The process of constructing a unit and teaching it to an entire class was a good learning experience for me. I had planned a unit last semester for Prof Grimes' class; however, implementing the unit and actually teaching it is a whole different story. Also the use of backwards design made the unit planning process more in depth and meaningful. The process of using KUDs made me realize the depth of planning that goes into preparing a unit and the thought process that I will go through in the future as I plan more units.
The actual teaching of the unit in the classroom was also extremely beneficial. It makes the planning process far more realistic and allows you to learn what can actually be done in the time you are given. For example, the first lesson we thought that it would take much longer than it actually did, so we made necessary changes to the future lessons to ensure that there would not be down time in the classroom and that we utilized the full instructional period we were given. It also gave me an opportunity to become far more comfortable in front of a classroom of kids and find my place as a teacher. I learned that at times I had to assert the fact that I was a teacher and not there to just be their friends. It gave me numerous opportunities to work on my classroom/behavior management abilities and find what works for me.
Teaching in the classroom was also a fun experience due to the fact that I got to meet a whole new classroom of kids and a new teacher. The class I was in this semester was much different than the previous class I was placed in. The first teacher was very strict and her interaction with the children seemed to be focused on her authority in the class room. The teacher I had this semester took a much more friendly approach to the classroom and allowed the children liberties that were not allowed in the classroom I was in the prior semester. It gave me a good view of the spectrum of teachers out there and what strategies work and what does not.
Overall, it was a great learning experience that showed me areas where I need to work on, but it also showed me that I am capable of teaching children things that they will actually learn and remember.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Monday, April 9, 2007
Jeopardy! Last Lesson
Friday March 30th was our final lesson and it was a game of Jeopardy to see what the students had learned in their week with the unit we had taught them. I would have to admit that some of the questions we made we were concerned that the students may not have been able to answer all of them. It was also the last hour before they got to go on spring break, so I was also concerned about keeping the kids on task during the game. The teacher said she had not yet played jeopardy with the students this year.
The lesson went surprisingly well. There was not a single question the students did not get. Some students may have initially missed the question but the teams as a whole were able to come up with every response to the questions. The students also worked surprisingly well together. I was very impressed how they quietly huddled up as a team to discuss the answer when the other team missed a question. They were also very enthralled with the game. It was not at all an issue to get them to stay on task. If anything the only slight problem was they may have gotten too into the game at times.
This lesson was really great to see how well the students had retained the information we had taught them and their ability to recall it on command. At times during the week I was concerned that some of the students may have not been retaining the information, but the final lesson was very reassuring that we had in fact taught them something and they in fact remembered it.
The lesson went surprisingly well. There was not a single question the students did not get. Some students may have initially missed the question but the teams as a whole were able to come up with every response to the questions. The students also worked surprisingly well together. I was very impressed how they quietly huddled up as a team to discuss the answer when the other team missed a question. They were also very enthralled with the game. It was not at all an issue to get them to stay on task. If anything the only slight problem was they may have gotten too into the game at times.
This lesson was really great to see how well the students had retained the information we had taught them and their ability to recall it on command. At times during the week I was concerned that some of the students may have not been retaining the information, but the final lesson was very reassuring that we had in fact taught them something and they in fact remembered it.
Lesson 4
We taught our fourth lesson on March 28th. We covered the last two regions. The lesson went very well and the students did a very good job of staying on task. We left time at the end of the lesson to have the students gather around some chart paper and discuss each region and some of the important info they had learned in the past week. They all had their Virginia Journals they had worked on and the various handouts they had received. We also gave them a review sheet and an important things to remember sheet for many of the students who had missed class periods in order to catch them up.
As the students were gathered around the chart paper it was very clear that 5 of the students were very knowledgeable of the information and were eager to volunteer what they knew. However, in order to get a gauge of what the other students knew we had to focus on the children who were quiet to see what they had learned. All of the students seemed to have a pretty firm grasp of the information. However, having the students gathered around the chart paper all at once caused some disruptions due to some students not staying on task. However, I still think it was a very beneficial exercise.
As the students were gathered around the chart paper it was very clear that 5 of the students were very knowledgeable of the information and were eager to volunteer what they knew. However, in order to get a gauge of what the other students knew we had to focus on the children who were quiet to see what they had learned. All of the students seemed to have a pretty firm grasp of the information. However, having the students gathered around the chart paper all at once caused some disruptions due to some students not staying on task. However, I still think it was a very beneficial exercise.
Third Lesson
The third lesson we taught was at a different time then we usually taught. It was at 8 am on Tuesday the 27th of March. The time difference seem to play a large role in how the lesson went. Due to the fact that it was 8 in the morning the students were much more calm and relaxed than they had in previous lessons. I think it was due to the fact they knew they had the whole day ahead of them and were not antsy to get out the door like they had been in our previous lessons. I also think that the students had also come to realize what we expected of them when we taught our lessons.
We talked about the four important rivers of Virginia and discussed important features and their locations. It was neat to see the students take interest in the topic and discuss which rivers they had lived by or been to. I think the fact they could relate to the topic made it go over very well with the students. We then had the students label a blank map of Virginia with the regions divided. We had them trace the path of the rivers and label each of them. We also taught them a mnemonic device for remembering the rivers and their order through the state.
All in all I think the tempo and length of the lessons are going quite smoothly now.
We talked about the four important rivers of Virginia and discussed important features and their locations. It was neat to see the students take interest in the topic and discuss which rivers they had lived by or been to. I think the fact they could relate to the topic made it go over very well with the students. We then had the students label a blank map of Virginia with the regions divided. We had them trace the path of the rivers and label each of them. We also taught them a mnemonic device for remembering the rivers and their order through the state.
All in all I think the tempo and length of the lessons are going quite smoothly now.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Second Lesson
The second lesson went much more smoothly. The students did not have any lingering problems from recess, so they were all much more focused on the task ahead of them and ready to learn. They still were energetic and I found that it is usually the same few students that need assistance staying on task. We gave the students a packet that would begin what we called their "Virgina Journal" which included a chart that they could fill information for each region we would learn about. We also had a sheet that reiterated some difficult but important concepts that the students had to go over with each other. As the lesson progressed there were much less interruptions; however, some of the students were not doing anything at all so we had to be vigilant to encourage the students and make sure they were writing information down that they would need later. From this experience I also learned that students in the 4th grade do not fully understand the concept of why we take notes and how to do it. We spent awhile further explaining why we were taking notes and what information would be useful to right down. I had thought that it was clear from the way the information was organized, but it showed that some things like note taking we take for granted as we get older.
This lesson proved to be a good length as opposed to the last lesson. We were able to cover all the information we had set out to and have a discussion after the fact about some of the terms and areas we talked about. This was a good opportunity to get a gauge of how well the students were understanding the information.
This lesson proved to be a good length as opposed to the last lesson. We were able to cover all the information we had set out to and have a discussion after the fact about some of the terms and areas we talked about. This was a good opportunity to get a gauge of how well the students were understanding the information.
First Lesson
The first lesson we taught was on March 21st. Due to the responses we received on the pre-assessment we had administered, we decided that the first day we would focus on Virginia and its bordering states for a whole lesson. The students had shown little knowledge about this topic, so we thought this would be a good starting point.
We arrived early to make copies and got to spend some time with the kids while they were on recess. It was the first lesson we taught that I realized the block of time we would be teaching may be a difficult one for the students to maintain their focus. We taught in a 45 minute block that was between recess and the end of the day.
We began the lesson and at times it was difficult to keep the students on task. We had given them a map that was very similar to that of their pre-assessment so they could see the knowledge they were building. They were to fill that map out as we went through the lesson and introduced each state. However, there were some issues between students about some problems that had happened on recess and some of the students had to leave to speak to Mrs. S during the lesson. Also the students were very excited to leave so it was difficult to keep them on task. We also underestimated the length it would take for the students to acquire and practice the information.
This lesson definitely helped us practice our skills at getting the students focused and staying on task. We also learned that the students, though they had no prior knowledge, were capable of acquiring more information than we originally thought.
We arrived early to make copies and got to spend some time with the kids while they were on recess. It was the first lesson we taught that I realized the block of time we would be teaching may be a difficult one for the students to maintain their focus. We taught in a 45 minute block that was between recess and the end of the day.
We began the lesson and at times it was difficult to keep the students on task. We had given them a map that was very similar to that of their pre-assessment so they could see the knowledge they were building. They were to fill that map out as we went through the lesson and introduced each state. However, there were some issues between students about some problems that had happened on recess and some of the students had to leave to speak to Mrs. S during the lesson. Also the students were very excited to leave so it was difficult to keep them on task. We also underestimated the length it would take for the students to acquire and practice the information.
This lesson definitely helped us practice our skills at getting the students focused and staying on task. We also learned that the students, though they had no prior knowledge, were capable of acquiring more information than we originally thought.
Preassesment
The pre-assessment was an interesting experience. We wanted to keep the tasks simple and avoid multiple choice questions to get a full scope of what the children actually know, not how good they are at guessing. Janelle, Ms S, and I were all very clear when handing out the task to reassure the kids that this was just to see what they knew and would not be graded. They had received pre-assessments before and seem to understand the concept. However, once we passed them out the kids started to freak out. Many of them quickly became frustrated and could only answer one of the questions and some could not answer any of them. It caused quite an uproar with many of the kids. Even on parts that we thought would be somewhat simple, such as labeling Virginia on a map of Virginia and its five surrounding states, many students were unable to complete.
One thing I learned from this is despite knowing that an assignment is going to be graded students can become frustrated easily. We asked the teacher about whether or not our task was too difficult. She informed us that 4th grade is when the students begin to learn about Virginia and the US and that many of the students had no prior knowledge of any of the topics we were to cover. So one big piece of information we learned from the pre-assessment was that we had our work cut out for us. We would be working with little prior knowledge and had a lot of new knowledge to build.
One thing I learned from this is despite knowing that an assignment is going to be graded students can become frustrated easily. We asked the teacher about whether or not our task was too difficult. She informed us that 4th grade is when the students begin to learn about Virginia and the US and that many of the students had no prior knowledge of any of the topics we were to cover. So one big piece of information we learned from the pre-assessment was that we had our work cut out for us. We would be working with little prior knowledge and had a lot of new knowledge to build.
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