Teachers plan instruction to make sure they meet each student’s needs during the implementation of a lesson. However, it is necessary to monitor and adjust the lesson while teaching to meet needs that arise during the lesson. Teachers reflect on this later and adjust for future lessons.
Allocate at least 3 hours in the field to support this field experience.
You will implement the lesson plan you created in Topic 4 and revised in Topic 5 with the small group of students identified by your mentor teacher.
Use any remaining field experience hours to assist the teacher in providing instruction and support to the class.
Write a 250 word reflection on the lesson plan implementation. Discuss the following in your reflection:
What was effective in your lesson, and what might you alter for future implementations?
How did you meet each student’s needs during the lesson?
How do you know if students mastered the concepts?
How will you use what you have learned in your future professional practice?
coe-lesson-plan-template311.docx
Reflecti242.docx
Section 1: Lesson Preparation
Teacher Candidate Name:
Grade Level:
2nd Grade
Date:
3rd March 2023
Unit/Subject:
Literacy and Science
Instructional Plan Title:
Exploring Plant Life Cycles
Lesson Summary and Focus:
This lesson focuses on teaching students about the life cycle of plants, integrating literacy by reading a relevant story and discussing key vocabulary. Students will practice reading comprehension and fluency while learning about basic plant biology.
Classroom and Student Factors/Grouping:
The classroom includes diverse learners, including ELL students and a few students with IEPs focusing on reading comprehension. Grouping will be mixed-ability, allowing peer support and scaffolding. Visual aids and sentence frames will be used to support understanding and expression for all students.
National/State Learning Standards:
· CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.1 – Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
· NGSS 2-LS2-1 – Plan and conduct an investigation to determine if plants need sunlight and water to grow.
Specific Learning Target(s)/Objectives:
· After reading a story about plant life cycles, students will be able to identify and describe the four main stages of the plant life cycle: germination, growth, reproduction, and seed spreading.
· Students will use specific vocabulary related to plant life cycles in a group discussion to demonstrate their understanding of the text and the science concept.
Academic Language
· General Vocabulary: cycle, growth, stage, change
· Content-Specific Vocabulary: germination, photosynthesis, reproduction, pollination
· Teaching Strategy: Introduce vocabulary with real-life images and examples, use vocabulary in sentences, and apply terms in the context of the story and the science concept.
Resources, Materials, Equipment, and Technology:
· Book: “The Tiny Seed” by Eric Carle or a similar story about plant life cycles.
· Chart paper to create a class anchor chart of the plant life cycle.
· Individual whiteboards and markers for students to draw the plant life cycle.
· Access to online videos or interactive games about plant life cycles (e.g., BrainPOP Jr. on Plant Life Cycles).
· Worksheets for students to label or sequence the stages of a plant life cycle
Section 2: Instructional Planning
Anticipatory Set
· I will show a short video clip about plant growth from seed to flower to grab the students’ attention and activate prior knowledge.
· I will use a KWL chart (Know, Want to know, Learned) to record students’ prior knowledge and questions about plant life cycles. This will also help to gauge their interest and curiosity.
· I will introduce a real plant and have students make observations, discussing what they know about how plants grow.
Time Needed
10 minutes
Multiple Means of Representation
· I will use guided notes that accompany a read-aloud of the story to help students follow along and identify key information.
· Visual aids, such as diagrams of the plant life cycle, will be displayed and referred to throughout the lesson.
· I will provide a hands-on activity where students can arrange picture cards in the correct sequence to show the stages of plant growth.
Differentiation:
· ELL: Provide vocabulary cards with visuals and definitions in simple language. Use sentence frames to support discussion participation.
· Special needs: Offer guided notes with more structure and fewer words per page, use manipulatives for the sequencing activity.
· Gifted abilities: Provide additional resources for deeper exploration, such as books or articles on unique plant species.
· Early finishers: Have additional related activities ready, such as drawing their own plant life cycle or researching a specific plant.
Time Needed
20 minutes
Multiple Means of Engagement
• Role-playing activity: The students will be taking turns to enact the stages of plant’s life cycle.
• Group discussion: They will talk in small groups about what they got from the story and the video and use academic vocabulary.
• Interactive whiteboard game: Students will drag and drop from the plant life cycle onto the class whiteboard in the correct order.
Differentiation:
• ELL: Use visual cues and have them paired up in peer groups for role play activity.
• Special needs: Give precise, step-by-step directions and a peer partner for the interactive games.
• Gifted abilities: Motivate these student groups to organize their own discussions or lead certain aspects of plant biology.
• Early finishers: Encourage them to help their friends or look for other sources that are related to the lesson topic.
Time Needed
15 minutes
Multiple Means of Expression
• Students will develop a storyboard that demonstrates the steps in the plant life cycle, writing in sentences to describe each step.
• Students will do a formative assessment such as a pair-share discussion to tell the program coordinator their level of understanding.
Differentiation:
• ELL: Student to use the combination of illustrations and words on their storyboards, provide sentence starters.
• Special needs: Provide a storyboard template with drawn images to be labeled or sequenced by the students.
• Gifted abilities: Request these students to add more details or processes to their storyboards, for instance, photosynthesis and pollination.
• Early finishers: They could write a poem or short story on what a plant passes through during its life cycle or make a highly detailed story board.
Time Needed
15 minutes
Extension Activity and/or Homework
· Students will take home a worksheet where they can draw and label the plant life cycle, reinforcing the lesson’s objectives.
· As an extension, students could be asked to observe a plant at home or in the schoolyard, record their observations, and compare them to the plant life cycle stages they learned in class.
Time Needed
10 minutes for explanation, variable for completion
Reflection
Fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension are building blocks of reading skills. Fluency refers to reading speed, accuracy, and the right expression. It, thus, becomes a link between the knowledge of words and their understanding; fluent readers can devote their attention more to the grasping of the meaning than to decode each word. Knowledge of vocabulary is important as it directly affects any comprehension and fluency (Mancilla-Martinez, 2020). A robust vocabulary provides students with the tools to understand the text on a deeper level and to interact more fully with it. This in turn leads to improved understanding and enjoyment of reading.
Comprehension of reading is the capacity to fully understand, dissect and interpret what has been read. Language plays a big role as a student’s level of fluency and vocabulary is a factor as is their background knowledge, inference skills and ability to connect to text at a higher level (Mancilla-Martinez, 2020).
Cross-curricular integration of concept areas such as science or social studies into literacy learning stimulates the development of these reading skills. Domain-specific terms they meet in texts related to other subjects not only broaden their vocabulary but also improve their comprehension. Such an approach helps students to both understand the terms and concepts they are studying and to remember them better.
Also, the students need to use and develop comprehension strategies such as summarizing, questioning and making conclusions within varied and real contexts (Mancilla-Martinez, 2020). By so doing, the students’ understanding of the topic is also enhanced besides their reading skills which are enhanced through a more integrated and meaningful way.
Through exposure to different texts and prospects, students may develop motivation and purpose of reading beyond the literacy classroom, which are both indispensable in building a learner and a lifelong reader.
References
Mancilla-Martinez, J. (2020). Understanding and supporting literacy development among English learners: A deep dive into the role of language comprehension. AERA Open, 6(1), 2332858420912198.
,
Reflection
Name of Student
Lecturer Name
Course
Date
Reflection
Reflecting on the review session with my mentor teacher regarding the “Exploring Plant Life Cycle” lesson plan, I gained valuable insights into enhancing the educational experience for my 2nd-grade students.
The lesson’s integration of literacy and science was commended for fostering cross-curricular learning, essential for holistic student development. However, my mentor suggested modifications to ensure it caters more effectively to the varied learning styles and needs within our classroom. For instance, while the lesson effectively utilizes visual aids and group discussions, incorporating auditory and kinesthetic activities could enhance engagement and understanding, particularly for students who thrive with these learning modalities (Krajewski & Khoury, 2021).
Addressing the lesson’s developmental appropriateness, we agreed that the content was suitable for 2nd graders. Yet, the mentor advised differentiating the materials further to cater to the wide range of reading abilities, ensuring that all students can access and engage with the content meaningfully.
Concerning the lesson’s adaptability to diverse student needs, we brainstormed strategies to better support our ELL and special needs students. For example, integrating more language support, such as glossaries or bilingual resources, could bolster ELL students’ comprehension. Similarly, offering alternative expression methods, like verbal explanations or role-plays, could help students with IEPs in reading comprehension demonstrate their understanding more effectively.
Based on this feedback, I plan to incorporate more diverse instructional strategies, such as auditory storytelling and tactile learning activities, to accommodate different learning preferences. I will also refine the differentiation strategies to ensure every student feels challenged yet supported.
These adjustments aim to create a more inclusive and engaging learning environment, thereby addressing the unique needs of each student in my field experience class. Moving forward, I will continue to value and incorporate feedback, recognizing its crucial role in refining my teaching practices.
References
Krajewski, S., & Khoury, M. (2021). Daring spaces: Creating multi-sensory learning environments. Learning and Teaching, 14(1), 89-113.
Interested in getting help with this assignment?
Get a professional writing team to work on your assignment!
Order Now
Recent postsFor this final assignment, you will prepare a brief paper detailing the steps undertaken to complete a presentation that disseminates information you assemble
Please choose to answer only one of the 2 following questions. Option 1: In your opinion and based on scientific, peer-reviewed published evidence, does child
At the beginning of the previous academic year, the institution announced it would drop football at the conclusion of the season. The announcement created pub
you will review current research in Personality and provide a critical evaluation of that personality research through an annotated bibliography. An annotated
In Module 5, we considered the third in our three-part series on research design. Specifically, the focus was on the longitudinal studies, in which the resear
Need help with a similar or different Task?
We have the best writers to help you. Hire Writer Now
