I decided to call this blog post "Flying (Semi) Solo" because I knew that although I would be leading out in the lesson Wynne would help with a supportive smile or nod and chyme in where I was... stumped. Wynne allowed me full control of the class room and offered help where I needed it.
After Wynne and I discussed a few protocol items about the lesson (for example, letting the students know the agenda and informing them about the use of PowerPoint for the lesson), she said, "This experience will be good for them." When initially planning the lesson, I realized that writing all the information about grammar rules would be difficult for me as well as for the students. I decided to use PowerPoint because my penmanship isn't the best and did not want to add additional work to the students by having them try to decipher my scribblings. I also chose this medium for a more self-serving reason: it's what I am used to from business, and it places me in my comfort zone.
Before class, we placed paper on the walls around the room so that students could write their answer to activities. We placed them by student's desk so they wouldn't feel shy about writing on the board; the paper was right next to them so they could easily participate. Once in the class, Wynne spoke with the class briefly and turned it over to me. I began by explaining the agenda, introducing the title of the lesson, and what they should be doing during the lesson. (Wynne reminded me of this part by asking the students if they should be asking notes from the PowerPoint.) After that, I briefly discussed the warm-up capitalization activity and passed it out to the class. They were focused and seemed to breeze through it. After about 15 minutes, I asked the class to tell me what they know about capitalization instead of me just lecturing right away. They had great responses! Everyone seemed to understand capitalization rules although they weren't always utilizing it in their writing. A few students had questions about this, but, overall, everyone understood.
After I reviewed the "Top 4 Capitalization Rules," I went into the next section on commas. The students seemed excited to discuss this. One student in particular seemed really engaged and I utilized his enthusiasm by having him help to explain each rule I discussed. Admittedly, I was somewhat nervous about his knowledge of grammar because I was afraid that I would say something totally off and then he'd point it out and the class would loose faith in me. There were moments when we debated usage in class, and it was great! I felt like I were in a real academic classroom. The back and forth was good and even helped students clarify specif misconceptions about commas usage. Once the lesson was through (and it took longer than I planned for), we did the accompanying comma activity. Wynne and I walked around the class to help the students where needed.I realized, while helping them, that the activity might have been a little too complex. However, I think the students liked the challenge and they worked through each sentences. One tip I used to help the students with placing commas was to read the sentence out loud. if they made a pause while reading, usually, the comma would be placed there. (I made sure to emphasize "usually" because many students read without emotion or pause.) Half way through the activity, we asked students to start writing answers on the papers that were placed around the classroom. I was surprised how many students participated, even students who typically don't go to the board (when I'm there at least) were up there writing their answers.
Finally, we reviewed transitional words and phrases. I provided 5 common uses. One thing I noticed about myself in this section of the lesson was my poor questioning of the class to see if they understood. Wynne helped me a lot with this, and I was grateful. She asked really keen questions. (I asked her about this during lunch and she said that when planning a lesson I should consider "big questions" that relate to the topic. I am still uncertain about this, but I will keep this in mind when planning the second lesson.) After the transitional phrase lesson, I decided to change my planned activity. I had a handout in which I wanted the students to add transitional words to a paragraph to make it flow better. I decided, instead, to have them make capitalization, comma, and transitional phrase updates to their essays. Wynne suggested I have them work in pairs and swap papers and edit each others work. That turned out to be a great idea and very productive! (Some of the student comments were harsh and mean. I think they need to work on respecting each other. I am trying to figure out ways of addressing this before the end of the course because when they start college they need to know how to provide constructive criticism.)
To close the class, I asked the students to evaluate the lesson so that I could improve for next time. (I will post some of the evaluations on another blog post without student names.) All the evaluations were good. (Wow!) Some students still have questions, and I plan to answer them next week one-on-one.
Overall, I think it went well.
Now, let's see how the next one goes because "some days are better than others." : )
Your first lesson was a great success. The students were attentive, and I think transfixed, by the use of powerpoint. I'm glad you covered these key grammar topics, because the editing part of the GED test will include them, and, more importantly, because the students need this knowledge to improve their writing.
ReplyDeleteOne thing to think about as you plan these lessons is the measurable results of them. Now that you have given the students this information, how can you know that they are using it to the greatest advantage? What assessments could you use to determine this? The students were able to apply the rules to the worksheets you gave them, but where will you look next to see that they are still using the rules/transitions in their writing?
As we discussed in the planning stages of the lesson, I think that the teaching of comma usage and transitions could be incorporated into more direct analysis of their own writing...perhaps more thinking about the purposes and design of peer review could help us to incorporate further investigations of grammar. Even so, I hesitate to have students do too much editing work on each others' papers. Asking them to focus on questions about organization and example use allows for less criticism of each others' papers, because they are analyzing the writing, not just correcting its syntax.
This group is highly self-aware and slightly dramatic. We are spending part of every day discussing the mood and composure of our classroom. While the students range in age from 19-24, most of them left school without acquiring a set of standards for what a learning environment should be like. Part of our work with these students is to help them create their own sense of "buy in" to school; its my hope that increasing appreciation for learning beyond the GED exam will also increase their sense of responsibility to themselves and others. This mindset is quite removed from the current attitudes of some of our "disconnected youth."
Stacy, Your description of your first lesson is specific and makes good use of narration. I can get a sense of the lesson from reading your description of it. What I especially appreciate about this lesson is that it is very interactive. It's great to get students talking about the issues and information that you present to them in class. They will be more involved if they talk and write during the lesson.
ReplyDeleteOne way that you can get around the problem of students' editing each other's papers is to have all students edit a sample essay (by a student or by an anonymous author) during class. They can discuss their reasons for making changes in wording, punctuation, or organization of ideas after they edit. They might disagree with each other and be forced to provide reasons for the changes that they suggest as editors.
--Barbara