M5U1A4: Understanding and Applying Standards

What did I learn from this unit?

In preschools, teachers need to capitalize on the active and the social nature of preschoolers and their instructional needs to include rich demonstrations, interactions, and models of literacy during projects and play activities that make sense to three and four, and five and six year-old children. Teaching literacy to preschoolers is built upon a centers-based classroom (library, drama, blocks, math, science, art, writing, and computers) where teachers scaffold experiences with language, listening, speaking, writing, and letters and sounds through a combination of teacher- lead and child-initiated activities. Not all preschool students come to school with similar knowledge about language and print, so teachers need to carefully observe where each student is developmentally and adapt instruction for individual differences. Therefore, in my opinion, unpacking a standard, backwards mapping and writing objectives are important to assist young students to better understand the various content areas that are being taught. In short, this unit helped me to become an effective preschool teacher.

Unpacking a Reading standard

During this unit, I learnt that by unpacking a reading standard, students will understand what key details are and be able to ask and answer questions about them. They need to put key details in sequential order to retell a story they know. They also have to be able to recognize and name elements in a story. By doing this, I learnt to use questions and prompts such as:

• Can you tell me what happened at the beginning of the story? What happened after that? What happened at the end of the story?

• Can you find the part that tells where the story takes place (picture or words)?

• Who was in the story? Can you find (picture or words) this character?

Students in preschool should be able to recognize a story, a poem, a book, and other forms of text. At this level, they ask and answer questions about words they do not know across various kinds of texts by using story context. Preschool students also identify the author and illustrator of a story and the part each plays in telling the story. For this, I learnt to use questions and prompts such as:

• What can you do when you come to a word you do not know? (use context)

• Can you tell me what kind of book this is? What in the text leads you to that answer?

• Who is the author? What is his/her job?

• Who is the illustrator? What is his/her job?

The SMART writing objectives also made me an efficient preschool educator because I learnt to read, analyze and write goals and objectives that are:



Specific enough for other teachers on the team to know exactly what is being targeted. For example, in working with Student A who has behavioral issues. The SMART objective will specify exactly what the team wants the student to communicate and the ways to do so.


Measurable and demonstrates progress of students. These are the responsibilities of all teachers. In writing this objective, I learnt that the criteria for success is important and therefore, needs to be included in the goals.


Attainable. I reflected on the objectives for instructional plans and learnt that they ought to be attained by students in within 2 to 4 months.


Realistic and relevant.  I learnt that strategies should be organized clearly, so that progress towards the outcome can be facilitated effectively. For example, in organizing a strategy for Student A, the failure to tie the strategy to its outcome may result in unclear rationale for using the strategy.


Time limited and targets the objectives.  I made use of strategies that integrate all disciplines involved and implement the strategies throughout the day and whenever needed for effective outcome.

References:

(Accessed on 21 May 2015)

http://dpi.state.nc.us/docs/acre/standards/common-core-tools/unpacking/ela/kindergarten.pdf

http://www.d.umn.edu/~gniereng/documents/WritingSmartObjectives.pdf