Micro Lesson #1: Phase 2

1. Instructional Decisions/Teaching (In Task Standard # 9): Overall, I thought the implementation of my lesson went well. While monitoring my lesson I could tell that the students were engaged in it. One thing I didn’t account for was the website that students used to make their own propaganda poster. One of my students came across an inappropriate image. If I were to teach the lesson again, I would find another appropriate website to replace that one or see if that website had a safety mode to block inappropriate media. The alignment to the objectives and standards were easily maintained. Students successfully achieved the goals laid out in the objectives, which closely follows the corresponding standards. One modification I made right before starting my lesson was using a Smart Board for charting student responses. Originally I did not plan for that. However, as I was following through with the lesson, I realized it was important to incorporate within the setting of the classroom we were in.

2. Mechanics: As the teacher, the only technology I used was the Smart Board, for the purpose of charting student responses. The learners used desktop computers, for the purpose of creating their digital propaganda poster. My lesson fell a few minutes short of the given time frame. I attribute this to the age group of people I was teaching as this lesson is designed for 6th grade students. If this were to happen in a classroom of 6th graders, there would be an extension to this lesson to further challenge them.

3. Assessment of Learning (InTask Standard # 6):

Student A created a propaganda poster about the Red for Ed movement. Using my checklist, this student met every criteria. The student used words and phrases to represent a clear claim for their current event. They used one of the given technological sources to create their poster. Through formative assessment, this student also represented a clear understanding of the effective techniques used in propaganda. Student B created a propaganda poster about the upcoming elections. Using my checklist, this student also met every criteria. They utilized short phrases and words to form their claim/opinion on a current event. They also used technological resources to create their digital propaganda poster.

Based on the feedback from my peers, I learned that this lesson was grade level appropriate, engaging, and was relevant to students learning in regards to content and technology. There were comments that mentioned that giving student choice in my lesson worked really well. Based on a comment from my google survey, one thing I should focus on is the website choice and provide one that leaves out any chance that students could stumble across something inappropriate.

4. What did you learn from designing and teaching this lesson and how will you use this in the creation of future lessons/learning activities.

Overall, one thing I learned from this is designing a lesson and seeing how it plays out. Considering I had last minute technology additions minutes before teaching my lesson, I want to thoroughly think out each lesson I make and ensure that it is more organized moving forward. Throughout this process, I learned that incorporating technology in lessons can be challenging but it advances the learning students receive.