Student+Information

=Student Learning Materials=

3rd grade:




=Student Performance=

Kindergarten:
The objective of the lesson is for the students to learn about how a caterpillar changes into a butterfly. Students will watch the caterpillars in our classroom grow and change. They will draw a picture of the caterpillars and write a description about them in their journal everyday. Students will show me the picture they have made and read to me what they have written. This short conference with each student will be my informal assessment each day. The formal assessment will be the completed journal.

3rd Grade:
The objective of the lesson is for students to learn about a life cycle of their choice. Students will choose a life cycle and research it using books from the library and the Internet. Then students will brainstorm ideas for writing using a graphic organizer. This graphic organizer will be my informal assessment tool. Then students will write a rough draft. I will conference with each student after the rough draft as been written. This is conference will also be an informal assessment for me. Then students will submit a final draft and a drawing of the life cycle. This will be my formal assessment.

=Student Models or Products=

Kindergarten:
This is an example of a Kindergartners' writing. Most of my students are still writing phonetically, so every word will not be spelled correctly.

The catrpilr is eting. It is getting bigr and bigr. It is black and yellow. It moovs sloly. I like the catrpilrs. (The caterpillar is eating. It is getting bigger and bigger. It is black and yellow. It moves slowly. I like the caterpillars.)

3rd Grade:
I chose to write about the life cycle of a butterfly. The butterfly life cycle has four stages. The four stages are egg, caterpillar, pupa, and butterfly. Each stage is important. The butterfly begins as an egg. The caterpillar will hatch from this egg. It is a very small caterpillar. The caterpillar begins eating. The caterpillar will continue eating for days. Each day the caterpillar is getting a little bit bigger. After the caterpillar has eaten all it needs, it climbs to the top of the container. The caterpillar is still for awhile. Then the caterpillar drops into the shape of the letter J. The caterpillar hangs in the J-stage until a chrysalis forms. The chrysalis hangs for many days. Soon the chrysalis will become see through. That means the butterfly is almost ready to come out. Then the butterfly breaks through its chrysalis. It is not ready to move yet. It's wings are still wet. Once the butterfly's wings dry out, it is ready to fly around. The butterflies in our classroom like to eat fruit juice. After a few days, the butterflies are ready to be set free. They are beautiful flying around.

=Feedback= As I reflect on the lesson, I will ask myself several questions. Were my directions clear and easy for students to understand? Did students understand the objective of the lesson? Did students enjoy the lesson? Were my students engaged in the lesson?

To another teacher, I would ask: If you were teaching my lesson, how would you begin? What books would you use? How much time would you spend conferencing with students? Would the final product I expected from the students be the same for you or different? What ideas do you have to make my lesson better and more effective? =Lesson Comparison= Since have only taught Kindergarten, it is sometimes hard for me to think outside my Kindergarten box. It was exciting for me to write a lesson for 3rd grade students. The level of develop and maturity is so much greater and it is easier to work through an inquiry based lesson. While I enjoy teaching Kindergarten, almost every lesson I teach has to be teacher directed. Inquiry lessons are included in that. Since my students are beginning readers, they can not go to the Internet or library and be asked to research a topic. Writing a lesson for 3rd graders and allowing them to choose a topic and then research is exciting for me. I enjoy being able to give them the freedom to search for something they want to learn about. A 3rd grade student still needs a clear objective and directions from the teacher, but they are able to work their way through the inquiry stages without as much guidance from the teacher. Students are moving to the next level of understanding just by being asked to performance a task independently. I can't ask a Kindergarten to brainstorm ideas or use a graphic organizer independently, but a 3rd grader can. The Kindergarten writing standard states that students should be able to write using pictures, letters, and words. The 3rd grade writing standard states that students should be able to create single paragraphs with topic sentences and simple supporting facts and details. As shown in the state standards, 3rd graders are expected to write more than a Kindergarten; therefore a lesson for 3rd grade must be more detailed and demanding than for Kindergarten. It can be the same topic, but more is required and more can be done independently.