Self-Study of

Instruction and
Student Learning
Beth Seegebarth

Final review and report of instruction and learning of a Guided Reading group Unit
2.4, McPhee Elementary School.

Fast-Track Program Fall 2016

Classroom Context
I am currently teaching at McPhee Elementary School. McPhee offers a very diverse community
in staff and students. The diversity of students can be categorized as culturally in a lower
socioeconomic area. This school offers a perspective that I myself had never experienced in my
practicum teaching or working in other school systems.
The class I have chosen to evaluate for my final project at McPhee Elementary is a grade 3
Guided Reading group, Unit 2.4. This group consists of 3rd grade students with reading goals who
have IEPs. They currently are reading below grade level according to their baseline data. There
are 3 total students: 2 students are white and 1 hispanic. All 3 students have IEPs. 2 of the
students with IEPs have strictly academic goals and 1 student has predominantly behavior goals.
2 students are verified with a specific learning disability and 1 student is verified with autism. All
students receive accommodations in their regular classroom environment and on tests but not
modifications. I used their baseline data for initial expectations and then built instruction plans
around that information. I wanted to provide a group learning environment that would include all
types of learners, yet not be a distraction to those needing a more routine schedule.

McPhee by the Numbers

SPED Population

Instructional Planning
The unit in Guided Reading that I have planned for and taught is Grade 3 Unit 2.4.
The book is called Protecting the Islands. It is an approaching leveled reader in the Wonders
curriculum. The comprehension strategy being worked on in this story is to reread. The
comprehension skill is Authors Point of View. The vocabulary strategy that is being focused on is
suffixes. The vocabulary in this book is caretakers, population, recognize, relatives, success,
survive, threatened. The content standards fall under Life Science. The vocabulary listed in the
book is not the same vocabulary I present to the students. This vocabulary is gone over in their
whole group and guided reading groups with their general education classroom teacher. The new
vocabulary task that I complete with them is any word in the book that I believe they will be
unable to sound out using decoding strategies or word-solving strategies that we work on in
group. Some of the vocabulary words may make it into our review, but it depends on the word. If
we have gone over the vocabulary words I have presented and start reading, there may be a
word a student(s) come across they are not able to read. At that time, the word goes on the
board with the other words, and we decode it together. During reading time, students volunteer
to read aloud. This group does a great job of helping each other without giving away the word
their fellow scholar may be struggling with in the passage. Because my office is a safe space for
students, there is no judgement, no harsh words, and no laughing at a students ability or
inability to read anything.
The planning for this unit was the beginning of a new lesson plan for me to introduce to my
students. I began using the Jan Richardson model lesson plans for guided reading in all of my
Guided Reading groups. All sections are planned for (by assessment if needed) on a lesson
template and made to fit the particular group that I am instructing. Each section has a
timeframe to teach in before moving on to the next section. Most plans are 2-3 days long;
therefore, the 3rd or 4th day of the week need to also be planned for accordingly. To help my
scholars, I pre-teach the unit the week before they receive instruction from their classroom
teacher in his/her guided reading group.

Task

Objective

Activity

Day

Assessment

Spelling Words

-To prepare students for

their upcoming spelling
test
-To teach phonemic
awareness and decoding
skills

Students use individual

marker boards to write
the words when I give it
to them in a sentence. If
they are wrong, we talk
about different rules in
spelling that the words
may fit into.

Day 1 and
sometimes
Day 4

Having the students

write on a marker board
allows me to give them
immediate feedback on
whether or not they
spelled the word
correctly.

3rd Grade
HighFrequency
Word Review

-To ensure that students

can recognize grade
appropriate words
-To give them access to
words they may not see
in the text they can read

Using Wonders curriculum,

I show students the words
for the week they are
currently on in the
Wonders curriculum. The
words are written or
typed on an index card.
They are used as
flashcards. I also give
them previous words to
have a constant review

Day 1 and
sometimes
Day 4

The students are not

expected to know all the
words given at grade
level; however, I think
the more the kids can see
these words the better.
Each time we review,
they are seeing a word
they may not know one
more time, in the hopes
that the next time they
will recognize it.

Sight Word
Review Writing
- Writing (1st
grade)

-To ensure students are

able to not only
recognize sight words,
but spell them as well.
-To keep the students
moving toward gradelevel work

Using marker boards, their

writing notebooks, or
using letters (magnets,
cut-outs, or cards)
students will be given a
word in a sentence, and
they will be expected to
spell it.

Days 2 & 3

The original assessment

was done by having
students take a spelling
test with the sight word
list. Each student has
their own list I keep
track of for this task.
The review words are
words they were able to
spell correctly the first
time they heard them. All
students must have
gotten the word correct
to have them considered
a review word.

Introduction of
new book with
new vocabulary
words

-To give the student a

base for the story we
are about to read
-To ensure they are able
to successfully sound out
words they may not
know, and read any words
that dont follow set
rules in spelling.

I discuss what the book is

about with them. We skim
the pages together. I will
write on my markerboard
any words that they may
not be able to sound out.

Day 2

When they are reading,

they may encounter one
of the words we
reviewed. To help them
work through the word, I
use the word written on
the markerboard we
reviewed together as a
visual reminder.

Prompts for
Readers

-To help students with

their reading using

While students are

reading to me, I can use

Days 2 & 3

This allows me to assess

what areas the student

different prompts that

best fit their need
-To use: chunking, check
the picture, other words
that look similar, and
cover the ending. Just to
name a few.

these different prompts

to help them help
themselves out of a part
of the reading that may
be more difficult for
them.

may be struggling with

the most. I make notes
on the lesson plan to see
if there is a pattern and
something we should
incorporate into the
lessons more.

Teach 1 Sight
Word

-To broaden the number

of words students cannot
only recognize but spell
correctly
-To help students lessen
the gap between where
they are and grade level

I will teach a sight word

using strategies, like: mix
& fix, whats missing,
marker boards, and letter
cards, to name a few.

Days 2 & 3

Based on the original

assessment of sight
words, I begin teaching
the words students
missed. Even if only one
student in the group
missed the word. This can
be a review for the
students who spelled
correctly, which is needed
by all my students.

Word Study

-To show students

patterns in words and
how they can recognize
them
-To broaden their
knowledge of words

Students will make words

with letters given, writing
words using sound boxes,
or categorize words using
an analogy chart. This will
be done together in group
with discussion as to why
they have chosen the
method they used in the
strategy we are currently
using.

Day 2

This allows me to see if

there is a particular word
pattern they are
struggling to conquer.

Guided Writing

-To build stamina in

students as writers
-To work on the correct
way to write, self edit,
and practice textdependent analysis

Students have a writing

notebook they add to on
writing days. I pick a
strategy that goes with
the book we read, for
example: S, W, B, So
(Somebody, Wanted, But,
So), Five-finger retell, or
give them a discussion
question regarding the
book.

Day 3

This allows me to help

them with writing
strategies like subjectverb agreement, correct
grammar, and spelling. I
can also ensure they are
using the prompts when
writing a text-dependent
analysis question.

Due to timing restraints, scheduling is very important. I need to have supplies available and ready
before students walk in the door. I need to be ready to teach so they can be ready to learn.

Assessment Strategies
It is important to informally and formally assess students to see if the learning I am hoping they
achieve is being reached. There are a lot of tasks that need to be completed to make sure
students are receiving all the information they need to take their assessment at the end of the
unit successfully. The assessments are put in place in the lesson plan for the students benefit.
I need to know that I am reaching them in the areas that are important, and that, along with
their teacher, we are covering all the bases. The focus in our guided reading groups are for the
students to increase their comprehension and fluency. These help in their unit assessment
because there is a reading passage with questions these students have to answer. I want them
to be confident in their ability to use the strategies we work on in our guided reading group.
Task

Assessment Strategy

Data Tracking

Formal /
Informal

Example

Spelling Words

Pre-Test & Post-Test

No score is tracked for

Pre-Test. Post-Test is
graded by teacher. I do
not track data for spelling.

Informal

#1
Spelling List for this
Unit

3rd Grade HighFrequency Word

Review

Flashcard review

No score is tracked.

Informal

#2
High-Frequency Words
that were reviewed this
Unit

Sight Word
Review Writing
- Writing (1st
grade)

Spelling Test

Tracking is done to make

sure students are spelling
the words right they had
correctly written during
the original assessment.

Formal

#3
Tracking document

Introduction of
new book with
new vocabulary
words

Verbal review with

skimming and New
Vocabulary Review

No data is tracked. This is

an exercise to make sure
students are able to
successfully read the story
being covered for the unit.

Informal

#4
Picture of board with
vocabulary words and
notes

Prompts for
Readers

Varying

No data is tracked.
Prompts are picked to
address the problems the
reader may be having with
a particular passage.

Informal

#5
Prompts and Teaching
Points used with
students who are
struggling while they
read

Teach 1 Sight

Spelling with varying

Tracking is done to ensure

Formal

#6

Word

strategies

students are able to spell

and identify the new sight
word correctly. Data is
tracked on their
assessment form to make
sure after a sight word is
taught, it is then reviewed.

Tracking document with

students data

Word Study

Letter Cards, Analogy

Charts, and Sound Boxes

Data is tracked. We will

review words or letter
patterns they are not able
to grasp, yet.

Formal

#7
Pictures of Sound Boxes
and Analogy Charts

Guided Writing

Personal Notebooks

Data is tracked by
checking their personal
notebooks. Students are
expected to write
sentences correctly and
use their book to answer
any text- dependent
analysis questions.

Formal

#8
Show strategies used
with students

When assessing students, I believe it is important to assess informally and formally. As teachers,
we need to be balanced on our assessment. Formal assessments must have data that is used to
forward the education of our students. I believe this shows I have done just that. I had no idea
how the formal/informal number would pan out when I actually looked at the strategies, so I
was pleasantly surprised to see these numbers.

EXAMPLES
#1. These words are reviewed on Day 1 and sometimes on Day 4. I would have the students
write the words on a markerboards and we would discuss how to spell it, sound it out, and the
how to decode the word together.

Spelling List
wrap
wrists
wrote
wring
write
wrong
wren
knit
knock
know
knot
knee
gnat
gnaws
sign
#2. These words are reviewed in group with flashcards. Students are asked to place their finger
on their nose if they know the word. One student is chosen. If students agree on how to say the
word, they take their finger off their nose. If students do not agree, their finger is left on their
nose and I call on someone else. Because this list is in alphabetic order, I mix the words up
before presenting them to the students.

High-Frequency Words
from
full
funny
gave
get
give
9

go
goes
going
good
be
because
been
before
best
better
big
black
blue
both
#3. This document was used for their initial assessment as well as tracking new and reviewed
words. This is only a snapshot of the first page of words. There are subsequent pages not shown.
A students name is written in the top gray box. That list is theres alone. The circles next to
the words are used for tracking purposes and data. The circles tell me if a student is reviewing
the word, needs to be taught the word, or has mastered the word.

Sight Word Review

like
do
to

10

#4. The introduction of the book gives the students a base of information. This allows for me to
tell them the subject/summary of what we are about to read. This will help them when they
come to a word they may not know.

Introduction of New Book

This book is about: What animals and plant life that live in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
(NWHI), and how we can help them survive.

#4. While I read the book during planning, I document the words I think they may struggle to
decode. We review these words together on Day 2 before we read. The words are left on the
board during reading as a visual reminder. Since we decode the words together, I make notes
around the word, box or underline parts of the word, and leave off endings of the word. If a
student comes to a word we reviewed, I can point to the word on the board as encouragement
11

that they sounded this word out before and a visual reminder. On Day 3, we continue reading the
story. I rewrite the words on the board, sans notes, for the students.

New Vocabulary Words

extinct
endemic
ecosystem
marine
predators
resources
success

#5. These prompts are used to encourage students to use their resources. This list, not limited
to only these, is comprised of the most common prompts. I use these alone or along with other
prompts on the list. These are chosen based on the needs of the individual student. At this time,
I am monitoring the students and asking them to reread anything that was too difficult. We are
also attending to the BOLD vocabulary words in the book and checking for understanding. If
applicable, I may have students reread with expression. I have students recalling information
asking them to retell what they have read and discussing the characters feelings or authors
point of view. This list is in the Jan Richardson book on Guided Reading.

Prompts for the Readers

Check the picture. Does it look right and make sense? Reread and think about the
story.
Check the end (or middle) of the word. What would look right and make sense?
12

Cover the ending. Is there a part you know? Try that again and think what would
make sense.
Chunk the word and think what would make sense.
Do you know another word that looks like this one?
What can you try? What can you do to help yourself?
PUt some words together so it sounds smooth. (fluency)
Try reading that like the character would say it. (expression)
What is happening in the story? What is the problem? How might they solve the
problem? How does the character feel now? (comprehension)
#6. The sight word that needs to be taught are taken from the students list of sight words.
This word is taught on Day 2 & Day 3. The words are tracked and monitored on their sheets. The
circle next to the word is marked with a + if they got it correct during the initial assessment.
The word is highlighted purple and marked with a - if they did not get it correct on the original
assessment. If an initially correct word is reviewed, another + is put in the next circle after the
word. If an initially incorrect word is taught, a - sign is put in the next circle. Once the word is
mastered, marked with a /, the word becomes a review word only.

Teach 1 Sight Word

has

13

#7. For this word study, we made analogy charts. The students used suffixes to align with the
vocabulary strategy. The analogy chart we use can be 2 or 3 columns. For this activity, I chose a
two-column chart. The students used the suffixes -ful and -less. I also tied in decoding,
definitions, and antonyms. The analogy charts and sound boxes are in protected sleeves that the
students can write on with Expo markers and erase to use again and again. The list is of other
possible activities that can be done with students.

Word Study
Making Words
Sound Boxes
Analogy Chart

Example of Analogy Chart

14

Example of Sound Boxes

#8. Because this book is a human interest book, I wanted the students to be able to pick out
who the activists were, what they wanted, what the problems were, and how they modified their
plans depending to help avoid or fix the problems. Students have their own guided writing
notebook. I have personally decorated the cover of each notebook. It is simply brightly colored
15

paper with their name written on it in a fun way stapled to writing paper. They were very
excited to receive their very own notebook. Having their own notebook allows me to assess their
writing and gage the next activities accordingly. Some possible writing activities are listed.

Guided Writing
S-W-B-S (Someone - Wanted - But - So)
Dictated or Open-Ended Sentences
B-M-E (Beginning - Middle - End)
Spelling unknown words
Incorrect Letter Formation
Mechanics

Assessment Analysis & Results

Formal Assessment

Objective

Results

Instructional Planning

Sight Word Review

Writing - Writing (1st
grade)

-To ensure students are

able to not only
recognize sight words,
but spell them as well.
-To keep the students
moving toward gradelevel work

Were students able to

spell all their review
words correct?

Student were able to

spell all their words
correctly. These words
will stay review words in
future guided reading
lesson plans. They will be
used in rotation with the
other words that have
been spelled correctly.
All tracked on student
tracking sheets.

Teach 1 Sight Word

-To broaden the number

of words students cannot
only recognize but spell
correctly
-To help students lessen
the gap between where
they are and grade level

Were student able to

spell the new sight word
accurately?
If so, it will join the
review words in rotation.
If not, it will stay a
teachable sight word, and
it will be in rotation with
the unknown words.

All students were able to

spell their taught sight
word correctly. This word
will now be in the review
word rotation and
tracked on the students
sheets to ensure it stays
a review word.

Word Study

-To show students

patterns in words and
how they can recognize
them

Were students able to

recognize the patterns
presented in the analogy
charts?

Students struggled to
spell the words correctly,
however, they were able
to correctly identify

16

-To broaden their

knowledge of words
Guided Writing

-To build stamina in

students as writers
-To work on the correct
way to write, self edit,
and practice textdependent analysis

which words went with

which suffix.
Were students able to
correctly identify the SW-B-S elements in the
story and write about it?

Students were able to

verbalize the S-W-B-S,
but all students
struggled with putting
their thoughts and ideas
into writing.

Assessment Analysis, Summary,

Interpretation, Conclusion, and
Impact on Student Learning
Spelling Words
The reality of the students I instruct is that they may not be practicing their spelling words in
any other capacity, except with me. They are required to do spelling assignments by the general
education teacher; however, having students return homework isnt always a reality. I wish that
I could spend more time on this activity.
High-Frequency Word Review
I think it is important to have students see grade appropriate words. These students do lack
confidence in their reading ability. I want to encourage and instill confidence. I do not put a lot
of emphasis on these words because of that. I have ensured them that this is simply an activity
and in now way a test of their abilities. I simply want to review these words with them and work
together.
Sight Word Review
The words we review are 1st grade level. These are words that students in 3rd grade should be
able to recognize when reading, spell accurately, and not have to sound out; with this group of
students, that is not the case. It is my hope for them that they will have a majority of this list
mastered by the end of the year.
Introduction of New Book and New Vocabulary
Because the confidence of the students I work with is low, reviewing/ skimming the book before
having to read it helps their attitudes toward reading. They may have prior knowledge they can
17

use while reading to help them through their passages. Going over the vocabulary helps them see
hard words and lets them know they CAN read them accurately.
Prompts for Readers
I love that the lesson plan template I have made (based on Jan Richardson), it not only allows me
to type notes, but it also allows me to track the activities used. I can also type different
strategies in place of ones that are not appropriate for the book being learned. In my lesson
plan, I try to highlight prompts that go with the reading and to track my teaching. I do not
want to use the same prompts over and over in my teaching, and I want to ensure I am teaching
them multiple strategies. I believe these strategies are all important and need to be used
accordingly. On my lesson plan, I highlight the prompts I want to make sure I cover in green.
This ensures that I will focus on those specific prompts.

Teach 1 Sight Word

I really like that daily, students are reviewing words and learning new ones. These are words
they should already know and they have seen millions of times. The tricky part is getting them
to remember these words accurately. I have found that they have a way of spelling these words
that is not accurate. They have either been allowed to do this with no correction, have ignored
the corrections offered by teachers/adults, or have never been taught. I want to change that.
Word Study
This is one of my favorite parts. This allows for a higher-level of thinking without putting the
students at any kind of real risk. These are things we review and go over together. This activity
18

allows for a lot of teachable moments. I use the same strategy in planning my teaching for the
teaching prompts that fall into the word-solving strategies and fluency & comprehension. In word
study, I make notes in purple to help with future lessons and how a strategy worked. I highlight
in green the activities we will cover in class.

Guided Writing
Writing is something that everyone in this group struggles with and that is why I think it is
important to cover it weekly. I want them to gain confidence in their abilities. I may need to
scale the activity for a while, but I would like to up expectations as soon as they can. In guided
writing, I make notes in purple to help with future lessons and how a strategy worked. I
highlight in green the activities we will cover in class.

19

Future Teaching & Overall

Reflection
Activity

Changes

How would change

improve lesson plan?

What went well?

Spelling Words

NONE

The students enjoy

writing on markerboards.
They do not see this as
work. They know every
Monday, we will do this
activity, and they come in
the office asking for it.

3rd Grade HighFrequency Word Review

NONE

Sight Word Review

I would like to
I would have more
incorporate this into their concrete data. I
writers notebook.
currently mark their
tracking sheet, but what
if I didnt have it? This
would allow me to go
back and check their
accuracy.

This activity helps with

their confidence. Even
though they realize these
words are easy when
they can spell them
correctly or help their
shoulder partner spell
them correctly, they feel
empowered.

Introduction of new book

with new vocabulary
words

I would like to make this

more exciting and get
students more involved in
this section of the lesson
plan.

I like how going over

vocabulary makes them
feel. You can see their
immediate discouragement
when I write the words
on the board, and then
their upswing in attitudes
when they realize they
are completely capable.

Prompts for Readers

NONE

Changing the review may

make it more interesting
for the kids, but I have
not figured out how to
get them more
interested.

Having students give

information based on
their skimming abilities
and what they see in
pictures, may help them
read more fluently and
comprehend better.

This is a rather quick

activity and does not
take a lot of time.
Students tolerate it
without much complaint.

Keeping track on the

lesson plan with
highlighted text helps me
best teach my scholars.

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Teach 1 Sight Word

Up the difficulty

This would allow for more

differentiation. We just
arent there, yet. I want
to constantly push my
scholars to a higher-level
of thinking.

I LOVE the pace of the

new words introduced
along with how often we
review words.

Word Study

More options.

Keep the students

interested and not put us
in any kind of rut.

The students can discuss

and work together if
there is a disagreement
about a sound box or
where a word may belong
on an analogy chart.

Guided Writing

In their writers
notebook, I would put
write the clues I have
for myself in the lesson
plan.
For example:
Somebody: Who is the
story about?
Wanted: What did this
person want?
But: But what happened?
So: So how did it end?
What happened next?

They all have a very poor

attitude toward writing,
and I want to help them
realize their potential.
This would scale the
writing down until they
have more confidence to
change their verbiage
into writing.

Students are gaining

confidence in their
processing of what is
going on in the story and
talking about it. Now we
need to relate that to
their writing.

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