Jamie Laramie

SPED 370 Mild/Mod 7-12

Reflection Paper

My Lessons and Overall Experience

I was placed in an 11th-12th grade English class with Mrs. Young and an 11th-12th grade
math class with Ms. Spafford. During my time working with these two teachers I was able to
see what math and English resource classes look like in the high school setting. While I was
there, I would walk around and help students with math problems by asking questions,
giving them tools, and reminding them of methods they learned previously in class. In the
English class I was there to support students to stay on task and prompt them further to
help when they had questions. I taught both of my lessons in the English class, both on
figurative language. My first lesson was on Similes and Metaphors, then my second lesson
was on symbolism. They were on their unit of figurative language so every week they would
talk about a new term of figurative language. I noticed some things that worked really well
in my lessons and some things that weren’t as effective. From these experiences I was able
to grow as an educator.

Positive Outcomes

During my lessons I was able to capture student’s attention and get them more excited
about the topic, which helped them to be more interested in what was to come. During the
intro of my metaphor/simile lesson I used all of the students in different examples that I
gave of simile and metaphor which let them know that I knew their names while also
getting them more interested in the lesson. One of the highlights was using modern popular
songs during my metaphor and simile lessons that students were able to recognize and
connect to. Choosing these songs allowed for higher engagement by appealing to student
interests.
 When I did the lesson on symbolism, I introduced the concept by giving a strong
example of a flower and the many different meanings a flower could symbolize depending
on the context of the story, poem, or other piece of literature. This helped students
understand that symbolism has a lot to do with context clues given by the author. I also
expressed that it depends on their view of the world as well and how especially in poetry it
can create meaning specific to their outlook. I tried to pick poems that I really liked because
that way I could be enthusiastic about the poems and get the students more excited.

In both lessons I was able to show an example to the class and model what was
expected while talking through my thinking. Once I did an example to show the
expectations, I did a whole group example where students did it on their own or with a
partner first and then we came back and talked about it as a class. Through our discussions I
was able to ask them questions like “Why did you think that?” or “Did anyone else think
something different?” which created deeper thinking. In both lessons I let them work 0on
their own and with a partner at different times and as they worked, I walked around to give
feedback and help. I think that students were engaged and had a good grasp of the
concepts taught in my lessons by the end of each lesson. Overall, I would say both of my
lessons were really effective and meaningful.

Adjustments for the future

There are two main things that I noticed and could have done more effectively. First of
all, in the symbolism lesson I could have given a relevant example of emojis to students
which would be really relatable to them and could have furthered their engagement,
Secondly, in both lessons I had time for students to work with a partner and during that
time I only saw one or to partnerships form. Since I did want them to engage in dialogue
with their peers it could have been more effective for me to pair students up to ensure that
they had a partner. Then I could have walked around and engaged with a partnership and
given them an incentive to talk to each other, knowing I was going to be checking in.
Mentor teachers

Both of my mentor teachers were supportive to their students and to me during the
whole process which was really great. Their instructional methods were well thought out as
well as their student grouping. While working with these mentor teachers I was able to see
how and why they do certain things that help their students personally with their IEP goals.

Instructional Methods

Both of my mentor teachers had a well laid out process of how each class would go,
which was helpful for students to understand the expectations and time spent on each
activity. Ms. Spafford always had a fun math starter for kids that would get their brains in
math mode. Most of the starters included one or two questions and they wouldn’t have an
exact answer. Students would come up with their own answers and then as a class they
would discuss the different answers and how they got there. This was always a good way to
get students involved and engaged. Then she would review concepts they have been talking
about and then introduce something new. After introducing the new concept, she would
give them assignments that they could work on in class. During work time her and I were
able to walk around and give support.

Mrs. Young’s English class always had a starter as well. Her starters would be interesting
vocabulary words where students would see an example and picture of the word and then
come up with the definition as a class along with synonyms and antonyms for the word.
This starter was engaging for students and would easily introduce them to vocabulary of the
month. After the starter they would work on a new form of figurative language which
usually consisted of an exciting video that was interesting to the students and then a
conversation. Once students had a good grasp on the figurative language concept they
would practice with some sort of a worksheet. Lastly, they would read a chapter or so in
their novel as a class and as they went along, they had different forms to fill out about the
characters, specific quotes, and settings. These forms would become a particularly useful
tool later when it came time for their essays. Also, these forms allowed students to reflect
on their reading and have a better understanding of the story overall.

Student grouping

The English class was mostly independent and whole class work. Students sometimes
would talk to their partner, but not usually. The math class used specific grouping of
students with different abilities so that they were able to understand and help each other
with the assignment. She also made sure to put students together who work well together
behaviorally to reduce distractions.