Observation #1-Reading

                                                                                                                                                           

Lesson Topic: Earthquakes and Tsunamis-Reading Comprehension Lesson

I taught a reading comprehension lesson about earthquakes and tsunamis.  Students were asked to complete an ABC list to pre-assess what they already knew about the topic.  We then shared our thoughts.  Students were then asked to read the passage about earthquakes and tsunamis.  As they were reading, students were also filling out more of their ABC lists.  Lastly, students participated in a Wordsplash activity where they wrote anywhere from two to four sentences about earthquakes and tsunamis.                                                                              

Date Taught: Wednesday, 7/15/15

What went well: I think that students understood the two comprehension strategies very well.  They also completed the assignments without much guidance.  I did not have to worry about students not completing their work.  My students’ Wordsplash summary statements seemed very good, especially since my students had never used this strategy before.  Their statements showed that they had comprehended the passage about earthquakes and tsunamis. 

 

What did not go as planned: I improvised to have students share what they had on their ABC lists with each other, but nobody shared.  As a result, I had to share what they wrote.  Additionally, I had one student who kept putting his head down during the reading portion of the lesson.  I constantly went over to him to try to get him focused on the task.  After trying to focus this students so many times, my co-teacher had to take this student out of the classroom to orally read him the passage. 

 

How to change for subsequent lessons: I hope to change a few things for future lessons.  First, I need to do more searching for strategies for reading, writing, and math.  Since I teach high school social studies, I have not been privy to such subjects and strategies.  Additionally, I would like to figure out ways to get my students more involved and stay engaged.