Day Five

Objective:

            A good reader can think critically and deeply about the reading.

            A good reader understands spelling patterns and recognizes unaccented final syllables.

            A good reader can read carefully and be able to retell what was read.

Procedure:

            Do another word sort. Read off the words one at a time and have him write the words on a piece of paper while putting them into the correct caterogries. 

Close read-read poem three times.

Explain to student that we are going to read the poem three times and after each time, we will answer some questions. Do not give the student any information except for the title and author.

First Read:

            Have the student read the poem out loud. Tell him to be thinking about the plot of the story why he is reading. Also have him circle any words or phrases that they do not understand. After he is done reading, ask him to retell you what he just read. Have a discussion about the plot of the poem (use prompting questions if he needs help) and any words/phrases that he circled.

Second Read:

Have him read the passage again. This time focus on how the poem is put together and how the author wrote this poem. “What words stood out to you?“ Why do you think the author told the story this way? “Is this in first or third person/who is the narrator?” “What words told you this?”

“Was the story trying to teach a lesson? 

Third Read:

            Have the student read the poem for the third time. After he is done, ask inference questions. “Do you think they like summer? Why or why not.” “How old do you think this person is?” “What happens in the fall? Spring?” I will show them how to use clues and their own knowledge to make an inference.

Closure:

            Ask if he has any other questions about the poem or anything he would like to discuss or talk about.

Reflection on Student:

            Sam struggled with understanding the poem at first. As we read it more, he started understanding what the story was trying to tell us. He asked a lot of questions and we had a lot of discussions to help him understand. After the third time we read the poem, the light bulb in his head clicked and he was so excited that he understood.

Reflection on Self:

            It took a lot of preparation to do this close read, but I was very pleased with the way it went. My student and I had great discussions and we got alot accomplished. I picked a good and challenging poem for his age. He is such a smart student and I wanted to push him to use his higher order thinking skills, which is exactly what he did. I was very pleased with this lesson and it was probably my favorite tutoring day.