Reflecting Videos

Watch: Reflecting on teaching practice and planning professional development

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Standard Into Practice:

This teacher opens the lesson with a discussion of what students know about feelings in order to prepare them for a read-aloud.


Subject:Literacy and Reading
Grade/Range:K-2
Teacher: 
School: 
Years Teaching: 

While viewing the clip, watch for:

Prior to reading the children’s book When Sophie Gets Angry, Really, Really Angry, the teacher engages students in a pre-reading strategy intended to facilitate comprehension. Specifically, she prompts the students to think about what they already know about feelings.

The teacher calls upon a few students to model facial expressions associated with happiness and anger. She also asks students to share reasons why people might become angry. She asks: “What is something that would make you feel angry?” and “Would it make you feel angry if someone gave you a present?” The teacher then begins the read-aloud, animatedly using tone and facial expressions to convey Sophie’s anger, support comprehension, and draw students into the story.


After viewing the clip, think about:

How effectively did this teacher tap into prior understanding(s) as she prepared students to listen to the story? What other strategies could she have used?

How can you use a similar strategy to help your students connect their own experiences to upcoming content?

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