Seasonal Weather Conditions Review: Whole Group Summary: The specific planning and method of this lesson was

heavily influenced by my Science Pedagogy class and the Five E method of teaching. Prior to the lesson I spent a lot of time getting materials together. For each season I had a specific amount of items that corresponded with each seasons weather conditions. I decided to bring in actual materials for the lesson because I know the students in my class enjoy tangible manipulative. I had also made cards with pictures of weather conditions on them for the class to categorize my season as a whole. I truly put a lot of thought and effort into this lesson. When it came time for me to teach the lesson I introduced the topic by having the class name the four seasons, talk about weather that happens during each season, and by sorting weather condition picture cards between the four seasons. This part of the lesson went smooth and the students were fully engaged. The next part of the lesson involved me passing out the items representing a seasonal weather condition. I gave each student an item at random while the class was sitting in a circle on the rug. I then told the students that we were going to go outside to where I had already set up four signs, each displaying a seasons name. The students were to sit in front of the sign with the seasons name that their item best represents. When I planned this lesson the weather had not been below 55-50 degrees, but the morning of the lesson it just so happened to be 40 degrees. Although the students had jackets, looking back, I would have moved the outdoor activity indoors by having four students each hold a sign or by taping the signs around the room. Once back inside each season group picked a person to show the class the item that best represented a weather condition that corresponded with their season. We then reviewed everything we had talked about, and I showed a view video/song to the class about weather conditions in each season. After the video I had students write in their journals two weather conditions for each season. Once I collected the journals to assess them I was pleased to see the vast majority of the students were able to name conditions for each season. The few students that left a season blank or only wrote one weather condition I went up to during independent lesson time and asked them to think back to what we learned in the lesson, and I was able to guide them each in to giving me the correct answers they lacked in their journal. Overall, the students really enjoyed the lesson and showed complete improvement in their ability to name the seasons and weather conditions that corresponded. I believe the FiveE method made it more enjoyable for the students because they got hands on experience with the content and material.

Future Changes: If I were to teach this lesson to a group of students again there is a few things that I would change. When passing out the items used for the activity next time I would have all the items in front of me and have student come up one at a time to get their item and show it to the class. I would also assign higher level students to be season sign holders for the activity done outside. I would do this instead of sticking the signs in the ground so each season could have a leader to help guide the students to their correct corresponding season.

High, Average, and Low Achievers: I chose the high preforming student for this lesson to be Evelyn. For the pre-assessment I asked students how many seasons there are and for them to name them if they can. Evelyn told me there are four seasons and named all of them correctly. She even looked at me as if I was being silly for even asking something that was such common knowledge to her. While participating in the activity used for the during assessment, Evelyn joined the appropriate season group that corresponded with her item, and she even helped guide other students to their correct season. At the conclusion of the lesson I asked students to write down two weather conditions for each season. Evelyn was able to correctly do so for each season because she used her prior knowledge and the information learned during the lesson. The average achieving student for this lesson is Briant. For the pre-assessment Briant knew there are four seasons and was able to correctly name them. He too looked at me silly for asking a question that seemed so simple to him. Throughout the outdoor activity that was used for the during assessment Briant was very talkative and pretty wild. He was not paying close attention and was socializing with two other boys in the class about the items they had for the activity. For the post assessment Briant only gave one weather condition depicting each of the four seasons, instead of two for each season like I asked. I believe he did this not because he did not know the content but because he failed to listen to my instructions. The student that was the low achieve for this lesson was Shazera. Shazera correctly told me there are four seasons when I asked her for the pre-assessment, but when she tried to them she said, Fall, June, July.. I wonder if she heard one of her peers answer with the number four for how many seasons there are and that is why she was unable to tell me their names. During the outdoor activity Shazera found the corresponding season for her item with no trouble. For the post assessment Shazera was able to give me two weather conditions for each of the four

seasons. I believe Shazera did well on the final assessment because she enjoyed the lesson and seemed to be engaged the entire time.

Other questions to consider in your reflection:

How did you engage or motivate the students successfully? I engaged students by bringing in real items that represented weather conditions or events for each of the four seasons, instead of bringing in simple pictures. Students enjoyed being able to go outside for part of the lesson, despite the temperature that morning. What instructional mode(s) was employed? ( lecture, small group, demonstration, experiment, etc.) The instructional modes employed were whole group discussion and small groups. Whole group when we were completing the activity of placing pictures under the corresponding season. Small groups were incorporated for the outside activity where students took their items of the sign depicting the correct season. How effectively did you use instructional aids, i.e., whiteboard, video, calculators, manipulatives, computer, etc.? I showed the class a weather song on the Smart Board for this lesson. The technology luckily worked really well. Were the students actively or passively involved? How so? The students were very much so involved throughout the entirety of the lesson. The students participated in the group discussion about different weather conditions that happened during the four seasons. Students were also involved by selecting a season that represented the weather condition their item was used for. Did you present the information in a clear and logical manner? How so? Yes, I presented the information in a clear and logical manner. I did so by reviewing the seasons and having a group discussion about what kind of weather conditions happen during those seasons. We did a group activity where we sorted pictures of weather conditions under each of the seasons names. I then had students become physically involved by moving their item to the correct seasonal sign. I summed up the content with a video/song and a final review. How effective were the materials and resources you selected for the lesson? The items used for this lesson were very effective materials and resources. Were you able to or could you (in the future) relate the lesson content to the lives of the student

The content was very relative to the students because we were experiencing a time of seasonal change in our local environment. Describe any discipline or classroom management techniques used during the lesson. Were these techniques effective or would you employ a different technique the next time? While outside for the activity a few of the boys were more concerned about being in the same group as one another than they were about selecting the correct group for their item. I corrected this by walking over and individually guiding the students in to selecting their proper location. Reflect on your interaction with the students. Would you describe your treatment of the students as being fair, respectful, and ethical? How so? I always make a conscious effort to treat all of my students fair and respectfully by never showing any form of favoritism and by valuing each students opinion. I want my students to feel as though they can ask for my help and guidance during a lesson. Were you able to summarize the lesson and relate it to the following lesson or homework assignment? Students had been talking about plants in class so we related it by touching on the subject of what the different seasons do to the plant life. Was your estimated time allocation for this lesson as noted in your lesson plan accurate? If your time varied, what factors contributed to this variance? I spent about 30 minutes completing my lesson and this was the same amount of time I allotted when estimating the length of this lesson.