November 6, 2019

Reading Lesson: Finding the Appropriate Genre

Quadrant: Sequence of Events:
9:45 – 9:47:
To begin the lesson, I explained to students that today we will continue our
1 learning about the different genres and their sub-genres. Furthermore, I also
discussed with the students that today they will be going on a scavenger hunt
to sort their books by different genres based on the book’s different features.
9:47 – 10:00:
But first, the students and I reviewed what genre was. Then, we discussed
the two main genres, fiction and non-fiction. And continued by discussing
4
the features of the nine sub-genres, mystery, realistic fiction, science fiction,
historical fiction, fantasy, traditional literature, biography, autobiography,
and informational.
10:00 – 10:10:
To start the activity, I explained to students that today we will be
participating in an activity where we will be working in groups to organize
books based on their genre. I continued to explain to students in greater
detail how they will organize their pile of books based on genre and its
features with their groups. I discussed with students that when they are
classifying the books, they will need to provide at least one feature they used
2 to categorize the book on their Post-It. I modeled an example with a
classroom book and stated, “This book has robots on the front so it must be
Science Fiction” and demonstrated how to use the Post-it Notes. I also
allowed the students to provide another feature of Science Fiction presented
in the example book. I continued to discuss with students and modeled with
the example book how they should look at the cover and read the title, skim
through the pages and/or read the back of the book or the inside of the front
cover to gain clues to accurately identify the book based on its appropriate
 genre. Within the lesson, I also made sure to emphasize students will work
together with their peers. Students will also work on one book at a time as a
group. I organized and created groups the day of the lesson based on their
abilities and personalities. I also explained to students that I (Ms. Prunty)
will pass out each pile of books to the separate tables. As a reference,
students who may need the Literacy Genre Packet can use it throughout the
activity.
10:10 – 10:30:
To begin the activity, students were to work with their groups/tables to
classify the books. I set a timer for 15 minutes and dictated to students to
allow them to understand how much time they have to complete the activity
with their group. Throughout the activity, I reminded students of how much
4 time they have left. Additionally, I also walked around the classroom,
observed the groups work together, and also discussed with the different
groups. After the students had organized all their books, each table shared
one of their own findings. Once students had finished sharing their findings,
I dictated to students that they will place the books back into piles in the
empty bucket.
10:30 – 10:36:
To end the lesson, I explained to students that now we will finish reading
4 with an exit ticket and allowed them five minutes to complete the exit ticket.
Once completed, students were instructed to hand them in. Finally, students
were told that the rest of the Reading time was for independent reading.
10:36 – 11:00:
4
Students were now responsible for their independent reading.

Reflection:

This was my first day teaching a Reading Lesson and adding Reading onto my teaching
schedule. So far, in the classroom, I am responsible for teaching five subjects, whether it be in
small or whole group. For this lesson, I was also getting observed by my University Supervisor
again. I was super excited to get observed for this lesson because I thoroughly enjoyed the
concept behind the lesson and the activity. Additionally, the lesson was very interactive and
allowed students to be hands-on throughout their learning. As of now, I have become extremely
comfortable within the classroom, the students, and the other teachers. Moreover, due to this, I
have been able to create beneficial and eye-opening relationships that have allowed me to further
my learning, understanding, and growth. In general, I am super excited for this student teaching
journey and eager to continue, deepen, and expand my knowledge and education!
After Math, I transitioned students to their assigned seats and prompted them to obtain
their Reading Notebook and Folder. Within the classroom, students sit in table groups to promote
collaboration and discussion. Once students are transitioned and have their necessary materials
for the subject, the students respond by quietly giving me a thumbs up. Throughout my lesson, I
implemented a new strategy I learned a few weeks ago from one of my classes called, Positive
Narration. Positive Narration is when the teacher reinforces positive behavior within the
classroom by dictating and drawing attention to that specific behavior. So, within this lesson, as
students were obtaining their materials and sitting back down in an appropriate manner, I praised
them loudly verbally to help encourage the other students to follow along. For example, within
the lesson, one student ‘M’ had quickly and quietly obtained all of their materials, sat down in
their seat, and provided me with the thumbs up signal (meaning they are ready for the lesson). To
practice the Positive Narration strategy, I stated “Oh, wow! I really like how ‘M’ has quickly and
quietly received all of their supplies and is now patiently waiting! Really nicely done, ‘M’! You
are ready to learn!” From this statement, I noticed that the other students reacted positively and
started to become more aware of their actions. Throughout my reflection, I observed that this
follows and aligns with Danielson’s Framework 2D: Managing Student Behavior. When using
Positive Narration, I am able to re-explain the expectations needed from students while
reinforcing positive behavior. Additionally, I am able to monitor the students overall behaviors
and respond to any students misbehaviors. I enjoyed the use of Positive Narration within the
lesson and how the students reacted to this strategy. Within the field placement classroom, my
mentor teacher and I understand the importance of creating and maintaining a beneficial and
reflective classroom management strategy to ensure students are in a supportive environment
where they are able to effectively learn, grow, and develop. My mentor teacher and I always
emphasize to students that the classroom is a safe place and we, the teachers, are there if they
ever need anything or want to discuss any personal matters. In general, the school environment
should be a place that is full of nurturing and enriching the students. Overall, my mentor teacher
and I ensure that the classroom will be a welcoming and safe place where all of the students feel
comfortable and love to learn and actively want to be a part of the classroom environment.
The student’s instructional objective for this lesson was the following: “Students will
know and be able to identify the definition of genre and use the word in one sentence. Students
will know and be able to identify and write at least one feature of five different genres.” Many,
almost all, of the students were able to complete this objective. Specifically, the students were
able to identify and discuss the definition of genre as a whole group and use it within a sentence
on their independent Exit Tickets. I was able to ensure their comprehension of the word, ‘genre’
by actively walking around the classroom, through class and peer discussion, and by the use of
the Exit Ticket. Additionally, many of the students were also able to identify and write at least
one feature of five different genres through the detective activity within the lesson. Through the
detective activity, students were able to work with their peers and find the features (clues) that
classified the books in order to categorize them by their appropriate genre. I placed students in
groups based on their educational skills and personalities. Some students like to be leaders, or
some students rarely participate in the groups, so I had to be sure to place students in groups that
allowed them effectively and successfully learn, grow, and develop. Throughout this activity,
students who needed to use the Literacy Genre Packet as a reference were able to do so. The
students had learned about and used the Literacy Genre Packet from a prior lesson. Throughout
the activity, I was able to observe students excitement and eagerness to participate and complete
the activity. It was really nice to observe the students be really motivated to learn! From prior
lessons, I have learned that the students really enjoy and benefit from the use of posters hung
around the classroom. To help students remember the different types of genres, I have hung
posters on the ‘Poster Wall’ that defines and describes the diverse genres. After I first taught this
lesson, the students used the posters frequently to help remember the features. However, as time
has passed this week, the students have been able to use the posters less and rely more on their
own comprehension and retention. Overall, throughout the lesson, the students were able to
effectively follow along and demonstrate their knowledge to ensure individual growth and
development.
 The level of cognitive engagement and quadrants within this lesson varied throughout.
Within the lesson, there were just moments where I just needed to provide information.
However, a majority of the lesson focused and concentrated on students being interactive and
being hands-on with their learning. Additionally, there were also parts within the lesson, where
the students were the leaders and teaching the other students.
Throughout the lesson, students were able to be hands-on and in charge of their
education. Moreover, within the lesson, students were really the leaders of their learning. Before
the activity, the students and I reviewed the information, however, the lesson focused more on
them being interactive and applying their knowledge. My field placement classroom often
reminds me of a strategy I learned a few quarters ago, here at Drexel, called a Thinking
Curriculum/School. A thinking curriculum/school focuses and concentrates on offering students
multiple opportunities, experiences, and resources to academically and socially broaden, deepen,
and expand their thinking, knowledge, and understanding. Furthermore, this type of school
emphasizes creating equitable educational chances for all students to grow, learn, and develop.
Moreover, an essential element of creating such an academic environment is by incorporating
and implementing opportunities for students to engage in real-life issues and work hands-on
throughout activities. When having one of the first discussions when meeting my mentor teacher,
she discussed the importance of incorporating real-life activities into our lessons and connecting
our lessons to the real world. I found this to be an extremely helpful tip and strategy because it
provides an opportunity for students to understand the importance of education and how our
education connects to other aspects of our life. Additionally, to achieve a thinking curriculum
and school, teachers and educators need to understand the importance of providing students with
opportunities to be creative and think out of the box. Through observing the students’ work, my
reflection, and my revisions of the lessons, I was able to focus on Danielson’s Framework 1E:
Designing Coherent Instruction. When planning for learning activities, lessons, and assignments,
I ensure that the lessons support the instructional outcomes and reflect important concepts that
need to be taught. Furthermore, I ensure that many of our lessons connect and form relationships
with our prior lessons, so students are able to scaffold their learning. I am also sure to
incorporate activities that represent and allow students to participate in high-level thinking and
student choice. Additionally, when I am planning my lessons, I include a variety of diverse
resources to provide an equitable and reflective learning environment. Within the classroom, my
mentor teacher and I have also made sure to create beneficial learning groups when participating
in group and/or peer activities. In general, from my reflection of the lesson, I was able to be sure
that I created a reflective and interactive lesson and activity to engage students and promote deep
learning throughout my lessons. Overall, this lesson allowed me to continue my understanding
about the importance of hands-on and active/applied lessons and learning opportunities.
A TPT Wrap-Up I will implement into my lessons to enhance the students’ thinking is
the IQ Cards (Insight & Question) activity (Himmele, 2017, p. 119). The IQ Cards provide an
opportunity for all students to share and discuss an insight learned from the lesson and an
unanswered question about the lesson and concept. Furthermore, these cards allow students to
collaborate with one another and share their cards with their peers. The IQ Cards activity also
allows students to take ownership over their own learning during the experience by reflecting on
their own learning and comprehension of the lesson to write, think about, and share their insights
and questions. To ensure higher order thinking, students should also share and discuss their IQ
Cards with their peers. Furthermore, the teacher should also circle around the room to be sure
students are on-task, to help provide assistance, and to ask for explanations and/or clarifications
from students. I could use this TPT Wrap-Up within a future Reading Lesson by implementing
this activity at the end of the lesson. This Wrap-Up will affect the students learning because it
will help promote reflection, discussion, and expansion of the students comprehension. I think
these aspects and factors are important for students because reflection requires students to think
on deeper levels of their knowledge and to acknowledge their comprehension of the lesson.
Moreover, through discussion, students are able to expand their own thinking and make
connections with others. Within my field placement classroom, I think the students will really
benefit from a reflection time at some point throughout the day to analyze their learning, growth,
and understanding. In general, this TPT Wrap-Up activity will definitely promote learning and
growth from all students.
Overall, since the first reflection blog post, I think my teaching has positively changed.
Within the classroom, I have been able to try new strategies and help to create a more reflective
and effective classroom where students are able to learn, grow, and develop. My student teaching
experience has been a really exciting, interesting, and fun experience and I am super eager to
continue. Moreover, I am enthusiastic to continue to deepen and expand my knowledge while
teaching in an active classroom. Personally, I have also been able to become really comfortable
within a classroom setting and have been able to observe myself growing professionally over the
past few weeks. In general, this lesson and reflection has allowed me to continue to reflect on my
own practices and knowledge to ensure I am an equitable and beneficial teacher, reference, and
resource.

References:

Danielson, C. (2014, August 25). The Framework For Teaching Evaluation Instrument 2013
Edition. www.danielsongroup.org.

Himmele, P., & Himmele, W. (2017). Total Participation Techniques: Making Every Student an
Active Learner, 2nd edition. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-
com.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu