Avery Cornatzer

IMB Reading Whole Group Lesson Reflection

Being able to lead a lesson for a group of fourth graders was one of the funnest
experiences I have had as a teacher. I have always had a knack for the older kids, but teaching
this lesson today solidified my decision to teach older children. I’ve never felt more connected to
a group of students and gotten such a good response from the lesson taught. The lesson that was
taught was about figurative language, and was meant to be a refresher on what some types of
figurative language are, because students had not yet mastered figurative language. Planning the
lesson was an idea that came quickly. Music is so prominent in everyone’s lives, and figurative
language is everywhere within music.
In the lesson, using songs that the students were familiar with to identify different types
of figurative language was a great tool in their developing understanding of the topic. They
students were eager to tell me the songs that they thought of and the figurative language that they
found within them. I believe the use of music was a high strength of this lesson. Students also
enjoyed seeing a video of the songs and being able to sing along, recognizing the figurative
language within the song. It was awesome to see their ‘aha!’ moments that they were having as
the lesson progressed.
Students worked well in groups together, but with the excitement of having a new
teacher and listening to songs they love, quieting down was a struggle. My cooperating teacher
wrote on my feedback form that I could improve on my techniques for classroom management.
The techniques I was using for classroom management are what went wrong throughout the
lesson.
In the future, I would change this lesson in minor ways. I would allow more wait time
between my questions. I would also model the assignment better, either on the board or pass out
an example of my work and what I came up with. I would also let students sit around the room in
my future classroom. The classroom that I was in did not have much space for groups to move
around and work productively. In my future classroom, I would have spots that groups could
choose where they could focus the best and have time to collaborate with their group. I would
also print the instructions on the board for a reference so that the students always know what is
expected of them as they are working.
I believe that these changes would allow for more thinking on the student’s end. When
students are able to ponder questions with an appropriate amount of wait time, their wheels begin
turning and they can figure out the answer or at least come up with some valid ideas. Having
students work around the room would also allow for students to collaborate with their group and
work in spots that are not-so-typical for their school day. Some students may even focus in
certain areas of the room more that others. Mike Anderson speaks in his book ​Learning To
Choose, Choosing To Learn ​about the key benefits of choice for a student within the classroom
setting. I do believe that choice for a student is critical to their learning success. I believe that this
lesson is a great stepping stone into the right direction!