Name: Bobbe Jo Mills

Date: July 12, 2014

EDR 627
Section One:
Strategy name: Guess the Covered Word
Source for strategy: Guided Reading the Four-Blocks Way (pppst.com)
Purpose for using strategy: This strategy helps students develop ways to decode
unknown words when reading using prior knowledge, and pictures. With practice
students will be able to cross-check independently when reading.

Section Two:
This can be used whole group, small group or one-on-one. I used it one-on-one
with a student entering - 1
st
graders and a student entering second grade.

Section Three:
From Seed to Apple by Ruth Mattison, Copyright 2008
and Guess the Covered Word Response Sheet

Section Four:
1. Introduction to the Lesson: Today we are going to read this book, From
Seed to Apple by Ruth Mattison. As you read, you are going to see some
words that I have covered up with tape. When we come to a word that is
covered with tape, we are then going to think about what we know
about apples and see if we can predict what the covered word could
be. I will write the words down that you think it could be on this paper.
Then we will take off the tape to see if we have the first letter right, if we
do then we will take off the rest of the tape. If we dont then we will see if
we can think of some other words that it could be.

2. Activating Prior Knowledge: It is always a good idea to get your brain
ready for what you are going to read. Can you think about apples before
you read? Tell me what you know about apples and how they grow,
where they come from.

3. Modeling: I want to show you how we are going to do this. First I will read
the first page containing the covered word. I read the sentence
Here is an blank. Substituting the word blank for the word apple.
Then I will say aloud What would make sense?
Then I will go back and re-read the sentence again but this time I will
gave examples:
Here is an leaf. Think-a-loud That makes sense but it doesnt sound
right. What else could it be?
Here is an apple. Think-a-loud, That makes sense and sounds right.
Now I can check to see if I am right and remove the tape. Was I right?
Yes I was right!
On the next page read the sentence substituting blank for the word good.
Apples are blank for you. Where do we get apples from?
Then go back and ask the student- What would make sense?
Record responses on the response form in the first box.
Then uncover the first letter to reveal a g.
Now that the g is revealed ask, Do you think you have the correct word?
Record any additional words that the student might add then remove the
rest of the tape and read the sentence with the correct word. Then
discuss with the child if they were correct or incorrect. If they were
incorrect talk to them about picking a word that made sense and that
would looked right for the first letter.

4. Transition to Independence: Have the student continue reading the book
while recording their responses for them. Prompt the student to re-read
the sentence if help is needed. Also prompt them to check the picture
and think about what would make sense if they are unsure after re-
reading.

5. Lesson wrap-up: Once all the tape has been removed, have the child re-
read the book or re-read the book to them. If they read, note if they know
the words that had been taped.


Section Five: The level of success will be determined by how well the students are
able to determine the correct word for themselves and self-monitor incorrect
responses.

Section Six: I feel the strategy was very effective with Jayden (first grader) and
somewhat effective with Ethan (second grader). Jayden appears to have more
back ground knowledge and was engaged in the active. In fact he thought it
was fun and guessed four of the five words on the first guess. Ethan on the other
hand did not show as much back ground knowledge and several times
answered I have no clue. This is a typical response for Ethan when he is unsure
of himself and learning something new. Ethan did better with the task with
prompting from me and was then able to generate three of the five responses. I
do believe that with more exposure to this strategy Ethan would also become
more successful and would come to enjoy it as well.

Copy student work:
Name: Ethan
Guess the covered Word Responses
great
good
seeds dirt
sawdust
woodchips
honey
food
jelly
grow
Name: Jayden
Guess the covered Word Responses
good seeds
stems
garden
farm
trees
ground
dirt
soil
pollen
honey
Grow

**The following sections will be completed AFTER your Strat Chat sessions:
Section Seven: peer feedback from Cassie Koeman
Bobbe,
Thanks for sharing this strategy; it is one I hope to use in my classroom!
Questions:
1. Do you think a different text would help motivate Ethan more than the text
you read? Maybe allowing Ethan to select a book on his own would illicit more
of a response than "I have no clue."
Compliments:
1. I really liked that you showed the book (even though you are concerned with
this being online!) This helped me visualize how I could use this strategy in the
future!
2. I also like how you asked the students to utilize the pictures to help them
determine what the word might be. A great way to scaffold!
3. I also thought that the use of onset/rime is a great scaffold for students. I'm
sure this was probably especially useful when you were working with Ethan!


Suggestions:
1. To help a child like Ethan, it might be beneficial to do more modeling. It may
have been necessary to model the whole book for him and work really close
with him until he got the hang of it and then introduce a different book for him to
do on his own.
2. After reading, I think it would be beneficial to have a discussion about the
words that the students chose and the actual word. Compare the words, see
how they might mean the same thing or are similar or explain how their choices
maybe didn't really make sense and how the actual word does make sense!
Peer feedback from Heather Field
Bobbed,
Great strategy choice! This is definitely an important skill for young readers to
utilize when they are reading independently. Cross checking and asking does it
make sense? Also helps them develop their comprehension as they read.
I think the text you chose for this strategy was perfect. It is a text that has a lot of
sight words for young readers to recognize as well as a simple concept. Because
the text is not too challenging, it gives the students time to focus on the strategy.
I like that you shared your thinking in Section Six. It is clear that Jayden enjoyed
the strategy and the time spent with the book. His answers were either right on or
very focused and close. Its great when we see our teaching come alive with the
excitement of our students, isnt it?
I know that when you were presenting you commented about how this strategy
might change if the two students were working more in a whole group situation. I
think that you could try having the students write their words on a sticky note
instead of blurting out. This would give them practice with writing/spelling and
also give others some time to think without interruptions. Then you could have
the students share their words aloud.
I find Ethans responses interesting. He might benefit from a different topic.
Maybe one that he knows a lot about so that he has some confidence and prior
knowledge before learning a new strategy. I think that is the case with many
young readers.
I was curious how you chose the words you covered up. I see that there are bold
words in the text such as blossom and pollination. I was wondering why you
did not cover those ones up instead. (Maybe the other words you chose to
cover up were bold too?)
Thank you for sharing your lesson!

Peer feedback from Yanbo Chen
Bobbe, I think you have started with a good strategy that lower grade
elementary students are very interested in since they guess and the words are
covered. The mysterious nature made they interested in this activity. The
second thing I like about your strategy is using the bold text to show what you
have exactly talked to your students. I can almost visualize your teaching
process, with additional huge clear photos. Finally, what you said about reading
is very beneficial for students get your brain ready for what you are going to
read. To have students mentally in our class is much harder than have them
physically in. I noticed you were reading the book page by page. Maybe you
can try to talk about the title first, or do a picture-walk so the students can have
a brief impression of the text. This will help to use the context to guess the
covered words. Also, an alternative way of showing the first letter to give hints is
to say the word in really quiet voice and let them guess. That can be fun too. I
tried Guess the Covered Words strategy with my Chinese students before, but I
accidently revealed the words to them when I partially showed the word. How
do you manage that situation? Do you have a better way to cover and reveal
the words? I used two pieces of tape, one to cover up the entire word on top
and under it a piece that covered up all the letters except the first.
Section Eight:
Overall Reflections: This is a great strategy and I anticipate using it more
with the children I work with. I also am excited to share it with my para so that
she can use it with the students that she works with.
There are a few things that I will change when I use it again. I may need to
do some more modeling of the procedure to help students like Ethan engage
and feel more successful. I also will want to make sure that I select a text that is
of interest for the students that I am working with. I may also be helpful to select
a text that students have some background knowledge; this also will help them
engage more with the strategy. Another thing that I will change will be to have
students record their own responses; because I was working one-on-one privacy
was not an issue but in a small group I will want to know what each student is
thinking. I will also go back when we have finished reading the book and review
their word choices and talk about if the choices they made were correct and if
they made sense. This will help student understand that not only does a word
need to look and sound right but it also needs to look right. I feel by making
these modifications to the lesson it will be more successful for all of the students in
the group.