Capstone Reflection

Capstone Reflection

Name of Preservice Teacher ______Melissa Ray___

Name of Mentor Teacher _____Michelle Strabala______

Email of Mentor Teacher ___

School Address____10450 Stonegate Pkwy_____

Dates of Capstone __5/13-5/17_____ Grade(s) Taught ___5th___

Location ______Parker, CO______

Subjects Taught ____Language Arts______

Brief Summary

Present a holistic description of your Capstone experience. Include a profile of your students so that the university supervisor has a better understanding of the context.

I taught at Pine Grove Elementary School in Parker, Colorado which is a public school. The school has a population of about 80% white students. My classroom was composed of 32 students, 16 males and 16 females. I had one student who has autism but he was not in the classroom during the time of my lesson. He was pulled out into a learning lab. I had four students (including the child with autism) who had an IEP and two students who have an ILP. I also have eight children who are listed as advance or ‘gifted’.

Analytical Reflection

Please reflect on the components listed below. Note strengths as well as modifications for the future.

1.Hook-I started my lesson off on Monday by giving out a survey to the students and then reading The Three Little Pigs to them. On Tuesday, I showed them a variety of different picture of fairy tales and they had to talk with a partner and identify them. The rest of my hooks were review of the elements of a fairy tale and also the four different vocabulary words that we learned.

2.Tapping into prior knowledge-I had the children fill out a survey so I could find out what they knew about fairy tales. Some children had not read The Three Little Pigs so that is why I read it aloud the first day. The hook of the various fairy tales was also a wonderful way to see what children knew some of the harder fairy tales like Hansel and Gretel or Thumbelina. I think this hook was definitely a strength, especially for 5th graders.

3.Setting a purpose-The purpose of my lesson was to have the children create their own fractured fairy tale and then using iPads, they would bring their stories to life. The lesson had to be modified because we did not have enough iPads for the children to each get their own with the application on it that I wanted them to use so we had to create the stories using partners. I feel like a true teacher because I was able to adapt my lesson plan to what the school had available and I didn’t try to stick to my same schedule.

4.Vocabulary strategy-I could have implemented vocabulary a lot better. We went over it on Tuesday and then we did a review on Wednesday and that was about it with vocabulary. That is something that I need to work on in the future is having another vocabulary activity through the week.

5.Comprehension strategy-I thought I did this part fairly well. We had a list of 12 different fairy tale elements and the children had to do a fairy tale scavenger hunt worksheet (look through 12 different fairy tales and find the elements in them). After the worksheet, they were to create their own fractured fairy tale and include at least four of the different elements.

6.Methodology-My methodology was to try to teach fairy tales in a way that interests 5th graders! I thought using iPads would be a great way for them to express their creativity and practice working with partner(s).

7.Organization of lesson plans-I am a very organized person so my lesson plans were all planned out beforehand and I had a very good idea of what I wanted the children to complete in the end. There was some tweaks that needed to be made along the way and I accommodated well for that. It still made me nervous that it wouldn’t turn out the way I wanted, so I need to become more comfortable with change.

8.Assessment-For my formative assessment, I had the students turn in their scavenger hunt worksheets so I could look at them and make sure they were understanding the different ideas. I also had a chart where each student could X off the different stages they were on in the writing process so I could constantly be informed of what was going on and where each child was at. For summative assessment, I used two different rubrics to grade the children on their final drafts. I used the rubric that I found online as well as the one the children have been using in school.

9.Class management-For the most part I feel that I was able to keep the classroom under control. It was a lot different with 5th graders though. They talked a lot, which I don’t mind, but it was hard to quiet them down or stop a child from talking while I was teaching. That is something that I know will take more practice and I need to work on. I really enjoyed having the students with autism in the classroom. I have not had a lot of opportunities to work with students like him and I learned a lot!

10.Pacing-My lesson plan did get a little messed up because the children had to take MAPS testing (they take the test 3 times a year to help measure their growth). MAPS testing was right in the middle of my lesson so it was moved around a lot but it all worked out! That is very important for a teacher to have is flexibility and I feel that I will continue to grow with the ability.

Holistic Reflection

What did you learn as a result of this experience? How has this experience impacted your perception of self as a teacher?

I learned a tremendous amount through this experience. I was very anti-high elementary grade levels but I enjoyed working with this group of students. I have learned how to be more flexible with my lesson plans and allow more time to those who need it and if the students like the activity, to have them continue working on it. This experience has impacted your perception of a teacher because I have never worked with this age group. This was a brand new experience for me and I feel that I learned so much!