Thursday, January 22, 2015

7:40 a.m. 3:00 p.m.

Today I did two lessons and they both went very well. I was able to keep the math lesson
moving. I didnt do everything I had planned but I covered the important areas and the students
grasped the concept and I finished my lesson on time, just as Professor G. arrived for my
observation. The transition went well. And the lesson on Authors Purpose was a little rockier
but Professor G. was impressed with the amount of differentiation in the lesson plan and my use
of classroom management strategies. I was glad to hear that I had included all the elements. I
wasnt sure if I had done enough differentiation.
I need to improve on pacing, as I learned yesterday. I noticed that one of the SOLs for
Authors Purpose outlined what the students needed to know in order to identify Authors
Purpose but I failed to look closely at that and teach what the objective wanted. I struggled to
communicate that aspect of Authors Purpose and the students were confused. I think if I had
kept that SOL in mind it would have sharpened my delivery of the instructional part of the
lesson. I need to remember that the SOLs are there for a reason.

Transcribed from my notes from an idea I had on the evening of the 24th of January, 2015:
Authors Purpose
Desribe Five Senses to help readers experience a scene.
1. What are the five senses?
2. When the author activates these senses when writing this tells the reader that the
author is describing vs. Entertaining is focused on actionhappy, sad,
suspenseful & scary

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

7:25 a.m. 2:55 p.m.
My small group on authors purpose went well today. Mrs. G. told me I sounded more
confident in explaining authors purpose. I am after reading the materials she gave me and
talking with Mrs. F., the reading specialist. The students understood it as well. I had a higher
group this time. I had fun as they were able to get a little deeper into the text and notice the
quality of the text without much guidance. I am realizing how important it is to know the content
well enough to break it down into small parts that students can understand. I am also realizing
that most of this knowledge comes from teaching the topic again and again, slowly finding what
works and what doesnt.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
7:50 a.m. 3:50 p.m.
I taught Authors Purpose again in guided reading. This lesson went more slowly than
yesterdays. The students had a harder time focusing. Guided reading is at the end of the day. I
wonder what I can do to keep their attention and help them focus on the materials. When Mrs. G.
reviewed my lesson she pointed out that what I thought the Authors Purpose was not quite on
target. I disagreed with her, but we had a polite discussion about the text, which ended up being a
mix of both our conclusions. The result of this conversation I pulled out the resources she had
given me and used them during the lesson. I realized that I had been slightly off in how I was
teaching the purposes inform and persuade. The authors purpose is still murky to me and Mrs.
G., but I was able to focus my teaching more clearly this time. It was good to experience a
disagreement that went civilly, and reach a conclusion through it. I understand the topic more
clearly than before.