RICA Domain #2

TC NAME: Denise Yoval

RICA Domain: Word Anaylsis

RICA Competency: Teaching Syllabic Analysis: Teaching Children to Identify the Number of Syllables in a Word

Grade Level: Third

Any Additional Descriptors: Two ELs in the class

For this RICA Domain I decided to focus on syllabication. Student s in third grade are taught the different ways to break down a word into different syllables. She introduced how to break down syllables during week five of school. However, she did want to do a lesson that made the students go back to what they have learned.

She began by asking students what they remembered about syllables. She asked students to recall the ways they were taught to break down a word into syllables. The students raised their hand and said, “The chin way!” She asked the student to demonstrate how to break down a word using the chin method. Students used the word butter. They first put their hand underneath their chin and said butter. Students noticed that their chin touched their hands twice, therefore it meant that the word butter had two syllables in it. She asked students for the other method that they were taught to learn syllables. Another student raised their hand and said, “We have to clap it out!” Students used the word napkin. The student was asked to syllabicate the word napkin, the student clapped when he said nap, then clapped when he said kin. She said that she would show students another way to break down a word into syllables. They worked on this worksheet that I posted below. She had students do this as a refresher before they began to look at another way to break down words into syllables.

She referred to compound words and asked students if a compound word was able to be broken down into syllables. She used the word butterfly. She wrote the word on the board and asked students to clap it out. Students said “but, ter, fly” they realized that the word had three syllables. She gave students another compound word, doghouse. Students were asked to use the chin method. Students said, “dog, house”. They noticed that the word had two syllables. Then, the teacher gave the students the word rainbow. They were asked to use the clap method, students said, “rain,bow”. The students began to note a pattern. One way to break down a compound word was to first split the compound word into the two original words that make the compound word. Next, they must look if the two smaller words have syllables of their own. In the word butterfly, they noted that this word had three syllables. Students then had a worksheet that broke down compound words and students had to break these words down into syllables.

They were allowed to work in partners or small groups to finish the worksheet.

(She emailed me the packet on syllables, here is the first worksheet they worked on)

RICA Domain # 3

TC NAME: Denise Yoval

RICA Domain: Fluency

RICA Competency: Role in Reading Development and Factors that Affect the Development of Fluency

Grade Level: Third

Any Additional Descriptors: Two ELs in the class

Today in my clinical practice we had students read in order to gain points in the Accelerated Reader program. Students are designated a reading level. If you have read my RICA Domain #1, then you can see how we assess students and let them know what their reading level is. Students are required to read books at their level or higher. They are not allowed to go below their level for any reason. Students read books that are in the AR database and then take a test on them. For each test that they take and pass they earn points. A picture book can earn a student 0.5 points if they get 100% on the test. If they miss one question then they lose .1 point and so on. Each student prepares a goal for themselves and every six weeks they must meet this goal. Students who meet their goal get to join an AR party.

Tomorrow is our AR party and a lot of our students have not met their goals. Today we had students do a lot of AR time. During this time students are able to read any books at their level and then take a test on the book. They do this in order to increase their points. We let them have a lot of AR time today because we wanted them to read and encourage them to increase their AR points before the party tomorrow. All of the students are required to read independently however, the lower students were allowed to read a book together and then go test on it.

One student had to read aloud to me after he was done reading independently because my CT said that reading aloud would improve his fluency. Fluency is important when it comes to reading. What I observed today when students were reading silently and reading to me was them increasing their fluency. Under competency 8- 7(b) the methods that my CT encourages to her students were methods and strategies used to increase their reading fluency. When students read a book at their level this increases their fluency. Having students test on books that they have read also increases comprehension and fluency.

RICA Domain #5

Taken from the Teacher’s guide

TC NAME: Denise Yoval

RICA Domain: Comprehension

RICA Competency: Comprehension: Instruction and Assessment- Before Children Read, While Children Read, After Children Read

Grade Level: Third

Any Additional Descriptors: Two ELs in the class

On Monday we began a new story titled, The Waterfall. Before we began reading my Cooperating Teacher had students create a K-W-L chart. As we have learned in many of our classes, a K-W-L chart describes what children already know, what they want to know, and what they learned after the story. She modeled making a K-W-L chart by first writing it on the board. She asked students what they knew about waterfalls. I heard one student say, “They are big!”. Another student said, “Water is rushing through them all the time.” She wrote these ideas under the K portion of the chart.She explained that the K stands for Know, what the students know about waterfalls. She wrote a few more ideas from the students on the board. Next, she explained that the W stands for what the students want to learn. She asked students to write some things that they wanted to learn about waterfalls.  She then progressed to introduce the book and they were going to do a picture walk.When they were done she asked them to make predictions about the story. A few children shared their predictions of what they thought would happen in the story.

The students read the story as a class. The teacher picked sticks and called on students to read a page of the story. As mentioned in the RICA book, reading aloud increases student’s reading fluency. Once the students were done, the students had to fill out the L portion on the K-W-L chart. She explained that the L stands for what the students learned after reading the story. She asked the students to volunteer sharing what they have learned.

RICA Domain # 4

TC NAME: Denise Yoval

RICA Domain: Vocabulary, Academic Language, and Background Knowledge

RICA Competency: The Role of Vocabulary; Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension

Grade Level: Third

Any Additional Descriptors: Two ELs in the class

For this evidence, I decided to focus on Domain Four of the RICA which is vocabulary. My Cooperating Teacher provides her students with a set of vocabulary words each week. I did not focus on one particular lesson that my instructor does because I felt that vocabulary is not necessarily a lesson but should also include practice. My Cooperating Teacher loves helping her students with their vocabulary, she goes over the vocabulary with them at the beginning of the week. Every Friday, they take a spelling test on their vocabulary. One thing I have noticed is she will have students read their books throughout the day. If students find one of their vocabulary words in their book then they receive tickets. Students have to show her the word in the text before they get awarded.

I have provided pictures of the homework that students take home and complete every night. Here we can see a picture of the spelling words. The spelling words are always on the first page and they must be placed in ABC order. This happens every Monday. The next photograph that I have provided are also part of their homework packet. Students must create sentences that are comprehensive and include each vocabulary word. Along with the sentences, they must draw a picture that corresponds to the word. I love grading their homework because students are so creative with their sentences. Some of the sentences make me laugh so much!

RICA Domain #1

TC NAME: Denise Yoval

RICA Domain: “Planning Reading Instruction based on Assessment”

RICA Competency:Reading assessment- Entry-level Assessments

Grade Level: Third Grade

Any Additional Descriptors: Two EL learners in the class

This is an assessment that both my CT and I conducted the first week of school. The San Diego Quick Assessment was conducted on the second day of school. I have provided a picture of what the SD Quick looks like, so you can get an idea of which words each student read. I observed the teacher calling back each student to a private table. Here she suggested each student begin with the words in the Grade 1 column. Each student read the words as best they could. This test was meant to give us an idea of where their independent level of reading is and the instructional level of reading. The instructor conducted half of the student’s assessments and then I conducted the rest. It was interesting to see the range of levels the children had. After each test was given, we recorded the results in each student’s file.

The next assessment that I observed was the STAR testing that each student took. This test was given last Tuesday in the computer lab. After the test was finished, we were able to see what reading level each student was at by looking at their Independent Reading Level. The third picture shows the printed results of a student.

We then combined both results in order to let each student where their reading level was for the Accelerated Reader program. I made each card with the students’ name, reading level, and either one or two colored stars to let them know which books to choose. The list is as follows;

• 1 Silver Star = 1-1.4 Reading Level
• 2 Silver Stars = 1.5-1.9 RL
• 1 Red Star = 2.0-2.4 RL
• 2 Red Stars = 2.5-2.9 RL
• 1 Blue Star = 3.0-3.4 RL
• 2 Blue Stars = 3.5-3.9 RL
• I Green Star= 4.0-4.4 RL
• 2 Green Stars = 4.5-4.9 RL
• 1 Gold Star= 5.0-5.4 RL
• 2 Gold Stars= 5.5 & up RL

I have provided a photograph of one student’s card.

The Year of Living Dangerously

This movie was different for me. Depite from being weirded out seeing Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver so young; It wasn’t something that I would normally watch. But hey, it’s always worth a shot. I have mixed feelings about this movie. Mel Gibson’s character makes you hate him but then makes you love him in the end. There are different characters in the movie that hold important roles. Billy Kwan plays a key role because he was there for Hamilton when no one was wanting to help him. Little did I know, Billy was played by a woman! I love how it is set in Indonesia and pertains to real events.

Billy and Guy’s relationship is the one that I love because they become really good friends up until Billy’s death. Even though Guy somewhat betrays Billy when it comes to the Chinese Communist party. I still feel that they had a bond that we could feel throughout the movie.

Guy and Jill obviously had feelings for each other from the moment they met. The part where they are sitting down and it begins to pour is classic love story. I love how Peter Weir made Guy return to Jill in the end. It was a love story for them.

Restrepo

http://restrepothemovie.com/

This movie is one of the best movies I have ever seen. I am not one to watch any war movies or anything too violent. But this, this movie is more than that. As Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger say, “This is reality.”

This movie blew my mind. It was amazing to see a first person perspective on what American Marines do and how they live. The Korengal Valley isn’t a place that anyone wants to visit. This movie truly depicts what the life of an American solider has to live through in order to protect his country. Never would I thought that I would get a first hand look at what is going on in the world. The war that we are fighting that feels like it will never end.

It was really sad for me to watch the guys on their deployment. Watching them in some parts, enjoying being around each other. It’s horrible to know that they are in such a horrible place. Thinking about the movie makes me really sad. To know, that these men have the courage and bravery that I would never have. They are doing this all for us. Sometimes, I feel like we don’t even appreciate it.

The relationships throughout this movie are remarkable. The men in your troop are your family. One of the times that they got ambushed and one of their men died. I believe it was Sergeant Rugel. When they all realized he was dead; that was one of the worst feelings that they felt. It was like their brother had died. I remember one of guys broke down and started sobbing. That got to me.

Another part that really got to me was when they were asked to name one of their lowest times spent at outpost Restrepo. They all said, “Rock Avalanche”. This was when they saw two men from the Taliban run into this house, so they bombed it. They were unaware that there were families and young children inside. They killed 5 people and injured many women and children. They showed some people that were covered in blood. Man, that was so horrible and painful to watch. I cannot imagine being there and being one of them. They all felt horrible for what happened.

I would recommend this movie to everyone. This movie is a must see for anyone living in America.  It has been my favorite this semester. I am really glad that I watched it.

La Bamba

This movie is a classic. I have watched it ever since I was a young child and I continue to watch it through my adulthood. I have always loved this movie. Ever since I could remember, it has always had a soft spot in my heart. Throughout the movie we can see various relationships grow and fall apart. The most prominent relationships that we see are between Ritchie and his mother Rosanna, Ritchie and his brother Bob, and Ritchie and Rosie, Bob and Rosanna, and lastly Bob and Rosie. These relationships break apart through the movie and flourish in other parts. I love the dynamics in the relationships.

The relationship between Rosie and Ritchie is actaully quite sad because Ritchie loves Rosie. From the beginning we see how much he cares about her. Rosie on the other hand, does not really know about this and loses her viginity to Bob. Ritchie is heartbroken upon finding this out. Their relationship ends but throughout the movie we see how Ritchie still cares for Rosie when Bob kicks her out.

Ritchie and his mother Rosanna have this relationship that seems like a good mother son relationship. However, Bob doesn’t really  appreciate the fact that he feels left out of the family picture. Ritchie and Bob are half brothers and for this Bob feels that Rosanna loves Ritchie more. Which is not true, but Bob does things to the family that make it seem like he doesn’t want to be a part of it.

Ritchie and Bob have a funny sort of relationship because it seems like Bob is passive aggressive to Ritchie. Ritchie’s father was a white military man, therefore Bob feels like Ritchie is better than him. I remember the part right before Ritchie dies, they get into that huge fight and Bob breaks Ritchie’s necklace. That is such a powerful moment meant to show us all to really appreciate what we have. Because in a blink of an eye, it’s gone.

This movie is really remarkable. Luiz Valdez does a great job at bringing in many different aspects of life and the life of Ritchie Valens. I love this movie. The scene I always remember is the scene when Ritchie’s mother hears that Ritchie is dead. She hears it on the radio. What a horrible way to find out your son is dead.

Forward Kwenda

Forward Kwenda was an incredible performer. He was from Zimbabwe and he had an interesting background. I mean, he told us the story about how some people wanted him killed so he had to take a different name. Whew! That was close! I really liked how he showed us the instrument he was playing with and he also explained how it works, where your fingers go, and what it is called.I thought the drum part of the instrument was very interesting. They come in different colors or patterns. He spoke about how this instrument is played all night in special ceremonies; to get spirits to come back down to Earth and heal everyone from their wounds.

The sound that comes out of the finger piano is very cheery, it sounds happy almost. I enjoyed the sound because it feels like you can really get up and dance to it. When he began to sing, it was really unexpected. His voice sounded as if he was belting out the song. It was strong and made a distinct sound. When he was playing, it sounded as if he had multiple instruments and back up singers. The volume of the instruments is incredible; it varied in intensity and sound. Kwenda would make it really loud or really soft. It really made me wonder what he was singing about. It sounded like it could be a chant but I think he mentioned how he sings to be solo for the most part. I could really see how the Zimbabwe people use this in ceremonies. I really liked his last song called, “Determination”. When all four members were playing, it sounded so loud and good together. The harmony was incredible. I loved it!

This was not what I was expecting. When I think of African music I immediately think of drums and the Djembe. I realized African music has a wide range and variety to it. Kwenda really brought this lecture to life. I truly enjoyed it, it was one of my favorite music performances I have seen here at Cal State. I enjoy learning about different cultures and this performance is at the top of my list.

Indian Music Concert

This music performance was incredible. I really enjoyed it. The four performers, the two drummers and two string instruments, really brought the group together. I thought it was really interesting how the performers had never ever performed together even though they sounded like they had been performing for years. It was really great to be able to bring them together and have them play for us students at Cal State. The first thing that caught my eye were the instruments. I cannot remember the name of the first string instrument that she introduced, although she did refer to it as the “Mother of all instruments” but I do remember the second one was a Sitar. The way these two string instruments sounded when they were together sounded amazing. It really brought the music together. The drums were similar to the bongos that we are familiar with. I thought it was cool how the drummer on the left only had one drum, while the drummer on the right has two.

The music was incredible. I really enjoyed sitting there and taking it all in. I wanted to get up and start dancing but let’s get it together. I really liked how in the second song, the stringed instruments began and then the drums began shortly after. It truly made a distinct sound that made me want to get up and shake! The sound was interesting and very different than the music that I am used to. In total, they played like eight songs and I was surprised to know that each song was about 15 minutes long. All I kept thinking, “Wow! Don’t they get tired!?” I found that in the music artists that we have watched in class, most of them make up their songs right on the spot. The woman in the group let us know that 70% of the music they played was all made up on the spot, even though they did have music to read off of. I do not know how someone can do that. I cannot make things up on the spot, let alone write an entire song. The musicians wrote all the songs by themselves. I really liked how they had a few songs with just the strings and then they had 2 with just the drums. They were amazing. I’ve never seen anyone’s hands move that fast before!

It was also very cool to watch the musicians as the played. It was as though they were talking to each other through the music. They would laugh and nod and at times it looked as though they were praying. They might not have been, but that’s what it seemed like to me. One last interesting thing that I found is They also wobbled their heads, for a lack of a better word, whenever they talked to the audience or to each other.