Tiffany Witt

Ms. Gobble
EDU 329
20 April 2015
TWS
I taught my third lesson on April 1, 2015. This lesson served as my showcase
lesson. It was an ELA lesson on text structure paragraphs and graphic organizers. I
used the SmartBoard to review with the students what they had been learning. This
lesson served as a review for a testit was to ensure that the students had
mastered the material and, if they werent, to help them learn it by a creative
projecta hands on project. They loved using markers and poster paper to create
their graphic organizers. The students were put into groups by their tables being
connectedmy cooperating teacher grouped the desk like that frequently to reduce
extra movement during a project. I repeated the directions several times but, if I
had it to do over, I would have written the directions explicitly on the SmartBoard
because I repeated myself a nearly 30 times.
The first half of the group work was very confusing for them. They kept
asking me to repeat the directions and they were trying to do more work than was
necessary. They wanted to draw graphic organizers for every paragraph, even
though I said to only do the one that I assigned to a group. That slowed us down a
bit, but didnt cause us to lose a significant amount of time. By the second half of
the lesson, they were moving along well, and some groups were finishing up and
offering to help clean up. The groups that were lagging behind got additional help
from myself which greatly benefitted the students that were struggling with looking
for textual clues. By the end of class, all but 2 groups desks were cleaned off when
the bell rang. If I had the chance to do it over, Id manage my time more wisely and
give written instructions.
Overall, I was happy with my lesson. The students received me well and
overall had excellent behavior. The students liked having an activity and I more so
enjoyed giving an activity projectit was a great way to interact with my clinical
students.
I taught my first lesson on March 12, 2015. Overall, I think this was the best
lesson I taught. The students were great, I wasnt nervous at all, and they were
excited to hear me for the first time. I taught the students a short story about

Lou Gehrig, a baseball player who was incredibly talented but fell ill with
whats now named Lou Gehrigs disease. They had previously been learning
aobut other baseball players and different trials and tribulations they went
through. Gehrig was the last one they learned about and they were expected

to compare and contrast between Robinson and Johnson and Gehrig. They
noted the likeness between the baseball players lives, and, trials and
tribulations. They contrasted the differences between the 3 players. Then,
they analyzed the text on Lou Gehrig and drew conclusions to make
inferences based off of the text. They were given a multiple choice quiz and
expected to answer the fact based questions.
The only thing I would change about that lesson was the flowat times I felt
we were getting off topic and, though I managed to reel it in, I thought that
there needed to be a smoother way to stay on track. I also was talking very
fast and stumbled over my words a few times. So, if I were to fix anything,
itd be my communication and presenting skills.
In my second lesson that I taught on March 25, 2015, I thought there
was much to improve. My alarm didnt go off that morning, and I woke up 15
minutes before class started. I got dressed and left my house as quickly as
possible, only arriving 1 minute late. Though it wasnt a big deal to neither
the students nor cooperating teacher, I walked in with my nerves shot and it
reflected on my performance.
I taught a lesson an article about manatees being removed from the
Endangered Species list. We interpreted the cause and effects using textual
evidence. The students took turns reading aloud and asked questions
concerning the text. They used a graphic organizer to list the causes of the
effects of each textual scenario. They were then given a multiple choice
assessment that we worked on as a class. As their exit slip to leave class,
they were asked to write a paragraph using 2 pieces of text based
information to support their argument of whether the manatee should
remain or be removed from the Endangered Species list. The students really
were interested in the article, but the way I delivered the lesson was terrible.
I was unsure how to let the students answer the questions, and several
students were left out because of the dominating students. I also always
went over one last time before going to class, but with my predicament I
didnt have time to make sure I still remembered my game plan. Overall, Id
rate this lesson the worst lesson I taught.
If I could go back and change something about this lesson, Id have my
husband set a second alarm for me and go in prepared. I was looking forward
to the lesson and had planned for the lesson to go a different way the night
before. Having been so stressed, I panicked and just taught the article as it
was. I love animals more than anything, so I had expected this lesson to be

my best lesson and more than likely my showcase. However, it didnt work
out that way and I learned to always be double prepared.
Reflection on possibilities for Professional Development:
Through my clinical, I learned a lot about myself. I had the best
cooperating teacher and the best class I could have asked for. The students
loved me and I loved them. However, I realized that Im not cut out for being
a teacherI dont have it in me. It doesnt come natural and Id hate my job
if I did it every day. I hated those types of teachers when I was in school, and
I refuse to be one. I dropped my education emphasis off of my major and will
no longer continue in the program. I am blessed that I realized this before it
was too late. However, I have closure knowing that I know that its not the
job for me, and it didnt take a bad experience to teach me that. One thing
that this clinical has made me realize is that I need to work on my
deliverance of a presentation. I mustnt let nerves get the best of me. Mostly,
I learned what my strengths and weaknesses are. Im much more cut out for
guidance or administration work within a school, and thats where I intend on
applying to once I graduate. I am going to work on my presence in front of
people and slow down my speech to ensure that I meet my future
professional goals.