One
of my favorite lesson plans in the Life Skills curriculum is the
Fantasy/Reality Timeline’s that I have students create. I have found that students,
who are willing to think outside the box, take a leap of faith and are willing
to change the status quo, can walk away feeling hopeful for their future…
The
first time I ever introduced this lesson plan into the school system I was
teaching a group of eighth grade students; I had the concept of the
Fantasy/Reality timeline in my mind but has a very difficult time translating
my vision into words that made sense to the average thirteen year old student.
Terms like fantasy and reality can be defined in so many different ways
depending on each individual’s social reality that trying to create a common
thread between these terms and an entire classroom full of diverse students was
tough. Originally, I would pass out a handout defining each of the terms and
then ask the students to provide me with a list of what actions in their life
feel into one of the two categories. I learned the hard way that my request of
the students was simply an assignment like most they have received from
teacher’s through-out the majority of their public education. I didn’t want to
have them fill in the blanks of their life with a true or false answer or a
multiple choice response, I wanted the students to have an organic feel for this
lesson plan and to be so creative that the only way to fail would be to box
themselves in by following a set standard of beliefs. With that being said,.
Life Skills is unique in the sense that a basic set of
standards/expectations/assessment not set in stone. This can make it difficult
at times to be able to gauge a student’s level of comprehension and success in
re5agrds to the lessons expectation. With that being said it is still possible
to be able to recognize student’s growth and understanding of the lesson
through other avenues. Below is an overview of the Fantasy/Reality Timeline
Lesson Plan and the outcomes of the lesson. I chose to teach day one of the
Reality/Fantasy timeline to the students. Before the students can actually
create their personal timelines they must be able to define certain key terms
that are related to the lesson. For this reason I chose to teach the lesson
that involves concept 1/Day 1: Definitions. Below is a breakdown of what the
lesson contained.
Assignment 3A
·
Teach one of your One Day Teaching/Learning Plan (any of the
five) from Assignment 2A.
·
Use the assessment and instructional strategies from your plan.
Concept 1: Defining Key
Terms
·
Students will be given a list of terms
(fantasy, reality, integrity, personal identity/character, ethics, morality,
success, failure, human connection, effective communication, leader, manager,
open-minded).
·
They will be asked to define these terms
in their OWN words. They are not to look up the definition of the terms in a
dictionary; the goal is to have students reflect on what these words mean to
them outside of social prescription.
·
Students then have to interview three
people who they consider a mentor to define the words in their own words as
well.
Day 1: DEFINITIONS (Personal
Definitions of Fantasy & Reality)
MCA-
Create an open
discussion amongst the class about what we think these terms mean
Spend the entire class
period discussing these terms and how everyone has a unique and independent
understanding of what these terms mean to them.
Hand out definition
worksheet and assign as homework
RATIONALE:
Create an open,
comfortable setting for students to feel that they are valued and that their
unique understanding of the world is not wrong, but artistic.
Allow students to interact
with one another and bounce ideas off one another to create an environment
where they can learn from one another
Assignment 3A
·
Report findings from your Pre- or formative and Post- or
summative assessment
Formative Assessment:
During the beginning
of the class period I asked students to simply clear their desks and minds. I
then asked each student to think of what comes to their mind when I said each
key term out loud. I asked them to try and shed any pre-conceived ideas or
realties that they held in regards to textbook definitions of each term and
simply feel the words. Once each of the key terms was said, I then asked the
students to share what they felt about the terms. As a class we discuss the
terms, what they mean to us as individuals and as an entire group. At this
point I ask the students to pull out a piece of paper and write down their
personal definitions for each word.
This is the way that I can gauge
where the students mind frame/understanding of the terms are prior to beginning
the lesson plan. This assessment is rather valuable because it offers a very
raw, organic viewpoint of what the student’s level of understanding is and how
their reality and social influence has been constructed within their life.
Summative Assessment:
At the end of the lesson I assign students the task of
looking up the “textbook” or dictionary definition of each term. This exercise
gives students the understanding of what socially assigned definitions are for
each of the terms. There are two learning outcomes for this assignment; the
first is to gain the knowledge of how society as a whole defines each term as.
The second is to be able to compare and contrast their own social reality of
understanding versus what the general viewpoint is in regards to understanding
what words mean. At the end of the lesson the way that the assessment can be
measured in a summative form is by giving the student’s a spelling and
definition test of each of the key terms. This test will be based on the
definition’s that student’s find in the dictionary and not of their personal opinion.
Assignment 3A
- Reflect
upon your teaching experience. Ask yourself: A. What would you change? B.
What did you enjoy?
I always try and have a reflective moment
after I teach a lesson to a group of student’s. I have also learned that being
a teacher means that many times you are left alone to reflect on your own and
ponder what you could have done better. The reality is sometimes you never even
know; students go on to live their lives and become who they are and many times
you have no ideas how you impacted them during that year in their life. When I
left corporate America, an industry where you are consistently given in the
moment and timely feedback about every little detail and micromanaged to the
point of frustration, I was absolutely not prepared for the world of education.
So when I realized that my students were in many ways the only avenue to my
growth and development I began soliciting their feedback to become a better
teacher. So at the end of every lesson I ask students to write on a 3x5 note card what they would like me to start, stop and continue for the lesson. I
do not ask them to write their names on the card but they can if they choose
to. Overall the main aspect of the lesson that the students requested for me to
start was to spend more time with the lesson. I think that is always one of the
aspects I need to gauge better with my lessons. There is always so much
material I want to cover with limited time so I cram a lot of information into
one day when I think less material with a higher content of quality would be
more effective. One thing that student’s said that they enjoyed was the fact
that they enjoyed having their creativity sparked and that they had an
opportunity to share their personal identity in the assignment. Overall for me
I know I need to continue to challenge my students and push them to be
creative, be passionate and put their full heart into their learning. I think
the toughest challenge I have is maintain a balance between wanting to be
organic and free in the learning and teaching process with my students versus
what the standard expectation is of the district and public school system.
