Inquiry 2 Part A

1.     For my target area for guided lead teaching, I plan to focus on Writing Instruction.

2.     I will need approximately 30-40 minutes per day for instruction in this area.

3.     I will work towards the following Common Core Standards:

·      W.1.3- Write narratives in which they recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event, and provide some sense of closure.

·      W.1.5- With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and ad details to strengthen writing as needed.

4.     Teaching this target area will allow my students to focus on a given topic in order to strengthen their stories. I think it is important to keep these topics relevant to their lives. In order for me to do this, I plan to have the students write about “small moment” stories, where they recall a small moment in their life. I plan to use books from our classroom library to introduce the lessons with a short read aloud. This will help them to recall what it means to be a small moment story. I will choose books with events that are relevant to their lives and could be possible moments that they want to write about. I will model a sample of my own small moment story in order to help students build onto their skills. I will open up the floor to them and ask them if they can tell me what it means to be a good writer. I want them to talk about my writing and tell me what they think I did wrong or right. I will purposely make mistakes in my writing so they can check it.

5.     The introduction to this lesson will be teacher led. I will explain to my students what is required of them. During that time I will leave it open for them to ask questions. I want them to have a chance to also reflect with a partner what they think it means to be a “small moment” story. I will also give them a chance to talk to a partner and discuss the types of stories they want to write about. I think this will be a good opportunity for the students who are unable to recall events. Hopefully this will spark memories.

6.     The core practices I will focus on during the writing instruction is shared writing. Since I will be sharing a piece of my own writing this will allow the students to understand what I expect from them during shared writing with a peer. We will discuss being a good listener and making sure you are offering suggestions for improvement and telling the author what they did well and what you liked about the story. I have always found it difficult to share my writing, especially when it is something personal, and I think it is important for them to start this process early on. Sometimes hearing feedback from a peer can be more helpful than from a teacher. Students are sometimes intimidated to meet with the teachers and become hesitant about their writing and unsure of what they wrote.

7.     I will need to obtain small moment stories from our classroom library.

8.     The pre-assessment for this lesson will be during our group discussion. I will be taking notes on their answers to the questions and making sure they understand what it means to be a good writer and writing a small moment story.

9.     I will not need any additional resources. I have already begun taking notes on students interests and I think that information will help me choose books and topics appropriate for their age.

10.  I will need to analyze their writing for the upcoming weeks. I want to see how long students are able to write for in order to determine a proper length of time for this lesson. I want to get the most out of it and I don’t want them to be writing just to get words down on the page. I want their stories to be clear.

11.  I need to learn more about the productive ways to do shared reading. I don’t want them talking off topic during this time and I need to make sure they get the most out of their conversations. I think I will have to observe each of their writings more carefully in order to determine how or if I want to pair my students myself or have them choose a random partner.

12.  I am nervous to teach the lesson in general. I want to make sure I am benefitting my students and they are actually taking something out of my lesson. I hope that the shared time isn’t just a waste of time and that they actually benefit from it.