Katie Fanning

ELD 308: Reflection- Interactive Read Aloud

For my first lesson in the field this semester, I taught an interactive read aloud
lesson. I was very excited on the first day we went into the field to learn that Mrs.
McElraths class was reading aloud Wonder R.J. Palacio, as I had just finished reading
this book for our literature circles. The read aloud block takes place after first period
when the class is at Spanish, from 9:32-9:52 in the morning. The students listen as a
few chapters are read aloud and the teacher models what the students were taught in
their reading mini-lesson the day before. The day before I was to do my read aloud,
Mrs. McElrath had taught a mini-lesson on character traits. She had taught the class
about inside and outside traits and how to use a T-Chart to document character traits
while reading. Throughout the interactive read aloud, I modeled my thinking while
reading and marked down my thinking on post-its. I also was able to reinforce the TChart method for recording inside and outside traits while reading.
Overall, the lesson was a success. I was able to read two chapters and model
strategies good readers do while reading, such as stopping and jotting connections,
inferences, etc., while also reinforcing the strategy learned the day before. The
students were engaged throughout the lesson and actively participated when I
prompted them to think-pair-share about specific parts in the text, and share their
thinking while I read. All students were able to better understand character traits and
how to record them on a T-Chart after they saw my thinking and explained how I would
use the T-Chart while reading. The strengths of the lesson included having students
actively participate in the lesson and explaining the T-Chart skill further. I think it helped
that students were able to use the T-Chart lesson after digesting the strategy that they
had learned the day before.
Although the lesson was a success, I have some things I would definitely
improve on if I were to teach this lesson again or any other read aloud. First, I would
improve my body language and stand and sit throughout the lesson in order to focus
students. For example, when getting the classs attention at the beginning of the
lesson, I was already sitting on the rocking chair in the front. Next time, I would stand
while introducing the lesson and make sure that all students, including the ones in the
back, have their eyes on me before sitting down. Next, I would walk around and listen
in on conversations while students are turning and talking with their partners. Mrs.
McElrath does a great job circulating during these conversations and recording specific
details that students say in order to share with the class before moving on with the read
aloud. This is a great strategy I want to practice in the future because it provides a
great way to informally assess student thinking, see who is understanding the text, and
model good student thinking once the class is brought back together. Finally, I would
project the T-Chart on the board or make a chart to better model how to use the tool.
Having an a piece of paper with the T-Chart on it was not as effective because students
could only hear what I was writing on the chart, they could not see it. I think the lesson
would have been much more effective had I modeled my thinking so that all students
could see.
Teaching this lesson on one of the first days in the field was a great way for the
students to get to know me and also to practice some of the skills we discussed in

class. Being able to share my love of Wonder with the students was fun and showed
how important reading was to me. Overall, the lesson went well and I was able to learn
a lot from the experience that I can use in future lessons.