L is working with 2 kindergarten girls. She is explaining to the girls that they will use the poles that she brought in and "fish" for friendly facts about one another. I hear her tell the girls that she really enjoys fishing. She "catches" the first "fish" question, which she reads out loud and then answers. One of the little girls says that she won't be able to read the questions. L looks over to me-I sense her apprehension in how to respond. She has already let me know that working with kindergarteners was going to be difficult for her.
D is working with 3 boys; two are brothers who speak Russian as their
first language. D's students are in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades. She, too, has
them "fishing." Since we had "fished" in our university setting last week as a
"getting to know" others activity, it doesn't surprise me that many of the preservice
teachers are using this game. They wouldn't stop "fishing" last week until each
person had "caught" a fish and shared!
4/30
D is working with her 3 students. She is using a KWL strategy and magnets. She has brought in a box of items and is having the boys predict whether the object will be attracted to the magnet or not. She gets them to respond with Yes or No after intense modeling and repetition.
L is working with 2 Kindergarten girls. She says that this is a big challenge
for her-her interests are with middle/junior high kids, but she accepts the challenge.
In fact, she says that it will help her to be more marketable. She has made "itty
bitty" books for the girls, and they are all working on story features for their books.
They are creating "characters" and "setting" for their stories using plastic spoons and
the "scraps" that she has brought from home-mostly from her sewing basket. She is
surprised by their enthusiasm. I see a different side of her-more gentle and less harsh.
5/14
D is working with the two Russian brothers; her third student is absent. She is using wordless picture books and predictable, pattern books. She has the boys echo her reading with Jump, Frog, Jump. Later, they make "jumping" frogs that they "control" with paperclip attachments and magnets moved underneath a sheet of paper. One of the boys tells me that it's magic.
L is working with the 2 kindergarten girls. She has one of them working on art
related to a story while she assesses the other girl using Flynt and Cooter's informal
reading inventory.
5/21
D is administering an IRI; the student is reading Level 5. The two Russian brothers are "flipping" their frogs. When they see me enter the room, they motion me over to their table. The frogs and the magnets have captured their attention-more than the books. But, the frogs and the magnets get them here now week after week, and D is getting them to think, to predict, and to respond.
L is working with one kindergarten girl; the other girl is absent. L has brought in a portable word wall. They are reading to one another while sitting on a blanket on the floor. L asks the little girl which words she wants to add to their word wall. When I go back to observe them, L is explaining that the alphabet/sound game was her grandchild's. L has the little girl practice sounding out some of the words from their word wall by playing with the game.
N is working with 2 girls. He is explaining the dialogue journal "routine" to them. I see him looking through books while the girls sit idle. I wonder how much planning he did. Next week mini-lesson plans will be due. I'll check to see if he needs help in this area. I will remind the preservice teachers about planning in our debriefing.
M is reading to the 2 boys assigned to her. I see interest on their faces,
but one of the boys asks how many more pages. I make a note to dialogue again about s
electing books and considering the amount/type of text per page. The boys seem to be
more in charge than M. She doesn't respond when one of them pulls the book out
of her hand. I add management/behavior "issues" to our debriefing list, which now includes
bus procedures, reporting student absences, wearing name tags, establishing routines…..
2/3
B has her 2 students writing in their dialogue journals. One of the boys is
trying to figure out how to spell the word "Thursday." He asks B, and she says to him,
"Look at my mouth. What do you notice about my tongue when I say the beginning of
the word?" She emphasizes the "th" sound for him. He repeats the "th" sound several
times. She asks him if he knows any other words that begin with the same sound. He
says, "Th…th…th…the! And then he writes "thersday."