Reflection of Classmates Lessons

Being the last group to go was truly a blessing. We got to witness all of the different teaching techniques and we got to see what worked and what didn't. I thought all of my classmates did a great job and put a lot of work into their lessons. I think the biggest challenge of "team teaching" is working with your team and the behaviors you encounter. Once one student started misbehaving...EVERYONE started misbehaving. A little chaos was inevitable, but I think everyone handled the behavior issues fairly well. Seating arrangement was definitely a key element to me that I did not think everyone took advantage of. I also think more preparation on the aspect of disciple would have been beneficial to everyone. "We are never prepared for what we expect."-James A. Michener.

Reflection of Podcast

Sandra, Meredith, and I planned to have the students watch The Tell Tale Heart Youtube video and then listen to the podcasted questions and that is exactly what we did. I honestly did not think our podcast was loud enough for the students to hear. Although we were having difficulties with the volume of our podcast...the students that were really paying attention heard the podcast. I'm feeling 50/50 about our podcast. We worked really hard on it, but I think it would be more effective in an actual high school classroom. I think the students would pay a little more attention than our class did. All in all, I really learned a lot while podcasting and I would definitely integrate this into my classroom. I could podcast stories, questions, even homework assignments. I could even teach my students how to podcast themselves. The possibilities are endless!

Reflection of Lesson

Looking back at this semester and all the work we put into this lesson...I thought everything went really well. I honestly was expecting the class behavior to be a lot worse. Sandra, Meredith, and I really took advantage of the class time we had in the computer lab. I think because we were so focused and determined we got a tremendous amount of work completed. In addition to collaborating in class we also met several times outside of class to work out the details of the lesson.

Our objectives were for students to be able to read, listen, and answer comprehension questions on The Tell Tale Heart. They should be able to write a one minute essay as well as work in groups to create an original project based on the story. As far as assessment, informally we walked around the classroom and had participation rubrics for each student. Our formal assessment was the written one minute essay, the written comprehension questions, and the final project. Of course as we learn more about being future educators nothing goes exactly as you planned it. We executed almost everything we planned and I'm really happy with what we did.

Aside from our objectives, the most important thing we wanted out students to take away from the lesson was a greater appreciation for literature. I think our lesson was really interesting and engaging and I hope we sparked some peoples interest in the life and works of Edgar Allen Poe. What I learned from the students was that you always need to be one step ahead of them. The more prepared you are the better off you are. Realize that not everything is going to be perfect and not everyone is going to like you.

I always say that "there is always room for improvement." If there was anything I would change about the lesson would be the whole notion of detention slips. For the sake of our college class we wanted to be prepared to discipline, but I think in a normal high school classroom that would be a little overkill. Also, I would make sure that we have proper closure of the lesson. All in all, I thought it was an extremely effective lesson!

Were going to scare your pants off!

Despite the uncomfortable heat in the computer lab, today was an outstanding productive day! Sandra, Meredith, and myself worked together to get our lesson plan up and running. It's one thing to design a lesson plan, but it's another thing when you see it come to life. Although we are teaching at the end of April, we are really excited to teach and we know the class will love what we have in store for them.

Ahead of the game!

I'm feeling really good today about all the work Sandra, Meredith, and I have completed thus far. Since we are done with our blog and questions we will be working on getting our lesson plan together today. Hopefully we will get a lot accomplished in class. Let's get working!

Here we SNOW again!

Since we didn't have class today, I thought I would post up some educational snow day entertainment. If you're snowed in and want to watch a dramatic interpretation of Edgar Allen Poe's The Tell Tale Heart I have posted the youtube links to my page. Soon enough everyone in class will get to read this story as well as listen to our fabulous podcast....so why not see a visual as well? Check it out! Have a great weekend!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LNjgv5p3Ek

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM-tAb-bM-s&feature=related

We Did It!!

I'm feeling so accomplished today! Sandra, Meredith, and myself completed our podcasts today. Today's class definitely made up for last week. I think the three of us worked well together and did a great job. For our lesson we will give an introduction to Edgar Allen Poe, listen to our podcast, and introduce a project to the class. Our podcast questions are:

• Whats the setting and atmosphere of the story?


• Whats your first impression of the main character?


• Whats your initial predictions about whats going to happen through out the story?


• What evidence suggests the narrator is a mad man.


• Describe the grotesque Gothic elements during this section.


• How does the man describe how he will dismember the body?


• Where did the ringing come from?

These questions will help the students get a good grasp of the story. Afterwards we will be having a "fright fest" in class. Stay tuned for more spooky news! Muah Ha Ha!!