Another Thick Description

This week, one of the times I was not scheduled to take field notes, I was very excited about what I was seeing from one of my focal students, so I decided to take notes on it! Here is what I got!

Earlier, when Brittney was at Working On Writing (described in field notes 2-20)I was very disappointed with the work I saw. She spent the majority of her time talking to the other student that was also at Working on Writing and very little time actually writing. While she did end up with a final product, I wish she would have followed the expectations we decided on at the beginning of the semester.

Brittney is the only ESL student in my classroom. While she does not receive any special ESL services, I still make sure to clarify my directions and check that she understands everything I say and what she is supposed to do. Brittney's father is very involved in her education, and wants the absolute best for her. While he speaks pretty good English, her mother speaks very little. At home, Brittney mainly speaks in Spanish- although her mother is taking English classes. Brittney's dad always wants to be informed about her behavior and how she is doing academically. I really value this partnership and know that it will help Brittney succeed in school.

She is reading just at grade level, although she sometimes struggles with understanding vocabulary. On this day, she was Reading with a Buddy. Her buddy is another student in my classroom who is reading above grade level. The two girls decided to sit together at a table in the middle of the classroom (usually the kids don't sit at tables, they choose a comfy place on the floor). The first thing I noticed was the girls spread out all of their books from both book bins (I have noticed Brittney doing this before). Then I saw them choose the book The Lorax to read together. The girls were using the "I Read, You Read" procedure they learned at the beginning of the semester, where one student reads one page and then the other reads the next page. Both girls were paying attention and following along. I could hear them reading the words since they were near my reading group table. The girls did not finish the book, before they stopped and selected a different one. They chose Wacky Wednesday, another Dr. Seuss book to read. This time they used the "Choral Read" method we learned where both students read the words at the same time. They were reading fluently and I could hear the rhythm that naturally comes from reading some of Dr. Seuss's rhyming books.

I was very pleased with Brittney's work today at read to buddy. She was on task the entire time and followed the Daily Five expectations. The two girls got started right away and were reading together the entire time. They even showed that they could use both of the buddy reading strategies we learned at the beginning of the year.

I wonder if Brittney's behavior and work ethic was different this time because she enjoys reading much more than writing, or if it was just a fluke that she was off task before, and on task this time I was watching.

Field Notes and Thick Description

Here are a few things I noticed as I was typing up my field notes from the past week:

• I always take field notes on Wednesday.... so the same kids are always at the same station. For example "Sam" is always at read to buddy. I think I might need to change this up- still take field notes once a week, but take them on different days so I have data on students at a variety of stations and I will have information abut the station with a variety of children. You would have thought I would have noticed this before today... but oh well. Better late than never!
• The most "off task" behavior is happening at working on writing. There is too much time being spent on coloring their illustrations and not enough time actually writing. I think I might need to revamp this station. Maybe put a timer there and only allow them to color for a certain about of time?? Or just find more creative things for them to write about- I think I will check out pinterest for some ideas. Any readers ideas would be helpful too!

Thick Description... I am really nervous about this. I am loving the way I take my field notes in a two column chart but I am not so sure that I really have been doing thick description. I feel better after reading my groups examples- but am still just feeling hesitant about it. So... here it goes!

Amanda is a six year old African American student in my classroom. She is reading just above grade level. Amanda is very well behaved and a very hard worker. I know that her parents have extremely high expectations for her behavior at school, and she has consequences for misbehavior. Her Mom and Dad are involved in her education and always want to know what they can do to help her if she is struggling with any concept. Through my observations she is almost always on task and working hard during Daily Five and I think some of this has to do with her work ethic and the expectations her parents and teacher have set for her. Today as I sat at the reading group table observing, Amanda walked up to the Word Work table, int the front of the room,  and had a seat in the chair. She got out the tub of colored markers and a piece of paper. She immediately began writing her spelling words for the week. She worked on this for about ten minutes. As Amanda was nearing the bottom of her page, there was some talking with the other student at the word work table. It appeared to me that they were talking about which colors of markers they were using, but I was not close enough to actually hear the words.  Then I noticed that she had filled up her paper with her words. Amanda put the tub of markers back on the shelf and opened up a drawer next to the shelf to get out new materials. She got out a dry erase board, marker, and eraser. I saw her begin to write her words on the dry erase board. When time was up, and the teacher made the signal to change groups, Amanda cleaned up the dry erase materials and put them back into the drawer. Then she walked over to her next group (with the teacher).

Sam is a six year old Caucasian boy in my classroom. This is his first year at Sandersville, the adjustment at the beginning was tough, but now Sam is a hard worker and tries his best to please his teacher. Sam is reading right at first grade level, but is still writing very phonetically. He has nice handwriting and wants to succeed. Today Sam was at Read To Buddy. On his Daily Five survey he indicated this is his favorite stations. Sam and his partner are sitting on the floor on the black carpet in the middle of the classroom library. They are both sitting near each other, however they are not sitting criss-cross applesauce. They are both sitting on their knees and are looking at the book they have selected to read. I can see from the round table that they are reading an Arthur book together. The boys are reading nicely at a level one and are turning the pages at a good speed. I can tell they are using the "I read, you read" method they learned where they take turns reading the pages. Sam reads his page and then sits and listens as his partner reads his page. After the boys have finished reading the Arthur book, they get the book No David out of one of their book bins. No David is a favorite in my classroom. They continue to do "I read, you read". I see the boys reading the words and turning the pages. Then on the page where David runs naked down the street, I see them pointing at the picture and laughing. This image is exactly what I want to see in my classroom- students reading and enjoying literature together. They are learning, becoming better readers, and having fun while they are doing it!