Lesson Writing Refelction

Assessing Prior Knowledge and Planning Instruction:

• Prior to the lesson, students need to know what a story is and the components of a story (characters, plot, etc.).
• This will be assessed by talking to the kids in a discussion and having them all review these components with the teacher.
• The information I will use in the planning process is the information that they have all been exposed to stories and reading and that they know that stories have characters and a plot. 

• The content of this lesson should be taught at this grade level because second graders have been exposed to stories since Kindergarten (or before) and so they know the basics of stories but they are advanced enough to be able to create their own story and be able to express that story in words.
• My objectives are for students to know the more advanced components of a story (beginning, middle, end, title) and to use technology to realize this in a completed story product. This related to the standards because the standards talk about writing a narrative and recounting a well-elaborated event. My objective is to write a story using all of the parts of a story through technology. 
• The lesson will be taught toward the beginning of the school year in the end of September or early October, after the students have been exposed to more literature, but early enough to know that we can continue to grow and learn more from this lesson. 

Designing Instruction:

• The instructional methods I have described are using a combination of whole group and individual instruction. I try to limit the whole group aspect to only discussion and introduction because it is so much more valuable for students to have the emphasis be on individual instruction and independent work. 
• In my methods classes, it is stressed how small group and individual conferencing is so much more important than whole group, so I tired to limit the whole group time in my lesson. 
• By challenging the students in an independent way, it means that they can use their imaginations and creativity to push themselves. By giving them complete freedom, it encourages their critical thinking because they have to solve problems by themselves and they have to work through the story and the various idiosyncrasies that come with writing a story. 

Planning Assessment:

• The assessment aligns with the standards and objectives of this lesson because by using a checklist, I can make sure that the students have included all of the advanced components of the story and that they understand the standards and the objective of the lesson. 
• The assessment makes sure that the students have all the advanced components without judging or limiting their creativity. 
• The assessment doesn't really assess the higher order thinking skills, but just by completing the assignment, which the checklist does address, they will have to use higher order thinking skills. 
• The assessment shows that the individual student needs were met by the fact that the checklist includes all parts of the assignment and the story, and through completing this product it means that they went through a process of individual conferencing and attending to their individual needs.  

How does your lesson meet each of the ISTE NETs Standards?

1. My lesson meets the facilitating and inspiring student learning and creativity standard by giving students a free and open way for them to explore their own creativity and bring their creative ideas into a tangible product. 
2. The students will be using two different kinds of technology and they will be exposed to many kinds of technology during the lesson. 
3. During the lesson, I will model for the students how important technology is in our society. I will stress the importance of how our society is becoming reliant on technology and how being technology literate will be a skill that will help them with the rest of their lives. 
4. I will be meeting all of the needs of my students by modeling the best ways to use technology by staying on task and making sure that the students know what is appropriate and what is not. I will also be using learner - centered strategies by having a lot of individual conference time and making sure that the students get equal time with the technology. My students will be able to explore ideas of cultural understanding and global awareness by using their imaginations and having discussions with peers about their stories.