Week 8 - Assignment 3

Both videos were very informative in terms of how the reading groups and discussions should be. This semester, I observed the teacher following strategies similar to the ones in the video. A couple of times, throughout the week, children were in the groups discussing what they read and understood. I think having the teacher be a part of the discussion group is important because students can often digress from the main topic of the discussion and having the teacher their helps the structure of the discussion. What I learned from the videos mostly is that the point of the group discussions is to allow students to express their thoughts and ideas about what they are reading. It’s also important to understand that the students all have different comprehension levels and sometimes these discussions can help clarify misunderstanding and misinterpretation from the text. I especially liked the sense of community the reading groups built in the classroom. It gave students a way to connect with their peers.