For my Low Incidents in Special Education class, I completed a 30 hour field in a life skills classroom that hosted students from kindergarten to fifth grade. The class hosted students with a variety of learning, behavioral, and heath needs. Due to the diversity within the classroom, instruction was either taught individually or in small groups. During this field I had the opportunity to teach two separate lesson plans that used both types of instruction.
One lesson plan was designed for a non-verbal student, who we were working on expanding his vocabulary. I practiced naming and identifying different objects with him. The student identified both physical objects and images on flash cards. I then had the student begin working on grouping objects based on a single commonality such as fruits, animals, clothing, etc.
My second lesson plan was a small group lesson on the life cycle of pumpkins. I read students a story that went through the life cycle of a pumpkin. Then we made a large life cycle chart of a pumpkin together as a class. After this, we learned a song that went through the different parts of a pumpkin's life cycle. There were motions that went along with the song that helped kinesthetic learners remember the different parts of the cycle. Finally, the students made a pumpkin life cycle flip chart for themselves to keep to review the different parts of a pumpkin's life cycle.
Both lessons taught me the importance of wait time, being flexible in how learning occurs, and the importance of tying every aspect of a lesson to a standard. While writing both lesson plans, I made sure that each part (anticipatory set, development, guided practice, independent practice, and conclusion) all tied back into my objective for the lesson. By sharing the objective with the students, they were able to see the point in all the activities I planned. It helped to motivate them to achieve the objective and helped them to remain more engaged in the learning as it was occurring. For some of these students achieving the objective takes more than one lesson on that topic for it to be achieved. Through reinforcement and review of skills from previous lessons, students, such as those in this class, are able to achieve success and meet the learning outcomes set by the teacher.
One lesson plan was designed for a non-verbal student, who we were working on expanding his vocabulary. I practiced naming and identifying different objects with him. The student identified both physical objects and images on flash cards. I then had the student begin working on grouping objects based on a single commonality such as fruits, animals, clothing, etc.
My second lesson plan was a small group lesson on the life cycle of pumpkins. I read students a story that went through the life cycle of a pumpkin. Then we made a large life cycle chart of a pumpkin together as a class. After this, we learned a song that went through the different parts of a pumpkin's life cycle. There were motions that went along with the song that helped kinesthetic learners remember the different parts of the cycle. Finally, the students made a pumpkin life cycle flip chart for themselves to keep to review the different parts of a pumpkin's life cycle.
Both lessons taught me the importance of wait time, being flexible in how learning occurs, and the importance of tying every aspect of a lesson to a standard. While writing both lesson plans, I made sure that each part (anticipatory set, development, guided practice, independent practice, and conclusion) all tied back into my objective for the lesson. By sharing the objective with the students, they were able to see the point in all the activities I planned. It helped to motivate them to achieve the objective and helped them to remain more engaged in the learning as it was occurring. For some of these students achieving the objective takes more than one lesson on that topic for it to be achieved. Through reinforcement and review of skills from previous lessons, students, such as those in this class, are able to achieve success and meet the learning outcomes set by the teacher.
speech_lesson.docx | |
File Size: | 19 kb |
File Type: | docx |
pumpkin_life_cycle_lesson.docx | |
File Size: | 186 kb |
File Type: | docx |