Evidence Report #5

Evidence Report #5

TC Name: Jamie Harris

RICA Domain: Domain 1 Planning reading instruction based on Assessment

RICA Competency: Competency 2 Planning Reading Instruction

Grade level: Third Grade

Additional Descriptors: Majority ELL, 4 EO students

INSTRUCTION

            I observed Mrs. S practicing Word Recognition Lists in her third grade classroom. The students are involved in WORD CLUB in her class. At the beginning of the year, the students start out in the 100’s club and begin at the 10’s words. For example, on, for, who, what…etc, Mrs. S puts together her word recognition list in a ring binder of flash cars with 10 words on each card and each card containing a different level and word club. Each word club is color coated and is a great visual for the students.

            During my tutor hours, I am the person who administers the word club assessments. One piece of paper I have in front of me is the student log containing where they are at on their levels in the word club. The second thing I have in front of me is the word club cards that contain the level of the card and the ten words on them. I call over each student one at a time and turn to the card that they last stopped on. In order for students to pass that one card, they must be able to recognize the word quickly and be able to correctly identify the word. In many cases this is where students begin to practice their knowledge of decoding words and use sound symbols in order to verbally state the correct word. Just recently Mrs. S added a third piece of paper to this activity and that paper is a sheet for the students. The paper has each card group of the word club that they are in and are trying to get passed. For example, if a student is in the 300’s club, the sheet has a section of the 210 words, the 220 words, the 230 words all the way up to 300, because this student is working on trying to pass the 300 words.

            While I am instructing the word club words I am listening for the knowledge of the child’s sight vocabulary and I am also listening to the child’s ability to use phonics in order to decode words. While they are reading each word, I am pointing at the word and listening for the correct word to be said. If the student struggles I remind them to look at the letters in the word and sound it out. I also remind them to use their background knowledge on specific words they might recognize inside the big word. For example, the student is trying to say the word “sometimes” so I remind them to break the word up some…times, activating back ground knowledge and allowing students to make connections through learning. Wherever a student gets stuck and has trouble with a word, we stop and make connections with that word, sound it out and repeat it, using repetition, and then we practice all of the words on that same card one more time and I cross off the specific cards they knew all of and hand them back that page in order for them to be able to practice the card they struggled on and the previous cards that they will be seeing next time I call them and I log it into my word club log. When a student completely passes I record PASS on their section off the log and they are done with word club.

INSTRUCTIONAL SETTING

            The setting where this activity takes place is on a one to one basis with me and the student. We are in a section of the classroom at our very own table with the tools in front of us and the student reads out loud to me during this time while either I or the student are pointing at the words for the student to read. The other part of the class, the students are still working and doing other work, so sometime it can be kind of distracting, however I am pulling kids aside and it is quick and fast assessment and learning time. I assess the kids and help them decode the word, record where they got that session and let them know what they need to work on for the next session. I really like the idea of word club and the word club cards, especially now that Mrs. S has provided the students a take home sheet of the words for them to be able to study the upcoming words with. This makes the students aware of the words that are coming up and allows them time to practice. I think the students really enjoy this activity too; the like when I call them over and they enjoy being able to pass a specific section and especially being able to pass a word club level, in hopes that they are almost ready to pass level 500. I believe this is something I will implement into my class someday.