Observations on Middle-Level Learner Behavior/ Connections to Class Content
Running in the hallway/ jumping on each other.
Asking each period to use the restroom/ go to their locker.
Yelling in the hallway.
Walking with friends, hands on each other.
Throwing their computers around in class/ in the hallway.
Telling other students to shut up- interpersonal relationships.
Students use inappropriate language with each other.
Depending on how much sleeps students have, determines how much they participate in class.
Talking back to the teacher.
Friends, girlfriends/boyfriends - students are always talking about this- social awarenss.
Noticed a student rocking back and forth during each class in their seat/ fidgets constanty - struggles with regulation.
Student wants to focus on fidget toys or music/ uses the yoga ball as a seat- struggles with regulation.
3rd period class and in the hallway, students calling each other "gay" or "fruity".
used weekly in the classroom
Students in 3rd period calling other students r*tard.
Students calling or saying that others are f*gs or f*ggots.
*continously being updated
Phrases/ Words/Actions That Represent Southside Middle School's Culture
Morning announcement information:
" we do not expect perfection, we want to see continuous growth and improvement..... we are seeing individuals improve their behavior and having positive attitudes".
"It's a great day to be a Panther, Panther Pride!"
Security guards interacting with students/ commenting on new hairstyles/ checking- in/ etc.
on the whiteboard while covering the unit of Forces of Nature and Landforms:
I will.... know the forces of nature.
I know... how to write latitude and longitude.
I can... read a map.
On the whiteboard while covering the Unit of Where People Live and Migration.
I will... know 4 factors that contribute to population growth.
this shows a measurable goal and is a summative assessment directly associated with the learning objective.
Pictured to the left, the first photograph contains Southside Middle Schools Goals. These goals are currently:
Ilearn, Math, ELA, Science Skills are up 5%
Attendance is up 50%
Student Referrals down 50%
The next photograph contains hallway expectations and rules:
The rest of the photographs are from inside of my mentor teachers classroom and these are just a few of the reminders and tools for students.
Feedback and Resources From My Mentor Teacher
Feedback on Week 6 Lesson:
Ask the students more questions to engage them.
Visually list the essential questions on the slides.
Visually list and the standards and objectives related to the unit/content.
Resource: This comes from Matt at Ditch That Textbook
Below is the typed out information from the email sent to me by my mentor teacher:
"Lesson planning can be a drag.
I've always put too much pressure on myself to write engaging lessons.
I always want to make class interesting, engaging, and relevant ... but when it's time to sit down and write lesson plans, it can add pressure.
It's like staring at a blank screen, blinking cursor, trying to conjure up some inspiration.
🤔🤔 ... 😥😥 ... 😱😱 ... 😩😩
My best solution: Go back to previous lesson plans and stick with what works. I'd look through old lesson plan books for inspiration.
Find, adjust, improve, and go from there.
But what if you need some new ideas ... and free?
(Free lesson plans? For real?!?)
Here are three of my favorite sources of interactive activities you can plug in your lesson plans tomorrow (with a link below) ...
1. Google's Applied Digital Skills: These ready-to-use lessons include digital skills students need to learn, but your content can be embedded in the lesson.
⭐ Top 3 examples: If-Then Adventure Story, Create an Infographic, Make Pixel Art
2. PBS LearningMedia: These digital lessons are media-rich and cover a wide range of grade levels and subject areas.
💡 Pro tip: Have students learn something new in PBS LearningMedia ... then demonstrate learning with an activity from Applied Digital Skills (above).
⭐ Top 3 examples: What Edison Teaches Us About Success, Straight to the Source: Primary and Secondary Sources, Why Is "Fake News" So Effective?
3. CS First: Computer science and coding can be embedded into lots of content levels. It doesn't have to be a "computer science lesson," and you don't have to be a coding expert to start using these lessons.
⭐ Top 3 examples: Animate a Name, Interactive Presentation, Pitch Your Passion
You can find links to all three sources -- and all of the example activities listed and more -- in our free ebook, "30+ ready to use interactive lessons for Google Classroom."
Don't worry ... you don't have to use Google Classroom. These work for Canvas, Schoology, Blackboard, Teams ... all of them.
(We just made the free ebook linked above in support of my book, Do More with Google Classroom, and our free online course, "How to Use Google Classroom.")
Find a lesson.
Plug it into your lesson plans.
Breathe, relax, and enjoy!"
-- Matt
Feedback Pertaining to the 3-5 Day Unit Plan
Make the font bigger on slides in order for students to see it clearly
Add less information on the slides
Add more photographs and visual aids
Have students read the information on the slids to you
Especially the Success Criteria, Essential Questions, and Objectives
Model how to begin each assignment, especially important for the final assessment
Work on how to engage other students and keep certain students from blurting out/ continuously talking.
This is all of the Feedback that I have been given so far, I hope to receive more feedback before the presentation, or after if that is the case. More constructive feedback is always great to have.
Things to keep working on:
HLP of Group Alerting
HLP of Defined Consequences
HLP of Explaining and Modeling Content
The first two weeks of practicum, students in both 6th grade classrooms were beginning a new unit over the Forces of Nature and Landforms.
Authentic Assessment to extend and deepen learning.
There is a clear rubric with clear expectations.
Students as they were taking notes throughout the week over landforms and the forces of nature were also asked to complete a project that would assess their understanding of:
how to create a map
different landforms/ geographic features/waterways
how to add a compass rose
how to add a scale
a map/key legend
title
Students should be able to incorporate a good intrinsic cognitive load - the amount of effort the learner needs to put forth to engage in the task- students should be fluent and have skills and understanding of landforms due to background fluency in the content.
The rubric is exemplar in that it is clear with its expectations, creating no room for extraneous cognitive load to take place - elements of the task that are not relevant and that distracts students from the important evidence-.
Week 6 Lesson Plan
For my lesson, I was able to teach bell to bell and the class did not finish the lesson I had created.
Students took their time taking notes, or having to remind them to stay on track.
A good amount of time was used with class discussion over content.
The lesson I had created used information from the students textbook and it covered Where People Live and Migration.
I created PowerPoint Slides Presentation that included visual aids (pictures, map) and I included a video as well that covered Human Migration.
As advised by my mentor teacher, there should be quite a few visual aids, that I could ask students about. Have students explain what they see, and compare and contrast the differences they see as well.
The photos would allow for a class discussion or even a teacher-student discussion to occur.
My mentor teacher also advised to specifically tell students what to write down and condense the sentences/key points.
The video would allow students to see rather than just hear the cause and effects of migration and why people move, as well as comprehend that it has been occurring all throughout history.
The goal was once students had gone through the PowerPoint with me, and the whole time they were taking notes in their Digital Notebooks, students would work on a Google Forms Assignment that I had created.
The Google Forms Assignment was for me to see what student were comprehending, what students were struggling with, which students were engaged in the lesson, and where students were at that day.
Below, I am attaching the Google Slides and the Google Form Assignment
Google Slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Plkyl_QF8YEHDRHZCoQNt2ouY1yZ9WtLLRVQeP1wm-s/edit?usp=sharing
Google Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeSsYLUpJulEth25gQgqVY3eu9JCVcA6CJwnJVocsoC1TG_kw/viewform?usp=sf_link