Jayscott Juniorunitfall2012
Jayscott Juniorunitfall2012
Jayscott Juniorunitfall2012
Lesson 1 Missouri Western Lesson Plan Name: Jay Scott Grade Level: 12 Date: October 1, 2012 Lesson title: Narrowing a Topic for the Personal
Are there any cultural contributions that you can identify in this lesson? If so, what are they? The students will choose to write their personal narratives either about a significant person, object, place, or event. Its possible for a student to write to those based on cultural contexts. How will you accommodate for the various cultural learning styles in your class? This lesson required students to listen to me speak, interact with other students, and write and brainstorm about ideas. Therefore, the lesson provided several different mediums for the students to comprehend the content. How will you accommodate this lesson for students with learning disabilities or special needs? I will be walking around the room and listening and watching to the students as they work. If any of them are struggling I will provide them with additional instruction. Objectives: Students will be able to use their pervious writings to find a narrow a topic for their personal narrative assignment. Common Core State Standards- W. 11-12.3- Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. a- Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation and its significance, establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth progression of experiences or events Assessments: Formative Assessment- Students personal narrative choice, saved in their Ideas for Narrative Google Doc Summative Assessment- The personal narrative, turned in at the end of the unit Materials/Resources: Computers, Projector, Document Camera, Stopwatch, independent reading book Addressing Learning Styles: Interpersonal- this learning style is addressed because the students interacted throughout the lesson. They did this when they did the Think-Pair-Share activity for narrowing a topic for their personal narratives Intrapersonal- this learning style is addressed because the lesson had students think deeply about their own lives and experiences to come up with a workable topic for their personal narratives
The Teacher Will: - Provide students with time to compose their quick-writes over person, place, object, event (five minutes for each) - Compose my own quick-writes - Share my quick-writes with the students using the document camera - Ask students how they would proceed with my quick-writes - Model my thinking about choosing my topic - Release students to narrow their topic for their personal narrative The Student Will: - Read independently for 20 minutes - Complete a Bell Ringer prompt and Think-Pair-Share their response with another student - Complete a quick-write for each of the following: person, object, place, and event. Student will save they quick-writes in a new Google Doc titled Ideas for Narrative - Think-Pair-Share with another student about their quick-writes - Choose their favorite of the quick-writes - Pair up in groups and discuss ways to narrow teachers quick-writes and report to the rest of the class what they think - Choose and narrow a topic to write about for the personal narrative assignment, telling the teacher the topic and why it was chosen in their Ideas for Narrative Google Doc
Lesson #1 Narrowing a Topic October 1, 2012 Objective: Students will be able to use their previous writings to find and narrow a topic for the personal narrative assignment. Independent Reading:
Bell Ringer:
Mini-Lesson:
Students will complete a quick write for a person, place, event, object. o I will give them five-seven minutes to complete each quick write. ! Open a new Google Doc. ! Drag it in the collection folder for this class. ! Rename it: Ideas for Narrative Remind students your expectations for behavior during the activity. Students will Think-Pair-Share. o Have students pick their favorite of the four free writes or chose another writing they have already complete and share with a student sitting next to them. I will show the students my four quick writes. o Ask the kids the following questions: ! How should I proceed in choosing the topic I want to write my narrative about? Have the kids group in 3s or 4s and discuss ways they might narrow/pick the topic. Have the kids report out what ideas they came up with. o Model your thinking about what topic you are going to pick to write about and why. o Release kids to narrow and pick their topic for the narrative. ! Have the kids explain why they would/would not choose that particular topic. At the bottom of Ideas for Narrative document tell me what topic you chose to write about why?
Lesson Reflection 1 The lesson I taught today required that the students were writing for a good portion of the class time. As I was walking around while they were writing, some of the students were on their Twitter or Facebook accounts instead of writing in their document. When I saw this I reminded students of my expectations for the lesson, which were to write, nonstop, for five whole minutes about either a significant person, place, object, or event. After that, most of the students stayed attentive for the rest of the lesson. I had one student ask why they had to do all of the free-write prompts. I replied that the activity was to help them narrow their topics so they could have a manageable main idea to work with for their personal narrative assignment. During the students independent reading time some of the students were listening to music with ear buds, which is fine as long as the volume does not disturb any of the other students. I believe that the lesson was effective because the students were able to narrow the ideas in their free-writes into a manageable topic for their personal narrative assignment. I know this because their topic for the personal narrative is saved in their GoogleDoc for the class and because as I walked around the room I could see students writing and generating ideas for the personal narrative. If I could change the lesson, I would take out the part about the students looking at my free-writes and narrowing them into a topic for a personal narrative I could write. I had hoped this activity would be engaging for the students and that they would have fun working in groups, but the students didnt seem very engaged and I could tell from their answers that they gave me for the activity that it wasnt very beneficial for the main goal of the lesson, which was to narrow a topic for the personal narrative assignment. The students were fairly well behaved for the class, except for about the last ten minutes. The class is right before their lunch time, so when the end of the class came, they were very noisy and already lining up at the door, even though the lunch bell wouldnt ring for five more minutes. I asked the students to sit back down, which they did, but they were still very chatty and eager to leave. Next time, I will remind the students of my expectations that they are to remain in their seats and working on something until the bell rings.
Lesson 2 Missouri Western Lesson Plan Name: Jay Scott Grade Level: 12 Date: October 5, 2012 Lesson title: The Beginning of the Personal
Are there any cultural contributions that you can identify in this lesson? If so, what are they? The students will be working with a text about a man from an impoverished city in New Jersey and the culture associated with that. Also, the lesson will describe different types of leads, using the story Little Red Riding Hood, which is a familiar folk tale. How will you accommodate for the various cultural learning styles in your class? This lesson required students to listen to me speak, interact with other students, and write and brainstorm about different types of leads. Therefore, the lesson provided several different mediums for the students to comprehend the content. How will you accommodate this lesson for students with learning disabilities or special needs? I will be walking around the room and listening and watching to the students as they work. If any of them are struggling I will provide them with additional instruction. Also, the students will post any questions they have for me in their Learners Notes Google Doc. Objectives: Students will be able to compose a strong, interesting introduction to the personal narrative, complete with a lead and main idea. Common Core State Standards- W. 11-12.3- Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. b- Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters. Assessments: Formative Assessments- Students created leads for the text School of Thought, the lead they composed for their personal narrative in their Learners Notes Google Doc Summative Assessment- The personal narrative, turned in at the end of the unit Materials/Resources: Computers, paper, writing utensils, School of Thought text, independent reading books Addressing Learning Styles: Interpersonal- this learning style is addressed because the students interacted throughout the lesson. They did this when they did the group activity to compose a lead
Linguistic- this learning style is addressed because the students had to use words effectively to create their leads The Teacher Will: - Lead a lesson over different types of leads o Lesson will define what an introduction is o Lesson will define what a lead is o Examine and identify different types of leads (such as metaphor, starting with an interesting question, starting with a quote, etc.) - Release students to compose their own leads - Examine students Learners Notes Google Doc The Student Will: - Read independently for 20 minutes - Complete the Bell Ringer prompt and Think-Pair-Share their response with another student - Practice creating different types of leads, in groups, using the text School of Thought - Compose a new lead for their persona narrative and Think-Pair-Share their selected lead with another student - Complete the following questions in their Learners Notes Google Doc: o What is the purpose of an introduction? o What is an effective introduction? o What is a way to effectively lead into a paper? o How are you going to start your paper? Why? o What questions do you have about introductions?
Lesson #2- The Beginning of the Personal Narrative October 5, 2012 Objective: Students will be able to compose a strong, interesting introduction to the personal narrative, complete with a lead and main idea. Independent Reading:
Bell Ringer:
Mini-Lesson:
I will lead a lesson over different types of leads. o The lesson will cover different types of leads (starting with a metaphor, starting with an interesting question, starting with a quote, etc.) o Students will practice creating leads in groups using School of Thought o I will release students to create their own leads, based on the lesson.
Once students have completed their new leads, students will share and discuss the introductions to their narratives with another student sitting next to them.
Learners Notes- What is the purpose of an introduction? What is an effective introduction? What is a way to effectively lead into a paper? How are you going to start your paper? Why? What questions do you have about introductions?
Lesson Reflection 2 For this lesson, I asked the students a lot of questions during the lesson to help keep them focused. For example, we talked about a type of lead that uses a metaphor, so I asked the class what a metaphor was, and they responded. I think these little questions throughout the lesson helped to keep them on task and attentive. The class is pretty chatty, so I had to stop a couple times during the lesson to remind them of the expectations, which are to remain quiet and pay attention. During the group activity I walked around the room and noticed that most all of the students were talking about the activity, which was great. There was one group that kept getting off topic and not talking about the activity, so I had to redirect their attention a couple times by asking them questions that related to the activity. I believe the lesson was effective. I know this because whenever I asked the class questions during the lecture, most were eager to answer and provide input. Also, I saw the effectiveness of the lesson while each group was sharing their leads that they came up with for the activity. All the groups correctly identified the lead that was used in the example narrative, and also correctly composed new leads for the activity. Also, the students correctly composed new leads for their own personal narratives, which is the formative assessment that lets me know the lesson was effective. If I could change the lesson, I would have had the students take some form of notes over the different types of leads. I think that would not only give them a reference to go back and use if they needed help, but also help them retain the information, because they would be hearing me say the information, they would see the information on the overhead projector, and they would also be writing the information down in their own words. There were some students who were talking or on their laptops and not reading during the independent reading time. When this happened I reminded the students that this was reading time, and that they needed to be quiet and have their books out. However, next time I will remind them of the expectations for their independent reading time before that time begins, to help eliminate those problems from happening. Also, there was a group of students who were not working on the group activity and were instead talking and not getting much completed. Next time I will not group those particular students together again.
Lesson 3 Missouri Western Lesson Plan Name: Jay Scott Grade Level: 12 Date: October 9, 2012 Lesson title: Thesis Statements
Are there any cultural contributions that you can identify in this lesson? If so, what are they? Students will be examining different thesis statements from various different essays and narratives, some of which have a cultural context. How will you accommodate for the various cultural learning styles in your class? The lesson has students listening to me go over the lesson and working in groups and working directly with their personal narratives. This provides the students with several different mediums to comprehend the content of the lesson. How will you accommodate this lesson for students with learning disabilities or special needs? I will be walking around the room and listening and watching to the students as they work. If any of them are struggling I will provide them with additional instruction. Also, for part of the lesson, students will be working in groups, so they will be able to help each other comprehend the lesson. Objectives: Students will be able to write an effective thesis statement for their personal narratives. Common Core State Standards- W. 11-12.3- Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. c- Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole and build toward a particular tone and outcome. Assessments: Formative Assessment- students composed thesis statements for group activity, students composed thesis statements for their own personal narratives Summative Assessment- The personal narrative, turned in at the end of the unit Materials/Resources: Computers, projector, paper, writing utensils, group activity sheets Addressing Learning Styles: Linguistic- this learning style is addressed because the students had to use words effectively to create a thesis statement The Teacher Will: - Define what a thesis statement is - Show examples of effective and ineffective thesis statements, with explanations
The Student Will: - Read independently for 20 minutes - Complete the Bell Ringer prompt and Think-Pair-Share their response with another student - Identify thesis statements (if they have one) in their own personal narratives - Think-Pair-Share with another student about their thesis statements - Complete the group activity on thesis statements - Share their groups composed thesis statement for the group activity - Compose effective thesis statements for their own personal narratives
Lesson #3: Thesis Statement October 9, 2012 Objective: Students will be able to write an effective thesis statement for their personal narratives. Independent Reading:
Bell Ringer:
Mini-Lesson:
Students will identify the thesis statements in their personal narratives (if they have one) by highlighting the text with a different color I will define what a thesis statement is o Students will Think-Pair-Share with another student sitting next to them about their own thesis statements and if they are effective or not The lesson will show examples of good thesis statements and bad thesis statements, and explain what makes them good or bad The students will be divided into groups of three or four and be given a topic, and be required to compose an effective thesis statement for the given topic o Each of the groups will tell the rest of the class their thesis statement for the given topic and why its effective Students will be released to compose effective thesis statements for their personal narratives
Lesson Reflection 3 For todays lesson, pretty much all of the students were doing what they were supposed to. During their independent reading time, all of them had their books out and werent playing with their computers. During the lesson, the students were paying attention and quiet. During the group activity, all of the students were engaged and talking to each other about the activity. There was a little bit of chatter at the beginning of the independent reading time, but I reminded the students of my expectations and the chatter ceased. Throughout the rest of the lesson, whenever I asked the class a question, most were eager to answer it. Whenever nobody raised his or her hand to answer one of my questions I would call on someone and that person would answer. Throughout the group activity, all of the students were talking about the activity and staying on task. I believe that the lesson was effective. I know this because I had several formative assessments throughout the lesson. One formative assessment was when I asked students questions about what they had learned today, such as, What are the components of a thesis statement? Their correct answers let me know that they understood the lesson. Another formative assessment is that I had them, in groups, come up with thesis statements for given prompts. Also, the students had to compose a thesis statement for their own personal narrative. All of these things show me that the students are grasping the concepts. If I could do the lesson differently, I would have changed the group activity. I think the activity was really effective, and that working in groups helped the students grasp the concept. However, when I had each group read aloud their newly formed thesis statements, the other groups seemed disinterested and werent that engaged. I should have posed more questions to the class about each groups thesis statements. Also, I could have had the groups share their thesis statements with another group and have the latter group read the thesis statement aloud and identify why it was good or bad, to help increase student engagement. While I was teaching, a few of the students had their laptops open. I do not think they were using them, however, I should set expectations for the students laptops to be closed whenever I am talking.
Lesson 4 Missouri Western Lesson Plan Name: Jay Scott Grade Level: 12 Date: October 15, 2012 Lesson title: Eliminating Weak and Vague Words
Are there any cultural contributions that you can identify in this lesson? If so, what are they? For the Bell Ringer prompt, students will use their independent reading books. Some of those books may have cultural contributions. How will you accommodate for the various cultural learning styles in your class? For this lesson, students will listen to me speak, access the Internet, and work directly with their personal narratives. This provides the students with different mediums to comprehend the content of the lesson. Also, the lesson will identify weak and vague words in different font colors, which would satisfy the Universal Design for Learning ??? How will you accommodate this lesson for students with learning disabilities or special needs? I will be walking around the room and listening and watching to the students as they work. If any of them are struggling I will provide them with additional instruction. Also, part of the lesson requires the students to access the Internet, so they can receive additional instruction there if they wish. Objectives: Students will be able to review their personal narratives and identify weak and vague words and replace them with stronger words. Common Core State Standards- W. 11-12.3- Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. d- Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. Assessments: Formative Assessment- students identification of weak and vague words in their own personal narratives, replacement of weak and vague words in their personal narratives Summative Assessment- the personal narrative, turned in at the end of the unit Materials/Resources: Computers, projector, paper, writing utensils, www.thesaurus.com, thesauruses Addressing Learning Styles: Linguistic- this learning style is addressed because the students had to determine which words in their personal narratives were weak and replace them with more effective ones
The Teacher Will: - Lead a lesson over weak and vague words - Identify examples of weak and vague words - Provide a model with many weak and vague words - Show students how to properly use a thesaurus and www.thesaurus.com The Student Will: - Read independently for 20 minutes - Complete the Bell Ringer prompt and Think-Pair-Share their response with another student - Review their personal narratives and underline or highlight all vague and weak words they find - Identify weak and vague words in the model example - Replace all weak and vague words identified in their personal narratives with stronger, more complex words
Lesson #4: Eliminating Vague and Weak Words October 15, 2012 Objective: Students will be able to review their personal narratives and identify vague and weak words and replace them with more complex words. Independent Reading:
Bell Ringer:
Mini-Lesson:
I will lead a lesson over vague and weak words o The lesson will identify some examples of vague and weak words Students will review their personal narratives and underline or highlight all vague and weak words that they find I will provide a model on the overhead projector with many vague and weak words o As a class we will identify the weak and vague words in the model o I will show students www.thesaurus.com, and how it can be used to replace weak and vague words in the model Students will be released to replace the weak and vague words in their personal narratives with more complex words
Lesson Reflection 4 During this lesson the students were pretty engaged. The lesson required a fair amount of class participation so many were eager to provide answers and examples when I asked questions. Whenever the students were supposed to be doing independent work, many of them were talking to other students so I had to remind them that it is supposed to be silent during independent work time. This lesson required a lot of student participation, in terms of providing answers and participating in class discussion. Luckily, most were pretty eager to provide answers and raise their hands. A few times when no student raised their hands to answer my questions I would call on somebody to get the answer. I believe the lesson was effective. I know it was effective because the students learned multiple ways to eliminate and replace their vague and weak words in their personal narratives. They demonstrated their comprehension by eliminating and replacing the weak and vague words in their personal narratives. Also, I had the students take notes over the lesson, so if they have any questions or forget the lesson they can refer back to their notes. If I taught this lesson again, one thing I would do differently would be to write down the examples of weak and vague words and ways to fix them on the board. During the lesson, I had a class discussion where students identified weak and vague words (such as sad) and then found more descriptive words to replace them (such as despairing). I believe the students would have comprehended the lesson better if I had wrote these examples down on the board, instead of just discussing them. Also, the lesson stretched much longer than I had anticipated, and therefore the students didnt have as much time to work independently as I would have liked. If I were to teach it again, I would shorten the time of the class discussion and also the time of independent reading. The students were unusually chatty and talkative today. It was difficult to get them to quiet down and stay on task. To combat this next time, I will remind students at the beginning of class of my expectations. Also, I will use positive reinforcement by thanking the students who are being quiet and doing what they are supposed to. Hopefully these things will get the class as a whole to be less chatty.
Lesson 5 Missouri Western Lesson Plan Name: Jay Scott Grade Level: 12 Date: October 19, 2012 Lesson title: Exploding the Moment
Are there any cultural contributions that you can identify in this lesson? If so, what are they? This lesson has a picture detail activity, which shows various pictures, some of which are activities that have a cultural background. Also, this lesson will require students to look at a few different narratives, some of which have a cultural background. How will you accommodate for the various cultural learning styles in your class? This lesson required students to listen to me speak, interact with other students, and write creatively. Therefore, the lesson provided several different mediums for the students to comprehend the content. How will you accommodate this lesson for students with learning disabilities or special needs? I will be walking around the room and listening and watching to the students as they work. If any of them are struggling I will provide them with additional instruction. The students will also be taking notes for this lesson, to refer back to if they need additional assistance. Objectives: Students will be able to write with detail to create interest in their personal narratives. Common Core State Standards- W. 11-12.3- Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. d- Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. Assessments: Formative Assessments- students quick writes for the picture detail activity, students exploded sentence from their personal narratives Summative Assessment- the personal narrative, turned in at the end of the unit Materials/Resources: Computers, projector, pictures (for picture detail activity), paper, writing utensils, independent reading books Addressing Learning Styles: Visual-Spatial- this learning style is addressed in the picture detail activity, because it helps students learn using imagery to explode the moment Linguistic- this learning style is addressed because the students had to use and select words effectively that best detailed exploding the moment for their personal narratives
Interpersonal- this learning style is addressed because the students had the opportunity to share and discuss their responses from the picture detail activity with other students, which helped them learn the concept of exploding the moment The Teacher Will: - Define exploding the moment - Provide strong and weak examples of exploding the moment - Explain picture detail activity - Explain exploding the moment in terms of slowing down action, sensory details, and color - Model exploding the moment for a particular sentence in a personal narrative The Student Will: - Read independently for 20 minutes - Complete the Bell Ringer prompt and Think-Pair-Share their response with another student - Complete the picture detail activity (look at each of the pictures and complete a quick write, using as much detail from the picture as the possibly can), and Think-Pair-Share their responses with another student - Take one of their sentences from their personal narrative and explode it
Lesson #5: Exploding the Moment October 19, 2012 Objective: Students will be able to write with detail to create interest in their personal narratives. Independent Reading:
Bell Ringer:
Mini-Lesson:
Examples of personal narratives Strong examples of exploding the moment Weak examples of exploding the moment Picture detail activity o Students will be shown a variety of different pictures and be asked to write about them with as much detail as possible for five minutes each o Think-Pair-Share Lesson will cover exploding the moment in terms of:
o o
(Students will take notes over this section of the lesson.) Slowing down action to add as much detail as possible Sensory details ! sight, touch, taste, hear, feel, sound o Color Lesson will model an example of exploding the moment for a particular sentence in a personal narrative Students will be released to explode the moment for one of their sentences in their personal narrative
o o
Lesson Reflection 5 The students were pretty well behaved today. Most of them were being quiet and paying attention to the lesson. One of the busses was a little late, therefore several students showed up to class in the middle of my lesson, so that was a bit frustrating and it distracted the other students. Once, the distractions were gone, the students were attentive and actually eager to do the lesson activities. The lesson required that the students do some creative writing and then share what they wrote with the class. A few of the students were eager to share and talk about what they had written. Most were fairly reserved though, so I had to call on students at random to get them to share their creative writings. At the end of the lesson, the students had time to work on their personal narratives. During this time, the students got pretty talkative and noisy, but once I reminded them of my expectations they settled down and focused on their work. I believe the lesson was very effective. I know this because of several reasons: for one, the students were very engaged. I did a creative writing picture activity and the students really enjoyed that. I honestly think they had fun with it, and the activity really helped them grasp the idea of the entire lesson, which was to explode the moment in their writing. Also, the lesson was effective because during the students work time, several raised their hands, asking me to look at what they had done with their papers based on what they had learned during the lesson. I believe the lesson was very effective. If I could change the lesson, I would probably include more of the creative writing picture activities. The students really had fun with the three I had during the lesson, so I think if I had added a couple more and spaced them out throughout the lesson it would have helped to keep them more engaged and focused. I have one student in there that has been an ongoing problem. Today I asked him to move his seat and to sit somewhere else. He refused, so my cooperating teacher had to step in and tell him that he had to move his seat. Next time, I will probably pull him aside at the beginning of class and remind him of his new seating arrangement and also remind him of my expectations, which are to pay attention and to be respectful.
Lesson 6 Missouri Western Lesson Plan Name: Jay Scott Grade Level: 12 Date: October 23, 2012 Lesson title: Writing a Conclusion
Are there any cultural contributions that you can identify in this lesson? If so, what are they? None. How will you accommodate for the various cultural learning styles in your class? This lesson required students to listen to me speak, interact with other students, and write a conclusion. Therefore, the lesson provided several different mediums for the students to comprehend the content. How will you accommodate this lesson for students with learning disabilities or special needs? I will be walking around the room and listening and watching to the students as they work. If any of them are struggling I will provide them with additional instruction. Objectives: Students will be able to compose an effective conclusion for their personal narrative. Common Core State Standards- W. 11-12.3- Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. e- Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved over the course of the narrative. Assessments: Formative Assessment- Students created conclusions from the group activity, students created conclusion for their own personal narrative Summative Assessment- The personal narrative, turned in at the end of the unit Materials/Resources: Computers, document camera, paper, pencils Addressing Learning Styles: Interpersonal- this learning style is addressed because the students interacted throughout the lesson. They did this when they did the group activity to compose a conclusion Linguistic- this learning style is addressed because the students had to use words effectively to create their conclusions The Teacher Will: - Lead a lesson that discusses conclusions o Define what a conclusion is, and its components o Show examples of effective and ineffective conclusions
The Student Will: - Read independently for 20 minutes - Complete the Bell Ringer prompt and Think-Pair-Share their response with another student - Divide into groups o Compose conclusion for a generic paper o Share their response with the class - Create effective conclusions for their own personal narrative
Lesson #6: Writing a Conclusion October 23, 2012 Objective: Students will be able to compose an effective conclusion for their personal narrative. Independent Reading
Bell Ringer:
Mini-Lesson:
Lesson will discuss conclusions o Lesson will define what a conclusion is, and what components it has o Lesson will show examples of effective conclusions o Lesson will show examples of ineffective conclusions I will model creating a conclusion with a generic paper Students will be released in groups to create a conclusion for a generic paper o When finished, each group will share their conclusion with the class Students will be released to create conclusions for their own personal narratives
Lesson 7 Missouri Western Lesson Plan Name: Jay Scott Grade Level: 12 Date: October 25, 2012 Lesson title: PQP
Are there any cultural contributions that you can identify in this lesson? If so, what are they? None. How will you accommodate for the various cultural learning styles in your class? This lesson required students to listen to me speak, interact with other students, and write about each others personal narratives. Therefore, the lesson provided several different mediums for the students to comprehend the content. How will you accommodate this lesson for students with learning disabilities or special needs? I will be walking around the room and listening and watching to the students as they work. If any of them are struggling I will provide them with additional instruction. Objectives: Students will be able to share their personal narratives and use the PQP strategy to make revisions. Common Core State Standards- W. 11-12.3- Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. Assessments: Formative Assessment- Students performance using PQP on the examples, students completion of PQP for another students personal narrative Summative Assessment- the personal narrative, turned in at the end of the unit Materials/Resources: Computers, pen/pencil, PQP forms, hard copies of students personal narratives Addressing Learning Styles: Interpersonal- this learning style is utilized because the students are required to work with others to complete PQP forms for their personal narratives Linguistic- this learning style is used because the students have to determine the correct word choice to provide feedback and evaluate other students personal narratives The Teacher Will: - Review what the PQP method is in the lesson o Praise- finding something you liked about the paper o Question- asking questions about the paper
o Polish- provide suggestions to enhance the paper Model a PQP example for a generic personal narrative
The Student Will: - Read independently for 20 minutes - Complete the Bell Ringer prompt and Think-Pair-Share their response with another student - Students will use the PQP method for a generic personal narrative example o Discuss as a class the process they used for the example - Use the PQP method for their own personal narratives o Students must have a PQP form, filled out by another student, for their personal narrative o Students must complete a PQP form for another students personal narrative - Use the PQP feedback they received to make revisions to their personal narratives
Lesson #7: PQP October 25, 2012 Objective: Students will be able to share their personal narratives and use the PQP strategy to make revisions. Independent Reading
Bell Ringer:
Mini-Lesson:
The lesson will review what the PQP method is. o Praise- What did you like about the paper? o Question- What questions do you have about the paper? o Polish- What kinds of polishing does the paper need? Examples o I will model PQP for an example o Students will do PQP for an example, in class discussion format Students will be released to use PQP method for their personal narratives o Students must have two PQP forms completed by two different students for their personal narrative With remaining time, students will use the PQP feedback they have received to make revisions to their personal narratives
Lesson 8 Missouri Western Lesson Plan Name: Jay Scott Grade Level: 12 Date: October 29, 2012 Lesson title: Editing
Are there any cultural contributions that you can identify in this lesson? If so, what are they? None. How will you accommodate for the various cultural learning styles in your class? This lesson required students to listen to me speak, interact with other students, and analyze their personal narratives. Therefore, the lesson provided several different mediums for the students to comprehend the content. How will you accommodate this lesson for students with learning disabilities or special needs? I will be walking around the room and listening and watching to the students as they work. If any of them are struggling I will provide them with additional instruction. Objectives: Students will be able to edit their personal narratives so that they are free of misspellings, incomplete sentences, and all other errors. Common Core State Standards- W. 11-12.3- Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. Assessments: Formative Assessment- Students participation in the read aloud activity, students corrections to their personal narratives Summative Assessment- the personal narrative, turned in at the end of the unit Materials/Resources: Computers, Microsoft Word, pen/pencil, hard copies of personal narratives Addressing Learning Styles: Intrapersonal- this learning style is utilized because students had to work independently with their personal narratives understand their choices, to be ready to submit their final drafts Linguistic- this learning style is addressed because students had to choose effective words and be able to discern ineffective words in their personal narratives, to edit it effecitvely The Teacher Will: - Model examples of editing tools o Show editing tools using Microsoft Word - Show students how to format paper o Margins, font, font size, etc. - Provide students with hard copies of their personal narrative drafts
Remind students that their final drafts of their personal narratives must be submitted by the next class period
The Student Will: - Read independently for 20 minutes - Complete the Bell Ringer prompt and Think-Pair-Share their response with another student - Edit their personal narrative - Make the necessary corrections to their personal narrative
Lesson #8- Editing the Personal Narrative October 29, 2012 Objective: Students will be able to edit their personal narratives so that they are free of misspellings, incomplete sentences, and all other errors. Independent Reading:
Bell Ringer:
Mini-Lesson:
I will model some examples of editing using the overhead projector o Microsoft Word editing tools o Read aloud Formatting o I will review how the paper is supposed to be formatted, using Microsoft Word ! margins, font, font size, etc. Students will be released to edit o Students will be given a hard copy of their drafts to mark on for editing Students will make the necessary corrections to their personal narratives
Homework:
Students will be reminded that the final drafts of their personal narratives must be submitted by the next class period.
Unit Reflection Standard #1 Content knowledge, including varied perspectives aligned with appropriate instruction. The teacher understands the central concepts, structures, and tools of inquiry of the discipline(s) and creates learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful and engaging for all students. This standard was met very well while teaching my Junior Unit. The unit was teaching personal narratives. As an English major, I have written countless papers so I understand the structures of papers very well. To teach the personal narrative assignment to my students, I broke down the content knowledge into smaller parts. The first part was the introduction of the personal narrative, which included lessons on leads and hooks, and thesis statements. The second part of the unit focused on word choice, which included lessons on eliminating weak and vague words and exploding the moment for the reader. The final part of the unit dealt with the final steps of writing a paper. The lessons for this part included creating a conclusion and editing. I understand the concept that an effective paper has to have the framework of an introduction, body and conclusion, so I tailored my lessons to emphasize those three parts. My lessons reflect my knowledge of these concepts because all the components of introductions, bodies, and conclusions are addressed throughout the unit. The content was meaningful to the students because, with the way my unit was designed, the students were able to fully comprehend a specific part of their papers before moving on to the next part.
Standard #4 Critical Thinking The teacher uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills including instructional resources. I made sure that my Junior Unit met this standard by implementing a variety of instructional strategies. I created my lessons to foster many different learning styles as well as enticing critical thinking and problem solving skills. To do this, I provided the content of my lessons to students through many different mediums. For some parts of a lesson I would speak directly to the students. Other parts required class discussion. Sometimes I had the students take notes while I provided them with brief lectures. My lessons also included many group activities and Think-Pair-Share activities that allowed students to work with others to understand the content. Providing the students with these multiple mediums of instruction allowed the content of my lessons to reach more students and to help each of the students learn in their own style. The varied learning and teaching styles allowed all the students to understand the content so that they had all the proper tools to perform well on their personal narrative assignment. The design of the lessons allowed the students background knowledge to be activated while building on top of that to more challenging concepts and activities that they had to think critically about to achieve.
Standard #5 Positive Classroom Environment The teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages active engagement in learning, positive social interaction, and self-motivation. This standard was met extremely well in my Junior Unit. Teaching the personal narrative assignment was very conducive to this standard because it allowed me to set up a base for a positive classroom environment with my students. Many of the students wrote about some very deep issues for the assignment, which allowed me to get to know them much quicker than if I were teaching another type of paper. Showing them that I genuinely cared about what each of them was writing helped establish trust between the students and myself. These elements helped me have a classroom where students were actively engaged in learning. They all took a lot of pride in their personal narratives and enjoyed the challenges of making them perfect for their final drafts. At the beginning of the unit, when I first began teaching, the students were timid about asking me questions or talking to me about the lessons. However, after a few days, the social interaction in the room increased positively because the students were talking to me more, not only in class discussions, but also in their small groups and one-on-one. Due to the nature of trust and effective communication between the students and myself, they were motivated to do their best work on the personal narrative. After several of my lessons, multiple students would show me their work to show me how well they had accomplished the days tasks. Also, most of my lessons required a mixture of individual work and group work. I believe that this worked very well for my unit because the students were able to practice the concepts of lessons within their groups and then master them when working independently on their personal narratives.
Standard #8 Professionalism The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually assesses the effects of choices and actions on others. The teacher actively seeks out opportunities to grow professionally in order to improve learning for all students. The Junior Unit definitely taught me this standard better than any other project could have done. I believe that I have become very adept at professionalism and that my unit reflects that. Throughout the teaching of the unit, I was constantly assessing myself and assessing the choices that I made. For example, after each lesson I would go over the lesson plan and see how well each part worked when put into practice. Sometimes my plans went very well and other times not so much. When things didnt go well, I would reflect on my choices and think critically as to how to improve them. Even when things did go well I would think critically as to how to make them better still. During about the last half of my teaching of the unit, I was able to better foresee the outcomes my choices would have on the lessons. I could better predict the actions of my students and myself. Part of this was due to learning from my previous mistakes, and part of it was due to the constructive feedback I received from my cooperating teacher. Her feedback provided me with the greatest insight as to how to improve myself as an educator and grow professionally. The formative assessments I gave my students also helped me structure and improve future lessons and gave me a better understanding of student learning in general. All of the elements of this standard help me become a better teacher by constantly evaluating myself and monitoring my students progress, so that I can improve learning for all of my students.
Junior Unit Analysis The following table shows my students results for the pre-test and the post-test for the personal narrative unit. The pre-test consisted of a narrative based on a childhood event, and the post-test was the final draft of the personal narrative, which was a narrative about a significant person, object, place, or event. The scores range from zero (0) to six (6), with zero being the lowest possible score and six being the highest possible score.
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As seen in the table, the majority of my students scored better on the post-test than on the pre-test. In fact, 13 out of the 21 students scored better on the post-test, which equates to about 62% of the students. Only 5 of the students scored lower on the post-test than the pre-test, which equates to about 24% of the students. Also, 3 of the students had no change in score between the pre-test and the post-test, which equates to about 14% of the students. There are some factors that I believe can explain some of the lower post-test scores. For one, Student 19 missed numerous class periods when the unit was being taught. Also, Student 21 had many problems with his computer (which the school issues to all students) throughout the course of the unit, which hindered some of his progress. Student 13, who exhibited no change between the pre-test and post-test, also missed several class periods when the unit was being taught. Overall, I believe the unit was a success because the majority of the students scored better on the post-test than on the pre-test. Below are the results of the pre-test and post-test for the class as a whole, based on the average scores of focus and meaning, content and development, organization, language use, and mechanics and conventions. The scores range from zero (0) to six (6), with zero being the lowest possible score and six being the highest possible score.
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As seen in the table and graph, all five of the areas scored produced higher results on the post-test than on the pre-test. These results show me that the unit was a success. As a whole, the students scored better in all of the five areas that were scored. All of my lessons had at least one type of formative assessment. Most of the formative assessments were submitted or saved using a computer program called Google Docs, which is an application that shares documents with multiple users. Google Docs allowed me to access each of the students documents to check some of their formative assessments. For the first lesson, the formative assessment was the students chosen topic for their personal narrative, which I was able to check via Google Docs. The second lesson contained two formative assessments: the students created leads from their groups using School of Thought, which were shared with the class, and the lead each student composed for their own narrative, which was saved in Google Docs. Similar to the second lesson, the third lessons formative assessments include the students composed thesis statements for the group activity and also the students thesis statements for their own personal narratives, which were saved in Google Docs. The formative assessment for the fourth lesson was students identification and replacement of weak and vague words in their personal narratives. The fifth lesson had two formative assessments, which were the students quick writes for the picture detail activity and the students exploded sentence from their
personal narratives, both of which were saved in Google Docs. Similar to the second and third lessons, the formative assessments for the sixth lesson were students composed conclusions in the group activity and also each students conclusion for their own personal narrative, which was saved in Google Docs. For the seventh lesson, the formative assessments were my observations of the students performance on the PQP examples and also their completion of PQP for another students personal narrative. The formative assessments for the eighth lesson were the students participation in the read aloud activity and my observations of the students editing their personal narratives. I believe my formative assessments helped me assess how well students comprehended the material and also detailed for me which areas I needed to work harder with them on. Having many of the formative assessments on Google Docs was extremely beneficial, because it allowed me to view the students progress online, without wasting class time to check for comprehension. The summative assessment for the entire unit was the personal narrative assignment. All of the lessons reflect the personal narrative in parts (in terms of thesis statement, word choice, conclusion, etc.), and the unit reflects it as a whole. Overall, the unit was successful because the majority of students increased their scores from pre-test to post-test, which details understanding of the content.
Examples of Student Work Low Basic Example of Students Personal Narrative Student 1 Pre-Test
The most meomerable evnent in my life is when i got to drive my first race car ever. When i first got it i had alot of work to do i think it took me and my dad two weeks to get it done. They where long hard weeks but we got it done on race day that saturday. It was a bright orange race car i loved it. when we got to the track i was really nervous. But as soon as i got on the track and started racing all the nerves went away and i was driving and trying to figure out how to pass the car in front of me. It was the greatest feeling i had ever felt in my life. From that day on i have bben racing every weekend of my life workking hard every week to make money to go also to get the car doen so i could race. But its an amazing feeling! Racing is the best thing that i have ever done in my life i love it and im glad my dad got me started in it. But now that im getting older racing is still alot of fun but now my dad dont give me alot of the money and help that he used to so racing is really alot harder now then it used to be but im still doing it and having fun. I think racing is my life without racing i wouldent know what to do. Im really lucky to have the parents i do to waste money on it for me to have fun. But i think that they know how much it means to me and to them.
Post-Test
FIRST RACE I WON I am in my IMCA modify race car for the first time on the track. Sitting there waiting for the green light my heart is racing and my knees are knocking. I can not wait to accelerate! At last to take off. I started to take off with a jolt. Passing cars and dodging in and out of them. I was zooming trough cars like the fast and furious movie. Thrusting dirt and mud everywhere. I felt so invincible out there on the track. Five laps down three more to tackle. Man the excitement is building up I can hardly stand it. This is such a rush of energy tinkling through my body. As I flash by the stands I try to look for people I know but they look bedazzled at the speed I am going. It is now the last lap and I am now in first place. I think to myself ok keep it together this is it the final lap. I can not even describe the amount of energy I have right now I feel like I am looking at myself from outside my body! Coming down the home stretch almost there. I am over come with exhilaration my hands are trembling so much. Yes! I have crossed the finish line. I have never felt so magnificent before. Now I get to hold the race flag and make a lap around showing everyone that I am the winner. All I hear is screams and clapping . Then I stopped my car got out and they brought over a huge trophy it was taller then me. They took my picture with the trophy and me standing beside my race car that I help build. That night on the way on I had nothing but gratitude for everyone who taught me how to race and helped me work on my car to make it as fast as it could go. At last all the hard work I did really paid off for once. From that night on I have been racing. I have lost some won some but at the end of the day when I think about it I have fun doing it and I get to learn how to work on race cars. Who knows maybe one day you will see me on tv racing with the big stars.
Post-Test
My significant person They say Never take anyone for granted and to hold every person close to your heart because you night wake up one day and realize that youve lost a diamond while you were too busy collecting stone. It has inspired me to appreciate and be grateful for who things I have. Have you ever lost someone that you were so close to? Then all of a sudden something goes wrong and you just shut down? Well I have; I lost the most significant person in my life five years ago and things in my life havent been the same since. That significant person would be my grandma Betty Beatrice Wilson. May 17th 2008, my family and I suffered a terrible tragedy because of the lost of a very special person that made everyone feel loved no matter what or who they are. My grandma was my rock, my joy, and the best thing thats ever happened to me. Every since then Ive been diagnosed with major depression. Thoughts of suicide, crying, and just being depressed thinking about her isnt healthy at all. I cant even explain how I felt when she past. She was my entire world, the one I looked up to, and even the one that understood me when no one else did. I love and miss her dearly. Being without her here with me has turned my world upside down. Losing her made me think about how close I got to her then one-day shes gone and forever. Every since then I never get close to people because they end up leaving my side the way she did, or people just get tiered of me. It hurts me really bad deep inside. Feeling like I dont need to be around anymore, that no one needs me and even worse, that things would be a lot better if I werent around anymore. Those thoughts made me end up in a place that makes me never want to go back. My thoughts of suicide have sent me to a mental hospital deep in Kansas City, Kansas. If you were even tempted to try and run away your chances were not that good getting away because you were clear out in nowhere. It was really scary experience to go through. I had to stay there for a full week and the very first day I got there I knew that I wouldnt like it. In this hospital they had kids from ages 4-17 years of age and everyday more and more would come in. The boys
and the girls were separated and had to wear these hideous clothing with holes that were too big so you wouldnt give attract yourself to each other. Having to be isolated from the outside world made things much worse. Not being able to call and talk to friends so they at least know that youre okay, no technology and worse not being able to talk to your family when you want. You had a certain amount of calls you could receive and they had to be up to 10 minutes and cant go over or you couldnt get any more calls that day. Thank god I made it through the whole thing in one piece. My Grandma was the most independent and inspiring person I had in my life and ever knew. Since I was a little girl she always taught me how to be a lady, how to treat people with respect and much more. If I were to go back in time I would go back to the day she died because I wasnt there that day. If I were I would apologize for everything Ive done in the past that I knew wasnt smart. My grandma has made not only my life but also others lives also. She showed how much she cared when no one else would. She gave people a place to live when they had nowhere else to go. So thats how I know that shes in a better place and in gods hands. I just hope that one day I can accept the fact that shes gone and is looking down on my family and I.
home and have a good dinner. I helped my dad clean all the fish. Man was that a sight. For a little kid it was kind gross to watch my dad cut up 30 or so fish one right after another. Once he taught me how to fillet fish i didn't find it as gross. Now i can do it without a second thought. But I still remember asking my dad how we caught so many fish out of one pond. He just simply looked at me and said it was all the luck. And from that day on I've always thrown the first fish of the day back.
Post-Test
A Significant Person My Dad has the biggest effect on my life because I know I can talk to him about anything, hes taught me so much, and he is one of my best friends. He has always been around for everything that goes on in my life. Ive always looked up to him and he holds so much respect in my eyes. We are alike in so many ways its can be funny at times. Without him being there I know Id be lost. I tell my Dad everything that goes on in my life. Good or bad, he probably knows about it. Hes not always happy with the stuff that I tell him but he finds his ways to deal with it. I tell my dad everything from how my day went, to the trouble I get in. Most kids hide stuff from their parents, but Id rather have them know. Hell find out sooner or later anyways, everything always sounds better coming from me. Because of me telling him everything he will take my side versus others. He knows Id tell him the truth no matter what it was. The truth doesnt hurt anyone but yourself. My dad holds more trust in me then he does in a lot of people. Trust is a big thing in my family. Talking to my dad as much as I do has brought me and him a lot closer. I started telling him everything once him and my mom separated cuz he always wanted to know how I was doing. He treats me as an adult because of it. Which makes him thinks Im mature. In some ways I am but I still have that kid side to me. Having my dad know about what goes on in my life makes it easier on me. I cant think of a reason I should hide stuff from him. In the end he always finds out. My Dad has taught me alot. Ever since I was little my dad taught me how to do a bunch of different things. One of the funnest things hes ever taught me was how to fish. My dad has taken me fishing millions of times. He showed me how to pick out the best lures to use based on the water color and what Im fishing for. Because of him I know where fish like to hide and different things like that. Its not always as easy as throwing a worm and hook in. My favorite kind of fishing is bass fishing. Bass can get so big and they put up one good fight. Ive had a lot of fish jump off my hook because I didnt set the hook right. And everytime my dad will point it out. But then he started explaining the best ways to set the hook and I havent lost too many fish sense. I would consider him making me such a good fisher one of his mistakes because now every time we go fishing I always seem to out fish him. He always calls it luck, but I know its really just skill. My dad is one of my best friends. Hes fun to be around and hang out with. He makes jokes and acts like any of my other friends. There are times when he will come and hangout with my friends and I. Hanging out with him is never boring, he always has a new joke or something funny to say. Even my friends will tell you hes cool to be around. Him and I have so much in common. We do things together from camping to working together. I work for my dad helping him with his plumbing business. He says Im one of his best employs and like a friend Im always there for him to count on. Ill cancel plans if he needs help. Ill work as much as he asks me to, just because I know he needs the help. Even though he can hang out and be one of the guys. He still knows when he has to act like a Dad. He has rules and stuff but they are easy to follow. I havent seen his bad side in almost a year he has the best temper and it helps because some of the things I do would drive other parents crazy.
My Dad does have the biggest affect on my life. I talk to him like I talk to my friends, I honestly tell him more then I tell my friends and he has taught me so much, not all as easy as fishing. But, because of how close my dad and I are I can easily call him my best friends. I turn to him with any problem I have. I count on him to be there more than anyone. He is the most significant people in my life hands down. Its like having a best friend and a role model all in one. I try my best to make him proud, and I was serious when I said Id truly be lost without him.
Advanced Example of Students Personal Narrative Student 6 Pre-Test A memorable childhood memory, eh? Well, I'm don't like talking, or writing, about myself because I don't really like people know that much about me. It's hard to say why this is. But for most my life I've been the type to always keep to myself and only worry about others when they ask for help. That's just how it's been for me as far as I can recall. But so many people and friends have been trying to talk me out of this, 'Safety bubble' you could call it, and into the word of socializing. I suppose that's a good thing to explain more into as a childhood memory Most of my friends that I've had or have, have tried to do this at one point. Either trying to take me to an over populated environment I would never go to, or introduce me to new people that want nothing to do with me. It's torment to tell you the truth. I'll give you an example of what I'm talking about. One time when I was younger my mother had talked me into going to a church with a friend of mine. I don't recall the name the friend I went with, because shortly after she had moved to a different town. Anyway, I wasn't really good with knowing what it was like in church seeing as how my family never took my older brother or me to such a place. I mean we knew the jest of it all. Heaven good hell bad, yeah, yeah, yeah we got it. So when forced to go with my friend and her family, the feeling that all eyes were on me appeared when I first walked through the doors and entered the holy place. And did it make me feel weird. The group of people knew I didn't belong there, and they stared at me as if I was a new organism to the Earth. Needless to say, the whole time I was there I was more worried about the people around me then what the sermon was about. It felt as if all eyes were on me. Hell, it felt as if the preacher's eyes were lock onto me in a questioning matter, eyebrow slightly perched on his wrinkled face. I didn't enjoy it one bit. It was too much of a new experience for me. I never went back. I know, I know, I can read the thoughts in your head like the words on this page. "But Bobbie! It was all in your head!" Is that right? I thought as much. Well, as time went on, the thoughts turned into a little voice in my head, telling me that I was the elephant in the room no matter where I went because I'm just that awkward. So, when I got to middle school, I stayed in the back of the class, making sure no one would see me or talk to me. But that didn't work. A girl that would soon become my friend talked me into sitting next to her in the back of the class. Giving up on trying to talk my way out of it, I sat next to her. And again, the feeling of eyes came on me as the voice in my head came back. My gut turned and became ill. And then, I threw up on the table.
Sheer awkwardness. But in someway, she became my friend and we stayed friends. Childhood memories of sheer awkwardness Post-Test In the beginning our minds are racing to comprehend everything that we must learn in a short amount of time. Some people say that in our early stages of life, we learn more than than ever. We must learn to walk, talk, understand and so on and so forth just so we can have the stepping stones for what must be build on later on in life. But some children, just like I, have a hard time holding this information to build onto it. We have trouble spots that have to have special attention to fix. My trouble spot in learning, as a child, was reading. I can recall the displeased looks and agitated sighs that was given from my mother when she tried to help me learn to read. Just under an hour of studying I would be in tears and my mother would be yelling at me for having to go over the same word that she had just read to me. It wasnt until I was in first grade that I learned that something was wrong with me. It turns out the reason why my mother had such a hard time was because I had dyslexia and she didnt know how to resolve the problem or teach me how to cope with it. Because my mother didnt know how to deal with this problem, I fell behind and it got the better of me later on. How? I believe that your daughter will be better off held back a year. My first grade teacher Mrs. Vanderpool said to my mother in a parent teacher conference. Shell be the head of the class and have a chance to fully grasp and have an understanding for the coarse. But of course, this didnt help at all. You may be asking yourself, well why didnt your teacher help you after school to learn how to read? At the time, the Let No Child Left Behind movement hadnt been put into work. So the teachers really didnt care about the students learning ability or if they failed at that matter. My teachers excuse was the same each time my mother asked for help. I cant stay after school to help her, I have a family to tend to. At this point, I was beaten down mentally believing that it was my fault that I wasnt accelerating in the same rate as my classmates were. One day I was pulled from the middle of class from my teacher and went to another room completely. No other student was in the small cubical room. Which worried me a little because I thought I would be punished or yelled at for not learning how to read fast enough with the class. But to my surprise, I was met with something completely different. A tall skinny woman with rectailual glasses, shoulder length straight chestnut hair, flashy clothing you would see a woman going to Sunday church wearing and an southern air about her stood in front of me with a warm hearted smile and caring brown eyes. Bobbie, this is Becky Cannon. Mrs. Vanderpool stated, pointing her hand in the direction of Mrs. Cannon that still had a welcoming smile on her red lipstick lips. Shell be tutoring you every afternoon on how to read. I stood stiff frightened by Mrs. Vanderpools legs as Mrs. Cannon lowered to her knees to be in my eye level. She stuck out her right hand, that was decorated with rings and bracelets, to me. Hello Bobbie Lou, she said kindly in her southern accent. I frowned not understanding the Lou part at the end of my name but said hello quietly back to the strange woman in front of me. I can tell were going to become good friends! At the time I thought it to be a joke, but through the years Mrs. Becky Cannon and I had become good friends. Everyday in the afternoon I would be sent to the small cubical room to practice reading. And it seemed to help, seeing as how my reading had improved slowly over the years in the elementary school. It wasnt until sixth grade I saw how much I had improved in my reading. The SRI at the end of the year had come and I was for sure that I was going to fail,
knowing how reading wasnt my strong point. Dont worry Bobbie Lou, Mrs. Cannon said calmly in the library, putting books back on the shelves. Im sure youll pass. The next day I took the SRI with a pounding heart and sweat hands in the computer lab, knowing for sure that I was to fail. It felt like hours that I sat in that room taking the test, rereading the text and second guessing myself with every choice I made. But at the end, my worrying stopped seeing my score. The score need to pass was 830. My score was 930. To this day my reading has improved because Mrs. Becky Cannon. I enjoy reading and read up to three books a month. I still keep in touch with the crazy southern woman and thank her every time I see her for helping me learn how to read. but it still doesnt seem like enough. So, to the only person that stuck with me to help me learn how to read, this is to you. You are a person of important value to me. Because if it werent for you, I wouldnt be able to write papers such as this and I wouldnt be able to read three books in one month. I can only hope that someone can have help as great as you if they have trouble with learning how to read.