Running Head: PORTFOLIO PROJECT: ENGAGING AND INTERACTING WITH

Re- engagement
It is important to keep students engaged in what you are teaching. If students are engaged
in their learning, they are more likely to remember the information not just for the test, but long
after. For re-engagement in my own classroom there are many different ways I would consider
implementing. For a lesson plan that you are teaching in front of the class using strategies such
as signal cards, or using mini white boards or clickers can be an effective way to keep kids on
task, and to engage them in what you are discussing. At the end of a unit or section you can
engage students in a more in depth way. Effective strategies include group reports, class
discussions, or producing a graphic organizer. The final way that we can re-engage students is by
changing the lesson plan format every 10-15 min. Each of these can prove to be very effective if
they are done at the appropriate time. (Shasta County Office of Education, 2009)
I am going to start with changing the lesson plan every ten minutes. This would be the
most effective way for this lesson plan because it does not require a large gap in the lesson plan
to stop and do something just to restart again. It provides a nearly seamless change but enough of
one to reengage students (Goodwin and Hubbell, 2013). In this lesson we decided to begin with
the pre- quiz. Next a power point lesson followed where the teacher shows the students what to
do. We then changed to doing problems on the board that continued illustrating how to do these
mole problems. The students were then able to create real world examples where we discussed
them and solved them. Finally we did a quick review power point and allowed the students to
begin working on their homework.
Signal cards are a good way of checking understanding. It gives the students a quick
brain break, and allows them to tell the teacher if they are understanding the information. If you
allow students to respond immediately after receiving a bunch of information, they are able to

PORTFOLIO PROJECT: ENGAGING AND INTERACTING WITH

think back about what they just learned and determine if they understand. If the students do
understand the information you can move on knowing that if you were to present the information
in the form of a test or quiz the students have the knowledge and understanding to answer
accurately. If the students do not understand the teacher knows that they must go back and
reteach the information in another way. The teacher can also ask questions and determine where
confusion is.
Mini white boards and clickers can also be used in the middle of a lesson to test
understanding. You can place the questions immediately in the power point that you are
presenting, and it allows you to test if the students are both understanding the information, and if
they are involving themselves in the lesson. Testing them on the information right away lets them
get involved more in if they are understanding topics. This can be used both in individual and
group settings where individuals are allowed to discuss and determine answers. Together, the
students are able to let the teacher if he or she is being clear.
Group reports are effective at the end of a section or unit. They would allow students to
demonstrate their understanding. Questions on the report can vary from easy to difficult, and
because based on their answers students will be able to show the students not only that they
understand but their specific level of understanding. Class discussions can also do the same
thing. In a group discussion you will be able to determine the level of understanding that students
have regarding the topic. They will be able to discuss difficult topics, and will also be able to get
clarification if there is confusion about a topic.
Finally graphic organizers are an effective way to let students tell you their level of
understanding without taking class time to do it. If you are pressed for time in a subject, having
the students make a graphic organizer about the unit will allow them to show their understanding

PORTFOLIO PROJECT: ENGAGING AND INTERACTING WITH

of the information. This is best done with classes or units that have in depth information.
Examples of this include science classes where the information is complex and interactive, or
history classes where the information can be complex but set. It is more difficult to use
organizers in math classes where it is a set of rules to follow, however it is not impossible with
the correct guidance, and with the correct unit.
Altogether to reengage students in the information the way to approach it would depend
on the information being presented. It is essential to keep the students involved. During class
time a very effective way to do it includes signal cards or mini white boards. This will be more
effective with the unit that we are working on. It will allow us as teachers to determine if
students understand the information during the lecture. This is a good reengagement task for
every ten minutes or so. Other ways to get the students involved in the information includes
reports, graphic organizers, and class discussions. These allow students to interact more with the
information after they have learned it or during the learning time. This would be better when we
are done with the whole unit rather than just the moles section of it.
Choices
Because this lesson plan was a smaller unit, we did not have a large project or anything that
the students were required to complete. To give the students some choices on how to end the unit
we gave them a final closing assignment. They had the choice of the following assignments
1. Create a real world problem where you can demonstrate your knowledge of moles. Be
sure to include all of the proper work to show how you completed this assignment, as
well as a brief description of how you did the problem, and what a mole is.
2. Take the quiz. During the day set aside to work on these projects you will instead take the
brief quiz to show your skill.

PORTFOLIO PROJECT: ENGAGING AND INTERACTING WITH

3. Describe how moles can be used in the real world. Write a 2-3 page paper, Times New
Roman, 12 point font, double spaced that shows your proficiency on the mole rubric.
4. Create a 5-10 minute presentation that you will give to the class that shows how a mole is
used, and how to do the conversions.
5. Create a proposal to get a grant from a scientific organization (2-3 pages, Times New
Roman, 12 point font, double spaced). Create a project that you will ask for money for (it
can be anything, but be sure to include moles!) Be sure to include how you will use a
mole to further science.
Students will be given 10 minutes at the end of the class period on 10/16 to plan what they
wanted to do, and to begin research. The students were told that they have one complete class
period to complete this project. At the end of that day they were to turn in their project. For
those who choose to do the quiz (No students chose this option) they were to take it at the
beginning of the class, then we would begin presentations. We had two students choose to do
a power point presentation, and they were asked to present at the very end of the class.
Because this was a very small project (only worth 10 points) they were only given the
weekend to complete project or prepare for the quiz. The students turned in their assignment
on 10/19 and gave their presentations.
Relevancy
To keep information about moles relevant to the students we are going to have homework
problems that are related to the real world. We are also going to work on harder problems that
will get us closer to the lesson on Molarity, and Molality. Examples of this includes If you had
one mole of rice how meals would you be able to make? (Assume 2,000 grains of rice constitutes
one meal). Problems like these are simpler and allow students to understand not only what
precisely a mole is, but how they are used to convert.

PORTFOLIO PROJECT: ENGAGING AND INTERACTING WITH

Coaching Students.
Many of my students were aware that moles are used as a conversion. After discussing
with them what moles are and how to use them as a conversion, some of the students became
more interested with the idea of molarity. After again asking what their goals are (in the form of
a class discussion) more students mentioned the idea of using mole conversions to determine
molarity of liquids. We decided that a class discussion was the best way to do this because we
would be able to interact with the students and determine if they had gotten to reach their goal.
We asked some students to read their goals out loud, then we asked everyone if they had reached
their goals. By the end of the lesson many of the students said that they had reached their goals.
Because of this we began to dive deeper into the idea of molality. We ensured that everyone
understood the idea of moles, and then began learning about molality. Although we were not
supposed to go as deep into it as we were, we decided that since many of the students showed
interested in this idea we would.
On more in depth topics that last more than one class period it would be more beneficial
for us as teachers to review with the students at the end of each class period, or as they work
through a project to see how they are reaching their goals. This specific lesson plan only lasted
one class period, with the next class period having time set aside to answer questions on the
homework problems.

PORTFOLIO PROJECT: ENGAGING AND INTERACTING WITH

Works Cited
Goodwin, B., & Hubbell, E. (2013). The 12 touchstones of good teaching: A checklist for staying
focused every day. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum
Development
Shasta County Office of Education. (2009). Active Engagement Strategies for Each Direct
Instruction Component. Redding, CA.