Rutherford, Heather Lesson Reflection #1 EDSE 444 1

Lesson Reflection #1
The first lesson that I delivered for my student teaching observation felt a lot like
herding cats. It was a small group lesson on greater than, less than, equals, using the
words more, less, and the same. The group consisted of three first graders, and
one second grader. The students have a diverse set of needs and abilities. The lesson
started out okay. I gave the students counting bears and fruits to use during the lesson.
We used the manipulatives to warm up. We counted out groups of different numbers.
All of the numbers I requested that they show me, with their manipulatives, were
between 1 and 10. I asked AM, the second grader, to be the role model for his younger
peers and show them how to engage in a small group. AM had a difficult time being the
role model and had to be excused from the group. BZ, a first grader severely impacted
by Autism, was more interested in sorting the fruit than showing me groups. CC and
AV, the other two first graders did a very good job showing me the groups of numbers
when I asked. After working on the groups, we started talking about how some groups
looked bigger than others, and therefore had more. We moved the discussion and
manipulatives from the rug to the table. The students were having an increasingly
difficult time attending to the task. I ended up ending the lesson with only two left in the
group, and really only one who was engaged.
I think AM was having a difficult time because the content was easy for him. AM
is a student who takes steps forward and backward in his learning each day, and
sometimes each hour. I put him in the group because there are days that he does not
have the ability count out groups of objects, and other days he is able to count and
complete simple addition math worksheets. I felt that more exposure to numbers and

Rutherford, Heather Lesson Reflection #1 EDSE 444 2

counting would be helpful to continue to build foundational skills. I should have been
prepared to provide higher level problems for AM to avoid the problematic behavior.
The next time I teach a lesson like this, I will plan to be better prepared to
differentiate for the students that may already have the ability to demonstrate the skill
that I am teaching. With the students in my classroom, the ability levels are varied and I
need to be prepared for the students who are at a higher level when I am teaching a
group. I also need to be aware of when a lesson is not working and be prepared to just
stop the lesson and go on to something that will be more beneficial for the students.