Ally West

Fall 2018
Methods of Teaching Reading
Practicum Journal

September 26, 2018 (8:30-9:30 am)

When I entered the classroom, Mrs. Sheddan was doing an Interactive Read Aloud with a

chapter from the book Gooney Bird Greene by Lois Lowry. She was using great voice inflection

and the students were very engaged. Mrs. Sheddan stopped every so often during the chapter to

point out how Gooney Bird Greene was like one of the students in the class or how the class acts

like Gooney Bird Greene. The students loved when she compared them to the main character in

the book. This book is a 3.9 level on AR book finder, so this book is good for an Interactive

Read Aloud because it is above grade level.

After the Interactive Read Aloud Mrs. Sheddan divided the class in half and one group

came to a center with me where we added two pages (one on illustrations and another on

questions) to their interactive reading notebooks and the other group did a small group reading

with a story in their textbooks titled Bats. It was a nonfiction book about bats. At the end of the

story, the textbook had questions that reflected the depth of textual analysis required by grade-

level standards.

October 3, 2018 (8:30-9:30 am)

Today, the class was working on an online English quiz on the website Quizizz. Each

student had a tablet and was working independently. Once the quiz was finished Mrs. Sheddan

reviewed the answers to the questions with the class. The knowledge built was related to grade-

level content standards.

Once this was completed students went across the hall with me to an empty classroom to

complete a magnet activity. Mrs. Sheddan told me she had incorporated a nonfiction science
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book about magnets into their reading, so she was letting the students create their own

electromagnet to elaborate on their reading story.

October 10, 2018 (8:30-9:30 am)

This morning, I listened to two girls present on an author study about Beverly Cleary.

The class was divided into pairs and each pair was assigned an author. Then the pair did research

on the author (what types of books the author wrote, why he/she wrote these books, what the

author enjoyed doing, etc.). The students also had to read one of the author’s books. This would

be a shared reading activity and independent writing because the pair read the book together, but

each had to write their own paragraph about the author independently.

After this, I took 2 students across the hall to an empty classroom to listen to them read

an iReady story to me. This was a small group reading activity. After the students read the story

they independently answered eight iReady questions at the back of the book. The questions were

sequenced to deepen students’ understanding of the text and the concepts for the unit. They also

reflected the depth of textual analysis required by grade-level standards. This task exemplified

the rigor of the grade-level standards.

October 24, 2018 (8:30-9:30 am)

Today, I observed students completing an iReady practice exam. The students had to read

two stories and then answer questions at the end of the story. This task requires an integration of

standards as students demonstrate an understanding of texts and concepts. The questions

addressed the specific texts at hand by attending to its particular structure, language conventions,

concepts, ideas, events, and/or details that support understanding of the texts and concepts.
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October 31, 2018 (8:30-9:30 am)

Today, I went across the hall to the empty classroom with two students to read The

Kabuki Kid, an on-grade-level guided reading story. This was a small group reading activity. The

text was at the complexity level expected for the grade at the time of the school year. As the

students read the story aloud I stopped them as they passed a highlighted vocabulary word to ask

them what the word meant. The students usually answered right away. However, I did have one

student who struggled with the definitions, but I was able to guide that student in the right

direction. The other student was very advanced and knew the definitions right away.

October 9, 2018 (8:25-9:30 am)

Today, the class went to a Veteran’s Day program, so I created extra Interactive Reading

and Writing notebooks and graded papers.

November 14, 2018 (8:30-9:30 am)

Mrs. Sheddan started an author study over Patricia Polacco on Monday. She completed

an Interactive Read Aloud with multiple books by Patricia Polacco throughout the week and she

had students do an independent writing activity, shared reading, and independent reading about

Patricia Polacco throughout the week. However, I was there on Wednesday and on that day, we

made Thunder Cakes. Mrs. Sheddan read the book Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco to the class

the day before as an Interactive Read Aloud and then the students did an independent writing

activity, but on Wednesday we made an actual Thunder Cake! We followed the directions in the

back of the book to make the cake and talked about how the characters felt while they made the

cake themselves. We mixed the ingredients in and baked an actual cake. I really enjoyed this
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activity and I believe the student did too. Mrs. Sheddan said her former students tell her how

they loved this activity when they see her in town even ten years later. This task required

students to use evidence from the text to demonstrate understanding about the text. This task also

required the application of vocabulary gained through experiences in the text.

November 28, 2018 (8:30-11:00 am)

Today I read through a play, “Tops and Bottoms”, with four students. This was a shared

reading activity. The text (play) was appropriately paired with an instructional strategy and the

knowledge built is related to grade-level content standards. The play used the week’s vocabulary

words. This task maintained all expectations for all learners and required the application of

vocabulary gained through experiences in the text. Once the four students and I read through the

play twice the students read the play to the whole class. The whole class compared and

contrasted the play version to the story version in their reading textbooks.

November 30, 2018 (8:30-10:30 am)

Today was my last day with Mrs. Sheddan and her class. Today students were taking an

AR test over a Patricia Polacco book that Mrs. Sheddan did an interactive read with the whole

class. After the students took the AR test the students completed a test over the book Tops and

Bottoms. The test had a phonics and comprehension section. After this Mrs. Sheddan gave the

students cereal, carrot, and popcorn for the students to eat because the food was a top, bottom,

and middle. The students also watch the movie that was based on the book. Then the students

compared and contrasted the book to the move after eating their snack. I really like how she

makes learning fun and makes special treats for some of her lesson. This task connected in ways
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that support students in revisiting and making connections within and between texts, and

demonstrating increased knowledge around the concept.