I.

SELF-EVALUATION
Based on prior observations in the classroom, I was unsure of student participation during

the writing activity. However, I was thrilled to see the students highly engaged with the virtual

field trip as well as the brainstorming portion of the lesson. Students were coming up with so

many options for characters, problem, and details that more than half of the class chose to

independently write the narrative. Of the fourteen students, only four worked with me in a

small group prior to drafting their own resolutions. Therefore, it was evident that the students

were highly motivated to independently develop their own narratives. Additionally, the

students were thrilled to have the opportunity to share their narratives with the class. After

students read, I asked their peers to share something they liked about each narrative, which

served to encourage the students in their writing as well as gave the listeners ideas for future

writing opportunities.

It was evident that the virtual field trip was a beneficial manner for engaging students in

the content and writing process. Because the information from the field trip was intended to

inform student writing, I wanted to highlight the sequence of the chocolate making process.

Since the students had nothing tangible to reference, the discussion after the video was difficult

because students were unable to recall all of the steps in the process. In the future, it would be

beneficial for me to incorporate notes that illustrate the sequence of events. The notes may be

something as simple as writing on the board during the field trip in order to provide students

with a reference point during the post-video discussion. In this manner, students would be

equipped to recall the process as well as include specific aspects of the procedures in their

narratives.