Reflection

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     Students learned how to make personal connections to stories. Students struggled with this concept because it is hard for them to relate things that have happened in their life to a story without teacher support. I found that when I would share my own ideas or model how to make connections, my students would make better connections. I tried to choose stories that they could connect to, like “Arthur Lost a Tooth”, because I know that they talk about losing their teeth all the time. During centers, students were asked to write down parts of a story, and then connect to those parts. Many students would write down the part of the story, and then write down the same thing about themselves. Recognizing this, I was quick to make changes. We started doing activities that involved students to include who, what, where, when, why, and how, when they were making connections. 

     I learned that my students need more support in comprehension. It was hard for them to make connections because they struggled to comprehend stories. I found that when I was there to ask questions or was able to help them during centers, they were able to verbalize their connections more. With that being said, it was harder for them to do the independent work (pen to paper). I saw student progress through our discussions and it was great to see students raise their hands with excitement to share their connections. At the end of my unit, students picked their favorite book from the four Arthur books I read to them. Students made posters to advertise why other students in out building should read the story they chose. I was able to scaffold them into successfully creating a poster by filling out a previous worksheet. They then took their worksheets to create a poster. They were asked to use words like, “you should read this story because it reminded me of…., or made me think about…or I liked that…etc.” Using this as an assessment was really cool. I was able to see students sharing ideas and I saw them discussing why they liked the story they chose. 

     Making connections to support student comprehension was not as easy to teach as I thought. However, I saw improvement in my student’s comprehension because they were very focused on listening to the stories I read, especially he second week. They knew I wanted them to be able to make connections. They would listen very carefully to allow them to give me our class sign of a chain to share their connection. With that being said, students comprehended more to the stories I read, especially the ones they connected to most. We have continued to make connections in our class. It is going to be an on-going concept during out literacy centers for a few more weeks. Each week I see improvement and they are starting to meet our expectations. 
     I have realized that research is very important. It is extremely important to scaffold as well. Sometimes you have to think like the students you are teaching. Imagine yourself sitting in that chair. How would you best understand what you will be teaching? As I moved through my unit plan, I really started to focus on breaking my lessons down, allowing students to focus their thinking on one thing. The biggest thing I would change from my lessons would be breaking the material down. I have finally realized that importance and it is beginning to be something I ALWAYS think about during my planning and teaching. This unit plan taught me a lot, and I will continue to work towards student improvement in comprehension and making connections.