Savela - Target Area

1.     Describe your target area for guided lead teaching.
My unit will be focusing on the fantasy genre through the books of author Chris Van Allsberg (Jumanji, Polar Express, etc.)

2.     Approximately how much time per day is allotted for your instruction in this area?
I will have about 60 minutes per day for instruction.

3.     Which Common Core State Standard(s) will you work toward?
These common core standards were given to me by my MT that the staff decided to focus on at a professional development day.

Reading Standard: Reads and comprehends a variety of literary texts independently and proficiently.
Writing standard: Writes narratives with appropriate sequence and details.
Speaking and Listening Standards: Demonstrates active listening skills.

4.     How will teaching in this target area provide opportunities for students to learn important content and/or skills that relate to their lives?  In what ways does this learning include learning literacy, learning about literacy, and/or learning through literacy?
In fifth grade, the language arts curriculum is broken up into genre units. For example, the students are currently working on a poetry unit. Realistic fiction, historical fiction, science fiction, and mystery will all be covered as well. By focusing on the different genres, students are able to identify themes and characteristics of each

5.     What types of classroom talk take place within this target area? To what extent is the talk teacher-led, student-led, or focused on higher-level thinking? What norms for interaction would you like to build within your classroom as you teach in this target area (e.g., see ideas in Chapter 6 of Strategies that Work, the Berne & Clark 2008 article, or draw from some of the readings done in TE 402 on classroom talk)?
The beauty of using a variety of Chris Van Allsberg books is that we can use different kinds of classroom discussions on a daily basis. Even though the books are written by the same author, having a new book everyday provides opportunity to switch up the discussion style on a daily basis. I am inclined to start the two week unit with teacher led discussions and then have the students work into, what Berne and Clark called them, small group, peer-led discussions.

6.     Which ‘core practice’ do you want to work on developing/improving as you teach in this target area (refer to document “Resources for Developing Core Practices”)? How will focusing on this core practice contribute to your own professional learning?
Genre Study
Visualizing
Questioning
Responding to the reading
*These will be covered for sure (as of now) with more likely to be added

7.     What resources within the community, neighborhood, school district, school or classroom do you have to work with in this target area?
I know that the library has multiple copies of a few of Van Allsberg’s books. I would have to refamiliarize myself with Hope’s literacy lab because I cannot recall if they have classroom sets of picture books.
My mentor teacher has some posters that go with some of the books I am interested in sharing. She will prove to be a good resource.

8.     What additional resources do you need to obtain?
At this time, I do not know of any additional resources I will need.

9.     How will you pre-assess your students in your target area?
As far as pre-assessments go, there has been some testing done this year to check students’ comprehension and fluency when it comes to reading. As far as their idea of their knowledge of fantasy is concerned, it may be beneficial to have a survey or a discussion to find out what they know.  A common misconception is that fantasy and science fiction are closely related even though there are stark differences. Careful attention to details like that would be vital during pre-assessment.

10.   What else will you need to find out about all students in your class to help you develop lesson plans for your Guided Lead Teaching?
If at some point the students are going to be broken up into groups, it is important to know which students work well together and which ones should be separated.

11.   What else do you need/want to learn about the ‘core practice’ to support your planning and teaching?
Maybe a little more scaffolding on how these can be modeled in the classroom. I feel confident that my mentor teachers and course instructors are knowledgeable and can help me out when I ask for assistance.

12.   What concerns, if any, do you have about planning and teaching your unit?
Other than the common jitters of planning the first unit, I do not have any major concerns at this time.