EDUC 225
REFLECTION: LOWER ELEMENTARY TEMPLATE
Lesson Subject: _Writing a Biography Lesson Grade Level: _2____
OBSERVATION Prompts Response
View your Teaching Simulation Video: Lower Elementary Assignment submission, observing carefully so
you can thoroughly address each section.
Delivery
Determine if any filler words were used. Tally each time
the filler(s) were used. What is the total for each? Are you
satisfied with the total? Why or why not? If needed, what
adjustments can you make in a future lesson to improve?
If you did not use any filler words, describe what you
think enabled you to deliver the instruction without them.
IIIII IIIII II
There was a total of twelve filler words
throughout my lesson.
I am not satisfied with the amount of filler words
that I used because I know I can use less. An
adjustment I will make for future lessons is just
take a second to breath and do my best to remain
calm. When I start to get nervous, I use more
filler words.
Questioning
A. Tally each convergent (one answer) question that
you asked. What is your total?
B. Tally each divergent question (multiple
responses/viewpoints) you asked. What is your
total?
C. Based on your totals, discuss your use of
questioning. What improvement(s) can you make
in future lessons?
A. 4 convergent questions
B. 2 divergent questions
C. To improve, I could ask more divergent
questions. Divergent questions often
allow students to brainstorm, and it also
allows discussion among the class.
Learning Styles (Modalities) addressed during
Instruction/Modeling
A. Tally each time you addressed a visual modality.
What is your total?
B. Tally each time you addressed an auditory
modality. What is your total?
C. Tally each time you addressed a kinesthetic
modality. What is your total?
D. Reflect on all three modalities used in the lesson.
Explain if they enabled you to provide multiple
experiences to students. What would you adjust
and/or improve in a future lesson?
A. 3
B. 4
C. 0
D. When I get the opportunity to tach this
lesson in the future, one modification I
would make is to add a kinesthetic
modality. Since children love to do hands
on learning, I want to find a way to
incorporate this modality into my lesson.
REFLECTION Prompts Response
Launch/Hook/Anticipatory Set
I believe that my launch was effective for the students. It
not only allowed them to learn some new facts about their
Page 1 of 3
EDUC 225
Describe your Launch/Hook/Anticipatory. Was it
effective? Would it gain student interest? Why or why
not? What would you adjust and/or improve in a future
lesson?
teacher but it sparked information about their own lives.
Hearing a funny memory or story about a teacher engages
the children and keeps the class exciting. In the future, I
would bring in props to show the students. Something like
a trophy I won, a graduation cap, or pictures would be a
visual for the students to enjoy.
Instruction/Modeling: Delivery of Instruction
Was your instructional delivery clear? Explain. Did you
digress during the lesson? What will you do differently in
a future lesson to ensure clarity of instruction?
I believe that my delivery of my lesson was clear. I used
the whiteboard to write out information as I was talking
and prepared an example worksheet as well as a template
for the students to write their own work. Something I
could do to add more clarification would be to read an
example of a famous person’s biography to give them
another example and more ideas on how to write their
own.
Instruction/Modeling: Engagement
Reflect on your vocal delivery (volume, tone, and
inflection), enthusiasm, positive body language, and eye
contact. Which of these were strengths? Were any a
weakness? What will you focus on in future lessons to
improve engagement?
When teaching I often have no problem with the tone of
my voice because I typically speak enthusiastically.
However, my body language and eye contact could always
use some work. In the future, I will focus on using proper
body language that helps keeps the students engaged as
well as strengthening my eye contact.
Instruction/Modeling: Preparation
Were you prepared for the lesson? Did you have all
materials/equipment ready? Did you notice any time taken
away from the lesson in which you had to gather
materials? In the future, will you make any adjustments
based on what you observed?
For this lesson, I felt very prepared. Before the lesson I
wrote the terms on the board, an example outline, and
printed off the worksheets to hand to the students.
Preparing ahead of time allowed me to continuously teach
the lesson so that the children would not get distracted and
could stay easily engaged.
Instruction/Modeling: Academic Language
List a few examples of academic language/vocabulary you
used in the lesson (terms associated with the subject/topic
you were teaching). Did you repeat these words/terms
during the lesson? If yes, do you think this repetition
would have been meaningful for students? If no, how
could you improve in this area?
Throughout the lesson I repeated the words biography,
learning, and information plenty of times. These words all
played a special part in the lesson about writing your own
biography. These three words are all supporting words of
the importance of a biography.
Overall Areas of Strength
List and explain/describe at least three.
Overall Areas for Future Growth
List and explain/describe at least three.
One strength of my lesson was being able to keep children
engaged. It is easier to keep them focused on the material if the
lesson relates to them.
For the future, my goal is to use less filler words. Filler words
can often be distracting, and I say them often without even
knowing.
Another strength was my convergent questioning. I provided
multiple convergent questions through the lesson. These are
important because it challenges the children to pay attention and
Another goal for future growth is to allow more group
discussion. I want to make sure to include plenty of divergent
questions because with these types of questions there can be
Page 2 of 3
EDUC 225
gives them the opportunity to share with the class. more than one answer. When children know that answers can
differ, they have more confidence to answer the questions.
Another strength is the preparedness of the lesson. Providing
children with worksheets and examples of their work allows
them to have a visual of the work they are about to do and
provides guidance for them.
Lastly a goal for future growth I would like to set is to model
the lessons as clear as possible so that my students understand
what is being taught and do not feel overwhelmed with what I
say.
Essay/Summary
In the space below, in at least 150 words, address the following: Based on your careful observation and
reflection, describe steps you will take to improve your effectiveness as a teacher.
From this lesson I have discovered many new goals I will take to improve my effectiveness as a teacher. For starters, I want to find
a way to relate the students to the lessons that I teach. My goal is to come up with games, worksheets, activities, or discussions that
allows the children to use their own previous knowledge to spark ideas for the new materials they learn. Another step I want to take
is to continuously learn about my students. When planning lessons, I want to know my students well enough to know how to
deliver the message in a clear way that they will understand the concept and learn from it. Lastly, I want to do my best to avoid
teacher burnout and remember the reason I chose education in the first place. God has put the desire in my heart to be a nurturer for
children and help them succeed. As I go throughout my teaching career, I never want to forget the importance of His will for my
life.
Page 3 of 3
