Word Work and Lesson 1

This week proved to be an interesting week in my practicum. I was finally able to observe the students working on their word work, which is supposed to occur daily, and they seemed to be very engaged. They were working on prefixes, sorting words, and they then wrote words in sentences to show their meaning. I am glad that I was able to finally see them work on their vocabulary, but I am not sure how effective it truly is. After this week's class, I understand now more than ever the importance of using words in context. In many of the readings regarding the various literacy theories, the authors emphasize the importance of interaction between reader and the text. When students sit quietly and cut out words at their desks, are they getting the full benefit from their work? I think not.

I taught my first lesson at practicum this week as well. It had to be planned fairly last minute since Dona had to restructure the lesson schedule due to an impromptu visit from "Abe Lincoln" on Monday. However, I am pleased with its result. After teaching on theory charts, a subject which I am not very familiar with, the students seemed to internalize the idea of making theories about characters in their books. Many of them made charts like the one I demonstrated in their Reader's Notebooks, and Dona used scaffolding with one of the groups, which is slightly lower than the rest, to produce a compare/contrast character theory chart. The students seemed to do well with this type of activity. The students surprise me more and more with what they internalize, the words they use, and their familiarity with literacy concepts. It is such a joy to see such success in a Nashville school.