Kathleen Cooney Dr. Wilson Education 353 Complete Teaching Episode 1. Lesson Plan Literacy Lesson Plan 2.

Observation Partners Report Kathleen began her lesson a little nervous. er voice !as hesitant and "uiet. #et a$ter she introduced and clearly stated the ob%ectives o$ the lesson& she started to rela'. The energy o$ the students contributed to her ability to easily engage the students in the lesson. The students really en%oyed !hen she turned o$$ the lights and had them close their eyes. Kathleen has a smooth voice that students respond to positively. Kathleen also !as success$ul in including all students in the grand conversation about story structure. (he did have trouble !ith students that acted out& and tended to overloo) their behavior instead o$ address it. o!ever& in the middle o$ the lesson she did tell one o$ the students that his behavior !as distracting and his participation !ould help the class. The student paid attention $or the remainder o$ the lesson. Kathleen*s bubbly personality encouraged the students to have $un !hile learning. This is an e'tremely important strength that Kathleen possesses. (tudents seemed to understand the purpose o$ the graphic organi+er and !or)ed "uietly and independently. Kathleen also !as able to ans!er any "uestions the students had. (tudents also en%oyed sel$,assessing their !or). Kathleen $re"uently moved around and as)ed students "uestions !hile they !ere !or)ing. The lesson !as e$$ective because students !ere allo!ed to e'press themselves orally through group and partner discussion and through !riting. (tudents also had time to discuss !ith partners and the class as a !hole. This encourages higher,order thin)ing. The lesson could be improved by more time spent in the beginning o$ the class revie!ing !hat the class already )ne!. This !ould ma)e it possible $or Kathleen to advance the lesson $or some students such as having them complete a graphic organi+er and then !rite a small narrative. -verall the lesson !as highly e$$ective and students !ere engaged and motivated to learn. .lso& Kathleen demonstrated that she !as prepared $or the lesson through her organi+ation o$ materials and $lo! o$ the lesson. (he also promoted respect among students by modeling the appropriate !ay to e'press onesel$. 3. Self-reflection (tudents !ere very e'cited that / !as teaching the class. The teacher has instilled a love o$ learning in her students* hearts& !hich allo!ed me to easily have the attention and $ocus o$ the students. They !ere eager to listen to !hat / had to say and patient !ith me !hen / stuttered on my !ords. The students also ans!ered the %ournal responses to the best o$ their abilities and participated in the Thin),Pair,(hare. .lso they ans!ered the "uestions above and beyond my e'pectations. 0or e'ample& during Thin),Pair,(hare their responses about a time !hen they did something they thought they couldn*t do !ere detailed and very speci$ic. -ne student replied& 1/ thought / couldn*t be as smart as my older brother& but / got an . on my math test and / )ne! / could.2 / prompted him to go deeper by ho! he got an . on his test. / en%oyed hearing !hat the students shared and many& i$ not all& participated during the lesson !hich helped !ith the $lo! o$ it. During& the grand conversation about story structure / challenged students to use e'amples $rom other boo)s about beginning& middle& and end. This encouraged students to activate prior

)no!ledge. .lso my communication !ith the students !as clear and / used language such as larger vocabulary !ords& li)e 1diligent2. / !ould as) students i$ they )ne! the de$inition o$ the !ord / said. This helped me develop a rapport !ith the students because they !ere interested in !hat / had to say due to my ability to e$$ectively communicate. 3y ob%ectives !ere clear and $ocused. 3y corresponding teacher starts a lesson by identi$ying the W.LT& !hich means We .re Learning To. There$ore / !rote the W.LT on the board and identi$ied that 1W.LT use se"uencing !ords in order to complete a graphic organi+er.2 The class had previously been introduced to the se"uencing !ords. #et my ob%ective !as to help them $urther organi+e their !riting pieces by using a graphic organi+er be$ore !riting their narrative. .lso& / !anted to ensure that students understood the importance o$ se"uencing !ords. This !as achieved !hen students responded in their Literacy 4ournals to the prompt at the end o$ class. (tudents demonstrated the essential s)ill o$ se"uencing by completing graphic organi+ers. .lso the grand conversation helped students develop an understanding o$ the importance o$ se"uencing. The class gave many e'amples about beginning& middle& and end. They !ere ably to do so because / prompted their thin)ing during the set,induction. / as)ed "uestions using speci$ic se"uencing !ords so that students !ould begin using the terms. .lso& this allo!ed students to ma)e a connection !ith their personal e'periences to !hat they !ere learning. / modeled the literacy strategy by completing a graphic organi+er on the overhead pro%ector. / had students pay attention as / said my thoughts aloud about the beginning& middle& and end o$ a time / did something / thought / couldn*t do. There$ore& / as)ed "uestions li)e& 1 o! !ere my $eelings di$$erent in the end $rom the beginning52 / modeled the speci$ic terms students should use !hen completing their graphic organi+er. (tudents applied the strategy by completing their o!n graphic organi+er. / continued to prompt students !ith "uestions about the order o$ events o$ their narrative !hile they !ere !or)ing. / !ould as) "uestions li)e& 1.t the end& ho! did you $eel di$$erent $rom the beginning52 This encourages higher,order thin)ing and also helps students develop their !riting by adding detail and emotion. / !ould li)e spend more time having students tal) about their narratives !ith a partner. This !ill allo! the grand conversation to have more depth. (tudents can then discuss !ith the entire class their idea $or a narrative& and / can encourage them to use the )ey se"uencing !ords. This helps students develop their ideas& and also promotes classroom community !ith the class helping each other to develop their !riting. / !ould also have li)ed to provide more opportunity $or above,grade learners to develop their narrative. The graphic organi+er could be di$$erentiated that above,grade students must include $ive sentences $or each part. Whereas belo!,grade learners can use $e!er sentences and phrases to record their ideas.

6. Identification of your learning This teaching episode has incited the $ire that has been stirring since / !as a young girl. /n my past education classes& !e have prepared lesson plans and carried them out !ith the involvement o$ our peers. (ince our peers already )no! the in$ormation it can be di$$icult to )no! i$ the lesson plan !as success$ul. Thus the emphasis& !hen !or)ing !ith peers& !as placed on the se"uence o$ the lesson and i$ the ob%ectives !ere conveyed to the students. o!ever&

teaching !ith actual students and being responsible $or ensuring that they are developing necessary s)ills $or reading !as a large responsibility. The main challenge !as ma)ing sure that these children !ould actually learn something a$ter the lesson !as completed and that the ob%ectives !ere met and applied. The preparation stages allo!ed me to understand that tal)ing !ith others& in this case my partner and corresponding teacher& is essential in order to develop an e$$ective lesson. 3eeting !ith my teacher allo!ed me to understand the learning levels and needs o$ the students / !ould be !or)ing !ith. (ince attending to the students* needs is a vital part o$ teaching a lesson& the pre,planning stage !as very use$ul. 3y teacher discussed the learning patterns o$ the students. This allo!ed me to ensure that my lesson !ould attend to their learning needs accordingly. (ince / had also been in the classroom $or several !ee)s& / !as starting to see ho! students !or)ed together. .lthough& i$ it !as my o!n classroom / !ould have an even better understanding o$ the students. . large di$$erence bet!een teaching lessons to my peers as opposed to a class o$ students& is that / can see ho! !hat they are learning $its into the curriculum. There$ore& since students !ere learning about di$$erent comprehension strategies !hile reading& / used in$ormation previously learned in other lessons to ma)e the lesson more e$$icient and $luent. /t is important $or students to see a connection bet!een !hat they are learning. This integration o$ learning plays a important role in the e$$ectiveness o$ a lesson. (tudents are more !illing and e'cited to learn !hen they see a purpose in !hat they are learning. (ince / had )no!ledge o$ the children*s learning styles and the content the students !ere learning through the pre,planning stage& the planning and preparation stages !ere easier to carry out. / !as able to use my in$ormation gained through observations and meeting !ith my corresponding teacher to !rite an e$$ective lesson plan. 3y corresponding teacher played a signi$icant role in aiding me in !riting the lesson plan. .lso& meeting !ith my partner to discuss the lesson plan !as help$ul because !e could both tal) about our !orries and ho! !e could ensure the lesson !ould go smoothly. 3eeting !ith someone !ho understands !hat you are going through& in this case teaching a lesson to a class $or the $irst time& is bene$icial because together you can implement problem,$ocused strategies to ensure that the lesson goes smoothly. These strategies include rea$$irming that !e both )no! !hat !e are doing& and that the students are non,%udgmental to!ards most mista)es. 7ltimately& teaching the lesson !as the most re!arding and en%oyable part. Wor)ing directly !ith students is easier than !or)ing !ith peers. This is due to the $act that the assessments are authentic and / can actually see i$ the children are applying !hat they learned& in this case through the graphic organi+er and %ournal response. .lso& grand conversation and thin), pair,share is much more interesting and helps me develop the !ay / spea) !ith students and engage their minds. The ability to have thought,provo)ing discussions !as e'tremely success$ul. The eagerness o$ the students allo!ed the lesson to go smoothly. .t times& / became nervous o$ time constraints or getting o$$,topic& but !as able to complete the lesson and )eep the discussions relevant. The most challenging part !as )eep students $ocused and trying to attend to all the students* "uestions. The students demonstrated an ama+ing propensity to apply !hat they learned and then re$lect upon it& a strategy most li)ely modeled and implemented by the teacher. Teaching the students has increased my desire to become a teacher. / am motivated to $ocus on my studies and dedicate my time to!ards developing as a student and becoming an e$$ective teacher. 3y determination to be the best teacher / can possibly be is propelled by the eagerness and desire to learn that the students / !or)ed !ith had. / !ish to instill this in all students8 This has al!ays been my philosophy on !hy / !ant to become a teacher. #et a$ter this

e'perience / $irmly believe this $eat is possible and my purpose. / also am beginning to develop speci$ic !ays to ensure that students !ant to learn& such as letting them play a role in their learning process. The students en%oyed being able to assess their o!n !or). This sho!s students that school is not %ust a teacher,centered environment. /nstead& the classroom should be a community and student,centered environment !here children are e'cited and thus e'cel as a result o$ their eagerness and !illingness to learn. / have changed in the $act that / reali+ed that the more the students tal) and discuss their ideas the more they learn. 3y %ob is to model the correct behavior and ne! !ays o$ thin)ing and applying ideas and allo! children to develop and ma)e !hat / teach applicable to their o!n li$e. This is !here real learning occurs& and / am happy to have e'perienced and understood this $irst,hand.