Reflection on Lesson Plan

                           We prepared for the lesson plan two days before hand. We had a lot of materials for the arts and crafts project and we tried to set up the classroom as if it were to have been a first grade classroom. Kristina and I also tried to come up with a guideline so as we taught we made sure to  not forget anything. It was very important for us to come into the classroom at least twenty minutes before to set up, we had everything printed out, the groups of desk were formed, the glog was displayed on the smart board and all materials were ready to go. The objectives of our lesson plan were students will be able to distinguish between the characters, setting, and main events in the story. SWBAT write a short story that consists of a least four sentences describing a character from the story, a new setting and an event. SWBAT create their own puppet of one the characters from the story. To assess these objectives we read the story A Sick Day for Amos McGee pointing out what characters, setting and events of the story were. Students then were to write their own short story consisting of a setting, characters, event and at least four sentences. Then they made a puppet of one of the animals from the book either a owl, turtle, penguin or elephant. All students had the opportunity to share with the class when they were done. 
                        Most of what was in the lesson plan was done except for we had a part in the lesson were all the students were going to be able to be one of the characters and describe what they did in the book. Then they were going to put all the events in order by standing up. We did not do this because we did not have enough space in the classroom and the students were getting out of control. Overall we did complete most our  lesson which I was very happy about. The most important thing that I taught to the students was understanding and recognizing the concepts of a story and how to create one on their own. It went very well all students participating in answering questions and creating their own story. I think what helped a lot also was reading them an example of my own short story.  I would have said the only thing we would have done differently was instead of having used four puppets we would have used only two. This way we would have had more time to explain how to make each one and helped each group. 
                     Overall the experience was great! I knew the class was going to be a little out of control and overwhelming but Kristina and I made a good pair in controlling the class. I think I would also have to speak a little louder. 

Topic: Language Arts

            “ A Sick Day for Amos McGee” by Philip C. Stead

Grade Level: 1^st grade

Core Standards: RL.1.2, RL.1.7, RL.1.3, SL.1.4

Days: 1 Day (30-40 minutes)

Objectives:

·         Students will be able to distinguish between the characters, setting, and main events in the story. 

·         Students will be able to write a short story that consists of at least four sentences describing a character from the story, a new setting and an event.

·         Students will create their own puppet of one the characters from the story.

Materials:

·         Book “A Sick Day for Amos McGee” by Philip C. Stead

·         Audio of “You Have a Friend in Me”, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXARdPb4YBs

·         Construction Paper

·         Crayons

·         20 Pencils

·         15 Pictures of each character and setting

·         20 Popsicle sticks

·         Google eyes

·         20 Character and setting worksheets

·         20 Scissors

·         20 Glue sticks

·         20 Story worksheet

Procedure

1.      (Anticipatory Set) Ask students to think about who they consider their very good friend. Pass out construction paper and have them draw a picture of him/her. Play the song, “You Have a Friend in Me” as they work.

2.      Have students gather all together on the rug with their drawings.

3.      Introduce the lesson by asking students to describe one characteristic of their friend of what makes them “good”.

4.      Write all the students ideas on the board.

5.      Explain to the students that today they will be reading about a person who is not only himself a good friend but has a lot of good friends.

6.      Talk to students about the many friends in the book, also called characters.

7.      Assign students to a character, (Amos McGee, Elephant, owl, penguin, rhinoceros, turtle).

8.      Explain to students that the story takes place at the zoo, also called the setting of the story where it takes place. Assign a student the zoo picture.

9.      Read, “A Sick Day for Amos McGee”.

10.   Talk to students about the story, their opinion and events.

11.  Pass out pictures of certain parts of the story.

12.  Have students line up with the pictures of the story in order. Explain its called sequence of events.

13.  Have students pick a character from the story and let them know they will make a puppet. They will also create a short story that includes the character and themselves, a setting and a main event.

14.  Pass out friend story worksheet and all materials to create the puppet.

15.  Let students know to first finish the short story. Put their thumbs up when they are done so it can be checked. Then they can start on puppet.

16.  Review the story of Amos McGee; ask questions as to name the characters, the setting and events.

17.  Ask the first three students done with their story to share with the class, pointing out the setting, what character they chose and what happened in the short story (event).

Assessment:

Informal: Walk around the classroom as students work on their story and puppets. Ask questions such as, “name me the setting of your story,” or “name me an event in your story or the setting.” Ask for the definitions such as, “What does the setting of the story mean again?”

Formal: Classwork: Students will work on writing short stories and creating puppets in class. Have students come up to teacher to have their work checked.

Homework: Students will go home and find a book. Have parents help them read and find the characters, setting and events of the story. Bring to class to share the following day. Complete worksheet of story plot also for homework.

References:

·         Philip C. Stead (2010). A Sick Day for Amos McGee. New York, NY: Roaring Book Press.

·         Common Core Standards / http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards/english-language-arts-standards

·         You Have a Friend in Me Song / http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXARdPb4YBs

·         Character and Setting homework worksheet, http://bogglesworldesl.com/character.htm

Accommodation:

Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences will be included into the lesson by,

·         Logical-mathematical, Students will count the number of characteristics they come up with on the ‘Good” friend list. Also, they will count how many sentences they each come up with on their short story assignment.

·         Linguistic, Students will create short stories consisting of at least four complete sentences.

·         Musical, Students will listen to “You Have a Friend in Me,” song as they draw.

·         Spatial, Students will create a puppet of one of the characters from the storybook.

·         Bodily-kinesthetic, Students will be able to stand up as they try to reorganize the events of the book with pictures of the scene and characters.

·         Interpersonal, Students will be able to share who their best friends are, characteristics of him or her, and also at the end share their short story.

·         Intrapersonal, Students will be able to write a short story of their own with a character from the book. They will be able to write about what they thought of the particular character in the book and what they liked about him/she.

·         Naturalist, Students will be able to explore through real pictures of a zoo, the animals in the zoo, and about zookeepers job.

VALENTINE MAIL <3

This is the Valentine's bulletin board that Samantha and I came up with! Students will each be able to make and create their own paper plate pockets with their name on it. In each pocket, their classmates will be able to fill it up with Valentine cards and goodies. This is an organized way for a teacher to distribute especially with a class of about 25 children. Samantha and I had a lot of fun creating and putting it together. It also brought some Valentine spirit into our college classroom. 

A Sick Day for Amos McGee Glog

http://wendyr24.edu.glogster.com/a-sick-day-for-amos-mcgee/

Finished! :] This is my finished glog for the book, A Sick Day for Amos McGee.

Glog Day 2

A Sick Day for Amos McGee Glog

Today I learned about how to use a Glog. I was able to create a new account and even some what start on my very own for my book that I will be using for my lesson. At first I was a little bit confused but once I started playing with it I got a handle of it . I am excited to work more on it over the weekend and see what new things I will find about the book such videos and pictures. I would use this glog after I have read the book because it will provide students with more information of the book outside of the story.

Day 2

Last week we learned more about blogging, we posted two new blogs and were able to comment on others. We learned about wordle which I enjoyed very much and also dicussed about ways we can use it in class. Today I expect us to learn about glogster which I have heard about before but never had the opportunity to use it. I also watched the video and I thought it is an amazing technology that not only students will have fun with but also learn from. I LOVE creating posters or bulletinboards so I definetly think as a teacher I would enjoy using Glogster in my future classroom.

End of Day 1

Learning about blogging was very interesting. I really loved the Wordle but I had a problem where I was almost done and everything deleted! I managed to finish though and I think this second time the wordle came out better. I would use the worlde in my elementary classroom by displaying it on the smart board before the class starts. Students will come in, see and read the words. This will give them an idea of what the story is about. A stort of hint about the story. The colors also that I used stand out especially the yellow background because the color of the book itself is yellow. :]

Wordle

Day 1

Today I am excited to learn more about blogging. I have actually never used it before and I definitely would like to start now and see how I can use it in my future classroom.

Book

Kristina and I will be using the book, "A Sick Day for Amos McGee," By Philip C. Stead.