Running head: Lesson Reflection 1

Lesson Reflection

Calago Hipps

Johns Hopkins University

Lesson Reflection 2

One of the components of Sheltered Instructional Observation Protocol (SIOP) related to

teacher preparation and was the main focus when my culturally responsive lesson was put

together. When creating the lesson, it was important to remember the students who were ELLs as

well as exceptional learning students.

Taking this into consideration, the lesson has several activities that require students to use

technology. A classroom accommodation that ensures all scholars have equal opportunity to

complete the task is student seating. Students are seated at desks inverted in a V-shape so that

they are facing their partner. The intentional directions of the desks allow ELLs as well as

students with exceptional learning students to utilize a partner who has a particular strength that

will best to support them. For instance, if a student is struggling to locate an unknown word in

the dictionary, their partner will be better positioned to help them navigate their resource.

The V-shape also encourages conversation which is an integral part of the lessons chosen

ELPS. Being mindful of the diverse languages within the class, ELLs will be paired with

someone who is more proficient in English than they are so they can hear the language spoken

fluently. This will support their acquisition during the shared reading of the story as well as the

discussion they will have around their comprehension.

Additionally, there is a heavy focus on technology use in the lesson so that students have

different modes through which they interact with the material. One modification, in particular,

projecting Kahoot answers in Spanish, takes into account the different levels of English

proficiency in the classroom. Displaying the answers in some students primary language allows

them to still engage with the content during team activities and does not alienate them because of

the language barrier.

Lesson Reflection 3

The Mentimeter survey at the beginning of the lesson is another tool that allows students

who normally shy away from participating to join their peers. The chosen survey question was

posed to have students think about how they view themselves and their ethnic identity. Since

some students may have found it difficult to express their answer in a large group, the

Mentimeter software allows their answers to be anonymous. The anonymity of the answers

allows students who struggle with grammar or putting their thoughts on paper to use the

technology they know best in a low-risk setting.

Although the inclusion of technology and intentional student seating address some of the

needed teaching modifications there are a few places, the lesson could have been stronger. The

lesson was lacking a clear language objective, and that could negatively impact student learning.

There also needs to be additional times through the lesson for the class to utilize the seating set-

up. Though there are a few activities that require partners to talk and interact, the tasks

themselves are lower level and could risk being strictly surface level discussion.