Lauren Gorda

READ 436
Comprehension Minilesson
11/13/14

Prior to conducting my comprehension lesson, I discussed with my practicum teacher

about what students she wanted me to work with for this lesson, and she once again wanted me
to work with her lowest reading level small group that I worked with during my word study and
fluency mini lesson. She said that I could have chose any activity that I already knew of or was
given, or she could help me choose an activity. I mentioned that I wanted to use a story words
activity that we received in class, and I briefly explained to her what it was in terms of how the
students make predictions about what a story is about and what the title is based upon a set of
about ten to fifteen words. She said That would be great. She even gave me suggestions for
books I could use, however they were nonfiction books because I confused this with the true
false activity we practiced with in class. After realizing this after class, I chose a book of my own
that my practicum teacher last fall semester gave me titled Duck for President. Although this
book is a little low for third grade as you stated in your email when I asked you about it since I
felt that it did seems to be a little simple for them to read/comprehend, the students in my small
group are her lowest reading level students and it was well suited for this story word activity.
Therefore, I decided to construct my lesson using story words from it. The entire lessons
duration was 30 minutes, 8:45 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.
In order to activate my students interest in what we were going to be reading so that they
would be engaged with what I was reading to them, I decided to pick a fiction book so that I
could conduct a story words pre-reading activity. For this activity I chose sixteen story words
from throughout my book that I felt would not easily give away the main idea or the title of the
story, since the goal of the activity is for students to predict what the main idea of the story is
based upon the words that they see. Only four out of the six students from the group were present
that day and one of them predicted it would be titled farmer dail, and wrote I think it is about
horses. I also think ther will be sining (singing). Another student wrote the title would be
Farmer Brown vote to be President. She thought the title would be Farmer Brown rill rill (willshe repeated rill twice) want to be President. One other student thought the title would be
barn, and wrote, I think it will be about barn. Finally, the last student wrote that the title
would be ducks, and that ducks in the barn haveing fun in hot air blun (balloon). The
drawings on their packets that are attached were drawings that I allowed them to draw for about
two minutes while they waited for one of their group members to finish up his prediction.
While they read, I had wanted them to check off their words, and be paying attention to
them being said while I read the story. However, they were very distracted that day because we
were about to go to an assembly right afterwards. Therefore, I would pause and ask them about
who they would think would win the election before I read the results. I also would stop and ask

them why Duck did not want to work on the farm anymore in the beginning of the story? Finally,
at the end of the story I also asked what changed as in where Duck was, and who was in charge
of the dreadful farm tasks Duck complained about in the beginning of the story. While I read I
made sure to use lots of expression and I had their attention pretty much for the entire time.
Some of course were more interested throughout me reading to them than others. However when
I asked them these questions the students were all excited to answer, and were all on track with
predicting how Duck would win each of the different elections after they heard the first election
results. Overall, they were able to pick up on what was happening in the story, and so I was
happy that they were comprehending the material as I read them the story.
For my after activity I had the students fill in a Venn diagram and write on the left side
one thing that they predicted about the story in the story words activity, on the right side they
were told to write one thing they learned that actually happened in the story, and in the middle
they would write any similarities that they noticed between their prediction and what actually
happened. I did this so that they could see the similarities and/or differences they made between
what they predicted and what actually happened. Also, I did it to see what they comprehended
about the story. (in the right column) One student wrote for what actually happened that the
farmer put the animals in charce (charge) and then duck was governur and prisindint. This
students response is interesting because she picks up on how the farmer put the animals in
charge of all of the tasks on the farm, and recognizes that Duck became both governor and
president. It is interesting that she put that the farmer [put all of the animals in charge, even
though the farmer put them in charge of tasks they did not want to complete is something that
should be noted since it plays into why Duck ran to take charge of the farm. It would be
interesting to know what she meant here. One just wrote that duck was evrething, the other
wrote he was writing aboutogrofe (autobiography). Finally, the last student only picked up that
The Duck Had coffe stays (stains). If I were teaching this lesson in my own classroom, I would
be sure to ask the students what they meant by each of their responses in more detail, since I only
have a general idea of what they comprehended from the story. However, through talking with
them I might be able to find out that they know more information than I have deciphered from
their written responses. This activity, did however, work well as an after activity, as both the
students and I could see what they initially could predict about what would happen in the story,
and compare it to something they comprehended about what actually happened in the story.
If I were to conduct this lesson again, I would make sure that my during activity was
more structured for them, so that they would pay more attention to what was happening in the
story so that their comprehension of it would be much stronger. For example, I would provide
them each with a different passage that contained main important information they need to know
from the story, and they would fill in words from the story that I read so that they would be
looking for their passage while I am reading so that they are paying more close attention to what
I am reading to them. Also they would be able to fill in words, and go back and reread a main
passage containing an important main idea that they need to take away from the story.
In my own personal classroom, I will use activities such as story words, true/false
statements, and the directed reading thinking activity that were given to us in class. I really think

story words is a great pre-reading activity that actively interests and engages students interest in
fiction texts. I feel that students would really also enjoy true/false statements with non-fiction
texts since they are both fun activities that involve students breaking away from the traditional
boring read a passage and answer the questions using it below. With these activities, students
are more involved with the material, and would be working on strengthening their
comprehension skills in a more interesting way. I would probably also do my Venn diagram as
an after activity because I feel that really worked well with students seeing what they predicted
about the story going into it, what actually happened, and whether or not there were any
similarities between the two. They get to see these ideas both visually and write them down as
well so that it can help them retain something that happened. As far as grouping, I would split
my students into three different reading groups like my teacher does and name them by
something neutral by giving them a neutral category to pick from like colors, types of
desserts/candy etc. I have noticed this to work well, and that three reading groups appears to be
manageable for her to handle.
If I were to work in a school system such as Staunton City that has a strict scripted
reading curriculum that teachers need to follow, then I would try and incorporate at least one
activity we have learned about in class that is more interesting for students to be involved in such
as a pre, during, or post activity, and embed it either into my scripted lesson for the day
regarding reading each day or during their individual reading groups. My teacher has to do both
whole group and small group literacy with her students. Her whole group instruction with them
is a structured lesson known as shared or interactive reading time that focuses both on fluency
and comprehension with grade level texts and/or comprehension with asking them higher
ordered thinking questions as a class using higher level texts. Her small group time involves her
working with three reading groups on activities with specific texts pertaining to their reading
level that she knows from assessments such as their fluency tests, SRI (scholastic reading
inventory reading assessment), and through teacher observations of the students. During their
small group literacy time each week I would rotate between focusing with them on fluency, word
study, or comprehension during this time, and on comprehension weeks each day I would work
on a different comprehension activity with them pertaining to the text I would be working with
them on. If I did not have this structured literacy curriculum in my school, then each week out of
the month I would focus on either fluency, word study, or comprehension with my students. For
the weeks out of the month devoted to comprehension I would try a different activity each day
depending on the reading I would be wanting them to comprehend with their different books for
their different reading groups based on their reading level. (fiction versus nonfiction) Some of
the activities I would incorporate that we did not learn in class would be having my students act
out important scenes from the book that they would perform for their classmates, do a jigsaw
activity, have the students just become experts on an event/idea from the story, and present/teach
it to the class in their own way such as through a visual, written summary, or by acting out a part
of it etc. If an activity might have to take more than one day to cover I would simply be able to
finish it the next day. From these activities, I could assess them through verbal assessments
where I would watch and record such how well they acted out a scene to the important things
that needed to be taken away from it, how well they taught their classmates about a scene as
experts. I could also collect written assessments they would complete like in their Venn

diagrams, or their written predictions of what the story will be about/ its title in their story words
activity. The materials that will be needed will be things such as props for the students to work
with to act out the story, copies of story words for the book(s), Venn diagram worksheets,
true/false statements, and the text that I would be focusing on either as a whole class if it were a
more strict structured curriculum, or for texts for specific reading groups or both etc. Ultimately
the materials I would need would depend on the activity, the text, and the curriculum I have to
use.

Reference:
Cronin, D. Duck for president. New York: Simon & Schuster Childrens Publishing Division.