20 Minute Micro-Teaching Breakdown

20 minute micro-teaching breakdown

·  Hand out “Ode to Pablo's Tennis Shoes” (1 min)

·  Explain that the homework from last class (which I modeled for students) was to: (2 mins)

◦  show me what they like (star) –at least 1

◦  what they don't understand (circle/question mark)--at least one

◦  identify a minimum of one thing that they learned about the character and his life (write this at the bottom of the page)

◦  where did they learn that in the poem (underline/arrow)

·  Have student volunteers read the poem aloud/1 per stanza (2 mins)

·  Now mark up the poem (2 mins)

·  A/B sharing—model?--what do you like and why/choose one to share with the class (2 mins)

·  They would write on the overhead/board and then check in (speak from seats or come to the overhead)--we use the cow to manage class check-ins

·  We would then repeat with what confused them about the poem. At this point we'd bring in fix up strategies a la Cris Tovani

◦  how can we figure out the meaning? Can you draw on background knowledge? Can you ask a question or make a prediction? What words around the trouble spot might help?

·  Everyone goes to the board and writes what they learned about Pablo from this poem. Can draw information also. (3 mins)

·  We'd then do another class check about author choice

◦  Do these all seem accurate to you? How come Gary Soto didn't just write all of these facts? Do those notes sound like a poem? Why or why not? Why didn't Gary Soto just write a biography of Pablo? What does he include in this poem that makes it a unique story-telling experience? There's specific writer's vocabulary we can use to describe the choices Gary Soto makes.

·  Now, make the connection to POETIC TOOLS—pass out toolbox handouts and put up overhead (1 min)

·  I'm going to show you how to find these tools in Gary Soto's poem.

◦  “simile”--student read definition. Work with a partner to find examples from the poem. If you finish before time is up, you may write your own examples.

◦  We would then check in re: “simile” And model on the overhead. Correct as needed

◦  Repeat with “metaphor”

·  Homework would be the challenge to write your own.

·  Next class, hook would be on the board

▪  “She ran after the loose soccer ball like.....”

▪  “He rode his skateboard like....”

◦  I would model how to choose one, complete it and write what the purpose is/what does the simile tell us?

·  Have students do this (3 mins)

▪  Challenge option: do both similes

·  We would then A/B share, then have a few students share with the group (standing up—being a poet!) and write it on the board. Asking students—what do you think this simile means? Asking the authors if they communicated their ideas accurately?

·  I give an example of a bad simile and then do an opinion line to discuss. They would then write ideas for how to make it better. We would address HOW these are better.

·  We'd repeat with metaphors, though probably not the opinion line (not enough time)

·  Homework would be to think of something you really like. This could be your favorite food, your favorite animal, your favorite sport, your favorite season, one of your favorite people or your favorite something else. Then write at least 1 simile and at least 1 metaphor about that thing/person.

Jessica Pierce

CI 548/Beth Herman-Davis

16 February 2011

Micro-Teaching Summary & Plans

Gary Soto and the Art of Telling Stories That Matter to Us

Summary

I adapted these lessons from an author study unit I taught to incoming sixth graders at St. Andrew Nativity School in NE Portland. St. Andrew Nativity School is part of a national network of Jesuit Catholic schools dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty for young people, regardless of their faith (58% of students are non-Catholic), through education. A private, tuition-free middle school, SAN serves only those students who come from families that qualify for the federal Free and Reduced Lunch program. The average SAN family has five members and a household income of less than $38,000.

SAN serves sixth, seventh and eight grade students in gender-divided classes with anywhere from 10-12 males students and 10-12 female students per grade. The small class size allows for a very real 1:12 teacher/student ratio, which enables teachers and a significant cadre of volunteers to provide substantial one-on-one support. The average SAN student enters sixth grade at a 3rd grade level in reading, writing and math skills, and approximately half of the students who attend SAN were recommended for special education services while in the public schools. 98% of SAN's student body is African-American, African-Immigrant and Hispanic (51% African American, 42% Hispanic, 5% African-Immigrant and 2% Caucasian), and 56% of the students come from single parent families. In Oregon, the high school dropout rate for students in this demographic is almost 50%. Eighth grade students at SAN make an average gain of five grade levels in reading, writing and math skills, and 100% of students in the class of 2009 were accepted to private college preparatory high schools. SAN sends the majority of their students to Portland-area Catholic college preparatory high schools such as Jesuit High School and St. Mary's Academy, where students receive a tuition-free education (through an agreement between Catholic high schools and SAN) and support from SAN's Graduate Support Director. 100% of SAN students graduated from high school in the 2008-2009 school year, and 83% of their high school graduates are attending college.

I taught the Language Arts class for the 2010 Summer Academy, an intensive three week program for potential sixth graders from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm every day. Students must participate in this program in order to be considered for a spot in the fall, and the goal of the program is to provide an experience as similar to the day-to-day school work of SAN. Students wear uniforms, have morning assembly, attend classes in Math, Language Arts, Study Skills and P.E., have recess, a field trip, and attend homework club every day after classes. The overall rationale for the unit is for students to: *learn, identify and utilize literary devices in their writings *learn, identify and write in different literary genres such as poetry and autobiography *gain a greater understanding of perspective, motivation and intention on the part of an author *communicate their own perspective, motivation and intention when reading and writing

Students in this summer program typically come with a 3rd grade reading level, even though they are incoming 6th graders. They must be at or below the federal poverty line in order to qualify for admission to St. Andrew's Nativity School. Many of them come from struggling elementary schools. What these factors translate to in the classroom is that many of these students have had less than positive learning experiences and, as a result, often do not see themselves as successful learners. In particular, boys at this age level have a greater tendency to be reluctant readers and writers. I chose Gary Soto as the focus for this unit because his life story provides a wonderful model for the journey from struggling student to lover of reading and writing. His work also draws on many day-to-day experiences that resonate with middle school students and invites students to see their day-to-day life experiences as valuable. This unit also focuses on self-expression and the celebration of identity, thereby encouraging a positive sense of self in the classroom and as an essential element of the learning process.

The essential questions that guide this unit and the particular lessons I chose are:

1.  Why do people read?

2.  Why do people write?

3.  Why do you read?

4.  Why do you write?

The unit questions that guide this work are:

1.  How can you recognize figurative language in a piece of writing and understand its purpose?

2.  How can you recognize the key elements of genres such as poetry, autobiography and persuasive writing?

3.  How can we use the details of a piece of writing to understand the author's main ideas?

4.  How can you use figurative language to make your writing stronger and more expressive?

5.  How can different genres allow you to communicate ideas that are important to you?

6.  How can you use your own experiences to create powerful pieces of writing?

The unit objectives are that students will be able to:

1.  Identify figurative language such as metaphors, similes and imagery.

2.  Utilize figurative language such as metaphors, similes and imagery in his/her own writing.

3.  Identify the purpose for writing in different literary genres such as poetry, autobiography and persuasive writing.

4.  Write with a strong voice and clear purpose in genres such as poetry, autobiography and persuasive writing.

Each lesson plan addresses specific learning objectives and Oregon state standards that connect to the larger unit rationale, goals and objectives.

Lesson #1

Learning Objectives for today’s lesson, i.e. students will be able to:

·  Identify what they like in a piece of writing and begin to develop a literary vocabulary to describe it

·  Identify what they don't understand in a piece of writing and use context clues and background knowledge to understand it

·  Begin to connect the use of literary devices with an author's purpose

Connection to state standards:

·  EL.06.RE.03 Listen to, read, and understand a wide variety of informational and narrative text, including classic and contemporary literature, poetry, magazines, newspapers, reference materials, and online information.

·  EL.06.RE.04 Make connections to text, within text, and among texts across the subject areas.

·  EL.06.RE.05 Demonstrate listening comprehension of more complex text through class and/or small group interpretive discussions across the subject areas.

·  EL.06.RE.06 Match reading to purpose--location of information, full comprehension, and

·  personal enjoyment.

·  EL.06.RE.08 Clearly identify specific words or wordings that are causing comprehension difficulties and use strategies to correct.

·  EL.06.RE.12 Interpret figurative language, including similes, metaphors, and words with multiple meanings.

·  EL.06.RE.22 Make reasonable, logical statements, conclusions, and inferences about a text, supporting them with accurate examples from the text.

·  EL.06.RE.23 Infer the main idea when it is not explicitly stated, and support with evidence from the text.

Context/Student prior knowledge:

·  Students should be reading at or near 5th grade reading level, though a 3rd grade reading level is not unusual at this school

·  Last class, we discussed the key question of “what do you think an ode is?” I then read the poem aloud and had student volunteers read it aloud. With this new information, we once again addressed “what do you think an ode is?” as well as questions such as, “would you write a poem for your shoes?” and “why are Pablo's shoes worth celebrating?” These questions build understanding of the genre, the specific material, and help students establish an explicit and clear purpose for reading. (purpose for reading!)

·  Their homework was to show me what they like, what they don't understand, identify a minimum of one thing that they learned about the character and his life, and where they learned that in the poem. I modeled this with “Ode to Pablo's Tennis Shoes” on the overhead.

Materials:

·  “Ode to Pablos' Tennis Shoes” by Gary Soto

·  Poetic toolbox handout

Technology:

·  White board/blackboard

·  overhead projector

Key questions:

·  What is an ode?

·  What do you like about this poem?

·  Why do you like certain elements of the poem?

·  What confuses you about this poem?

·  How can you use other knowledge and clues to “fix up” your understanding of the poem?

·  What does the author want you to know about the character at the center of the poem?

·  How can we use words like “simile,” “metaphor” to help us understand the author's choices?

Key concepts:

·  Using context clues, literary terms and background knowledge to better understand a piece of writing

·  Understanding the kind of choices an can author make to communicate certain ideas with his/her readers

Claswork: 65 mins

·  Goals/Agenda review reminder (4 mins)

·  Hook:

◦  Have 5 student volunteers read different stanzas of the poem. (2 mins)

·  A/B sharing (find someone you haven't worked with yet in this class). (30 secs)

·  Decide who is A and who is B. (10 secs)

·  When we do this sharing, if you're talking, you are the only one in your pair. The other partner listens. How can you show your partner you're listening? (1 min)

·  Now, As' share what you starred in the poem and why. Then Bs' share. (20 seconds per partner=40 secs)

·  Decide what you'd most like to star, and send partner A to the overhead to do so (2 mins)

·  Briefly check in—why do we like these parts of the poem? Students can speak from their seats or come to the overhead (5 mins)

·  A/B sharing what confused you in the poem—reminder about protocol (2 mins)

◦  A go first (20 secs), then B (20 secs).

◦  Can you help each other figure it out? (3-5 mins)

·  Decide what still confuses you, and send partner B to the overhead to circle it (2 mins)

·  Briefly check in (cow toss—only the person with the cow talks. Even if you don't raise your hand, I might toss you the cow—give it your best shot.)—how can we figure out this meaning? Can you draw on your background knowledge? Can you ask a question or make a prediction? What words around the trouble spot might help? Students can speak from their seats or come to the overhead (10 mins)

·  Everyone goes to the board and writes what they learned about Pablo from this poem. Can draw information also. (5 mins)

·  Class check/cow toss—now do these all seem accurate to you? How come Gary Soto didn't just write all of these facts? Do those notes sound like a poem? Why or why not? Why didn't Gary Soto just write a biography of Pablo? What does he include in this poem that makes it a unique story-telling experience? There's specific writer's vocabulary we can use to describe the choices Gary Soto makes. (7 mins)