TWS 8

I. Reflective Critique (Whole Class) Students had been working on word problems throughout the year. My class was having a difficult time knowing the necessary methods to use when solving a variety of word problems. Before my lesson as a class we held a math talk on the classroom rug. The discussion was to review the students prior knowledge of what word problems are and ways we know to solve them. I did this to see what students already knew and also to introduce the lesson. During the discussion I showed a music video which reviewed the steps needed to take in order to solve word problems. This was a way to engage students in the lesson and also refresh their minds of word problems. After the video we came back together as a class and discussed some more ways to solve word problems that we learned in the music video. This was a way to see what students knew before any guidance was given then to see if they added any knowledge after the guidance was given. Next time I would have written down what students said at the beginning of the discussion and also after they watched the video. This was I could see if students corrected their selves or gained any new knowledge from the video. During the discussion I also could have had students work in groups or with a partner and discussed word problems. This way I could have a variety of students answer during the discussion rather than the usual student. As a class we worked on a few word problems together. This was done to show students how to implement the steps we learned in order to solve word problems. I had the word problems posted on poster sheets. Next time I think it would be more beneficial to students if the problems were written on the board or shown on the Smart Board. Also for next time I would have students bring their personal white boards to the carpet to work out the problems with their elbow partner and discuss the steps to take when solving the word problem. Then we could review the problems together. During this part of the lesson more communication would always be a positive impact to the lesson. During this lesson the management I used seemed to really benefit the class discussion. Students really seemed to connect to what I wanted out of the discussion and wanted to show me that they were interested. It made for a positive experience. As students went back to their personal desk and worked on a math sheet I walked around and observed the students and gave help when needed. I also gave out cards to the students that had helpful hints to remember when solving the problems. I think this really helped the students when they were solving the problems. Before taking up the math sheet we went over the problems as a class. I had students come up and solve the problem on the board. Not only did they tell the class their answer but I had them explain why they solved it a certain way and what key words let them know which method to use. Students really seemed to benefit from this. If students disagreed on an answer we worked through it together. Students were able to add on to what their peers were saying which encouraged critical thinking and also communication. One task I could have done before students engaged in individual work is walk through each problem but the last one, with the class and have them underling the key words needed to solve the word problems. This way if there was any confusion students would be able to clear up their understanding before starting the sheet. Partner work would be one major change I would have made in this lesson. This would have benefited students learning I believe and would have encouraged deeper thoughts while discussing. Overall I believe this lesson had a positive impact on my students learning. Seeing them solve word problems now, shows that this lesson was beneficial. Students seem to find it

easier to pick out what is needed to know in each problem. Seeing students who have struggled with word problems and now who are exceling in it is an awesome feeling. It is just another way that shows me why I am becoming a teacher.

II. Reflection on Three Individual Students While teaching my lesson I chose three students to really engage in and show deep concern for their achievements. While also showing deep concern for all other students. My three students were A, an above average student, B an average student and C, a below average student. All three students were observed very closely during the lesson and data was collected on each. Student A during the discussion before the lesson was very involved and correct in their statements made. They were engaged in other students responses and chose to add on at times to what others had to say. Student B answered when called upon and gave a very short and direct answer. This student was also correct in their response but did not seem fully engaged while others were discussing. This student was looking around the room and had to be called on a few times to pay attention. This is where pair sharing would have really benefited this student. Student C is always willing to step out of their comfort zone and engage in discussion. This student spoke out without being called on and when corrected seemed to really think about what I was saying. As we began working together to solve word problems students were assessed on their discussion and answers submitted. Also I made note of the progress of student A, B and C. This was part of my lesson that could have been changed to benefit my students success more. Student C was most successful throughout the lesson. This student really engaged in the discussion which is one reason I think this student exceled in the post assessment. I think if I would have had the students write down the problem when we were working it as a class this student would have been even more successful. Student C goes to resource every day for math pull out. This student struggles with individual work and gets really annoyed when they cannot figure out how to solve different problems. Having students use the notecard for assistance was a really positive way to calm student C down while working on their individual work. This student followed the directions on the math sheet and solved each problem correctly. Student C really exceled on their individual work. They followed the directions and solved the word problems step by step. They did everything right and received 100%. I was very proud of this student for taking their time and really striving to do their best. I believe stepping back and re- teaching word problems really helped this student. Student B was least successful in the lesson. This student was not fully engaged in the classroom discussion but when called upon answered the question correctly. I believe if this student would have been able to discuss with an elbow partner they would have shared more of their thoughts throughout the discussion. This student did not use resources given them. I believe if the student would have used the notecard to check their understanding before solving a problem they would have done better. Student B did not pass their individual work. I do think the student knows how to solve the work but they did not follow directions. Student B rushed through the math sheet and was the first one to turn theirs in. I believe if I would have gave the student their paper back and discussed with them that they need to follow directions and use the

resources given to them this student would have attempted again and would have done a better job. Student A did not change through the lesson. This student was very engaged in discussion and eager to get their point across. Every question thrown their way they answered correctly and very detailed. This student worked well with their peers during the discussion and added on to what some of their classmates had to say. The student scored 100 % on the post assessment and followed directions. This student is very above average and gets pulled out once a week for GATAS. If I was to teach this lesson again I would have given this student something else to complete when they were finished. This would show if the student gained anymore knowledge throughout the lesson. The students vocabulary stayed the same throughout the lesson. Student A gained success with this lesson but I could have modified certain areas that reached out to them more. The worksheet may have been too easy for this particular student. Modifications throughout the lesson During the lesson I had to modify during the discussion at the beginning of the lesson. I forgot to tell students to bring their individual white boards. I decided to talk through the problems and have individual students tell me how to solve it. I think I should have had one student go back and gather all the white boards so students would have been able to work through the problem and then we go over it. At the end of the lesson I was just going to take up the assessment but I noticed that some students were struggling with the directions and picking out the clue words that told them which method to use. So instead I modified my lesson and we went over each problem as a class. I had individual students come up and solve the problems on the board and then explain their reasoning to their peers. I think this cleared up a lot of confusion the students had. Professional Development Goals Reflecting on my five lessons Ive taught and the feedback I have gotten from professional educators I have set two professional development goals for myself. My first goal for myself would to encourage more communication with the students. I believe that pair share or group work is a positive way to implement more critical thinking in a lesson. Instead of having students raise their hand to answer a question, they should have more opportunities to brainstorm with their peers and then present their answers to the class. My second goal would be to work on incorporating more prompts in my lesson. The more hands on activities students have in a lesson; the more engaged they will be. I think using prompts is a way to enhance learning. I need to work more on using the resources I have. As simple as writing on the board is I sometimes forget its there. One way I will work on this is bringing in more prompts and researching lessons that are focused around engaging students. I will work on more communication between my students by trying to have a class discussion before each lesson begins. Reflection on 2-4 additional lessons taught Lesson 1:

My first lesson I taught was a read aloud to the whole class. I read the book, Chole and the Lion. The students have word of the days every week and that days word was cooperation. The book was about an author and illustrator not being cooperative and how that affected different parts of the book. Before I read the book I had the students discuss what they knew about an author and illustrator and also their roles in making a book. I made sure to show the connection that they both have to do their job in order for a book to be great. One thing I could have changed would be to read slower. This way the students may be able to understand the text better. By having the students discuss what authors and illustrators were and how they both had a specific job in the making of a book, students were able to make a connection that these two people not working together would change the story line of the book. After reading the book we discussed certain ways the characters could have worked together and cooperate. Also students wrote down on a chart paper how each character could have cooperated. One thing I could have modified in my lesson was have the students do a pair share before we developed a list. This was I could have more students involved. Students were asked to go back to their desk and complete an exit slip. They had to write their own definition of cooperation or draw a picture that illustrates cooperation. I believe this went really well because students had one than one way to express their knowledge of the lesson. For future lessons I will have more group work involved. I will also stop throughout the book and ask specific questions. For my first lesson I think it went really well. My students knowledge of the word was very high so I had to adjust to their needs. Instead of me writing on the chart paper I should have had students write and explain their reasoning to their peers. Lesson 2: My second lesson I taught was a math lesson on Multiplication. Students have been introduced to basic time tables in second grade but this was a intro to multiplying two digit numbers. My teaching aid used was place value blocks. At the beginning of the lesson we had a math talk and completed a review from the PowerPoint. This PowerPoint had slides on in from previous lesson. I really think this was a positive way to give the students a brief review of what we had learned so far. Students were introduced to the word reasonable in this lesson. I had the students brainstorm what it meant when something was reasonable. Next time I am teaching a lesson I dont think I will spend as much time on this word as I did in the lesson. While we were completing a problem together I had some students solve the problems using place value blocks. This should be modified to have all students engaging in the problems using place value blocks. Students worked on a math sheet which had them use place value blocks to solve and represent their answers. They were able to work inside their pods. Next time I think it may be better if students did their math sheets individually. I could not really see if all students were grasping the concept our just leeching onto what others were doing. Next time I will really work on my time management. This lesson ran over the time scheduled for math and I was not able to complete my last activity. The reason for this is because students were having trouble using the place value blocks because their were not enough units to go around. I had to stop and modify the lesson and pull the class together and work them together as a whole class. Next time I will make sure I have all materials needed. Overall this lesson went pretty well. Using hands on activates is a really positive way to teach a lesson with this class. They really enjoy being engaged in discussion also. They all like to

share their thoughts at once. So classroom management is something needed in order to perform discussions with this class.

Lesson 3: This lesson was one of my favorite lessons to teach because the students were so engaged throughout the whole lesson. We had been learning about animals and their habitats and this lesson was to cover the four resources animals need in order to survive. We started the lesson off with a class discussion on some different types of resources animals need. One thing that really engaged every student was using pair share. I hadnt been doing pair share in my lessons but I tried to change up the way I was handling lesson. This really worked! The students came up with some great resources that animals need. We also talked about the resources animals in their very own school yard need to survive. We went outside to look for different animals in the schoolyard. I think this turned out really well because students were able to see the connection to a lesson and the real world. We discussed the resources animals may need in their schoolyard and why animals may have chose their schoolyard to make their home. One thing I would modify for further lesson was to have the students write about the animals habitat when we got back to the classroom. Students werent focused on writing quality work because they were so distracted from the outside. Students worked in their pods to construct a diagram or chart that stated their data. Next time I would make this the assessment. It was hard for students to all have different data and then try and display it in one chart. There was a lot of confusion that could have been avoided I think. Overall I think this lesson was one of the best ones taught. It was more students led and had them think outside of the box. I really enjoyed listening to students responses. The students really enjoyed the lesson but also learned a lot from it. The assessment was to have students write in their journals some resources of animals and why it is important animals have the proper resources. When I read the students responses they were all so good. They used words from the lesson we discussed but also used what they already knew about resources and animals. Lesson 5: This lesson was another lesson that really engaged the students. We had been learning about the life cycle of a plant. I picked a lesson out of my Project Learning Tree book about seeds and seed dispersal. I was planning to read a book about a rain forest and trees. When I introduced the book the students told me they just got done reading this book. So I adjusted my lesson to where we would just discuss parts in the book. Next time I think I will still read the book. Even if students knew the story line I could have still used different events to introduce the topic of seed dispersal. I had students observe actual seeds and we discussed their characteristic. I think next time I would have had students write down some characteristic. This way they would have some notes in their science journal. Students had to sort seeds two different times in this lesson. First was by any way they would like and the second time was for them to sort seeds based on how they think these seeds could get dispersed. I think this part of the lesson was a really good way to show connections of different seeds and how things can be sorted in many ways. Students worked with a partner and share the ways they sorted. This was a great way to get students thinking and discussing. As I observed I heard some great ideas. The students

assessment was to pick a seed and design a postcard pretending to be that seed and tell about their seed dispersal journey. This turned out great. The students had to explain seed dispersal but it was a new way of writing down reasoning. They enjoyed it which made responses more in depth. Overall I think this lesson went well. I could have modified the lesson by adding more direct instruction. Students got off subject and times and had to be pulled back in. Some students wanted to play with the seeds more than listen to what their peers had to say. I think next time I would have students leave their materials and some to the floor to discuss the ways they sorted their seeds. This way there would be fewer distractions.