Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Sheltered Literacy Lesson

I could not get the videos to work on any of my home computers, so I found a sample sheltered lesson on YouTube.  Here are the links to the videos that I watched.


In this lesson, the teacher was giving an explicit lesson about a word with multiple meanings.  The word they were focusing on was “draw.”  The teacher began the lesson by creating a multiple meaning web with her students.  The word “draw” was in the middle, and the three legs of the web pointed to three illustrations of the word draw- one had a hand drawing a picture, one had a person opening curtains, and one had a person choosing something from a hat.  Students were given 3-half sheets of paper with the word draw, and each of the definitions.  They were to draw an example of each meaning of the word draw.

In the second part, the teacher revealed a piece of chart paper with four sentences on it.  Each sentence had the word “draw” underlined.  The teacher explained the next activity.  The class was to read the first sentence, and determine the meaning of the word “draw” in that sentence.  Next, the class would read the other three sentences to decide which sentence used the word “draw” in the same way.  The class choral read the sentence together, and then the teacher asked students to hold up the half-sheet of paper they created with the appropriate meaning for “draw.”  Most students held up the correct sheet, and the teacher provided meaningful feedback.  The class choral read the sentence again.  The teacher asked the students to identify the words that helped them figure out the meaning for “draw” in this sentence.  Several students gave answers, and the teacher circled the words on the chart paper.  The class read the last three sentences using the same procedure.  Each time, they discussed the different meaning of the word “draw,” and found contextual clues.  Once, the teacher even asked students to “think-pair-share” by sharing their answers with a partner.  At the end, students were asked to identify the sentence that used “draw” the same way as the first sentence.

Reflection
Introduction- The teacher supported students in building background knowledge about the word “draw.”  She provided a visual reference, and allowed students to create their own.  The teacher in this lesson also incorporated academic language into the lesson by teaching students about multiple meaning words.

Pre-reading- The teacher explained the reading activity as well as the purpose.  Students were to identify the meaning of the word “draw” in each sentence, and then identify context clues that helped them.  The teacher incorporated more academic language by explaining “context clues,” and by giving examples.  Before starting, students had a clear idea of the activity’s expectations.

During Reading- Students and teacher read the sentences chorally.  This is very helpful for students who may not be confident in their reading ability.  It allows students to practice reading aloud without being singled out.  Also, the teacher checked for understanding along the way by having students share their thinking with the class or with a partner.  She gave meaningful feedback to students.

Post-Reading- The students had to identify which of the three uses of “draw” matched the original sentence.  The students got to discuss their answers with a partner before the answer was revealed to the class.

Reflection- The teacher reviewed the importance of using context clues to help students understand the meanings of words in sentences in paragraphs.  This brought the lesson full circle, and gave students a broader concept to take away with them.

Overall, the teacher sheltered this literacy lesson in a lot of practical ways.  Students seemed engaged, and they seemed to understand the lesson as well.

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