Mini Lessons Discussion Module 3

Ricks Reading Workshop: I really enjoyed watching Rick teach his students in a way that really gets his students engaged actively. By watching this video I can tell that his students are also interested in learning because of his style of teaching. In this video he discusses how important it is for students to have theories when reading. For example, before reading the book "A Wednesday surprise," he asks the students how many of them are already thinking about what it is going to be about. This really gets the students thinking and making predictions. I also enjoyed that he he took the time to have students talk with their peers about what their predictions were. By talking to their partners they are able to compare each other's theories which keeps their imaginations open. 

In the reading mini lesson the teacher in this video is teaching her student's cause and effect. To first get the students attention she uses an example like dropping a vase on the ground causes it to break. This gives an idea to the students about what exactly is cause and effect and helps them use it in their reading. What I like about this video is how the teacher is constantly pausing her reading and asking the students questions about what the cause and effect is on particular pages. This gets the students to constantly be thinking. I however, think this teacher could be a little more excited when reading aloud to the children. Rick in the reading workshop video does an amazing job in having a loud and active voice when reading. I strongly believe that this keeps students engaged during the reading workshop. 

The Joy of Conferring

In The Joy of Conferring video I really enjoyed that the student was the one to call over the teacher to have a conference with her and tell him what he was reading. I noticed that the teacher got down on her knees to get to the students eye level to really connect with him. The student discussed how he was getting back into a book that he put away for awhile. The teacher asked him questions as to what he was interested in and also asked if he could read a little for her. While reading, the student paused him and complemented him on how well he was reading with expression. This clearly showed that he was modeling how his teacher reads for his class. 

Reading Conferences

In the first video reading conferences, I enjoyed the outline of this video it first shows a model student and teacher trying to discuss the book. The teacher starts by asking questions what the book is about and the student does not answer well because he/she did not read it. This was called a conference fail. Towards the end of the video it shows the student who read the book constantly telling the teacher what is happening. By actively reading the student is able to tell the teacher everything that is going on. I enjoyed this video however, I feel as if they should have used real children to help make the video a little more serious.