Do the lesson plan backwards… Outcome first. We have been told this so many times, but we were also told that we would be expected to create lesson plans, when our cooperating teacher has a theme in mind. I figured I would be able to create this impressive Halloween lesson, and I wouldn’t struggle. This wasn’t the case…
I created a lesson that I thought would be interesting and exciting for my students to participate in. I had music, spooky sounds, and to top it off a “Just Dance” video to finish off the lesson! I figured it would be fun, and the kids would love it. The kids were excited when I asked the kids who liked to dance, and how they liked to dance. Most answered to the television or the radio, and this started the lesson out on a positive note. I continued to bring up the word “beat” and ask if anyone knew what a beat was… The blank faces should have been my note to stop there, and change my lesson on the fly, unfortunately I didn’t, and I lost the kids. I wanted to have the kids dancing to the spooky Halloween music, but it doesn’t have words, and that made it hard for the kids to move their bodies without a sort of auditory ques. When I turned on the “Just Dance” almost all my students were enthusiastic, and participating in the activity.
This was a difficult thing to have happen. I was enthusiastic, and wanted the kids to enjoy it as well… There was a sense of failure and disappointment when they didn’t enjoy it as much as I intended. I get the opportunity to teach the lesson twice, and that means I can make some necessary edits, and try again! I decide to make “Just Dance” the development of my lesson, and then I would play “This is Halloween” and allow the students to move their bodies after they have some guided movement with the video. This was a lot easier for the students to follow, and they had a lot of fun! I was glad to hear their opinions about which was easier, and the majority of the class said that being guided was easier.
I am hoping that I could teach another lesson and bring a drum so that the students can move their body to a beat, and understand what that means. This was also mentioned by my cooperating teacher which I really appreciated!
Leeza Currin 