Fifth Lesson: Jeopardy & Review

And this is Jeopardy...

After recess as usual the class came back to the classroom. We arranged the board and decided to have 2 teams (we just slit the classroom into two sides-opposing teams). Instead of having the each student respond in the form of a question, we just came up with questions and they had to answer them. The main parameters were that only the person whose turn it is could answer and if they couldn’t think of the answer they had a chance to conference with their classmates and think through their answers (this was particularly helpful for ESOL, but I think it was an important addition to the game for everyone.

We gave the students a few minutes in-class to review with their teammates prior to the game; a larger part of study time was supposed to be taken for homework the night before.

In the beginning the questions and responses were going well. The class listened intently, worked with one another and we were on a roll thinking we were going to be issue free until we came to one question. One team was given the opportunity to answer in what seemed like a long period to the other team and as such this resulted in complaints and took the lesson off task. From a teacher prospective we were trying to give an ESOL student a brief period to access his thoughts, he was drawing the answer on paper and it was clear that he knew it and was in the right direction but was having difficulty expressing it. We could have done a better job at summing up the lesson, but the tension lead the lesson in another direction. As was stated from our observation we could have used the opportunity to recognize how well everyone had done overall, and reinforced the idea that the goal of the activity was to aid in review for their exam. This is good to know if other situations similar to this are encountered.

I think that our unit was a success and that our work and efforts paid off. I look forward to future classroom experiences and student teaching in the fall. I'm going to miss this class, being in and out their classroom this semester and last semester is a reasonable amount of time to have built great relationships with some of them. Luckily I have papers to return so I will still see some of them soon. I might try to stop in for a visit at least once before the year is over.

Fourth Lesson: Virginia Region Part III (Appalachian Plateau & Valley and Ridge)

This lesson had the final two regions we are covering in our unit. Overall, I think that the material we covered throughout the unit is being retained. They all have varied levels of comfort with the material that we are covering. Also, some of our students that are ESOL are pulled out for various purposes and some have been absent. In efforts to account for this and ensure that even the students that aren’t present for direct instruction have something to look at and read on their own. We created an “Important Things to Remember” sheet and a brief review sheet of everything we covered. In preparation for our final assessment and jeopardy review for their exam, we used chart paper and listed the regions and everyone was given the opportunity to recall what they could remember. When they missed or cited incorrect material their classmates or one of us would correct them. This allowed for peer interaction and assistance. Everyone seems excited about the Jeopardy Game. Our classroom teacher has had Jeopardy games before so we don’t have to create the board from scratch we just bring the questions and categories we create. It seems as though our lessons have gone by so quickly. I think it’s mainly because we were in almost everyday this week. I hope that everyone reviews the material I don’t know what to expect, but in teaching I guess that’s one of the most important things-you expect the unexpected and have back up plans. Tim and I said that we would come up with a few extra Jeopardy questions just in case timing is off and we are under.

Third Lesson: Virginia Regions Part II (Blue Ridge Mountains & Rivers)

We’ve definitely began to get the swing of things...Today we introduced the Blue Ridge Mountains and Rivers. We were able to find great images (for example, the Blue Ridge Mountains) to enhance our PowerPoint and awesome quotes and interesting facts for students (i.e. The Natural Bridge that has George Washington’s initials carved in it is in the Blue Ridge Mountain Region). At the end of our lesson we had students record what they had learned and one thing that had them stumped or something that they want to learn more about. This was just another point at which we could gauge student performance. When we introduced the rivers we informed the students of a cute acronym to help them remember (Principals Race Yellow Jaguars) the rivers: Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James. Our classroom teacher had a great display that allowed us to give the class a great visual. After our PowerPoint we took the students over to the rug area and conducted a map activity. They traced and mapped the boundaries of each region and rivers along with Mr. Tim and I. They then color coordinated every area with the specific region. I think that this helped a lot; they were able to see a spatial difference between each region and the rivers. Even though there was a lot of material covered I think that it was enough time for them to process the information. As I have looked through the Virginia Studies Journal’s I’ve noticed where some of the class has gone back and added and summarized on their own for “personal” review.

Thoughts on Second Lesson: Coastal Plain & Piedmont

In today’s lesson we created a PowerPoint on the Coastal Plain & Piedmont and we were able to jump right into things. The students were much more focused and willing to stay on task offering up occasional examples related to our discussion. As a homework assignment the class was to design and assemble their Virginia Journal for our unit, when we arrived all of the students were excited about showing us their designs. We had a Regions handout prepared as the first attachment for their Virginia Journal. The sheet has a designated area for physical features of the various region as well as location. We figured that this would be an easy way for students to have something that they could take home to review after the PowerPoint presentation. The students filled out the handout as we went through the PowerPoint. We also had them complete a “summing it up” handout for homework so that we would be able to assess the comprehension of the material along the way. The questions are basic and related to today’s lesson (i.e.: what is the fall line?). One of the most difficult components of this lesson were getting students to pick-up the important info from the PowerPoint and transferring it to the handouts, but I think it is expected and necessary for 4^th graders to need a little guidance. At least we’ve given them a brief intro to note taking. They seem excited to learn more about the Virginia Regions and our unit, this introduction to unit planning has given me a taste of what to expect next year.

Thoughts on First Lesson:

We conducted our first lesson on March 21^st. We planned our first assessment around the goal of continuing to address Virginia and its bordering states since the pre-assessment seemed to frustrate some. This way we could jump right and at show them that even though something seems unfamiliar if they are given the tools they can learn and acquire new information. We figured that the best way to illustrate this lesson and the majority of our lesson was via PowerPoint. While the SOLs only call for students to have an understanding of relative location, and bordering states we thought that it might be less dry if we focused on these concepts, but also incorporated some interesting facts. We even allowed for random moments for our class to veer slightly of task and make connects based on prior knowledge and past experiences. Thinking ahead and understanding that things sometimes go wrong we arrived early to make copies. I decided to go on ahead and make copies for our next lesson since our unit days were pretty much back to back. I think that having this already completed put us both at ease and ready to get right into the material. I didn’t know until now how quickly 45 minutes goes. We had the class right after recess, which meant that the students had a bit of extra energy. We gave the students a map that was pretty much identical to the pre-assessment to fill out while we went through the PowerPoint. I must say that we learned the importance of guiding children and that some children are easier to keep on task than others. We thought we would have enough time to have the students construct their “Virginia Journals,” but time didn’t allow for it so we decided to make that activity a homework assignment. They found the idea of design something interesting anyway. Overall, I think that this lesson definitely served my partner and I well in that now we are used to possible kinks in our original thinking. We are definitely better prepared I think that at least now the students are aware of the fact that we will start coming in on a regular basis to conduct our unit. I am at least thankful that I classroom teacher Mrs. S is a wonderful resource and gives us ideas and materials for our lesson as we go, her feedback is also useful since she interacts with the children on a daily basis.