reflection: OTL502-1
I have to admit: when I began this class, the thought of creating a lesson plan, teaching that lesson without any previous teaching experience, and having to ensure that I was keeping in mind all of the 12 Touchstones was very intimidating. However, I was looking forward to beginning my own learning. And what better way to start than by focusing on the 12 Touchstones of Good Teaching? After teaching my lesson, I noticed that the Touchstones had an instant and dramatic effect on the way my class performed. While all the Touchstones made a difference, these are the discoveries and learnings that struck me the most.
I began by thinking of what kind of teacher I wanted to become, and decided that I would love to enter in to a career as either a kindergarten or first grade teacher. With that in mind, I needed to come up with a lesson plan that would be fun and interesting for children of that grade age. I decided to develop a beginning storytelling lesson with a focus on the importance of story structure. I decided on the story of “The Little Red Hen”, as it was an age-appropriate story with a beginning, middle, and end that I felt the children would be able to follow and identify.
I began by thinking of what kind of teacher I wanted to become, and decided that I would love to enter in to a career as either a kindergarten or first grade teacher. With that in mind, I needed to come up with a lesson plan that would be fun and interesting for children of that grade age. I decided to develop a beginning storytelling lesson with a focus on the importance of story structure. I decided on the story of “The Little Red Hen”, as it was an age-appropriate story with a beginning, middle, and end that I felt the children would be able to follow and identify.
beginning_storytelling.docx | |
File Size: | 19 kb |
File Type: | docx |
This was my initial lesson plan. The next important step that I needed to take was what Goodwin and Hubble describe as “unpacking the standards.” According to Goodwin and Hubbell in their book The 12 Touchstones of Good Teaching, “having standards and unpacking them, however, can help you identify the prior knowledge they do need in order to identify and address any gaps they may have in their prior knowledge” (Goodwin, B. & Hubble, E., 2013 pg. 12). No two students are exactly alike, and by unpacking the standards, I was able to cater to each student’s individual needs. This helped assist the student in being successful at the task at hand.
To unpack the standards, I needed to find a content standard that would drive my instruction for a lesson I will be teaching. Once I identified the content standard, I unpacked the standard to “determine what declarative knowledge {e.g., concepts, vocabulary, facts, details} and procedural knowledge {e.g., skills procedures, abilities} students must acquire in order to master the standard” (Goodwin, B. & Hubble, E., 2013 pg. 12), and I came up with essential questions that would assist the students understand the relevance in the lesson, and why it was important to them.
What struck me the most was that by unpacking the standards, I was able to uncover not only what would be important for the students, but for me as well. I was able to refer back to the standards to ensure that I was properly addressing them throughout the lesson plan. This benefits both me, as the teacher, and the students.
I then utilized a more detailed lesson plan template where I could include the unpacked standards and make sure that all of the 12 Touchstones were included.
To unpack the standards, I needed to find a content standard that would drive my instruction for a lesson I will be teaching. Once I identified the content standard, I unpacked the standard to “determine what declarative knowledge {e.g., concepts, vocabulary, facts, details} and procedural knowledge {e.g., skills procedures, abilities} students must acquire in order to master the standard” (Goodwin, B. & Hubble, E., 2013 pg. 12), and I came up with essential questions that would assist the students understand the relevance in the lesson, and why it was important to them.
What struck me the most was that by unpacking the standards, I was able to uncover not only what would be important for the students, but for me as well. I was able to refer back to the standards to ensure that I was properly addressing them throughout the lesson plan. This benefits both me, as the teacher, and the students.
I then utilized a more detailed lesson plan template where I could include the unpacked standards and make sure that all of the 12 Touchstones were included.
little_red_hen_lesson_plan.docx | |
File Size: | 39 kb |
File Type: | docx |
I had no idea how important formative assessments were until I actually taught my lesson. They gave me a lot of insight in to the students’ initial understanding and areas that needed additional focus. When initiating my formative assessments, there were several things that I took in to mind. My assessment needed to include predictions about the story, as well as an activity that revolves around story structure. After reading the story, I asked the students to display their understanding with the “Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down” assessment to help me understand their initial feelings of how well they understood the story and what was expected of them. This was a nice way to start, because the students really got to reflect on their own understanding, rather than me, as the teacher, determining it for them. Once the students felt comfortable with their initial understanding, I gave them the activity to complete:
The students were given the assessment on Thursday afternoon, and given half an hour to complete the activity. Once they were finished, I had the chance to take a look at the results. I was surprised by the results, and they gave me insight in to areas that needed to be addressed.
The students completed a Picture Puzzle Activity relating to the story structure in The Little Red Hen.
Here is the data in a visual representation:
The students were given the assessment on Thursday afternoon, and given half an hour to complete the activity. Once they were finished, I had the chance to take a look at the results. I was surprised by the results, and they gave me insight in to areas that needed to be addressed.
The students completed a Picture Puzzle Activity relating to the story structure in The Little Red Hen.
- Students will be able to answer relevant questions regarding what is going on in the story as well as order of events both orally and in drawing and writing.
- Students will be able to make accurate predictions 75% of the time.
- Students will be able to put a story in the correct order both orally and in drawing and writing.
Here is the data in a visual representation:
When I began to graph the results, I had some difficulty. I was unsure as to how to translate the results of the assessments in to graph data. So, I did my best to try and interpret the data into something I could use to help build my rubric and get students to the end result. What I discovered was that students did a good job of defining the elements, but putting them into practice was where they needed additional help. They also needed a little work with explaining their predictions, and how they came to their conclusions.
The rubric itself was another great tool that greatly helped with teaching this lesson. I would encourage all teachers use rubrics and show them to the students before any type of assignment. It sets the expectations in a clear, defined way. One thing that I would do differently next time is working with the students to help come up with a rubric together. The rubric I created, I felt, was effective, but I would have liked to create one where the students we able to be actively involved in – and one with more age-appropriate language. I believe this would help the students take ownership, better assess themselves, be more receptive to feedback, and feel more motivated to learn.
Another Touchstone that I feel helped tremendously with my lesson plan was maintaining students’ interest. “Student motivation, as it turns out, appears to have as much influence on student success as teaching quality” (Goodwin & Hubbell, 2013, pg. 66). I believe that one of the main goals for a teacher to have are to instill a love of learning in their students. We want our students to love coming to school, and looking forward to what they will learn that day. We do not want our students to dread coming to school – counting down the hours and minutes until they are “free” to go home. This got me thinking: How do we keep our students engaged where we, as teachers, have expectations that we need to meet? I found that understanding each students’ individual learning style is so important. If you are in tune with how each child learns, you will be able to develop lesson plans and activities that will not only challenge your students, but keep their attention as well. As differentiated-instruction expert Carol Ann Tomlinson states, “In a sense, the teacher is continually auditioning kids in different settings—and the students get to see how they can contribute in a variety of contexts” (Tomlinson, 2013).
With children this young, I tried to find fun ways to keep them on track throughout the lesson. I really related to finding a “hook.” Goodwin and Hubbell explain “in the opening minutes of any lesson, you need to grab student interest, not only forecasting where the lesson is going and what students will learn – something” (Goodwin & Hubbell, 2013). If you can get your students excited from the get-go, it will be easier to maintain their attention and keep them excited. I also found “using a ‘Vegas’ effect to put ‘sparkle in a lesson’ and maintain student interest” (Goodwin & Hubbell, 2013) key as well. Learning that students need to be re-engaged every 10 minutes was eye-opening for me. So finding something fun or “shiny” to perk the students up is huge. I got to thinking about my lesson that I am working on for this class, and tried to think of some “sparkle” that I could add.
The students and I sang a silly song that relates to the story of The Little Red Hen:
The Little Red Hen’s Song:
This is the way I plant the seed, plant the seed, plant the seed.
This is the way I plant the seed
So early in the morning!
Repeat using the following verses in the above underlined
Water the wheat
Cut the wheat
Go to the mill
Make the dough
Bake the bread
Eat the bread
The song follows along with my lesson plan focusing on the importance of the beginning, middle, and end of a story, but made it a fun interlude for the students. I felt that this would be a fun break that the students had after completing their picture puzzle activity. It also helped set the story structure in their minds.
Another idea I had was to ask the students which character in the story was their favorite. I actually used this as a “catch and release” activity (Tovani, 2011). For each character in the story, I had the students jump up from their seats when their favorite character was called. They then got to make the sound that animal makes. This helped to break up the work a little, and gave the students a chance to be a little silly. We also shared a snack of bread and jam while working on the activities. The bread relates back to the story and the students enjoyed the snack as well.
Incorporating the 12 Touchstones into my first lesson plan was really eye-opening for me. Though, at first, it seemed like it would be much more work than I had anticipated, I gained an appreciation for each Touchstone and was able to see the value that they provide not only to the students, but to the teacher as well. I would much rather spend more time ensuring that I am following the 12 Touchstones and doing what is best for my students than “throwing together” a lesson quickly. Overall, I am pleased with my very first lesson plan. I feel as though it was much more successful than I had thought it would be. As you can see from even this little lesson, my students and I were able to incorporate many different ways of expression and comprehension into one lesson, with a high level of performance. I look forward to utilizing the 12 Touchstones in my future lesson plans, and throughout my teaching career. Students deserve a great teacher – and that is what I strive to be.
The rubric itself was another great tool that greatly helped with teaching this lesson. I would encourage all teachers use rubrics and show them to the students before any type of assignment. It sets the expectations in a clear, defined way. One thing that I would do differently next time is working with the students to help come up with a rubric together. The rubric I created, I felt, was effective, but I would have liked to create one where the students we able to be actively involved in – and one with more age-appropriate language. I believe this would help the students take ownership, better assess themselves, be more receptive to feedback, and feel more motivated to learn.
Another Touchstone that I feel helped tremendously with my lesson plan was maintaining students’ interest. “Student motivation, as it turns out, appears to have as much influence on student success as teaching quality” (Goodwin & Hubbell, 2013, pg. 66). I believe that one of the main goals for a teacher to have are to instill a love of learning in their students. We want our students to love coming to school, and looking forward to what they will learn that day. We do not want our students to dread coming to school – counting down the hours and minutes until they are “free” to go home. This got me thinking: How do we keep our students engaged where we, as teachers, have expectations that we need to meet? I found that understanding each students’ individual learning style is so important. If you are in tune with how each child learns, you will be able to develop lesson plans and activities that will not only challenge your students, but keep their attention as well. As differentiated-instruction expert Carol Ann Tomlinson states, “In a sense, the teacher is continually auditioning kids in different settings—and the students get to see how they can contribute in a variety of contexts” (Tomlinson, 2013).
With children this young, I tried to find fun ways to keep them on track throughout the lesson. I really related to finding a “hook.” Goodwin and Hubbell explain “in the opening minutes of any lesson, you need to grab student interest, not only forecasting where the lesson is going and what students will learn – something” (Goodwin & Hubbell, 2013). If you can get your students excited from the get-go, it will be easier to maintain their attention and keep them excited. I also found “using a ‘Vegas’ effect to put ‘sparkle in a lesson’ and maintain student interest” (Goodwin & Hubbell, 2013) key as well. Learning that students need to be re-engaged every 10 minutes was eye-opening for me. So finding something fun or “shiny” to perk the students up is huge. I got to thinking about my lesson that I am working on for this class, and tried to think of some “sparkle” that I could add.
The students and I sang a silly song that relates to the story of The Little Red Hen:
The Little Red Hen’s Song:
This is the way I plant the seed, plant the seed, plant the seed.
This is the way I plant the seed
So early in the morning!
Repeat using the following verses in the above underlined
Water the wheat
Cut the wheat
Go to the mill
Make the dough
Bake the bread
Eat the bread
The song follows along with my lesson plan focusing on the importance of the beginning, middle, and end of a story, but made it a fun interlude for the students. I felt that this would be a fun break that the students had after completing their picture puzzle activity. It also helped set the story structure in their minds.
Another idea I had was to ask the students which character in the story was their favorite. I actually used this as a “catch and release” activity (Tovani, 2011). For each character in the story, I had the students jump up from their seats when their favorite character was called. They then got to make the sound that animal makes. This helped to break up the work a little, and gave the students a chance to be a little silly. We also shared a snack of bread and jam while working on the activities. The bread relates back to the story and the students enjoyed the snack as well.
Incorporating the 12 Touchstones into my first lesson plan was really eye-opening for me. Though, at first, it seemed like it would be much more work than I had anticipated, I gained an appreciation for each Touchstone and was able to see the value that they provide not only to the students, but to the teacher as well. I would much rather spend more time ensuring that I am following the 12 Touchstones and doing what is best for my students than “throwing together” a lesson quickly. Overall, I am pleased with my very first lesson plan. I feel as though it was much more successful than I had thought it would be. As you can see from even this little lesson, my students and I were able to incorporate many different ways of expression and comprehension into one lesson, with a high level of performance. I look forward to utilizing the 12 Touchstones in my future lesson plans, and throughout my teaching career. Students deserve a great teacher – and that is what I strive to be.
References
Colorado Department of Education Unit of Academic Standards. (2010). Reading, writing and communicating. Retrieved from
http://www2.cde.state.co.us/scripts/allstandards/COStandards.asp?glid=3& stid2=6&glid2=0.
Goodwin, B., & Hubbell, E. (2013) The 12 touchstones of good teaching: A checklist for staying focused Every Day. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Tomlinson, C. (1999) The differentiated classroom. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Tovani, C. (2011). So What Do They Really Know? Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.
Colorado Department of Education Unit of Academic Standards. (2010). Reading, writing and communicating. Retrieved from
http://www2.cde.state.co.us/scripts/allstandards/COStandards.asp?glid=3& stid2=6&glid2=0.
Goodwin, B., & Hubbell, E. (2013) The 12 touchstones of good teaching: A checklist for staying focused Every Day. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Tomlinson, C. (1999) The differentiated classroom. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Tovani, C. (2011). So What Do They Really Know? Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.