Cycle 3: 2nd Grade Reading

Understanding Stories of the Kumeyaay

Overview: By second grade, students are grappling with what it means to be a reader, how to read, and the importance of reading. Some students may be confident in their reading skills, while others need extra support and are still unsure of where they are at. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework designed to allow all students to access the lesson content with their strengths and needs in mind. Our lesson study team sought implement UDL strategies to address the range of assets and needs that a second grade class had by building in supports to foster engagement.

We chose a story about the Luiseno people, who are still alive and active today, as the grounding text for second graders to explore both their reading skills and the life of these peoples. This text was chosen both to weave into the unit that the class had already been working on around learning about native peoples, while also centering around our aim of creating a lesson that linked to Social Justice Education (SJE).

Reading is a powerful skill for life both within and beyond the classroom!

Bringing Equity into the Classroom

Central Question of Equity: How do we empower students to lift each other up by utilizing their skills and gifts to access and engage in rich and challenging content?

Grounding Research

To learn more about the research that grounded this lesson, read on in my Literature Synthesis and Annotated Bibliography.

Theory of Action: If we as teachers provide diverse modes of instruction to best complement students’ assets and challenges, then students will better understand their identities and the practices of the Kumeyaay, lifting each other up to deeply engage in meaningful writing and storytelling.

The Lesson

Content Goal: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.1

Structure: Our lesson began with an exciting and active Launch of promoting active listening to set the stage for positive collaboration. Students took turns asking each other what their partner had for breakfast, listening carefully to each detail so that they could repeat it back to their partner as they heard it. Next, we moved into a time to Explore chunks of sentences from a children's book on the Luiseno people. Students were given five captions that were 1-2 sentences each as well as 5 illustrations. Groups would have their "Sharer" read the captions out loud and then every group member would work together to figure out the order that the captions might go in based on inferences. Only the "Materials Manager" was allowed to touch the papers with the captions or illustrations to move them to the group's desired order. Groups then looked at the pictures and decided what order they should go in. This process was iterative; groups did not necessarily need to stick to the captions or illustration order that they had originally chosen. Throughout this process, the "Feeling Monitor" ensured that everyone's voices were being heard, and the "Facilitator" was keeping the conversation moving. Once groups had sufficient time to sort their captions and illustrations, the class moved on to Discuss similarities and differences between each group's arrangements after completing a gallery walk. The lesson closed by reading the story to the class so that students could see where their order was the same or different from the story.

Still curious? Read more in the Lesson Plan.

Implementing UDL

To ensure that students could equitably interact with the children's story and participate in the activity, the UDL strategy of group roles was implemented. These roles were assigned to students based on their strengths and needs. The intention was to foster positive group work, hear all students' voices, and promote reading and discussion that would be impactful to students. The roles address social-emotional needs with second graders in mind, and also cater to students that prefer either visual, auditory, or kinesthetic participation. Students had practiced using these group roles multiple times prior to this lesson.

The group roles were:

Sharer - read captions and share the group's ideas to the class
Feelings Monitor - ensure that all group members' voices are heard
Facilitator - keep the group on task
Materials Manager - move around the captions and illustrations

The group roles being assigned during Morning Meeting!

Illustrations and captions from the activity! Each group had a different color to make the Paper Passer's job easier.

Superstars sorting their stories!

Student Impact

Focus Student #1

FS1 is a social student who loves working with others and is making huge leaps with sharing their voice and self-advocating. His initial IEP was in May. His goals are focused on math and understanding

Our Hope: Have FS1's voice heard by his peers both in groups and to the class.

Focus Student #2

FS2 is a quiet, shy student that opens up and is expressive and when she's with people she's comfortable with.

Our Hope: Allow FS2 to practice her reading skills and gain confidence in sharing her thoughts.

Focus Student #3

FS3 is a quiet student with an effervescent smile and energy when she shares stories about her cats or family travels. Her IEP goals are focused around math, task-initiation and on-task behavior.

Our Hope: Have FS3 feel supported by her group members and her voice welcomed.

Student Thinking

Focal Student 1

Successes: Roles helped FS1 because he usually has trouble sharing his voice, but that’s not what we saw.

This could potentially be because the Facilitator in his group was very strong and took his job seriously.
FS1 would say what he saw and provide reasoning
He was often seen actively agreeing with the ideas that his group members shared
He was very responsive with his hand motions and overall attentive
His voice was heard in front of the whole class!

Challenges: Reading out captions was a challenge for FS1

He did well with every word except for the Kumeyaay words

Opportunities for Growth: Fs1 was very focused on the task of reading out loud, but potentially not comprehending

He also wanted to grow at “not touching the paper,” a job reserved for the Materials Manager

Focal Student 2

Successes: FS2 practiced self-advocacy by using her voice to share what she needed

As soon as a lesson study team member sat at the table, she said “I’m confused”
She shared: “I don’t know what these pictures mean;” unfortunately, they were upside down for her
The other two group members worked to include FS2 and share their thinking with her; the Feelings Monitor took his role seriously and made sure that FS2 felt heard
She gave a sideways thumb on if she felt her voice was heard when Becky checked in with the group, sharing her needs honestly
She always put her hand on her heart whenever Becky asked
FS2 raised her hand and shared with the whole class twice!

Challenges: The captions were above FS2's current reading level, which made being the sharer challenging

She read the caption really quietly, then a group member took the rest of the stack and started positioning them without FS2 getting a chance to read them

Opportunities for Growth: Reading support

FS2 was the Sharer - she picked up first caption and said “I don’t know how to read this," though she worked hard to sound out the Kumeyaay words; needed another adult there to support her with reading the captions

Focal Student 3

Successes: FS3 was integrated into her group's positive dynamic

The Facilitator affirmed many of her ideas and encouraged her to keep sharing
An interesting idea emerged from her to move the group forward: "It does not make sense that it goes this, then this, then this [picture with a mountain, picture without a mountain, picture with a mountain, respectively]; if they were on the mountain, and then they're not, how would they get back up?"

Challenges: A harsh group member made some sharing challenging

Once group member took over on controlling the group's dynamics and sometimes held too much space

Opportunities for Growth: Finding supportive peers

Having supportive peers helps this student be able to share their ideas, so finding more peers that can work with FS3 will help their growth even more

Lesson Highlights

Group roles gave students opportunities to invite their peers into the conversation and have voices be heard that may not have otherwise, such as FS3's ideas on the story line.
Students were able to see that coming to different conclusions about what they thought the story line would be is okay

Missed Opportunities

We could have had slides to supplement the auditory instructions that were being given.
There could have been a check for comprehension to see if students understood what they were reading.
How can we ensure that the pictures are right-side up for all group members?

Reflections and Takeaways

The beauty of lesson study is that we were a cross-grade level, cross-disciplinary team that managed to find common ground on opportunities to best support our students. UDL creates access for students regardless of their grade level or the content being taught; UDL is not what to teach, but how to teach it. We were able to successfully use the UDL strategy of group roles to bring more students' voices into the room. This is significant because while not all students need the same level of support, all students benefit from being a part of an inclusive classroom that welcomes ideas regardless of who they come from. I will continue to implement UDL strategies in my own classroom using a process similar to our throughout this lesson study; I will identify the needs of my students, find UDL strategies that best fit the lesson and the class, implement these strategies, and assess their effectiveness based on student thinking and data collected. While this is the last official lesson study cycle, I know that I will continue refining my practice through continually engaging in inquiry and reflection!

Meet the Team

Becky Snowden - Host - 2nd Grade Teacher at HTeNC

Morgan Philips - 10th and 11th grade Math teacher at HTHMA

Cia Cooksey - T-K Teacher at The Rhoades School

Sam Pawlikowski - 6-8th Grade Social Studies teacher at King Chavez Middle School

Karen Underwood - Knowledgable Other, 5th Grade Teacher at HTeNC

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