the book. Kindergartners are so eager to talk and tell their opinion that it is hard to get them quiet so you can read the next page. They always find something to relate to the book. With this wish I get a question. How do you keep the students on task and listening to the story and keep the distractions and answering to a minimum?
ReplyDeleteMy read aloud could not have gone more smoothly! I carefully watched what my teacher did that was positive and what she did that was negative during her read aloud. I read a story about Winnie the Pooh and the easter bunny. I talked about the cover and and asked them about what holiday they have been studying, which has been easter. I read half way through a asked a question. I kept them engaged by continuing to ask the question. At the end of the lesson, I had them talk about what happened, was there a problem? Is is a good or bad thing to work together? Dr. Clark watched me read aloud, and she said I did great. Pre-reading, during reading, and post reading questions are the things I am so glad I did! They were really engaged in the story. All the kids were really liked the story. I guess one thing I would change would be not to be so nervous because I really was and it was for no reason. They listened well, they answered questions, and they are really fun to teach. I am glad that I did what we talked about in class because you can really tell that students engage more in the story if they are asked questions. My only question is sometimes in Kindergarten they get off topic and do not even talk about what you ask them, so how do I keep them on topic? What I did was just repeat the question, and I acknowledged what they said even if it was not on topic, but I waited until they answered the question.
ReplyDeleteMolly Suddes
For my read aloud i read a story about bunnies, since Easter is comign up. The students loved it. The three things that I believe I did well were: At the beginning of the lesson I got the students on task and ready to listen (crisscross apple sauce legs)Second I got the students involved before even reading to book by asking them what they thought the book would be about. I third kept their attention throughout the book by asking questions and showing them the pictures. The one thing that I hope to have more control over next time is the talking and answering while reading the book. Kindergartners are so eager to talk and tell their story that it is hard to get them quiet. They always find something to relate to the book, no matter how off topic it is. I have the same question as Beth, How do you keep the students on task and listening to the story and keep the distractions and answering to a minimum?
ReplyDeleteMolly Maness
I read "The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark" to my third grade class. Our teacher was telling us that they have been reading fractured books of the real story like "The Three Little Pigs" and "Cinderella" and comparing and contrasting them to the original version using a Venn Diagram. My partner Christin and I both read a different version of "The Three Little Pigs" and we explained to them how to complete a Venn Diagram on the stories. I think that I did a relatively good job on reading my story to the class. I had not done that before in front of a whole class before, just to a group of students in the past. I held the book out so that all of the students could see the pages and could pay attention to what was going on. I think I did a good job of prepping the students for the assignment that would be completed after the story was read and explained to them what they should be listening for. Also, at the end of the story I asked them to tell me what they heard that was different and what was similar to the original story. It seemed to be good interaction and many students had comments to share of what they had noticed. The students learned how to use the Venn Diagram as a form of comparison. I wish that after both Christin and I had read our stories, we had taken a little bit more time to compare all three stories before they completed their diagram. One question that I had was what is another way that we could have compared the two stories besides using a Venn Diagram?
ReplyDeleteLaura Davis
For my read aloud lesson I read "An Island Scrapbook" by Virginia Wright Frierson just as Siomara did. She read the book first and then I read it second. Three good things that happened was that the Fourth graders are going on a trip to Wilmington and the kids got to learn about different animals and sites that they would see. I feel that I asked appropriate questions that went along with the book in the middle of the book and throughout the book to keep the childrens attention. I feel that by reading the book before they went on the trip helped them to learn more things. They were also more relaxed sitting on the floor. A thing that I wish wouldn't happen next time would be that the students were changing groups going in and out of the computer lab which was very distracting and some kids had to listen to it twice. How do you get the kids to pay attention better and not be so distracted and also not have questions asked about things that are off topic? -Kala White
ReplyDeleteFor my read aloud lesson I read an article off the internet about lighthouses. I was working with a group of three students and they were given a scavenger hunt to find information about different lighthouses. I sat at the computer and read aloud the article so they could write down the information they needed. I would read and stop when I knew something they needed to write down had been covered and ask them if they knew what had been said in the article. Three good or positive things that happened was that they were really interested in the information, they knew what they were looking for so they were paying good attention, and I also learned new information about lighthouses. One thing I would have done differently would have been to have the information up on a big screen so they could see it better while I read to them. The teacher gave me this lesson to do so she wouldn't have to sit with the students, so my question would be, is there a better way to cover the information other than in very small groups?
ReplyDeleteFor my read aloud I read a poem by Shel Silverstein called "Allison Beals and Her 25 Eels." For the most part it went very well. As soon as the students saw I was reading Shel Silverstein they got very excited. I think I did a good job introducing the poem and getting them interested in it. I asked what other poems they had read in class. I also asked if they liked poetry and my whole group said they loved it and one little boy even said he likes to write it. I also believe I did a good job letting the students know what they needed to look for and be thinking about while I read the poem and while they followed along with the copy I gave them. I think the main activity I had them do with the poem was really good and they enjoyed it very much. I had them draw a picture that went along with the poem and then write on their picture the line from the poem it came from. The only problem with a poem is they are usually short and I had a problem figuring out what else I could do with the poem. My question is how can I make a read a loud of a poem longer and more informative?
ReplyDeleteSarah Purrell
I read a book to my fifth graders called "The Wolf Who Cried Boy." It was a twist of the well-known story, "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." I had a really great time reading to the students, and I think that the kids enjoyed it as well. I think that I did 3 things really well during the read-aloud. Before I started the story, I read the title of the book and asked the students if this title sounded similar to anything that they had ever heard before. We did a brief overview of the "Boy Who Cried Wolf" and decided to see if this story would be similar. I read with enthusiasm hoping to bring more life to the story. After the story was over, I allowed the students to share with me the similarities that they saw between the "Wolf Who Cried Boy" and the "Boy Who Cried Wolf."
ReplyDeleteNext time I do this I will make sure that the whole class is present. I read the story at a time when some children were in other classes. They came back halfway through the story and I had to fill them in on what happened so far in the story. It would have been better if the whole class were present from the beginning.
Are read-alouds a good thing to do to utilize a little bit of time before students have to go somewhere? I think that is how I would most prefer to use them in my future classroom.
Shelby Johnson
I did my read-aloud on Wednesday April 1st. I had to make my read-aloud and DRTA go together because it does not seem like our teacher is going to give us many chances to do read-aloud's so I tried to get it done at once. The book I used was "The Story of Ruby Bridges" which is about segregation in schools. Positives: 1) The students knew a lot more about segregation than I though they knew. 2) The students were very eager to answer any questions I had about segregation in the story. 3) The students even asked a question or two which enriched the conversation. I hope that I will get another chance to do a read-aloud because it was hard to do the DRTA and read-aloud together. We could not really talk about background knowledge for book before we read it because it would mess up their predictions. I think that if I chosen a different activity for the DRTA then it might have been easier to do both lessons at once. I also really wish I had more time because my group was the last group done and the teacher was kind of rushing me at the end to finish. The students were so eager to talk about segregation that a few of them interrupted. How do you keep students on task, interested, and asking questions, without having them jump ahead of you or interrupting you?
ReplyDeleteMegan Cockrum
I did my Read A Loud with my fifth graders on Wednesday. The lesson went really well. The class was eager to listen and pay attention. I read a book called Saturdays and Teacakes. The book was full of sensory words that went along with the stories. I did an activity similar to the one you did with us in class with the senses. The children really seemed to enjoy this. They payed attention very well. All of them were eager participants in answering my questions, which I have noticed can be a difficult task. After reading a couple of pages I stopped to let them tell me some sensory words they heard used in the story. At the end we had a discussion on how sensory words help the reader relate to the text. I thought that an activity like this should be used for fourth graders in enhancing their writing skills for the writing test. After discussion we tasted some teacakes. yum! One thing that I would have done a little different was to end it with more depth. I spent a good bit of time before prepping them and I think that maybe I should put more time into the conclusion. Is it better to make a whole in depth lesson on Read-a-louds or should it be a fill in thing?
ReplyDeletejoni little
I did my Read Aloud with my kindergarten students yesterday and we read a book called "April Fool!" by Karen Gray Ruelle. We were a little late getting to read the book, but the kids still really enjoyed it. Three things that I thought went really well was that the kids were very eager to answer my questions as we went along, the students easily related to the story and could tell their own April Fools stories, and I felt really comfortable reading the to the students and leading their learning. One thing that I would've changed about my time was that I would have chosen a shorter book so that that I would have more time to discuss instead of having to mostly just get through the book due to time constraints. My question is what is the most important thing you need to plan for when you plan a lesson? The content of the story? An objective students need to learn? The level of the book?
ReplyDeleteLeslie Sheppard
For my read aloud, I read "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs," to my second grade group. The teacher had a class copy of the book so that each child could follow along in their book, I feel that our reading session went really well. Three things that went well were: the kids followed along and seemed to be on task, they answered my questions easily, and I felt really comfortable reading and asking the comprehension questions and the time line questions I had to ask of them. One thing I would have changed would be to write the plot line on sentence strips so that the kids could sort them more easily. My question is; do you have to read a book that is on the kids grade level or can you read a book that is higher leveled to challenge the students?
ReplyDeleteFor my read aloud I read "Officer Buckle and Gloria" to my kindergarten class. I read to the entire group, and over all I felt like the reading went really well. I felt like the reading of the actual book went well, the students made many thoughtful comments, and were involved in the reading from beginning to end. One thing that I wish I could have done better is that I would have allowed more time for the children to get settled before beginning the lesson. I didn't realize it but a few students were still at their cubbies when I began talking about the cover of the book. My question is what is a good strategy to help children settle down when you are ready to begin a lesson?
ReplyDeleteI read "Charlie Cook's Favorite Book" to a group of my third graders. It was a really good experience. Overall I think it went really well. Three things that went especially well were 1) The students loved the book and were really excited about it. They wanted me to read some parts over again and again. 2) I really let go of my nervousness and read with gusto and used voices and excitement. The kids really liked this and I was glad that I was able to let go a little bit. 3) The kids loved to talk and discuss about the book. They really got involved. Even students who didn't normally get involved with reading discussions were excited about discussing the book! I was very happy about this. One negative thing was that I don't think I sat where all the children could see the pictures in the book and I had to stop a couple of times to reshow them the pictures. We were all crowded around a little table. I think it would be better if we could have been a little more spread out but still close enough to discuss in depth. A question from this lesson would be - can it be a little less structured than most things so the children can talk freely? I tried to keep them on topic but as long as they weren't dominating the conversation and were relatively on task I let them talk. Is this the correct thing to do or does it need to be more structured?
ReplyDeleteBrittany Norman
Because of time constrants I combined my DRTA and my read aloud. My 4th grade teacher gave us some ideas for books to read in our groups. I chose a book that was about African Americans trying to register to vote. I had about 6 kids in my group and we started off by talking about the cover and what we thought the book would be about. Every few pages I would stop reading and ask them what was going on in the story. After we read the book, we did an entire recap of the story. I was impressed that I made sure to call on every kid in my group to make sure they knew what the story was about. I was happy that a lot of the kids wanted to participate when I asked questions. I was worried that some of the kids wouldn't understand the concept of the book because of things I had observed in class. I was surprised that they knew what segregation was, and how the African Americans stood up for themselves and didn't give up. The story was through a little girls eyes and they seemed to know exactly what the little girl was talking about. One thing I think I could improve on would be, not stopping so much during the story. I think I stopped a few too many times. My question would be, how do I get all the kids excited about the book and wanting to raise their hands? I called on all of them and they all answered, but some of them didn't raise their hands because they didn't want to be called on. How can I get the kids excited and wanting to answer the questions and talk about the book?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI read the book, "Ming Lo Moves the Mountain" by Arnold Lobel. I read to all the students in the classroom and from the beginning they were all very excited about the story. We picked this story because they were studying about China and we thought it would be a good story that they could think about with all they had learned earlier. I showed them the cover page nad they were very good at guessing what it was going to be about and their reasoning's for why they thought that was also very good. During the story they payed very close attention and when I stopped at certain places to ask them questions they knew and predicted and told their own stories very well. And then at the end i asked them to recap and ask any questions about the book and they put the story in order and again showed that they payed great attention to the story. I also tries to incorporate what they had learned about China so far with the story. Almost all the kids raised their hands and participated. I also made sure to try and call on each kid at least once. One thing I wish was different was that the kids would not tell as many stories about themselves. Although most of them went with the story I feel like some stories did not need to be told. A question I have are for those who do not talk as much do they understand and comprehend the story as much as the others who are asking the questions do?
ReplyDeleteMeggie Colhoun
For my read-aloud, I read to my kindergarten class right after there snack around 10:00. They all gathered around my rocking chair and sat around the carpet. I read the book, "The Recess Queen," by Alexis O'Neill. I started by asking them, based on the cover what the story was about? They mostly guessed that the girl on the cover would be mean to kids and to the teacher. I began reading after listening to multiple predictions, and then I stopped at a page where the mean recess queen is about to do something to the new girl in school. All of the students chimed in when I asked what they thought would happen next, I also asked if they wanted to change their predictions and none of them did. Finally at the end of the book we talked about what would have happened if the new girl hadn't of come to school, they said that the recess queen wouldn't have friends, etc... Overall I really enjoyed this lesson, the kids were extremely responsive and involved. The only thing I would have done differently is make sure they knew to raise their hand before they spoke because they all chimed in at once and it was hard to hear everyone. My question is, what are some good tips to making sure the kids behave well, and to prevent them from shouting answers, because that was the only issue in this lesson.
ReplyDelete-Hannah Hobson
I read "The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush" to a group of my second graders. At first I thought I was going to be nervous but I thought I did a really good job. I asked the students questions about Native Americans before I started reading. I also went over vocabulary words that they would struggle with so when I got to that part of the story they would understand everything. I also asked what new information they learned about Native Americans after I read the story. The students did a great job thinking about the story as I was reading. I could tell they were not zoning out and that they were actually paying attention. They did really well answering the questions and they learned what an Indian Shaman is. I wish I would have not let this one child get off topic so easily but it is really hard when all he wants to do is talk and tell a story when I ask him a question relating to the story. My question is how do you keep a talkative student from overpowering the rest of the group?
ReplyDeleteFor my read aloud I read "Where The Wild Things Are" to a small group of my second graders. I was nervous at first I guess just because I knew I was being watched. I thought I did a great job the kids really seemed entertained with the book. They answered all of my questions with great thought. The kids seemed really interested in telling me how this story could be connected to their lives which really allowed me to have more fun with the book. I had to at times make sure certain students were still paying attention and that they were on task, but I feel like I handle those situations very well. I think I could have asked more prediction questions before I read the book and allowed the students to think more about the story before I read it. My question I would be what is the best way to deal with a student who already has read the book you are reading and wants to just give everything away, but you want them to have an input on the story?
ReplyDeleteDanielle Epley
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ReplyDeleteSo I am in the class where our teacher gives us very little time so I had to my Read Aloud along with my DRTA. It went really good. The kids loved the book. Before reading the book we looked at the cover and made predictions then we talked about why we think it was called "Thundercake". Which led them to talk about making a cake out of thunder. Then we talked about how people normally make cakes and what ingredients that includes. After the book we talked about our favorite parts and favorite characters. All the kids really wanted to share their thoughts. So the plus of this activity was that 1. the kids participated well 2. the discussion flowed well and 3. I feel like I did a pretty good job reading it enthusiastically. One downside would be I wish I had more time to really sit and reflect about the book afterwards. And a question I have, like the other activity, how do I manage their talking?
ReplyDeleteKayla Sizemore
I did my read aloud today to the book "Ghosts on the Battleship North Carolina" as told by Danny Bradshaw. Three things I think went well were: (1) the students recently took a trip to Wilmington and had been on the Battleship, so they knew all about it (2) they were really engaged in the book (3) they payed attention and listened while I read. One thing I wish would've gone better was to read a little slower. I was a little nervous at first and think I read too fast. I think the lesson went well overall and the students really enjoyed the book. I think it was a good opportunity for them to relax and listen to something a little spooky and that kept them on the edge of their seat. My question is what activities could you do after a read aloud that continues to engage them with the reading material?
ReplyDeleteI did my read aloud today with my fifth grade homeroom class and it went really well. (1) the students loved the book I chose to read to them (2) they stayed engaged the entire time I was reading (3) they participated eagerly when I asked them questions about the book. One thing I would change would be the seating of the students. I noticed today that some students who were seated next to eachother create distractions for the other students who are tyring to listen. I would have liked to have those students seperated somehow. One question I have is how can you make a room more comfortable for reading time when you have over 20 students and have a limited amount of space?
ReplyDeleteJoy Cooper
I did my read aloud today in a 5th grade class. We read the book Rare Beasts from the Edgar and Ellen Series. Three things that went well were (1) The students really enjoyed the book and the illustrations (2) We were able to discuss vocabulary words that were in the book and (3) They seemed eager to continue the book on Wednesday. One thing I would change about the lesson would be that I would have the vocabulary words in the book written out on the board before we began so students would listen for them and pick up on the context clues instead of us repeating the sentence to discuss the meaning. The question I have is what are some ways to manage over-eager students who want to talk about what we're reading while we are reading?
ReplyDeleteKayla Rash
I read "Owl Moon" by Jane yolen aloud to my 5th grade students today. Three things that went well (1) students were engaged (2) they were eager to take about the beautiful illustrations and (3) I felt comfortable reading to the students. One wish for next time would be to have the whole class in there to share in the story - half of the students were with the resource teacher. I have the same question as Joy: how can you make a 5th grade room more comfortable for read alouds rather than students sitting at their desks?
ReplyDelete-Amanda Jackson
So my 4th grade teacher asked if there was anything else that we needed to do, and I asked him if we could do another read a loud with a small group. He said yes. However, I didn't get to choose a book, he just had me read a chapter to them out of their science book. I was kind of nervous because I can sometimes struggle saying science terms. But overall I think I did well. 3 things that went well was the kids paid attention, they were able to answer the questions, and I didn't struggle with the words. One thing that I wish I could have changed would be for me to have been more enthused about reading it. One question that I had is how do teachers pull off things when they didn't plan to do it at all? Like when I was asked to read from the science book what are some tips to make it just as good as if I would have planned for it?
ReplyDeleteKayla Sizemore