Debrief Paper

On October 16th, 2020, I entered my practicum classroom full of kindergartners and

nervously prepared to teach my first official lesson of the semester. I spent a lot of time debating

what I wanted to teach them and what book I wanted to use. Something fun? Something with

meaning? A book about fall? I finally settled on reading them The Invisible Boy by Trudy

Ludwig. The theme of the book, the time of year, and the need to build a classroom community

in the time of COVID-19 further proved that this book is exactly what this class needed. The

lesson plan was created using the SOL standards for language arts. I addressed several SOL

standards such as: K.1 The student will demonstrate growth in the use of oral language. a) Listen

to a variety of literary forms, including stories and poems. c) Participate in oral generation of

language experience narratives. K.2 The student will expand understanding and use of word

meanings. a) Increase listening and speaking vocabularies. K.3 The student will build oral

communication skills. a) Express ideas in complete sentences and express needs through direct

requests. c) Begin to follow implicit rules for conversation, including taking turns and staying on

topic. e) Participate in group and partner discussions about various texts and topics. g) Follow

one- and two-step directions. My goal during this lesson was to introduce the word “invisible”

and have the students define it in their own words. I also asked them to think about a time when

they felt invisible, reminded them of a time when their teacher said they were invisible, and

asked them to share their ideas of what they thought invisible meant.

I began the lesson by asking the children if they could explain what being invisible meant

in their own words. They all described invisible in its literal sense of being in a state where no

one can see you, “like a ghost” as one of my students pointed out. I explained that that day we
would talk about a different kind of invisible. I then explained the kind of invisible that was in

the book. To help them further understand the concept of invisible, I asked them to treat me as if

I was invisible and left and returned to the room. The students loved being able to pretend I was

no longer there and I truly believe it solidified the idea of what invisible means in their minds.

Another thing I believe went well was the children responding to the reading comprehension

questions I asked. We frequently stopped reading to ask questions and make sense of the text. I

was surprised by how well my students could answer questions and remember what happened in

the story. I did have to remind them of certain bits to help them along, but overall they did a

fantastic job. Finally, our post-reading activity included drawing pictures of a time when the

student’s felt invisible and on the other side they drew a picture of how they could help someone

else feel less invisible. They drew things such as waving at a friend and them not waving back,

sharing a cookie with a classmate, and asking someone to dance with them in the rain. I was

shocked and impressed by their ideas because they were entirely their own. They were inspired

by the book and created their own ideas all by themselves.

I asked my cooperating teacher for any suggestions on what I could have done better, but

she had none. She stated, “I think that your lesson was well planned and executed. The way that

you presented it made a connection with the students and they were able to grasp an abstract

concept and show understanding through the response and discussion.” When planning my

lesson, I was worried about whether they would understand the other definition of invisible.

They all explained its literal meaning and I challenged them to think abstractly and think of

invisible as a feeling inside of them. I know that children don’t typically think abstractly until

age of eight, but I decided to take a chance on my kindergartners. Throughout the lesson, I

stopped and asked reading comprehension questions. I wish I had asked deeper questions that
would encourage them to think critically. They could scratch the surface with their simple

answers, but if I could do it again I would have follow up questions for them. I wish I would

have had my students be more active participants in the lesson. Maybe have them act out how

they would feel if they were invisible or a game where they moved around more. They stayed

stationary on the carpet for the lesson most of the time just listening to me talk. If I could do it

again, I would want them to move and participate more.