Jamie Hatfield 11/9/12

Instruction Commentary
1. Teaching Strategies used to develop skills and strategies to comprehend or compose text. I used many teaching strategies during this lesson. As seen in the beginning of the video the first strategy I use is cold call. I decided to cold call students to ensure engagement and participation. I also reviewed the previous lesson about the concept. I asked students to review what we had learned so that the concept is fresh in their minds and to bring some of the vocabulary back to students minds such as when Lauren tells us main idea and Jonathan volunteers the beginning, middle, and end. I also reviewed the story for students who may have been absent and also to visually and verbally guide students to the sequence of events, since that is what the lesson would require them to do. I chose a book that had a main character representative of the students culture and also contained themes that were relevant to the students cultural histories. The next teaching strategy I use is to read the sequence of events to the students rather than jumping right in and asking them to sequence the events. I did this because we have a couple students who are non-readers and would not be able to read the material on their own; this allowed them to hear all the events before deciding where they go. At one minute into the video you will see another teaching strategy that I use. Instead of calling on one student to give me the answer, I ask students to show me where the event goes with their fingers. This allows everyone to participate; it keeps students engaged, holds them accountable for participating, and also allows me to see who understands the concept and who doesnt. 2. Examples of language supports seen in the clip to help students understand content central to the lesson In this lesson, at the beginning, I had students verbalize the language we had previously learned for the concept of Plot. This language was main idea, beginning, middle, end, and events. I also promoted the use of this language by using it myself throughout the lesson and by asking questions that guided students to the use of the language. At one point in the clip students struggle with how to describe plot and so I give them the word events. 3. Strategies for eliciting student thinking and my responses that further their learning. My strategy for eliciting student thinking was through questioning. I asked a question such as what is plot? in the beginning. I asked two students because the first student gave me a partial answer and rather than completing it myself I asked another student. This allows them to do the thinking. Another strategy I used was to 1

Jamie Hatfield 11/9/12 lead students to notice vocabulary and the role it plays in sequencing. This is evident in the video in the beginning where I asked how Mikayla knew the event she chose went last. She told me because it had the word Finally. I followed this up by asking another student to repeat what she said. Towards the end when Damarria cannot answer my question what does plot include I use a no-opt out strategy of calling on another student, when this student could not answer I supplied the vocabulary for the students to answer. Finally, at the end of the video I connect our lesson on plot to their life as independent readers. 4. Reflection I think at this point my students were still formulating their understandings of plot. They had a good grasp that it included the beginning, middle, and end of the story but from watching the video and thinking back to my lesson I dont think they had a complete understanding of plot and everything it includes. This is evident to me when at the end of the clip the students still struggle with identifying elements of plot. The next time I teach this concept I will plan my questions before hand, it seemed to me that perhaps the way I was presenting the questions may have effected how students were able to answer. I knew what I wanted students to learn and the activity I would do, but I did not script out my questions. I also think that the layout of the sequencing could have been done to better represent a storyline rather than two columns. Perhaps having it laid out more like a timeline or one, two, three across and four, five, six, below. This may have aided students to better see the sequence of events. Another missed opportunity was not having the students collaborate before providing answers. Were I to do this lesson again, I would have students Think/Pair/Share what plot is and what it includes. This teaching strategy would most likely eliminate those students that didnt have an answer when I cold called them and also give students a broader understanding if they were able to hear what their partner knows first. Incorporating the Think/Pair/Share strategy would also keep engagement allowing them a break from listening to the teacher. Lastly, incorporating the think/pair/share strategy into the sequencing section could help students talk through the order of the events before having to choose where the event goes. These are the changes I would make the next time I teach this lesson.