Strategies for a Complete Lesson - Assignment Example

• Please explain the lesson plan you have created in order to meet the learning needs of students for a particular topic. In your description, clearly state what you have included in each section of the lesson plan template.

The lesson plan that I developed was on literacy for first graders, and it is timed for 60 minutes. In the lesson, I will guide the students in reading a book, and they will draw a picture from one scene of the story and write a sentence to describe the picture. I chose the book, Pete, the Cat: Pete at the Beach by James Dean. Therefore, I developed a goal “to draw a picture and write a sentence describing the events/setting in a story." Then, the objective was at the end of the lesson; students should be able to draw a picture from a story scene and write a descriptive sentence about the picture. The standard that I used for the lesson was "Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 1.RL.7: Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events." I then outlined all the materials that I would need for the lesson. The teacher must always ensure that the lesson materials are available and ready before the lesson.

The first part of the lesson was the introduction, which comprised calling students to order, greeting them, and briefly taking them through the contents of the lesson. This is the time when one tells the students what they will be doing during the lesson. The teacher also uses this time to point out instructions and directions that the students have to follow during the lesson, such as being quiet, orderly, and tidying up after the lesson. Then I proceeded to the second and third sections, which were lesson procedures and guided practice. The lesson procedure outlines all the activities that will take place during the lesson (narrating the story, answering questions from the story, and creating art form the story).

During the guided practice, the teacher introduces the book and reads it to the students. He/she can use the video version of the book or project it on the smartboard for students to follow easily and understand. Since the objective is for the students to draw a picture from a scene in the story, I recommended in the lesson that the teacher stops the book at intervals to discuss with the students. After reading the book, the teacher guides the students into answering questions on the worksheets about the story. The session will be conducted in a class discussion, where students give out their opinions on the answers. Later the teacher will help the students to transition to the independent practice session. In this part, the students will work independently in the art area, where they will draw and describe their pictures. The teacher will supervise them and later display their work.

In my lesson plan, I kept in mind that I would have a diverse classroom. Thus, I decided to incorporate differentiated instruction for ELLs, advanced students, and exceptional learners. Differentiating for these students helps them improve their understanding and retention of the concepts taught during the lesson. Differentiation included allowing students extra time to finish their tasks, placing them in group tasks, preparing extra or advanced worksheets for the advanced student, and using assistive devices. Another crucial part of my lesson plan was assessment. I outlined that I would use guided questions and observation to assess the students. I would ask the students questions about the story to ensure that they understand it and help them complete the independent practice task. Observation is also key to ensure that the students are attentive, check for their body language, and giving accurate responses to the questions. The last part of the lesson is closing. Here the teacher calls the students to order and employs the exit ticket technique. The students have to answer random questions from the story. Then, the class ends the lesson with a beach song or poem to cheer them up. I also recommended that the teacher prepare homework for the students to assist the struggling students and help others in more practice.

• You will most likely have English Language Learners in your classroom. What accommodations would you provide these students to ensure they are successful in understanding and mastering the learning objectives in your lesson? 

On many occasions, I have witnessed the struggles that ELLs go through until they have fully learned English. At their young age, it is the educator's responsibility to ensure that the ELLs are accommodated and supported to excel. As such, I included ELLs to my differentiation list in the lesson plan since it was a literacy lesson. The first accommodation that I outlined was giving them extra time to complete their tasks. It is important to manage time such that the students have ample time to complete their tasks since they somehow struggle to read, comprehend and then transfer the information into writing (Barone & Morrow, 2013). Another strategy would be ensuring that students work in groups. This helps them, especially when pacing them up with their peers, and can also get assistance from other students. It even boosts their self-confidence.

Using the digital form of the book (E-Book) would help them view images, thus enhancing their understanding of the concepts. Using tangible objects and materials, such as toys, is also important. For instance, if you read a passage about a ball, it would be ideal to show them a real ball. This way, they will understand better. Lastly, I would make sure to speak slowly and repeat important words and phrases to grasp the information (Rosen, 2017). I would also ask them questions to ensure that they understand the ideas and whether they are at pace with the other students.

• How will you differentiate for your students to make sure each one can meet the learning objective?

In most instances, educators have diverse classrooms where students have different characteristics and abilities. As such, it is important to keep all of the students in mind and implement teaching and learning strategies that meet their learning and developmental needs. Therefore, I would differentiate for my students based on the content I am teaching, the process of teaching and learning and the environment. Content means that the educator designs activities and assessments that match with the abilities and understanding of each student. For instance, a teacher may have worksheets for struggling, average students and advanced students. Process means that the teacher will consider the preferred learning styles for each student. This may include auditory, visual, tactile, read and write students. Thus, it is essential to incorporate most of these styles in all lesson plans. The learning environment is also crucial. I would consider an optimal classroom with adequate lighting, organized and silent and less disruptive (Azzam, 2016). This would ensure to keep students organized and attentive especially those with attention and behavioral disorders. With that in place, one is guaranteed that the students have a high chance of achieving their learning and developmental goals.  

• How does your lesson promote cultural diversity? 

When designing my lesson, I put into consideration that my students were diverse. This not only included learning or physical differences but also cultural backgrounds and socio-economic status. But, I feel that differentiated learning is a way of promoting cultural diversity. For instance when you differentiate for ELLs, it means that you acknowledge that they come from cultures that do not speak English as a first language and support them to learn the language. Another way that my lesson promotes cultural diversity is through group tasks. Students from different cultures work together in activities and tasks to accomplish a common goal which is learning from one another and reinforcing teamwork (Azzam, 2016). As such, the children get the impression that it is okay to work together with their peers from different cultures or race. I also picked a book that was neutral. It did not capture contents know for a specific culture. It comprises of activities that are done by everyone in all cultures (beach day).  

• How could you integrate technology into the lesson? 

Technology is an essential part of learning especially in the modern world where technology is advancing almost every daily operation in all sectors. For my lesson, I would use technology to teach and reinforce content as well as make the lesson fun. When teaching (delivering content), I can use online reading resources such as Storyline Online and YouTube. These are excellent media to expose students to digital learning. It also helps them understand and retain content better especially when it involves reading. Technology also improves lessons by making them more fun and engaging. For instance, a narrator in a story can use various interesting sounds or the picture movement keeps the students engaged, attentive and improve understanding.

Lastly, assuming that my classroom has computers, I would always prepare age-appropriate and relevant tasks for the advanced learners to help then practice more and also keep them engaged since they tend to finish their tasks early (Rosen, 2017). Rosen also mentions that it is important to evaluate all technological platforms and tools before using them with students. One should ensure that they are tested and approved by the authorities.  

• What higher level questions will you ask during the lesson to keep students engaged? 

Higher level questions contribute so much to a student’s performance. In a literacy lesson, higher level question boost and promote critical thinking among students especially when analyzing, elaborating and interpreting literature. Educators ought to use higher level questions to keep students engaged and boost their brainpower. In my lesson for instance, I would consider using explicit direct questions, which would cover the content I intend to teach them (Coats, 2013). For instance, I would ask them what they think the book is about by just showing them the title.

I would also ask questions that develop their cognitive ability within the theme/topic of the lesson. This would include extending the beach talk to more content that is not covered in the book. Such questions help students to build on concepts within a certain area. I would also ask the students to explain their reasoning beyond the answers they give. For instance, if I ask students Pete did not want to surf with his brother, they probably will say he was afraid of the water or surfing or he did not know how to surf. I would ask them to explain how they arrived to their answer. A question like is going to the beach a good thing the answers can be yes or no. it would be ideal not to leave the question at that. Let the students explain why they think going to the beach is good or not. 

• How will you check for understanding? 

After teaching students, a teacher assesses the students to ensure that they have understood the concepts. In my lesson, I chose guided questions and observation. Through guided questions, I will ask student open-ended questions from the book and they will answers. The accuracy of their answers will determine whether they understood or not. Also asking questions initiates discussions where students point out their views on certain points. Their opinions also contribute to whether they understand the concepts or not. Observation is also critical. When observing, I would make sure to take notes about how student behave and perform during the lesson. Aspects such as attentiveness, participation, body language and how students tackle tasks gives a whole lot of information about students’ understanding (Barone & Morrow, 2013). All this helps a teacher in knowing the strengths of the students and the areas that they need help.

• What next steps would you take after the lesson if students do not master the learning objective?  

It is always possible that students may not grasp the concepts taught in a lesson. Thus, after checking for understanding and rating their performance a teacher will determine whether it is appropriate to proceed to the next lesson or if he/she should reteach the lesson. Therefore a teacher must have a backup plan for instances when students do not understand the concepts. It has always been my priority that students benefit from the lessons that I teach, hence, I would prepare another lesson for the students. However, this time I would ensure to adjust the teaching and learning style to more effective ones. For instance, I would consider and outdoor activity, hands-on activity or field trip to the beach so that the students can have better understanding when we read the book again (Rosen, 2017). I would also adjust the worksheets and supplement homework assignments. As such the students would expound more on the concepts hence improve their knowledge. I would also consider assigning students study-partners. The advanced students would pair with the struggling students to help them with studying.  

• How does your chosen assessment effectively monitor student learning of the objective and standard?  

As mentioned in the beginning of the interview, it is important to have lesson objectives and standards to guide the teacher on what the students should achieve by the end of the lesson. It is also essential to keep in mind that the objectives and standards should align with the assessment methods (Azzam, 2016). For my lesson, the objective was for the students to draw a picture from a scene of a story and write a sentence to describe the story. The standard was to use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events. As such, I chose guided questions and observation as my mode of assessment. Thus, my objectives and standard align with the assessment methods in that by asking questions, I will not only assess their understanding but also help them in understanding more and expressing what they have learned. I will also observe their performance and response to evaluate whether the lesson objectives are being achieved.

• How would you differentiate for advanced learners? 

A layman would think that advanced learners are sharp and bright and do not need any form of differentiation. On the contrary, they are gifted learners and they indeed need differentiation. The first step I take with advanced learners is to evaluate their knowledge. I would check for what they already know about the topic and then design their assignments. I would also allow them to work on independent projects where they can challenge themselves to the maximum. In an earlier question, I mentioned that advanced learners tend to complete their tasks before the other students. As such, I would have extra concept-based assignments standby for them to work on them and keep them occupied while the rest of the students finish their tasks. Lastly, advanced learners should work in groups. Some people think that it is not a good idea but I think it would be ideal since they can challenge one another and bounce off brilliant ideas from their peers. as such, Azzam (2016) encourages that advanced learners be allowed to work both in and out of groups with their fellow advanced students as well as struggling ones.  

In my lesson plan, I kept in mind that I would have a diverse classroom. Thus, I decided to incorporate differentiated instruction for ELLs, advanced students, and exceptional learners. Differentiating for these students helps them improve their understanding and retention of the concepts taught during the lesson. Differentiation included allowing students extra time to finish their tasks, placing them in group tasks, preparing extra or advanced worksheets for the advanced student, and using assistive devices. Another crucial part of my lesson plan was assessment. I outlined that I would use guided questions and observation to assess the students. I would ask the students questions about the story to ensure that they understand it and help them complete the independent practice task. Observation is also key to ensure that the students are attentive, check for their body language, and giving accurate responses to the questions. The last part of the lesson is closing. Here the teacher calls the students to order and employs the exit ticket technique. The students have to answer random questions from the story. Then, the class ends the lesson with a beach song or poem to cheer them up. I also recommended that the teacher prepare homework for the students to assist the struggling students and help others in more practice.

• You will most likely have English Language Learners in your classroom. What accommodations would you provide these students to ensure they are successful in understanding and mastering the learning objectives in your lesson? 

On many occasions, I have witnessed the struggles that ELLs go through until they have fully learned English. At their young age, it is the educator's responsibility to ensure that the ELLs are accommodated and supported to excel. As such, I included ELLs to my differentiation list in the lesson plan since it was a literacy lesson. The first accommodation that I outlined was giving them extra time to complete their tasks. It is important to manage time such that the students have ample time to complete their tasks since they somehow struggle to read, comprehend and then transfer the information into writing (Barone & Morrow, 2013). Another strategy would be ensuring that students work in groups. This helps them, especially when pacing them up with their peers, and can also get assistance from other students. It even boosts their self-confidence.

Using the digital form of the book (E-Book) would help them view images, thus enhancing their understanding of the concepts. Using tangible objects and materials, such as toys, is also important. For instance, if you read a passage about a ball, it would be ideal to show them a real ball. This way, they will understand better. Lastly, I would make sure to speak slowly and repeat important words and phrases to grasp the information (Rosen, 2017). I would also ask them questions to ensure that they understand the ideas and whether they are at pace with the other students.

• How will you differentiate for your students to make sure each one can meet the learning objective?

In most instances, educators have diverse classrooms where students have different characteristics and abilities. As such, it is important to keep all of the students in mind and implement teaching and learning strategies that meet their learning and developmental needs. Therefore, I would differentiate for my students based on the content I am teaching, the process of teaching and learning and the environment. Content means that the educator designs activities and assessments that match with the abilities and understanding of each student. For instance, a teacher may have worksheets for struggling, average students and advanced students. Read More