Reflective Teaching Journal

Riley Lathrop

Date of Lesson: June 24th, 2019 Unit: Unit 2 “My Feelings”

Lesson Taught: Unit 3, Lesson 2
Overview of the class (content and pedagogy)
● I welcomed students into class, passed out name tags and attendance
● I then asked students “How are you today?” and “How is the weather today?”
Students wrote in their notebooks, “Today I’m good (or something else),” and “It is
sunny.”
● I then asked each student individually how they were today, and then I asked a few
students to come up to the front and ask a few classmates: How are you today ____?
● We then practiced our circle game movement phrase (in, out, etc)
● We went around the circle and students vocalized “happy” with a movement
expression for the class to repeat
● We went around the circle again and students vocalized “sad” with a movement
expression for the class to repeat.
● Students then returned to their seats and colored the word happy on one side of an
index card and sad on the other side of the index card.
● We created a circle again and students embodied the emotion “excited”along with a
vocalization for the class to repeat
● With the emotion “worried,” we did the same around the circle motion and
vocalizations
● Students then drew “excited” and “worried” on either side of an index card and
colored it
● We sat in a circle and I read “My Many Colored Days” to students as they identified
the colors they saw, or the animals they saw.
● Students answered the reflection: What did you learn today?
● We ended with singing “Head shoulders knees and toes”

Pre-Class Reflection
1. What will I offer to my students today?
I will offer my students joy and gratitude towards this experience and my ability to observe
them and give them what is needed in the moment.
2. What am I most looking forward to for class today?
I am looking forward to have students review the four emotions introduced and see how
they remember what we did last week regarding emotions
a. What am I most concerned about? (Do I need a strategy for this concern?)
I am concerned about reading our book because some students may not be attentive
despite it being a shorter book. I will have students embody this book and also interact
with it in ways such as naming the color on the page or naming the emotion on each page.
3. What am I most curious about class today?
I am curious how students will express the movement of emotion, since there was much

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copying last time but that may have been because this was the students' first introduction
to these emotions.
4. What is a positive affirmation I can give myself today to guide myself in teaching
with passion and success?
I am joyful and proud of this experience.
5. Additional Thoughts

Post-Class Reflection

1. What went well? Why?

● I have been beginning to have students pass out the papers for the day. Today,
Kusuma passed out the index cards. This is a way to reward positive behavior,
incentivize students, and empower them to have a crucial role in the class.
● Today the translator sat with Rapa for the majority of the class. This helped Rapa
not only complete his work but scream less, and throw chairs or desks less. Rapa is a
student who needs one on one attention, and he can not always receive it. I have a
challenging time connecting with him because he is not responsive to me in the way
the rest of the students are. The translator today was able to tell Rapa when he was
misbehaving, and elaborate upon why in a way I can not communicate to Rapa.
● Today, students practiced reading the four emotions we have been working with
from the board, as I pointed to different ones at random and made it a sort of game
with students. I increased the speed and changed speeds which brought joy to
students. Students were responding in harmony and with confident voices to
reading the words.
● Today, I practiced near reach with students which students were mostly able to
demonstrate. Students turned around themselves with “stop,” and “go,” in near
reach and also moved forwards and backwards in near reach. I want to expand this
exploration through possibly drawing the three reach spaces with students, or
moving locomotorly with the three reach spaces.
b. When were the students most engaged? Why?
● Reading the book “My Many Colored Days,” was the time in class students were the
mos engaged. Students today were louder than some days, and talkative throughout
class. I almost skipped reading the book because I was certain students would not
pay attention, however it turned out to be what they needed in the moment. I had
them sit down and when I read the book, students were engaged and attentive. We
interacted with the book through gestures such as kicking our legs on the page with
the horse, or making sad faces on the blue pages. Students were looking at me
reading, and also sitting quietly at their spots for the entire reading of the book. I
think students needed this calming time, and may not have known they needed this.
C. What was my best teaching moment? Why?
● A moment that was important today was that I switched the reading of the story to
the end of class rather than the beginning or middle. Often at the end of class is
when students have the most focus. I also think keeping the story as a part of class

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 despite the class being challenging today was an important decision because
students often need a calming activity when movement or coloring can cause higher
energy from students.
2. What were challenges that arose?
a. What did I do in the moment to adapt (or not) to the challenge?
b. What is a strategy that could help adapt to this challenge in the future?
When were students least engaged? Why?
● Today students were less responsive to clapping patterns. Typically students
respond with bold, confident voices however today students were either softly
repeating the pattern in the beginning or not repeating it at all. To adapt, I was
persistent in the clapping patterns and made me own movement larger and my own
voice louder. This was effective to help students repeat the pattern. I think clapping
patterns are generally effective however sometimes when students are engaged
deeply with an activity or are talking among themselves, it can be more difficult to
get their attention. Something that may help is switching up the numbers I am using.
I generally begin all clapping patterns with a one two three clapping, however I
could start with higher numbers or start with moving different body parts.
● Today, we went around in a circle and repeated one another’s expressions and
vocalizations of the emotion. However, many students did not repeat the movement
of their classmates. This was a challenge because instead, they talked or moved in a
way that was distracting to me and others. To adapt, I walked over to the students
not repeating the emotion expression and watched them and made sure they knew I
was watching them. I also stopped and reminded students to repeat it, and pausing
was effective because then each student was given the attention of their classmates.
I think I will adapt in future classes to even have students go around and show an
expression without the class repeating it so I can analyze how students are more or
less engaged when the circle moves faster.
● Not drawing emotions
● Today, students were talkative with one another and the coordinators/translators
more than most days. We had two new translators today, and one of them will stay
this whole week. This was a challenge because I feel vulnerable in that I do not know
what the translators and students are talking about or what exactly they say to
students. I still feel as the main teacher, so not knowing side conversations between
students can be difficult. This can be difficult because sometimes students are
harmful towards one another verbally. In this case in an English speaking classroom,
I could mediate the situation, however there is limited communication I can
personally have when students are harming one another verbally. I want to have
one on one conversations with students who need help, and in the future I could
take the time to work with the translator so I can be involved in these conversations
of peer mediation.

3. How did students respond to each piece of the lesson? (verbally and nonverbally)
● Reflections: What did you learn today?
Ida: blue, yellow, green
Candra: body parts and colors in English

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April: learning body parts and colors in English
Bima: today I was drawing the animals I love
Dwi: English about greeting also body parts
Bagus: I was learning colors in English
Adit: learning about colors
Ananta: illegible
Mita: learning about body parts, typing about body parts
Novi: learning about body parts
Ola: drawing, writing, coloring
Kusuma: I have learned English, I have learned body parts, I have learned happy
Mei: I have learned about the news and about happy
Chasya: drawing and writing
Nungrah Eni: about color, about atmosphere
Mingita: drawing and writing
Widi: coloring, writing, English, coloring person
Arya: body parts, English, happy, sad, excited, worried
Liana: English, singing, dance
Angga: happy, sad, English, body parts
Nindya: singing, English, dance
Nandini: English
Duik: red, blue, yellow
Pani: draw, write
Rapa: copied question
Made/Gion: English
I had just read “my many colored days” right before reflection, which is why I believe I
notice that many students were remembering the colors they had learned from class. More
students are recognizing singing as something they learned or their favorite part, which
makes me feel that singing often in class has been effective for student’s learning.
4. What is the relationship between the content and pedagogy of the original lesson
plan and what actually occurred? Why?
How was modifying the original lesson plan content and/or pedagogy effective (or
ineffective) and why?
● Today, we did not get to do the emotions charades I was planning. This was effective
because students accomplished the coloring and moving of the four emotions I
wanted to get through today, and students have cards of the four emotions to take
home with them. I will plan to add this into class tomorrow or the next day, so
students can begin to identify the emotions in others.
● I practiced near reach space with students, however I have not yet introduced mid
and far reach space. This will be important to introduce because this outlines the
entire kinesphere for students.
5. How did students progress towards their student learning outcome? What evidence
do I have?
● Students vocalized each of the four emotions individually in class today (happy, sad,
excited, worried)
● Students colored each emotion with the color they associate with the four emotions

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 to take home to keep and review.
6. Were there any moments that were a big surprise? (teaching methods or student
response)
● I was surprised how students today, unlike most days, were nervous for saying
“how are you?” in front of the class. Students typically are eager to come to the front
of the room and are out of their seats wanting to participate, however today
students were hiding, or saying no to me when I called on them. Students may have
been nervous for this because this involves students in speaking a longer phrase
that they may not feel comfortable in. I am interested to see how this will progress
because typically students are eager to go to the front and lead class.
● Students were also nervous for coming to the front of class for the clapping patterns
that were student led. I am surprised by this because similar to the how are yous,
students are typically jumping out of their seats wanting to do it, students were
saying no or yelling when I called on them, and few students were raising their
hands.
7. How did I provide feedback to students?
How did I differentiate for students? (special need, level/ability, etc.)
How effective or ineffective was the feedback?
● Stickers were given to students today when they completed their work fully and
correctly. Often I catch myself giving stickers and then noticing a typo or something
spelled incorrectly. I focused today on giving students stickers when they completed
their work accurately. This was effective because I asked students to recheck their
work and most of them could, and I also wrote the correct spelling on some sheets
and they could then rewrite it. This occurred while students were writing in their
notebooks the four emotions, and also in the morning when students were writing
“Today I’m ____” and about the weather of the day.
● I focused on saying thank you to students today, especially the students who
typically are ones I have a challenge with but do something such as sit quietly, or
help others. Often there are certain students (Ptuase, Bima, Angga, Rapa, and more)
who are mostly talked to from me about negative behavior. Today I thank Ptuase for
returning the colored pencils to me, and I thanked Bima for straightening out the
name tags.

8. How did I create or reinforce a safe learning environment for students?

● Asking each and every student in the morning how they are today has been
effective, because students are typically quiet and looking to me for their name to be
called. This also helps set the class up to be a class where I can be connected to each
student since I start class with making eye contact with all students. I also think this
is important because I say the names of each student. This is important because
9. What was my own inner attitude and energy towards coming into class today?
(nervous, excited, tired, stressed, etc) And, How did/could it affect students and
teaching ?
● I was excited today to see students after the weekend, and because this is the
beginning of my final two weeks with students, I am more conscious of bringing my
full self to class and lead class with joy. This affected students because students

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 were able to focus on the joy in class and having joy combined with productivity.
10. How did I apply what I learned in my previous class to today?
a. How did it impact my teaching?
b. How did it impact student learning/engagement?
● Today, I had students draw emotions because students on Friday showed a diversity
of movements they associated with the emotions. Now that students have embodied
the movement of emotions, I added today colors with emotions. I added colors
through reading our color/emotion based book.
11. How will I use the information I learned in class today to guide tomorrow’s class?
● Want to add emotions charades
● Want to add teach space, kinesphere, reach space even more
● Maybe no repeating the movements in the circle so the circle moves faster or
students may be more engaged
12. Additional Thoughts