Today is the day that I am presenting a lesson on commas to my third-grade English

Language Arts class. I made sure that I arrived at school early so I can prepare and place my
lesson materials into their appropriate center bins. In addition, to making sure that each center
had the correct supplies to ensure smooth transitions as students moved through the centers. I
also wanted to do a quick run through of the PowerPoint presentation I created specifically for
this lesson to reduce any chance of a mishap during delivery.
The lesson began as soon as the students returned from lunch. As the students took their
seats, I called on a student to turn the lights off. I began the PowerPoint presentation by
comparing the comma to a superhero in the punctuation world because of its many uses and
how it can change a sentences meaning. The students smiled as I proceeded with the lesson.
As I went through the comma lesson, the highlight of the overall lesson was the formative
assessment I created using PowerPoint called The Great Comma Drama. As I asked students
to take out their whiteboards and whiteboard markers, I noticed that they were excited to
participate. It was a opportunity for every single student to actively participate in the lesson. It
was a wonderful sound to hear the students cheer as they chose the correct answer to each
question.
Once the Great Comma Drama was completed, I gave students their directions for each
center. Students then moved into their groups and rotated through the centers completing
different activities that allow them to practice using commas. The one center activity that the
students enjoyed the most was the Macaroni Comma. The students were given glue and elbow
macaroni to use as commas for their worksheet. The writing center activity focused on using
commas in letter writing. Students needed to write a friendly letter to invite someone to a party.
Students needed to include commas in the greeting and closing, they had to also include a date
using the month, day, and year, and list a series of three items that they were either going to eat
or do at the party. Another center had students acting like book editors. Each student was given
a copy of short book and they had to edit the book by placing the commas in the correct places.
All in all, I felt it was a good lesson and one that I can be proud of.

As I reflect on my student teaching experience from the past couple of weeks, I can see
how I am continuing to develop my own teaching style within the four domains of Danielsons
Framework. I have found the planning and preparation of lessons is time consuming and
sometimes overwhelming but I can see how planning and preparing for lessons is an essential
component in lessons. By taking time and giving intentional thought to the topic or learning
concept, it can lead to exploring and creating lesson materials that are engaging for the students
that you never knew were possible. Thereby creating a positive learning experience and
atmosphere in the classroom. I thought I found activities that reinforced the learning objective
which is to identify and apply commas in the appropriate places that were unique and engaging.
Within the second domain, the classroom environment became an engaging atmosphere
because the students were part of the learning experience through active participation during
The Great Comma Drama and the activities at the different centers. By keeping the students
engaged, it minimized student disruptions and behaviors.
To stay within the third domain of Danielsons Framework, students were made aware
how they were going to being graded by using a rubric, completion of the center activities, and a
summative assessment in the form of a Study Island test.
For the fourth domain, I continually reflect on how I teach and how I can better engage
the students in their learning experience. I strive to keep current on teaching methods so I can
improve my performance. Because in the end, it is all about the students.