Vanessa Hadley

6 November 2015
SED 325 01
Hall
Field Experience Journal #4
This afternoon I returned to Hutchinson Elementary to complete for fieldwork. This
journal is going to focus on my afternoon visit but more specifically my lesson I taught. Like my
previous visits, I worked with students on sight words and reading readiness; however, I also
taught a lesson on rhyming words. This journal is going to be a reflection for my lesson.
Throughout the semester we have been learning ways to create and teach successful
English Language Art lesson. I applied what I learned to create a lesson on rhyming words (a
suggestion from Mrs. Stedeford). During the lesson, as a small group the students and teacher
read the story Hop on Pop together and then identified rhyming words from the book. As an
independent practice students were given a Dr. Seuss hat with a base rhyming word. They then
had to fill in the red and white stripes of the hat with words that rhymed with the base word. At
the end of the lesson, each student shared their word to see if everyone agreed on the words
rhyming. All in all, the lesson covered all areas we have learned in class.
Overall the lesson went very well. To see the differences in the classroom, I got to teach
my lesson to small group of students who typically have high achievement in the classroom. Hop
on Pop was not the traditionally hardback book; I had them read a version of the iPad. The
students loved being able to read Hop on Pop off of the iPad. They were able to make predictions
about what was going to be on the next page because they only saw one page at a time. I was
generally surprised with how into the book students got because at the beginning of the lesson
they said they already read the book. One would have thought this was the first time they heard
the book because of how excited they were. The next time I would teach this lesson I would
change the guiding practice area. Having students identify rhyming words off a page is a great
exercise; however, I would not have them identify words from Hop on Pop because many of the
words were repeated and students didnt get enough exposure. In the future I may find short
passages or even great a matching game for students to work with a teacher matching all the
rhyming words. For the independent practice students created Dr. Seuss hats; this was a hit to
both the students and myself. They turned out great! This was a perfect way for students to
practice coming up with rhyming words on their own. One thing I would change for next time
would be to either use an easier word compared to frown or provide a tool for students to find
rhyming words besides asking the teacher. Even though frown was a hard word it was a perfect
teaching moment to capitalize on. I had the students look at the word and try to determine a
rhyming word that go with it. I was very proud of how well my lesson went especially
considering this was my first time teaching a small group lesson.
After the lesson, I worked with the students one-on-one again. Like all previous visits, I
worked with the students on sight words and reading readiness. This time I was working with
Ms. Shafflers students and I noticed that sometimes her students would get easily frustrated. The
frustration levels were higher today because of the cancelation of the Veterans Day program.
When I would notice the students getting frustrated, I would shorten the tutoring session. I do not
want the students to get so frustrated with his/herself and end up not liking reading. The goal of
the reading program is to help students read with fluency and enjoy reading; I do not want to turn

students off of that goal. This program is a wonderful for the students and they are starting to
show achievement progress.
I was so excited to teach my lesson today and I am very proud with how well it went.
Teaching a lesson during fieldwork is a great experience because head teachers are able to
provide helpful feedback for the future. My Dr.Seuss rhyming words hat turned out very cute and
was a great reinforcement lesson. After seeing the success of the reading program and how well
my first lesson went, I cannot wait to return to Hutchinson Elementary and teach my lesson on
the short /a/ vowel sound.