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ETC 6431: Holly's Individual Project
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Reading Meets Technology: Weaving the Two for an Enhanced Learning Experience in Second Grade

ETC 6431: Individual Project

By Holly Harris Wood

Table of Contents

Phase 1: Introduction

Phase 2: Analyze Learners | State Standards and Objectives

Phase 3: Select Strategies and Resources | Utilize Resources

Phase 4: Utilize Resources and Require Learner Participation

Phase 5: Evaluate and Revise

Phase 1: Introduction

In second grade, many students develop enough reading fluency to begin to analyze text with more depth and maturity than ever before. It is a joy to watch them make connections with a story--wondering what characters are thinking, why they are making the choices they do, and what makes them tick. Kids build social-emotional skills as they connect with literature at their level, plus these connections make them love to read.

This quarter I will develop a two-part lesson that teaches second grade students the difference between traits and feelings. Using a Grade 2 learning standard at the school where I work (not as a teacher, but as a teaching assistant in a younger grade), combined with the corresponding Common Core standard and ISTE Standard #2 (communication and collaboration), I will integrate technology using the ASSURE model to enhance my teaching and engage my students.

The ASSURE Model:

A — Analyze learners

S — State standards & objectives

S — Select strategies, technology, media & materials

U — Utilize technology, media & materials

R — Require learner participation

E — Evaluate & revise

The lesson will be inquiry-based, launching with the big question: What’s the difference between a character’s traits and a character’s feelings? Students will then use appropriate level books to practice reading aloud, eventually recording themselves on the iPad with the help of a partner. As they read together, and then watch their recordings, students will practice reading fluency and expression while also working to answer the traits vs. feelings question posed up front. We will reconvene as a class to brainstorm ideas, most importantly discussing how we got to know the characters. I will use Coggle to aggregate ideas and create a visual mind map during this discussion.

Because I am a new student to this program, this is actually my very first lesson. My concerns range from timing (Will this take way longer than I’m expecting? Or go too fast?) to making sure it’s actually interesting (Are iPads such old news that using a camera feature isn’t tech-y enough?). I know the texts I choose will also be essential, so that will take time and effort. In brainstorming with a mentor teacher, I realized I also need to be sensitive to the range of skills in the classroom. If one pair of reading buddies gets that’s much simpler than another pair, it’s my job to not let those kids get discouraged at their own progress. Hong Kong culture puts an incredible amount of academic pressure on kids--many are tutored weekly from about 18 months onward--and I need to do my best to make the classroom a safe and welcoming learning atmosphere.

I know there will be challenges along the way as I learn to teach with technology, but my hope is that eventually the process will become second nature, because it is already a lot of fun.

Phase 2: Analyze Learners | State Standards and Objectives

Second graders at an American-style international school in Hong Kong are the target audience for this lesson. I have developed a learner analysis based on the overall school population, which totals close to 2,600 from over 40 nations. The school has ties to a Lutheran denomination in the United States but faculty, staff, and students reflect a variety of faith backgrounds.

Who are the learners?

Entry Competencies

This lesson has been preceded by lessons which teach students how to deepen their thinking while reading--making connections has been a major focus, with a major emphasis on getting to know characters. The teacher has also evaluated the student’s reading level, interests, and challenge areas in order to select texts that will support each reading pair’s growth.

Learning Objective

Using iPads and working with reading partners, second grade students will interpret text, supporting their thinking with evidence from the text, in order to orally differentiate between feelings (dynamic) and traits (generally static). *NOTE on March 6: I’m actually breaking this down even more, because this is too many steps, and it doesn’t even incorporate expressive reading...

UPDATED Learning Objective

Using iPads to record their own voices, students will read expressively to demonstrate their growing understanding of the characters.

Washington State Common Core Standard

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.6

Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.

Phase 3: Select Strategies and Resources | Utilize Resources

Strategies and the SAMR Test:

In this unit, students are practicing close-reading to understand the characters in the books they read. They will read ability-based books that are appropriate for their current reading skills, which will help support their independence in thinking. Alongside this reading work, the class will also focus on talking about characters through reading partners and book clubs based around a particular series (and characters).

At this point in the unit, students have begun noticing their characters and have discussed the difference between character feelings and character traits. An important part of the close reading they have practiced is to notice what a character says, does, and thinks.

In this lesson, students will practice reading mentally and verbally with expression, in order to deepen their understanding of a character. They will practice reading fluency and expression, paying close attention the voice of the character. After the initial lesson's teaching point (Good readers read with different voices to notice more about characters.), teacher modeling and think-aloud* (through the class read aloud, Magic Treehouse #1: Dinosaurs Before Dark), partnerships will spread about the room with iPads to record their partner reading a paragraph or two of their shared book.

*Think Aloud: “Eavesdropping on someone’s thinking” is the universal definition, found at Reading Rockets

  • Teacher asks questions throughout the text such as, “Does this make sense? Do I understand what I just read? What else do I know about this subject? What’s the big idea here?”
  • Remind students about the importance of re-reading for clarification, looking back on the text, and stopping to check understanding.

At the end of the lesson, students will reconvene as a class to brainstorm ideas and discuss how reading with expression helps us notice what the character is feeling, saying, and doing. I will use Coggle to aggregate ideas and create a visual mind map, projected to the white board via projector, during this discussion. Through our conversation, we will create a shared rubric to help each student use the videos to reflect on their fluency/expressive reading.

 

So why add the tech component? The SAMR model shows that the highest value of technology in education comes from a task that has reached “Redefinition,” meaning the learning isn’t just an equal trade, it’s truly improved by the use of tech. Because the iPad allows kids to hear their own voices, it gives them a better awareness of their own fluency and can help them hear where they need to practice. The experience goes beyond augmentation because it can be listened to again and again, whereas real-time listening is a one and done moment. How amazing for a student to hear his own progress between an October recording and a March recording! This supports the learning objectives and CC standard but is an added value because of the unique sensory element. It’s an opportunity for individualized, concrete feedback that would have otherwise, sans technology, been impossible.

Media, Materials, and Environment:

Phase 4: Utilize Resources and Require Learner Participation

As I utilize resources and require learner participation, students build a new reading strategy in this lesson. The learning experience is a mini lesson as a group on the rug, with a link to previous lessons on how to use the iPad cameras and other ways we get to know our characters in reading. Students actively engage by answering questions about what we’ve already been practicing (good readers use the illustrations, etc.), and then the teacher introduces the new strategy: Good readers read with expression to get to know the characters.

Learners are sent off to practice reading with expression by recording themselves with a partner on iPads, and the teacher observes and gives feedback throughout the room as they practice, writing reminders in reading notebooks for areas they can keep practicing (look for the feeling words to help you know what expression to give). A final roundup on the rug is a chance to share a strong example of expressive reading for students to see on a peer level.

Learning Objective

Using iPads to record their own voices, students will read expressively to demonstrate their growing understanding of the characters.

UPDATED Learning Objective: Using iPads to record their own voices, students will read expressively to demonstrate their growing understanding of the characters.

An Imaginary Lesson Plan: The Script Version

Note: Since I have never written a lesson before, and because the template model feels too vague for me to really grasp as I get the hang of this, I have written a script.

The kids are already at the rug.

Me: Okay, friends. Lately we have been getting to know the characters in the books we read. Kind of like when you get to know new friends at school or on a soccer team. It takes some effort, right? Lots of questions. You have done careful work looking for clues that tell us more about the characters. Who can remind me what clues you’ve been using?

Student A: We can use the illustrations.

Me: Absolutely. What do you look for in the illustrations?

Student A: The looks on their faces tell us what they are thinking or feeling.

Me: That’s true! Their expressions tell us a lot about what they are feeling. If a picture shows a scrunched up face like this (I would do a fabulous scrunched up face), that character might be feeling…any ideas?

Student B: Maybe upset?

Student C: Frustrated.

Student D: Mad.

Me: You got it. Today we are going to learn another strategy to find out what our characters are feeling. Ready? Good readers read with expression to get to know their characters. Reveal this mantra on the following gorgeous Powerpoint slide:

good readers expression.jpg

They pay close attention when the character talks so they can figure out what they’re feeling, and maybe even experience that feeling at the same time as the character! How can I make my voice match the character? Try pretending to speak in the character’s voice as you read to make sure it matches the feeling.

Watch how I do this with Jack and Annie in our Magic Tree House book:

Screen Shot 2016-03-06 at 9.39.53 PM.png

Turn and talk to your neighbor about how Annie was feeling in this passage. Ready? Go.

Students turn and talk.

Me: Okay, stop and turn toward me. What was Annie feeling?

Student A: Scared.

Me: How do you know?

Student A: Because she was asking Jack for help and wanted to run away.

Me: That’s what it sounds like at first, doesn’t it? Then we read that Annie loved pretending. So what do we find out?

Student B: That Annie might be pretending and not really scared. So maybe she’s actually feeling silly!

Me: Wow! You figured out all that just from a few lines of careful reading. Today we are going to practice this kind of careful reading with our reading partners using the iPads. Last week we made funny videos to practice using the camera, but today I want you to record yourself reading with lots of expression--using your amazing voice like I did with Jack and Annie--to get to know the characters in your books. We are adding this strategy to the tools we already use in reading. You can read carefully and look for clues about character’s feelings when they talk, and today you’ll get to see yourself doing that when you watch your videos at the end of our lesson.

You’ll have about five minutes for each partner to read out loud, and I want the partner to start the videorecording before the reader begins. The video should last until I tell you to stop. I will give you a reminder when it’s almost time to switch.

Any questions?

(I’m not really sure what questions they’ll have at this point? They might need a lot more explanation here but maybe not?)

Me: Reading partners in the blue group, please go to your stations and pick a story from the box with your label on it. Decide when you get there which partner can stop at the iPad station and carry one back for you to use.

Reading partners in the red and orange groups can go get settled in… Now reading partners in the green group. Don’t forget, just one partner needs to pick up an iPad.

Readers, please tell us what book you’re reading at the beginning of your recording. Have fun reading!

Now I will help any groups that need prompting to pick a book, remind everyone to make selections from the book boxes at their colored reading stations, swap out faulty iPads, redirect distracted pairs, etc. Once kids are settled I’ll start observing but won’t offer much feedback so they can concentrate on the recordings.

Me: Okay, friends, it’s time to switch partners now. Stop your recordings where you are and get going on your second recording.

Roughly fifteen minutes later…

Me: Alright, class! Finish up your second recording. Now we are going to take a brain break and stretch. STRETCH!!! Sit back down with iPad, and I want you to watch your videos together. This should take us about ten minutes.

Conference with different pairs, pausing the video to offer compliments on expressive reading and asking questions such as “How did you know to make your voice louder here?” and “Why did you start to sound angry at this part?”

Gather the group for a debrief and Coggle. (UPDATE: When I actually read through this lesson, the Coggle part feels like it’s going to add tons of time to an already long workshop. Maybe it’s better to simplify and not do the Coggle at all?) Ask one student who does a nice job for permission to share his video with the class.

Round up everybody back to the rug.

Me: Thanks for all that hard work, class. Our friend, Student A, did a nice job reading with expression today, so we are going to watch how he did that.

Use the projector to share Student A’s recording--watch about one minute.

Me: What did you notice about Student A’s read aloud?

Student C: His voice got louder when the character was mad.

Student D: He used a different sound in his voice for each character.

Me: Exactly. Reading with expression means you pretend to be the character whose voice you are reading! And because Student A read with a mad voice, we got to learn more about how that character felt, and how he might connect to the other characters. We will keep practicing this strategy until it starts to feel natural. Thanks for your hard work!

Phase 5: Evaluate and Revise

In reflecting on the highs and lows of this project, my biggest takeaway is that teaching a lesson needs to be a very tight process. I’ve heard this from teachers many, many times before, but when every detail is plotted out, all the big ideas snowball into a three day workshop, rather than a lesson and activity that should be finished, top to bottom, in an hour. It can feel like an impossible task, but part of what I’ve enjoyed here is the editing. It’s a little like poetry--every single word needs a purpose. You just don’t have time or space for fluff!

Thanks to the comments from Dr. Wicks, I’ve made some adjustments to my original plans. Some have been edited within the document, but I’d like to highlight the more substantial changes here as well:

Summing It Up

The beginning of this class felt overwhelming because it was hard to picture the application of technology without much formal classroom training. The more I got into the groove, the more I found joy in the creative process, and the more open I have become to using technology to transform student learning. I still believe there are plenty of early childhood moments that are meant to be tech-free, but I love knowing all sorts of learning can take on a wonderful new life of its own with the incredible tools at my disposal.