Richardson Inquiry 3 Part A

Step 3: Interpretations and Implications

            I would say that my unit fit into three different aspects of the literacy curriculum: guided reading, books clubs, and writing workshop. Although I was given an aspect of the language arts curriculum that I was expected to fit my unit into (the fantasy unit), I had a great deal of freedom in determining what exactly my lessons would consist of. My MT and I discussed possibilities and she offered ideas and suggestions but the final decisions were ultimately left up to me. I saw this as a great opportunity but also as a daunting one. Having complete freedom to come up with lessons as I pleased allowed me to be creative with my planning. At the very beginning of my planning, however, I felt completely overwhelmed. With so many available options, I had a hard time narrowing down the main practices I wanted to focus on. Once I finally did select a core practice, it was much easier to select specific activities that would help the students be successful.

            One of the biggest dilemmas I faced during my unit was planning out the timing that each activity would take. Since the students in my classes work at very different paces, it was hard to know how much time to allow for them to complete assignments. This was especially noticeable during setting up the framework of the fantasy narratives. I knew that some students would take a while to come up with ideas and get started on their stories while others would fly through the task. I wanted to allow enough time for the more slow-paced students to complete their work while also not leaving the quick kids with nothing to do. Talking through the process with my MT helped me in deciding to give the process three days and come up with alternate activities for those students who finished early.

            Another dilemma I dealt with was once again part of my writing piece. After giving students the assignment and allowing them to get started, I struggled with being able to circulate around the room as much as the students needed me to. I felt like I was spreading myself too thin- I would spend quite a bit of time helping one student who was having trouble getting started while several other students had their hands raised for help. I didn’t know how to spend enough time with one individual student to support their writing process without feeling like I was neglecting the rest of the students. I eventually found it helpful to gather a group of lower-level students who tend to struggle in language arts at the front table and help them as a group while taking breaks to move throughout the room as needed.