8/2/2019 Shape Poetry Reflection

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Shape Poetry Reflection

This was the first lesson that I planned and taught by myself in the classroom. I was

rather happy with the way it turned out since it was my first lesson, but I know that there is

always room for improvement. When the lesson started, I was extremely nervous but the further

I got into the lesson the more comfortable I got. The way I started my lesson was by relating it

back to Courtneys poetry lesson from the week before, which Mrs. Epstein really liked. I

started my lesson by modeling what a shape poem was with a poem I had already written to save

time, which was a very good idea. I explained to the students that shape poems did not need to

rhyme, the words written around the poem just needed to be separated by commas, and that

nouns or adjectives could be written around the shape. However, instead of referring to nouns as

nouns, I referred to them as concrete words because that is how I found the idea of shape poems

explained in sample lessons. The students were confused by the term concrete words, so I

should have used the word noun instead.

As a class we then started brainstorming ideas for what we could write a shape poem

about as a class. I took four students responses and then had the class vote as to which one they

wanted to do. Mrs. Epstein did not like the idea of voting, she thought I should have just picked

an object for the class to write a poem about. Personally, I do not think this is something I would

have changed. I like the idea of voting because I believe it is more of a class poem rather than an

individual students poem. In addition, it does not look like I am playing favorites towards some

students and not others. Mrs. Epstein also felt as though I did not need to do a shape poem with

the class, that I did not need to do as much brainstorming, and write/draw the poem they created.

She thought I could have just used the poem I created and explained in more detail how I created

it. I see her point but at the same time it is not the way that I was taught to write a lesson. I was

taught to teach and model, guide the students through another example, and then have students

8/2/2019 Shape Poetry Reflection

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work independently. During my lesson, there was a word that the students came up with that I

was unsure exactly how to spell. As I wrote the word, I said that I was unsure if it was correct

and I would need to look it up later. However, Mrs. Epstein said that I should have looked up

the word in the dictionary before I continued. I liked this idea a lot. I could have continued

brainstorming with students and had another student look up the word in the dictionary. It is

okay to admit/model for students that you may not always know how to spell something and

need to look it up in the dictionary.

Another improvement that I would have made in the lesson is the matter in which I gave

out directions and passed out supplies. Rather than passing out supplies and giving students final

directions at the same time, I should have given the directions and then passed out the papers.

By doing this students would be more focused on the directions. One other comment that Mrs.

Epstein made was that I seemed a little stiff when I gave the lesson and I could have had more

fun with the lesson. I completely agree with this but from watching Mrs. Epstein I felt as though

she did not always have fun with the lessons and took them seriously, so I felt as though I needed

to be the same way. In addition, it was the first solo lesson I taught and I think part of my

stiffness had to do with nerves. I left about 15 minutes for students to make their own shape

poem. I thought this was enough time for students to complete their shape poems, but only a

little more than half the class finished in the time allotted. Time management is something I will

get better with in lessons as time progresses and the more I teach. Overall, I thought it was a

successful lesson.