I will split up the students into pairs. Each student has his or her own worksheets and mira. Combining the students into pairs helps the students to help each other learn. There was not a lot of flexibility in this lesson for provisions for diverse learners, so I will rely on peer to peer interaction to help students struggling with the material.
Management: ( distributing materials; setting up groups)
A week before I gave the lesson the students were introduced to reflections. The students were working with mirrors only. The miras are a great way to help the students learn about reflections even more.
Materials for the experiment will be distributed after I do an introduction and explain what was going to happen. I didn’t want to give the students the miras at the beginning of the lesson, because they wouldn’t have listened to the instructions and what I had to say. The students would have been playing instead of learning.
Beginning: ( capturing students’ interests; identifying the purpose of this lesson; links to previous knowledge/experience)
I want to start out the class by asking the students about the lesson they learned in class the week before with mirrors. After getting some feedback from the students to see what they remember I will introduce the students to the mira. I want to show the students why the mira is more fun and interesting to use to learn about reflections than a mirror is. The students are going to learn about reflections, as well as learn about the effectiveness of the mira.
Development including extension of student thinking and instructional adjustments:( include your considerations and predictions on time management such as pacing and transitions )
The lesson will begin by me asking the students what they learned the week before in class about reflections. Then I will explain why what they learned the week before will be helpful for the lesson they will be learning today. (5 min.)
I will then have my helpers pass out the worksheets to the rest of the students in the class. The students will then follow along with me as I introduce the students to the mira. The students will then be taught the different parts of the mira. They will be repeating the names of the words for the different parts of the mira. My helpers will then hand out the miras to the students. (5 min.)
The students will then do 5 different experiments with the miras. While doing these they will learn more about reflections, and hopefully enjoy the material they learn. We will do each experiment as a class. I do not want the students to be going ahead of the group. In order to do this after each experiment we will be discussing it, and what they learned. I will be calling on different students to answer the questions I pose to them. They will also be writing down their observations on the worksheets I provide. (15 min)
When all of the experiments are completed, or just about completed I will come around and collect the miras. The students will get to keep their worksheets. To close out the lesson plan, the students will ask any questions of me that they have about the mirrors, as well as answer questions I pose to them. It will then be time for the students to go to Phy. Ed. (5 min.)
Closure:( summary of learning by the students: relate to objectives; link to future lessons)
The students learned a new way to learn about reflections. The students will have to use problem solving to know how to move the mira in order to complete the experiments.
The students will have used problem solving
The students will communicate with me and each other
The students use different technology
The students learn about geometry
The students use art in the lesson
The students get to use their imagination
This lesson does not provide a link to any future lessons by the teacher, or at least none that I am aware of.
Extension: (specific ideas for groups or individuals who finish early)
No extension activity will be needed for this lesson. The students as far as I know will not be working with the miras again. The students may know more about geometry when the lesson is done, which may help in future lesson plans that the teacher will provide.
Assessing student performance: (clear evidence that the learning objectives were actually met)
The students will provide clear evidence that the learning objectives were met by completing the worksheets and answering questions that I put forth during the lesson. I will be walking around the class during the lesson, and seeing what the students are writing on their worksheets. By having the students answering questions about the lesson, it will show me that they understand the material. There will be no formal assessment though, because I will not be collecting the worksheets.
Teacher Reflection : (Was the lesson successful? How do I know? What adjustments will I make for the next lesson based on today’s experience?)
After completing my first lesson by myself I have to say that it went very well. The students seemed to really enjoy the lesson. The reason I believe the lesson went well was, because I had great classroom management. I used an old trick that Judy Fadness taught me. “When the hand goes up the mouth goes shut.” I also used, “Raise your hand if you can hear my voice.” Performing these two commands allowed me to keep the students on track. Working with miras could have been a lot more difficult than what it was. I made sure that I didn’t hand out the miras until I was done teaching the students what they were.
I did have a few downfalls with my lesson. The biggest thing was the closing. I ended up starting my lesson later than I had planned. This caused me to go through the worksheets that I handed out to the students at a faster rate than was expected. I got through most of my conclusion, before my teacher told the kids that it was time for Phy. Ed.
If I had to teach the lesson again I would have prepared more. I didn’t have the answers to some of the questions the students asked. The students wanted to know if the miras would work if they were a different color. I couldn’t honestly tell them. They also wanted to know where they could purchase the miras. I felt bad that I didn’t have an answer for them. After the lesson I found out the answers to the questions, and let the students know them the next day.
As a teacher I know I’m not always going to have all of the answers, but I should have expected the questions the students asked. There area a lot more experiments I could go through with the students in learning about miras if I had to teach another lesson. They are a great tool for students to learn about reflections, and geometry. I recommend them to all teachers at the elementary level.
I loved teaching the lesson. It gave me more credit as a teacher with the students. I proved to myself that I can teach a lesson, and have command over the classroom. The students didn’t think of me anymore as the guy who came and helped the teacher. They thought of me as the teacher that day. It felt great.
