Reflections - Week 1

Tuesday
Maths Groups
Whilst I entered the classroom confident with my lesson plan I was still slightly nervous about this
first lesson of the round. The WALT of the lesson was understanding and measuring perimeter and
I planned three small group activities for the students to extend their knowledge in this area. We
started the class with a whole group activity before dispersing to the small group activities.
During the lesson I was confident with my overall classroom control as I immediately started to
monitor a particular group of boys who were distracted or just losing focus during tasks. As I
roamed around the classroom I was impressed with students mental maths strategies and initiative
to use a calculator if they required. My confidence as a teacher has increased significantly and on
reflection I know that this is very much due to my overseas teaching rounds experience in the Cook
Islands in 2014.
On reflection of this particular lesson I now know that, to cater for all students learning styles,
providing a visual aide such as writing the lesson instructions on the board, will help to keep
students on track throughout the lesson. Although the students say that they understand what to do
I had a lot of
Separating students into different groups to reduce chat and distractions is also something id
implement in future lessons as it could work to reduce the need for me to keep going back to
refocus the group some frequently.
Finally, questions that I asked throughout the lesson helped to reveal the strategies students were
using to measure the perimeter of the various shapes in all the activities planned. I utilised this
knowledge and selected particular students to share their strategies when we spent time reflecting
on the lesson as a whole group at the end.

Wednesday
Maths Groups
As this was my second lesson with the maths group I entered the classroom excited and without
any nerves. Todays lesson focussed on understanding and measuring area and I utilised the same
activities as I had for the permeate lesson on Monday. This was a deliberate choice as I wanted the
students to be able to relate the two concepts, perimeter and area, and understand the differences
in how we measure the two.

We briefly reflected on the perimeter lesson and then discussed the strategies that students
believed would help them measure the area of a rectangle and other similar regular shapes. Prior
knowledge on how to measure area wasnt reflected in this discussion so I showed the students a
simple equation on how to do so.
Students did use calculators to measure are as there were some large multiplication sums to
calculate. Through roaming the classroom and at the conclusion of the lesson it was evident that
students understood how to measure the area of a shape however next lesson we will focus on
the why and how to accurately demonstrate the area of a shape using cm2 and m2.

Reflections - Week 2
Monday
Literacy - Cultural Unit
This was the first lesson of the first week that I had 100% control of 3/4M. I was confident of my
lesson plans however still a bit nervous as to how the students would feel about me being their
teacher for the next two weeks. After reading the literary text, The Moon and the Gecko, and
discussing the text with the class, I felt much more relaxed about the rest of the lesson and the
week ahead.
After explaining the worksheet, Our community, Our country to the students both as a group they
returned to the seats and made a start. Some students werent sure how they could relate the
stories from their own lives in the same way Aboriginal stories travel through generation to
generation. I was surprised to find that a few students were afraid that their stories werent very
good, or because only their grandma and mum had told them the story it wasnt a story worthy of
retelling. I think a misunderstanding arose through the fact that Aboriginal stories have been
passed down through thousands of years and some of the students stories had not. However, after
individual discussions with the students, these fears were overcome and some fantastic stories
started to develop.
Upon reflection of the lesson I would have changed the way in which I explained the task. Some
students struggled to grasp what the worksheet was asking them and what I was asking them to
do. However, after spending time with individual students throughout the class, I felt that I adapted
to the students learning and understanding of the content as the lesson progressed. Next time I will
write the tasks on the board and break them down into terms that the students will understand. I
will ask students to come up and give examples of what they may write for the particular task and
hope that this generates further discussion and understanding amongst the students.

Maths Groups - Elapsed Time

Again I was confident entering the classroom with this group as I worked with them all of last week
in maths and theyre such a great group to work with. This lesson focused on time, in particular the
concept of elapsed time.
Upon reflection of this lesson I know now that although the curriculum state that students who are
at a grade 3-4 level in Maths should know certain concepts; they may not necessarily know them or
remember them from the previous year. I will use this knowledge to ensure I enter the classroom
with a quick revision activity of the basics, before engaging in the lesson.

Wednesday
Inquiry
In a pair, students were required to research a famous Aboriginal identity that i had allocated to
them. I was very happy with the way this lesson progressed and the work that the students
completed was fantastic. Students were engaged, excited to research on the iPads and they
worked exceptionally well in their pairs. I provided some guiding questions to assist their research
and motivated the class with a goal to find at least five interesting facts about their person.

Friday
Upon reflection on the week as a whole Ive thoroughly enjoyed every single day and lesson that I
have taught. The students are engaged and demonstrate exceptional ability and pride in their work.
The quality of work produced by the students has been fantastic and both the narrative story and
mini-research project have been completed by all students; in a published copy. The stories will be
made into a class book for everyone to read and share throughout the week. The mini-reasearch
projects have been displayed in the classroom and will be shared with the class during next week.
My confidence and rapport with the students has developed through the week and I feel like I am
now at home in 3/4M. I am thoroughly looking forward to implementing some new teaching ideas
and strategies next week and hope to make my last week of teaching rounds as successful as ever.