Read Aloud

Date:
02/06/08 ~15 minutes

Summary:
Everyday after lunch the students gather in the corner carpeted area and the CT usually reads a picture book along with a chapter or so out of a chapter book. On this day, after lunch I read the picture book "Giggle, Giggle, Quack," by Doreen Cronin. This activity was with the whole class, which followed their daily routine.

Reflection:
To begin this activity, the students were really excited for "Mr. Addley" to read to them, because this was the first time I took this initiative, whereas my classroom partner (Ms. Smith) has read to them a number of times. Although this was flattering, I had to remind then of appropriate behavior when sitting on the carpet. While reading the book, it was difficult to both keep an eye on the students while reading and engaging them in the story. I began to understand why my CT, on occasion, sends students back to their seats, removing the distraction. My personal strategy, at least this time, was to stop reading and use "the teacher look" at the student which was causing the distraction. This strategy seemed to work, however may take away precious time, and the student may not respond to this strategy and continue to cause a distraction for surrounding students. I will continue to use my strategy for classroom management in my future practices. Personally, I do not like to dismiss students to their seats. I feel this does remove the distraction but at the expense of the individual student. Therefore, I would rather use other techniques to maintain appropriate classroom management. This activity taught me that classroom management is one of the most difficult tasks to complete. Due to the individuality of each classroom and the constantly growing environment, classroom management is something that must reflect the students who make up the classroom. What works for one teacher in one room, may not work for another teacher in another room. Classroom management skills are something I continue to explore and develop through further observation and interaction.
Before I read the book to them, I engaged the students in some pre-reading comprehension strategies which we talk about in class. I asked if by they title or cover anyone could guess what the book was going to be about. I was also able to make a text-to-text connection, due to the fact that two weeks prior Ms. Smith read a book by the same author with the same characters. I also was attempting to engage the students while reading the book. I would ask question such as, "what do you think is going to happen next?" This hopefully helped in expanding their literacy development. By using clues, such as pictures and what they already know about the character of Duck, the students were asked to make predictions. This is a skill which will be greatly beneficial in their future lessons and challenges.
In future similar activities, I may try to engage the students even more. A way to do this is by giving them an opportunity to share personal experiences which relate to the story, showing a text-to-self connection. Furthermore, I may try to challenge myself more by reading a chapter book instead of a picture book. One last thing I would attempt would be to pace myself. Often times when placed in front of a crowd, no matter their ages, our nerves cause us to rush. I feel that when reading, I may have read too fast, loosing some of the students.