Content Literacy Observation

Chelsey Hood

RDG 316 

April 19, 2013

Content Literacy Observation

Underground Railroad Performance Observation

Roaring Brook Elementary School, Avon CT

I had the opportunity to observe a second grade classroom last week that completely blew me away. What a saw was not only the culmination of a three month long unit study of the underground railroad but it was a performance that demonstrated amazing teaching. What I left with was the sense of understanding. When I left this classroom I knew that not only did the second grades I observed learn about the underground railroad but they developed concrete understandings of the concepts because the experienced what it was like to be alive during the time of the underground railroad’s use. 

What I observed was a performance done by the students who had been working since January using the texts in class and other lessons to create writing pieces. The performance in the form of a play included costumes, dances and singing, but the most important part was the speaking parts. Ninety-five percent of the speaking that the students did during their performance was writing that they had created themselves over the last few months. The students used the content from the texts read in class to create unique pieces of writing. Some of the writing pieces were journal entries written from the point of view of an African American, some were poems and some were descriptions to put the audience into the time and place of the setting. 

The teacher spoke to us about this performance and how it came to result in such an elaborate project and what it all started with was books. She provided her students with background knowledge and with several different texts to help them learn about the topic and concepts. From all this reading they were able to write about any concept related to the theme. The teacher used direct instruction, small group instruction, discussion, collaborative learning and hands-on experience. 

It was clear that the students were assessed based on their understanding. By doing all the reading and writing activities the students all developed a clear understanding of the theme and concepts. Their writing and performance were examples and demonstrations of their understanding. Our textbook, Reading and Learning to read by Vacca et. all, tells us repeatedly that connecting reading and writing activities deepens understanding and helps students connect meaning to their work. The class I observed is a perfect example of this put into action. The teacher told us that everything she reads to her class or asks them to read relates to a writing assignment. 

I can not think of a single concern or suggestion for how I would change what I observed. The major strength that I saw was the way the students dove head first into the theme and not only learned about the underground railroad but they experienced it. A second strength that I took away from this observation was how incredible the writing pieces were. The teacher told us that all the writing came from the students and was based on the background knowledge the students gained through reading multiple texts about the topic. I hope that I can develop units and lessons in my own classroom that allow for the same engagement from my students as this classroom I observed.