Emma Baugher

EDU 208

Weekly Reflection #1

Ohio New Teacher Standard 1: Teachers understand student learning and development, and

respect the diversity of the students they teach.

Element: Teachers understand how and when students develop and gain knowledge, acquire

skills and develop behaviors for learning.

Competency: Field student has used appropriate procedures for questioning and conducting

class discussions.

Reflection: This standard, element, and competency are interconnected because they all relate to

student learning. Since it was the first week in the classroom, I did not actually teach a lesson,

however, I believe that I used this element and competency in the classroom. When we first

arrived, each child came into the room and shook our hands. It was clear that the students were

curious as to who we were and why we were there. Once all of the students arrived, we stood in a

circle and sang the song “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” in English to help the children get

active before they had to focus. After we sang, the teacher created an introductions game on the

spot, where each student said, “I am ______ and I like ______.” After they introduced

themselves, each student had to turn the person next to them and say, “Who are you?” It was

very interesting to hear all of the student’s hobbies and interests. Many of them liked swimming,

horseback riding, and soccer which was surprising to me because those are common American

sports as well. Another aspect I found interesting was observing the student’s English, especially

during the game. Many of the students accidently said, “how are you” instead of “who are you”.

This is probably because they have learned the phrase “how are you” as a greeting and therefore
it made sense to say “how” instead of “who”. This relates to my standard and element because it

displays how the students are developing their knowledge of English and acquiring new skills.

Following introductions, Debbie and I presented the class with the pictures we brought of

our homes and families. The students greatly enjoyed this time and they were very excited to

learn about our home states, our interests, and especially our pets. We both discussed the picture

with the class, then passed the pictures around the room. The teacher had to help us translate

some of our descriptions into German to help the students better understand. The students had

many questions for me and Debbie about our favorite foods, hobbies, families, and hometowns.

This part of the class relates to my competency because Debbie and I were able to direct and

conduct the class discussion through our pictures and descriptions and also ask them questions

and answer their questions effectively. After we showed the pictures, I presented the students

with sea shells I had brought from home and they had the opportunity to feel them and listen for

the ocean. Also, I showed the students a picture of blue crabs because Maryland is known for

their crabs and I brought a can of Old Bay seasoning. This was probably my favorite part of the

class because the students passed around the Old Bay and they smelled and tasted it. It was

extremely interesting to see their reactions to something that is a common occurrence in my life.

Many of the students did not like the spicy taste of the Old Bay, but they enjoyed learning about

something new.

After we presented the students with information from our homes, they sang and danced

to one of their favorite silly songs in German. They also told us about Carnival, a large and

important holiday and celebration in Austrian culture. This gave the students an opportunity to

share something with us that was important to them, which is essential to forming a healthy

relationship with the students. Finally, before we left, Debbie and I explained to the students
about Valentine’s Day and what it means in American culture. We handed out Valentines to all

of the students with American chocolate to expose them to yet another new experience. Overall,

this first day of ELISA was a learning experience for both the students and for me. It is clear that

my standard, element, and competency were present in the classroom through an exchange of

knowledge by class discussion and questions. I am extremely excited to continue to learn, as well

as teach, throughout the semester.

ELISA Reflection #2

Standard: Teachers plan and deliver effective instruction that advances the learning of each

individual student.

Element: 4.4 Teachers apply knowledge of how students think and learn to instructional design

and delivery.

Competency: Field student has facilitated large group play and/or games and rhythms.

Reflection: This standard, element, and competency are all related because they show how

teachers can plan large class activities, while still catering to the needs of their students and using

strategies that apply to how their students learn. I used this in my ELISA classroom this week by

creating a lesson to help students learn English in an active and creative way. Debbie and I

created a lesson around teaching the students the song The Hokey Pokey. We know that our

students enjoy being active in the classroom and they like to sing songs and dance. Therefore, we

made it relatable to how they like to learn, while still teaching them basic English words, such as

right, left, in, out, and basic parts of the body. We also made a poster with the lyrics to The

Hokey Pokey and printed out a copy for each student. This way they can not only hear the words
we are singing, but they can see the words on paper in order to show them spelling and to help

them follow along. After we introduced the name of the song and handed out the lyrics, we

began to teach the song slowly and in chunks so the students could grasp the motions and the

words. After each section, we repeated it together as a group and then tried the dance with the

music. I think both the repetition during teaching, as well as, some repetition during the song

helped the students to learn and grasp the concepts relatively quickly. By the end of the lesson,

the students were doing all the motions correctly and singing along to the music.

One important comment our cooperating teacher made that I found interesting was that in

order for the students to truly learn English, it is helpful for us, as native English speakers, to

pronounce the words for the students. Although the teachers know much English, they may not

pronounce the words the same as we do and therefore, it is helpful for us to say the correct

pronunciation of the words in order for the students to learn the true forms of English. I think this

lesson was a huge success because the students enjoyed learning something new and they had the

opportunity to be active while they were doing it. I enjoyed this lesson immensely and I learned a

lot about team teaching, as well as, about the students and how they learn.

Weekly Reflection #3

Ohio New Teacher Standard 2: Teachers know and understand the content area for which they
have instructional responsibility.

Element: Teachers know the content they teach and use their knowledge of content-area
concepts, assumptions and skills to plan instruction.

Competency: Field student has coordinated and supervised children during an activity.

Reflection: In the classroom this week, Debbie and I planned a lesson with a focus on spring,

specifically spring flowers and birds. Our cooperating teachers asked us to present the students
with a song about spring time that talked about different types of flowers and we found a song

about daffodils. In the song, it also mentioned various types of birds (robin and blue bird). We

were unsure if the students were familiar with these types of birds and therefore we decided to

also teach them about common American birds. At the beginning of our lesson, we taught the

song to the class. First, Debbie and I sang the song for the students in order to demonstrate the

tune. Then, we went through each of the lines of the song showing correct pronunciation of

words and also leading a discussion about unfamiliar words. After going through the entire song

once, we tried to sing it together as a class, however, since both the words and the tune was

unfamiliar, the students and the teachers struggled to finish the song. As a suggestion, one of our

cooperating teachers suggested that we go through the song a few more times having them repeat

one line at a time. At first, we had the class speak the words of the song, but then we had them

sing each line after we demonstrated. After repeating this process several times, we finally

reached a point where they could follow along. We hope to revisit this song next week because

we have written another verse relating to next week’s topic. This will be helpful because we can

see how well the students remember the song and we can reinforce previous topics.

After we taught the class the song, we sat in a circle and we taught the students about

different flowers and birds. We had prepared large pictures of five different flowers and five

different birds. We told the class the name of the flower/bird and had them repeat it. Then, we

told them about the colors of the objects and a fact about them. At this time, the teacher

suggested that we create a sentence about the specific flower/bird for the students to repeat in

order for them to practice saying full sentences rather than just saying individual words. We

fulfilled this request by making sentences about the colors of the flowers/birds. For example, we

would say “this is a red rose” and the students would repeat it after us. After going through each
picture in this format, we facilitated a memory game. We explained that when we said the name

of a flower the students had to “dance” like a flower (sway back and forth) and when we said the

name of a bird they had to “tweet, tweet” and flap their wings like a bird. In this game, the

students had to determine if it was the name of a flower or bird using what we had taught them

earlier in the class period. If the students were unsure of whether it was a bird or flower, we

would show the picture again and have them repeat the name once more. We concluded the

lesson by singing the song once more to end on a positive note.

Weekly Reflection #4

Ohio New Teacher Standard 2: Teachers know and understand the content area for which they

have instructional responsibility.

Element: Teachers understand the relationship of knowledge within the discipline to other

content areas.

Competency: Field student has facilitated large group play and/or games and rhythms.

Reflection: This week in the classroom, Debbie and I continued our theme of spring and taught

our students about insects, especially the caterpillar, butterfly, lady bug, bumble bee, and preying

mantis. Last week our students were acting more rambunctious then usual and they were having

difficulty sitting still. This week we decided to introduce our lesson with an active game where

the students could release some of their energy. We came up with a game called “bug tag”,

which is similar to freeze tag except when the “bug catcher” or the person who is “it” tags

someone, the “bug” or person being tagged has to lay on their back and put their arms and legs in
the air like a bug stuck on its back. They had to wait to be tagged by another bug in order to be

freed from the bug catcher. This was a fun way for the students to let out their energy while still

tying in the theme of the lesson.

After bug tag, we taught the class the second verse of the song we had taught them last

week. The first verse of the song talked about flowers and birds, which was last week’s lesson.

There was originally no second verse to the song, but we decided to write a verse about bugs

ourselves. We reviewed the first verse of the song and the students remembered all of the words

and motions. Then we taught them the second verse by first singing it ourselves, then having the

class repeat each line after we said it. As we went through the song this way, we explained the

different types of bugs mentioned and we demonstrated the motions for each type. The students

grasped the motions and the words rather quickly, however, we repeated the song two or three

times to reinforce the words and actions.

We then taught the students about the lady bug and the preying mantis by showing them

images and telling them fun facts about the bugs. Finally, to wrap up the lesson we played a

similar review game as last week, where we called out the name of a flower, bird, or bug and the

children had to make a motion that corresponds with the name. For example, when we called out

a rose, the students had to “dance like a flower” and when we called robin, the students had to

flap their wings like a bird. This game was important because it was a way of assessing the

knowledge that the students learned through the lesson. Also, by incorporating the birds and

flowers, we could gauge how well they remembered the previous week’s lesson, which they

remembered very well. Overall, this lesson was very successful and it is a lesson I can use in my

future classroom.

Weekly Reflection #5
Ohio New Teacher Standard 4: Teachers plan and deliver effective instruction that advances

the learning of each individual student.

Element: Teachers apply knowledge of how students think and learn to instructional design and

delivery.

Competency: Field student has facilitated large group play and/or games and rhythms.

Reflection: This week we led the students in Easter themed activities. Our cooperating teacher

asked us to prepare an American Easter song to teach the students. We decided to teach the

students the song Here Comes Peter Cottontail because it is a well-known Easter song in many

American classrooms and homes. Also, it takes about many Easter traditions, such as the Easter

bunny, hiding Easter eggs, eating jellybeans, and coloring Easter eggs. It was interesting to see if

the students recognized these traditions. They seemed to know what jellybeans were and they

also seemed familiar with colored Easter eggs. Debbie and I came up with motions to the words

as well. Although the song does not originally have motions, I have found that the students

respond better to the lesson if there is action involved. Also, it helps them to connect the words

to an action, which can help them remember the words more easily. We first spoke each line of

the song and had the students repeat each line. As we went through the verses, we discussed

some words that the students may not be familiar with, such as bonnet, orchid, and bunny trail.

Then we tried to sing the entire song together with the music. We realized that they were not yet

familiar enough with the quickness of the tune and the new words, therefore, we decided then to

go through the song again, but this time we sang each line and the students had to repeat. This
helped them to learn the melody while also having the repetition of the lyrics. We then sang the

song once more together with the music.

After we taught the song, we tried a new Easter game that was similar to sharks and

minnows. First, we counted off the students by assigning them a color. We used yellow, orange,

pink, purple, blue, and green because those are Easter colors. We began the game by saying that

Peter Cottontail dropped all of his eggs and they were rolling all over the floor and they did not

want Peter Cottontail to catch them. In the game, all of the students were the “eggs” and Debbie

and I were Peter Cottontail. The color that they were assigned was the color of their “egg”. All of

the students lined up on one side of the gym and Debbie or I would call a color. When we yelled

that color, those “eggs” or students had to run from one side of the gym to the other without

being tagged by Peter Cottontail (me and Debbie). If they were tagged, then they became our

helpers and also had to try to tag people. Then, we would call another color and those students

would run across and this would continue until all of the colors were called. Although in theory

this game worked well, as they understood the rules and it helped them to practice and recall

their colors. However, the gym we were playing in was too small and in the end, there were too

many students being tagged. Our cooperating teacher found a temporary solution by telling the

helpers or the students already tagged to sit to the side instead of helping us. It worked well and

the students enjoyed it, but it would have been more successful in a larger space.

Weekly Reflection #6

Ohio New Teacher Standard 1: Teachers understand student learning and development, and

respect the diversity of the students they teach.

Element: Teachers expect that all students will achieve to their full potential.
Competency: Field student has coordinated and supervised children during an activity.

Reflection: This week in ELISA, I led the classroom in an Easter Egg Hunt, as Easter was

coming in the next week. Since we have such a large class, it was easiest to have the easter egg

hunt in groups of five. The class was in one classroom working with the cooperating teacher,

while I took groups of five students at a time to find their eggs. After they each found one egg, I

would ask them questions about Easter, such as “what is your favorite part about Easter?” and

“What does the Easter Bunny bring you for Easter?” This was difficult because some of the

students did not understand the question. The teacher planned the groups so that there was

always one student who knew English fairly well and could translate the questions to the others.

This was additionally difficult because it is hard to decide if the students actually do not

understand the question or if they are simply being shy and do not want to answer. I ran into both

scenarios in the classroom, I believe.

After each group found their eggs and answered the questions, I allowed them to hide the

eggs for the next group of classmates. This was fun for both us and the students because it

allowed them to have a special job and they had to think about where they wanted to hide it. It

was also difficult though because the students would choose difficult places to hide the eggs,

making it harder for the next group, and also it was difficult to remember where they hid the

eggs. When each new group came into the room I would give each student a hint or a clue as to

the area the egg is hidden. This was necessary because it would have been very difficult for them

to find one egg in a large classroom. After each group found their eggs, we ended the lesson by

singing the Peter Cottontail song, which we had taught them last week. Overall, this lesson was

very enjoyable because I had the opportunity to work with the students on a more personal, one

on one level.
 ELISA Reflection #7

Ohio New Teacher Standard 1: Teachers understand student learning and development, and
respect the diversity of the students they teach.

Element: Teachers understand how and when students develop and gain knowledge, acquire
skills and develop behaviors for learning.

Competency: Field student has facilitated small group activities for learning.

Reflection: This week our cooperating teachers asked us to prepare a small song to teach the

students, as well as come prepared to tell the class about our adventures in Spain. Debbie and I

decided to print large pictures we had taken from different places we visited while in Spain.

When we presented the pictures to the class, we told them where they were taken and a fun

activity we participated in while we were there. We told the students about the family we stayed

with while we were in Madrid and showed them pictures of the family. Debbie and I also

brought in the fans that we purchased in Madrid for the students to see. They really enjoyed

holding the fans, looking at them, and playing with them. I think this was fun for the students

because it kept them engaged and excited about what we were saying.

After we talked to the students about Spain, we taught them the song “Do Your Ears

Hang Low”. Some of the students were familiar with this song, which helped when we were

teaching because they could provide assistance to the other students. We explained the song

similar to how we had in the past. We began by singing the song for the students so they could

become familiar with the melody. Then, we went through the song line by line and had the

students repeat after us. The repetition assists students at really grasping the words and

remembering them. We then sang each line and had the students repeat after us again. We went

through each of the two verses, sang them together and taught the students the motions we
created to go along with the song. Finally, we sang the song twice through, with both the lyrics

and the motions. After we finished teaching them the song, the teachers continued the lesson

with two German songs the students had been learning.

ELISA Reflection #8

Ohio New Teacher Standard 4: Teachers plan and deliver effective instruction that advances
the learning of each individual student.

Element: Teachers apply knowledge of how students think and learn to instructional design and
delivery.

Competency: Field student has facilitated small group activities for learning.

Reflection: This week was our last week in the classroom and Debbie and I decided we would

plan a lesson that reflected back on all accomplished throughout the semester. Since we were in a

music classroom, almost every week we taught the students a new song in English. We decided

that for our last day in the classroom we would sing all of the songs we had taught the students

previously to see how much they remembered. We were very satisfied when the students

followed along very well to almost every song. This was a way to assess the students and the

progress that they have made throughout the semester. It was also enjoyable for us and the

students to be able to look back on the memories we made together.

After we sang all of the songs we had already taught them, we prepared to teach them one

more new song that had a special meaning. We chose to teach them the “friendship song” that is

usually sung in girl scouts, but we specifically chose the verses that applied to the friendship we

had created with our students. We taught them they song as we had taught them previously,
however, Debbie and I each taught it in a small group. The purpose of this was to make it more

personal to the students, but also because we planned to teach the students how to sing the song

in a round. After we went through each line with the students, having them repeat after us and

talking about the meaning of the words, we sang the song once through as a whole group. Then,

we sang it in a round where one group begins the song and then the other group begins the song

again after the first group has sung the first verse. This actually worked surprisingly well because

in the past the students struggled to sing songs in a round. Our cooperating teacher told us it was

very effective and creative of us to put the students into two circles to sing the round.

After we taught the class the friendship song, the teachers presented us with a small gift.

Then, the students sat in a circle and one by one they thanked us for joining their class and they

wished us luck in the future. This was very special because it allowed me and Debbie to see how

all of our efforts had effected the students in a positive way. We finished the class period by

singing the friendship song once more as a group and taking a class picture with the students. My

experience in the Austrian schools was incredible and unique in every way. I learned so much in

such a short time about children and teaching and I am very grateful. Although I may have had

the opportunity to teach the Austrian children a few songs in English, they taught me more about

life skills and teaching then I ever could have imagined.