Sydney Teal 1 TWS 8 Reflections, Self-Evaluation and Professional Development Section 1: Whole Class A and B: My first lesson that

I taught was a Science curriculum lesson on differences in a particular type of plant. This lesson was developmentally appropriate for all students in my class. From the lesson assessment I saw knowledge gain in every student. My instructional decisions impacted the whole class in a positive way. I taught the lesson in whole group, and then dismissed them to individually do their assessment. The entire lesson the whole class was engaged. I introduced the lesson with The Pumpkin Book By Gail Gibbons. They were all amazed at the different types of pumpkins. They were especially engaged when I brought out all of the different types of pumpkins for them to pass around and observe. The one thing that I would change from this lesson would be my during assessment/activity. I called on students to give me a characteristic of a pumpkin that we saw while reading our story, or passing around our pumpkins. I only wrote the word they told me. I believe that if I drew a picture with it, it would have helped them visualize the differences even better. My second lesson was a Mathematics lesson on positional phrases. The lesson content was appropriate for all students. The positional phrases that we learned were above, below, beside, in front of, behind, and next to. While discussing my lesson options with my cooperating teacher, I wanted to do something that was completely new to them. That is why I chose positional phrases. This lesson had the smoothest transition and the most cooperation out of all of my lessons. My instructional decisions affected my students in a positive way. The whole instruction was done as a whole group until I gave the assessment. The assessment was done in small groups at the back of the room while others were in their learning stations. I like to teach to a whole group for my lessons, because I like for students to be able to interact with their peers for their answers, to be able to discuss questions, and to be able to see that someone may think just like they do. The most influential part of my lesson was when the students were able to reenact the story about positional phrases as a class. They enjoyed this so much and were so engaged. If I could go back and change one thing it would be to have the actual characters from the story for them to use to reenact with. This idea was last minutes go with the flow decision, so I only had shapes to use. My third lesson that I taught was a Science based lesson on predicting if an object would sink or float based on certain characteristics. This lesson's content was appropriate for all students, except one portion of the assessment. It affected one student due to the fact that he did not know his letters. This lessons instructional process was all whole group and small group. This lesson was also very tactile. The students were able to interact with the objects and the water on their own. ASs a class we predicted on each object, and tested them by placing them in the water and documenting what happened. Then for their post assessment, they each got to place an object into the water after making their own prediction. During this lesson my layout of the small groups allowed me to be observant of all students. I did have to

Sydney Teal 2 assist with multiple students, and my cooperating teacher acted as my assistant and helped out. From the information that I collected, if I could go back and change something from this lesson it would be the instruction that I gave out about their post assessment. Even though I made it identical to the activity that we did as a whole class, I forgot to go into deep detail on how to circle if their prediction was right or not by circling yes or no. If I would of elaborated more on that, I feel that the small groups would of went a lot smoother. It was a little crazy because they were not sure on which one to circle until I explained it a few more times. I could have also modeled it for them. My fourth lesson that I did was an ELA on retelling of events from a story. This lesson was my favorite lesson out of the five lessons that I taught. The instructional decisions made for this lesson was to teach the lesson as a whole group, then dismiss them to their seats for them to do their post assessment individually. This lesson was so enjoyable and engaging. The students were reciting the story with me during certain parts, and they were enjoying the illustrations of the story; which was I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie. After reading each page, I also had them predict what she was going to eat to keep them interested in what was happening. As I read I made sure to go over each object she ate, so that they would get to hear the order of events multiple times. After finishing the story we put the objects in the old lady's stomach as a class. I went over each picture before passing them out, and then passed them out to different students to have them come up and place them on the felt board (the old lady's stomach). I asked them to raise their hand if they could tell me what went first, second, third, etc. If they got stuck, I started off from the beginning, which helped them figure out what was next. After doing this a few times, I dismissed them to do their post assessment. In total there were 9 different objects to retell in order. I felt that was a lot, so I left the felt board up as a resource for them to use if they needed it. My cooperating teacher told me that I acted correctly to that situation. If I could go back and change a portion of the lesson it would be to make up a song that would help them remember the order of the objects, and to sing it at the beginning of the week so they would know it by the time of the lesson. My fifth and final lesson was a Social Studies lesson on the significance of the American Flag. Thinking back, this lesson would be considered another favorite lesson that I taught. Teaching such an essential lesson, and seeing the children make a connection to the lesson was delightful. My instructional decisions were positive during this lesson. I feel that I grasped their attention from the beginning, and held it out until the end. I started this lesson off with describing the flag, to see if they could all point it out to me in the classroom. I did something similar for their preassessment. After discussing the flag, we read F is For Flag. This story went into detail about the characteristics of the flag, why it is important, and how we should act when we see the flag. The during assessment was the making of a chart that broke down the parts of the flag. (7 red stripes, 6 white stripes = 13 stripes for the 13 original states, and 50 white stars for the 50 states). This was the most beneficial part describing the characteristics of the flag. Before dismissing them to do their post assessment in small groups, we recited the Pledge of Allegiance, and practiced on the correct stance. Their post assessment was a booklet that they got to fill in

Sydney Teal 3 about the flag, which the information came exactly from the chart that we filled out together as a class. The entire lesson went wonderfully. If I could go back and change a part of this lesson it would be to incorporate the smart board, and show them a video/pictures of different locations that we can see the American Flag. Section 2: Three Individual Students A. My most successful student was Sanai Burris. I believe that the reason she was the highest student was because she was an observant student, and she simply enjoyed learning something new. During each lesson that I did, or any lesson that I saw my cooperating teacher do she was always focused in on what was being taught. Her eyes were always on me, and paying attention to what was being said. She was always very interactive, and raising her hand to answer questions. She raised her hand to let me know that she knew the answer, but her personality is extremely shy. She would quietly say the answer, and at times I could barely hear her. Despite the shyness, she is a bright student. She always met each objective successfully. She was always an early finisher, which entitled her to do extra work on that assessment. She was able to follow instruction, and transitioned well from one activity to another. She is on the highest reading level, and is one of the only students who can add 0 and 1 to any number to get the sum. B. My least successful student was Cason Anderson. I believe that his lack of accomplishments is due to the fact that he did not attend any form of pre-school, he has a speech delay, and he has an LD. Cason was also in my reading group as the lowest reader in the class. When I first started working with him he did not know a single letter in his name. After working with him for a few weeks, he finally mastered his name, and was able to move on to other letters. He struggles in areas that involve reading and writing, but does very well with hands on activities in math. While preparing for a lesson, I tried to always keep Cason in mind. I always incorporated some type of hands on learning experience, not just for him but also for everyone. I feel that learning with your body's senses helps your brain remember information. To better him as an individual, I would go back and make an assessment that was different for him, or allow him to work one on one with me for every assessment. When I say a different type of assessment, I mean more tactile so that he could show me visually. C. My average student in performance was Jarquise. I believe that he was the average performer, because he had good background knowledge for the content, but he had a hard time focusing during lessons. He is a very outgoing student, and always wants to be the first one with his hand up even if he has not heard the entire question. He is very eager, and full of excitement. He does let his excitement take over, and I feel this is where he loses his train of thought. He is always willing to help others as well. He puts forth a lot of effort, and most of the time it does pay off. Each lesson I always had to remind him to refocus, and get back to work. He had to be reminded to stop and think before yelling out an answer, and to always raise his hand. This is where I believe his excitement interferes with his learning ability. One thing that I believe would help Jarquise would to be able to get out a little of his

Sydney Teal 4 excitement. Before each lesson I could of done some type of movement to get all of their wiggles out, to help them all focus more on the content that was about to be taught. Section 3: Reflection on additional 2-4 lessons Lesson 1: How are pumpkins different? o What instructional decisions did I make before and during the lesson and why? I chose to instruct this lesson as a whole group. This allowed everyone to be active during the lesson, and to hear everyone discuss the characteristics of the different pumpkins that were observed. o Based upon student performance, discuss the instructional decisions for the nest or future lessons. This lesson was developmentally appropriate for all students in my classroom. Based on the success of the instructional decisions from this lesson, I plan to instruct the next lesson the same way. o How did you engage or motivate the students successfully? I kept my students engaged by having fun useful information, and hands on activities. We got into a circle and passed around 5 different types of pumpkins. o What instructional mode(s) was employed? I presented this lesson as whole group instruction, and then used individual instruction for the post assessment. For any student who needed assistance, I gave them that one on one time. o How effectively did you sue instructional aids, i.e., whiteboard, video, calculators, manipulative, computer, etc.? I had intended on using technology during this lesson. However, it did not go as it had planned. My flash drive went missing, so I had to move on to the next part of my lesson, which was the observation of the different pumpkins. I used real pumpkins as a manipulative, and the students used their crayons to draw and color their pumpkins. o Were the students actively or passively involved? How so? All of my students were actively involved during this lesson. They were answering and asking questions about the text, they were curious on how many other pumpkins were different, and they got very excited when I brought out the different pumpkins for us to pass around. o How effective were the materials and resources you selected for the lesson? I feel that the materials (pumpkins) and resources (book) that I used for this lesson was effective. I feel that each student left with knowledge that not all pumpkins are the same. There are many different sizes, colors, and textures of pumpkins. o Were you able to or could you (in the future) relate the lesson content to the lives of the student? The students could relate to this lesson by seeing that as a class everyone in there is different. There is not one person who is the same, but they are all considered people. This lesson also relates to other plants, and animals.

Sydney Teal 5 o Describe any discipline or classroom management techniques used during the lesson. Were these techniques effective of would you imply a different technique the next time? This being my first lesson I believe my classroom management was under control. The only time I had to remind them to use their inside voice was when I got out the pumpkins. I was expecting them to be excited about this though. I only had to remind them once, and everything was under control. o Reflect on your interaction with the students. Would you describe your treatment of the students as being fair, respectful, and ethical? How so? At all times my interaction with my students was fair, respectful, and ethical. I always allowed each student to have an opportunity to answer questions, and be active during the lesson. o Were you able to summarize the lesson and relate it to the following lesson or homework assignment? The lesson objective matched the lesson assessment. This lesson was an opening lesson for the upcoming unit on pumpkins. o Was your estimated time allocation for this lesson as noted in you lesson plan accurate? If your time varied, what factors contributed to this variance? I came out short on my estimated time. It being my first lesson, I went at a fast pace. I wish that I would of slowed down and enjoyed my first lesson more than what I did. Lesson 2: Positional Phrases o What instructional decisions did I make before and during the lesson and why? This lesson was instructed in whole group and finished in small group with assessments. From observing my cooperating teacher I saw that implementing new material is best instructed this way. o Based upon student performance, discuss the instructional decisions for the nest or future lessons. This lesson went extremely well. It had great transition, and everyone stayed engaged. According to the assessments, everyone did great on this lesson. They all were able to relocate shapes according to the position that I told them to move it to. Based off this lesson and the previous lesson, I will continue to instruct lessons in whole group and assess them in small groups or individually. o How did you engage or motivate the students successfully? The main source of engagement was the reenactment of the story that I read to them. They had such a good time doing this. They got to take turns picking someone to be the pumpkin, and to be the tractor. o What instructional mode(s) was employed? The instructional modes that were used during this lesson were whole group instruction and small group instruction. o How effectively did you sue instructional aids, i.e., whiteboard, video, calculators, manipulative, computer, etc.? I used the smart board to read them a book that I created. They thought that it was so cool that I wrote a book and it was on the smart board. The other materials were pre-cut triangles, squares, circles, rectangles, and hexagons.

Sydney Teal 6 o Were the students actively or passively involved? How so? All students were actively involved during this lesson. Each one got to participate in the activity of reenacting the story. They also were excited to be making a scarecrow to take home for their parents. o How effective were the materials and resources you selected for the lesson? The materials that I used were effective because they were shapes that they were familiar with. They knew the shape by name, which made the assessment easier for them. The story that I used was very entertaining and engaging. o Were you able to or could you (in the future) relate the lesson content to the lives of the student? This lesson could be related to describing things in the environment. o Describe any discipline or classroom management techniques used during the lesson. Were these techniques effective of would you imply a different technique the next time? Again, this class transitions well. During this lesson I did not have to get on them at all during the whole group discussion. There was one group that I had to remind them to focus while they were doing their post assessments. o Reflect on your interaction with the students. Would you describe your treatment of the students as being fair, respectful, and ethical? How so? At all times my interaction with my students was fair, respectful, and ethical. I always allowed each student to have an opportunity to answer questions, and be active during the lesson. o Were you able to summarize the lesson and relate it to the following lesson or homework assignment? This lesson only related back to previous knowledge of the shapes. It was done with no intentions of relating to any other lessons. o Was your estimated time allocation for this lesson as noted in you lesson plan accurate? If your time varied, what factors contributed to this variance? I met the time that I had estimated for each portion of the lesson.

Lesson 3: Sink or Float? o What instructional decisions did I make before and during the lesson and why? This lesson was instructed in whole group and finished in small group with assessments. From observing my cooperating teacher I saw that implementing new material is best instructed this way. o Based upon student performance, discuss the instructional decisions for the nest or future lessons. My instructional decisions would be done differently if I could go back and re-teach this lesson. I would give more instruction on the post assessment. I thought that since it was identical to the activity that we did as a group that they would be able to do it easily. There was some confusion during the post assessment activity.

Sydney Teal 7 o How did you engage or motivate the students successfully? The students were engaged from the beginning with the story. They were on their toes predicting what was going to happen next. Once they found out we were going to be working with water, they all stayed motivated to do their work. o What instructional mode(s) was employed? This lesson was taught in whole group to begin with, and then finished up in small groups of 4 and 5 to complete their post assessment. o How effectively did you sue instructional aids, i.e., whiteboard, video, calculators, manipulative, computer, etc.? I did not use any source of technology in this lesson. I did use different objects that were made of wood, plastic, metal, paper, cloth, and rubber. These were the objects that got tested. o Were the students actively or passively involved? How so? This lesson received the most excitement. The story that I read grabbed their attention from the beginning. It had them predicting on what was going to happen next. Once they found out we were going to get to test objects in water, they really got excited. They were all predicting what was going to happen, and they all wanted to test more objects. o How effective were the materials and resources you selected for the lesson? The materials that I used were very useful. They were the main objectives of the lesson. o Were you able to or could you (in the future) relate the lesson content to the lives of the student? I related this experience to them swimming in a pool, or getting to play with toys in water. o Describe any discipline or classroom management techniques used during the lesson. Were these techniques effective of would you imply a different technique the next time? This lesson was the lesson that I had to really enforce my classroom management skills. They were all excited, so the noise level was extremely high. I had to remind them a few times to focus on our activity, and to show me their eyes once they were finished. o Reflect on your interaction with the students. Would you describe your treatment of the students as being fair, respectful, and ethical? How so? o Were you able to summarize the lesson and relate it to the following lesson or homework assignment? At all times my interaction with my students was fair, respectful, and ethical. I always allowed each student to have an opportunity to answer questions, and be active during the lesson. o Was your estimated time allocation for this lesson as noted in you lesson plan accurate? If your time varied, what factors contributed to this variance? This lesson took longer than what I had expected. Having to test each object, and then having them in groups testing objects on their own took a long time. I had to keep stopping to assist students who needed help. It lasted about 45 minutes, when I had planned on it lasting 30. Lesson 4: Retelling of Events

Sydney Teal 8 o What instructional decisions did I make before and during the lesson and why? I introduced this lesson as whole group, and finished with them working individually on their post assessments. o Based upon student performance, discuss the instructional decisions for the nest or future lessons. This lesson went extremely well. It had great transition, and everyone stayed engaged. According to the assessments, everyone did great on this lesson. They all ordered the objects in the correct order that they little old swallowed them. Based off this lesson and the previous lesson, I will continue to instruct lessons in whole group and assess them in small groups or individually. o How did you engage or motivate the students successfully? The lesson itself kept the students engaged. They loved the big drawing of the little old lady. Also, them being able to have their own card and come up to place it in her stomach kept them motivated. o What instructional mode(s) was employed? The instructional modes that were employed were whole group instruction and individual assessment. o How effectively did you sue instructional aids, i.e., whiteboard, video, calculators, manipulative, computer, etc.? I did not use any technology in this lesson. o Were the students actively or passively involved? How so? The way the students were actively involved was during the activity of retelling the events as a whole group. Each student was able to interact during the activity. o How effective were the materials and resources you selected for the lesson? The resource that I used was the book. The students loved the story, and started to tell the story as I read it when it came to parts that were repetitive. The materials used were felt cards with the pictures of the objects that the lady ate, a felt board, then their assessment, which was identical to the activity. o Were you able to or could you (in the future) relate the lesson content to the lives of the student? It could be related to how we think back to things we did on another day, and the order of that day. o Describe any discipline or classroom management techniques used during the lesson. Were these techniques effective of would you imply a different technique the next time? I did not have to use any form of discipline during this lesson. I did have to remind two students to not talk while we were on the carpet unless they were talking to me. o Reflect on your interaction with the students. Would you describe your treatment of the students as being fair, respectful, and ethical? How so? At all times my interaction with my students was fair, respectful, and ethical. I always allowed each student to have an opportunity to answer questions, and be active during the lesson. o Were you able to summarize the lesson and relate it to the following lesson or homework assignment? I was not able to relate this to a following lesson.

Sydney Teal 9 o Was your estimated time allocation for this lesson as noted in you lesson plan accurate? If your time varied, what factors contributed to this variance? I met the time that I had estimated to use.

Lesson 5: The Importance of the American Flag o What instructional decisions did I make before and during the lesson and why? I introduced this lesson as whole group, and then moved to small groups to finish their assessment. o Based upon student performance, discuss the instructional decisions for the nest or future lessons. This lesson went tremendously well. It had great transition, and everyone stayed engaged. According to the assessments, everyone did great on this lesson. They all remembered the information that we covered, and if they could not remember it they knew where to find their answer. Based off this lesson and the previous lesson, I will continue to instruct lessons in whole group and assess them in small groups or individually. o How did you engage or motivate the students successfully? I grasped the students attention by telling them we were going to play a game of eye spy. Once I told them that their attention was mine. o What instructional mode(s) was employed? I used whole group and small group instruction. o How effectively did you sue instructional aids, i.e., whiteboard, video, calculators, manipulative, computer, etc.? I did not use any form of technology. o Were the students actively or passively involved? How so? Students were actively engaged throughout the entire lesson. This lesson activity did not have them doing anything but giving me information. Even though it was just that, they were still answering each question with enthusiasm. o How effective were the materials and resources you selected for the lesson? The only material that I used was the American Flag. It was the main purpose of the lesson; therefor it acted a big part in their assessment. The resource that I used was the book F is For Flag. This book was very informational. o Were you able to or could you (in the future) relate the lesson content to the lives of the student? This lesson was related to why we say the pledge, and the importance it has in our lives. o Describe any discipline or classroom management techniques used during the lesson. Were these techniques effective of would you imply a different technique the next time? This lesson the students had the best behavior out of any lesson. I did not have to use any form of discipline.

Sydney Teal 10 o Reflect on your interaction with the students. Would you describe your treatment of the students as being fair, respectful, and ethical? How so? At all times my interaction with my students was fair, respectful, and ethical. I always allowed each student to have an opportunity to answer questions, and be active during the lesson. o Were you able to summarize the lesson and relate it to the following lesson or homework assignment? This lesson was not related to another lesson. o Was your estimated time allocation for this lesson as noted in you lesson plan accurate? If your time varied, what factors contributed to this variance? This lesson met the time that I had intended it to meet. Section 4: Reflection for Professional Development Over the course of this semester, I have noticed a change in me that I did not have at day one this semester. I have more confidence than I have ever had in a classroom. I also notice areas that I need to improve on. I need to improve on following up a warning with punishments, not another warning. o I need to remember to not to give more than one warning. If I give them a warning, follow up that warning with the punishment. Near the end of the semester I noticed myself enforcing this with some students. If I threatened them once, the next was punishment. Not another warning. o I need to remember that if I just give warnings all the time, they are going to see it, as they do not get punished. They will begin to act up more, due to the fact they will not get punished. Another improvement I would like to make is to improve on my assessing. I feel like I had good assessments, because they presented me with what I needed to know. I just believe that they could be improved. o I plan on meeting this improvement next semester by researching more assessment strategies over winter break. o Another way to improve in this area is to talk more with my cooperating teacher and her co-workers who have been teaching for many years. I want to always learn more and better ways that will help me improve.