Lesson Week

Survey Reflection

Based on the results of this survey, I think I have several strengths. My strengths include caring about my students, making my students think, helping my students when they are confused, making learning interesting, and reviewing and asking questions to make sure my students understand. Some areas that are weaker for me are asking about my students' feelings, explaining things to my students, making learning just right, and allowing my students to ask questions or talk about ideas. I think a lot of these weaknesses stem from how busy our school days are. The teachers are required to get through a lot of material in a day and do not have much room for questions, talking about ideas, or talking about their feelings. To improve this in the future, I will take time every morning to ask students about their weekend or night. This will develop a stronger bond between us and allow them to feel comfortable asking me questions and talking about their ideas and feelings with me. To make their learning just right, I will impliment more differentiation throughout my lessons so that none of my students are bored with content that is too easy or confused with content that is too difficult. During student teaching I would also like to allow more room for choice during my lessons. The students would take more pride in their work if it is something they chose to do and hopefully it would help make the level just right. This would also allow room for them to discuss their ideas with me, which could turn into possible activities for them to choose from in the future. To get ideas about how to provide choice, I will talk to my resource teacher and some other teachers in the building. They are very experienced and serve as great resources for me. To learn ways to differentiate more, I will talk to the special education teacher for first through third grade at our building. She is great at individualizing activities for each of her students' levels.

Formative Assessments

Science

Description: To assess after my science lesson, I gave each student two cards. One of them was red with a capital letter A to stand for animals. One of them was green with a capital letter P to stand for plants. I named one of the needs we talked about during the lesson and had them hold up their cards to show if plants or animals required that need. If it was needed by both plants and animals, they would hold up both cards. I made a scoring guide to go with it that had all of the students’ names on the left and each of the needs that I read to them during the assessment across the top. I observed during the assessment and put an X in the box by the students’ names under the need if they got it incorrect.

Scoring Guide:

Objective: By holding up green cards and red cards, students will show that they are able to recognize the needs of different living things.

Rationale: The students in my class are good at identifying beginning sounds, which is why I chose to give them cards with just the beginning sounds of plants and animals, rather than the entire word. I also felt that this would be an effective form of assessment because the students would be more engaged and focused holding up cards instead of filling out a worksheet. During the lesson, we went over all of these needs in various ways, so I knew the students would be ready for the assessment.

Differentiation: I did not have any differentiated scoring guides or assessments for this content area. The students were not required to do any writing during the assessment, which is the biggest struggle for most of my students. I color coded the cards to match the anchor chart we made, which helped them identify which card was for animals and which was for plants if they could not identify the letter on it.

Language Arts

Description: To assess after my language arts lesson, I had the students draw a picture of the setting from the story we read. I also had a space at the bottom of the page where the gifted students could try to write what the setting was if they had extra time. My scoring guide is a simple checklist asking if students drew a setting, if it was the correct setting, and if they wrote the setting on the line.

Scoring Guide:

Student Name: _______________________________________________

	Yes	No
Did the student draw a setting?
Did the student draw the correct setting from the book?
Did the student write the correct setting?

Objective: By filling out an exit slip, the students will show that they are able to correctly draw and write the setting from a specific story.

Rationale: I knew that this assesment would be appropriate for my students because they have had several lessons now about setting, so they were ready to identify it on their own. They also really enjoy drawing, so I knew that this was one way that they would all be able to identify the setting of the story. The students are also getting better at sounding out words in order to spell them, so I felt that it would be appropriate to have them write at least one word to say what setting they drew in their picture.

Differentiation: To differentiate this assessment for my students, I did not require some of my struggling students to write the setting that they drew. Their exit slip only had a box to draw in, rather than a box to draw in and a line to write on. These students are still working on learning their letters and sounds, so it would have been very difficult for them to write an entire word at their level. They all still did a great job with drawing the picture of the setting.

Student Name: _______________________________________________

	Yes	No
Did the student draw a setting?
Did the student draw the correct setting from the book?

Social Studies

Description: My theme for social studies was maps. I made a map of the setting from the story I read to the students. After the I finished reading, each of the students was given a character from the book with velcro on the back. They were able to look back in the book to see which part of the meadow that character lived in. They then had to find that same spot on the map and stick the character on it. I assessed the students on their ability to put the character in the correct spot on the map by filling out a checklist as they came up to the map.

Scoring Guide:

	Put it in the correct place WITH HELP	Put it in the correct place WITHOUT HELP
Angel
Arhianna
Honor
Inasia
Isiah
Jencie
Jimmere
Kainan
Ka’myra
Liam
LeeRoy
Maya
Mister
Quionna
Ra’ziah
Tomorroa

Objective: By placing a character in the correct place on a map, the students will show that they understand how to read and locate specific places on a map.

Rationale: This was a great way to assess my students on their ability to read a map because it was just a simple observation as they completed an activity. The students were not being graded on their ability to write or fill out a worksheet, but rather on their ability to actually complete a hands on task. The task was engaging and age appropriate for the students.

Differentiation: The task did not require a different type of assessment or scoring guide for struggling learners. However, some students needed help finding the correct place on the map. When this happened, they were able to get help from their peers to point them in the correct direction. It was a great way for them to collaborate and help one another out.

Math

Description: To assess after my math lesson, I gave the students an exit slip. The exit slip asked them to circle the minus sign, write a particular letter to say whether they should count on or back when subtracting, and write a particular letter to say whether a minus sign tells us to add or subtract. I used a simple scoring guide to check off which students got each question correct or incorrect.

Scoring Guide:

Student Name: _______________________________________________

	Yes	No
Did the student circle the correct minus sign?
Did the student write a letter B for counting back?
Did the student write a letter S for subtraction?

Objective: The students will show that they know what minus, subtract, and counting back mean by circling the correct symbol and writing the correct letters on the exit slip.

Rationale: The students are totally new to subtraction, so I did not want to assess them on their ability to actually subtract just yet. I simply wanted to make sure that they understood the background information that they need to know in order to move on. So, this exit slip was appropriate for that. I also felt that this was a good way to assess them because they were able to just write a beginning letter, rather than an entire word. This is something that all of my students are capable of.

Differentiation: As I stated above, all of my students are capable of circling a symbol and writing a beginning letter. So, I did not need to create more than one exit slip or scoring guide for my students.

Feedback Log

Lesson Day Provide the day and content	Feedback Provided State if it is oral or written and if it is written what you wrote it on (i.e. rubric, rating scale, post it)	How would or will you encourage students to use the feedback?
DAY 1- Science	I provided written feedback to the students on a post it note after the assessment about their answers and engagement. Student # 1- This child is getting better at reading, so I wrote words on her post it note. It stated “Good job with your cards. You got all the needs right!” with a smiley face at the bottom. Student # 2- This student struggles with reading on his own, so I wrote “Animal Needs” at the top of his post it note and drew pictures at the bottom of a sun, air, water, an apple, and a house. He did well with the plant needs but needed some assistance with the animal needs during the assessment. So I told him what it said at the top of his note and what the pictures meant.	I would stick the post it note to their desk and have them refer to it during future science lessons. Eventually, if they became proficient at remembering living things’ needs, I would just have them put it inside their science folder to pull out if they needed it.
Day 2- Math	I provided written feedback on the students’ math exit slip the day after the lesson. Student #1- Student one only missed one question on the exit slip. I put stars by the two she got correct. I crossed out the one she got wrong and wrote the correct letter in with an arrow pointing backwards to remind her that we count back when we subtract. Student #2- This student got one correct and two wrong. I put a stay next to the one he got right and crossed out and corrected the two he got wrong. I drew an arrow to remind him to count back and wrote the word subtract. When I gave it to him, I explain what the arrow meant and what the word said, since he struggles with reading.	The next day I would create an anchor chart that looks like the exit slip the students filled out. I would have the students complete it as a class and fill in the right answers. I would draw an arrow pointing back to remind them to count back. I would then hang it up in the room and refer to it whenever we work on subtraction to remind them of the basic rules.
Day 3- Language Arts/SS	I provided written feedback on the exit slip about their drawing of the setting and the word they wrote at the bottom. Student #1- This child left at the beginning of the lesson, so she never got to complete the assessment. Student #2- This student is a struggling writer and reader, so he was only required to draw a picture of the setting. He did very well, so I drew a big smiley face on his exit slip.	The next day, I would give the students a chance to look at their feedback and ask questions about anything they did not understand. I would then review what the correct setting was with them and hang up the map of the setting we used the day before to serve as a reminder in the future.

Individual Lesson Assessment Reflection

Background information

Discuss briefly in a paragraph the focus of your lessons (learning objectives) in all 3 content/lessons.

My science lesson focused on the needs of living things. The objective was “Given bags with pictures of needs of living things, students will discuss with their groups and share with the class what their living things is and what it needs to survive”. My math lesson focused on subtracting by counting back. The objective was “By counting using manipulatives and writing answers on a dry erase board, students will show that they are able to correctly solve subtraction problems by counting back”. My language arts focused on identifying setting with a social studies theme of maps. The objective for this lesson states “By drawing a picture of the setting from the story, the students will show that they are able to identify the setting within a story”.

Describe how you pre-assessed to know students were ready for each content lesson. Readiness is critical in moving forward. This could have been a pre-assessment you developed or by observing what children had been learning.

I knew that my students were ready for my science lesson based on observations during past science lessons. My resource teacher previously did several review lessons to remind students of the difference between living and nonliving things. During one of these lessons we took the students on a nature walk around the school. They were asked to identify living and nonliving things outside. Afterwards, they were each asked to draw a picture of a living thing and all of the students were able to. Since the students were all able to identify the difference between living and nonliving things, I knew they were ready to move on to learning about the needs of living things.

Before my math lesson, I did a plickers pre-assessment with my students. There were three questions including, “which sign is a minus sign?”, “what is 5-2?”, and “what is 5+2?”. The results showed that 12/16 students knew what a minus sign was, 7/16 could complete the subtraction problem correctly, and 15/16 were able to correctly complete the addition problem. The students had been working on addition for about 5 weeks when I gave this pre-assessment, so I knew most of them had mastered the skill. When I gave this assessment, the students had no introduction to subtraction. A week after I did the plickers quiz, the resource teacher did an introductory lesson about subtraction. So, I knew the students were ready to learn how to count back to subtract.

Prior to my language arts lesson the resource teacher taught several lessons about setting, characters, and events. The majority of the students did very well with all three, but if they did not discuss it for a couple days, then some of them forgot what setting meant. So, I knew the students would be able to handle my lesson as long as they had a short review at the beginning of the lesson.

Describe your formative assessments and scoring guides for each content.

To assess after my science lesson, I gave each student two cards. One of them was red with a capital letter A to stand for animals. One of them was green with a capital letter P to stand for plants. I named one of the needs we talked about during the lesson and had them hold up their cards to show if plants or animals required that need. If it was needed by both plants and animals, they would hold up both cards. I made a scoring guide to go with it that had all of the students’ names on the left and each of the needs that I read to them during the assessment across the top. I observed during the assessment and put an X in the box by the students’ names under the need if they got it incorrect.

To assess after my math lesson, I gave the students an exit slip. The exit slip asked them to circle the minus sign, write a particular letter to say whether they should count on or back when subtracting, and write a particular letter to say whether a minus sign tells us to add or subtract. I used a simple scoring guide to check off which students got each question correct or incorrect.

To assess after my language arts lesson, I had the students draw a picture of the setting from the story we read. I also had a space at the bottom of the page where the gifted students could try to write what the setting was if they had extra time. My scoring guide is a simple checklist asking if students drew a setting and if it was the correct setting.

Describe the 2 children based on your observation logs.

The two children that I based my observation logs did pretty well during my lessons and assessments. Both of them were a little confused at the beginning of the math lesson because they were counting the first number twice when counting back. Once they were corrected they did well with the manipulatives. On the exit slip, child 1 wrote that we count on when subtracting, but got the other two problems correct. Child 2 circled the correct sign, but wrote the wrong letters for the other two questions. However, when I asked him the questions verbally, he was able to answer correctly. During the science assessment, both students help up the correct card or cards for every need that I listed. Child 1 left in the middle of the language arts lesson and never completed the assessment. Child 2 did very well drawing the setting. He was not required to write it since he is a struggling reader and writer, but he asked if he could draw characters in his setting, so I allowed him to and he did very well with that, too.

Reflection in Action

What were the formative assessment results each day in each of the content lessons? How would you use it the next day in your planning? (You may want to create some table each day that shows each child’s results. Did you expect these results? Why or Why not?

	Math	Science	LA/SS
Angel	2/3	4/5	2/2
Arhianna	3/3	5/5	2/2
Honor	3/3	5/5	2/2
Inasia	2/3	5/5	1/2
Isiah	2/3	4/5	2/2
Jencie	1/3	4/5	1/2
Jimmere	3/3	5/5	2/2
Kainan	2/3	5/5	2/2
Ka’myra	2/3	5/5	ABSENT
LeeRoy	2/3	3/5	2/2
Liam	1/3	4/5	2/2
Maya	3/3	5/5	2/2
Mister	3/3 (w/ verbal answers)	5/5	2/2
Quionna	3/3	5/5	2/2
Ra’ziah	3/3	5/5	2/2
Tomorra	3/3	5/5	2/2

I was very happy with the results of each of my lessons. I was actually quite surprised at how well my students did with the science assessment. But, the lesson reviewed the information several times in different ways, so the students seemed to grasp it really well. I expected all of the students except a few to get 2/2 during language arts because this is a topic they have covered several times. However, there are still couple who struggle. For the math lesson, I expected that about half of the class would miss at least one of the questions on the exit slip since it was only the second time that the students had been exposed to subtraction.

If I were using these results to plan for the next day, I would do a summative lesson and assessment over setting during language arts since only two students missed part of the formative assessment during this lesson. For math, I would go over the exit slip and allow the students to go through the same stations with more problems. They did well with the stations the first day, but did not have enough time to do all of the problems planned. So, I think it would be beneficial for them to have more time at each station now that they are familiar with the process. During science, I would do a similar activity, but this time I would have the students choose a living thing in a small group and write and draw its’ needs on their own instead of giving them the pictures to discuss. The students did really well when given the cards with the needs, so I think after a quick review they would be ready to move on to a more independent activity.

What type of feedback did you give to the children each day? Be specific with what you shared with the 2 specific children that you observed. Was this feedback appropriate for the needs of the child(ren)? Why?

I gave verbal feedback after every lesson. I also wrote words and symbols on the math exit slip and the setting pictures depending on the child’s reading level.

Child 1 Feedback:

Science- During the science assessment, I stated to child 1, “Excellent job Ka’myra, you are staying very engaged and doing very well holding up your cards”.

LA/SS- The child was absent.

Math- After the math assessment, I drew a smiley face next to the two problems this student got correct, and a frowny face next to the one that was incorrect. I then stated “great job Ka’myra, but let’s think about which direction we count when we subtract”

Child 2 Feedback:

Science- After the science assessment, I was talking to the students about how they did and stated “Mister I am very proud of how engaged you were during the entire lesson today. You even held up the right card every time! Keep staying focused!”

LA/SS- “Mister your drawing looks just like the map! Great job! And I really like how you added characters in the correct areas of the setting!”

Math- “Good job circling the minus sign, Mister! Let’s try these other two questions again! Do we count on or back when we subtract? Great job! So, can you write a B in that box instead? Excellent Mister!”

How did you or will you help students use this feedback?

I will help students use this feedback by referring back to it during future lessons. I will remind them of the good feedback to encourage them to continue their good performance. I will also remind them of the feedback I gave them about areas to improve. This will help to encourage them to change their misbehaviors and fix their mistakes.

Describe what you learned about teaching and learning related to assessment and feedback?

During this week, I learned that assessments need to be as simple as possible for young students. It is also best that they are not even aware that they are being assessed. This helps give more accurate feedback because the students are not nervous about taking a test. I also learned that giving specific feedback is most effective and that it is important to give positive feedback along with negative so that students do not get discouraged or upset.

What would you have done differently during this lesson week? Why? Be specific about teaching and instruction.

First, I would have made my math exit slip a little bit simpler. Like putting the letters under the question and asking them to circle the correct one rather than writing it out on their own. I also would have added another short activity to my language arts lesson to add a little more review before the formative assessment. Last, I would add more clarification to the science lesson. This lesson involved a lot of new materials, so the students got excited and a little disruptive at times. Although I never allowed it to get out of hand, I think that if I had given clearer instructions and explained my expectations more thoroughly, the students would have behaved better.