Reflection & Self Evaluation Confidence & Subject Matter When deciding on creating a unit plan in Social Students,

I looked at the curriculum map and the core that should be taught. I first decided on Utah symbols landmarks and documents. Then I decided I should just include National symbols landmarks and documents into the unit as well. I thought putting the two together would help make it easier to differentiate between state and nation. I like to teach about subject matter that I am familiar with, but not an expert in, especially with a younger grade like 1st. I like to be able to learn before I teach to keep the learning process fresh in my mind to know what the students should be exposed to. I knew a lot of the basics about the nations symbols landmarks and documents, but I am not from Utah, so I enjoyed learning about Utah and teaching it to these 1st graders. As I did some researching for things to include in my lessons, activities to include, websites and so on, I found many helpful teaching tactics, and ideas that fit perfectly into the standards of my unit. After creating my unit and lesson, I then looked to and coordinated with my mentor teacher as when would be the best time to start the unit, and what time of the day. We were able to schedule preferred times. Reflecting back on the whole experience of searching, planning, and teaching the lesson, I can say that my confidence in teaching this subject matter was strong because I had the background knowledge and was able to do my own prior learning and gained knowledge of the subject matter that was needed to teach. Meeting Objectives My unit plan stated the content and language objectives that were being taught, and were also found at the beginning of each lesson plan. While planning my lessons according to the stands, I had to pay close attention to the verbs in the standards. For example, the standard for this unit was to recognize roles and responsibilities, and the objective was to name Utah State and national symbols, landmarks, and documents. Verbs included: recognize and name, also identify. The verbs I used when writing the objectives for each lesson included: understand, draw, explain, identify, recognize, label, differentiate, describe, and name. Throughout the unit, if all of the objectives were met, the overall goal to recognize would be met. The assessments in each lesson were carefully prepared using the Utah state core standards. Looking of my assessment data, all of the students scored 80%-100% on the post-assessment. To score 80% the students couldnt miss more than 2 questions out of the 10 given. The students who received 100% will receive a 4 on their report card for Social Studies; the other 3 will score a 3 on their report card. The class did great on the post-assessment. I believe it is evident the scores prove that the objectives were met by how well the students scored on their postassessment. Instruction Sequence The instructional sequence of the lesson was carefully thought out and planned. The instructional sequence was set up to build from the students background experiences. The first lesson that was taught was an introductory lesson about what symbols are. The second lesson consisted of learning about Utah symbols and introducing what landmarks are and those that are in Utah. The second lesson strongly connected to the introductory lesson. The third lesson introduced national symbols and landmarks. Then the fourth lesson was to differ between state and nation. Then in the fifth lesson

documents were introduced and taught. Finally the last lesson wrapped everything up and how knowing what was taught makes us responsible and we now know our roles as citizens of Utah and the United States. The last thing that was done was the postassessment and the first thing that was given to start the unit was a pre-assessment. The instructional sequence of my lessons were put in place to help students organize the material being taught in an organized manner. I think that the instruction sequence of my lessons were effective and can be supported by looking at the great scores pertaining to the post-assessment results. Classroom Environment The classroom environment is very warm, inviting, calm, comfortable, and safe. The teacher talks in a quiet voice, therefore children reactions are also quiet. The environment is a comfortable, safe place where children are encouraged to take risks and voice their personal opinions. I know that the environment and feel of the classroom can play and important role that can shape a childs learning exp eriences. After teaching my second Social Studies lesson, I noted some of the ways that the classroom environment could be enriched and enhance student learning. Whenever teaching the class, the students are always involved and do really well at participating. I encourage the students to share thoughts and ask questions, which keeps them very vocal. The best way to keep students involved and participating in this class is to have a great attention getter, and to change the pace of things frequently. This can be done by reading, discussing, and then watch a video then discuss more. Breaking the discussions up with some other form of learning helps keep the students to stay on task and involved. After teaching these lessons I found that some of the students had been choosing to read books about national symbols at the reading group, where they check out books to take home each day in leveled readers. The classroom library was somewhat an extension of my lesson to some students. There was one student that took a book home about the white house and came back with a written report that she wanted to share. Personal Growth My knowledge about our roles and responsibilities as citizens of Utah and the United States has tremendously increased after searching, preparing and teaching the unit about Utah and National symbols, landmarks and documents. I have learned the importance of giving a pre and post assessment in order to examine what the students knew before and how much learning and improvement has taken place after the unit has been taught. Also, it gives the teacher knowledge of where to guide instruction, and who you can rely on to answer questions to help other students, as well as who may need promptings to questions. I now have a good understanding of the steps that need to be taken to create a unit plan, creating effective standards based lessons. From teaching each of my lessons and individually reflecting on each one, I have learned about and pinpointed some more of my strengths and weaknesses as a teacher. I can now use what I reflected on to continue to grow as an educator. Caring and Professional Relationship I put a lot of effort into preparing this unit and creating it to fit specifically for the students in my class. When I was unsure about what little critiques I could make, I was able to communicate any struggles with my mentor teacher. My mentor teacher noticed

how excited I was about teaching this lesson, the excitement got her excited as well and she was able to share more ideas that I could incorporate into my unit if needed and wanted. I know that my actions and attitudes about learning and teaching a specific subject matter affect all of the students. If the teacher is excited about learning, the students are more likely to be excited about learning that topic as well. I show my students that I care by listening to each and every one of them and making accommodations based upon their individual educational needs.