UTL 640- Potter

Amanda Juarez
Date taught (09/19/2016) Submitted date (09/20/2016)
S. F. Austin High School French I
Reflection #1

Criteria | Self Evaluation

Criteria | 3
Content | 3
Reflection | 4
Clarity | 4
Total | 13

Reflection 1: Cest qui?

RECAP: My lesson objectives and the steps to teach the lesson.

The objective for this lesson was, given a model Pen Pal letter, the student will use

their list of adjectives and greetings to create a personal letter in French to exchange with
another student and present to the class. By the end of the class students will learn how to
write a pen pal letter in French while practicing the use of introductions, adjectives,
numbers, and new vocabulary words. First, students were given a model description
about my favorite celebrity. The students then used the model to write a description about
their favorite celebrity in French. In partners, each student read their descriptions while
the other student guessed who the person was. This would allow them to practice
adjective agreements before they began their pen pal letters. As a class, the students
recited the date in the LOTE since it is included in the pen pal assignment. Each student
read a phrase, from the model pen pal letter. I asked the students to underline each
question the writer proposed and circle all the words that were unfamiliar. Without telling
the students the signification of each word, I asked them to explain the information to me
which allowed them to identify cognates. I continually asked questions about the material
for comprehension checks throughout the entire lesson.

PACING: How well I planned my time.

UTL 640- Potter

Amanda Juarez
Date taught (09/19/2016) Submitted date (09/20/2016)
S. F. Austin High School French I
Reflection #1

Criteria | Self Evaluation

Criteria | 3
Content | 3
Reflection | 4
Clarity | 4
Total | 13

I was a bit nervous that the lesson wouldnt last the entire class period of 95
minutes. However, even though I was pushing the activities forward I ran out of time.
The students did not get to present their pen pal letters in class. The part of the lesson that
took the most time was when we read the model pen pal letter as a class. The students
were horrified when they saw a lengthy looking reading. However, I was able to break it
down for them when they realized that had already encountered most of the material on
the hand out. I was very content that they were able to get through a more complex and
structured reading than theyre used to. Next time, I need to come up with a strategy just
as effective but not as time consuming. The students were able to take their pen pal letters
for homework. The next time I see them I will get to check the progress of their work.
SUCCESSES: What I consider to be successful about the lesson?
I thought the most successful part of my lesson was that students were engaged in
the lesson. When I asked them to stand up and do arm circles while counting in French
they became more comfortable with me. From there, there students began to be actively
participating without me having to call on them so often. Although there were two
students who never do work in that class I was content with the fact I was able to get
them to participate as well. Instead of getting mad or frustrated, I kindly asked them if
they could read for the class and without hesitation they did. Hopefully, they become
more comfortable and motivated within these upcoming lessons that they will voluntarily
participate more.

UTL 640- Potter

Amanda Juarez
Date taught (09/19/2016) Submitted date (09/20/2016)
S. F. Austin High School French I
Reflection #1

Criteria | Self Evaluation

Criteria | 3
Content | 3
Reflection | 4
Clarity | 4
Total | 13

CHALLENGES: What I consider to be unsuccessful about the lesson?

After reflecting on how the lesson played out, I wish I had managed my time
better so that students would have had more of a balance between oral and writing
exercises. For the next lesson I will need to examine how I could make the Explain
portion more smoother and less time consuming. As mentioned before, I had two students
who didnt do a lot during class. I will try to help these two students throughout the
semester even when Im not teaching although Im not quite sure how to go about it.
Another challenge is that the class is made up of 29 students. Although I make trips
around the classroom during the lesson it is difficult to have the front and the back of the
room engaged at the same time. I think rearranging the seating will work best for this
situation.
TEACHER PERSONA: Techniques I use to present my teacher persona.
Since students were allowed to use cell phones to look up single words on
wordreference I would walk around the room and check that students were only using
them for the work. When students got distracted I would simply what they could share
their descriptions with me and they would right away get back on track. Whenever I felt
like the students were talking over me I paused for a second or two and they understood
that their noise level was a bit too high. I only had to do this once or twice throughout the
lesson.
FUTURE: What I plan to do differently.

UTL 640- Potter

Amanda Juarez
Date taught (09/19/2016) Submitted date (09/20/2016)
S. F. Austin High School French I
Reflection #1

Criteria | Self Evaluation

Criteria | 3
Content | 3
Reflection | 4
Clarity | 4
Total | 13

In my future lessons I plan on making sure the students will have better balance of
oral and written exercises when I create my lesson plans. Since the model pen pal letter
was a little lengthy, thus taking some time for me to break down the content for the
students with guidance, I will figure out better strategies that are not as time consuming
but are just as effective. I also plan to find different ways to motivate the students,
especially the two who did not want to participate in class by asking them what are some
of the things that they enjoy such as music, walking, writing, dancing.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I was very happy with how the first lesson played out. Although I still have a long
way to go, I think that this was the best lesson Ive ever taught. Thanks to the 5 Es I was
able to smoothly transition the activities. Students were eager to explain the content of
the material to me, and never did I once just give them the answers. Overall, the students
seemed to enjoy the pen pal assignment, especially because I also gave them the
opportunity to provide a visual of themselves in the letter alongside their descriptions.