Social Studies & Language Arts 2.

5 hr 1/13/23

Students are in their social studies block and are learning about Martin Luther

King Jr.. Before the initial lesson, the teacher asks students what they know about

Martin Luther King Jr.. I am so surprised that as 5th graders, many of them have no

clear concept of whom he really was and how he impacted our society today. Ms.

Terrones did an excellent job at pausing and explaining to them who he was. She gave

them the example that if it was not for him standing up for equality, we might not have

had a multicultural classroom as we do today.

The teacher has assigned an assignment on Google Classroom that allows

students to interact with information on Martin Luther King Jr.. There were a few slides

that resembled puzzle pieces but were vocabulary words and phrases to fill in the

missing blanks. The students are having a challenging time, so the teacher stepped in

as support and molded the expectations on the first slide. After that, she gave them time

to independently complete the rest of the slides and submit them when they are done. I

am noticing that students love to work with each other and collaborate. Ms. Terrones

allowed them to talk amongst their own table groups. Students keep getting excited

each time they find a specific puzzle piece. As time goes on, Ms. Terrones warns the

students that they only have a few minutes remaining, so they should wrap up their final

findings.

Next, Ms. Terrones passes out a mathematical worksheet that uses letters and

answers to complete MLK’s most famous line in his speech. Students are required to

show their completed work of multiplication on a separate piece of paper. This is how

the teacher is able to collect a proper assessment of how the students are doing on
their double-digit multiplication. I found this component very interesting because it

reminded me of integrated learning. Although learning about Martin Luther King Jr. is a

part of social studies, the teacher decided to incorporate their math skills. Something

that I observed along the way is that as the students began to figure out the speech,

they stopped doing the work and just filled in the blanks. However, Ms. Terrones told

the students that if they wanted full credit for the assignment, they are to show all their

work on the separate piece of paper provided.

It appears that their original social studies block covers the states and capitals.

Ms. Terrones has assigned them a Blooket to complete, so they can continue to

practice. This is also available for students who have completed the MLK assignments,

and are waiting for their peers to finish. EdPuzzle is an interactive educational platform

where teachers are able to assign games and ask questions about current lessons.

The way the teacher transitions is by making sure the majority of the class is

done with the current assignment and if they are not, she lets them know they will have

the opportunity to finish at a later date. I like this and would incorporate it into my own

classroom because it continues to encourage students to finish their assignments. Each

student has a job in the classroom, she calls up the two paper passers. They are

instructed to pass out the chapter books they are reading for ELA. Students are

listening to the audio for Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief. The teacher walks around

the room to ensure that all students are following along and are not distracted. If they

are distracted, she simply gives them a tap on the shoulder. They read the story for

about 20 minutes, which was one chapter. Next, Ms. Terrones tells students to open up

Google Classroom and locate the chapter quizzes. She has prepared an entire
slideshow with all the chapter quizzes. This will be turned in at the end when students

have completed the books. Students are allowed to use the chapter book and listen to

the audio while they answer the questions. I notice that students feel more comfortable

with the word quiz because they are able to use the book. As a future educator, I would

use this in my classroom because it allows students to continue to learn rather than to

just guess.