Phase II: Lesson Plan Reflections

Assessment of Learning

Include at least two digital artifacts that demonstrate what you or your students (peers) have created as a result of your lesson.

(Screenshot from Natalia's movie)

(Screenshot of Shelby's movie)

(Screenshot of Emily's movie)

Describe your students' level of success in achieving the standards and objectives for your lesson based on your assessment.
-My main objective was for my students to take something away from the lesson and that they truly understood what I was trying to teach them. That being said, I think that all students were very successful, especially after watching the movies they made. At the end of the "lesson" portion (before they began on their movies) we had a brief discussion about the passage read aloud in class and what the central idea or theme of the book was. Each student contributed to the discussion and all had something to say, in addition to being able to properly identify the central idea or theme.

Describe the level of success you had in teaching the lesson
How did your individual reflections support this?
-Thinking about how my lesson went and reflecting on it, I think that based off of the result of the assignment and the students contribution to the discussion, I was rather successful in teaching my lesson.

How do the comments from your classmates support this?
-My peers left really positive comments and responses about my lesson plan and because of it, I definitely feel good about how my lesson went. My classmates mentioned that they thought I was very well prepared and it seems as though they appreciated how much time I gave them to get started on their projects. In addition, my classmates did say that I was successful in utlizing technology in my lesson and that they learned a lot!

Phase II: Lesson Plan Reflections

Mechanics

What technologies did I use (for the teacher and for the learner)?
-The only technology I used as the teacher was my iPad, since I had an e-book version of the book we were studying so I used the iPad when reading the passage. My students used iMac computers for their 'project'.

How were the technologies used (by whom and in what manner)?
-The technologies implemented were primarily used by the students, who used their computers to browse websites such as Google Images, Pinterest and even Facebook to find images or video clips that made them feel infinite. As students found their media, the students then compiled them into a movie project in the program iMovie to act as a slideshow.

Time frame?
-The lesson was within the correct time frame because I, although minor, adjusted my lesson to allow my students enough time to create their projects. My actual "teaching" portion of the lesson was towards the beginning of the lesson time because of this, although I did walk around to track student progress and help them if they needed any instruction or help when it came to making their movies.

Phase II: Reflections on Lessons Implementation

Instructional Decisions/Teaching

What went well and what didn't go well during the implementation of your lesson?

-During my lesson, I think that the way I implemented technology went rather well and the students were engaged throughout the duration of the lesson. Admittedly, I think that there were more rough spots than I had originally anticipated. Planning lessons are particularly hard because you never know what kind of obstacles will come up or how the students will react. On the other hand, teachers shouldn't necessary expect certain responses from students, since all students are different and can have a different mindset. In my case, I think the biggest roadblock was creating an iMovie. My peers, from what I could tell, were really interesting in creating it but with little prior knowledge as to how to navigate the program, I felt like the students spent more time trying to figure out how it works than actually creating their movie. 

How well was the alignment to objectives and standards maintained?

-I think that my lessons aligned pretty well with the objectives and standards I had listed and planned to meet in my lesson. Students were able to get a better idea of the central idea and/or theme of the novel we were studying by relating it to themselves. When there is a personal connection met to a lesson, I think that students are more prone to understanding a lesson and sometimes, are even more prone to take something away from it.

Describe any modifications made during the implementation of the lesson.

-I don't think I strayed particularly far away from my original lesson plan, with the exception of reading a shorter passage from the novel than I originally thought. I did this for a couple of reasons, namely that the passage was a lot longer than I had thought and with the time limit given, I didn't want to take that time away from my students knowing that they had to create a movie. Otherwise, I stayed close to my original lesson plan. 

Lesson Plan Materials and Resources

The primary resource will be the web, allowing students to find media that they feel suit their movie. In addition, the students will be using a movie-making software (iMovie or, if students prefer, Windows Movie Maker) to make a short film of things that make them feel infinite. Since the book we are "studying" is The Perks of Being a Wallflower, I will also use this as an active material, reading a short passage from the book.

Lesson Plan Assessment

Procedure: Prior to the creation of a short movie, I would attempt to engage the students in an in-class discussion about what "feeling infinite" means to them or if I wanted to have responses from everyone in the class, which is ideal, I would have them write a short paragraph about what it means to them. Once students complete that, I would ask them to hand it in and obviously read over them. That being said, I would see how their idea relates to the movie they developed and base grade off of how their movie and paragraph align with one another.

Instruments: Due to the fact that I feel there would be multiple interpretations of the assignment, I don't feel the need to create a set rubric or checklist. I would use the assignment itself to act as an assessment.

Lesson Plan Implementation

Procedure: At the beginning of the lesson, I will take a bit of time to go over what we already know thus far, since the lesson will take place in the middle of the book when central ideas and themes are (hopefully) starting to become more clear. Once I do that, I will read a short passage of the book where Charlie, Sam, and Patrick are going through the tunnel and Charlie states that he feels infinite. When I finish reading this passage, I will initiate a discussion with the students as to what they think feeling infinite is. If they are struggling to determine what they think it means, I will attempt to guide students in the direction I want them to go - how would you feel if you were Charlie? Do you think feeling infinite could be a bad thing? Why? After the students discuss what they feel like feeling infinite is like and once they have a better understanding that feeling infinite is actually a good thing is when I'll begin student work. Charlie feels infinite when he is with his friends and one song that he enjoys plays in the background, almost as a soundtrack to the scene. That being said, I will ask students to take a few minutes to think of a song that makes them feel infinite. It does not necessarily have to be their favorite song, just one that makes them feel so happy and content that they could burst, that nothing can go wrong when that song is playing. After they find a song, I probably will not ask them why that particular song makes them feel infinite unless they want to share, since it could be rather personal; feeling infinite could be incredibly hard to explain to someone else, because they may never feel as infinite as others. Once each student finds a song, I'll ask them to open a program and use pictures from the web, Facebook (or other social media sites), and even their phone to create a short movie of things that make them feel infinite, using their selected song as the soundtrack to their movie. At the conclusion of the lesson, I will reiterate and go over again the central idea of the part of the book we are at in the book and why it is such large event to focus on in the lesson.

Technology Implementation: Students will use the Internet to find a song that makes them feel infinite, so this utilizes the use of search engines - or more likely, YouTube. In addition, students will be using a program to create their movie which will be more than likely be iMovie.

Differentiated Instruction: Since there may be gaps between instruction and learning between students, I would look into other forms of technology that may be more useful to those who need differentiated instruction, such as students with cognitive delay. Instead of using a program such as iMovie, I may use something that sort of lays out the assignment instead, such a program like Pixie. As far as ELL students go, I may implement the usage of a photo-based program (again, like Pixie) in attempt to help the student make connections with pictures.

Reflection:
-Why are you using the instructional methods you have described?
I'm using the instructional methods I've described because I think that there's a good blend of in-class discussion as well as students working on their own. I think that students sometimes work best when it has to do with something they already know, rather than something that they are taught. That being said, I am hoping to use this lesson to make connections between the students and the lesson.

-How are you engaging students in creative and higher order thinking?
By creating something personal, I believe that the students have more creative freedom because there are hardly any expectations, just to share what makes them feel infinite. I feel that there could be multiple interpretations and students can either take it very seriously or rather light-hearted, so there's bound to be some variation in the assignments I see.

-How does your integration of technology support what you know about practices for technology integration in the classroom?
It seems as though a lot of technology can either aid students in a lesson or help them create something that relates to the lesson and I think that both situations are equally important. Implementing technology can really give the students the opportunity to tap into the creativity and expand on it and I think - I hope - that is exactly what my technology integration is doing.

Lesson Plan Overview

Grade Level: High school (11/12)

Subject(s): English

Topic of Study: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Time Allotment: 30 Minutes

Standards: (Include Common Core and Subject Area (if needed)) Identifying central ideas and themes in literature, character development, how elements of the story can affect the storyline (time in which book takes place, how characters are introduced, where the story takes place, etc)

Objectives: I would like for my students to be able to clearly identify the themes in text and how it relates to the story. In addition, I'd ideally like for my students to be able to draw connections in the story, whether it be between other characters, other books, or even themselves. How does this book relate to real life? Does it?

Reflecting on:

Assessing prior knowledge.
-What do students need to know prior to the lesson?
Students should know the basis of literary themes and how to identify them. I

-How will prior knowledge and experience be assessed?
If this lesson were to be taught towards the beginning of reading a book or even right before, I would take a well-known story or fairytale (despite grade level, just so that the story is universal in the sense that all students know about it and if they don't, a story that would be quick and easy to tell) and prepare an assessment or in-class discussion about the literary themes/central ideas.

-How will you use this information in the planning process?
I would take into consideration where all of the students are at in terms of literary themes and that would determine how much "on your own" work I would assign. If some of the class seems to be struggling, I would definitely implement full class work or group work so that those who are struggling do not feel left behind and so they do not struggle even further.

Planning instruction.
-Why should the content of this lesson be taught at this grade level?
The content of this book is rather mature and I feel would be more appropriate for a bit of an older class. To really delve into the content and themes, I feel that older students will not only be able to identify the themes in this coming-of-age story but also relate to them as well.

-How do the objectives that you have for the lesson align with standards?
The objectives that I have planned align with literature and language art standards to have students identify central ideas and themes as well as how certain elements in a story can affect the plot and/or storyline. In short, my objectives and the standards both hope to aid students in interpreting literature beyond just what is written on the page.

(AZ Common Core Standards - English Arts)

-When will the lesson be taught in the course in the school year? Why?
The lesson will be taught towards the end of the school year, definitely in the second half of the academic year. I think that this would be appropriate to touch on several lessons of literary devices and perhaps even reading another book to allow students an opportunity to see what I expect from them in reading a novel in class. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a rather heavy book and I think that it would be best to allow the class a bit of preparation before studying this particular book.