Falen Johnson

EDCI 3482
4/29/16
Whole Group Lesson Plan Reflection
Whole group instruction is the most commonly used instructional method in classrooms
today. The general purpose of whole class instruction is to allow a teacher to present information
to the class efficiently (Copple, Bredekamp, 2009). This instruction method includes: lecturing,
discussions, teacher demonstrations and giving general directions. One area where whole-class
instruction is especially useful is in modelling a new concept or procedure. In this case, you need
all of your students attention to be focused in on one thing or person. A perfect example would
be if you are teaching letter writing to students who have no experience with letters. I would first
model how to write a letter to the whole class and then dismiss them into small groups to work
alone or with small groups.
The most effective strategies for teaching in a whole class setting include: keeping
children engaged, and involving them through active participation and discussion (Copple,
Bredekamp, 2009). When teaching my whole group lesson I tried to incorporate these strategies.
My mentor teacher already has a specific seating arrangement that allows struggling students to
be close to her teaching area while she is teaching whole group so they can focus more. During
my lesson I knew which students would be struggling from my pre assessment and I made sure
they were close to me so that I could monitor them and make notes for later in small group. I also
tried to keep the students engaged and involved by using manipulatives that they love like their
premade clock. I also took time to allow each student to respond to my questions and gave plenty
opportunity for them to explain their thinking which they were very eager to do. We also stopped
several times during the lesson to have short discussions on relevant parts of the lesson and they
were very excited to give their input.

I asked questions like Have you ever used a number line to figure out elapsed time?, What
does this hump on the number line represent?, Did anyone do this differently? ,Does anyone
disagree with this answer?, and Why?.
In all I feel that the lesson was effective. My justification is that the majority of children
were actively engaged and responding to challenging questions with correct answers. At the very
beginning, the students were very eager to respond. If I had to teach this lesson again, I would
definitely incorporate better classroom management planning. The students were shouting out
answers and there were too many students talking at once. I also had one student who was off
task and had to be verbally redirected several times. I would only allow student with their hands
raised to answer or pull numbers from the cup. For the student who was off task, I would place
him in a group with student who peer tutor and assign one of the tutors to help him during the
lesson until I could work with him individually in small group. What I actually feel was the best
part of the lesson was that the students were actually learning the material. The standard and
learning goal were closely related and centered on solving elapsed time word problems. The
formative assessment which was one word problem that the students solved and checked in
groups was collected and graded. I am confident that the standard was met, as 20 of the 24
students got correct answers and had sufficient work to justify their answers.

Falen Johnson
EDCI 3482
4/29/16
Small Group Lesson Plan Reflection
Small group instruction is when students work with each other or the teacher in smaller
groups. A teacher creates small instructional groups of students when they are targeting specific
skills. This allow the teacher to provide students with many opportunities for individual, one-toone instruction (Copple, Bredekamp, 2009).
The best strategies for teaching in a small group setting include: taking lots of notes,
assessing frequently, and knowing the students (who knows/needs what). In teaching the small
group lesson. I chose four students who had struggled with learning fractions on a number line
after my teacher introduced it in whole group. I started the lesson by asking questions like What
do you think is the most difficult part of identifying a fraction on a number line? What confuses
you the most?, How do you usually do it?.
In all, I feel that this was the most effective lesson that I taught. The students had a hands
on visual experience that was individualized and specific to their needs. The only issue that we
had with this lesson was space. If I had to do the lesson again in that same classroom, I would
make the number line on the board and not the floor because the room was so small. It became
crowded and other students who were not in the small group were distracted. What I feel was the
best part of the lesson was for one, the fact that the children were so engaged. Also the fact that
their understanding of fractions on a number line improved greatly. After the lesson, they re-took
the standard (3.NFa) based quiz that was taken after the whole group lesson which all four
students had initially failed. After my small group lesson all four students passed the quiz and
were able to use evidence from the lesson to explain their thinking.

Falen Johnson
EDCI 3482
4/29/16
Learning Center Lesson Plan Reflection
Learning centers in my opinion are an extension of small group instruction. A learning
center is an isolated area in the classroom where students go for independent and self-directed
learning. More specifically, learning centers are where students have an opportunity to work in
partners or independently and explore, practice and extend their knowledge of important
concepts and skills (Copple, Bredekamp, 2009).
Teaching strategies that I feel are most effective for this instructional method
include: little to no teacher direction, variety for exploration, interest, skills, and enrichment, and
resources for self-directed learning (Copple, Bredekamp, 2009). The lesson that I planned for
this teaching format was based on a student-led game. All of the materials and very detailed
directions were provided to the students for independent play. The game was created by me and
based on the student's interests, needs, and ability. As I monitored the students, mainly from a
distance I asked questions like, What are you doing?, Is this difficult?, What can you do if
the questions are too easy?, and What do you have to do to win?, The students were very
eager to answer these questions and were pretty knowledgeable about what they were doing.
I do feel that this lesson was effective but I do not feel that this lesson was an example of
an outstanding learning center. It was hands-on, child centered, engaging and served its purpose
by reinforcing what was already learned and mastered in the whole and small group lessons. For
those reasons, I feel that it was developmentally appropriate but this lesson was not exceptional
in my opinion because the students did not take it seriously. In saying that, I mean that the
students while playing this game were less focused that they would have been in a more
traditional and structured learning center. They were engaged but with the lack of teacher

direction, they began to be more silly lackadaisical. If I had to do the lesson over, I would
definitely be more involved. Redirecting students as they lose focus and providing a more
structured setting would make the lesson better. The standard (3.NF.A) addressed identifying
fractions and was met by all the participants and was evidenced through the score recording that
the students were required to do.

References
Copple, C., & Bredekamp, S. (Eds.)(2009). Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early
Childhood Program: Serving Children Birth Through Age 8. Washington. DC: NAEYC.