Observations
Lakewood Elementary
Mr. Harvey
September 11-25
For my first observation, I focused on taking notes of what I saw, such as teaching strategies and how behavior was dealt with in the classroom. I mainly just took notes in this observation.
Leawood Elementary
Mrs. Szymkowski
October 28-November 14
In my second observation, I taught my first lesson. It was also more hands-on than the first observation and I was interacting with the kids at all times. Also I was treated like a second teacher and any time the teacher needed me to fill in, I was ready to guide the students where they needed to be.
Leawood Elementary
Mrs. Szymkowski
December 2-12
I chose to go back to the same teacher for my third observation. I was able to interact more with the kids and lead the class more than my second observation. Just like my second observation, I taught a lesson that I came up with to the class.
Lesson Plans
Grade: Kindergarten
Anticipatory Set:
Ask if the students if they know anything about the pilgrims and explain what past and present means.
Lesson Objective
The students will be able to:
- identify what past and present means
- show students how to use a venn diagram
- identify what a pilgrim is and compare/contrast past and present daily lives of people
Standards Addressed and expectations of students:
Students will compare/contrast the past and the present.
Teaching/Instructional Process:
I read a book to students about pilgrim life, then students will go back to their desks and we will make a class venn diagram about past and present lives. Next I hand out a house from the past and a house from the present to each table so the tables can talk about similarities and differences. Lastly all students take a piece of paper and draw something that symbolizes the past and the present then share with the class.
The technique I used for teaching was using a venn diagram. Not only is it a useful tool for teaching the lesson but they also learned how to use one. Also I made my lesson something that involved the whole class instead of just giving them a worksheet. It was an interactive lesson from all students.
Guided Practice/Monitoring:
At the end of my lesson the student’s task was to draw a symbol from the past then one from the present, then share with the class why they chose those symbols. This showed me that each student had examples from the lesson and also learned what past and present meant.
Closure: Tell the students why I chose to teach them the lesson I did which was because Thanksgiving is coming up and the pilgrims were the ones who had the first Thanksgiving.
Independent Practice/Collaboration:
This lesson is both independent and a collaboration. I started with the entire class discussion because kindergarteners cannot focus for a long period of time so I wanted to draw them all in, then give them their independent assignment. Their independent assignment showed me they learned what I wanted them to learn.
Technology Integration:
I planned to use a smartboard for my venn diagram, but when I came into class that day, my teacher told me it wasn’t working that day so I had to use the whiteboard.
Materials/Resources:
“Pilgrims of Plymouth” book