436 Lesson 2- History

   






    In this lesson, we taught students about Hawaiʻi’s history using a mix of reading, visuals, and interactive activities. We incorporated evidence-based strategies by explicitly teaching key vocabulary from the books, timeline, and activities. We made sure to go over important words before, during, and after reading to help students better understand the content. We also used visuals like photographs, timelines, and images of petroglyphs and artifacts to support their understanding. We used scaffolding throughout the lesson, including sentence starters, graphic organize Hawaiʻi by Alakaʻi Swamp so students could connect to real perspectives and experiences. Students were able to engage with the content through reading, discussion, and hands-on activities. Collaboration was built in through partner and group work, communication through discussions and sharing, and we showed adaptability by adjusting the lesson based on time and student needs.

                                                      

    The students were more engaged in this lesson compared to last week, especially because of the interactive activities instead of just worksheets. At the start, only some students participated in the icebreaker, but once we moved into charades for vocabulary, everyone got involved. They seemed to really enjoy that activity.

                                           

    The hide-and-seek activity using the historical photo also went really well. Students took it seriously because they did not want to be found, and they tried to write descriptive hints. None of them were found, which made them excited and proud.


    Students also did well with the interactive timeline. They worked together to match events and took turns, which showed good collaboration. One student who was not very engaged last week showed more interest this time and even took on a leadership role during activities.

                                                    

    The cause-and-effect activity was more challenging. Students worked in partners, but it was hard for them to connect events, especially since they were far apart in time. We had to step in and support each group more directly.

                                                      

    The brain break also went well. Students enjoyed the Simon Says game with true or false questions, and it was a good way to check what they remembered.

                                        

    At the end, students compared and contrasted old and new images. We originally planned a discussion, but they suggested doing a Venn diagram instead, so we let them take the lead. This worked well and showed student ownership.

                                                  

    We ran out of time, so we skipped the writing activity and adjusted the petroglyph activity. Instead of connecting it to writing, students drew an activity they enjoy. They liked using crayons and focusing on line drawings, and it was a calm way to end the lesson.

    Timing was definitely an issue. We had a lot planned, and while we got through the most important parts, we had to cut or adjust some activities at the end. I think we handled it well, but we could improve pacing in the future. Another weakness was participation. One student tends to share first and often, while another student is more quiet. We could improve by calling on students more intentionally to make sure everyone has a chance to share.

    Students were able to examine images and describe observations about Hawaiʻi, and all of them met this objective. They were also able to sequence events on a timeline and identify cause-and-effect relationships, although some needed support. We did not get to the journal writing activity or the reflection activity, so those objectives were not met. Students did complete the petroglyph drawing, but it was adapted from the original plan. Overall, all students met the objectives that we actually completed. One student stood out by staying organized, sharing ideas, and taking a leadership role during activities.

    From this lesson, I learned that students are more engaged when activities are interactive and not just worksheet-based. Games and movement helped keep their attention and made the lesson more enjoyable. I also learned the importance of being flexible and adjusting the lesson when needed. In the future, I will try to plan my timing better so I can fit in all activities. I also want to make sure all students have opportunities to participate, especially quieter ones. I will continue using visuals, scaffolds, and interactive activities because they clearly help students stay engaged and understand the content better.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

324 Lesson 1

Image
          During the lesson, students participated in an icebreaker activity and then helped create our classroom norms. Each student gave at least one norm to add to our list, which helped them feel involved in setting expectations. After that, we went over our agenda and introduced the topic of story elements. The students were very engaged and offered to read what was on the anchor chart, taking turns reading every other puzzle piece. I explained that our lesson would focus on story elements using a story map. I had an example ready with The Three Little Pigs , which they had heard of before, and the students took turns reading the example map. After that, my partner explained that they would make a story map with the story Rapunzel .  Before we started, we shared vocabulary words from the story, and the students were excited to take turns reading the definitions.                        ...
Read more

324 Lesson 6

Image
     Since this was our last lesson, we decided to spend extra time on our icebreaker to help our students feel relaxed and not stressed.       We started with a thankfulness worksheet where they had to write something they were thankful for from A–Z. After that, we went over our class norms and schedule like we normally do. I went through our anchor chart about paragraph shrinking and then my partner explained the vocabulary words.       One of our students went to the restroom, and since we didn’t want to start reading the paragraph without him, we began working on a crossword puzzle instead. By the time he got back, there were only about five minutes before they had to leave for their assembly, so we continued the crossword puzzle until they returned.      When they came back from assembly, we restarted our paragraph shrinking activity. We reviewed the anchor chart again and then used my computer to display the pa...
Read more

324 Lesson 2

Image
     During the lesson, we started with an acrostic poem as our icebreaker to get to know the students better. They used their first names and wrote adjectives or things they liked that started with the letters in their names. Each student, my partner, and I shared our acrostic poems as well. From this, we learned that one of our students really enjoys music, and the other student enjoys basketball and animals. After this, we went over our norms again and then started our lesson about making predictions.       I explained our anchor chart and talked about what predictions are, and also how we had sentence starters written on the chart for when they would write their predictions. My partner introduced the vocabulary words. Even though our book didn’t have any printed words, there was still a lot of vocabulary used to describe what was happening in the pictures. Most of our vocabulary words were about the ocean or cameras, and the students enjoyed taking...
Read more