I use a wide range of materials in my classroom. Above, you will see pictures of some of the materials I have created and used in my classroom. For more samples; feel free to check out my TeachersPayTeachers page. Along with anchor chars, task cards, and recording sheets, I also implement technology and games whenever possible. I strive to make all my lessons engaging for my students.
Observations
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Online Learning
The 2020 - 2021 school year, I spent the entire year teaching online. It was difficult to keep student engagement up high as the year went on. Some tools I used to increase the engagement were Nearpods, Blookets, Drag and Drop Activities, JamBoards, and even padlets.
This was a small group actiity the students completed while I worked with a low group. I was able to see what they were doing and leave encouraging notes as they worked.
This was a small group actiity the students completed while I worked with a low group. I was able to see what they were doing and leave encouraging notes as they worked.
Math Pretests
For each math unit, I use a pretest in order to assess the students prior knowledge on the material that we will be covering. I use the data in order to differentiate my instruction as well as change my math groups as necessary. Below, you will find the pretest I use for the fractions unit.
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Probability Gumball Machines
In 2nd grade, we complete a unit on probability, which focuses on using the vocabulary to describe the likelihood of an event happening. The lesson we all (my students and myself) all enjoy the most was the day we talked about gumball machines. We reviewed the vocabulary and then the students applied it on their own and created gumball machines to represent the sentences they were provided with. I enjoyed the student's engagement in this activity and even shared it with the other grade level teachers. As it was a center activity, the students also had seat work to complete that I kept with the gumball machine theme.
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Water Cycle Unit Plan
As one requirement for our Masters, we had to create a unit plan using backwards design. I also used backwards design in some previous classes for single lesson plans, but it was a whole new experience using it to create an entire unit plan. This was also the first unit plan I created, all other lessons were one day lesson plans rather than an entire unit. I chose science because it is the subject I am the most confident with but I chose a third grade topic because I had no previous experiences with third grade content. The other files included are a Performance based evidence which we were required to create as well as a learning contract. I really like the idea of a learning contract for a review day at the end of a unit, but it would take a lot of work to set out the expectations to make it run smoothly.
backward_design_unit_plan.docx | |
File Size: | 134 kb |
File Type: | docx |
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5th Grade comprehension Lesson Plan
As a requirement for one of my masters level classes, I was required to plan three mini-lessons on one specific comprehension strategy. I discussed it with my teacher and she had me work with one of the lower reading groups in the 5th grade classroom I was in. She allowed me to choose between inferencing, retelling, and visualization. I picked retelling because I felt as though that was the one I could work on best with the students. I used three books, one for each mini-lesson; Frankenfrog, How Many Ways Can You Catch a Fly?, and Voices in the Park. I have also included examples of student work.
retelling_lesson_plan.docx | |
File Size: | 103 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Easter egg pairs
In preparation for the reading SOLs, the fourth grade students reviewed a variety of topics. Some of these topics included synonyms, antonyms, and affixes. In one reading period during this practicum placement, I completed a review of these three topics. There were four centers and the students had time to work with a group at each center. They had to pair plastic easter egg halves together to make a synonym pair, antonym pair, or a word using a prefix or suffix. The students really enjoyed the different type of learning experience. I have also included the observation form that my supervisor conducted during this lesson.
word_study_lesson_plan.docx | |
File Size: | 32 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Plant Review Scoot
Another lesson that I taught in my fourth grade classroom was a science lesson on the content that the students learned about plants. It was a review lesson and was the first time that I personally implemented a scoot style lesson on my own. I had experienced a previously planned scoot from my teacher but I planned this one entirely on my own and created the questions for the scoot on my own as well.
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Comparing FractionsIn my fourth grade practicum classroom, I was able to experience a lot of math as they were reviewing for the math SOLs throughout a lot of the semester. This was the first in depth lesson plan that I created in which I included anticipation of student strategies was a very eye-opening experiencing.
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4th grade SOL Review LessonThis lesson was a simple lesson. My cooperating teacher gave me a sample SOL passage that I would be working on with a group of students from which I created a lesson plan for a Read class requirement.
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One-On-ONE Literacy Lesson Plan
In my Kindergarten classroom practicum placement, I had a case study student who I also completed a series of one on one reading lessons with. I used leveled readers that my cooperating teacher provided me with. This was my first experience with teaching any type of reading.
literacy_lesson_plan.docx | |
File Size: | 19 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Fruit Kabob Patterns
This was the very first lesson that I created. It was for my Kindergarten practicum placement of spring 2012. The lesson was read aloud lesson combined with a math lesson. We read a book about a chef, as the students were learning about community helpers, and then created our own fruit kabobs in which the students had to use patterns. At the time of planning this lesson, I did not understand all that much about cross-curricular lessons but now that I have had more classes towards my teaching career, I know how important it is to plan cross-curricular lessons. This lesson is just one example of a cross-curricular that I have planned.
fruit_kabobs_lesson_plan.docx | |
File Size: | 33 kb |
File Type: | docx |