This lesson plan is important to me because it was the first full length lesson I have taught in college. This lesson lasted just over an hour and involved a power point, video, two activities, summarizing game, and summary. I chose to do geography as my topic to teach because basic United States geography is an often overlooked, but very important topic in social studies. Simple map activities in which students can locate landmarks will then lead to their better understand of why certain landmarks are important to the surrounding areas. My goal with this lesson was to help students learn the locations of landmarks around the country, so they would gain a better understanding of the regions of the country, as well as how these landmarks were formed and used over time. This lesson could also easily incorporate math if distance was to be added as a standard and objective. Me and my partner designed this lesson as a virtual class field trip around the country that involved a powerpoint with videos, as well as students following along and filling in their own blank map. Through this lesson I was able to gain a better understanding of what types of activities will be useful in the classroom, as well as classroom management techniques.
Overall I was very pleased with how this lesson was delivered. I was proud of how I spoke during the powerpoint presentation and during the activities. Students were engaged in both of the activities and while reviewing the answers of the worksheet, I was able to see that the students responded well to the map activity. The lesson transitions flowed well but I realized that I need to show and explain purpose more effectively for activities. Making students engaged in the lesson through the use of the blank concept map helped the power point to come alive and be meaningful to the students. The class did become rowdy at times and keeping them on task between activities is something I need to work on. I also need to make sure that I am explaining the directions of each activity clear enough that students can understand and carry out the instructions.
Overall I was very pleased with how this lesson was delivered. I was proud of how I spoke during the powerpoint presentation and during the activities. Students were engaged in both of the activities and while reviewing the answers of the worksheet, I was able to see that the students responded well to the map activity. The lesson transitions flowed well but I realized that I need to show and explain purpose more effectively for activities. Making students engaged in the lesson through the use of the blank concept map helped the power point to come alive and be meaningful to the students. The class did become rowdy at times and keeping them on task between activities is something I need to work on. I also need to make sure that I am explaining the directions of each activity clear enough that students can understand and carry out the instructions.
