*Week 2*
Lesson Reflection
Lesson Topic: Math
Taught: How to correctly identify and name certain two-dimensional shapes (ie. squares, circles, rectangles, and triangles).
What went well:
There were lots of things that went well! I started the lesson with a fun video on shapes and the entire class was actively engaged during this time. It was a great way to get their attention and put them in a positive place for the lesson.
This was the video :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uIjdI0qbi8
During the mini lesson the kids were very proactive and used their prior knowledge on drawing shapes to help them come up with characteristics specific to each one. They did some collaboration and seemed truly excited to discuss with their partners. I think having some previous exposure to this topic gave them more confidence as they worked. The students were assessed by becoming "detectives" and searching the room for items that were in the shapes that we discussed. They were able to make real- world connections, and they also realized how shapes are intertwined into their every day lives.
What did not go as planned:
There were a couple things that did not go as planned. When the students were getting ready to start their room search for examples of shapes, they got excited about it and started moving around before I had even finished giving instructions. They were able to regroup and follow the rules, but I realized afterwards that I should have given instructions BEFORE I told them what the activity was. I also noticed that some of the students would hear/see the objects that their peers found and right down their ideas. And even though I tried to spread them apart, it was still a small space and inevitable that some ideas get shared.
How to change for subsequent lessons:
This particular lesson taught me a couple things to consider for my future plans. I will make sure to always give all directions before even mentioning the activity. I am grateful for students who are eager to learn/participate, but I also don't want their eagerness to create any distractions or off-task behaviors. I will also consider moving to larger spaces for the kids to move around in. For example, instead of looking around the classroom for shapes, we could have taken the kids on a school tour and had them search in a much larger area so they wouldn't hear/see everyone else's ideas.
Until next week...
Mallary
That sounds like an awesome lesson! I watched a bit of that YouTube video. It was super cute with the shape train. I can understand now why the kids were totally into it! It is a great way to start a lesson. I also liked how you activated prior knowledge before you started to teach. That is definitely an excellent way to connect new learning to prior understanding. That sounds like a really great math lesson!
ReplyDeleteIt was a fun lesson! Another activity might be to give them the name of the shapes and have them count how many they could find in the classroom. Then when you are in a large group, have each team tell you how many they found of one specific shape. If necessary, they could point out the different ones they found.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a very engaging lesson! I love the idea of having the students become detectives and search for shapes. Ties in well to what we were talking about in Lipscombs class about becoming great story tellers!
ReplyDelete