Lesson 1: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AAfRpNK64A6_mekaOmbA6WFtxXL8xwmd0EzqBs5UjT8/edit?usp=sharing

Reflection 1:

November 7, 2023

This lesson was good! The kids listened and were excited to learn from me. I am glad I built relationships with them. As I showed the shading instructional video, the mentor teacher suggested I pause it and get students to give me a thumbs up when they were ready to move on to the next step. This was good feedback that I put into action right away. Some students were finished quite quickly while others were behind, so I was glad I could make sure every student was understanding.

As students worked on their shading worksheets and projects, I circled the classroom. I find this is good for art classes because I can formatively assess their understanding and teach them individually by demonstrating drawing techniques to those who do not understand. It was exciting to tell a student feedback, and then see how much they improved when I returned to the table later. They got so much better! I was proud of how good some of their work was. One of the boys is very talented and was helping his neighbour improve his art.

After the lesson, my mentor teacher said I did a great job. Her feedback was that next week I can try using more than one attention-grabbing technique (like ringing the bell, saying strike a pose, and “if you can hear me put your hands on your hips, head, nose, etc.” She also said to wait longer for silence before giving instructions. She wants the students to learn to listen more quickly and to raise their hands before speaking.

Lesson 2: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q-ZUbYiLr88zVLSG2JsLuO-qIr38bi6Vzxm7SpX1YHs/edit?usp=sharing (first half)

Reflection 2:

Today also went well. I used my mentor teacher’s feedback by waiting longer before talking to ensure the students were quiet and attentive. I saw how important this was because even though I implemented it, my voice started to get sore. I learned that I should only say things once and make sure I have students’ attention so I don’t have to speak up too loud over them. Also, I want to practise using a stage voice with my diaphragm, like in theatre. That will be less hard on my throat.

Today my lesson was longer than I expected, and I accidentally did part of it out of order because I didn’t have a slide on the screen for the first activity. To avoid this when I use slideshows in the future, I’ll have a slide to announce every aspect of the lesson, even if the kids don’t need instructions on the screen. That way I won’t confuse myself. It was okay that I didn’t have time for everything because I purposely planned for extra content in case we finished the first part early. I planned with margin and flexibility, but I honestly thought we would have time for the second project. I’m learning more about pacing and getting better at estimating the time needed for various activities and ages in the classroom. My mentor teacher says we can teach the second half of my project next week, so I can have a third lesson. She said she was glad I took a lot of time for the first half of the lesson because it solidified students’ understanding of colour and its terminology.

During the lesson, I noticed half of the class was answering all the questions and the other half was not looking at me. They were quiet and distracted by each other and things on their desks. To respond to this, I commented on it and stood to teach from that side of the classroom instead of the left. I also asked that students from that side specifically answer my questions. I found that they did begin to engage more after that. And something exciting happened! One girl who never answers questions raised her hand and answered one! I was so proud of her. I think she was confident to speak up because I usually sit beside her and scribe for her. She is comfortable with me.

The activity in my lesson where students had to find items that were primary, secondary, warm, cool, shades, and tints worked well. Every student got was engaged in the project with their team, and the activity got them to think critically about their belongings. It was a tactile and memorable experience that will help build long-term memory of the concepts in the lesson. I walked through the class as they searched for items to correct them and lead them in the right direction so they would be more likely to give the right answer when they presented items to the class. I think showing off their items was great because peers got to see multiple examples of the answers, and they saw how the same colour fits into more than one of the colour categories. They seemed to have a lot of fun, and I got compliments from the teacher and two of the EAs for that activity. It was a hit.

Lesson 3: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q-ZUbYiLr88zVLSG2JsLuO-qIr38bi6Vzxm7SpX1YHs/edit?usp=sharing (the same as lesson 2. I taught the second half in this class).

Reflection 3:

In this lesson, I did the second half of the colour lesson. Last week, we learned about colours, played a colour game, and coloured colour wheels. This week, we demonstrated our understanding of colour and shading (from the first week) with a colourful tree drawing.

Some students were away last week so I had to catch them up to their peers. To do this, I announced to the class that I would explain the colouring instructions, and then bring students who missed the tree outline tutorial to the front. This was good because it allowed students from last week to get started without having to wait for their behind classmates. At the front with the small group, I explained the goal of the project and led them through drawing and filling in the tree silhouette with black so they were ready to fill in the spaces with their classmates.