Lesson Self- Assessment #7

Name: Emily Michi

Lesson topic: Solving both addends missing math problems
Date: 11/17/2015
School/grade level/ number of students: Parkview / 1st/ 31
Name of Cooperating Teacher: Stefanie Dorf
Planning and preparation: My plan had students using the linking cube manipulative. Using
linking cubes would allow students to be actively engaged with the work. We were solving put
together/ take apart math problems that had both addends missing. These types of problems
have multiple correct solutions. By using the linking cube they could physically take apart the
whole and find different ways to break it apart. This is helping students to become more familiar
with this strategy so they can fluently apply when adding larger numbers. Using visuals support
the needs of diverse learners because they are able to have concrete experiences with the work
and they have more opportunities to associate meaning with numerals. I pretty much had to
scratch the lay out of my whole plan. I was going to teach the lesson to the whole class and then
pull a group of students to a side table so I could video tape them working on the task. One of
the teachers was not there so I instead too eight students to the library to teach the lesson and
video tape them.
Classroom environment: I ended up working with a small group of students for this lesson.
Even though it was such a small group I needed to redirect a lot of behavior. It was a lot of
balancing between listening and engaging students with the lesson and drawing in students who
were distracted and disruptive. I tried to engage the students in answering question that seemed
to be not paying attention. I also elicited responses from students who I knew needed more
support with certain concepts. For instance I knew Isaac struggled with writing number
sentences so I ask him to help me say a number sentence. He helped to say it as I wrote it down
and he watched. If one student was trying to answer a question and another student was making
noise over them I took the opportunity to remind them the kind of positive behavior they should
be doing to support one another. At one point I felt like I really wasnt engaging certain students
and anything I tried just wasnt working so I stopped and said hey guys what can I do. They
seemed to be a little shocked and we really didnt have the time to dive to deep into the answer.
Because the group was away from their class I had them bring their pencil of course by the time

we were going to start to do our task most of their pencils were broken and there wasnt really a
place to sharpen the pencils. At that point the time was almost up and it was quickly a loosing
battle.
Instruction: Being able to work with a small group of students I was able to adapt my
instruction in a more intimate structure. I was able to read the group behavior better and
address misbehaviors, and misunderstandings in a more productive way. It felt like I still was
not reaching all of the students. I had to redirect the students over and over again. I wonder if I
could have used different tactics that might have worked better for some students. If I taught
this lesson again in the same scenario I would have extra pencils sharpened and ready to go. I
think having the right material would help to keep the lesson on track. The lesson fell apart once
we got to the point where they were ready to work but didnt have a pencil to write. Maybe I
could also have the students forget the writing portion and have them each come up with a way
to solve our math problem using the linking cubes and we could go around the circle showing
our solution and saying the number bond and number sentence. This would help work toward
our goal and allows us to practice constructing viable arguments.
Assessment: The assessment I planned was to observe the students as they worked on the task. I
was looking for if they were staying on task, and completing all the steps. After the lesson I was
going to review their work to see if their work is correct and complete. As we worked as a small
group to discuss what we had done in the past and to solve our first math problem I was able to
listen to the students share their ideas. I could hear their answers to determine what they
misunderstood and what they were more fluent at doing. I would have loved being able to
review their math logs as part of my assessment but only two students were able to fill in part or
all of the math log.
Professional responsibilities: My CT did not observe the lesson because I took a small group of
students to the library so I could video tape them and not disturb the class too much.
Reflection: One thing I learned from this lesson is to consider different tactics for addressing
misbehaviors. Doing the same thing over and over is counter productive and exhausting. I also
found it valuable to consider what might happen and how to prevent it. I did not plan on taking

a group of students out of the class to teach the lesson so I didnt even consider them being away
from their desk and breaking pencils. Adding layer of what could happen might help to prepare
myself to work with the student.