Effective early childhood educators reflect on their instruction to grow in their professional practice

Sample Solution

Field Experience Reflection: ELA Lesson Implementation

Summary of Lesson Implementation:

For this field experience, I collaborated with my mentor teacher to review and implement an upcoming English Language Arts (ELA) lesson focused on phonological awareness, specifically rhyming words, for a small group of pre-kindergarten students. The lesson aimed to help students identify and produce rhyming words, a foundational skill for early literacy.

The developmentally appropriate resources and materials used included:

• A large, colorful picture book featuring rhyming text (e.g., Chicka Chicka Boom Boom or a similar title).
• Rhyming picture cards (e.g., cat/hat, dog/log, bear/chair) that were laminated and easily manipulable for young children.
• A set of "rhyme bags" or containers, each labeled with a picture representing a word (e.g., a bag with a picture of a "bee" on it). Inside each bag were small objects or pictures of items that rhymed with the label (e.g., a "key" and a "tree" for the "bee" bag).
• A whiteboard and markers for visual reinforcement.

The lesson began with reading the rhyming picture book, emphasizing the rhyming words as we read. Following the story, I introduced the rhyming picture cards, having students identify the pictures and then say the words aloud, listening for the rhyming sounds. We then moved to the "rhyme bags," where students enthusiastically pulled out objects, named them, and matched them to the correct rhyming bag.

Student Response to the Lesson:

The students responded very positively to the lesson, especially to the interactive elements. Their engagement was notably high during the "rhyme bag" activity; they loved the tactile experience of pulling objects out and the challenge of identifying the rhyming pair. Their enthusiasm was evident through their active participation, eagerness to shout out rhyming words, and giggles when they successfully identified a match. Some students were able to spontaneously generate

ent endings, indicating a need for continued practice in auditory discrimination. Their behavior remained focused and on-task throughout the small group activity, which is a good indicator of their engagement with the materials and the topic.

Mentor Teacher Feedback:

My mentor teacher provided invaluable feedback. She affirmed that the lesson's pace was appropriate for the age group and commended the use of varied, hands-on materials that kept the children engaged. She particularly praised my ability to circulate and provide individualized support and encouragement to each student as they worked with the rhyme bags. An area for improvement she highlighted was to incorporate more movement or a brief transition activity if the lesson were to extend for a longer period or if the group size were larger. She also suggested using visual cues more explicitly on the whiteboard to help students see the rhyming patterns (e.g., writing the rhyming words and underlining the common ending sounds).

Self-Reflection: What Went Well and What I Would Change:

I believe the lesson went well in terms of student engagement and the effective use of hands-on materials. The students clearly enjoyed the activities, and the rhyme bags were a big hit, facilitating active participation. I also felt I did well in adjusting my language and explanations to meet the children's developmental levels.

For next time, I would definitely incorporate my mentor's suggestion of a brief movement break or a "brain break" if the lesson were to run longer, just to refresh attention. I would also explicitly use the whiteboard to visually represent the rhyming words, writing them out and highlighting the rhyming parts to reinforce the connection between spoken sounds and written language. Furthermore, I would prepare a few more challenging rhyming word pairs for students who quickly grasped the concept, to ensure differentiation.

Integrating Other Content Areas:

If I were to teach this rhyming lesson again, I could easily integrate other content areas to make it more interdisciplinary:

• Science: We could discuss animals or objects that rhyme and categorize them (e.g., "bear" and "chair" could lead to a discussion about animals that live in forests, or materials that chairs are made from).
• Math: We could count the objects in the rhyme bags or sort the rhyming pairs into groups of two. We could also use the rhyming words to create simple patterns (e.g., "cat, hat, cat, hat... what comes next?").
• Art/Creative Arts: Students could draw pictures of rhyming words or create their own rhyming picture cards. We could also sing rhyming songs or create simple rhyming chants with movements. This integration would not only deepen learning but also cater to diverse learning styles and developmental needs.ent endings, indicating a need for continued practice in auditory discrimination. Their behavior remained focused and on-task throughout the small group activity, which is a good indicator of their engagement with the materials and the topic.