Amy Jo Smith

EDU 506

Spring 2009

Final Self-Reflection Report

Class Reflection: I enjoyed this class very much! I really learned a lot about the Microsoft programs. Even though I had previously used most of the programs, I still had much to learn about the “ins and outs” of the programs. I especially liked how the assignments were given immediately after instruction, so I was able to practice what I learned. I now feel more prepared to use technology in my teaching.

Title: Word Document Lesson Plan

Description: This lesson was written for a group of first grade students. It uses the book What Are You Doing, Maisy? by Lucy Cousins to help students learn the important skills of inquiry and prediction. It incorporates music and rhythm to engage students in learning. It includes the materials needed, the demographics, prior learning of the students, the lesson’s goal and objectives, rationale for the lesson, New York State Standards that the lesson fulfills, the procedures for teaching the lesson (including the introduction, body, and conclusion), ideas for extending the lesson, assessing the students, and additional follow up. It also includes two activity sheets for the students to complete.

Reflection: I really enjoyed enhancing this rather plain-looking lesson into an appealing plan that students will enjoy. Through word art, 3-D text boxes, clip art, and interesting fonts, I was able to make the lesson plan look colorful and attractive. I was also able to better organize the lesson using columns, bullets, and text boxes.

Click here to see my lesson plan!

Title: Excel Spreadsheet of Final Unit Test

Description: To better evaluate the results of a final unit test I gave, I created this Excel spreadsheet. Many of the questions had different point values according to the difficulty level of the question. I wanted to see how the students performed on the more difficult questions as well as the basic recall questions. I also wanted to see how many students received an A+, A, B, and so on. This Excel sheet helped me to do all of these things.

Reflection: I have used Excel many times before, but I had never learned how to do a range of information to see how many students received an A, B, and so on. It was very fun to learn something new about a program I have been familiar with for a long time! I also enjoyed putting the colors and fonts into the spreadsheet, as most of my previous spreadsheets were usually quite dull.

Click here to see my Excel spreadsheet!

Title: PowerPoint Presentation on a Team-Building Campout

Description: This PowerPoint teaches its audience how to have an effective team-building campout with a group of students. It includes instructions on how to build a tent, how to make food on a campfire, and some ideas about team-building activities to do with students.

Reflection: This was a very fun assignment to complete. I think is it something that I will use in the future, as I hope to take my future students on a campout. It is an interesting and memorable experience for students, and many of them have not ever had a camping experience. Many educators are fearful of taking their students on an overnight trip, and hopefully this presentation helps to ease that fear.

Click here to see my PowerPoint!

Title: Daily Life of a Colonial Child WebQuest

Description: In this WebQuest, students research and discover different aspects of a Pilgrim child’s life. It uses mainly the Scholastic website and the Plimouth Plantation website. Each day, the students complete an activity that uses the information they used. The activities form a book about the daily life of a Pilgrim child.