Homonym Homophone Lesson (Reflection on 2nd technology lesson)

1. Instructional Decisions/Teaching (InTask Standard # 9): Discuss the implementation process and describe
• What went well and what didn't go well during the implementation of your lesson?

I feel that what went well during my lesson was that the students were engaged and seemed genuinely interested in the topic. As I was giving the lesson, I did kind of feel that it may not be age or grade appropriate. The lesson was on homophones and homonyms. The anticipatory set was the reading of a picture book discussing homophones and homonyms. I knew the book may be too “childish” for fourth grade, but that’s what I liked about it. It took something that could potentially be confusing for students and clarified and simplified it for students to understand. Maybe in an actual classroom the lesson would flow better, but I feel that it is cutting it kind of close. My idea of that anticipatory set will work really well or it may not work at all. I’d definitely have to gauge my students and know my audience when putting the lesson together.

• How well was the alignment to objectives and standards maintained?

The alignment of the objectives and standards was maintained throughout the lesson. The lesson as chosen for fourth grade because in the fourth grade ELA standards is the first time homonyms and homophones are mentioned. The lesson focused on both homonyms and homophones, ensuring the alignment of the standards to the objective of the lesson.

• Describe any modifications made during the implementation of the lesson.

Originally the lesson was supposed to have been done with the students using Glogster.com to create posters describing homonyms and homophones, but due to technological difficulties Glogster wasn’t available. The lesson was modified to work around this, and the students were asked to make a PowerPoint presentation giving examples of homonyms and homophones.

2. Mechanics:
• What technologies did I use (for the teacher and the learner)?

The technologies used for this lesson were PowerPoint, by the teacher and the student and the SmartBoard by the teacher. The teacher would have an example PowerPoint done to show the students what the expectations are, and then the students would create their own PowerPoint using the laptops.

• How were the technologies used (by whom and in what manner)?

I’ve already answered this question in my response to the previous question, but originally the students would have used the laptops to log on to Glogster to create their own poster about homonyms and homophones. The teacher would have used to SmartBoard to show the Glogster she made and the students would have used to laptops and logged on to the internet and into their Glogster accounts to create a  new glog. When creating the lesson, it was understood that the students would be familiar with Glogster. I hope to be able to effectively utilize Glogster in my future classroom.

• My lesson was within the correct time frame.

I originally thought my lesson was short by about five minutes, but when I saw my grade, I saw in the notes that my lesson was short by FIFTEEN minutes! As a teacher, I need to make sure I am keeping up with the time frame I have for each lesson and that I am following my own daily schedule to ensure my students have enough time to work on everything they need to work on. It also could have run short because we are students at the college level and I only had two group members which for the sake of this assignment meant there were only two students. Regardless of that, I do need to make sure I focus more on my time management because I thought my lesson was only 5 minutes short, when in reality it was fifteen minutes short and I feel that that is a big enough time difference that I, as the teacher, should have been aware of without it needing to be pointed out.

3. Assessment of Learning (InTask Standard # 6): Refer to Assessing Student Learning
• Include at least 2 digital artifacts that demonstrate what you or your students (peers) have created as a result of your lesson

Here are pictures of the PowerPoint presentations that were completed during my lesson.  

• Describe your students' level of success in achieving the standards and objectives for your lesson based on your assessment

My students were very successful in achieving the standards and objectives of the lesson. The assessment was the completed PowerPoint presentation with correct examples of homonyms and homophones and both students successfully completed their presentations and presented them to the class.

• Describe the level of success you had in teaching the lesson

I believe that my level of success in teaching the lesson was fairly high. The students were engaged in the lesson and understood the concept being taught. The objectives were met and the students were able to successfully complete the assessment demonstrating their knowledge and meeting the objectives.

4. What did you learn from designing and teaching this lesson and how will you use this in the creation of future lessons/learning activities.

I think I’ve sort of answered this question in the responses to the other questions. I learned that I need to pay attention the time and make sure I effectively utilize the time allotted for each lesson or subject area being taught. I also learned that it is very important to know your audience and know what will work with your students and what may not work so well. I still feel that reading that book as the anticipatory set, although, a bit below their reading level will be a good way to hook the students and really break down what homonyms and homophones are in a way that they will understand the information and retain it.