Reflect & Connect 3/16

Dear Reader,

Sorry I have not blogged recently! My brain has yet to leave spring break. The past couple of weeks, besides spring break, I have been working hard in my Instructional Planning class creating my first lesson plan unit. As of today I have completed Stage 1 and Stage 2. I like how this concept of planning has me look to the big idea of what I want my students to learn. First I started by planning what CCSS to use, man in goals, my essential questions, and what students will know/be able to. Next, I complete Stage 2 by planning how I will assess my students to one of my essential questions. At first this was tricky for me because I like planning step by step, in order. Now I have learned the big picture I want my students to understand. All of the details will be planned in Stage 3, but for now I know how I want to teach and ways I will assess my students. After learning about lesson planning, and seeing it in action in the classroom, I have a new love for creating essential questions. They are so important for students to understand the purpose of what they are learning and what their goal for the lesson should be. As a teacher I love essential questions from how they benefit students and how it is the big picture of lessons.

In my gallery there is pictures of my unit plan in action!

Thanks for keeping up with my process of becoming an effective teacher. Hope you like my unit plan!

-Miss Hester

Reflect & Connect 2/2

Dear Questioners,

I am very excited to inform you that I will be making a lesson plan for my Instructional Planning class and a unit plan in Teaching K-6 Social Studies class.  I have chosen the CCSS, "SS.2.G.1.2
Using maps and globes, locate the student's hometown, Florida, and North America, and locate the state capital and the national capital," for my Instruction Planning class. I chose this standard because I want to create lesson plans for my internship I have with second grade. It is a social studies standard because I only get one K-6 Social Studies class while I am earning my Elementary Education degree at USF. So far it has been difficult for me to create essential questions for my lesson and connect them to the six facets of understanding. The six facets of understanding include, explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy, and self-knowledge. As I continue to learn from my professor and intern experience I hope to be the best at creating essential questions for my lessons. I feel as if they are the heart of the lesson because it shows the class the lesson purpose. I want to be able to connect my essential questions to their life outside of school.

As soon as I have my essential questions complete I will post them here for you all to see!
Feel free to leave comments. :)

Sincerely,

Miss Hester