Reflection of Classmates’ Lessons

Michael & Michael had overheads with pictures that aided visual learners while we played bingo with pinto beans (or jelly beans for those “allergic”). It was a fun activity and got to learn interesting facts about the Civil War. The seating arrangement in a circle was successful for class management since they took turns with teaching the concepts and walking around the class; a very successful lesson. Robert Frost's Home Burial is a great poem and the youtube video made by LeighAnn was just fantastic. The lesson was impressive and it really showed they were motivated. Nifah continued to write up the names on the board for detentions as an attempt to manage the class that became extremely chaotic. Stephanie’s comment "We have 3 eyes on you" and then she pushed Matt was definitely hilarious. Definitely agree that it became a mess by the end, but you all managed the best you could; marvelous lesson! Dean wrote the word “Jungle” on the board in BIG artistic bubble letters as his anticipatory set which were definitely an attention grabber. Dean’s and Diana’s lesson was well planned. He carried himself out with confidence and was able to manage the class well. I enjoyed the jokes made on the reading because those made everyone participate. It was a pleasant lesson. Aimen and Iria used a great innovative anticipatory set by using colorful shape costumes that made for a fun lesson that was paired with an effective podcast. They used powerpoint for the lesson by introducing concept of angle and length size through a short review and then going over it by asking questions after every concept; they also used SmartBoard in their lesson to answer questions with us. I liked the youtube video from the kids that performed the shape song. They used index cards at the end of the lesson as feedback for questions from students about what was not clear; it was a wonderful lesson! Andrew, Luiz, & Matt used a quick write in a KWL-chart as their anticipatory set which worked well in engaging the students discussions of what each knew. I thought this group was well prepared; due to some technical problems they did not use the podcast during the lesson, but I listened to the podcast and thought it was the best of all in voice clarity and volume as well as length. Using pictures of maps and cartoons to aid comprehension allowed even more people to get involved in the discussion: Terrific lesson! Marisa, Sandra, & Meredith had the great advantage of going last and preparing to deal with areas that other lessons did not cover. They were the only ones to implement rules which they printed out through the resourceful idea cell phone box is a that I will borrow when teaching. The whole gothic scene with music and light to enhance the mood was very ideal for gothic literature lesson. The youtube video was too long but it was effective that you stopped and asked what was going on as a motivator for students to pay attention to know what’s going on. The game activity at the end of the lesson was fun. Great lesson! My deepest apologies to Chris, Tariq, Brandon, and Anthony whose lessons I was unable to attend. I heard good things about the lessons, but cannot reflect on the methods that were used. Finally, behavior management is an issue that we all need to develop a strategy for and this experiences not only in teaching but learning from others in their ways of dealing with it was extremely valuable. I enjoyed every lesson and the methods that I was able to see implemented in the lessons. The majority used the effective question/answer strategy amongst the many others. Overall, everyone did a great job in preparing for the lesson and dealt to the best of their abilities with the disruptions. GREAT JOB!