Reflection 4

Lesson four, was definitely a lesson to remember. To begin the lesson, we went over the daily agenda (see below).

After this, we completed an icebreaker. For this lesson, students play a few rounds of 'economics would you rather'. An example question is, would you rather make your own pizza or pay someone to make it for you? Students enjoyed this activity. The second activity was a vocabulary match. Firstly, we reviewed 12 vocabulary words and their meaning. Next, in groups of two, students matched the vocab words to their corresponding photos. My partner sat with one group, and I sat with another (see below).

The group I sat with was engaged and took turns well. We were able to get through two rounds of the game. When discussing with my partner, she mentioned her group did not enjoy the activity. They did not take turns well and one student mixed up the cards. This made the game difficult for them. Our third activity was a brain break (see below). 

For brain breaks, my partner and I collaborate with the other TC's in the room. On this day, we did a Danny Go! dance video. It was Halloween themed since this lesson was on that day. Students usually enjoy this part of the lesson. They get to dance and also talk to the peers they are apart from. The fourth activity of this lesson was a 'Needs and Services' sorting. Students went over the concepts of what needs and services actually were. After this, they separated into groups and sorted different photos (see below).

Students moved through this activity quickly. They worked together and put each picture in the correct category. The fifth activity was a role play. Students took on roles as consumers and producers. The consumers were given Monopoly money to shop. The producers were given items to sell and got to choose how much their items would be sold for (see below).

Students really enjoyed this activity. This was our third time doing role play and they really take on their roles. They were able to take turns being producers and consumers. The last activity was a Blooket. This is where things took a turn. One student became emotionally upset over losing the game. We decided going forward, Blooket would no longer be a part of our lessons. It just caused students to argue, and they were not being properly assessed for their final formative assessment.

Most students were able to complete the activities. Around halfway through the lesson two students were pulled from the classroom. This happens for each lesson, so it is routine now. Looking at the Blooket data, most students answered correctly. Some questions were consistently incorrect, like what is the difference between a good and service? Students were able to sort them but could not answer a written question about it. Other than that, the data shows students understood the content.

The first thing I learned from this experience was eliminate competition. Friendly competition can go well but students shouldn't feel like they are competing. For the Blooket, students completed a candy game mode. In this game mode, they answer questions and can take candy from other players. We did not know this would cause a big conflict between students. Once we realized the situation made another student emotional, we decided it was not best practice. Although electronic game formative assessments are fun, they should be reviewed. There should be an understanding of your students and anticipation of their reactions. The group we work with happens to be competitive. This means we should have avoided a situation where they felt like they were competing. Considering my professional identity, I want pre-planning to reflect my teaching identity. As an educator, a teacher should keep inventory of their students. How they react, things they like, and dislike. This can be used to pre-plan for lessons or contents. I hope to do this in my future. Considering how I plan, teach, and assess, this experience has shaped that as well. When I teach, I want to develop relationships with each of my students. This allows insights to who they are and helps me find ways to accommodate them. Overall, this experience was great and taught me a lot. through the lessons, two students are pulled out of the class.