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Anna Ward

22 January 2015
North River Elementary
Grade 5- Science
Word count: 1372
After 2nd Lesson Reflection
My second teaching opportunity for Education 380 provided me with valuable
information and experience. Just like when I taught my social studies lesson, I had the
opportunity to teach my science lesson twice. Teaching lessons multiple times has been
beneficial in my growth as a future teacher. Having to present the lesson twice allowed me to see
the strengths and weaknesses of my lesson. In addition, I was able to see how two different
groups of students can experience the same lesson and learn different things. Lastly, it was useful
to teach 2 lessons because I was able to take my reflections and feedback from my first lesson to
improve the teaching of my second lesson.
My science lesson served as the introduction to a new unit about sound. The science and
concepts surrounding sound are complicated, so I made sure to have different demonstrations. I
think that my demonstrations helped to explain some of the content and solidify concepts. For
example, I started my lesson (anticipatory set) by asking the students what would happen if I
plucked the rubber band stretched between two of my fingers. Students talked about sound and
vibration, which was a perfect transition into our unit. Later I used dominoes to demonstrate how
sound is transmitted and produced. The students were given a visual example of energy
transferring from one particle to the next. In my first class, my dominoes demonstration in
combination with my presentation of content raised some great questions from the students. The
students asked how sound ever stops if energy continues to transfer from one particle to the next.
This enhanced my lesson because I was able to explain that energy is lost over time.

After my first lesson, I realized that I needed to provide the students with more guided
practice before they worked independently. One of the strengths of my second lesson was the
inclusion of more guided practice activities. First, students worked together at their tables to
write down how sound was transmitted and produced. They put their information on a post-it
note and stuck it on the white board. This was an informal assessment that I used to see if the
first part of content presented was understood by the students. We reviewed the post-it notes as a
class and made sure everyone agreed on the information provided by their classmates. Later,
students had to complete an activity sheet in which they drew the particles of a solid, liquid, and
a gas. This activity was another informal assessment I used to make sure students knew how
particles were spaced in each form of matter. Students needed to know how particles were spaced
in order to understand how sound travels through different forms of matter. Including more
guided practice in my lesson helped me to gauge my students understanding.
The tricky thing about teaching a lesson twice is that things that work in one class may
not work in the next class. Some of my examples and demonstrations made more sense to Mr.
Ss class than to Mrs. Ms. Specifically, I used hula hoops and student volunteers to create
solids, liquids, and gases. I had 4 students fit into one hula hoop to exemplify a solid. Then I
explained that the particles were packed so tight, that sound vibrations traveled quickly from
particle to particle. The hula hoop created a visual that I used to help explain how sound travels
fastest through a solid. Students could see that the particles had less distance to travel, and
therefore used less energy to transmit vibrations to neighboring particles. Mr. Ss class
understood this concept and did very well on their independent practice (my assessment). On the
other hand, Mrs. Ms class did not make connections between the demonstration and the concept.

They struggled through their independent practice and honestly couldnt complete the
assignment without some assistance.
Based on some of the experiences mentioned above, I still feel that there are areas where
I can improve. I noticed through guided practice with Mrs. Ms class (and while they attempted
independent practice) that the material covered did not sink in the way it did with the first group.
I definitely got tunnel vision and focused on finishing the lesson. In hindsight, I wish I had been
more flexible and worried more about the students understanding the content rather than
finishing the lesson. I know that this is an important skill for teachers and that I must be able to
adapt quickly to meet the needs of my students. In the future, if students are struggling to explain
and grasp the content, I will not forge ahead in my lesson. Instead, I will review the content again
and try to think of different ways to present it than the way I did initially. It would have been
okay if the students did not get to the independent practice, but in the moment I wanted to push
through. Reflecting on my teaching has helped me to develop better awareness and remember all
of the things I have learned in my classes!
This lesson had more assessment pieces than my first lesson. I used my guided practice
activities as informal assessments to check for understanding. Students were assessed on their
grasp of sound transmission and production informally; they worked together at their tables to
write about sound creation and travel on a post-it note. I plan to use this informal assessment in
the future because it allowed for discussion and collaboration between students. When we
reviewed the notes as a class, students used silent signals to communicate if they agreed,
disagreed, or had something to add to the notes. This activity really helped to reinforce the
content that was presented at the beginning of the lesson. Dean, Hubbell, Pitler, and Stone

emphasize the importance of providing practice activities because they allow students to deepen
their understanding and elaborate on new learning (2012).
An activity sheet on solids, liquids, and gases served as another informal assessment tool.
Students had to draw the particles in a solid, liquid, and a gas. I wanted to make sure students
understood that the particles were spaced differently because that relates to the transmission of
sound through different forms of matter. After reflection, this activity was more of a review than
guided practice of new content. However, I still believe that this activity was valuable because
students have to understand the different between matter to learn how sound travels differently
through solids, liquids, and gases.
Students completed a foldable for my final assessment piece. The foldable integrated all
of the information on sound (transmission and production), types of matter, and the transmission
of sound through different types of matter. This activity allowed me to see if the students were
able to combine all of the concepts discussed. The foldable had a written piece where students
had to finish a phrase as well as a visual piece. After completing the phrases, they had to draw a
picture that represented the concept or idea of the sentence they completed. I like this activity
because it includes linguistic and nonlinguistic components. It is also an excellent study tool that
students can use before their test. I wanted to provide them with a simple and effective study
tool. In addition, research has found that using notebooks (students will glue in their foldable)
are useful formative assessment tools for science (Aschbacher & Alonzo, 2012). Notebooks were
also found to help students actively construct knowledge and develop competence.
Teaching during practicum has provided me with valuable experience. I feel that I was
even able to improve between my first and second lessons because I used my reflection from the
first experience to enhance the second. In addition, I think that these opportunities will help to

shape my lessons and planning during student teaching. As mentioned previously, I will use my
guided practice to gauge student understanding. Beyond that, I will take that information to guide
the rest of my teaching. If students seem to be struggling, I will not continue with the lesson to
make sure we finish. It does not help my students to give them work they cannot complete
correctly; they could become frustrated and stop trying.

References
Aschbacher, P., & Alonzo, A. (2006). Examining the utility of elementary science notebooks for
formative assessment purposes. Educational Assessment, 11(3/4), 179-203.
doi:10.1207/s15326977ea1103&4_3
Dean, C., Hubbell, E., Pitler, H., & Stone, B. (2012). Assigning Homework and Providing
Practice. In Classroom instruction that works research-based strategies for increasing
student achievement (2nd ed.). Alexandria, Va.: ASCD

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