Lesson Three Reflection

        This week we did a much better job with our time management. There wasn’t extra time we needed to fill. We read a story called How do apples grow and taught the students QAR. We went over our expectations that we have established week by week and our agenda for the hour. We started by introducing the students to the topic. Using a chart we explained what the different kinds of questions there are and what they mean with examples of how the questions look. We then did some vocabulary before reading because this story was above grade level for the students. For extra clarity it was best to have some background on the specific words in this book. After the story about growing apples the students used QAR questions to build knowledge on the book. Finally the students filled out an exit ticket based on the anchor chart from the beginning of our lesson about the parts of QAR and did a fun activity to close up and connect back to our story about labeling the parts of the apple. The students really enjoyed labeling the apple activity. Again this week one boy was absent. 

Having only two students has been a bit of a bummer but it’s easy for us to see what they are doing and guide them through what they don't understand. One student was very involved in the lesson and was answering most of the group questions while the other students have been more shy week after week and needs to be asked to answer questions. She rarely answers by herself. While doing the exit ticket we try to have the students do as much on their own as possible so we can see what they learned by the end. This week I noticed that she was having trouble understanding the questions and even after multiple suggestions she was still struggling to understand what was being asked. We reminded them both to use the chart that was hanging up for them to help with the answers. 

I learned that students sometimes need different ways of the question being asked to understand. The students have shown that they are very different in their learning styles and personalities. I think we have a variety between our three students. Even though the girl was struggling with the exit ticket she eventually understood what was being asked and completed it to the best of her abilities. 

I think in the future this will make me more aware of students' diversity when it comes to learning. Although we followed the same steps to teach both students they both learn differently and understand the content and questions differently.