Reflection 5

 This lesson was my second to last. The focus of this lesson was culture, more specifically Puerto Rican culture.This lesson went the best out of all previous ones. Usually, two students leave the room halfway through the lesson. My partner and I have also had a few experiences with a student who becomes disengaged and impatient with the lessons. During this lesson, this student was very involved and participated willingly. He even participated in the brain break part of the lesson. I added this first because I wanted it to be the highlight. For lesson 5, there was 6 steps. To begin the lesson, we reviewed the day's plan and did an icebreaker (see below). 

The icebreaker for this lesson, was 'guess that snack'. Students picked a random snack and had to describe it to the group. This icebreaker was a little more and was a great start. Our first content-based activity was a 'Primary Source Scavenger Hunt'. Students went around the room collecting pictures. Some pictures were primary sources from The Library of Congress, and some were secondary source pictures of Puerto Rican life now. Students were asked to locate the photo, analyze, and decide what kind of source it was. Students did well with this activity and were able to sort the sources. Next, students completed a brain break. For this brain break, students did a freeze dance to 'Puerto Rican Caribbean Music'. The brain break was completed with the other TCs and their students. After this, we moved on to comparing East Providence to Puerto Rico (see below). 

                                                                         
   

Students reviewed different characteristics of East Providence and Puerto Rico. After this, they did a sorting activity in groups. They were given different photos from Puerto Rican culture and East Providence culture. Students worked together and glued the pictures on. Once they were done, we went over the photos and had groups compare their posters. The fifth activity was a sound collage. Students listened to a poem and then different sounds from Puerto Rico (see below). 

                                                

This activity was very calming. I played different nature sounds like coqui and ocean waves for students to interpret. Students really seemed to enjoy this activity. They got to be creative and listen to the different sounds. After students finished, they got to share with the other group. 

Our last activity of the lesson was a craft. We read the folktale Juan Bobo to students. After we read and analyzed the story, they got to make their own Juan Bobo puppet. Students folded, glued, and decorated a paper bag to make their puppets (see below). 

Students really got to express themselves creatively with these lessons. Considering formative assessment, students successfully completed all activities. This was the first time all of our students stayed in the classroom for a full lesson. It was great to have them all together the whole time. The first thing I learned from this experience, is how much I have grown to enjoy these students. We had a bit of a bumpy start, but this lesson showed how far we have come. I learned to give things time and to make sure I am doing the best I can. These are things I will keep in mind as I progress. Thinking about my professional identity, I learned to give myself grace. Sometimes when things don't go according to plan, I let it overwhelm me. As much as I felt like this group was a challenge for me, we have all come so far. I think it is important as a professional to be patient with yourself at times. It is hard to teach student patience and forgiveness if you do not practice it with yourself. This experience will definitely affect how I plan in the future. I want to incorporate movement, creativity, and collaboration whenever I can. Not only is it fun, but it also helps students build peer relationships. Those are very important to have. This lesson was very fun for me, I am sad we only have one more left.