FHS 2500 Activity/ Lesson Plan Evaluation

SELF EVALUATION

Activity Title: _4 Activity Plan___

Student Name: __Kate Bradley_____

Date Activity was implemented: ___10/17______

Assessing and Reflecting on Children’s Learning:

1. Describe and analyze how the children met/did not meet each of your learning objectives for
this lesson plan (include reflection of each activity):

Literacy: My objective for literacy was for the children to recognize all the letters of their name. I think
this activity was successful in that I had the children identifying letters verbally or by pointing at them.
Brenda particularly impressed me by verbally telling me the letters of her name. Brenda is a dual
language learner who rarely speaks in class. I think that the personalization of the activity helped invite
the children to participate. While not all the children knew all of their letters, all of them knew at least
one letter.

Creative Art: My creative art project was a success in that I had some children who were eager to
participate that do not frequent the art table. My objective was to explore materials with different textures
and colors by creating one shaving cream art piece. Some children used their hands, while others used the
popsicle sticks I provided. The children that participated jumped right into exploring the art materials
without much prompting from the teachers.

Science: My goal was for the children to describe a specific change or attribute of the water and oil. I
asked them many questions, such as what does it look like, how does it feel, and why do you think it
feels like that. I tried to introduce words like slick, oil, and oily. The kids really enjoyed playing in it, but
they seemed to be in a trance, never answering me or looking up from the table. Only Raaina gave me the
descriptor of the water being “soft”.

Physical Development: My objective was to have the children do two movements in a smooth,
sequenced action. I think that this objective was reached because I placed the mats well. They were not
spaced too far apart, and the children were easily able to jump, hop, or crawl to the next mat.

2. Describe and analyze how the documentation that you collected supports your analysis in #1
above (attach all documentation to this form):

Literacy: My attached documentation shows that most children that participated could identify at least
one letter of their name.
Creative Art: I was able to attain many art samples, as well as picture of the kids enjoying the activity in
all forms.
Science: I took many pictures of the kids enjoying the sensory table, but not many hypotheses.
Physical Development: I had many pictures of the kids showing off their skills.
 Edith is
shown
working
with Miss
Katie to
match the
letters in her
name.

Brenda is shown here matching her

letters unassisted.
Some were neater with their artwork, like Raaina, or more
apprehensive, like Diana. I appreciate Edith’s approach
with both her hand and the popsicle stick. Jack preferred to
go two hands first and really explore the material up close.

Brenda quietly evaluates the oil and water in the bottle.

The tube slipped right out of Cash’s hand, and we discussed how oil feels slippery.

Diana showing me her

jumping jacks.
 Jack is great at hopping
from one mat to the next,
jumping up and down, and
leaping like a frog.

Getting into the crab position proved easier than actually doing the crab walk.
3. After considering the information above, discuss possible next steps for future activities:
For future activities, I would want to include more gross motor play. While the children could do many of
the exercises, they were mostly unable to smoothly transition from one to the next. I would also take into
consideration how many children participated in art and science and likely use sensory materials again to
engage them.

Teaching Effectiveness:
1. Were the activities carried out as planned in your Activity Description (be specific)? What
changes to your plan were made and why?
Everything was carried out nearly exactly to plan, with two exceptions. During my creative art activity, I
had planned on putting the shaving cream directly on the art tray. Upon execution of my activity, I
decided the children would be more drawn to the activity if the shaving cream went directly on the paper.
I believed the children would not understand it was an art activity unless the paper was involved. For the
literacy activity, I used both upper and lower case letters. I hadn’t thought about that aspect in prior
planning and found that it actually detracted from the activity. Not all the students know both upper and
lowercase numbers, so it was a bit overwhelming or confusing for some.

2. Describe and explain the strengths of your Lesson Plan and implementation:
I think that my activities were successful because I have taken the time to know the children and their likes
and personalities. Because I incorporated sensory into my art and science projects, I found that some kids
that do not usually participate in those activities were eager to come join us. I also think that the fine motor
aspect of my literacy activity helped engage the students.

3. Describe and explain the areas for improvements in your Lesson Plan and implementation:
I did not realize while planning my activities that many of the children did not know both capital and
lowercase letters. If I keep the activities simple, there is a greater chance the kids will engage and learn from
it. Next time I did an alphabet activity, I would keep it all to uppercase letters. During my science
experiment, I used water based coloring, not realizing it wouldn’t really mix at all. Next time I would use a
stronger coloring so the kids might be able to more clearly see the difference of the water and oil.

4. Reflect on your teaching experience and the lab teacher feedback. What did YOU learn from
these activities?
As always, I must remind myself to keep it simple and not try to over-do it, like using both upper and lower
case letters. Another important thing I learned is how important it is to pay attention to the children and what
they are interested in. I believe my activities were successful because they were catered to the children’s
previously exhibited interests.