Lesson Plan Presentation from 11-22-17

In class Clint Finkemeier presented his lesson plans based on High school Social Studies. His first lesson was estimated for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Lesson 1 was based on the "Compromises Leading Up to The Civil War". I thought his standards were used well and his objective was good only there was either a shaky or no condition and no degree used; from what I could tell. The anticipatory set seemed more like direct instruction. I though that maybe he could either show a clip on the damage the Civil War did or a poem about compromises; or maybe even a picture...ahhhahhh. The picture could be gruesome though. I found a poem on this site: Poetry Soup

Time Of Disturbance

by Robinson Jeffers

 The best is, in war or faction or ordinary vindictive
 life, not to take sides.

Leave it for children, and the emotional rabble of the
 streets, to back their horse or support a brawler.

But if you are forced into it: remember that good and
 evil are as common as air, and like air shared
By the panting belligerents; the moral indignation that
 hoarsens orators is mostly a fool.

Hold your nose and compromise; keep a cold mind.
 Fight,
 if needs must; hate no one.
 Do as God does,
Or the tragic poets: they crush their man without hating
 him, their Lear or Hitler, and often save without
 love.

As for these quarrels, they are like the moon, recurrent
 and fantastic.
 They have their beauty but night's
 is better.

It is better to be silent than make a noise.
 It is better
 to strike dead than strike often.
 It is better not
 to strike.

These were some things I thought might be good hooks, or maybe explain the picture. I liked Clint's idea for the preassessment of using the KWL approach and I also liked his input portion. At first I wondered what kind of thinking map he wanted to use; but then at the end he gave us an example of the flow chart map he intended on using. I did like that he used group work for guided practice. Then they got to give presentations so everyone gets the information, but has less work to do. One thing I wondered about was on the independent practice; if writing only a paragraph was going to be enough for High school students. I would consider maybe a one page paper even or 2-3 paragraphs. I also noticed that Clint's closure is listed before his independent practice. I didn't know if he intended it that way or not. He did well on the remedial and enrichment learning sections. I thought he also showed good use of Bloom's Taxonomy. I really liked the idea of the interactive maps on his plan. 

The next lesson plan by Clint was also gauged to take 1 hour and 30 minutes long; for High school students and was based on "Key Issues Involving Slavery Leading Up to The Civil War". I really felt like he was missing the degree portion in his objective; but showed a good use of the standards. I liked that he remembered to include the book that they were referencing in his materials list. I think as a suggestion for Clint's anticipatory set; a true slave revolt story told by a former slave would be a good hook. I found this video, but it may take a few seconds to load: 

I did like the review that Clint did for his preassessment. I thought that was a good idea. However, I didn't understand if the students were supposed to be reading the whole book of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" or what portion; when he was talking about it in his input section. Once again I liked the idea of group work in the guided practice; but was still wondering about why his closure was before the independent practice. Also I thought his use of Bloom's Taxonomy on this lesson plan was good as well. Overall I thought it was a solid lesson plan and only needed a few tweaks. Thank you for sharing your presentation Clint.

Lesson Plan Presentations from 11-15-17

These are my comments from class on 11-15-17. There were four other presenters besides myself. I am so glad we had enough time to go through everyone's lesson plans. The first presenter to share was Carman Seay, on her lesson of 2nd grade two digit addition word problems. She allowed 65 minutes for her lesson. I wonder if 65 minutes might be a little lengthy for a lesson, but it is Math so, it could take that long. I really liked her fall themed word problems idea. Which, could also be winter themed, spring, or some other holiday type of theme around different times of the year. I feel like starting off with writing the word problems in pairs of students, would maybe be best; as I feel like it could be hard for different students to write a whole problem. I thought Carman had good use of Bloom's Taxonomy. Also, from last week when she presented her first lesson; I felt like she showed good use of the standards and in connecting them to each lesson.

Linsey Johnson was next to present her lesson plan on 1st grade writing. It was based on fairy tales and was 60 minutes in length. I felt like I missed her anticipatory set. However, I found this video on a site of free educational videos and thought this might make a good hook or anticipatory set; the site is:   http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=9735&CategoryID=2587

I liked a few different things about Linsey's lesson plan. I liked that there was an example on the board for the students to view as they work. I think this is a very useful idea. I also loved how the story map reflected the three little pigs story they were studying; this was very cute. I did notice that the objective was maybe missing and the standards. The standards or frameworks were hard initially for me to find. I found a site that makes it easy to know what standard is for what. It allows you to pick your grade and subject and the standard to go with. It is called  https://www.commoncurriculum.com/  It allowed me to type in my lesson plans really easily.
Linsey's second lesson plan was based on 2nd grade writing as well; with an emphasis on Goldilocks And The Three Bears. Once again I loved the story map used; that matches the theme, very cute. I felt like I was still missing the objectives and standards. One of the things I had to ask myself and think about when building a lesson plan was..."What do the students already know?", "What do they need to review?", and "What do I want them to learn?". These questions were very useful for me; in coming up with lessons.

The next presenter was Sara Clark. Sara did her lesson plan on 5th grade and the Unit was Landforms. I got very confused on which lesson plan was which. But, that also means they were very cohesive. Each lesson was around 50 minutes long. I felt like maybe the condition was missing on her objective; but I could be wrong. She gave students opportunity to make extra credit points if they were completed more quickly. I don't like the idea of extra credit points unless students have done all of their normal work; not just to make up points when they didn't do the work in the first place. At the same time, maybe those students who are finished more quickly, as long as they are correct in what they have done, could help students who are struggling. I felt like she had a good hook and her lesson plans overall were very interesting.

Gabi Berry was the next presenter and did her lesson plan on 1st grade writing with a lesson titled in Small Moment Stories. It is planned to be 45 minutes long. Gabi's objective was pretty composed and she had a very good display of the standards. The topic she chose about Pete The Cat was a good decison; since kids love Pete The Cat, even my own children. I love the idea of having "Cat Chow" during the video and that Gabi took into consideration that some students have allergies. I felt like she did a good job linking Pete The Cat to their own cats. I really also liked the journal entries based on pictures they looked at. The students can be very creative with the pictures. She also did a good job including the making of inferences and predictions of Pete The Cat. I didn't know what to think about her closure though. I was understanding that the closure should be a type of activity. Otherwise, this was an interesting lesson. Gabi's lesson two was based on Dogs instead of cats. She had a good use of standards. I loved the idea of the dog tag and collar for the "students" to wear. Gabi had a good reminder and review of the previous lesson. The magic wand thing she told us about was terribly cute; in turning the students into dogs. I liked her use of the picture walk again and I think table groups are a good idea. I also liked the pictures in the basket idea she used. Overall, Gabi had a fairly solid lesson plan.
Thank you to everyone who presented. 

Second Set of Lesson Plan Presentation Reviews

In this class period we heard from Crystal Richardson. Her first lesson plan was for 6th grade Science. The lesson was on Abiotic and Biotic organisms and was planned for 50 minutes. I liked the lesson idea a lot better after I found out the grade level it was for. I didn't know at first it was for 6th grade. I missed that portion, because I was obtaining my five year old son a pretzel snack. One of the pieces I recognized that was missing was an example of an exit paper question. I felt like I wanted to know what one of them might be. I like to build of others ideas or know others experiences. Another piece I noticed was not present was the lesson differentiation. I feel like if there was a special needs student; the lesson differentiation could be a more simplified worksheet involving the subject matter. There are a variation of worksheets throughout the internet. One example of a worksheet I found was this:

Overall the presentation was an interesting topic. In Crystal's second lesson plan she talked about ecosystems, as well as, the Abiotic and Biotic organisms. I liked how she linked the lessons and that it is going to lead up to webs or food chains. I liked the idea of using Web quest. I just wondered how the students were going to print the Web quest. Again, the piece I noticed that was missing was the differentiated lesson. I do like the activity involved of creating their own ecosystem project. As a parent, I love seeing these art and craft projects come home; they are so fun.

The next presenter was Michelle Perry. Her first lesson was for 2nd grade Math. I thought her layout was very cute and seasonal. I think the idea for a review at the beginning of the year is a good idea. This is a way you can gauge where your student's knowledge lies. I am not sure about the length of the review being 2 weeks long. I think it would just depend on you knowing how long it takes and what you can get done. I did like the use of cards with the symbols on them for adding tools, very neat idea since kids love games. Another thing I liked was that students were working at various stations. You could have time to work with lagging skills with other students. I didn't get to see a lot of Michelle's second lesson due to glitches. However, she had a good list of teaching standards. She also expanded upon her review to include two addends. Also, the worksheets were very cute and fun.

The third presenter, presented one of her lesson plans this week. This was Carman Seay. Her first lesson involved 2nd grade Math. I thought her lesson was very thorough. Although, I felt I was missing the Objective. The introduction was very detailed but I couldn't decipher what the objective was. I wasn't entirely clear on what her anticipatory set was, but that could of been just my own confusion. Again, very detailed lesson plan; which was nice. I liked the spider 2 digit addition puzzle game idea and I really liked the song idea for remembering regrouping. Overall, interesting and creative.
Thanks to everyone who presented.
I also found you guys another website that I like for Math here is the website: https://www.coolmath4kids.com/

Lesson Plan Presentations for 11-1-17

     In class tonight we heard lesson plan presentations from Amanda Stander, Doug Krieger, and Christina Massman. On Amanda's first presentation she covered content standards well within the basis of the lesson. Although, I was originally wandering how a whole unit could be based on one book. Then, I found out that she was using a different story for the next lesson. I also liked that the lesson of the book "The Lorax"; teaches morals and values about treating the environment well.  Amanda's next lesson was based on the book "Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon". I felt this lesson covered content standards well also. I liked that the lesson worked with the students on analyzing personality traits and feelings. I liked that "Flip grid" was introduced; I didn't know anything about it until this presentation. The lesson also did well at comparing and contrasting. This is a video I liked, that explains how to use flipgrid.

The next presenter was Doug Krieger. The first lesson plan he presented he used Kahoot as a assessment tool. I thought this was a good idea; so that the students aren't necessarily stressed by taking a traditional initial assessment test. I did, however, feel as if the Kahoots presentation or test went too fast for me to have enough time to answer all the questions. In a regular classroom environment it would have probably been a little different. I really thought it was an interesting use of pop music in the youtube video; to relate to the students and display an example. The only other opinion I have about Doug's first presentation; was I wished that there were varied slides, pictures, or something a little more engaging. In Doug's second presentation, I thought he was good at explaining the "Model" of similes. But, I thought he should have had Kahoot loaded up. If it was a real classroom you would have to have everything loaded ahead of time. I did think he had a good closure and reminders of what the class will go over for the next day. I also thought the exit ticket strategy was interesting; of writing one simile that the student came up with.

Christina Massman was the last to present. In her first presentation she did a good job comparing and contrasting taste. In our district, the tasting items would have to be healthy foods per our lovely, newly implemented district policy. So, they couldn't have candy or you wouldn't want to have them manipulating candy if it was in another activity; as they would want to eat it. The "Five Senses" song that we listened to was very silly, fun, and refreshing. This presentation was not boring and I had a thought that you could also have the students point to different parts of their bodies during the song. This lesson surprised me by including writing; which I was pleased about. Overall, I liked her lesson a lot. Christina's second lesson was also equally engaging. However, I don't know if I would use the same books and videos for my next lesson; as I would be nervous that they would be bored. I personally would maybe use the same video but different book or vice versa. One of the last concerns I had was regarding the length of the lesson at one and a half hours. This seemed like a lot of time spent on one lesson. I really liked the handout of "hearing" the things you hear. There were also good differentiation strategies planned especially for a student who may have certain impairments.

Thank you for everyone who shared their lesson plan presentations this week. They were very educational.

Thinking Maps In YOUR Classroom

In class tonight we talked about thinking maps. I have always disliked filling out thinking maps even when I was in school. I felt like it was time consuming and boring; but this is because I didn't have trouble writing my papers. I have always been full of thought and typically have spoken my thoughts and sometimes when I shouldn't. I am much better at reserving some of my thoughts now; as I have gotten older and more mature. Writing papers still comes very easy to me, but as an educator I realize that is not always the case for everyone; especially younger students. I do believe that thinking maps can be useful in the classroom; to facilitate the writing process. I think they should be explained thoroughly on how to use them or why they are being used; so students don't think they are busy work and can find them useful. Now, my thoughts tend to be scattered at some point, every now and then, so I can see thinking maps being useful for corralling thoughts as well. I am so glad that Mrs. Steffes showed us examples of different kinds of thinking maps. I like having options and it is important for the student to have an option, for a thinking map, that works best for them. I liked the bridge map quite a bit myself; however I wouldn't use it for every writing activity. I would probably use it when contrasting and comparing, maybe characters or other items, in a story. Different maps can be used different ways and for some reason the only thinking map I was ever provided as a kid was the bubble map; very boring.

I know I would have enjoyed a little variety. I plan to go over and print off several different kinds of thinking maps for students to use in my classroom. I was always a very compliant and pleasant student, but as we all know students are more engaged and work better when they can make their own choices. I found this video and thought it explained a little more about some different thinking maps and how they can be implemented in your classroom.