The following is a link to my video. I uploaded it to my Google Drive “Blog Posts” folder and then linked it here. If the link doesn’t work, it can still be accessed in my Google Drive. The activity starts at 1:40, so you can fast forward to that point.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Cp0Lq7jYPLnPmt8UA-i-Hr1o06nStrny/view?usp=sharing
This was a small-group reading activity. We had a bag full of cards with CVC words on them. Each child would take a card and read the word, then the next child would take a turn. Some cards had specific directions like, take a card from a friend or give a card to a friend. I didn’t really get to choose this specific activity. The teacher chose it, and I got to lead it.
Before the students arrived, Mrs. Jung explained to me the plan for the Blitz Groups (that’s what they call their reading groups). She also explained how to play the reading game so I was better prepared to lead it. I had also seen the students play a similar game before, so I was familiar with what to expect. I looked over some notes I had taken about classroom management in order to prepare for leading the small-group activity. I used these notes to refresh my memory and think of some techniques I could use for this particular activity.
I think quite a few things went well during this activity. I think it was good to go over names at the beginning because it made us feel more like a group. The students did a great job of being respectful and waiting for their turns. I modeled the behavior I wanted to see in them when they took their cards from the bag, so I made sure to close my eyes and look away. Because of this, I didn’t have to correct them and say things like, “Don’t look in the bag!” because they already knew what I expected.
I noticed that I kept repeating, “What does your card say?” They probably got the idea after a while that they were each supposed to take a turn, so there was no need to for me to repeat this so often. It also might have made them feel rushed. I also noticed that when I would focus on each child reading, I wasn’t very good at paying attention to what the other children were doing at the same time. I didn’t even know the two little girls were looking at my phone so much and holding cards up to it until I viewed the video later!
I would try not to prod them so much by saying, “What does your card say?” every time. It would probably give them more practice developing their working memory and inhibitory control if I didn’t constantly prod and remind them of what to do. I would also try to not let them read the words for friends. A few times one of them would blend the word together or read the word for another student. This takes away the chance for the student who’s turn it was to practice reading. I would also make sure to multitask a little bit better. I need to learn to shift my focus from student to student more often so I can keep tabs on the whole group.
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