Practicum Lesson Plan

Name: Jessi Garrison

Students Name: Kach Grade: Kindergarten

Lesson #2

Valuing the literacy processing theory and the concept of reciprocity, each lesson should include activities involving
the reading and writing of continuous texts. No worksheets.

1. What will you teach?

What is the focus or the objective of the lesson? What is the overall goal this lesson connected with? To what
grade level TEK is the objective linked?

This lesson will be split into two parts. The first focuses on assessment and decoding texts. My objective for
this half is to take running records on texts at Level A and B to get a better idea of Kachs reading level. I am
choosing to do the assessment portion first because Kachs motivation and focus are much higher at the
beginning of a lesson. Saving more engaging activities for last seems to work well for her.

For the second part of the lesson, we will focus on comprehension. Unlike the previous lesson, this time we
will read a book with words: The Napping House by Audrey and Don Wood. Kachs reading comprehension
goals remain the same: Ask and respond to questions, make predictions, and retell the main events of a
story. The following TEKS will be addressed:

110.11(B) ask and respond to questions about text

110.11(D) make inferences based on the cover, title, illustrations, and plot
110.11(E) retell or act out important events in stories

2. How do you know this is a need for your student? Evidence.

I want Kach to experience success with easier texts in order to build her reading confidence, but I also want
her to be engaged by more complex stories. The first part of the lesson accomplishes my first goal by
providing texts that are easier and shorter than what Kach is used to reading. In previous lessons, she has
become frustrated very easily while reading, so the goal is to keep the frustrational level of texts as low as
possible. The second part of the lesson provides a more engaging text that Kach and I can read together; The
Napping House is also an excellent book with which to assess comprehension and retelling skills. After last
weeks successful lesson using a wordless picture book, I think it is appropriate to build on that success with
a more traditional storybook.

3. How will you teach the Objective?

Materials:
The Napping House
In the Woods and The Rabbit House (Level A texts)
Backup texts: My Cat (Level B) and Puppy Mudge Takes a Bath (Level E - read together)
Printout of The Napping House characters to color (for making puppets in the next lesson).
Printer paper (2 sheets).
Colored pencils.
Pencil.
Camera.
Paper and pen.
 Watch (timer).

Describe the procedures you will use in detail. Attach student work if possible.
Introduction/Set Up. This time I will have the study room set up so that we can start our lesson immediately
when Kach arrives, instead of keeping her occupied while she waits for me to set up. We can talk briefly about
school and how her day went before getting started.
Reading Level A/B books. I will have Kach choose between the two Level A books I have brought. Giving her as
many choices as possible seems to keep behavior issues at a minimum. After she reads this book and I do a
running record, she can read the other one if she would like.These books are very short, so this should go quickly.
Activating Prior Knowledge/Making Predictions. Before reading The Napping House, we will look at the cover
and make predictions about what might happen in the story. We will also discuss the meaning of the word
napping and how it might relate to the story.
Read The Napping House. I will read The Napping House, allowing her to join in whenever she wants. I will ask
questions about what is happening throughout the story, focusing on predictions and cause and effect. For
example, I might ask which character will be on the bed next. I will also pause and allow her to fill in certain
words when appropriate.
Discuss/retell. After reading the story, I will ask Kach to retell the events, focusing on the order of characters on
the bed, as well as the order they left it. I will also guide her in noticing the setting of the story, particularly the
change in the weather outside.
Reader response. I will ask Kach to draw and write something about the story. There wont be a specific prompt
because I want to assess what she found to be important. We have done this activity several times now, so she
knows that she is expected to draw a picture and write at least one sentence with a period at the end.
Making puppets. I will give Kach the option to color in the characters I printed out so we can make them into
puppets in the next lesson. We will briefly discuss doing a puppet show based on the events of The Napping
House.
Extension. Just in case, I will bring a Level B book, as well as Puppy Mudge Takes a Bath, so that we can read
these if we have some extra time.
Student Observations: How did the student respond during the lesson? What evidence can you provide from the
interaction during the lesson that it is/was within students instructional range?
Kach was engaged for the entirety of the lesson. Although she enjoyed the sloth book last week, she did lose focus
toward the end. This week, Kach was engaged in all of our activities and did not need to be redirected once. She
seemed to love reading the easier texts and I could see a change in her confidence immediately. We actually got
through all three of the guided reading texts I brought - I gave her the option of doing something else, but she
genuinely wanted to keep reading. I think bringing in texts at a lower level was just what she needed.

As for The Napping House, I was a bit dismayed to learn that Kach had already read it twice in school - however, she
remained engaged and seemed to enjoy reading it together. Our discussion was similar to the previous lesson; she
made predictions and observations about each page, mostly about the characters. I had to prompt her to tell me
about the storys setting and the weather; the need for verbal scaffolding showed me that the lesson was within
Kachs zone of proximal development.

Did the student meet the instructional objective(s)? Next instruction?

She did, although in the next lesson, I would like to see Kach make inferences and retell events with slightly less
prompting. I get the feeling that she is capable of doing more without my support, so I will try to release a bit more
control of the retelling process in the next lesson.

Self-Reflection After Teaching (*To be filled out AFTER teaching and turned in with lesson
plan) S elf-evaluation is a powerful tool that will help you become a better teacher. Reflecting on and
evaluating your teaching after a lesson is over will give you insights that will make your future lessons
stronger. This evaluation is focused on YOU as the teacher and decision-maker rather than the student.

1. Did your lesson plan goals connect with your students assessment data? How? I chose guided reading
texts that were several levels below Kachs official reading level (per her teacher) based on my initial
running record. Because Kach has been reading frustrational texts up until now, I wanted to give her texts
that would build her confidence and allow her to practice reading fluently. Also, based on our previous
lesson using a wordless picture book, I felt that Kachs comprehension skills were strong enough to move
on to a more complex storybook in order to practice retelling and predictions.
2. Did the instruction that you planned help the student achieve the goals? How? Using simpler texts
helped Kach read more confidently (evidence: Im good at reading!) and fluently. I noticed a change in her
demeanor immediately. I was also able to guide Kach in meeting her comprehension goals, although I think
having read The Napping House before definitely helped. I prompted her to make predictions by asking
simple questions like Who do you think will be next? and asked her to retell the storys events afterwards.
We also talked about cause and effect, evidenced by the flea biting the mouse and setting off a chain
reaction. Finally, I prompted Kach to recall the setting of the story, mainly the house and the weather
outside.
3. What went well during your lesson? Why? It was so nice to not have to coach her through half the words
on the page! After our readings in the class and my experiences in this practicum, it has become clear to me
that everything I thought I knew about reading instruction is wrong. Seeing Kach struggle through a Level D
book and then seeing her sail through the A and B books was eye-opening. My #1 goal in this practicum was
for her to begin to enjoy reading, not dread it, and I feel that I succeeded.
4. Did you encounter any problems during your lesson? Why? At times, I was at a loss for what else to ask
about The Napping House - it seemed like I could have pushed her to think more critically about the events,
rather than mostly asking What or Who questions. Then again, Im not sure if that is developmentally
appropriate for her at this point. I still want to continue to work on my questioning and be more intentional
about it.
5. What instructional decisions did you make during the lesson that paid off in terms of student learning?
Using simpler texts, and reading The Napping House to her and allowing her to join in, rather than trying to
coach her through reading it (its much too difficult for her to read even with my support).
Presentation: Was your student engaged? Were you clear in your directions and explanations? She was
engaged throughout. I wish I had come up with a clearer prompt for her response at the end; I left it
open-ended and she rushed through it.

Assessment: What did you learn about your student today? I learned that Kach thrives as a reader when she
experiences success. I believe that many of her reading experiences to date have been too difficult and this is
why she and her mother are butting heads when reading at home. Reading The Napping House to her had a
similar effect to reading Go Away, Big Green Monster: she was much more engaged and absorbed in the story
when she didnt have to worry about getting the words right. Also, based on my running records, I found that
Level A and B are considered easy texts for Kach. I will try Level C next week and see if that is at the
instructional level.
What did you learn from planning and teaching this lesson that will help you in the future? I learned that
text selection is extremely important; a students reading level and interests should both be considered when
choosing texts. I also learned that I need to work on questioning and giving clear instructions.