Lesson Plan

Post Lesson Reflection

1) What were the areas of the lesson you felt were a success? Please explain why you thought this was successful 

I think I had a few successful parts of my lesson was the engagement, adaptability, and responses of my students. I had informed my students that I wanted to play "Down by the Bay", but I was going to do it differently than Mrs. Shannon. Typically, their teacher would sing the rhymes with the children; instead, I decided I wanted to question the students to offer an answer and explanation, not provide it immediately. My students not only adapted to the change instantly, but they also were engaged through the activity. When I informed them that I wanted a specific student to answer, they remained quiet and patiently as the student responded.  As it was my very first individual lesson with the students, it was a great relief how cooperative my students were with the activity. Indirectly or not, I felt that highlighted the strong relationships I fostered with my students. They had a mutual respect and trust in me that led them to listen closely and follow through with directions. Regarding the actual data collected during the activity, each student (individually) was able accurately provide a correct rhyming pair. Most of the students were able to explain their rationale behind their selection. For my student that was non-speaking, while he was unable to explain his answer, he did answer two rhyming pairs correctly. 

2) What changes, omissions, or additions to the lesson would you make if you were to teach again? Explain why you would make these changes?

If I were to make any changes to the lesson, I would have prepared rhyming pairs in advance. While preparing the lesson, I vastly overestimated my capabilities in being able to create rhyming pairs on the spot. Additionally, I underestimated how many objects I would have available for the activity (as they were provided by my mentor teacher). Since I was underprepared, there were moments that I had difficulty finding new rhyming pairs, which had risked my students losing interest. It significantly stunted the flow of the activity. Luckily, if it was not their turn, some of the students pointed at one object they saw a rhyme for. Next time, if I were to prepare the rhymes ahead of time, I could keep a consistent routine with my students, to increase engagement and more opportunities for assessment. 

3) In what ways were student interests, needs, and funds of knowledge considered in this lesson?  How do you think those actions impacted student learning and participation? 

In the original lesson plan, I had drafted how I would work with the different educational groups in the classroom. For small group activities, my mentor teacher had three different groups: high, medium, and low. Based on the needs and knowledge of the three groups capabilities, the activity was curated to scaffold them enough to challenge, but not too easy as well. This would help students feel confident enough to engage in the activity. Placing students in an activity that is not developmentally appropriate to their needs, they will most likely face a sense of embarrassment and struggle with confidence. The purpose of the lesson was to assess students phonological awareness, not necessarily offer direct instruction.

4) To what extent were the learning targets achieved?  What student data helps you understand this? 

As stated prior, each student was able to successfully offer at least one correct rhyming pair and explain why. The students were able to explain that the ending sounds were the same, and if I asked if two incorrect objects rhymed, they could identify the ending sounds were different. For my nonverbal student, I was unsure if the first time it may have been a coincidence, as the object was sitting directly in front of him. The second time around, he was able to reach over the pile of toys and grab the correct pair. When myself and the paraprofessional recorded the observations into the GOLD teaching strategies tracker, it could indicate where the students had landed and where they were placed before. 

5) What questions come up for you after teaching this lesson?

One of the questions that came up after teaching the lesson was what other activities could I do, as a teacher, to directly practice rhyming skills. I wondered how else I could adapt those activities to best fit the needs of the students in the classroom, promote engagement, and offer a direct instruction for phonological awareness. Overall, I really enjoyed the activity. It was super thrilling being able to step foot into a teacher position like that for the first time.