Reflecting on this semester

This semester has taught me a lot! Working with the members of my group to prepare lessons for Ms. Darlings 4th grade class was an experience I will never forget. Being able to have the opportunity to walk into a classroom and make it like your own is awesome. My group and I created a Direct, Inquiry and Cooperative Lesson Plan for these students. We made sure that our Direct Lesson provided them with all the information they would need on Merchants, Markets and Mud. We also made sure that our inquiry lesson involved the students working with one another to prove their hypothesis and see whether they were right or wrong. We were able to see as the students used their money wisely while shopping in the Markets and we were also able to see how students collaborated and worked with one another to come up with answers. My group and I also collaborated to come up with these fun and engaging lessons. We thought for hours and days what would be the best way to engage students and keep their attention. When we finally started coming up with ideas we were so relieved. It was our time to shine and our time to teach. Although we were the first group to go and it all happened in a short amount of time and at such a quick pace, I thought we worked wonderfully together. Spending countless hours in the library we were able to complete lessons that we were proud of and that we were excited to teach and use inside of the classroom. We had materials ordered to decorate the room and make it feel like we were really apart of the Middle Ages. It is super important to always be engaged and creative, especially when you are a teacher for younger children. It is important to do things that excite them and want them to stay on task. Coming up with creating a letter and having the students shop through markets and make posters with one another was very engaging and I think thats why the students enjoyed our lesson so much, which was such a great feeling. My peers were also very helpful with their feedback and their constructive criticism. It is alway important to listen to other individuals who are on the outside looking in, in order to improve your lessons and make room for change. Working with my group this semester was great, we helped one another up until the very end and we were able to get through everything together. I thought our lessons were taught very smoothly, the children enjoyed them and they were all able to take something away from the lessons at the end of the day. This semester was great! I owe it to my group for making it fun and easy!