History Lesson Reflection

 Reflection on Lesson

Lesson two in our interdisciplinary unit with the students at Agnes B. Hennessey Elementary took place on Friday, March 20. Our group consisted of four students and two TCs–myself included. This lesson was a history lesson, intended to teach students about the history of Rhode Island using primary sources and timelines. The goal was to have the students think critically about how RI’s history has impacted the way we live, and the cause and effect of historical events. This lesson was co-written and co-taught, incorporating collaboration and communication between my partner and I. While teaching this lesson, my partner demonstrated adaptability and professionalism when one of our students needed extra support. She stepped in to work one on one with the student, and they were able to participate in and finish the lesson alongside her peers. 

During this lesson, one thing that went well was the student’s participation. All students were responsive and engaged when presented with information or asked a question. Shortly into our lesson, one of the students was excused for an award, and following this, another student began to display a need for teacher support. This is when my partner stepped in and sat next to the student for the remainder of the lesson in order to help the student focus and get through the lesson. This was impactful for the student as they had the opportunity to regulate their emotions and continue learning. The two other students in this group work well together as partners, and displayed active listening and lesson participation. An example of an  “in the moment” instructional decision my partner and I made was a modification to our schedule. Due to time, we were not able to get to our O.R.E.O. opinion writing activity. My partner and I made the on the fly decision to skip the activity as we decided our group would be more likely to engage in the reader’s theatre activity over a writing activity. The decision was made based on which activity the student would benefit the most from. Reader’s theatre allowed TCs to check for student content understanding as they acted out historical events, and students were able to interact with the lesson content in a playful way. 

An area of weakness in this lesson was time management. During the section of the lesson with our multimodal text, I read from two different sources. To improve this for next time, I would choose one source to read, as two books was too time consuming. Or, if there are certain pieces of information from two different texts, I could scan and print individual excerpts to have students read. 

In this lesson, students worked with TCs to create a cause-and-effect chart based on three historical events. Though our group did not complete the opinion writing activity, we created a discussion about how our lives might be different today if Roger Williams did not strive for religious freedom. Students responded with answers such as, “We would not be able to have our own beliefs,” or “There would be more Native American land.” The lesson objective was for students to be able to explain and infer how the historical events affected the people of Rhode Island by engaging in discussion and collaboratively completing a cause-and-effect interactive chart. All students met this objective by participating in verbal discussion and completing an exit ticket. 

Above is an example of a student’s exit ticket.

For future lessons, it may be beneficial to find an alternative writing activity for students or introduce it earlier in the lesson. The skills from this activity are important; however, this is the second time there have been complications surrounding the activity. During lesson one, students struggled to form their ideas and write their opinions, and I decided to modify their prompt to increase student participation. This week, we ran out of time. This indicates a timing issue, as well as the activity does not fit our lesson or the needs of the students. When planning future lessons, I know to build a buffer of about ten minutes to allow for time flexibility. 

This experience has allowed me to practice creating student materials to go along with the lesson. High-quality materials are important for student learning, and practicing how to teach with primary sources is one way I have grown professionally from this experience. My professional identity is maintained as we continue to work with the students and staff at Agnes B. Elementary. This experience will better equip me to work with new staff, students, or teaching partners in the future.