Language arts reflection: day 2

Today's lesson was definitly altered from my lesson plan. I am learning a lot about adjusting and tailoring my lessons to my students through this experience. I am lucky to have two back to back sections of the class. I get to see how my ideas work and make immediate adjustments in the next lesson. Today, the students began their first drafts of their personal narratives. The ability level of the students is more different than I expected. I needed to find a way to spend the time of students who had finished their drafts early and encourage students who had only started the first paragraph. Also, I found that having something for the students to do when they enter class after the break is crucial. Their focus during the second half of the block was so much better. I am proud of them for the work they did today on their narratives and I am excited to see the final drafts of each. Tomorrow is supposed to be an editing day but I am not sure if we will finish it.
I think I might talk about editing with a small group of students who are already done and then hope every one else finished their draft tomorrow.
As far as reading goes, it was a bit of a struggle since not all students have their books. When they don't have their books they need they are able to go to the library. Students entering and exiting the classroom makes it difficult for all students to focus. Tomorrow we are working on a chain of events. I think I will change my lesson plan again and have them make the chain with an example book that I read and then the rest of the time will be free reading time. That way they can get into their books and not worry about writing while they read.

Language Arts Reflection One

REFLECTION & REVISION (This part is to be included in your daily reflections after teaching the lesson. How did I feel about my lesson today? If I feel successful, what did I see the students saying and doing that made me feel that way? What changes to tomorrow’s lesson need to be made as a result of today’s class):

    This was my first time really teaching language arts. I think that it went pretty well. My teacher and I had a miscommunication, and I ended up teaching three mini-lessons. This worked out well because all I had to do were to cut my lessons in half. This meant that I had to cut out most of my anticipatory set. I tried to play my theatre game, but it took too much time. Plus, the students were not getting the directions. I have now come to the conclusion that when it comes to younger students, specific directions are key. The students really liked watching the Tangled clip and seemed to really get into the lesson. I could also see that the students were listening because, while I was reading aloud, they were drawing pictures about what they heard. I got all pictures that were related to the book. When going through the folktale chart, the students were able to follow along and find the different aspects in the story. The changes that I would make is better time management. I can see why teachers need to be go-go-go, this is because they are trying to cram in so much good material in a tiny amount of time. I feel that schools should just get rid of schedules all together, but it also makes me look at the positive of a flipped classroom. We want students to have these authentic learning experiences, but that is not possible in a regular schedule. There is not enough for students to explore learning once the teacher is done teaching content. If I were to do this again, I would definitely try the flipped classroom method. 

First language arts lesson I have taught and it went pretty well.  It would be nice to do a middle school setting to see how I can improve it from class to class.

There was a lot to get through and I actually thought that I would have time left over.  I didn’t realize how much time the students needed to research for the countries.  I even had some websites for them to start off with and they still were taking a while.  The teacher and I both found out that the students need work on how to write key words when researching topics.  There were not specific enough in their searches and that was the problem.  I wish there would be time to do a lesson on how to research and write key words when working with the internet.

A lot of the students did great today and were very excited to pick the country out of a bag.  They were also excited to use the net books.  Computer time does not happen too much for them so this was a great opportunity.  When working with computers the teacher and I circulated the room to make sure they were on appropriate sites.  About half the class got the whole graphic organizer filled out and started writing their poems so they did not have too much to do tonight for homework.  Overall I wanted this to be a work in progress with a different figurative language each day and the end project would be put together throughout the week but now it turned into a final project due each day.  Tomorrow I will see how that turns out.  My directions were simple and I repeated a lot, but some students still are having a hard time understanding what they actually needed to do.

Next time I would take out the finding another example from the internet or a book or something because there is too much for them to do. I want them to focus on the poem and the concept.  In my classroom I would also have more time and would like a lab day to put it all together.

Management was not an issue, the students were all attentive and working on the assignment.

Overall this lesson went well and the students did a great job with understanding what an acrostic poem was and how to write it.  They did great with research once they knew what to type in to find information better.  They listened well and weren’t afraid to ask questions of me.   

Today was my first language arts lesson. I was very nervous to teach since I was going to be doing two 90min blocks. I did not know what to expect as far as time management and pacing for the group. Also, 90min is a long time in one classroom.

For my first block, the students were quiet workers but a little slow on the pace. We finished everything that I had planned for the day but the amount of detail was not as I had expected. There will definitly be a need for extra reinforcing of ideas throughout the next few days. I felt comfortable in front of the class and I think they enjoyed the stories I read. There were no classroom management issues.

The second block has a completely different personality. There are students who are very vocal and have a strong desire to voice their opinions. So far, it has not been an issue but I feel it could cause problems later in the week if I don't find a way to monitor their talking better. I feel like it is difficult to find logical consciences for that behavior. Any suggestions? The class also has students in lots of different levels. This means that some students finished the work almost ten minutes before the rest. The teacher suggests reading quietly but I'm wondering if there are better options.

I had a lot of fun today and I am excited to see them develop their writing as the week goes on. Hope everyone is doing well! Keep it up!!! :)

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J.K. Rowling actually has no middle name. She made up the letter "K" (after her grandmother, Kathleen) when her publisher asked to print Harry Potter under her initials.