M3: Reflective Journal: Lesson Plan 1 Julia Kaufman

The student obtained the big idea and desired outcome from this lesson. This is known

because the student was able to read and write all that was asked of him with 96% accuracy. By

the end of the lesson the student could express how the suffixes ED and ING change the base

word (happening in the past vs. happening now). The student exhibited the ability to apply his

knowledge of syllables to show that adding a vowel suffix adds another syllable to a base word.

The student determined if a base word requires the doubling rule that if a one syllable word

ends in Constant-Vowel-Constant and you add a vowel suffix, you must double the last letter

before adding a vowel suffix example: tap to tapping. The student also determined if a two-

syllable baseword requires the doubling rule to be spelled correctly.

The letter tiles, iPad game, sentences, phrases, and stories all worked well. The

instructional tool / strategy that worked the best was the letter tiles. They allow the student the

ability to manipulate words and incorporate their sense of touch when reading the words. While

the stories are applicable and only involve words that I am sure the student can read, they could

be more interesting. The use of letter tiles, one on one instruction, and immediate feedback and

assessment for the students understanding is what makes this program, and this lesson, so

successful. Abbott speaks to assessment when she states, The fundamental point of education is

to induce learning, and assessment is the process by which we can determine whether learning is

occurring, if it has occurred, and to what level students have learned (p. 34). I feel that this this

lesson appropriately assesses the student and teaches to the students needs.

The biggest thing I learned from this lesson was to slow down some. I was trying to pack

a lot into our time together and I can be more efficient in some areas and reinforce other areas

better. I need to reinforce specific spelling rules. Additionally, I noted that the student was a

little off during the lesson. He wasnt as focused as he normally is during our time together. I
M3: Reflective Journal: Lesson Plan 1 Julia Kaufman

wish that I would have refocused him better or went slower to ensure that he was getting the

most from the lesson. The student was absent from school the next day because he was sick.

From this lesson, I learned the importance of diversifying the application of strategies. In

order for what is learned in this lesson to be applied to the students everyday learning, it must be

presented across methods. Regarding instruction, Klemm states, Understanding calls for more

than recalling information. Understanding is manifest when a learner can use information

flexibly, applying it in different contexts and to different problems (p. 1). One thing that I

learned from this lesson, that I will do in the future, is make resources for the student to use in

the general education classroom. These resources will help him to apply what he learned in the

lesson and previous lessons to the readings in the classroom. This will help me to ensure that he

is understanding and not just recalling. Algozzine speaks to differentiating instruction, Most

important to differentiated instruction are the elements of choice, flexibility, on-going

assessment, and creativity resulting in differentiating the content being taught, or how students

are processing and developing understanding of concepts and skills, or the ways in which

students demonstrate what they have learned and their level of knowledge through varied

products (p. 50). While there are several ways that I differentiated in this lesson I feel that

there are many ways in which I can do better. Next time, I will do my best to incorporate

creativity and more choice into the instruction.