Sarah Hirsch

TLS 417 Spring 16

Reflection Paper

This was the first formal science lesson that I had taught in my placement classroom.

Overall I feel that it went well since my students were engaged and involved throughout the

entire lesson. I feel that I was able to control the speed of my language effectively and made

sure to check for understanding multiple times throughout the entire lesson so that any confusion

could be cleared up when it occurred. I made sure when introducing the lesson to show them

hands on examples of the vocabulary we were discussing. I tried to group the students in the

most effective configurations for all of my students. My mentor teacher assisted me with

configuring the students in the groups so that all would be appropriately supported.

The main activity of the lesson went really well due to the hands on aspect of the entire

experiment and all because of the group configurations. The students were able to get assistance

and support others within their table and this collaboration of ideas really strengthened their

understanding. Throughout the exploration of different solids, I was walking around and taking

notes on questions asked and methods used to explore an object. I was assessing the students by

asking them questions about the materials they were interacting with. I also provided support

with the recording sheet or any ideas of how to explore a certain object. I also assisted with

explaining key vocabulary that they may have forgotten the meaning of.

The closure went well, I thought, because all of the students were actively able to

participate in the discussion we were having about the properties of solids. All of the students

were able to contribute a vocabulary word for the properties of solids word bank that we were

creating for the classroom.

Based off of my mentors evaluation of this lesson and my own feelings of this lesson, I

would say my strength within this class would be creating engaging lesson, providing

appropriate hands on materials, and classroom management abilities. I would like to improve on
Sarah Hirsch
TLS 417 Spring 16
Reflection Paper

my ability to model for the other students how they can collaborate and support each other

during their exploration. Most of the students are already doing this, but some students could use

some more support in developing this skill. Another thing I would do differently is to go further

in depth of the explanation of the recording sheet they were using. Most students understood the

recording sheet and how to use it and were able to assist each other if needed, but some were

confused on how to use it. Next time, I would like to make a large scale version of the

worksheet or use the document camera and do one of the materials together so I can better check

for complete understanding of what they are to do in the lesson. Overall I feel that this lesson

was a success since my students are still using the vocabulary learned today.