AFTER you present, post a response that includes: 1. What was toughest for you in creating your unit? 2. How do you feel your presentation went? and finally, 3. How realistic were your accommodations and how hard do you really think implementing your lesson to diverse learners will really be?
Post as quickly as possible after your presentation (within 3 days, if possible). Respond to the folks who presented on the same day as you (I've saved the sign-up sheet on Dropbox in the Diverse Learner Unit folder).
1. The toughest thing in creating this unit, for me, was picking a topic. As an elementary teacher I will have to teach all subjects and so there really is no limit to what a unit should be. Other than that I thought creating and finding lessons went rather smoothly.
ReplyDelete2. For the most part, I feel that my presentation went well. The only reason I feel hesitant about that is because I was asked many questions which made me question whether or not I was clear in my presentation.
3. Whenever I create a lesson plan the accommodations I create I try to keep as realistic as possible, for example I would think that most schools would have some access to read aloud software, which I often list as an accommodation for struggling readers.
I agree that picking a topic is difficult for elementary teachers. You have so many options. You were asked many questions. I think most of them were just small clarifying questions. There are many details that can many different things for different people. That leads to accommodations. I haven't thought of accommodations being based on what the school distract has access to. we will have the school affect our accommodations.
Delete1. The toughest thing for me to do was decide about how long each lesson was going to be and what I would have in each lesson. There are limitations to what can and cannot be covered in the high school biology classes due to requirements, time, and the ability and expectations of the students at that age verses students at higher or lower levels.
ReplyDelete2. I think my presentation went pretty well. The first minute or so was a little rocky because I was not yet comfortable or into the topic, but once I got down to the details the information and responses came very naturally.
3. My accommodations are relatively realistic I believe, Once an educator gets into higher levels, it becomes harder and harder to teach in more diverse ways because there is so much material and time is more tightly wound than before high school. Engaging students is still very important, but making sure they meet certain standards and area actually learning is even more important according to the state and the most school boards. Therefore, I do believe I will find teaching any lesson in secondary education to be a challenge. There will be changes made from one class period to the next and students at very different levels of learning. Some of the students I receive will have already decided whether or not they enjoy science and convincing them to have an open mind will be one of many struggles.
You did an excellent job presenting the information. The only time I lost you was when you got really "sciency" because that's not really my thing. You bring up a great point that classes change from period to period, every class is affected by X number of variables, so as teachers we must be very flexible.
DeleteI definitely agree that one of the most difficult parts is getting students to have opened minds. Some people are just closed to ideas already, and it will be a struggle opening their minds. I thought your presentation went very well! I feel like I learned something just from your presentation about science! Awesome job!
DeleteI agree that picking the length of the unit was hard because you want to make sure you cover everything but you dont want to spend a lot of time on it.
DeleteI totally understand where you are coming from when you say the first minute of your presentation was the rockiest. I had the same feeling during mine. I think it just takes you a second to get your feet under you and then it all comes naturally.
Delete1. I did not run into a lot of difficulty, but I did have a few instances. One was coming up with an overall unit plan that could be taught over three lessons within a certain amount of days. It took me a while to work with my ideas to fit the requirements. Another came when I was designing my lessons and keeping in mind how I would adjust them to aid struggling students. Since we had to provide eight different accommodations, I had to make sure they were even possible to apply in my lessons.
ReplyDelete2. I think my presentation was good, but I wish I had more time. I was too focused on making sure I did not present too long to allow enough questions to be asked and answered. Adding five extra minutes may have been more beneficial to me.
3. When I was creating the accommodations, I kept asking myself if this would be used in an actual lesson, would these be helpful or not? Because I kept asking myself this, most of the accommodations I made can be used in any type of classroom and for all students. Personally, I feel like I would need to make a few more adjustments in the lessons themselves before I would feel confident to teach it to a group of diverse learners.
I loved your unit, you did a great job presenting it because you gave us the interesting stuff (the Native American craft activities) and moved through the info quickly. I like the thought process behind your accommodations, ensuring they are realistic and achievable accommodations is important.
DeleteI agree that implementing 8 specific accommodations was difficult, because in real life it won't be like that. We will have students in our classes that need accommodations, but it will be case by case and we will not have to make up which ones they will be. Also, we will naturally apply the correct accommodations based upon student need. I totally agree about needing more time; I thought it was difficult to fit everything into the allotted amount of time without going over or leaving something out. You did great, though!
DeleteMaking hypothetical, realistic accommodations can be more difficult to do than actual accommodations, because when you actually have a student that you are trying to work with you know them better to better meet their needs. Creating accommodations without an actual student can help a lot with creating ideas that you can use in your classroom.
Delete1. The toughest thing for me in creating my unit was remembering auditory learners. I'm a visual learner so if I include a handout or write something on the board I expect kids to get it, I have to make sure I include time in my lesson plan to go over things verbally. A thing I could have improved on but didn't realize at the time was flexibility. I created the unit in an ideal world where I would get it done perfectly in 2 weeks, in reality I should have allotted about 12 or 13 days of class so I had 2 or 3 days of wiggle room in case my class didn't move through the material as quickly as I anticipated.
ReplyDelete2. I feel my presentation went well. I was the first one to go and didn't really know what the expectations would transfer into real life as. Dr. Bum said it was supposed to be a laid back presentation, just us getting practice being in front of the class so that's what I did. I think I moved through my information efficiently, but after watching a few other presentations I see now I could have done it more effectively by pulling up the lessons and rubric on the projector, not just the outline. It's difficult to know what other students are talking about when they present if I can't see it, I would venture to guess the same was true for my presentation and although it was fine it could have been better.
3. My accommodations were realistic because they didn't involve me doing a lot of extra or one on one work with a student. Many of my accommodations were included in the lesson and unless you knew I created it thinking about how to accommodate for ADD or ADHD kids or autistic kids or struggling readers then you wouldn't really notice. The peer edits and critiques are very effective accommodations and keeping the lessons moving helps the ADD and ADHD kids. Implementing a lesson to diverse learners will be difficult, but I think once I know my class it will become easier because I will be thinking about how to accommodate specific kids when I'm planning. These lessons I created are very useful because of the diverse learner segment, but if I use them I know I will still have to adapt them to my specific group of kids at the time.
Knowing your class will help, but don't forget that there are a ton of variables that go into how certain classes will act certain days or even events that could interrupt class e.g. fire drill. Even though you didn't use the projector I feel like you had a good rhythm and definitely had a good unit outline.
DeleteI completely agree about feeling like the presentations got more and more formal as time went on. I was going for a really relaxed, laid back type of presentation like you, and now feel like maybe I did it wrong, even though those are the instructions we initially received. It seemed like the expectations changed as time went on. I understood your presentation really well even without a power point, though.
DeleteI agree with the presentation feeling slightly more formal and critical than anticipated. Also, I felt a little behind because I did not pull up my lesson plans or rubric, but at the time I did not know that would be an option going into the first day. I thought your unit was very accommodating and gave a varied amount of instruction and personal work. Overall, even though yours might not have been as formal or visually stimulating, I thought yours was one of the better units and presentations.
DeleteI also had difficulty making sure my lesson plan met the needs of all types of learners, especially the auditory learners. I think this is because I am such a visual person that its hard for me to remember that not everyone is like that. With practice, I'm sure we will get the hang of reaching all of our students.
DeleteI thought it was neat on how most of your accommodations like you said did not require you to make too many adjustments. You made sure while creating your lessons that they would benefit all of the different types of students you could have. That is a quality that very few teachers have, but it is very effective if you have it.
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ReplyDelete1) I believe the hardest part of creating any unit is simply getting started. Once I force myself to sit down and focus on the task at hand, it all falls down like dominoes.
ReplyDelete2) My presentation went horribly, in my opinion. Yes, the information was there, but I could not articulate myself to SAVE MY LIFE. I don't think it was nerves, I just got out of order in my head and got frustrated.
3) I was realistic with my accommodations, but you can never account for an x-factor. In other words, you never how a certain students past and condition will truly affect them until you see it firsthand. There are simply too many factors to plan for everything, in my opinion.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you said you have to experience the "x-factor" first hand. No one will know what it is like until they are put into that position. I do not think your presentation went as poorly as mine did.
DeleteI do not think your presentation went as poorly as you think. You had all of your information there and you knew it very well as I assume you will know your class very well after having them for a couple weeks. Teaching is a very subjective and dynamic art and you addressed that in your presentation. Accommodations will need to be made and there are good days and bad days for everyone when it comes to actually saying what you are trying to say, so don't feel like you're the only one.
DeleteYour presentation definitely did not go horribly. You were prepared and had all of the materials so we could see them, both on the projector and hard copy. Just because you got flustered doesn't mean it was ruined, we all understand that happens to us too. As a teacher that's going to happen too, we won't have time everyday to stand up and practice presenting a lesson to our kids, we'll plan it sure but probably won't rehearse it. I know for me I talk fast and that's when I get in trouble. I talk faster then I can think and then if I pause it is magnified because the words were coming out at such a rapid rate before. I say don't worry about presenting things perfectly smooth, be effective but don't be perfect. Students want to know you're human like them and make mistakes. I totally agree with your x-factor statement. It's cool we're planning for what could be but you're completely right, until we're in our classes with our specific students we won't know what accommodations we'll need to make.
DeleteI completely agree that you can never plan for everything, and most accommodations in my opinion have to planned day by day, minute by minute as you go. I think over-planning can actually be detrimental because then we, as teachers, will be too absorbed with applying our accommodations or getting through all of the information and miss out on an awesome student-provided opportunity.
DeleteI couldn't have said it better myself, students are the most unpredictable part of teaching. There is no way to know what will need to be done to help a student. Its the hardest thing to prepare for in my opinion.
DeleteI couldn't have said it better myself, students are the most unpredictable part of teaching. There is no way to know what will need to be done to help a student. Its the hardest thing to prepare for in my opinion.
DeleteI know where you are coming from when you say it was hard to articulate your information. You obviously know the lesson plan like the back of your hand because you created it but it's just hard to spit it out sometimes.
DeleteI don't think your presentation went as bad as you think, Could there have been improvements, yes, but overall you did well. One piece of advise I would give you is bring up a copy or sections of your unit lesson plan so you know what to go over next time.
Delete1. The toughest thing for me while creating my unit was coming up with the vocabulary that I would be teaching my students. The material sounds pretty self-explanatory but without a textbook or actual curriculum for reference, I found myself at a standstill when I was deciding what I would discuss/inform my students about before we got into details. I thought coming up with the accommodations was a bit challenging because I really tried to make them feasible and realistic in a high school classroom which ended up taking a lot more time than I originally allotted for.
ReplyDelete2. Overall I think that my presentation went well. I finished all my work ahead of time so I wasn’t rushing to get it done so I was calm when I went up to present. I think I could have read over my actual lesson plans more ahead of time so that I didn’t have to keep looking down at them as a reference or had them digitally on the projector to glance at instead of looking at the actual piece of paper. I believe I also explained the same lesson twice so basically skipped over one completely which is unfortunate but it wasn’t really noticeable. It was a big teachable moment because I just went on with presenting instead of just dwelling in my mistakes or just admitting my fault because even if you make a small mistake as a teacher, just move on and most likely your students won’t even notice.
3. I took a lot of time and allotted a good amount of effort into making my accommodations for my diverse learner unit because I think it is super important to not make a lesson mainstream and forget about the outliers. Even though I have basically the same special learners (gifted, reading i.e.p, reading comprehension problems), those accommodations might not always be applicable in each classroom. I think that I will have to take accommodating on a case by case basis because each class is different and has specific needs. It will definitely be more work for me as a teacher in the future but I will be worth it in the end to see my students succeed. I think it will be hard to explain to my students why differentiation is important and why it allows certain students to have accommodations and/or exceptions to the basic classroom rules but as they mature hopefully they will become more understanding and possibly either have a personal conversation with my about their concerns or talk to the counselor if they feel like they need specific accommodations as well.
I agree that it was difficult to come up with a unit without a textbook or curriculum to guide you. I think it would be much harder for secondary teachers than it would be for elementary, too. I thought your presentation went really well, and I did not even notice that you skipped a lesson. I also agree that "outliers" are important in education, both with struggling and gifted students. Adapting lessons to meet the needs of everyone is so important.
DeleteI understand about looking for vocabulary, especially for the topic you choose to teach coming up with them would be difficult. I didn't even notice that you repeated yourself during that part of your presentation, really that is something I could see myself doing and I would have done the same thing and just proceeded with the presentation. I agree that accommodation for different disabilities will change from class to class and become a hassle, but the longer you do it the easier it will become.
Delete1. The toughest part of creating this unit plan was to consider how it could be modified to accommodate a diverse group of learners. It can be difficult to think outside of how I learn and remember that many students think differently. I had to think about different circumstances where different learners might struggle or how things could go wrong with different types of students. I think the hardest thing about planning a unit is thinking ahead to make your lesson manageable and effective.
ReplyDelete2. I think that my presentation went well. It helped to have the document on the screen so people had something to look at while I spoke. I think that good questions were asked and that I was able to answer them well.
3. I think that my accommodations were pretty realistic, but it would all depend on the needs of individual students. I had ways in which I could accommodate for general groups of students or students with a disability, but I know that some techniques may work better with one kid than another with the same disability or learning style. I think that it could all be adapted well to fit the needs of a classroom, but that it just depends on how well I can understand my students and what they need to succeed.
I really like your point about being ways to accommodate for general groups of students but realizing that you will need to make exceptions and changes for individual students and we won't know exactly what we will have to do until we are in our own classroom. Practicing accommodations in our classes at Westminster is a really good way to start preparing us as future teachers but being in the classroom and actually seeing the students will be totally different, but I think this class is getting us ready. Katie I think your presentation went really well and your future students would have loved it!!
Deletei agree that making all of the accommodations for other learners is tough. For all of mu accommodations i really did all of the accommodations that applied to me, and i didn't even think of other kids abilities. I agree with Alyssa that we will never really know how the kids react to the accommodations we set for them, and we will have to react based on what each students specific needs will be.
DeleteI would also have to agree with accommodations being the hardest thing to make up when you have a class full of diverse learners. It makes you as a teacher really focused on what you need to do to make every child comfortable in their learning environment.
Delete1. The toughest part of the Unit plan was creating and seeing where I should put the lesson plans into my schedule. I had to fit them into places where they would apply to what I was teaching the previous day. For example I was teaching batting and I put he hitting lesson in the day after that.
ReplyDelete2. I feel that my presentation went well, the only thing that I really need to work on is my eye contact when I present. I read of my paper the whole time. But I guess that will just come with more practice.
3. For my accommodations it think they were pretty realistic. the only real accommodations would be for a students athletic ability. When I set up lesson plans for batting and let them use tennis rackets to help the students with less hand eye coordination. Those kinds of thing are really the only real accommodations i can really make in a physical education environment.
I agree that it was difficult to organize lesson plans and figure out which order to put them in. I think with sports it would be even more difficult to decide what order to teach skills to your students. I think you did a good job with your presentation. Eye contact and speaking skills will get easier the more you present in front of people.
DeleteI really liked your unit, there were some parts i wasn't able to follow because of the terms that you used, so you might want to look at that in future.
DeleteI really enjoyed your unit. The part I really enjoyed was the different sports the students would be learning throughout the unit and how you going to show the students examples of what they would be doing
DeleteMike the only critique I have for you is to make more accommodations for physically disabled students who might be in your class. Just because they are not like everybody else for example in a wheelchair they might still be in your class and you should have an alternate activity for them! :)
Delete1. The hardest thing for me was creating the accommodations for diverse learners. It was hard for one lesson to be planed to fit many different people in a classroom. I like to stick with what I know and learn and that is not have everyone learns so I have to go outside my shell and think like others.
ReplyDelete2. I think my presentation went well. I feel like I need to work on being more comfortable in front of others and eye contact.
3. I feel my accommodations are realistic. I tried to keep them fairly vague to allow a little wiggle room if I need them later in my classroom. This will my hardest part while in a classroom. Not everyone will learn math the same way. I will need a way in which visual, auditory, and active learners can learn at the same time. There must be a trick to doing this which I have yet to learn. I think it will be learned with practice.
I believe your presentation went well. As for the accommodations, I thought I was prepared. Then I got thrown under the bus by what seemed like every person. I really do not think we could have been one hundred percent prepared on that part of the presentation.
Deleteknowing that you are dealing with math I think it awesome that you actually ended up being able to come up with accommodations for diverse learners,
DeleteI agree that accommodations was one of the hardest parts to come up with for the project. It is hard to be proactive and plan for students if you don't know their special need yet. I think your presentation went well, too, and being comfortable is just something that you can work on with time.
Delete1. The toughest part for me in creating my unit was creating a topic to teach, because I am not sure which grade level I would teach if I go into education. In actually implementing the lesson plan, the most difficult part would probably be the time estimates, including both the time frame for the unit and the time for each lesson and each component within each lesson.
ReplyDelete2. I think my presentation went pretty well, but not as well as it could have. If I had to predict my grade, I would guess that I will receive an A-. I had all of my materials as I wanted them prior to the presentation, but once I got up in front of the class, I felt unprepared, and the fact that I did not rehearse in any way can explain why I talked so slowly (at least I think I did). Also, I made the mistake of creating individual Word documents for each part of the assignment, which disrupted the flow of the presentation when I had to search for each one, and I believe I did not show one of the documents. Furthermore, while I had all of the materials prepared by the time I presented, I did not have them 100% complete by the time they were due, on the first day of presentations. It seems, then, that I was always one step behind. This is likely due to Spring Break coming during the middle of the assignment and instilling an attitude of lethargy in me.
3. I think my accommodations for the assignment were very realistic. For example, those who suffer from AD(H)D, one of the most common special needs in the classroom, could be accommodated through having the chance to use their energy through active engagement (perhaps best through the skit), being kept focused through films, and working with non-ADD partners. I do think actually successfully achieving these accommodations could be difficulty, as AD(H)D students may become too energetic during the presentation, create distractions during the films, and refuse to cooperate with their partners; but successful accommodation is certainly possible. In this situation, a system of rewards and punishments would probably work best,
I think you did a fine job of presenting your unit. I feel like you meet all of the criteria that we were supposed to. I also agree that the time frames were pretty hard to figure out what went where and how long things took.
DeleteI agree with you that determining the time estimates is a tough part of creating a unit, and is something I struggled with also. However, once we are actually teaching in our own classroom, we will be able to get a feel of the duration needed for lessons and know how much to allow, while also being flexible. If you did talk a little slow during your presentation, I think that is better than speeding through it, which is what I did, because you made sure to include all of the important details, go over all the information you needed to, and it was easy for people to understand.
DeleteYour unit was very good with great details. I thought your accommodations were realistic like you said because ADD and ADHD are one of the most common special needs in classrooms and having accommodations for them ready will make that lesson flow a lot better. It seems that you, Kim and I all thought that we talked to fast because we were all nervous, which is going to happen
Deletei really liked your unit and it was a really good idea, i really liked some of the stuff you were trying to do in order to prepare them for higher grade levels
Delete1) I personally thought that the hardest part of creating my unit was figuring out which topic to talk about where I sounded smart come presentation day..... It backfired on me.
ReplyDelete2) I thought my presentation went well. I could perfectly understand everything I was saying. If I could do it all over again, I would have slowed down and went into more detail. I would probably even have a big example up on the board which I feel that would help a ton.
3) I really can't see teaching diverse learners super hard. I think this because I will be a diverse teacher. I learn differently than a lot of people and I know others do as well. I get bored in the same style classroom. This will be my advantage to use in my class some day. I will keep changing things up and the class will stay in tuned.
I think that it's good that you know you will be a diverse teacher. By being able to relate your own learning style to that of your students, you will be able to know when more differentiation is needed in the classroom.
Delete3. It's generally good to change things up, but that method can actually be problematic for Autism students, since they feel the need to stick to a very strict routine.
DeleteLuke i agree that the hardest part of creating my unit was also trying to come up with a topic for mu unit. I thought once i figured out my topic everything else was pretty simple
DeleteIt helps a lot if you are a diverse teacher and understand that not all students learn the same way. I would definitely agree that using the projector to help show an example of your lesson to the class would have been more beneficial to a lot of us who are visual learners.
Delete1. Deciding what I wanted to do my unit on was one of the toughest things to creating my unit. Being a high school physical education teacher it’s pretty straight forward about what we teach but I didn’t just want to teach how to play a sport or something students might already know how to play once the begin high school. I wanted to do something that a majority of the students might not familiar of at the age of 14-15 years old. Once I thought strength training would be a great idea because most freshmen in high school are still going through puberty and have never lift heavy weights before high school.
ReplyDelete2. I’m always very nervous before a presentation and since I was presenting something where my classmates could ask me question on any type of accommodation for my unit I was even more nervous. Once I got up there and started to go through it I started to settle in but I know I still seem to talk very fast. I need to work on that because I know the what I’m trying to say so that’s why I say it fast but I need to slow down to make sure everyone else knows what I’m trying to say. Overall I think I did very well with answering the question and presenting my unit not just reading directing off the paper.
3. I think my accommodation were pretty realistic because as a physical education teacher I feel like students with ADD and ADHD can do well in these classes because they’re aloud to be moving around most of the time. Also with other disabilities like students with visual, physical and mental disabilities would be easy to work with especially with taking adapted PE class here at Westminster really shows you ways to accommodate to students that need accommodations.
I think you did a good job on your presentation. I have the same exact problem with talking too fast during presentations, but you seemed to cover all of your information and answered questions well. It's also good that you realize that physical education classes are good for students with ADD and ADHD and know of the accommodations that may need to be made for them.
Delete2. The thing about this presentation, though, is that we were being timed so that we could get through all of them as quickly as possible and have time for Q&A. I guess the only advice I could give you for helping you with your pace is to pretend that you're having a conversation with your classmates. Like a one-on-one conversation, you should still be making eye contact and speaking slowly enough that they can understand. The only main differences are that there are more people you're talking to and it is understood that they should not speak until you are finished.
DeleteI too also thought that coming up with the unit was overall the hardest part. Then in was like cutting butter afterwards.
DeleteKyle I completely agree with you being nervous about the questions that were going to be asked. There is no way to be fully prepared for a question and answer session but the best thing to do is to remain calm and take your time in answering the questions to the best of your abilities! Also confidence is key and I think you did a wonderful job!
DeleteKyle I completely agree with you being nervous about the questions that were going to be asked. There is no way to be fully prepared for a question and answer session but the best thing to do is to remain calm and take your time in answering the questions to the best of your abilities! Also confidence is key and I think you did a wonderful job!
Delete1. The toughest part for me in creating my unit was creating the lesson plans and determining the actual procedures and time frames in which all the activities would occur. It was hard to know how long going over notes, giving instructions, and doing the activities and worksheets would actually take in the classroom. Looking back on it now, I probably did not plan as much time as I should have for my unit to allow for disruptions in class.
ReplyDelete2. I think my presentation went well overall. I know I talked too fast during my presentation and I need to work on slowing down and explaining things more in-depth rather than speeding through it. The thing I was most nervous for in my presentation was the questions at the end, but I think I was prepared well enough to answer them with relative ease.
3. I think my accommodations are fairly realistic. I know ADD students may have the most problems with lecture and notes days in a science classroom, but by changing activities and allowing them to move around during some activities in class, I believe I will be able to engage them, along with other diverse learners.
I agree that going through lesson plans and determining the time frames took a lot of thought. I think this can be tough because we don't know how fast our students work and how fast they will pick up and understand the information we're trying to teach them. Yes knowing that students were going to ask us questions also made me very nervous.
DeleteI agree about the time frame! It is really hard to think about how long going over notes or doing those type of activities will take without actually teaching yet. You did a great job on your presentation and your accommodations were great!
DeleteI too also think that coming up with an accurate time frame was difficult when making my lesson. Along with trying to incorporate no school day or snow days if any were to show up.
DeleteThe time frames get easier after working with them more often. It it is important to make sure that you aren't letting your nerves let you rush through what you are doing (I know from experience). However, it is easier to do in front of actual students.
Delete1. The toughest thing for me in creating my unit was dealing with a normal high school schedule. I went to a school where we only went to classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but were homeschooled on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Although I could definitely see myself teaching at a University Model School like the one I went to, I made the unit as though I was teaching at a normal high school with block scheduling. I have no experience with this, so it was difficult.
ReplyDelete2. I think my presentation went well, although since I was one of the first ones, I didn't really know what to expect. I wish I would have had everything on a power point, because I could have interacted better with the class that way I think. I also felt like I was cramped for time and would have liked to go more in depth with my explanations.
3. I feel like my accommodations were realistic, especially since I tried to make my lessons naturally accommodating to students of all types of learning. Every learner is diverse, so every lesson should be diverse.
Your educational background does make it tough just because you never experienced the "typical" high school. I completely 2nd what you felt in #2. Because I was the first one to go I was going off of Dr. Bum saying it was just practice for us to get up in front of the class and talk. I was really laid back with my presentation and brief but as the presentations went on over the next few weeks they became increasingly more professional and in depth. I think I rushed my presentation a little and was too brief for people to quite understand what I was talking about.
DeleteFinally, I like the thought of making accommodations built in, or natural as you said. Most of my accommodations were that way as well. This makes teaching easier when accommodations aren't always me doing something extra or doing something one on one with a kid or constantly reminding a kid to stay on task.
The time crunch was definitely a factor. I think most of our classmates would say they could have done a better job of explaining their unit if they had been given more time to do so. Unfortunately, we could not help that time was short. I did like your unit. It was very original and I could tell you put a lot of work into it. High school schedules can be so diverse that it is often hard to plan for what would be the average allotted time to teach a lesson. English is often a loved or hated subject (kind of like math) especially once you get to the high school level, but with all the different components you incorporated, I think you could make this lesson enjoyable for the students who usually despise English.
Delete1. The toughest thing for me in creating my unit was dealing with a normal high school schedule. I went to a school where we only went to classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but were homeschooled on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Although I could definitely see myself teaching at a University Model School like the one I went to, I made the unit as though I was teaching at a normal high school with block scheduling. I have no experience with this, so it was difficult.
ReplyDelete2. I think my presentation went well, although since I was one of the first ones, I didn't really know what to expect. I wish I would have had everything on a power point, because I could have interacted better with the class that way I think. I also felt like I was cramped for time and would have liked to go more in depth with my explanations.
3. I feel like my accommodations were realistic, especially since I tried to make my lessons naturally accommodating to students of all types of learning. Every learner is diverse, so every lesson should be diverse.
2. I agree that it would generally be beneficial for presenters to have a PowerPoint or some form of digital presentation. I had everything in paper form in front of me, and the class had to use my verbal explanation of my unit to understand it. With a PowerPoint, etc., though, they would have been able to see everything as I present it, and I could physically point to what I am talking about. I was also thinking that a PowerPoint would allow me to make eye contact more consistently, but actually, I think it is more convenient to go from look down at something in front of you to looking straight ahead than it is go from looking to the side to looking ahead. Ultimately, it seems, eye contact relies heavily on memorization, among other things.
DeleteI've never heard of a model of high school that ran like that! Doing something in a manner that you aren't familiar with can be very difficult so I imagine that, that really did prove to be an interesting challenge.
DeleteI would have to say that hardest part of the DlU lesson was actually putting all of the elements together. to make a good lesson or unit it is important that your objectives build on one another and this part I found pretty difficult. also getting up and presenting my unit to the class was pretty difficult because you never know what questions you are going to be asked by your peers.2 I feel like my presentation was mediocre even though I am an athletic and a subject like strength training isn't difficult for me I realized that that is very different for other students and I was put on the spot about how I would accommodate certain students who don't think strength training and conditioning is very important, also I think I could have done a better job not reading all my material off of my paper.3 I think that my accommodations were actually done very well. I had accommodations for lots of diverse learners, even handicapped students.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that it can be nerve racking when getting up and sharing a unit plan with your peers. I think its something that become more manageable with practice, so maybe practice giving your presentation to some of your friends first, then maybe it won't be as nerve racking when you do it for the whole class.
DeleteI would say the hardest part of this was managing the time I'd have to teach the lesson. Having never taught my own unit, I didn't know how long each lesson should be. I do however feel as if my presentation went great, I messed up on the age group, but other than that I think I did good. My accommodation list was very big and made to support any type of learning disability. I think it was very realistic.
ReplyDelete1. I would say the hardest part while creating my lesson was creating something useful and realistic for kindergarten. I didn't want to just have a unit full of busy work or coloring pages or material that wasn't going to help them be prepared for the future. I wanted something that met the standards, was going to provide knowledge that would help them, and had realistic material for a kindergarten class. That's why I chose recognizing parts of a story and retelling stories, because I thought that would help them as they started reading books on their own and eventually creating book reports.
ReplyDelete2. Overall, I think it went well. I wanted to go into detail and explain what I had in mind for each day, but I knew it had to be brief.
3. I think my accommodations were pretty realistic, but at the same time, I know it would be hard to implement in real life. Making accommodations doesn't mean that a class would run smoothly every day or that students wouldn't have issues. I know a little bit of "Concentration Cream" wouldn't necessarily make a six year old sit still and pay attention the whole time, but my hope would be that it would help them, like I saw it help my practicum class.
Your unit on the stories was very creative and I great way to teach the students how to read! I have never thought of that before. If they leave your class with all of this knowledge they will be prepared for reading in the 1st grade.
DeleteI really enjoyed your unit. The part I really enjoyed was when you explained on how you would keep your students motivated. The "concentration cream" is such a wonderful idea to use for younger students.
DeleteI LOVE CONCENTRATION CREAM!!! It is so cool to see future teachers already use ideas that we are learning in school visits! think your lesson was very well put together. good job
Delete1. The toughest thing for me in creating my unit was making sure that each lesson that I had planned in my unit would reach all the different learning styles. It was hard to think of different variations of a lesson that would be best for all the different types of students.
ReplyDelete2. I think that my presentation went pretty well. However, I don't think that I spent enough time on the accommodations section when explaining my lessons.
3. I think that my accommodations were very realistic and I will be able to implement the strategies that I have incorporated in my lesson plan for students who meet these certain accommodations. I spent the largest amount of time when working on this project on this section, so I think I prepared my unit very well for this part of it. This is wishful thinking, however, as the real test would be teaching this unit in a secondary classroom. If I needed to revise the accommodations section after teaching this lesson, then I would and would continue to revise them until it worked best for the students I would be teaching.
1. I think the hardest part for me was making sure that I would accommodate for all of the different types of learners. I wanted to make sure that all of my materials were something that all of my students could use.
ReplyDelete2. I feel that my presentation was a little scattered at some points but I tried to bring it all together in the end. I feel that I gave the main ideas of what I wanted to teach to the children.
3. I feel that my accommodations were pretty realistic just because I have dealt with special learners before and have seen first hand how teachers deal with these students. Obviously it is more difficult to deal with these special learners but as a teacher it is just part of our job.
I think that's unfair that you've dealt with special learners before. Well more of I'm just jealous cause that would help you out much with this unit. It is hard to make sure that one material can help every student learn. I thought you did a good job with mixing it up though.
DeleteI really enjoyed how your students would be able to apply your unit and the lessons within it to their everyday lives. Your presentation at times might have been a bit complicated to understand but you always made sure to come across the point you were trying to make at the beginning.
DeleteI agree that it is hard to make sure that you accommodate for all different types of learners. I think that you did a pretty good job of this in your unit plan and for each individual lesson.
DeleteAwesome job on your presentation. I think that you covered a very important topic at a young age. You answered your questions very well!
Delete1. the hardest part for me was trying to decided how long to make the unit and how i wanted the groups to be made.
ReplyDelete2. I feel that the presentation went well but i wish that i had put what i had up on the computer so the rest of the class what i was talking about.
3.I think that my accommodations were realistic because they are easy things to do and it wont look like i am single the student or students out
It is hard to decide how long a unit should be. I think it is easier to make the unit with enough time for each lesson rather than first determine a length for the unit. This would put unneeded pressure on the teacher and students.
DeleteIt really is hard to decide how long you want your unit to be. Sometimes it just depends on the grade level and the subject area too. I can understand how you must have felt while trying to decide on how long the unit should be
DeleteI agree that the length of the unit is hard to determine, especially when we don't have any actual teaching experience. The computer screen is a great thing to have, not that it actually helped me much. Accommodations seem easy, but remember every student is different.
Delete1. The hardest part of this assignment for me was making sure a variety of accommodations were made and that the lesson plans were flexible enough to make sure more could be made.
ReplyDelete2. I think my presentation went well. I think I was pretty organized. One thing I wish I had done differently was make my final project easier to understand and add more detail to it.
3. I think my accommodations were realistic. As I made my lessons I went through each step to make sure they were inclusive to all students. I think some of the accommodations will be easier to implement than others. It will definitely take some trial and error the first couple lessons to make sure I am meeting the needs of all students.
I agree that the accommodations were the hardest part! It is hard trying to come up with situations and solutions that you have never been in before! You had a good unit and presented well!
DeleteI think you make a great point that some accommodations will be easier to implement that others. Some can be something small while others affect the entire lesson. What was your final project again? Why do you think it was hard to understand?
ReplyDelete1. The toughest thing while creating this unit was what all lessons I would be doing. I already had set in mind what I wanted my unit to be but I just couldn't figure out how to make something to go along with the unit itself. I also found it sort of hard to come up with an activity to what lesson.
ReplyDelete2. I felt my presentation went well. I made sure this time to take my time explaining everything instead of just rushing through it. I think it helped that I practiced before presenting also I made a PowerPoint to allow myself explain my unit better to my audience.
3. My accommodations for my unit were very realistic. I made sure while creating my unit to have activities that would be easy to accommodate to my students. I think my unit at first might be a little hard to implement but if I use the same unit each year of my teaching I could maybe adjust it a bit to get it to the level I would like it to be.
I could not decide what to do! Making a decision on what I wanted to do was so hard! I really liked how you organized your presentation! You did a fantastic job!
Delete1) I think the toughest thing for me was picking a good topic that I could teach using a variety of methods and tools. I probably changed my unit idea five times before I finally settled on one.
ReplyDelete2)I feel like my presentation was okay. However, I do think that there was room for improvement. As a teacher I think we should always realize that there is room for improvement.
3)It was hard to think of accommodations for my lesson. I do believe I did okay in figuring some out.
1. I think the toughest part of creating my unit was trying to think up scenarios for my accommodations. I think that every situation is different, and you will never know how you will react until you are in the situation. Trying to come up with a “what if” situation was hard. I think that once I get more opportunities in the classroom, that my responses will come more natural with experiences.
ReplyDelete2. I think my presentation went well! I was so nervous to present my unit because being in a classroom with upperclassmen, which have more experiences, is very intimidating to me. I was so nervous that mine would not be up to par, but I think overall it went well. I do know that I need to slow down when I present, because when I get nervous I talk faster than I already do!
3. Going back to question 1 I think that my accommodations were somewhat realistic, but as I get more experience in a real classroom that they will improve even more. You can read as much as you want from a text book, but you won’t truly understand them until you can aplly that knowledge in a situation.
1. I think the hardest part of creating this unit was finding something that was relevant to my grade level, while still being interesting for the kiddos. It was hard to make the unit span over a longer period of time, also. Units for elementary are easy to fit into a couple days, so making the unit last for a couple weeks was somewhat difficult. If I were to implement this unit into a real classroom, I would have to come up with a lot more activities to keep the students interested.
ReplyDelete2. I think my presentation went well! I wish I would have had a powerpoint to go along with my presentation, though, instead of just showing all the documents I typed up. I think it would have been beneficial to actually teach one of our lessons. I know that is impossible with the size of the class, but maybe with smaller classes that could be a thing!
3. I think my accommodations were very realistic. Some of them were a stretch for the students with sever learning disabilities, but those students would typically have an aid with them in the classroom. Elementary lessons are accommodated for hyperactive behavior and attention deficit to start with because elementary students are all a little hyper, so making accommodations for ADD/ADHD students is not difficult. I think I incorporated a lot of different activities that fostered to many different learning styles. Overall, this unit is pretty good for students with learning disabilities!