I did my first formal lesson in Kindergarten math. The topic was shapes and I had the students create their own paper shaped monsters. I received a lot of positive feedback for some things I was doing during my lesson which was nice to hear during the post conference after the lesson.
I noticed that it was almost recess and I was kind of getting nervous that I still had a lot to show of the demonstration so I pivoted and started adjusting my demo. Instead of showing them how to glue on two legs I only showed one. I didn’t even realize that I was thinking on the spot until my coaching teacher pointed it out as a strength of mine. It brought my confidence up and I feel that I got more comfortable teaching as I kept doing more lessons. When I did my own reflection on my ability to teach, I felt pretty nervous thinking that the lesson was going too long however the second part I realized the time just flew as the students were so creative with their paper monsters. I also used a technique I learned from my coaching teacher. When a student was doing a step correctly, I demonstrated their work to the class and had all of the students look at me so they could see their peer following the correct step.
I feel that I demonstrated inclusivity while doing the demonstration to the students. I asked them their input, for example “what kind of teeth should this monster have?” Since Kindergartens have a short attention span when given instructions, I was finding ways to keep them engaged on task and focused while still having fun.
Although this lesson went way longer than expected. There were natural breaks like recess and snack in-between the lesson which worked out well. Even when the students had been sitting on the carpet for a while during instructions, I had them stand up and stretch before they started working on creating their paper monsters.
Another positive comment I received was letting my students know how much I appreciate each and every one of them. At the end of the lesson I told them that I would get a chance to look at all of their paper monsters closely during lunch time since there was no time to see everyone’s thoroughly during the lesson. I think it is important for each student to feel loved, valued and heard. By the end of the day, I had a chance to view every students work and when they collected their paper monster at the end of the day to take home, I made sure to give them a personal comment about their work. Each student showcased their creative energy and I think they all were amazing.
I think this lesson incorporated experimental learning because students were able to create paper monsters while learning math shapes. They were learning as they were creating.
