Chien !

1
Introduction: this is my reflection for mini-lesson one. I used the peer feedback Caleb and I
received, my own views on the lesson, and the comments made by Dr. Cook to reflect on this
assignment. I think the lesson went very well considering that it was my first time writing and
teaching a lesson in front of a class. In this reflection I discuss not only what went well but also
what I could off improved. The constructive criticism from both Dr. Cook and my classmates is
also discussed in this reflection. These criticisms, mainly the large amount of material in my
presentation and the vagueness of my rubric are addressed in this reflection.

August Chien
Dr. Cook
ENG 3580
May 9th, 2016
1st Mini-Lesson Reflection
I think the lesson Caleb and I taught went very well. We were able to hook the class with
the movie clip from Monsters Inc and then teach a lesson with a simple yet important message.
The message of the lesson: conclusions should reflect the emotions being conveyed in the
narrative, was simple enough that we could completely cover it and convey its importance in the
fifteen minute span of the lesson. Caleb and I also created a handout that provided the students
with different types of conclusions, this gave the students a template when writing their
conclusions and a resource to use in the future. I felt the lesson was cohesive and well built with
a strong hook, a clear idea being taught, and defined examples/practice in applying this central

Chien !2
idea. The central idea being taught and the cohesion of the lesson stem from the time constraints
of the mini-lesson. The lesson we created was dictated completely by this requirement.
I would change several aspects of the lesson namely: my delivery of the lesson, the
amount of class discussion, and the lack of literary examples. I think for the most part the
interaction Caleb and I had with the class was clear, concise, and informative but I think we
could off done better. We got bogged down in the transitions between the different elements of
the lesson. I also think we should off emphasized the importance of writing an effective
conclusion more. Due to the limited time allowed me and Caleb didnt spend a lot of time
discussing with the class what they thought made a conclusion effective. This discussion would
have helped the students become more aware of the different elements (theme, imagery) that
makes writing effective and emphasized the authors ability to influence the reader through these
elements. I would also have gone through the handout, discussing with the class every type of
conclusion on the sheet and asked the class for examples of each type from books the students
have read. Through the students finding their own examples of a specific conclusion their
comprehension of the topic would be that much stronger. I would off also improved our
assessment methods through a more specific rubric with clearly defined parameters and
expectations.
The peer feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive. The video clip we showed
garnered praise from several peers who though it effectively demonstrated the central idea of the
lesson in a fun and interesting way. Also several peers mentioned our positive interaction with
the class throughout the lesson and the high level of class participation. Several peers found that
we failed to convey the importance of a good conclusion throughout the lesson. This lesson was

Chien !3
the first time I constructed a lesson, created a corresponding handout, a corresponding
assignment, and finally taught a whole class my work. I had a pretty wonderful and satisfied
feeling, walking out of class that day.