2.

1 Reflection on Instruction
What went well? The children in my small group were very talkative. The students were very thoughtful in
all their responses. I tried my best to engage myself fully with the students but I was rather worried about
finishing by eleven oclock. The students also tried to answer questions even if they were not sure if they
were correct. Students boldly tried to define courteous, and were almost correct, I was quite proud of their
boldness. Even with only twenty minutes to complete my lesson, I did a great job amending the lesson to
the time constraint and was done by 11 oclock.
Were the objectives met (what evidence do you have that learning occurred)? The students were completely
engaged in the discussion. They were not only asking questions to correct any confusion they may have
had, but they were also asking inferential questions about the story. A lot of time the students were filling
out their story maps then discussing what they had written down instead of verifying with the group first if
they were on the right track. Once again, this proved my groups boldness and understanding of the topic
and implementation of the tool. A follow-up lesson done individually after the reading was to write a
summary. I read each of my students summaries and they were able to take all the information compiled on
the map and apply it to the summary. This transposition of information assures me that the students are able
to use this strategy effectively.
Was your assessment of the students adequate and informative? The crux of my assessment was
observation of the discussion- the questions and comments the students were making. Ellery even expresses
how questions help students to pinpoint issues and find the meaning or purpose of the text (2009, p. 197).
For the structure of the lesson this was an adequate form of assessment. What makes discussion a strong
form of assessment is that the students dont feel like they are being evaluated in addition to not feeling
constricted to what they can write down. The danger of discussion being the main form of assessment is
that some students are going to show their knowledge or lack thereof clearly while other students may not.
For my small group this was not an issue, I was able to gage each students clarity on the use of the map.
After looking at each students map I was able to see the level of thoroughness from each child. Some
students had more events or characters than others, but each of my students had used the strategy
effectively and with ease.
What would you change? How could this lesson be improved? Well I had to change my lesson due to time
constraints. I had to cut my whole anticipatory set. I would ideally like to place this portion back in my
lesson, especially if I was not working with a higher-level classroom and thought the students need more
scaffolding. Once again if I knew that my students were not as advanced as my students I would not have
them read aloud in the small group but rather read with a partner or silently. For these students it was not a
problem and did not impede their comprehension.
2.2 Citations
Ellery, V. (2009). Creating Strategic Readers (Second ed.). Newark, DE: International Reading
Association.