"The Giving Tree" Lesson Plain- Self Reflection

1. How did you prepare?

My partner, Maryanne, and I made sure we were well prepared to teach our lesson plan. We scheduled a day to meet at the library so we can get all of the materials we incorporated in our lesson, and so we can review the procedure of the lesson. My partner and I wanted our lesson plan to be as detailed as possible so on the day of the presentation the lesson will be delivered in a well structured, thought out, manner.

2. Explain the objective(s) and assessment measures of your lesson.


“Objective(s):SWBAT to create a leaf project using linking words and phrases (because, therefore, since,) to connect opinions and reasons.

Assessment:
Formative:1.  Teacher will observe the students reactions to the story.
2.  Teacher will ask questions to the students about the story, and the linking words and phrases. (See procedure numbers 4 and 7.)
3.  Teacher will observe the students to make sure they are responding correctly to the writing activity, and to the leaf class work project.
4.  Teachers will circulate around the room while the students are working independently.

Summative:1.     Teachers will use the rubric to assess the leaf class work project.
2.     Students will be graded, and should meet the 4 out of the 5 criteria with a “ (= ”.  If not, the teacher will provide one-on-one assistance to student(s).”

The objective of this lesson plan is to see what the students got out of the story, by having the class create their own leaves, and to name a special person in his/her life who is "giving" to them and explain why. 

3. Was your lesson plan executed as it was written?

My partner and I covered everything in the lesson plan, but not in the exact order as it was written. We had to change the order for certain parts considering the behavioral issues we had to manage throughout the lesson. I do believe that it is easier to just do what you feel as a teacher is the best thing to do when the class is having behavior issues, and sometimes you are going to switch up the lesson as you go along so the class remains focused and well managed. 

4. What was the most important thing you tried to teach your "students"?

The most important thing I tried to teach my "students" was a complete understanding of the objective of the lesson, and classroom management. I wanted my "students" to walk out of the classroom and learn something from the lesson, whether it be the appreciation of a certain person in his/her life, or the understanding of the definition of linking words, and so on. 

5. How do you think it went?

I think the lesson plan went great! My partner and I worked very well together. Working in a Day Care Center in Hoboken for over a year helped me acquire a certain set of skills in classroom management, and I put those skills to work when teaching the lesson. 

6. What did you learn from your students?

I learned a lot from my students. I learned when to listen to a student and when to ignore a student. It is impossible for a teacher to listen to every comment made by his/her students. I learned when to let a comment go and went to pay close attention to a comment. I also learned that students will pay better attention to a teacher when he/she portrays a positive attitude. For example when one of the students were acting up in the classroom I addressed the issue in a positive attitude, and did not have to talk to that student about acting up for the rest of the class. I also learned that a sense of humor is crucial when is comes to teaching. 

7. What would you have done differently?

I would have changed the objectives from two things to one because I feel it is less demanding for both the student and the teacher when there is only one focal point for the class. I thought that my partner and I payed more attention to leaf project objective more than the linking word objective. I would do one lesson plan on linking words first, then do "The Giving Tree" Lesson Plan with the leaf project objective. 

8. How could you have made the lesson even more effective? 

There is always room for improvement when it comes to creating lesson plans. Again, the main thing that I would change to make the lesson more effective was eliminating the linking word part of the objective, and focusing the class in one direction. I learned for future lesson planning that one objective is key.

9. What do you think you need to improve or do differently?

I think I need to improve on becoming more comfortable with my lesson plans. I do not want to have to go back and look at my printed copy to make sure I am getting everything I want into my lesson plan. I need to relax and go with the flow because nobody but myself will know if i actually missed a procedure in the plan. 
In this lesson plan I don't think I would do anything differently except for eliminating the linking word objective. Feel free to suggest ways I could have approached this lesson differently. 

Here is a photo of the finished results of "The Giving Tree" Lesson Plan Leaf project!