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TWS 8 Reflection, Self-Evaluation, & Professional Development
Lesson Three
ELA
Section 1: Whole Class

A. This lesson kept the students engaged and active the whole time. I chose to have the
students interact with the reading throughout the book so that they will follow
along with the sequence. I also chose for the students to participate in crafts, such as
cutting, gluing, and coloring, because that is in every students skill and interest
level. Students seemed to really enjoy the work and also seemed to help them stay
focused on the lesson.
B. When I was finished reading the book, I asked if students could tell me the setting of
the story. A few students answered but none of the students could tell me the
correct answer. I decided to review what we said that a setting was and then flip
back through the book so that the students could tell me what they saw in the
pictures. At the end of flipping through the book, I asked the students if they could
now tell me the setting of the book and almost the whole class raised their hand and
gave the correct answer. The decision to review the term and flip back through the
pages gave the students a little support but it also allowed them to still answer in
their own words. The class responded in a positive manner to this decision. When
discussing the setting and the major events I had to modify some of the terms I was
using in order for the students to understand what I was talking about. For example,
I changed major events to important things that happened.
C. When teaching this lesson again I would have the students turn and talk to their
neighbors on several occasions to discuss terms or the sequence of events. This
would allow every student to be able to talk about the lesson instead of just allowing
two or three to answer. This strategy also allows students to retain information
better because they are teaching someone else their ideas.
Section 2: Three Individual Students
A. The most successful student for this lesson is in the high performing group. She
always participates in every lesson and usually has no behavioral issues. She usually
does not have any problem focusing on an activity or lesson so is it easier for her to
be successful in the classroom. She has had prior teaching of this objective therefore
that set her up for success as well.
a. I believe this student was appropriately challenged because there were
some elements in the lesson that she could not identify, therefore; she
stayed engaged in the lesson in order to learn it. I could have let her talk
with a neighbor or group about the possible answers before getting her to
answer the question out loud. I believe this would have challenged her to
think a little harder and longer about what the terms meant in the story.

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B. The least successful student is the only student in the class that has been tested and
diagnosed with an IEP. He is in the middle-low group because he still struggles with
a lot of things but he also does a good job at finding way or strategies to figure
things out. He has an IEP in reading so I believe that may have caused him to lack
behind in this lesson. He also has not had any prior in-depth teaching before
kindergarten.
a. I could work with this student prior to the lesson on the objective. This
strategy would allow him to be familiar with the content so that he can
answer questions and keep up with the rest of the class.
C. The average performing student is also in the middle-low group. He has made
apparent progress since the beginning of the year but he still struggles in reading.
One of the reasons I think he does not excel in lessons is because he has a hard time
focusing. He also has a few behavioral issues that may result from not being able to
focus, but unfortunately, it is holding him back from succeeding fully in class.
a. In future lessons, I can call on this student more to help him keep his
focus on the lesson. I could also give him something that he could hold to
help him focus. For example, after giving him direct rules I could give him
a small tub of play dough during the lesson to keep him occupied but
focused.
Section 3: Reflection

This lesson will help students start to better understand stories they read by
understanding the characters, settings, and major events. It will also help them
when they start to write their own stories. If the students have an understanding of
what the characters do, what the setting is and does in the story, and is able to
sequence events, they will be able to create their own characters and setting when
they write a story. It will also help organize their stories by knowing how to
sequence what happens.

The activity and discussions were active therefore; the students stayed focused on
the lesson and better understood the objective. By having stopping points in the
book, the students could repeat the order three times helping them to retain the
information better.

My knowledge on the content allowed me to teach it in several different terms.

There were points throughout the lesson that I had to rephrase what I was
explaining so that each student knew exactly what I was talking about.

I modified some terms throughout the lesson so that the students could understand
the content better. After reading the book, I also went back and reviewed the term,
setting, and had the students look at the pictures in the book to come up with
their own answer. The students could not answer the question What was the

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setting in the book? after I read the book so I had to adjust the lesson so that the
students could answer the question but still come up with it on their own.

Seventeen out of the twenty students in the class met the objective. I went around
to each student and had them retell the story and sequence the food labels in order
based on the book. I checked off which students could sequence the events and if
they missed any.

I think the lesson went smoothly and used my time management effectively. I could
have already had the material passed on the tables before the lesson began to save
time. The students had no wasted time during the lesson because they were
either on the carpet listening to the book and answering questions or they were at
their table working on their old lady.

I learned that students responded positively and worked harder when they were
engaged in an actively that they enjoyed. I also learned which students have a
really hard time using scissors to cut and coloring in the lines.

Section 4: Reflection for Professional Development

1. One professional development goal is to have the students interactive with each
other more during lessons and activities. I believe that students can learn a lot from
each other and can enhance their social skills. I can do this in future lessons by
having the students turn and talk to their neighbor and come up with answers or
having small group lessons.
2. The other professional development goal is be more organized with my material
during lessons. I will have to have everything laid out in order of their use so that no
time is wasted looking for what I need. I will also have the material passed out
before the lesson so that students do not have to wait their turn to get their
material.