Responding to Classmates

Our last Blogg

I am sorry if I miss your response. I thought everyone did a great job but I am only going to respond to a few of them that really stood out or resonated with me.

Several of us were on the same page on the question of how to create flow for our lesson plans. I know that Julie, Ali, and Carly all mentioned that they had difficulty finding the correct flow for their lessons. I did as well. When I first set up my lesson design I had lesson 3 and 4 switched but when I looked closer at it I knew that if I was really doing this with students I would have the lessons in a different order. The key is creating connections and providing the students with the scaffolding that they need in order to learn.

Katie- Your comment about feeling like you were needing to repeat parts of your lesson resonated with me. The truth is some part of our lessons will need to be repeated. When I did my scope and sequence I was working with first grade. There are many fundamental areas that will be covered not just in one lesson but repeatedly throughout the school year. It is important to remember that while we need to hit on all of the standards there are some standards that are more important than others.

Autumn- When you commented on gauging the time for a lesson I had to laugh. The first few times that I taught in my classroom by myself I often miss gauged the time I would need to teach a lesson. After you have been in a classroom you will find that like the students you become very used to the schedule. Your internal clock will also most tell you, "Hey, its time to move to the next part of the school day." But I also found this part of the lesson a bit unauthentic because we know that some of these lessons will take more time than others.

Kim-

Some of the schools are pulling away from lesson plans. They are becoming more generalized. As a beginner teacher though I will need these lessons so that know what I am doing each day. I don't want to wing my student's education.

Joshua- I also agreed that writing up modifications and extensions for these lesson plans can become a bit unauthentic. What I try to do is think about the different students that I have had. I gear my extensions towards these students and I do the same for modifications. For me, it helps it become a bit more authentic in my mind.

Enjoy Your Summer Everyone!