Observation Assignment #2

I spent an afternoon with an 11th grade English Language Arts Class. It was an unconventional period full of equal parts Birthday Cake and the testing software Reading Plus. Here is the lesson plan I reverse engineered from my time there.

Teacher Candidate: Colleen Conely	Subject: World Literature
Name of Lesson:	Cake and Reading Plus!
Learning Objective(s), including Bloom's taxonomic level: (label A, B, C, *D) *optional	-LO posted on whiteboard: Students will be able to increase comprehension skills by using Reading Plus. -Could be: Students will be able to log in to Reading Plus.                      Students will be able to complete the Reading Plus Survey by the end of the period.                      Students will read the first Reading Plus selection and answer the comprehension questions by the end of the period.
Student Standards (GSE or/GLE or Common Core-in draft for math/science- list which):	Without being familiar with the Reading Plus selections and questions personally, the standards applicable to this lesson could vary grately. Some that it should be addressing are 11-12 Reading Standards: 2. Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text 4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.) 10. By the end of grade 11, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 11–CCR text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
Teacher Standards (professional society and/or NETS  and RIPTS-list which):	In regards to the birthday cake aspect: 1.2 reflect a variety of academic, social, and cultural experiences in their teaching 1.5 facilitate student involvement in the school and wider communities 6.2 establish a safe, secure and nurturing learning environment that supports the active engagement of all students In regards to the Reading Plus aspect: 2.3 select appropriate instructional materials and resources (including technological resources) based on their comprehensiveness, accuracy, and usefulness for representing particular ideas and concepts in the discipline/content areas
Rationale: Why this lesson? How does it fit into the curriculum and context? Is this the introduction, conclusion, or somewhere in the middle of the unit of instruction?	This lesson focuses on community building, and getting acquainted with Reading Plus. Community building is key for this group of students. Last year a student from their class was expelled for violence against another student. The class also successfully drove out a faculty member. The co-teacher for this class has had a lot of success bonding and creating relationships with them. Celebrating his birthday is important to the students. Allowing them to express fondness for a teacher is important. Reading Plus is  a mandatory placement test that students will be taking twice a week for half  of class. They need to be familiar with the program to perform their best. This program will help them build their reading stamina (the program works to give them  reading  relevant to their interests). The format is also similar to  standardized testing students will encounter in the future. This lesson is an introduction to signing on and  navigating the format.
Materials/Resources needed, including technology:	-Cake! Plates, napkins, forks, and bottled water. -Laptops and headphones (cart can be ordered for the period) -Doc cam to display log in instructions
Accommodations and Modifications (special needs and learning styles) For example:  Dr. Kraus has poor vision and needs written material to be at least 12 pt. font.  He also reads two grade levels higher and needs appropriate reading material.	As half of this class are special needs students with IEP’s, coordinating with the co-teacher who is a special education teacher is necessary. Some students prefer to hear the programs instructions  so headphones will be necessary.
What content resources support this knowledge base? (list at least 2)
How confident are you in this topic as you start this lesson?	Confident. I have used this technology before and the log -in cheat sheet will be helpful for students.

Action!

Bell-ringer: How will you get students seated, and ready for academic work? (without your voice)	Today is a little unorthodox since we are celebrating the co-teacher’s birthday. The start of today’s class will be informal as we sing ‘Happy Birthday’ and eat cake.
Anticipatory Set: How will you introduce the material, interest the students, show relevance of topic?	To introduce Reading Plus, I will explain how this will be a part of the regular weekly routine before going over the log in cheat sheet.
Phase	Teacher action	Student action
Intro	Sing Happy Birthday to co-teacher! Cut Cake!	Sing Happy Birthday to co-teacher! Eat Cake!
Presentation	Explain that Reading Plus is a program that will be used twice a week to help students build reading skills and prepare them for standardized testing.	Groan. “Aw miss we hate this. We did this last year.”
Guided Practice	With help of co-teacher, hand out student laptops and headphones. Present log in cheat sheet on doc cam. Walk around room to make sure students are on the right web page and signing in through the correct high school and program.	Sign in to their reading plus accounts.
Practice	Explain that students will be filling out a survey so that the program can select reading  material that will interest them. They will then be reading passages and answering comprehension questions. Walk around and make sure students are on task.	“Misssssss, this is hard! I hate it.” Plug along any way, build reading stamina.
HW/Application/	There is no homework from this lesson.
Review and Reflection: How will you review for students who are still having trouble?	I don’t think this is relevant to a class based on using the Reading Plus software.
Extension: What will you offer to students who have mastered this?	I’m also not sure how to apply this to a test-based lesson.

Reflection!

WHAT?	What went well?    - Allowing the students to celebrate the co-teachers birthday was a nice event. Both he and the students were pleased. -There were no problems with student log in for Reading Plus. Students generally remained focused. The co-teacher remarked that using the program went MUCH smoother than attempts to implement using it last year.
	What area of weakness needs addressing? -Some students were putting their heads down for long periods of time without progessing on the material. They did not understand that work they don’t finish on Reading Plus today will be there for them later in the week and pile up at the end of the semester. They seemed to think it would go away when the bell rang.
	Which objectives were met? What is the evidence? -Students were all able to log in. -All students completed the survey. -Not all students completed the first reading and following questions.
	Which students did not meet objectives? -At least three students.
	Was time managed appropriately? - Yes. Students were given enough time to enjoy the co teachers birthday, and enough time to work through the Reading Plus content. However, not all students made it through the content.
	Did any teacher mannerisms or actions detract from the lesson? -No
	*What were the strengths and weaknesses of classroom management? -The co-teacher was great at keeping students on task. He was able to calming diffuse a friendly tussle at the beginning of class that could have escalated to a situation requires discipline. -Students were frequently calling the co-teacher “Birthday Girl” as an insult (he is a man).  Girl should not be tolerated as an insult.
SO WHAT?	Was the lesson engaging? - The birthday part aspect was engaging. Keeping students on task during Reading Plus produced mixed results.
	*What did I learn from my peer observation (address at least one aspect)
NOW WHAT?	How will this experience influence your professional identity? How will it influence how you plan/teach/assess in the future? - Taking time to build relationships between faculty and students is something worth spending time on. It is important  to know that activities like this can be considered a respectable activity for class time.  It is good to know that there is time to validate students feelings and help them build community.