Self-Reflection
As I reflect upon my Food ESL unit,
I can’t help but feel proud and accomplished. I have always thought and dreamt
about teaching, and in my dreams everything seemed easy and effortless. The
process of creating a whole unit demolished this illusion. Creating a unit, and
even individual lesson plans, are time-consuming and far from easy. I started
planning this unit plan about a month and a half before its due date, and even
with that large chunk of time I still struggled to come up with good ideas for
my unit.
One of the main issues I had in the pre-stages of making the unit was picking a theme that was age appropriate. This group of students are in grades 8 to 12, ages 15 to 18; and I had to respect their maturity level. The last thing I wanted to do was insult their intelligence. For that I reason, I had to pick something that was age-appropriate and yet challenging enough to continue to spark their interest. I think that food and food-related subjects such as health is both age appropriate and can be modified to fit this group’s English proficiency level.
However, I persevered and did not allow the daunting task of creating an effective unit plan phase me. I am proud of what I have created, but there are of course some things I now would like to have changed.
First, I fear that I have included too much material in my lesson plans. When I was thinking of ideas of what to include in my lesson plans, I wanted to incorporate them all into the unit and so I did. I should have given myself the liberty to delete some of the activities, but I didn’t do that. As a result, there may be too much material.
Second, I wonder if the short stories I chose are too simple for this group of students. At first, I thought the stories seemed at the appropriate level. Now, I am not too sure. The students read longer short stories with Mrs. Shealy than the short stories that I have chosen for this unit. However, does this necessarily mean that the content is harder? Perhaps it doesn’t.
On the other hand, I am not sure if the selected grammar parts of my lesson plans are too hard. I have never seen Mrs. Shealy teach grammar to her students, and that was something I wanted to do. When learning another language, it is essential to learn the grammar. For that reason, I really wanted to include some grammar that seemed relevant and could interconnect with the food unit.
I have also noticed that all of my lesson plans include technology. I wonder if this is a positive thing. The world is changing, and now many classrooms incorporate the use of technology. It is hard to ignore this technological advent. I believe that we are going to soon see the day that we will not be able to function without the use of technology. As a result, I want to fully equip my students to face that day. In a way, my unit is also helping my students become “literate in technology,” and I think that this is a positive thing.
Even though I did not teach all of my lessons to my students, I couldn’t help but feel proud of them in what they accomplished in learning. I came into the classroom not knowing my students, but now I am happy to say that I know them and deeply care about them. This definitely propels me in the classroom. I want to make sure that my kids understand the lessons; I don’t want anyone to be wallowing in confusion. Every time a student gave a correct answer or helped another student out, a smile broke out across my face. It warmed my heart to see my students happy in the classroom. I remember when my students watched the Bill Nye video in class. I gazed at the faces of my students, and they were all laughing and smiling and making comments in their own native tongue to their neighbors. I was happy because they were happy. Perhaps this is one of the greatest successes in the unit… the happiness of my students while they learned.
On a final note, I am proud that I was able to incorporate my faith values into this unit without making it explicitly “Christian.” I have introduced the theme of taking care of God’s creation, but in a subtle kind of way. My students will critically think about if they are being good stewards of the earth, and they will take into consideration their own bodies and health. They will wonder if they are taking good care of their bodies. My students will be thinking about Christian plights, but it will be taught from a different perspective.
Overall, writing my first unit was a positive experience. It has helped me figure out what areas I can develop more, and it has allowed me to see the great amount of work that goes into teaching. But, I enjoyed this process even though I thoroughly disliked it sometimes. It shouldn’t be easy creating lesson plans and units. I think teachers should struggle in creating an effective unit. I know I struggled, but I also conquered. Through worry and uneasiness have I conquered, and I think this process has affirmed me what I have already known for a long time. I want to be teacher. I want to see my students happy while they learn, and I am ready to accept the challenges that come with it.
One of the main issues I had in the pre-stages of making the unit was picking a theme that was age appropriate. This group of students are in grades 8 to 12, ages 15 to 18; and I had to respect their maturity level. The last thing I wanted to do was insult their intelligence. For that I reason, I had to pick something that was age-appropriate and yet challenging enough to continue to spark their interest. I think that food and food-related subjects such as health is both age appropriate and can be modified to fit this group’s English proficiency level.
However, I persevered and did not allow the daunting task of creating an effective unit plan phase me. I am proud of what I have created, but there are of course some things I now would like to have changed.
First, I fear that I have included too much material in my lesson plans. When I was thinking of ideas of what to include in my lesson plans, I wanted to incorporate them all into the unit and so I did. I should have given myself the liberty to delete some of the activities, but I didn’t do that. As a result, there may be too much material.
Second, I wonder if the short stories I chose are too simple for this group of students. At first, I thought the stories seemed at the appropriate level. Now, I am not too sure. The students read longer short stories with Mrs. Shealy than the short stories that I have chosen for this unit. However, does this necessarily mean that the content is harder? Perhaps it doesn’t.
On the other hand, I am not sure if the selected grammar parts of my lesson plans are too hard. I have never seen Mrs. Shealy teach grammar to her students, and that was something I wanted to do. When learning another language, it is essential to learn the grammar. For that reason, I really wanted to include some grammar that seemed relevant and could interconnect with the food unit.
I have also noticed that all of my lesson plans include technology. I wonder if this is a positive thing. The world is changing, and now many classrooms incorporate the use of technology. It is hard to ignore this technological advent. I believe that we are going to soon see the day that we will not be able to function without the use of technology. As a result, I want to fully equip my students to face that day. In a way, my unit is also helping my students become “literate in technology,” and I think that this is a positive thing.
Even though I did not teach all of my lessons to my students, I couldn’t help but feel proud of them in what they accomplished in learning. I came into the classroom not knowing my students, but now I am happy to say that I know them and deeply care about them. This definitely propels me in the classroom. I want to make sure that my kids understand the lessons; I don’t want anyone to be wallowing in confusion. Every time a student gave a correct answer or helped another student out, a smile broke out across my face. It warmed my heart to see my students happy in the classroom. I remember when my students watched the Bill Nye video in class. I gazed at the faces of my students, and they were all laughing and smiling and making comments in their own native tongue to their neighbors. I was happy because they were happy. Perhaps this is one of the greatest successes in the unit… the happiness of my students while they learned.
On a final note, I am proud that I was able to incorporate my faith values into this unit without making it explicitly “Christian.” I have introduced the theme of taking care of God’s creation, but in a subtle kind of way. My students will critically think about if they are being good stewards of the earth, and they will take into consideration their own bodies and health. They will wonder if they are taking good care of their bodies. My students will be thinking about Christian plights, but it will be taught from a different perspective.
Overall, writing my first unit was a positive experience. It has helped me figure out what areas I can develop more, and it has allowed me to see the great amount of work that goes into teaching. But, I enjoyed this process even though I thoroughly disliked it sometimes. It shouldn’t be easy creating lesson plans and units. I think teachers should struggle in creating an effective unit. I know I struggled, but I also conquered. Through worry and uneasiness have I conquered, and I think this process has affirmed me what I have already known for a long time. I want to be teacher. I want to see my students happy while they learn, and I am ready to accept the challenges that come with it.