The student was able to articulate the correct segments of about half of the twenty-two words that were listed. Yopp (1995) states, “Students who correctly segment some items (7-16 correct) are displaying emerging phonemic awareness.” I believe that one of the problems that she is facing relates to the idea that she believes that a letter can only sound one way; she is not aware of the short and long sounds that one letter is capable of sounding like when saying different words. For instance, when we reached words such as she, that, and three I could detect that she was hesitant with the beginning sounds since those phonemes are joined. She was not able to determine that they should be recited together so when she began to tell me the sounds, she said the sound of each of the letters rather than placing them together. To a certain extent I believe that she is lacking phonemic awareness due to the fact that she is not aware of the different sounds that letters could make. I think this could hinder her writing, as I have already witnessed, when she begins to produce sentences independently. They are taught to stretch out words to the best of their ability before asking for help so this could be a problem if she cannot identify the sounds that she is making. When I’ve looked over her writing, letters tend to be missing especially if it is a blended phoneme or one that is usually silent.
Based on the results of the spelling inventory, Jennifer falls under the stage of “within word pattern.” Instruction is necessary in the areas of common long vowels and inflected endings. The step to helping Jennifer grasp an understanding of long vowels and inflected endings is to implement word sorting during the day; with a teacher, independently or with a group. The results of this spelling inventory came as a shock; specifically the stage of spelling that it categorized Jennifer. Although she was able to identify the initial and final consonants as well as short vowel sounds of the words that were provided, that is not what I observe when she is writing sentences. The inventory indicated that Jennifer falls within the “within word pattern”, a stage where she is capable of spelling single-syllable words correctly along with consonant blends and digraphs. However she is not at that point where she can automatically recognize short vowel sounds. Jennifer is still in the process of breaking apart the sounds of words while reading and writing. The scores retrieved from iStation and observing her while reading during shared reading time, helped me realize that even though a student may be lacking in a few areas of literacy, it does not mean that there are not proficient in others. She needs consistent encouragement to practice skills independently. Jennifer should be not sit near friends when engaged on iStation during computer time to help improve her focus.
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![]() It was a bit nerve wrecking to have one of my peers to come into the classroom to observe me while I worked with my focus student since it isn't the norm. We often have time to reflect amongst ourselves about our days and how things with our inquiry project but it was definitely different having them witness it with their own eyes. However we are very respectful of one another and we realize that we all just want to help each other become the best educators! It so happened that my focus student did very well during our time together on this particular day during shared reading time. Yet, I shared with my peer privately that there are days when she doesn't seem to have any problems reading but then there are others where she struggles. I appreciate the suggestions of using flash cards and sound games to help my focus student strengthen her phonemic awareness. Using interactive games and flash cards would be different techniques that I believe would really capture the student's attention and maintain her engagement. There is a traditional approach in the classroom where technology is not implemented frequently aside from the listening center. Create a brief blog entry describing and summarizing what you learned from the ESE resource teacher interview we had in seminar last month in Ms. Hill's room. How does the information she shared help you in your own practice as a general education teacher? How can the information help you support your students better? Is there any information that helps you understand your inquiry student and how best to work with them?
As a general education teacher, the information provided by the ESE resource teacher strengthened the importance of community between educators, despite our titles and roles in the school environment. Just as we desire to create a community within the walls of our classroom by encouraging our students to be open-minded, eager to help and accepting of one another, we should have the same approach with our colleagues. It is not a secret that there are a variety of hurdles standing in the way of our exceptional students progressing as well as those who are in place to help them such as a shortage of staff that are qualified to assist them, lack of time to work within throughout the day and the process of actually providing those services to students who need them but are not "labeled." It is my duty as a teacher to ensure that I am supporting my students by collaborating wholeheartedly with the resource teacher by providing lesson plans in a timely manner, informing them of the daily schedule and modifying the classroom in such a way that is suitable for their learning needs. The interview was very eye-opening as a pre-service teacher into the job of a ESE resource teacher. I was aware that their jobs were anything short of easy but when she went into detail of trying to assist a group of students in a matter of 30 minutes, it really dawned on me how demanding her job was. When I was in elementary school, there were separate classes for students who were considered ESE which I believe gave them the direct attention and support that they need. On the other hand, the arguments of including those students in the regular setting of a class is understandable as well. There should definitely be a surplus of resource teachers hired to flood our schools for the benefit of our students. A Test for Assessing Phonemic Awareness in Young Children
The purpose of the Yopp-Singer Test of Phoneme Segmentation is to measure a child’s ability to identify and separate the sounds of a word in the appropriate order. This assessment focuses on the topic of Phonemic awareness, defined as the ability to recognize that words are made up of a discreet set of sounds and to manipulate those sounds. It is one of the pillars of literacy that contribute to effective literary instruction for students. With the use of syllables, rhyming, as well as beginning/middle/ending sounds, students are capable of understanding that sounds are connected to words and learn how to recognize individual phonemes, then joining phonemes and eventually whole words. The assessment consists of 22 words that were picked due to their feature analysis and word familiarity that could take up to 10 minutes to administer to a student. The student was able to articulate the correct segments of about half of the twenty-two words that were listed. Yopp (1995) states, “Students who correctly segment some items (7-16 correct) are displaying emerging phonemic awareness.” I believe that one of the problems that she is facing relates to the idea that she believes that a letter can only sound one way; she is not aware of the short and long sounds that one letter is capable of sounding like when saying different words. For instance, when we reached words such as she, that, and three I could detect that she was hesitant with the beginning sounds since those phonemes are joined. To a certain extent I believe that she is lacking phonemic awareness due to the fact that she is not aware of the different sounds that letters could make. I think this could hinder her writing, as I have already witnessed, when she begins to produce sentences independently. They are taught to stretch out words to the best of their ability before asking for help so this could be a problem if she cannot identify the sounds that she is making. When I’ve looked over her writing, letters tend to be missing especially if it is a blended phoneme or one that is usually silent. EVoc Strategies: 10 Ways to Use Technology to Build Vocabulary I had not been introduced to eVoc strategies before reading this article but I would have to say that I believe it is an impressive way to teach vocabulary in the classroom. Although there is ample amount of opportunities for the students to read during their time in the class that I there is a direct relationship between vocabulary and reading comprehension. If we would like to create proficient readers, there is a need to improve their vocabulary. Out of the eight strategies mentioned, the second strategy stood out among the rest: take a digital vocabulary field trip. The idea of field trips incorporated into a lesson to peak student’s interest and maintain their attention is not an unfamiliar technique that I have learned as a preservice teacher but physically, not virtually. Physically field trips are not always feasible but the influence of technology in the classroom can be very powerful. This strategy allows the students to take a “tour” of the content that they are learning about by visiting several websites and viewing a variety of videos and pictures. This strategy does not take away from the primary goal of acquiring vocabulary because students will still discuss and document vocabulary words and notes pertaining to them during the lesson. Selecting “App” ealing and “App” ropriate Book Apps for Beginning Readers We all have to admit that technology is a huge factor of our lives in society; whether it be used in the workplace, school or for pleasure. And toddlers are not exempt from the wave that is taking over our society as we have witnessed how children younger than five years old are capable of using iPads, cellphones and tablets of different sorts. There is a popular saying that goes, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” I think this pertains to education because educators are constantly searching for methods that will increase literacy in the classroom and motivate students’ desire to read independently. What better way to encourage them to read than to present it to them in a way that they are very familiar with; on an electronic device. The article goes into detail of how digital books are a hug success with students of a young age due to media enhancements, customized reading experiences and interactivity. I learned that a quality digital book will include quality writing that allows students to discuss and reflect; expressive and fluent narration; well-coordinated images and text; and interactive features that help students develop traditional new literacy skills. References Dalton, B., & Grisham, D. L. (2011). EVoc Strategies: 10 Ways to Use Technology to Build Vocabulary. The Reading Teacher, 64(5), 306-317. Cahill, M., & Mcgill-Franzen, A. (2013). Selecting “App” ealing and “App” ropriate Book Apps for Beginning Readers. The Reading Teacher, 67(1), 30-39. doi:10.1002/trtr.1190 Yopp, H. (1995). A Test for Assessing Phonemic Awareness in Young Children. The Reading Teacher, 49(1), 20-29. Jennifer (pseudonym) is a first grade student who I’ve worked closely with and monitored as my focus student. It is evident that she has a few challenges when it comes to academic core subjects but specifically, reading. She is not reading on the first grade reading level and is considered Tier 2. Although she enjoys reading at home and school, she revealed that she did not enjoy reading books that did not have pictures or if the pages were full of words on account of the pictures being her guide. The pictures made it easier for her to follow the storyline, which is reasonable for a first grader. When she reads for pleasure, she is able to select the material that she prefers to read compared to when she is given material to read during the guided reading group or the reading lesson. Therefore I developed the following wondering question: How can I help my student develop phonemic awareness?”
Based on assessments, guided reading group activities, independent work and inventories it is evident that Jennifer is struggling with identifying words as well as spelling them. There have been times that I have witnessed her reading a story aloud with other students or reading a paragraph with me where she would come across a word that she does not recognize and says something completely different. Jennifer utilizes a personal tactic that includes the aid of the picture that is provided on the page to figure out an unfamiliar word rather than using context clues from the text that she read or morphemic knowledge (prefixes, suffixes and root words). For instance, while she was reading independently during center time, I asked her to read the story aloud. When she encountered a word that she did not know, she would mumble lowly or bypass it completely. I proceeded to stop her and ask her to repeat the word. I then noticed her personal tactic; the particular word was shirt but when she glanced at the photograph, she was under the impression that it was a sweater so that is what she plugged into the sentence. There are other times that the word that she would say has no relation to the original word. I administered the Yopp-Singer Test of Phoneme Segmentation, which measures a child’s ability to identify and separate the sounds of a word in the appropriate order. The student was able to articulate the correct segments of about half of the twenty-two words that were listed. Yopp (1995) states, “Students who correctly segment some items (7-16 correct) are displaying emerging phonemic awareness.” I believe that one of the problems that she is facing relates to the idea that she believes that a letter can only sound one way; she is not aware of the short and long sounds that one letter is capable of sounding like when saying different words. For instance, when we reached words such as she, that, and three I could detect that she was hesitant with the beginning sounds since those phonemes are joined. She was not able to determine that they should be recited together so when she began to tell me the sounds, she said the sound of each of the letters rather than placing them together. To a certain extent I believe that she is lacking phonemic awareness due to the fact that she is not aware of the different sounds that letters could make. I think this could hinder her writing, as I have already witnessed, when she begins to produce sentences independently. They are taught to stretch out words to the best of their ability before asking for help so this could be a problem if she cannot identify the sounds that she is making. When I’ve looked over her writing, letters tend to be missing especially if it is a blended phoneme or one that is usually silent. “Phonological awareness develops gradually over time and progresses from a sensitivity to big chunks of speech sounds, such as syllables and rhymes, to smaller parts of speech sounds, such as individual phonemes” (Pufpaff, 2009; Pulleen & Justice, 2003). One method that would be effective is to help Jennifer identify syllables by conducting an activity that includes deciphering the difference between short and long words. Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton & Johnston (2012) suggest that teachers use picture cards to display the difference clearly. For instance, the teacher could use a picture of a man and snow to represent the short words and then a picture of a snowman to represent the long word. This will show Jennifer how compound words are created. She can then clap her hands for each words; further showing her that words can contain different syllables. Another method that could be effective is matching rhyming words so she could begin to recognize the different sounds. As the school year progresses, I plan to collaborate with my collaborating teacher to create a list of site words that could be utilized every week with my focus student. Every day that I am present in the classroom, we will review at least five words from the list; stretching each sound out, spelling them out repeatedly, and producing quality sentences. Since she is in the first grade I do not want to overwhelm her with a variety of material. A copy of the sight words could also be created to be sent home with the student so she can practice the words at home as well with her family. ![]() Due to family concerns, I was unable to come in last week and was welcomed back with open arms from the students as well as my CT. There were a lot of hugs and questions about my whereabouts which made me feel very good but also a little sad that I missed a day to be around the students. It hadn't registered in my mind how much my presence meant to them and vice versa. I arrived a few minutes earlier than usual so I was allotted time to ask about Halloween and what they decided to dress up as. Throughout the day my CT and I caught up on everything that went on last week; something that we do every Tuesday which has helped us form a great bond. I feel comfortable enough to talk to her about anything that concerns me or even about personal things and ask any questions that I may have. I appreciate how she communicates with me as though I was an actual colleague rather than someone simply helping her around the classroom. She never fails to thank me for helping her at the end of each day. Aside from working with small groups during Mathematics and Language Arts, which has become a routine, I was able to engage in a Read-Aloud with the students. With the talk and hype of the current presidential election, the book that I read was entitled, "Duck For President." Before I began reading, my CT informed the class that there will be a school wide mock voting day that will allow all of the students to vote for the candidate of their choice. Although their votes will not count toward the actual election, it is a great learning activity that exposes them to one of their rights that they will be able to exercise once they become of age. I believe that the school system should not only prepare our students for college but also how to function in the real world. I was so amazed to hear first graders tell me about who they would or would not vote for. I'm pretty sure I was not concerned about who would be in charge of the United States when I was their age; better yet aware of who was running against one another for the presidential position. Times are definitely changing and the educational system is in dire need of adapting to this new generation of children. I would have to admit that reading aloud to children allows me to practice my speaking skills as a future teacher since I am required to read at a much slower pace than I am accustomed to as a college student. I have improved in my execution of reading aloud as I find myself asking more questions that allow the students to apply the story to their personal lives; change the tone of my voice; and ensure that I am not rushing through the story and showing the pictures. My CT also provided me with typed notes of my first formal observation. She and I both acknowledged that teaching a science lesson to the entire class was a huge task that was very challenging but I handled it better than expected. I could admit that I was every overwhelmed by the students' excitement, excessive talking and numerous questions but that comes with the territory. The science lesson focused on identifying the forces of push and pull. I began the lesson by having the students sit on the carpet and review the definitions and motions of a push and pull. The students were then asked to return to their seats for the activity portion of the lesson. The activity included cutting out pictures showing a variety of depictions of push and pull and folding a large piece of yellow construction paper into a trifold. Students were then chosen to stand in front of the class, act out the picture for their classmates and then add it to their trifold when their peers guessed the action correctly. The activity did take up a lot of time and we were not able to get through everything. In our Creating & Differentiating course, we created a visual using play-doh that served as a representation of our classroom management approach. I related closely to assertive discipline, a philosophical approach to management developed by Lee and Marlene Canter. Without a doubt, teachers should be in charge of their classrooms and establish the rules and expectations so students will know what is acceptable and what is not. Students should definitely feel free to communicate with the teacher and express themselves but it is imperative that they understand that the teacher is the authority figure. It is important that they are disciplined when they display undesirable behavior and are provided with positive feedback when they are doing their jobs as students. I also will practice cooperative discipline in my classroom so students will understand that I have their best interest at heart and only want the best for them. We can create a nurturing, positive and enriching environment together. ![]() Everyday in the classroom with first graders is anything but dull. I honestly cannot predict what will happen or what story a child would have to tell me since there is always something interesting happening in the life of a six year old. Although I am not a rookie in the area of discipline in a classroom setting, today I had my first experience of utilizing my CT's behavioral system. First let me give you a quick overview of her behavioral system. Everyone starts on the color green at the beginning of the day with the opportunities to move up or the possibility of moving down. When a student answers a challenging question or is seen doing something generous for one of their peers, my CT will move their clip up on the chart. On the other hand if they have been spoken to numerous times throughout the day for not staying on task, excessive talking or not being kind, their clip is lowered. After a few weeks of being in the classroom, my CT decided to modify her system and rather than moving clips down, she removes them from the chart hanging on the closet door and places it on her key chain that is around her neck. I believe this is more effective and less harsh because students are constantly reminded since they can see their name clips clearly and if she does not have to say their names anymore she will place it back on green. So there was a student who wanted to complete a worksheet during centers but they were none left. I am fully aware that the teacher does not enjoy being interrupted while she is working in guided reading groups so I instructed him to continue playing the game with his peers until I found a solution. Surprisingly, he told me, "No." After advising him that it would be best to resume the game instead of not doing anything, he still rejected my suggestion and decided to sit on the table. I felt as though I had to show him how important it is to follow instructions given by adults by removing his clip from the chart and giving it to my CT. At a later time I conversed with her to ensure that I had not crossed any boundaries and whether she felt that my reason was valid. She did not find a problem with me doing what I did and encouraged me to do what I felt was necessary. Although discipline is not on the list of Task Performances, I think it could be tied into #18: Help students resolve a conflict. I have witnessed my CT give students the chance to solve their own problems before she stepped in, whether it was personal or between another peer. She exemplifies patience and that is what I mirrored when faced with this particular student. As I look back on the situation, I feel as though I handled it pretty well rather than becoming angered quickly and raising my voice. In future instances I believe that patience and trying to reach a mutual understanding between the students and teacher is very effective. During center time, I was given four students, that included my focus student, to work with rather than my usual routine of walking around the classroom, monitoring the students to ensure that they were on task. The activity included a worksheet that was titled, "4 In A Row". It was a game similar to Bingo but the catch was rather than hoping that your number would be called, the student had the luxury of choosing the word of their choice but in order to mark that word they had to use it in a sentence correctly. They all were more than excited to play and could hardly wait until it was their turn to tell me the sentence. After a few rounds of the game, I began to make it more challenging by giving them limits such as:
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