Reflection: Moving Forward
For Myself
At first I was not satisfied with how this lesson had gone. After talking with my observer, however, I realized that the students had some prior knowledge of camouflage, so they didn't experience a big "aha" moment during the lesson. It was more of a review and deepening of understanding than it was teaching of a new concept. But I met my goals for the lesson, and students demonstrated understanding of the concept we were working on, so I think it was a successful lesson. I was reminded by teaching this lesson that not every lesson I teach will be exciting or earth-shattering for me or for my students.
If I were to teach the lesson again, I would add a short, hands-on activity that got students moving and active between the slideshow and the read-aloud. That would break up the two similar activities. I would also plan an activity for those students who finish camouflaging their elephant early. It could be an activity as simple as camouflaging a second elephant in a different part of the room.
This was the third small-group lesson I taught, so I was working on two specific pedagogical practices that I had struggled with in the first two lessons. First, I was intentional about how I modeled the camouflage activity for the students, because in a previous lesson my instructions had not been clear enough for students to understand. Second, I was intentional about how I summarized and ended the lesson. In the previous two lessons, I simply ended the final activity and sent the students back to class, but in this lesson I used a think-pair-share activity and some closing remarks to remind students of the main concepts of the lesson. Hopefully having an intentional ending further solidified student understanding.
One teaching practice I would like to work on after this lesson is engaging students in discussion. The students responded well to my questions, but they did not respond to each other or engage in real dialogue. I'm not sure if that is because they are in kindergarten or if it is because I did not ask them to respond to each other. Either way, I could have asked students to restate what another student said, or to expand on it.
If I were to teach the lesson again, I would add a short, hands-on activity that got students moving and active between the slideshow and the read-aloud. That would break up the two similar activities. I would also plan an activity for those students who finish camouflaging their elephant early. It could be an activity as simple as camouflaging a second elephant in a different part of the room.
This was the third small-group lesson I taught, so I was working on two specific pedagogical practices that I had struggled with in the first two lessons. First, I was intentional about how I modeled the camouflage activity for the students, because in a previous lesson my instructions had not been clear enough for students to understand. Second, I was intentional about how I summarized and ended the lesson. In the previous two lessons, I simply ended the final activity and sent the students back to class, but in this lesson I used a think-pair-share activity and some closing remarks to remind students of the main concepts of the lesson. Hopefully having an intentional ending further solidified student understanding.
One teaching practice I would like to work on after this lesson is engaging students in discussion. The students responded well to my questions, but they did not respond to each other or engage in real dialogue. I'm not sure if that is because they are in kindergarten or if it is because I did not ask them to respond to each other. Either way, I could have asked students to restate what another student said, or to expand on it.
For My Students
I would follow up this lesson with lessons on habitat or on predator-prey relationships (food chain). Students understand that animals hide to protect themselves, and that they hide by blending in to their surroundings. I would like to extend the students' thinking to understand that where animals live affects how they hide themselves - that animals' habitats have a function. I would also like students to explore what happens when animals don't camouflage themselves well - who would eat a rabbit or a frog? - as an introduction to the food chain.
For follow-up lessons, I would narrow the scope of animals, choosing to focus on only one or two different habitats and the animals that live there. This lesson covered a wide range of habitats, which helped achieve the lesson goals, but as students think more specifically about habitats and animals, I would want them to focus on fewer animals.
For follow-up lessons, I would narrow the scope of animals, choosing to focus on only one or two different habitats and the animals that live there. This lesson covered a wide range of habitats, which helped achieve the lesson goals, but as students think more specifically about habitats and animals, I would want them to focus on fewer animals.