Rosa Galindo

EDUC 450 486

Lesson Plan #1 and Reflection
Language
Level
Instructor
Theme
Grammatical focus

standards

Essential question

objectives

Assessment

Spanish
Spanish I
Galindo-Waltman
School
Present, infinitive vocabulary acquisition, articles
(indefinite and definite, masculine and feminine)
good addition to putting chart on board
1.2 - Interpretive Communication
1.3 - Presentational Communication
How do I differentiate between Indefinite articles
and how to use them? students dont know the
names of part of speech, do not assume they
know what "indefinite/definite articles" means
By the end of the lesson:
The student will be able to correctly use
indefinite and definite articles by writing
sentences with 80% accuracy.
Formative: students will be asked to write
sentences using articles to demonstrate their
knowledge of how to use masculine/feminine
articles
Paper, pencil, and pictures of classrooms;
PowerPoint presentation that contains the warmup, rules for Round-Robin, and formative
assessment quick-write questions and directions
Students may not have the vocabulary to practice
a variety of sentences with both genders of
articles OR knowledge of syntax
In order to provide adequate methods of
differentiation, I will be certain to have text
directions and information, oral explanations, as
well as a physical demonstration for those
students who are needing more visual input.

Materials

Limitations

Differentiation

Instructional Sequence
Activity
B.O.P.

Description
Students will do a 5
minute warm up
where they will have
to practice using

Interactions
S- Individual

Stds Time
1.2 5 mins
1.3 manage
time bettersome

Rationale
Students are able to
quietly review material
/content about
indefinite articles;

indefinite articles and

translating sentences
into English
Expectations too high
regarding their
knowledge of names
of parts of speech

Review

Ask for volunteers to

share their answers to
the B.O.P. with classif no volunteers, then I
will pick "victimas" at
random

RoundRobin

Students will be
S-S
divided into groups of
3 . Once students are
in their groups, they
will need to have one
sheet of paper and
one pencil. They'll be
provided a picture of a
classroom. Each
student will have a
"role" to play, which
will rotate to the next
person., hence "round
robin." The first
person will look at the
picture, and say a
statement about it
(hay un reloj/ no hay
una pizarra). The
second person will
write the statement,
and the third person
will make sure that
the article is being
used correctly both
verbally and written. If

students did
not start
their BOP
until 5 mins
after class
started. let
them know
they have to
start ASAP,
and begin
review at 5
mins after
5 mins

S-T

1.2
1.3

20 mins
total
Too much
time,
students
need
shorter time
limits so
they stay on
task - went
beyond time
limit

allows me to take
attendance without
wasting their time

Make sure that

students are able to
apply their
understanding of
indefinite article rules,
check reading
comprehensionexposure to practice
Students are given the
opportunity to practice
using articles, and
collaborate with each
other that way they can
learn from each other
as to why certain
articles are used.
Opportunity to practice
oral communication as
well interpretive
listening
comprehension skills.
be sure to know where
to put certain students.
for groups of 3: good
idea to have one high,
one mid, and one low
student so that
students are evenly
distributed to avoid
unfair advantages, plus
keeps groups from
finishing too quickly
Also, know where you
want each group to go
before hand, and hand

not, then they will let

the person(s) know,
so the error can be
corrected. Then the
students will rotate
roles, and round and
around they go, until
time is up, trying to
make as many
sentences as possible
using their
vocabulary.
Check-In

Quick Write

I'll use this time to

recap with the class,
I'll ask each group to
share with the class
how many sentences
they were able to
come up with, and
have each group share
with the class a few
examples. (I'll show
the class the picture
of the classroom that
each group was
assigned so they could
see if the sentences
match the pictures).
Didn't do this, but
good that you went
over common errors
of "no hay"
sometimes have to
call on students, not
ask for volunteers
At this time I'll ask
students to write
three sentences in
Spanish about any of
their classrooms,
using their
vocabulary. At the
bottom of the page, I
will ask students to
give me their

out the sheet while

grouping- saves time
next time remind
students of their
expectations for
working in groups- use
poster informational at
front of classroom
(what does group work
look and sound like)

S-T

1.3

5-7 mins

Allow students to be
exposed to further
target language input;
allows me to gage
students understanding
of how to use the
articles and target
vocabulary and to take
the time to explain a
few common errors
regarding syntax
If want students to pay
attention, have them
return to their seats
before reviewing- will
keep talking and not
listen. moving back to
seats is a physical que
that they need to pay
attention

S- Individual

1.3

5 mins
went
beyond this,
always keep
time limits
in mind

Students are given

another opportunity to
practice presentational
communication
good idea to have
students write down
their feedback, if not,
thumbs up/down will
not be good enough.
most students do not
like to give verbal

Misc

feedback about my
lesson and activities
Collect their
sentences

Total

~3 mins

45 mins

feedback in front of
class
Use this time to collect
their sentences, and
thank students for their
cooperation.
went beyond 45
minutes, perhaps next
lesson teach a true 45
minute class to keep
true to the time
restrictions

Lesson Reflection
As my first lesson in this class, overall I think I did well, although I recognize that I have several
areas of improvement. The first, is time management, which is followed by becoming more
aware of my surroundings. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I need to improve on knowing
the needs of my students. Despite these areas of improvement, I feel that many parts of my
lesson were successful, such as utilizing differentiation to address the learning needs and
preferences of all my students and asking questions to gage student comprehension levels.

What can I do to Improve as a teacher?

Time Management
When faced with creating a 45-minute lesson plan, I immediately knew that my areas of
improvement would mainly consist of time management skills. Considering I delivered my 45minute lesson during a 90-minute class period, my time limit was not true to real 45-minute
class period. As I feared, my lesson plan exceed the time allotted to me, and I ran into Miss
Bollinger's instructional time. This was mainly because I did not hold my students accountable
for the time frames that I gave them for their warm-up at the beginning of class. Because I
extended the time of this initial activity, naturally, it affected my designated times for the
remaining activities. Instead of reviewing the B.O.P. activity after five minutes, which I now
know I must absolutely do regardless of student readiness, I asked students for a show of
thumbs up or down to gage if students needed more time. Regardless of the additional time
that I gave the students to finish that activity, most of students claimed to not have answers for
the questions. Therefore, I dedicated even more time explaining the answers to the students.
Again, I now realize that I should keep to my time limits and keep the class moving, especially
since I was told that the students typically do not engage in the warm-up activity because they
are lazy, not because they do not understand the material. However, I spent the additional time
reviewing information which pushed me closer to exceeding my time restrictions. Because of

the lack of participation, I assumed that students were at a lower level than anticipated, which I
used as justification for extending the time on the Round-Robin activity.
Again, I exceeded my time limitations at the beginning of an activity. Because I assumed
students were at a lower level, I spent significantly more time explaining the rules of RoundRobin than I originally intended, which bled into the time designated for the activity itself. Thus,
I allotted the students more time to participate in the Round-Robin activity. I was advised that
in the future, I should keep activities short and faster paced so that students are forced to do
the activity quickly. I was informed that this is useful especially if I plan to review any results. By
keeping the activity moving, I will prevent students who finish early from getting off-task. Also,
by giving shorter time for activities, I can spend more time closing the activity with the entire
class, or reviewing any struggles they had during the activity. I was informed that because I
dedicated more time for the activity some of the groups eventually got off task once they
became bored, only getting back on task when I went to check up on them. This leads me to my
next area of improvement: awareness of my surroundings.
Awareness of my Surroundings
During the Round-Robin activity, I was completely unaware of my surroundings. Instead,
I was focused entirely on the groups with which I was speaking. I was informed that while I
would check-in with certain groups, I would stand with my back facing the majority of the class,
allowing for students to join another group without my knowledge and be a disruption. I was
advised that to avoid this, I should always face a group where my back is faced to the lowest
number of students. By doing so, I could still be aware of other groups, only risking the chances
of very few students of becoming off-task. Plus, I was told that by being conscious of where my
back is facing, I will be able to notice the amount of hands that are raised. Miss Bollinger told
me that there was an instance when I was talking with a group, a student had is hand up for
quite a long time, and by the time I turned around, his hand was no longer up, and it was never
raised again. By keeping my back faced to a wall, or faced to the lowest number of students, I
will be able to see a hand raised, allowing me to make a mental note of it. For instance, if a
student has his hand raised, and I notice before it is put down, I can still check in with the
student, answering any questions that would otherwise remain unanswered. For my next
lesson, I will keep this in mind and make sure that I am not setting myself up for potential
disaster.
Recognizing Student Needs
Of all the areas I need to improve, I believe this last category should not have even been
an issue, yet it was problematic, and I feel terribly about it. The week before my lesson I
specifically asked Miss Bollinger if there are any IEP's or 504 Plans that I need to take into
consideration for my lesson plan. Miss Bollinger said that there was nothing I needed to know,
and to plan a lesson to my liking. At this point, I was already fully aware of two students who
need extra time and help on assignments. So, I planned accordingly. I knew that for the Round-

Robin activity, I would need to make sure that these students be split apart and placed with
other students that way they are not in a group together where hardly any work, if any, gets
completed. Therefore, to avoid that situation altogether, I figured that I would group my
students by having them number themselves from 1-9, resulting in nine groups of three,
splitting up the two aforementioned students. Unfortunately, because I was unaware of other
students with IEPs or 504 plans, it just so happened that an entire group consisted of students
on IEPs, all of which I had no idea even existed. This group struggled to understand the
assignment. Once the activity started, Miss Bollinger immediately called me over to the group
and said that they were in desperate need of assistance. Now, aware of the situation, I decided
to walk these students through the activity and asked that they each write at least one
sentence, state an observation about the picture assigned to them, and correct at least one
other student's work. Unfortunately, according to their feedback, these students hated the
activity. I cannot say that I blame them, but had I known about their needs, I would have never
allowed them to be in a group together as it was entirely unfair for these students to be
grouped together and miss out on an opportunity to learn from other students. I wish I could
say this was the worst that happened in regards to me being unaware of students' needs.
However, it was not.
In efforts to better explain the instructions of the Round-Robin activity, I decided to
demonstrate the activity by calling on two students to come to the front of the class and
pretend that we were a group. I modeled to the class each role of the group participants, with
the help of the two students I called on for assistance. As it turns out, one of my helpers has an
IEP that specifically states that he should never be called on with out being notified in
advanced, and that he should never be asked to stand in front of the class. Again, had I known
this, I would never have asked for this student to help demonstrate the learning activity.
Although the task I asked of this student seemed to be ok, as he never showed any signs of high
stress or anxiety, I am now aware of his IEP, and completely understand the importance of
being aware of it. Again, I wish I was made aware of the needs of my students, so situations
such as these could have been avoided, but unfortunately, news of it came a little too late.
Fortunately, I am now aware of these needs and accommodations, and I can better prepare a
lesson for the next time that I teach a class.

What Went Well?

Differentiation
Miss Bollinger informed me that I did a great job at delivering my lesson in various ways
so as to meet the different learning preferences of the students. For instance, when I gave
directions to the Round Robin activity, I not only verbally explained to the directions to the, but
I demonstrated with students at the front of the class what the activity should look like. Also,
for the few in the class that prefer to read instructions, I had instructions written out on a
PowerPoint slide. I was told that by providing the class with the different styles of instruction, I
reduced the amount of confusion. This became clear once I let the students begin the activity;

with the exception of one group, there were no misunderstandings or confusions about how to
do the activity.
Also, Miss Bollinger let me know that she thought having an activity where students
spoke, wrote, and read, was a great idea as it targeted different skills and strengths for the
students. The feedback I received from many of the students confirmed this. Most of the
students wrote in their feedback that they enjoyed having a group activity because they hardly
ever get to work in groups, and because they can finally practice speaking the language. I
believe that by having a game that requires the practice of different skills, students are not
bored with repetition, and are challenged. Even though some students claimed that the activity
was a bit overwhelming at first since there were so many parts to it, they eventually
understood and enjoyed the challenge. For me, this was great feedback. I feel that students
were honest about the difficulty, but enjoyed the different style of assignment so much, that
they actually liked the activity.
Formative Assessments
Because this was my first lesson, I wanted to make certain that I was not asking too
much of the students, but that they were still being challenged. In order to gage their
comprehension, I was conscious to frequently ask for questions or a show of thumbs up, down,
or in the middle to see what needed to be better clarified. Despite many of the students not
wanting to participate by showing me their comfort level with the activities, I believe that I was
kept well informed about the students who did not understand the material. For example,
when reviewing the B.O.P., most students did not know what I meant by asking for an indefinite
versus a definite article. One student even asked me exactly what they are. I verbally explained
to them the differences, but when I noticed many blank faces, which isnt a rare sight in that
class, I asked the students for a show of thumbs. Of the thumbs displayed, I knew immediately
that I'd need to explain the articles differently. I then decided to make a chart, and use visuals
to help me clarify the differences between the two types of articles. After which, I asked for a
show of thumbs again, and at this point I did not see any thumbs down and therefore decided
to continue with my lesson. Had I not done an informal formative assessment such as a show of
thumbs, I do not believe that I would have made myself clear.
As mentioned previously, I believe that I have much to improve on, but overall, I believe that
my lesson was successful. Never have I seen these students work in groups where they are
required to speak in Spanish, and not knowing what to expect, I expected the worst. To my
pleasant surprise, the class every activity that was asked of them, and were challenged to use
their language skills in a way unlike they've ever seen. At the beginning of the lesson, it was a
struggle to have students participate, but by the end of the class period, I could see students
practicing their presentational and interpretational communicative skills in Spanish, which was
a success.