Krista+Flanders

Cooperative Learning Lesson Plan Simulation/Role-Play Lesson Plan Discussion/Debate Lesson Plan Student-Directed Project Lesson Plan
 * Spring Semester**
 * 4 Lesson Plans **

Humanities-Based Lesson Assessment Samples , Classroom Procedures Plan , Resume and Cover Letter ,
 * 4 Artifacts of Instructional Enhancement **


 * 4 Artifacts of Teaching All Learners **

Focus Student Portfolio: Special Education Artifiact English Language Learner Artifact Differentiated Instruction Artifact

Reflection 12

For my micro-teaching, I really liked how I tried to incorporate different learning styles. For example, the videos of the riots and the pictures.I also like how I tried to engage the students so it was not boring for them while lecturing. I asked them questions and kept them focused on what was happening in 1968. I also liked how my assignment was perceived even though they did not get to do it. They seemed to want to do the activity, which I'm hoping is a good sign.

For my micro-teaching, I would have changed how much time I spent on topics. I would have spent a little more time on the actual delegates that were running. I planned to touch on it the next day but at the same time I didn't like how I mentioned it and moved on. I kinda felt a little out of place with everything else I was talking about. I would also change my volume. I was more quiet that I thought I was. I need to project my voice more. I also need to work on my timing. To me it seemed like I was talking super fast. No one brought that up so I don't know if it was just me or if it actually sounded like I was rushing. But either way, next time I'll take my time and slow down.

For my micro-teaching, I did not like how cramped the information was. I tried shoving a lot of information at the students at once. If I were to teach this again I would completely redo my power point. I also did not like how you could hear how nervous I was. Maybe next time I'll act more confident, maybe that'll help. Although it could not be helped i did not like having to keep running back to the computer to switch slides, and kept having to look back at the screen. I would also have to watch my language more, there was sometimes I felt like I was going to say something inappropriate. Luckily I did not, but I feel like it could have happen and that worries me. So that's something I'm going to have to keep my mind on.

Reflection 11

When teaching the terrible, it will all depend on who your audience is. For example, when I was in middle school when 9/11 happened. None of my teachers told us what was going on, until my fifth hour math class and there was only 5 of us in class. My teachers were very conservative and did not think we would handle the situation well. Do I think this was a good choice? No, despite our young age we deserved to know what happened. It can be tricky teaching the terrible to younger students but that does not mean we shouldn't. We just have to alter our teaching.

And going off what Justin said last week about teaching in the mist of something that is difficult to deal with, it reminds me of my senior year of high school. On November 30th, a group of 4 students(all of whom I knew and were band mates/friends) went to lunch and on the way back to school they got into a really bad car accident. We were not told about the accident but it was on the news that night, 2 of the students were severly injured. The next morning all band kids were told to report to the band room. It was here that we heard one of the girls had died. We were all devastated, they had councelors that we could talk to if we wanted, they cancelled all band classes so all students were allowed to go to the band room if they could not handle being in class. How do you teach during something like this? The only class that I remember that day was my english class. At the beginning of class my teacher held a minute of silence dedicated to Caitlain. After the minute she said if it got to hard we could leave the class, no questions asked, then she went on to teach the lesson for that day. I liked how she handled this. She did not ignore what was going on, honored the lost of a friend, did not force us to stay if we couldn't handle it, but she also did not allow the class to get behind. Even though it was really difficult for me to sit through the class, I did because it allowed me to focus on something other than my grief.

I think one thing we have to remember in any situation is that all the students wont react in the same way, and we shouldn't expect them to. Some students will be sympathetic to the terrible that you are trying to teach, other won't care. Any you can not force them to care either. The only that you can do is give them all the facts and show some first hand accounts. This might be pessimitic but as a teacher we will not be able to reach every student, we can only guide and stop any false statements we hear.

As an educator, we always have to remember to be objective. This is most hard when having to teach the terrible but it is probably the best way to get the message across to the students. You could easily have the student whose parents don't think the holocoust happened and if you stay objective they can not criticze you for pushing your beliefs on the students. Do I think the holocoust was aweful? yes absoultely, I'm embarassed to belong to a species that 1. could murder millions of people without blinking an eye and 2. that just stood by while it was happening and turning a deaf ear. But no matter how strong I feel about it, as an educator I have to present the information objectively, in the hopes that the students learn it and learn from it. If I present it subjectively that could run the risk of pushing the students away, and them not truely understanding.

Reflection 10 A - On an EMOTIONAL level, what especially comforted, troubled, excited, frustrated, or (other emotion) … you? For me it was good to hear that they had some of the fears and emotions that I have about next year. It was also good to hear how they all arrived in relatively the same place just took a different path. This is comforting because that shows me that there is not one path to becoming a teacher. If I get derailed but want to revisit it later, this panel showed me that it is possible to do so. I felt very less stressed about the path I'm heading down after the panel.

B - On a PROFESSIONAL level, what insights especially stood out to you? On a professional level, I really like what they said about their fears of disciplining the students for the first time because I know that is one of my fears going in. I also like how they suggest to put our foot down right away then back off. I think that will be very useful advise, and it is something I have been wondering about. I also appreciated how they said to get to know the other teachers and faculty. I know we have discussed it in class before, it was just good to hear it reiterated. To show how important that piece of information is for us.

D - MORE PLEASE: Because our time was limited, much was left unsaid. SO, what questions, requests for stories, tips, or issues still remain either unexplored or find you wishing would have been explored more? With the time being limited, there was definitely a lot that was no covered. I would have liked to learn more about inside the classroom aspect. It was good to hear their theories on the parents but I would have liked to learn how to handle students and situations that happen inside the classroom. I would also like to know what they wish they would have known going into their teaching careers.

F - VISION CASTING: How did this panel help you think about your future "legacy" or teacher identity? This panel helped me see that as long I care and create relationships with the students, I will make a difference which is what I want, even for one student. The panel also helped me refine and think about my teacher identity more and evaluate what I really want to be and do as a teacher. This panel allowed me to peer into a very possible future.

Reflection 9

1.) Cultural Relativism is based on an individual's theology that is based on their own culture. For example, one might see a dog as a pet, another might see it as food. Ethical Relativism is when someone say that there is no moral right or wrong and try to take that thought to more ethical issues. An example of this would be how women are treated by some countries, or slavery.

2.) In our society there is many different cultures. Luckily our country is run by a centralized government that has set laws and holds all accountable to those laws. So even though somone might find slavery a good thing, the laws of this country prevent that from occurring, and does not allow slavery to exist anymore. But for a country that doesnt have a strong central government it does not have this set precendent. Thus people could get away with a lot more. It is very easy for someone to think that something unethical is "just something they do over there" and feel okay with looking away from it and just ignore it.

3.) Ethical Relativism makes charging crimes almost impossible. Take the Nazi Regime, for example, and charging them with war crimes. With the ethical relativism thinking, one could easially say the culture of Nazi Germany allows the prececution and later killing of all anti-aryan to be ethically acceptable. Obviously this thought process is very flawed. A situation like this would (hopefully) destroy the idea of ethical relativism because there are a few things that are universally considered right and wrong. From what I have learned, the majority of people believe genocide to be universally bad. A person can not say that one way of living is right for everyone, but ethical relativism takes it to the extreme in a negative way.

Reflection 6

Ms. Flanders is a very nice and caring teacher. When the school year started, we could all tell that Ms. Flanders was nervous teaching but she slowly grew into the confident teacher she is today. She how a nice and fun personality that she shows everyday in class. Her doing this has allowed us to open up and talk to her. She really listens and cares for us. She always knows what is going on with school and community activities and always asks how we are doing.

Its always a mystery to walk into Ms Flanders' classroom everyday. We never know what is going to happen. Most of my other teachers are predictable and simply lecture. But not Ms. Flanders. She really likes to mix it up. She does her share of lecturing but she also lets us do projects, allows us to work in groups, which is my favorite. We get to watch movie clips and listen to music which are cool and helps me understand the material better. Ms. Flanders cares about if we understand the material. She does not want us to simply memorize it but actually understand it.

Although Ms. Flanders class is fun and enjoyable she could do a better job at making us understand how the material relates to us. She tries to do this but if she tried different ways it might be more effective. She could also do a better job of classroom management. She does not discpline as much as she probably should. Some students think that because she is so nice they can walk all over her. She has not let that happen yet, but she needs to be more firm at times.

Reflection 5 1.) Cuong's lesson touched many different teaching strategies. Two of them being, discussion/debate, and the second being role-play/stimulation. He used discussion/debate to get us talking about the war and within that strategy he had us role-playing a certain group of people or a specific person and discuss the war through their eyes. This was a very creative way to present these two strategies. 2.) this lesson was very effective, because it touched many different learning styles. It was not just one teaching style the whole time. He kept switching it up and even had us get up and move around. This is effective because it keeps the students engaged so they know what is going on. The video was definitely a nice touch. This helped reinforce what Cuong was teaching in a new way so the students did not have to continually listen to the teacher. It was a different voice and also visual so they would have a harder time disengaging themselves from the lesson. 3.) I think the way the lesson was set up for us would be good in a high school class. It gives students more freedom. It could easily be modified for a younger grade though. For example, for a middle school class, more time would be given. I woud spread the lesson out over a couple of days to be able to give the various activites more time. Also, there could be bullet points in the discussion section of the lesson to ensure that the main points are hit and that every group talks. There even can be a little bit of direct lecturing at the end to make sure all the main points are understood. This lesson was very good, and effective. It could easily be modified for different levels of learning.

Reflection 4

A.) The main points the authors make are multi-perspectives, Interconnectedness, and complexity. The authors say that it is important that the students are able to look at any situation from multiple perspectives. It is also important for a student to have cross-cultural experiences. It helps for a student to have cross-cultural experiences because it helps the students to look at situations from a different perspective then their own. This allows students to understand culturals that are not their own and have a more open understanding of aspects that do not meet our own. The authors also talk about how it is important to see the interconnectedness of the world. This will help the students understand the world they live in and how the world became that way. Also making connections from the past to those of the present, it allows the students to see the relativity to their life. The understanding of the complexity of how the world is today is also important for students to understand. This is because students need to understand how the world is not black and white. B.) One of the things that I find troubling is that some people do not approve of the idea of teaching different perspectives and cultures. I find this quite disturbing. Who would not want to learn or their children to learn about other areas of the world? Cultural shock is a real thing and most misundertood. Teaching in a globilizing way would help the cultural shock decrease and allow students to be more understanding to things that are different from our own. There is no one-way to see the world and it is not right to try to teach the students that way. It will only have a negatice affect on the future and the students in general as they grow and learn.

Reflection 2

The cooperative learning activity that comes to my mind is the jigsaw activity. It is, in my opinion, to be the best way to hold students accountable. It requires the student to pay attention and participate in their two groups. What I would do is is divide the class into groups to become an expert on one of the candidates, then they would go to a second group and present on that candidate. This would allow the teacher to be able to tell which student is not pulling their own weight. I would also give the students a chance to grade their fellow group members. I would do a score of 1-5 (1 didn't participate, 5 highly participating) and they would have to explain the reason for the grade. This would not be their official score though. I would take it into account, but the overall grade would be made by me, and me alone.

Reflection 1

1.) Media has become a major part of society today and F//rom Gutenberg to Gates: Media Matters argues just that.// David Considine expresses that to be a effective citizen in our society one must have knowledge and understanding of media. He discussed how media allows citizens to have a play by play live of events happening. One of the examples Considine gave was updates on the election. He was able to watch it live and it was a whole different exprience. The impact of media on Children today is very significant. The younger children use media daily, most even hourly. The best way to be able to teach them is to use something that they are use to using and are comfortable with. Media would be a huge advantage to teaching the children of today, and Considine discuss the advantages.

2.) If I were teaching about the Red Scare and the McCarthy trials I would show the film, //Good Night and Good Luck.// This is a movie about a television reporter fighting against McCarthy's tactics and the constent struggle people went through. This would be a good way to show just what people went through and how scared they were. It would give the students a good realistic insight and visual understanding of what the Red Scare was all about and why it was such a big deal in the United States.


 * Fall Semester**

Reflection 12

1.) This map was produced1482 according to how Ptolemy believed it to be in the 2nd century. He was one of the very few Europeans that actually believed the world was flat. All the countries are distorted but that is because not many Europeans explored the world at this time. And Ptolemy actually had a country connected to Antarctica and that is obviously not the case today. This map was in the interest of Europeans to encourage the thought that the world was round. This map depicts that North America is the the Western Hemisphere and the Europe was in the Eastern Hemisphere. []

2.) Off all these different maps I think the Molleweide map is the most accurate. The continents are relatively true to the actual size and he tries to dipicts the continents on a round surface just like how they are in real life. The Mercator Projection distorts the Northern Hemisphere, the Peters Projection and the Galles map elongates the continents and Miller Cylindrical World Map Projection distorts Antarctica and makes it overly large. Therefore, I believe the Molleweide map is the most accurate choice. I think the proposed lesson that I find most helpful and the most versitial is activity 5. For younger grades it allows students to get a brief view of how things changed and how the maps progress. It allows the students to start making connections to periods of time in history. For older grades, a more in depth conversation is able to occur. There could be a critical thinking discussion about how the maps changed and the reason behind those changes. What changed and why did it have the effect on the maps that it did.

Reflection 11

A.) The topic I chose was Prohibition B.) a.) Kinetic activity: The students will create and act out a skit on something they know about prohibit ion. b.) Solo Reading: I would have them read this article from the New York Times: [] c.) Music: I would have them listen to Cranks! by Chas M. Fillmore and then discuss the meaning of the lyrics d.) Interpersonal: I would give the students a choice of writing a speech in the eyes of Carrie Nation or Earl Dodge trying to persuade people to their side of prohibition.

Reflection 10

1a.) Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation all depends on where the motivation comes from. Intrinsic motivation comes from within, the students get motivated by the enjoyment they feel about the task. An example of intrinsic motivation is a person reading a nonfiction book because he or she is interested in the topic. Extrinsic motivation is motivation that a person gets by something external such as money or reward. An example of extrinsic motivation is a student choosing a major based on salary and not what they enjoy. b.) Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation was present in Ben Pineda’s class. The most pronounced of the two, I would say, was extrinsic. I say extrinsic because Mr. Pineda said that parents value education in Haslett and I feel that is what motivates the students. The students do not want to disappoint their parents and that is extrinsic motivation. But like I said before there is intrinsic motivation in his classrrom too. The intrinsic is the desire to know the materials because they will be useful to them based on the story Mr. Pineda tells the class.

2a.) Multicultural education is to allow equal success in education despite race, ethnic, or social class. b.) I hope to instill multicultural education in my classroom by teaching from the perspectives of those that are not often seen. For examle, I hope to look at history through the eyes of women, or african amercians, or japanese, etc. A way I could access this is by using major historical events or holidays that would flow into looking at it through the perpective of the minority. I hope this will allow a beginning to multicultural education in my classroom.

3a.) Differentiated instruction is a learning methodology, based on the various instructional approached needed and used for each student. Its function is to allow the teacher to be versitile enough to teach students of various needed instructional approach. b.) I feel the content and process will need the most consideration because it is the most important aspect of teaching in my opinion so therefore it should get the most consideration.

4a.) For me, the most pronounced intelligence for myself would be Linguistic/verbal inteeligence and Musical intelligence. I think these two are the most pronounced because I learn languages really easily and I appreciate musical patterns and I can pick out keys and tons when needed. b.) I think in a way all the intelligences are underrepresented but mainly Bodily kinesthetic, naturalist, and spatial intelligence. These are the most unknown and the most time consuming to the teacher to learn how to teach students of these natures, therefore I believe these are the most underrepresented in schools and need the most affirmation in secondary education.

Reflection 9

1.) There is a big difference between being objective and subjective. It is extemely important that a teacher knows the difference. Objectively describing a controversy means stating only facts. Asking and answering: who, what, where, when, why, and how. There is not specific sight of right and wrong. Engaging subjectively is about making an argument based on feelings and beliefs about a topic. The person takes a side and does not hide which side that is.

2.) A teacher having an impartial tone help the students participate more in the discussion. They would not feel pressured to side a specific way and thus seeing more of both sides of an argument. A teacher's impartial tone does not impose any pressure onto the students and this allows them to have a productive interactions because it allows to have equal sides. Loaded language can slow classroom progress. This is because using certain language with students can do one of two things. First it could frighten the students and make them scared to answer and second, the student might feel dumb and not want to participate because of that. The language might make the student feel inferior because language can be a powerful thing and loaded language can interfer with progress.

3a.) It is imparative that teachers set an impartial tone in the classroomto enable the students to express opinions and views freely, without free of retrapution. Most students if they know a teacher feels a certain way about something they would react in one of two ways. The first way is the student will completely shut down and disengage from what is going on in the classroom. The second way is the student will just agree with what the teacher agrees with. The problem with these two reactions are that either the teacher looses the student or the teacher does not know if the student really feels that way or if the student is just saying that to be on the same siide of the teacher. Either way, both reactions are harmful to the productivity and learning of the class.

b.) Doing my internship year on an election year will be a great learning environment for me. I am not quite sure how I will handle the controversy in the classroom. Although at the beginning of the year we will make classroom rules and one will be not being disrespectful to anyone. Therefore a student being disrespectful will not be tolerated in my classroom. Other than that, i see it as a more learn as you go situation. A teacher can plan how to handle these as he or she wants but that does not mean the senario will happen as expected.

Reflection 8

A.) Controversial topics have become controversial itself. There are many obstacles and excusses made by teacher to avoid talking about controversial topics in the classroom. One excuss that is used is that there is not enough time. Teachers are on a strict schedule on what they have to teach the students according to state standards. They feel that they simply do not have the time to spend on the controversal issues. Teachers also do not feel that they are qualified enough to touch controversal issues. In order to teach and discuss controversal issues, one must have a lot of knowledge on the topics. Most teachers feel that they do not have the knowledge required for that. An obstacle that teachers face is the biases. There are many biases to consider when discussing contoversy. There is the community bias, school bias, social bias, teacher bias, etc. Teacher's bias is the most worrisome for parents because they do not want the teacher pushing their views on their child especially if the view of the teacher is different than those of the community.

B.) Werner definitely believes that controversy should be taught addressed. A lot of history is wrapped around controversy and in order to teach history properly cpntrovery must be taught as well. Another thing that Werner mentioned is that teaching controversy can help students make connections and allow students to understand and relate to history better. Since history is mostly taught out of textbooks, if controversy was taught there would not be need for the overstock of new books.

C.) I hope to use controversy in my classroom. Using contoversy scares me because there is such a fine line and its a sticky slope. However using controversy is more important than my fearing it. Using controvery would help students question or affirm a belief that they had and it would increase the students critical thinking skills. I also do not to avoid a topic simply because it brings controversy, then I would not be doing my job correctly, which is simply unexceptable. Controversy is sticky but it is well worth it, if the students understand history more and can find a way to relate to it.

Reflection 7

A.) My temperment is Idealist (NFs) B.) Idealist are passionate people and want to be the best themselves they can be. They like helping others and are compassionate to everyone. Idealist like working together and hate conflict. They enjoy the world of possibilities more then the material world. Idealist are rare only 15-20% of the population are idealists but they spread their enthusiasm to those around them. C.) Some famous examples of Idealists are Oprah Winfrey, Charles Dickens, Gandi, Princess Diana Eleanor Roosevelt and Martin Luther King Jr. D.) The jobs best for Idealists are teachers, councelors, Champions, and Healers. All these jobs have to do with some type of education. Whether it be teaching education to others, educate them on other matters or their priorities or educate them on health or all the above.

A.) My poitical stance is economic -7.00 and social -3.59. B.) In the 2008 elections the person I'm closest to is Brian Moore. This surprises me because honestly I do not know who he is. Between Obama and McCain, I am closet to Obama. This does not surprise me at all really. I know I'm more of a liberal C.) My position is closest to Gandi, and nelson Mandela. Although I am not as far south as Mandela. D.) This exercise shows that politics are sticky. There is not only two ways for someone to stand in politics. In order for democracy to work, there has to be compromises. There are too many beliefs to be able to say that there is only one set answer because there is not. Our two party system has to run as close to the middle of the spectrum as possible in order to be successful. Going after the middle spectrum is the best way to attract more voters and appeal to the independents.

Relflection 6 Personally I do not think Columbus day should be celebrated. The discover of America is an important part of U.S history but it was not Columbus who first discovered America. But it is not only the fact that Columbus was not the first to discover America, but also how he treated the Native Americans when he was over here.

I do not think celebrating Columbus day would be fair to the memory of all the Native Americans that died because of him. When learning about Columbus in school, students only get a quick, Columbus did x, y, and z to the Native Americans but he discovered America, lets move on. It is not fair to focus on the fact that he "discovered" America and not focus on what he destroyed when he got here. There were a ton of people who were affected by Columbus and not all in a good way.

The ones who should be celebrated are more often then not the ones who are forgotten, Those of course being the Native American who had their culture almost destroyed by Columbus' arrival. The Native Americans are mostly over looked when talking about Columbus. Its almost like we forget the Native Americans rae people just like us and had their culture od their own. That is something I would like to learn more about. An entire culture goes unstudy by students and that is not right. We shoud celebrate them and their culture not gloss over it like losing that piece of history is not that big of a loss. That is why I personally do not think Columbus day should be celebrated

Reflection 5 A.) 1.) Formal curriculum: A syllabus or a lesson plan on the Civil War 2.) Delievered curriculum: The way a lesson is taught. i.e a debate, lecture, activity, etc. 3.) Learned Curriculum: What the student takes away from the lesson. Example: an essay written by a student on a topic 4.) Hidden curriculum: unitentionally taught, i.e. class edicate 5.) Null curriculum: whats not taught, i.e the middle east or sometimes the korean or vietnam war

B.) The figure 1.2 shows that teachers really do not have much say in terms of cirriculum. So many people are higher up on the list in determining what the curriculum should be the teachers basically have no meaningful say, which I think is not really realistic. Teachers know more about what happens in the classroom then anyone who actually determines the curriculum. The teachers are able to build a curriculum after the districts have their restrictions. Therefore, teachers do not have much say in curriculum planning.

Reflection 4

To be completely honesty I know very little about the "Middle" East. It seems to be an area that is avoided being taught in school and the world view of the "middle" east is mostly a negative one., but I know its between the area Europe, Asia and Africa. I would like to know more about the geography, economy and the overall history. To me modern is whatever is happening or popular at a current time. I think the term "middle" east is all in the perspective of the region using the term. We use that term but the people from there would not. Its not a universal term. This subject is important for U.S citizens to learn because our country is very much in twine with the region. And citizens need to know the facts of the people and things that come from there so they dont judge or make the wrong assumptionand understand the situation better.

Reflection 3

a.) Units should be based on one centralized theme to keep everything connected and focused. b.) Teachers have to think long and hard about teaching a unit because whatever theme that is chosen has many big points. The teacher has to decide what of those points is the most important to the end objective of the class. The teacher can not get carried away with details without explaining the big picture first. c.) A thoughtfully planned out unit outline helps the students make connections between the lessons and helps the teacher flow from one lesson to the next smoothly and it does not seem all choppy, therefore it would be easier to follow. d.) A unit plan can compliment a well-developed teaching philosophy because based on what the goals and objectives are for that unit will show or reiterate what you as a teacher believe to be most important and it also shows your teaching style, whether it be very structured, ab-libbing, or somewhere in between.

week 2

To me a lesson plan is an outline of what subject and activity the teacher wants to do on any given day. A lesson plan is helpful and useful for a teacher because it is a good way to keep them organized and thoughts all in a order. It can be overwhelming trying to keep all class lessons both the period and the grade level itogether if they are not written down. Even though a lesson plan is a useful tool for teachers, it can also be hindering. A lesson plan can make a teacher a little too comfy, there are times when lesson plans dont go as planned, and the teacher has to have a back-up plan or be able to think on his/her feet.

Reflection #1

(A) My favorite social studies memory is from High School. It was in my AP US History class my senior year. Most of the history classes that I had were really boring, but not my AP class. My AP teacher knew activities to making learning history fun. My favorite activity would probably have been the one right before winter break. We had to summarize what we learned so far and remembered and put it to one of the christmas/winter jinggles. It was the most creative and memberable activity that I had ever done and the entire class enjoyed doing it.

(B) There was a lot of bad experiences with social studies during middle and high school,but probably the worst experience was my freshman year of high school. In this class, all we ever did was outline the chapter for that day and then answered questions and completed a work sheet on the chapter that was read. We were not allowed to talk, we werent even allowed to ask our teacher questions.

(C) I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, but it wasnt until my senior year in high school in my AP class that I realized I wanted to teach social studies. I always liked history and I know histroy is important to learn because thatis the only way to make a better future is to learn from the past. I want to be one of the teachers that show the students the importance of history and that it doesnt have to be boring