Observation #4_Quiz

                                                               Lord of the Flies Quiz

 

Pick two of the following prompts to write about.  Each answer should be at least 1 paragraph (5 sentences) long. 

 

1.) In what way is Lord of the Flies a novel about power? How is it about the power of symbols and about the power of a person to use symbols to control a group?

 

2.) Compare and contrast Ralph and Simon. Both seem to be “good” characters. Is there a difference in their goodness?

 

3.) List three important symbols from the story and explain their importance to the plot and themes.

 

Rationale:

1) What do you think the objective is?

 

Students will create short answers using critical thinking to interpret issues (power, goodness, and symbols) presented in Lord of the Flies.

 

2) What level of Bloom’s Taxonomy is that?

 

All questions fall under Analysis and Synthesis on Bloom’s Taxonomy.

 

3) How will you assess it in 10 minutes or less?


Each short answer should take 3-5 minutes to create; therefore, students should be able to answer 2 questions in 10 minutes.  I have given 3 prompts so students may pick the two they feel they will have the most success with.

Observation #3

I had the opportunity to visit a 9^th grade English class to get some insight into classroom management.  The teacher informed me that since this class happened at the end of the school day, the students tended to be antsier than they would be in an earlier period.  He also informed me that he had a couple boys in the room with behavioral issues—he did not want me to experience any surprises.  When the students enter the room, they walk around and talk to friends.  2 boys have an argument and begin shoving each other.  The teacher ends the confrontation by asking one boy to take the hall pass and bring some papers to the office for him.

Once the bell rings, students begin to move to their respective seats.  2 girls who pose distractions to the class are asked to separate.  They are reminded that they have been asked politely multiple times and the next time they must be asked, they will each receive disciplinary action.  The girls move with no further incident.  One girl logs onto a computer to finish an extra credit assignment until the lesson begins.  3 students come to the teacher’s desks to ask for help with their writing journals.  The teacher tells them that he will discuss the assignment with the whole class after attendance is taken.  After everyone finds their seats, they are asked to take out their journals and begin writing.  The teacher takes advantage of the quiet to take attendance and do some homework housekeeping.

The students take out their writing journals and begin some exploratory writing work.  At this time, a list of students forms to get the hall pass for various reasons.  During the writing assignment, the teacher has to ask students to settle down three times.  In that time, he says that he can “smell a phone out” twice and the offending texters immediately put their phones away and apologize.

After 10 minutes, the teacher asks students to put away their writing journals and pull out their reading journals.  He hands out copies of “The New York Times Student Edition.”  Students are asked to turn to page 14 and look at the article’s pictures and read the captions.  After 5 minutes, students are asked to make some reading predictions based on what they have seen and read.  The teacher asks them to open their reading journals and jot notes about their predictions so they can check if they were correct later on.  During this time, some students speak out of turn, but the teacher gently reminds them to raise their hands so some of their quieter friends have a chance to answer the questions.  After the students look through the photos, the teacher reads the article and stops after each paragraph to have students sum up what has been read so far.  They are instructed to write their findings in their reading journals.  After reading through half of the article, the teacher asks students to write down a tentative theme and share their ideas. 

The remainder of the class period is used in this same fashion to help students build their reading comprehension skills.  After the article has been read, the teacher opens the floor for questions.  Some students do not take the assignment seriously and goof around.  Aside from sending looks their way and pointing to his magazine, the teacher does not acknowledge their behavior.  After realizing that their tactics are not working, they settle down.  Some interesting discussions arise and the teacher lets the students express how the article made them feel.  He lets them know that he is interested in learning how what they read applies to the world outside the classroom.  (The article detailed how the earth was due for a mass extinction…fun, right?)  Each time a student contributes to the discussion, the teacher praises them for their help in understanding what they read.  The students really seemed to appreciate the care the teacher used when validating what they thought.  

In the middle of their discussion, the bell rang, dismissing the students to leave.  Some of the boys were quite enthusiastic to be done for the day and accidentally shoved a girl while she was packing up her books.  The teacher asked the boys to come see him and they approached the desk with their heads hung.  He explained that he understood how excited they were to go home, but they needed to show more care for others around them.  He asked them to apologize to the girl and they did immediately.  In fact, they offered to carry her books to her locker to make up for their unintentional roughness.  With that, the last of the students left and I was left alone with the teacher.

I asked him what his secret was for classroom management.  He let me know that there is no secret formula to understanding human beings, but he suggested that I get to know my kids.  He said that some of his kids had very difficult home lives.  They deal with abuse, hunger, homelessness, and absent parents.  He told me that if I know what my students deal with outside of my classroom, dealing with behavior issues will be much easier.  He also suggested that I adopt a “let it go” policy.  He said that if I understand my students and know what they deal with, outbursts (excluding violent or disrespectful ones) will mostly roll off my back.  He brought my attention to one of the boys who was disruptive during the lesson—that child lives in a car with his mother and little brother.  After telling me this, he explained that the reason he did not verbally correct the student was because he already had it hard enough in life.  He said that gentle correction seems to yield the highest results with students who just need someone to care about them.  I will never forget that conversation and will appreciate what I was taught in that 50 minute period of time.

Observation #2

Lesson Plan Template for SED 406 and 407 part 1 = planning
Teacher Candidate: Denise Roberts	Subject: English	Grade(s): 10
Name of Lesson: Lord of the Flies Breakdown
Learning Objective(s), including Bloom's taxonomic level: (label A, B, C, *D) *optional Application and Analysis Students will work in groups to analyze provided writing prompts using at least four examples from the book.
Student Standards (GSE or/GLE or Common Core-in draft for math/science- list which): Common Core Grade 10 Reading Standard 1: 1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
Teacher Standards (professional society and/or NETS  and RIPTS-list which): RIPTS 5.2: Teachers pose questions that encourage students to view, analyze, and interpret ideas from multiple perspectives.
Rationale: Why this lesson? How does it fit into the curriculum and context? Is this the introduction, conclusion, or somewhere in the middle of the unit of instruction? This lesson will be taught toward the end of the unit to encourage higher-level learning by interpreting the novel.
Materials/Resources needed, including technology: Pens, paper, copies of novel
Accommodations and Modifications n/a
What content resources support this knowledge base? (list at least 2)
How confident are you in this topic as you start this lesson? Very confident

(Boxes expand as you type) Lesson Plan Template part 2 = action
Bell-ringer: How will you get students seated, and ready for academic work? (without your voice)
Anticipatory Set: How will you introduce the material, interest the students, show relevance of topic?
Phase (change as needed)/Time	Teacher action	Student action	Questions/Assessments
E.g. Intro/5 min.	Ask students to work in writer’s notebooks	Exploratory writing
Presentation or Open-ended/	Introduce goals for assignment, have students separate into groups, give out prompts	Students will separate into groups and determine if they will agree or disagree with prompt
Guided Practice or Convergent/	Move amongst groups and help if necessary. Make sure students are on task.	Students work to find 4 textual examples to support their thesis.	Informal assessment: are all students participating in their positions in group?
Closing/	Check progress of students and tell them to be ready to present their work the next day.	Finish up group work and be ready to present findings the following day.
HW/Application/	Fine-tune work to present	If citations have not all been found, students may complete the work at home.
Review and Reflection: How will you review for students who are still having trouble? I will give hints that the student may choose from while still allowing them to draw their own conclusions from the text.
Extension: What will you offer to students who have mastered this? They will be allowed to decide what order they will present their findings the next day.
*Closing: How will you review the material, and draw conclusions? (may be listed above) Conversations with students in groups.  I will see where they are and help them if they struggle.

 

	Lesson Plan Template pt. 3 = reflection
WHAT?	What went well?   All students actively participated in assignment.
	What area of weakness needs addressing? Some students argued during group time—maybe consider separating them next time.
	Which objectives were met? What is the evidence? The objective was met.  All groups found their required examples and were able to explain their thinking in informal assessments.
	Which students did not meet objectives? One group only found 2 examples from the text.  They were given until the next day in class to finish.
	Was time managed appropriately? Yes
	Did any teacher mannerisms or actions detract from the lesson? no
	*What were the strengths and weaknesses of classroom management? The argument was ended immediately and did not lead to a worse altercation.  2 girls were off task at different times, but were quietly reminded to focus and continue their assignment.
SO WHAT?	Was the lesson engaging? Yes
	*What did I learn from my peer observation (address at least one aspect)   I learned that some students become emotionally involved with the text and I should use this to my advantage.
NOW WHAT?	How will this experience influence your professional identity?  Students are able to thrive when they work together and can run ideas by their peers.  I will definitely try to utilize this whenever possible in my future classroom.
	How will it influence how you plan/teach/assess in the future? I learned that students are more comfortable with informal assessments which help them know whether or not they are on the right track with their work.  I will be sure to use this tactic whenever possible.

Observation #1

           I parallel park my car and try to calm myself.  What am I worried about?  If I can deal with young kids with impulse control and anger issues on a weekly basis, high school students in a classroom will be nothing.  I turn toward the front of the building—it’s a colossal structure with a seemingly endless flight of stairs which lead to a single door.  I move into the building and sign in.  I exchange my driver’s license for a visitor pass, and just like that, I begin my observation.  A nice woman escorts me into the “parent volunteer” room and I wait for Mr. Comet to meet me.  The walls of the volunteer room are covered in lovely motivational sayings and two women speak in hurried Spanish as they set notebooks out for a tutoring session. 

            After ten minutes of waiting, Mr. Comet enters the room and introduces himself.  His pleasant demeanor makes me feel instantly comfortable.  He explains that he will not have time to give me a tour of the school, but that’s alright with me—I figure that if you have seen one high school, you have seen them all.  As we leave the room and pass the office, the bell rings and the hallways are instantly swarmed with students jostling about and calling out greetings to their friends.  I noticed that just about everyone in the hallway is staring at me—I feel like an attraction at a freak show. I follow Mr. Comet up the stairs and he ushers me into a classroom where I am greeted by a woman with a kind smile and warm handshake. 

            There is nothing particularly special about the classroom.  It is small with more desks than feels comfortable.  It feels cozy though.  The walls contain the same motivational artistry as were featured in the volunteer room and the entire wall behind the teacher’s desk is set up like a showcase for student art.  The bright colors draw my attention and lend a feeling of comfort to the overall ambiance of the space.  The teacher offers me a seat in the back of the room next to her desk and we exchange pleasantries.  She is very personable and seems to have an old soul.  She introduces me to her student teacher as he approaches us.  I realize that he is an acquaintance of mine, Joey, from the previous semester at RIC.  I could not help but think about what a small world we live in.  His presents helped me feel even more comfortable than I was talking to the teacher. 

            Once the bell rings, students begin to sit down and take out their notebooks.  Very little instruction is needed from authority figures for students to get to work.  The teacher informs me that the students do exploratory writing at the beginning of each class to get them in a learning mindset.  As I look around, I count 20 students of various ethnic origins.  The room is almost equally balanced with 11 male students and 9 female students.  The teacher notices me looking around and informs me that this is one of her easiest classes.   The class who just left contained 7 students with behavioral issues while this one only contains 2.  I must have made a face which led her to believe that this information made me nervous.  I then told her that dealing with students with behavioral disorders does not faze me.  She released a sigh of what I can only assume was relief and continued telling me about her students. 

            After several minutes of writing practice, the students’ attention is called to the front of the room.  Joey asks them to split into groups and work on some writing prompts.  They have just completed Lord of the Flies, and Joey wants them to take a stance on a prompt and support it with textual examples.  I watched the students speak and ask questions.  They were animated and seemed to love the assignment.  Once, an argument even broke out between two boys who disagreed on when it was clear in the story that the characters’ society was doomed to failure.  This altercation would normally make me nervous, but they were so involved in the activity that I could not help but be impressed with the teachers and the assignment. Every student, save one who preferred to do the work on his own, participated in the work.  It is obvious to me that the power in the classroom lies with the teachers, but they encourage their students to actively participate. 

            If I were a student at this school, I believe walking through the doors would be intimidating.  As an adolescent, I always seemed to interact better with adults than with my peers.  Considering the fact that I still felt nervous walking into this building as an adult, I believe high school-aged me would have been even more anxious.  Even so, the English class I was able to observe made me feel right at home.  The teachers were knowledgeable and extraordinarily kind to me and to every one of their students.  If I were a student in that class, I think going into that room would feel like entering an oasis in the middle of the Sahara Desert.

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