Group 1 Leads the Way !

Today I watched my peers begin to teach U.S. history with our students. At first there were some technical difficulties but group one resolved everything quickly ! I really enjoyed the beginning of the lesson because everyone did a great job setting the expectations they had for the students. In addition to setting the expectations in order to promote behavior management throughout the lesson the teachers offered the beat the teacher game and a prize if they students can continue to behave throughout their lesson plans. In addition I liked the use of the American flag to signal important information and the explanation of the note sheets the students would be using. 

I really enjoyed how engaging the teachers were and how they really made an effort to get everyone involved. They gave a lot of opportunities for the students to be involved and engaged ! I enjoyed how they gave opportunities for the students to repeat after them, but I wished they had offered different checks for understandings for the students to show they were learning the materials. The teachers also did a great job incorporating different ways for the students to respond like thumbs up or thumbs down and hands on your head or on your nose. Once the teachers got to their guided practice I was a little confused on how the timeline was going to work, but in due time I understood and I really enjoyed their activity. The teachers gave the students terms and the students had to correlate the term with the correct time on the timeline which I thought was create because it gave chance for the students to really gain an understanding of sequencing in U.S. history. At the end the teachers handed out an exit ticket which was a short 10 question form that have multiple choice and turn or false questions. I felt bad that so many students were afraid to take it, but I'm sure they all did well because they had amazing teachers and they all did so well throughout the lesson. At the end I thought it was great the teachers were able to end on a good note ! They gave the students a chance to  put on a post it note something new they learned, something they did not understand, and a question they had. Then they gave students an opportunity to reflect on their learning. 

Overall group one did an amazing job and I look forward to seeing more of their lessons ! Learn more about group one's experience by reading Alisha's blog here.