Our lesson this week focused on Question-Answer Relationships while reading a nonfiction book. We started with a game of Halloween-themed bingo for our icebreaker. Then the students had to leave for a school assembly. When they got back, we finished our bingo game and reviewed the visual agenda for the lesson. We started the content portion of our lesson by activating the students’ prior knowledge. We asked the students if they were familiar with nonfiction books, and we also asked how they would answer questions when they read. Next, we introduced the vocabulary for the lesson by writing each word on a whiteboard and giving the students the definition. The vocabulary words were aligned with the content of our read-aloud book and included words like tadpole, metamorphosis, and larvae. We also introduced the four types of question-answer relationship by showing the students a small visual poster. We explained what each strategy was and how to apply it when reading. We then moved on to going over a QAR anchor chart that was similarly structured to the worksheets they would complete later in the lesson.
Our read-aloud for this lesson was Tadpole Diary by David Drew. For this lesson, we had a large print version of the book, which allowed all of the students to closely see the pictures and diagrams. While we read, we had the students ask questions that we would think about and answer on the worksheet. After reading, we did a quick brain break of Simon Says before moving on to our worksheet for the lesson. To complete the worksheet, we looked back at the questions the students asked during the read-aloud. As a group, we went through each question, one at a time, and decided on what the answers would be. The students were asked to write down each question and answer pair. We then discussed and wrote down what the Question-Answer Relationship was for each pair. Once the worksheets were finished, we passed out the students’ writing journals. The students were asked to write a short paragraph about tadpoles, using some of the facts they learned from our read-aloud. After writing, we collected the journals, and the students helped us clean up the materials from the lesson. We told them a preview of the next lesson before saying goodbye and leaving for the day.
A strength of this lesson was the choice of topic and how we presented it. The students were very engaged with the book about tadpoles. Throughout the read-aloud, they would point out the different graphics that interested them or make a comment about what was just read. Each student was also able to write a good paragraph in their journals about what they learned. A weakness of this lesson was having the students fully complete the worksheet post-reading. I think that if we handed out the worksheet before the read-aloud and had the students write down their questions while reading, then they would have had more time to reflect on the questions. This would also have given the students more time to think about the answers and QAR strategies, which would be writing down on the worksheet.
The objectives for this lesson were “By the end of the lesson, students will be able to identify and answer four questions from the read-aloud story with differentiated core support by completing a Question-Answer Relationship worksheet” with varying levels of proficiency. All the students in our group met the objectives for this lesson. The evidence for this is the completed QAR worksheets that were collected at the end of the lesson. Each student was able to write down the questions, answers, and QAR strategies we decided on as a group.
This lesson showed me that even a great lesson, with good student engagement, can be improved upon. During the initial lesson, and now after reflecting on what happened, I can see some things that I would change if I were to teach this lesson again. For example, I would find a way to make all the visual charts visible to students for the whole duration of the lesson. That way, they would be able to refer to any information on the charts while they were working. I think this would have been especially helpful to refer to the QAR strategies while completing the worksheet. In future lessons, I will be mindful of any possible changes I can make during a lesson to better support the students’ understanding.
This experience will influence my professional identity to be more open to what content topics may resonate best with the students I’m teaching. During this lesson, one student from the group pointed out that they had learned about the life cycle of a frog in a previous grade level. However, since the whole group already had that background knowledge, they were able to interact more easily with the content of the book and focus on the QAR strategy. This experience showed me that any background knowledge or previous experience a student has can be a powerful learning tool for both me and the student to use.
In the future, I will be more mindful about how I might alter a lesson to better assist my students. I will make sure that the students’ learning needs will always be a crucial part of the lesson planning process. That way, I can be sure that they are learning the content in the best way for them. This also allows me to cover every base and plan for the best ways to support any type of learner that I may have the pleasure of teaching.
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