Literacy Center Reflection (Field Experience)

For my field experience through Indiana Wesleyan University, I was placed in a Kindergarten classroom at Eel River Elementary School in Fort Wayne, Indiana. For the planned writing block we used the word of the day page to learn and discuss the word, "lucky".

Students drew their pictures and were instructed to write the word "lucky" on a separate piece of paper. This was completed using a screen projector so I could work with all students and share ideas.

This writing activity aligns with the following learning standards:

K.RC.1 With support, ask and answer questions about main topics and key details in a text heard or read. (E)

K.W.4 Use words, pictures, and dictation to narrate a single event or simple story, arranging ideas in order. (E)

K.W.3 Use words and pictures to develop a main idea and provide information about a topic. (E)

K.W.5 With support, apply the writing process to a. Plan by generating ideas for writing through oral discussions and drawings; b. Develop drafts in pictorial or written form by organizing ideas; c. Revise writing by adding details in pictures or words; and d. Use available technology to produce and publish writing.

K.CC.2 Ask questions to seek help, obtain information, or clarify something that is not understood.

K.CC.3 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or present information orally or through other media. (E)

The primary goal of the lesson was to demonstrate comprehension by instilling the theme of a text into a narrative, with supportive illustrations. Other standards and objectives achieved were showing knowledge of concepts of print and demonstrating phonemic and phonological awareness to decode and print words. We used the information gathered about the word lucky to generate ideas about things we were lucky to have.

Modifications were made to the lesson to incorporate and activate prior knowledge with the assistance and guidance of the cooperating teacher. Students were learning the digraph "wh". For their Friday lesson they had a focus on the word white. To combine this element with the writing block we modified the prompt to be, "I am Lucky Because I have a White..." This modification allowed students to utilize their sight words on the classroom word wall to support writing and reduce stress from having an open-ended prompt.

I anticipated that students would require redirection and scaffolding to complete the prompt and spell words. For this lesson, the children were directed to the word wall for assistance with spelling the sight words, "have" and "white". Then they reflected on personal items that they felt lucky to have. To scaffold the spelling of the nouns we segmented the words into chunks by tapping out the sounds and sounding them out slowly to identify their sounds. To support students, I circulated the class and monitored their writing to identify struggling students, I then inquired about their pictures to encourage thought and discussion.

I anticipate that the "ah-ha" moment for this lesson was the utilization of print in the environment and learning different meanings for the word lucky. The only difficulties that occurred were the necessary modifications made to support prior knowledge and literacy exposure of the digraph "wh", but this modification did not affect the lesson outcome. For assessment included ensuring students were following the learning standards by generating ideas, writing, and connecting their drawings to their writing. While some students required more redirection or support with spelling words, all students completed the prompt and accomplished the learning objectives. One aspect I would change would be to include more than two writing lines as kindergarten students are practicing spacing and write larger, I observed that some students ran out of room after writing three or four words. Modeling spacing methods, such as placing a finger in between words would also be a solution.