Reflection on Teaching
The unit I chose to do was reading with third grade students. In working with my cooperating teacher, we decided that the next story in their reading book would be the way to go with them since it was so close to the end of the year. This unit would be about the story Boom Town. I already know these students because I have them in class with me two days a week for computers and art class. I was fortunate because I know what their personalities are like and since I had also been observing them previously, I knew how they acted in their own classroom. By having this knowledge, it enabled me to plan lessons according to their learning styles and interests.
Lesson 1 – I began by letting students know that we would be doing a unit called Boom Town. They were already very excited because they had heard their teacher and me talking about it. I wrote a KWL chart on the board and asked them what they knew about Boom Town and what they would like to learn. I had some very creative answers on what they knew. The boys talked about finding gold and having old western shoot outs. The girls didn’t seem too interested at this point. So I gave them a little secret about the story to peak the girls’ interest. I told them it was about girl who began her own business, and they perked up a little bit with this news. We then went over vocabulary words and I was bombarded with answers! I had to stop and explain to them that just because I wasn’t their regular teacher, the rules still applied in the classroom, like raising your hand when answering a question. I was impressed with how well they answered the definitions, there were only two words (landmark and settle) that they didn’t know the meaning of. I read an article called Sourdough and a short story called Our Own Boom Town. Students answered questions and did very well with their comprehension. For practice on their own, students were to write the definition of their vocabulary words and draw a picture illustrating the definition. I had a few students who were completely not interested in writing their definitions and unfortunately, they had to do this at home for homework. Following this exercise, I told students that we would be putting on an actual Boom Town Day where students from other classrooms would get to go to their businesses. They were very excited! I began by asking who would like to have a laundry, bakery, school, doctor’s office, a bank, pining for gold, and roping instruction? Fortunately, there wasn’t anyone who was upset with what they got and it went very smoothly.
Lesson 2 – We began by reviewing a little from yesterday. I asked students questions about their vocabulary words and all students participated in this process. I told students that when they understood and knew the definition of a word relating to the unit Boom Town (you have to be extremely specific, otherwise who knows what will end up on the graffiti wall J) they would write it on this bulletin board paper and it would be called our Graffiti Wall. I then introduced some new vocabulary words to students which were all professions that would be included in the story Boom Town. I wanted to be sure and give them some knowledge of what these were before we began. Students did a picture walk before I discussed with them what historical fiction was. We discussed historical fiction and then I asked who were the author and illustrator. Then I began reading Boom Town. As we were reading, I would ask students questions throughout at different stopping points about the story. For practice on their own, I gave students a worksheet where they had to put the correct vocabulary terms in sentences to make them complete. I did the first question with them and I could tell they were familiar with doing this, so I stepped back and they finished rather quickly. I walked around while they were doing this worksheet to make sure they were doing it correctly and they were. Then we went to the computer lab and they searched for pictures of boom towns, miners, and the gold rush. I told them to get ideas for when they would be decorating their building fronts for Boom Town Day. I then gave them each a long piece of bulletin board paper and they began drawing. We didn’t have very much time left for them to do a lot of drawing on their paper, but they got the basics on there.
Lesson 3 – I started this lesson by asking students to give me one detail about the story Boom Town from yesterday. I was impressed by how much they remembered. I then pulled up a website on the smartboard where the students could move their finger over objects or people and it would give them details about the gold rush. I had each student read what popped up and then we discussed the answers. I then told students they would be writing an imaginary narrative about striking it rich while panning for gold. I explained what a narrative was and that I wanted them to use their imagination and be really creative with their stories. We discussed how to write a personal narrative and I wrote When, Where, Details (#’s 1-5), and How It Ended on the board. Students were to copy this down on a piece of paper as well for their story. I gave an example of my own imaginary narrative, but on a different topic because I wanted them to use their own ideas and not mine. For their practice they began writing. I reminded them to use their dictionaries if they had difficulty spelling a word. Students also drew a picture about their narrative explaining what it was about. When they were finished, (they all did this project very well and had full participation) students were broke up in groups of two or three and read the story Boom Town to each other. They took turns reading paragraphs.
Lesson 4 – We started today’s lesson by writing a word web on the board and students gave me details about Boom Town. I did have to ask a few students what they remembered because they were not raising their hand to be called on, but when I did call on them, they answered correctly. I then told students to get out their textbooks and we will read Boom Town together. Most of them said, “Not again!” and I had to laugh because they were so emotional! When we got started, I had each student take a turn reading. I would stop during the story and ask questions to make sure they were comprehending what they were reading. We then watched a video about boom towns and the California Gold Rush on the smartboard. All the students watched the video and they liked it because a student about their age made the video. For practice on their own, students did a worksheet where they listed three facts and three opinions about Boom Town. I explained what a fact and what an opinion was and then did the first one with them. Students had a little difficulty with the opinion parts, but I gave them examples of what opinions are and eventually they finished. This took a little longer than I expected, so we had to hurry, make our marbles, and paint them quickly. The marbles were for Boom Town Day to sell.
Lesson 5 – Today is Boom Town Day!!! Students are so excited I can barely calm them down! They begin setting up their businesses to get prepared for the other students coming. I told them that when customers come to their business that they must explain what their business is about. Students from other grades attended during their special class time and it went over really well. The student who had the school business used small chalkboards for other students to write on and began teaching them their ABC’s. The student who had the laundry showed them how to scrub clothes using a wash board. The roping instructor showed students how to rope a rocking horse (this was the most popular business). The student who was the banker had a great experience counting money and giving change. At the bakery, students received a homemade donut (which was still warm) and lemonade. The student who was the miner showed the others how to pan for gold with rocks painted gold and sand in a container. Finally, the doctor gave all of them a checkup to finish up Boom Town Day. It was a huge success and all money that was raised went for two young children in the community who have cancer. The third grade class raised $165.00 to give to the children! Now it was time to clean up, ugh! I was really surprised how the third grade really got busy cleaning up and putting things back in order. They did a great job and I was very proud of them!
Lesson 6 – Test day!!! Students took a multiple choice and fill in the blank test over the story Boom Town. When this was completed, I gave students their money that each business earned from yesterday, they counted it, and wrote it down on one side of a piece of paper. Then I had students write their expenses on the other side of the paper. Then we went to the computer lab to do an excel chart. I showed students how to do this on the smartboard and did it step by step with them. Students really enjoyed doing this activity and were surprised at how much expenses will take out of their profit.
Overall, I think this unit went really well. We had a few mishaps on Boom Town Day, like running out of oil for frying the donuts, napkins, and donuts themselves. We also had a few students try to rope each other :-), but I expected that! Time was my major downfall. There seemed to never be enough time to do each activity properly and I always felt rushed. I’m kind of used to that now with teaching art and computers and it proved to me that it can happen in all subject areas!
Lesson 1 – I began by letting students know that we would be doing a unit called Boom Town. They were already very excited because they had heard their teacher and me talking about it. I wrote a KWL chart on the board and asked them what they knew about Boom Town and what they would like to learn. I had some very creative answers on what they knew. The boys talked about finding gold and having old western shoot outs. The girls didn’t seem too interested at this point. So I gave them a little secret about the story to peak the girls’ interest. I told them it was about girl who began her own business, and they perked up a little bit with this news. We then went over vocabulary words and I was bombarded with answers! I had to stop and explain to them that just because I wasn’t their regular teacher, the rules still applied in the classroom, like raising your hand when answering a question. I was impressed with how well they answered the definitions, there were only two words (landmark and settle) that they didn’t know the meaning of. I read an article called Sourdough and a short story called Our Own Boom Town. Students answered questions and did very well with their comprehension. For practice on their own, students were to write the definition of their vocabulary words and draw a picture illustrating the definition. I had a few students who were completely not interested in writing their definitions and unfortunately, they had to do this at home for homework. Following this exercise, I told students that we would be putting on an actual Boom Town Day where students from other classrooms would get to go to their businesses. They were very excited! I began by asking who would like to have a laundry, bakery, school, doctor’s office, a bank, pining for gold, and roping instruction? Fortunately, there wasn’t anyone who was upset with what they got and it went very smoothly.
Lesson 2 – We began by reviewing a little from yesterday. I asked students questions about their vocabulary words and all students participated in this process. I told students that when they understood and knew the definition of a word relating to the unit Boom Town (you have to be extremely specific, otherwise who knows what will end up on the graffiti wall J) they would write it on this bulletin board paper and it would be called our Graffiti Wall. I then introduced some new vocabulary words to students which were all professions that would be included in the story Boom Town. I wanted to be sure and give them some knowledge of what these were before we began. Students did a picture walk before I discussed with them what historical fiction was. We discussed historical fiction and then I asked who were the author and illustrator. Then I began reading Boom Town. As we were reading, I would ask students questions throughout at different stopping points about the story. For practice on their own, I gave students a worksheet where they had to put the correct vocabulary terms in sentences to make them complete. I did the first question with them and I could tell they were familiar with doing this, so I stepped back and they finished rather quickly. I walked around while they were doing this worksheet to make sure they were doing it correctly and they were. Then we went to the computer lab and they searched for pictures of boom towns, miners, and the gold rush. I told them to get ideas for when they would be decorating their building fronts for Boom Town Day. I then gave them each a long piece of bulletin board paper and they began drawing. We didn’t have very much time left for them to do a lot of drawing on their paper, but they got the basics on there.
Lesson 3 – I started this lesson by asking students to give me one detail about the story Boom Town from yesterday. I was impressed by how much they remembered. I then pulled up a website on the smartboard where the students could move their finger over objects or people and it would give them details about the gold rush. I had each student read what popped up and then we discussed the answers. I then told students they would be writing an imaginary narrative about striking it rich while panning for gold. I explained what a narrative was and that I wanted them to use their imagination and be really creative with their stories. We discussed how to write a personal narrative and I wrote When, Where, Details (#’s 1-5), and How It Ended on the board. Students were to copy this down on a piece of paper as well for their story. I gave an example of my own imaginary narrative, but on a different topic because I wanted them to use their own ideas and not mine. For their practice they began writing. I reminded them to use their dictionaries if they had difficulty spelling a word. Students also drew a picture about their narrative explaining what it was about. When they were finished, (they all did this project very well and had full participation) students were broke up in groups of two or three and read the story Boom Town to each other. They took turns reading paragraphs.
Lesson 4 – We started today’s lesson by writing a word web on the board and students gave me details about Boom Town. I did have to ask a few students what they remembered because they were not raising their hand to be called on, but when I did call on them, they answered correctly. I then told students to get out their textbooks and we will read Boom Town together. Most of them said, “Not again!” and I had to laugh because they were so emotional! When we got started, I had each student take a turn reading. I would stop during the story and ask questions to make sure they were comprehending what they were reading. We then watched a video about boom towns and the California Gold Rush on the smartboard. All the students watched the video and they liked it because a student about their age made the video. For practice on their own, students did a worksheet where they listed three facts and three opinions about Boom Town. I explained what a fact and what an opinion was and then did the first one with them. Students had a little difficulty with the opinion parts, but I gave them examples of what opinions are and eventually they finished. This took a little longer than I expected, so we had to hurry, make our marbles, and paint them quickly. The marbles were for Boom Town Day to sell.
Lesson 5 – Today is Boom Town Day!!! Students are so excited I can barely calm them down! They begin setting up their businesses to get prepared for the other students coming. I told them that when customers come to their business that they must explain what their business is about. Students from other grades attended during their special class time and it went over really well. The student who had the school business used small chalkboards for other students to write on and began teaching them their ABC’s. The student who had the laundry showed them how to scrub clothes using a wash board. The roping instructor showed students how to rope a rocking horse (this was the most popular business). The student who was the banker had a great experience counting money and giving change. At the bakery, students received a homemade donut (which was still warm) and lemonade. The student who was the miner showed the others how to pan for gold with rocks painted gold and sand in a container. Finally, the doctor gave all of them a checkup to finish up Boom Town Day. It was a huge success and all money that was raised went for two young children in the community who have cancer. The third grade class raised $165.00 to give to the children! Now it was time to clean up, ugh! I was really surprised how the third grade really got busy cleaning up and putting things back in order. They did a great job and I was very proud of them!
Lesson 6 – Test day!!! Students took a multiple choice and fill in the blank test over the story Boom Town. When this was completed, I gave students their money that each business earned from yesterday, they counted it, and wrote it down on one side of a piece of paper. Then I had students write their expenses on the other side of the paper. Then we went to the computer lab to do an excel chart. I showed students how to do this on the smartboard and did it step by step with them. Students really enjoyed doing this activity and were surprised at how much expenses will take out of their profit.
Overall, I think this unit went really well. We had a few mishaps on Boom Town Day, like running out of oil for frying the donuts, napkins, and donuts themselves. We also had a few students try to rope each other :-), but I expected that! Time was my major downfall. There seemed to never be enough time to do each activity properly and I always felt rushed. I’m kind of used to that now with teaching art and computers and it proved to me that it can happen in all subject areas!