Jbilangino4

Due to my schedule, I have never have had the privilege of seeing what the second half of the day is like for the fourth grade class that I observe. However, I often ask the teacher questions pertaining to this portion of the day and what type of work the students complete. During this half of the day, students arrive from lunch and usually spend the remainder of their day working on the subject of Language Arts. This portion of the day takes place directly after recess. Therefore, students need time to unwind, and it sure seems like my teacher knows the best way to help students do that. She asks the students to join her at the carpet where she continues to read to them from a book she has chosen for that month. The book is chosen according to the "Genre of the Month". The "Genre of the Month" is used so that students have the opportunity to understand what makes up different pieces of literature. Prior to reading, the teacher asks the students to summarize what has happened the day before in the story. Then, she opens up the book and begins to read. During this time, my teacher explained to me that she rarely stops to ask the students any questions pertaining to the book. She expects them to listen actively and try to visualize what is happening in the story. At the competition of the book, she asks students to draw their favorite scene from the story. Students are then expected to flip their drawings over and write the importance their favorite scene had on the text. The pictures are then laminated and put together to form a class book. Although this is a time for relaxation, students are expected to be attentive during the story. The teacher collects the students work before the class book is created and individually grades each student's response. I think this is a great way of assessing students understanding of the story because it allows for students to have some control over the assignment. The fact that the students are able to draw their favorite scene increases the probability that they will be able to describe the importance of the scene. This is a great opportunity for student assessment and thus far, my teacher has felt this is has been an extremely effective way to evaluate if her students were listening and if they understood the “Genre of the Month”.

Journal 5