SELF REFLECTION

Although constructing the unit plan and the lessons was a lot of work and maybe more

details than I will actually write out in the future, I think it was helpful for making sure I covered

the important things and being detailed helps make the hour go more smoothly because

sometimes I would know in my head what I wanted to do and remember to say, but in reality

youre thinking about so many things at once and its easy to forget or skip over things that you

wanted to focus on originally. I wanted to make the lessons as authentic as I could and find

different ways to motivate and engage my students. My unit covered the first five lessons of their

new unit, so it was very vocabulary heavy and my last couple lessons introduced the grammar

concept of the future tense. I think there is value in filling out a few worksheets because it is very

important that the students can use the context of a sentence to know which word should go

where, but I didnt want it to be only worksheets. I incorporated games and activities between the

worksheets to break it up and try to give them another perspective. Woolfolk talks about the

cognitive taxonomy and how important it is to hit as many of the 6 pieces as possible. They often

layer and build off the one before it so in my lessons I tried to first focus on remember and

understand. Once they remember and understand the words I was able to have them begin to

apply, analyze, and evaluate them. Finally I was able to have them connect all of those as well as

create their own story that showed previous knowledge along with their new knowledge and

skills (2013, p. 516).

When I sat down to begin writing my lessons the first question I asked myself is, what do

I want to students to learn or get out of this? Then once I decided that, I could begin thinking

about my specific objectives and then decide how I would get my students from point A to point

B. For example, I wanted them to become familiar with the vocabulary first so that we could
then apply it and use it in different ways, but first they needed to know and understand what the

words mean. So I had them create flashcards so they would get the repetition of reading and

writing the words down. Then they could use them to study from by quizzing a partner or

themselves. We used the flashcards to play memory, which tested how well they knew the words

and brought in the aspect of competition in groups. Through the week we continued to practice

with the vocab and used it in context and then at the end of the week we practiced as a whole

class by playing kahoot it before they took their actual vocab quiz.

The vocabulary is about various careers and the grammar is the future tense. Rather than

just come up with hypothetical scenarios I would have them practice speaking by talking about

what career they want to pursue one day or choose a career that interests them and compare it

between two cultures. This helps them connect with the material and also motivate them to learn.

I also found that allowing them to choose whenever possible helped motivate them and they

enjoyed the activity more. For example, I would give them a certain number of people in their

groups, but they could decide who was in their group and they could choose whatever career

they wanted (as long as it was school appropriate) and compare whatever they thought would be

interesting. They found some good things and I think it opened their eyes to the pay difference in

careers between countries, which caused them to ask more questions and find out more

information, such as, what is the cost of living? Why does a doctor get paid 3 times as much in

the U.S.? Is there more schooling involved? In Teaching to Change the World, the authors

explain how important it is to have an ethic of care. This means that the teachers need to care

for their students and their learning process. Part of that means helping them develop their peer

relationships and a healthy classroom community (2013, p. 238). I think this activity helped with

that because it allowed students to find out more information about possible careers they will go
into and also more about their own culture and another culture. I like that it encouraged more

curiosity and questions about why these stark differences exist between countries.

Going into my unit plan, I knew that it would be important to know my learners and how

they interact and react to the various materials, but I learned a lot about how the tone of a class

can be set or changed just by a student or two. I also learned that although I had two sections of a

class they varied a lot simply because it was a different group of students. My third hour kids had

a harder time staying focused and motivated than my fourth hour kids. In my fourth hour class a

bigger challenge was the academic gap because I had 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th graders all in that one

class. Some would be done ahead of time or focus and finish quickly while others would

struggled to stay focused, even if they understood the material. Im also learning that its very

important to have a deep understanding of the content. It doesnt mean that I have to go into the

year knowing absolutely everything about each piece, but I need to put the time in to make sure I

do fully understand it before I get to teaching it. Obviously, it will be better for the students

because I will be able to explain it fully and maybe in a couple different ways so they can better

understand it. Also, it allows me to feel more comfortable and confident, which I think is really

important because the better I feel going into a lesson, the better I can present it and support my

students.

I think my biggest take away from writing and teaching my unit plan is that the more

work and effort I put in behind the scenes, the better it plays out, generally. I realize that this isnt

always the case. I had a day or two that I felt like it was just a flop, but sometimes that happens. I

think the most important thing is to not give up on it, but to do the best I can with it and above all

else make sure the students know that I care about them and their learning. It was clear to me that

when you have those relationships established they are forgiving and willing to work with you.
 References

Oakes, J., Lipton, M., Anderson, L., & Stillman, J. (2013). Teaching to Change the World (4th

ed.). Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers.

Woolfolk, A. (2013). Educational Psychology (Twelfth ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.