January 21, 2016

During my Thursday visits as well as the 2-week practicum, I have had the privilege to observe my SA read countless Read-Alouds to the class. My SA has read nearly 5 classic chapter books while also reading the Magic Tree House series daily. I have noticed the emphasis she puts on auditory learning for the students, which I realize is an important skill all students should have. While visual learning is just as important this day in age, children are slowly losing the skills in listening for cues, inferences, information and instruction.

In an action packed day plan, my teacher always finds the time to read at least a chapter from a classic novel and another chapter from the Tree House Series. For the grade 3 students, they are extremely captivated with the story and spend their time either working on other work, or expressing their thoughts in their doodle books while listening to the stories.

My SA just finished reading the novel, “Frindle” by Brian Selznick to the class. The students were assigned to create a board game, painted illustration or make a skit on one of the events from the novel. Also, students had the choice of working individually or with a partner or group. Once the instructions were given, my students jumped up instantly getting into partners and groups. Not one student ended up by himself or herself. Many opted for the painting and board games, but what I loved the most was the options (of different modalities) my SA gave them.

From my Thursday visit, I realized how I must incorporate some Read-Alouds in my 10-week practicum, which will definitely allow my students to expand in their auditory learning, but also give them the opportunity to extend their learning in activities/assignments/projects in many different modalities they chose. Giving students choice on how they want to express and approach their learning, links greatly to my inquiry question. My SA used differentiated instruction to treat, support and respond to all the diverse learners in the classroom.