Alexa D'Auria

Formal Lesson 2- Reflection

4/1/15
EDUG 868

I think that my math lesson on measuring eight objects using three different units
of measurement was very successful. I was confident going into the lesson because I
really enjoy math and I knew the students would be very engaged in the hands-on
activity.
I took some brief notes to highlight the important points I needed to mention
while having a discussion with the class in the meeting area. I did a quick review on the
shortest versus longest side of two objects. The students seemed to know that in order to
measure the length of a book, or any object for that matter, with tiles, the tile had to be
lined up next to each other along the long edge of the object. The students also were able
to come up with different ways to say that an object was more or less than a number.
Originally, I was going to list their responses on chart paper, but I realized that modeling
the worksheet that the students would be expected to use would help them become
familiar with filling it out properly. Mrs. Schassler intervened in my lesson when she
heard a higher student mention and a half because she knew he didnt completely
understand that it meant directly in the middle of the unit of measurement. I did not have
a problem with her suggestions because it only improved my lesson and enhanced my
observation skills.
Although I wrote the important phrases on a post-it note and left it on the
projector for the students to see while they were working in their groups, the students in
my lowest group/tier did not seem to fluently use these words. I also provided their table

with a sheet that had all of the terms on it so they could access it better. They were more
likely to round to the nearest whole number, without even realizing it.
Furthermore, I think that the worksheet the class used in the math unit packs was
not differentiated enough. If I was not required to use those worksheets for every single
student in that class, I would have been able to break it down more for my struggling
students. One of the students in Tier one, who is Autistic, was so confused with the size
of the boxes on the page. Even though I instructed his group to circle a unit of
measurement and write the name of the object they wanted to measure in the box, while
pointed to each box, this student at first seemed fixated on measuring each object with all
three units. His visual thought perception was actually at the Tier 3 level/expectation. I
should have allowed him to do what he was comfortable with, but by the time I realized it
he was frustrated with the assignment and needed a break after measuring only three
object lengths. I was happy that he did not have a tantrum and throw the objects or bang
on his desk. Rather, he just moaned and voiced how he felt, which is a goal in his IEP.
Lastly, I was not pleased with how much the students lost their focus during the
closing discussion on the rug. The students rushed to the meeting area when they heard
the song play during the transition. It felt a little chaotic and defeats the purpose of the
timed transition. However, it is a new strategy that the students will get used to over time.
Some of the students did not listen to directions fully because they brought pencils to the
rug. I could tell that some of the students were not even listening to my questions because
they were not looking at their packets to see if they measured that object. I found that the
same students wanted to share. I expected, or planned for, having two students possibly
share that they measure the same object with the same unit of measurement, but got

different answers. Since the students actually got the same answer in this case, I could not
model the correct answer. I was able to have a discussion with the students about why
using different units of measurement for the same object gave you different answers. I
was not sure if I should ask the students for their results on another object so I asked Mrs.
Schassler. I did not realize that she wanted me to move onto the second point of
emphasizing that if two people measured the same object using the same unit that they
would have to get the same measurements. She helped me close the lesson and said that
since the students were so distracted we would probably have to re-discuss this objective
another day. I was not ashamed of this because as a teacher you never know what to
expect. Although this objective was not meant for another lesson, the students proved that
they needed it and it is our responsibility as teachers to accommodate and modify
instruction for them.