Module 1: Powerpoint

One of my favorite sections to read out of all of the readings for Module 1 was in the power point that discussed assessment.  I have already found that during the first two weeks of school that several of my students lack motivation to complete any schoolwork. They often time’s either get frustrated or do not feel like completing the work. I really enjoyed reading about how important it is to build on what students already know in order to store a sense of self-confidence. I have used this information and emerged it into how I have worked with different groups of students. I also have seen a significant increase in student’s engagement in the lesson when it involves something he/she is interested in. Incorporating student’s interests into a lesson is key for a successful lesson. When I was able to incorporate sport’s throughout many of my lessons, it was amazing to see the difference in how engaged my students were before and after. Throughout my student teaching experience, I found that many teachers provided students the answer without giving students the opportunity to attempt in on their own. The power point stressed the importance of never completing something for a student for what they can do on his or her own.

Throughout reading the power point, I really focused in on question three that discussed the importance of assessing a student’s home life in order to construct the most effective lesson plan. I have found this to be very important because I have had students in my classroom that have had rather difficult home lives. This can very easily negatively affect a student’s performance in the classroom. I had one student whose parents were going through a custody battle. It was very important for my host teacher as well as myself to be very supportive of her especially when she first arrived to school in the morning. We often time’s altered her morning work because pushing her to complete schoolwork first thing in the morning was not beneficial for her education.

            Distinguishing whether or not an ELL learner is struggling because of a language barrier rather than the actual reading process is essential in the classroom. During my senior year I was placed in a third grade classroom with two ELL learners. These two male students were in the lower reading group. They were taken out of the classroom by an ESOL teacher and she was able to work with them to find different reading approaches that would positively benefit them. These two males students did in fact struggle with reading in their native language so we were able to identify that it was not due to the language barrier. This power point was very informative as a first year teacher and I look forward to further assignments in order to help me become a more effective teacher.