Dana Goldman

ELED 3223
Self-Evaluation

Social Studies Lesson Self-Evaluation

1. In teaching my Social Studies lesson my goal was to teach the students the standard
3.G.1.6, compare various regions according to their characteristics. The main idea which I
wanted to get across to my third grade class was that after learning about the three regions of
North Carolina, and what the characteristics of each region are that students would be able to
create their own colored diagram with correct characteristics listed in each region. In structuring
my lesson I first went through a smart board activity and together with the students where we
started out with the most important question, locating North Carolina on a map of the United
States. Following finding the location we then looked closer at the state of North Carolina and
how the state is divided into three separate regions. We discussed each region and where it was
located, followed by describing different activities we would be able to do while visiting each
region. During the lesson students constructed their own map of North Carolina where they were
able to write their own characteristics. To asses my class I integrated writing into my lesson and
the students were to write about which region they would want to visit with three supporting
reasons, then would be allowed to turn and talk with other group members.
2. Throughout the lesson students were actively engaged and interested in the content of
what they were learning. I observed this in the students behavior. After discussing each region
students anxiously awaited for me to call on different them to answer the questions being asked.
Students were engaged because we were discussing something meaningful to them. It interested
the class to talk about where they live and the different places in the state which they are from.

All of the class were eager to tell about the places they have visited and what they did when they
were in each place. In talking about the piedmont region, if I allowed the class, they could have
discussed the different activities they do on a day to day basis at home.
3. The class understood what was being taught to them, I observed this in their work, as
well as in their descriptions to me when I asked questions. Through examining their work
students clearly understood the three regions of North Carolina when coloring in the map. All of
the students colored the map diagram correctly as we did this together as a class. In writing their
descriptions of which region they would want to visit most and why students accurately
described a specific region they wanted to visit followed by three reasons why.
4. During the lesson I asked many questions to help the class better understand the topic.
After teaching my lesson I realized I did not ask many higher level questions. Some of the
questions that I did asked surprised the students, especially when I asked if they knew what
region they lived in. Since some of the students were not sure what region we lived in they
became very intrigued to know where we live. Students asked me questions referring to the fact
that some of the activities and characteristics we discussed could be completed in multiple
regions which then led us to talk about what regions are known best for different activities. I did
receive specific questions about some of the regions because not all of the students have been
able to visit each region which is something I did not think about in planning my lesson.
5. Classroom management is something that I have realized I need to work on. Although
there were not any times that the class became unruly, there were times that I should have been
in more control. The only problem which I believe arose was that I did going into the lesson I did
not plan a way that I would use to get the students attention while they were completing
individual work. To fix this problem I decided to flip the light switches twice, this indicated to

students that I needed there attention Now I have realized this is an essential part of classroom
management. If there is not a signal used that students know to look up and pay attention to the
teacher or instructor there is higher chance of chaos. There were also times that the students
became very chatty, to fix this problem I used the same reprimand that their teacher used which
was a point system between the teacher and the students. When I gave myself a point students
knew this would lead to them walking laps at recess so they then knew to calm down.
6. Overall my lesson went well. Even though the lesson went well, it did not go as I
planned. I was not able to finish my entire SmartBoard activity. Not finishing the activity in
returned helped me because the students were able to really focus on the attributes and
characteristics of each region. Using the SmartBoard was very successful, students love to be
actively engaged in the lesson as well as writing on the board. The map which the class colored
in and listed characteristics in was also very helpful in that students had a visual that they were
able to look at the entire time with helped then to move the map around and have a closer look at
what we were discussing. If I taught this lesson again I would have went more into depth about
each of the regions, I felt that I was on a time crunch and could not go into as much detail as I
would have liked.
7. If I were to teach a similar lesson to younger students I would have to have a predrawn and labeled map for students to color in, younger students would not be able to fill the
map in as the third grade class did. For older students I would have to go into depth about each
region, including the climate, the exact location of where one region begins and another ends,
what plants are essential to each region, what animals we would find in each region, etc. The
older students are able to retain more information, there for adding more aspects of the three
regions would make the lesson more suitable for older students.

8. I want to better my classroom management as well as have a faster response time to

students questions. I feel that there were times during my teaching that I should have been able
to respond faster without a pause. To help me reach these goals I will interview teachers about
their classroom management tips, especially teachers who have been teaching longer. I also will
ask teachers how they began using classroom management in their classrooms the first year of
their teaching careers. There are also many books written specifically for classroom management
including different tips for teachers, so I will invest in these books and begin to see how I can
better my classroom management skills. In order to have a faster response time I will need
review my own lesson and make a list of possible questions students would have during or after
the lesson. Although our questions will not be the same this would help me to have retained my
information about all parts of my lesson.