Day 16

Today was another observation day. The lesson itself was not terrible, but I neglected to state clear expectations at the beginning and this made all the difference in the flow, cooperation, and mood of the lesson. So I decided to fix this real fast. We had to meet with our guided reading groups at a later time today because of observations. So guided reading followed the observations; allowing me to put my mistake into practice to make this weakness stronger. In the guided reading lesson, I made sure to state my objective, and then to state clear expectations with the students. They would keep their markers on their dry erase boards until I asked for them to be used. Students would each read at a whisper to themselves. I wanted to see mouths moving, pockets to their chairs. What a difference this made! I am just sad I did not realize it was this I was missing from the beginning. When we did our activity of rolling the die, each number of the die representing a different question,  the students cooperated so nicely and organized, fully participating. I could not have asked for a better guided reading lesson. Moral of the story: setting clear expectations is KEY.