Week in Review

Week of September 4th-7th
     This week, I really focused on vocabulary review from lesson 2 in the Civil War Unit. After these reviews, most of the students knew the terms.  They really enjoyed the personal connections I gave to the words.  I think it made them understand the terms a little bit better and gave them a better idea of what these terms meant to those who lived during the Civil War Era.
For Guided Practice, I tried to have students read from their Social Studies books and ask questions.  I asked many interactive questions so that the students would understand what they had just read.  The students followed the directions I gave during all of my activities. They enjoy doing hands on activities and I think it is great way for the students to express their own ideas and opinions. Although, the hands-on activities did not get completed during the amount of time I had allotted.  I need to work on the level of activities I give, the amount of material that is given, and time management.
     One day, I used a game to promote learning and friendly competition between the students.  I think using games as a form of learning with this particular group of students is most effective. During my lessons, I also showed short videos that were long enough to get the main idea across and short enough to keep every student's attention spans.  But one of the videos did not have sound when I put it on the Smart Board.  I had just automatically assumed the video would work perfectly and became frustrated when it didn’t.  But I did not panic, I simply decided to play the short video clip and provide commentary on the video during the parts that I remembered.  From now on, I will be sure to check the videos and sound on the Smart Board before my lesson begins.