Self Reflection-Big Business Lesson Plan 2/21/14 Today I taught a classroom of 16 students about the expansion of Big Business

in America. I used the strategy of SQ3R. I think the class went very well today. I was able to start the class of with an anticipatory set that started their thinking about two major players in the development of Big Business: Carnegie and Rockefeller. The students responded fairly well to the quick write activity. They were able to associate the names with things they knew, such as Rockefeller Plaza and Carnegie Hall. I did find that some of the students didnt know much about the two figures, but when we talked about them they seemed to grasp who they were. I was pleased with how the students responded to the SQ3R strategy. They surveyed the material and then worked with a partner to read the section and answer the questions that they came up with. I like having the students come up with their own questions because it gives them input in what theyre reading and looking to learn. Most students responded extremely well to this. There were a few students that asked very basic questions and then searched for the answers without reading the section. I prompted them to look further into the answers they found and asked them some questions of my own. This seemed to help them reach a bit further into their reading and aid them in finding more in depth information. For students that finished early, I had them read an additional excerpt that gave a real word example of monopolies and how they work. I found this to be a really effective filler activity for those students who completed the activity before others. At the end of class, I had the students write a simulated journal as a part of their reflection. The students wrote intelligent responses and seemed to grasp the material I had taught them. Looking back, I think I would have made this activity an independent practice and have had them taken it home. That would have given me more time to discuss what they had learned during class in order to gauge their understanding. Overall I think the lesson went extremely well, especially for my first time teaching. The students were very well behaved and I was able to use some classroom management techniques in getting the students involved and encouraging them to participate in the activities.