Teaching Reflections - Lesson 1

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TESL 0170
Practicum in Teaching ESL

On Tuesday I taught my first lesson as part of my practicum. The class is an Entry level (CEFR A1-A2) integrated skills class and uses the text Top Notch 1. This week the unit topic was Shopping for Clothes and my lesson focused on the Preview section. The lesson included reviewing the previous day's homework, introducing the topic of clothes and clothing departments, teaching and practicing new vocabulary, discussion, listening comprehension and writing. I incorporated a mix of teacher-centered and student-centered activities, and included individual, partner, small-group and whole class activities. There was also a combination of productive and receptive tasks. Since this lesson was the introduction to a new unit there was a bit more teacher talk and and vocabulary instruction. I made use of the digital textbook, online text and notebook function on the smartboard. I also used, modified and created some supplementary materials to introduce and reinforce some of the text activities and content.

I think the lesson went fairly smoothly and was well-received by the students. I also received a lot of positive feedback from my sponsor teacher. She commented that I knew the content well and that I had good classroom management. She also said that my timing was good and that I had good movement as I moved around the room and paid attention to all of the students. She appreciated my punctuality, organization and preparedness. She noted that I did mix up one thing that I had written on the board, but that it did not affect comprehension. She also commented that although I did ask each student at least one question, there were a couple of students that I called on more frequently. I also needed a little assistance with the smartboard when switching it from one function to another.

I definitely felt confident in the content and had prepared multiple activities for the lesson, as well as a few extras. I was a little unsure of how exactly to use some of the functions within the digital textbook and online website, but by the end of the class I got much better. There was definitely some giggling from some of the younger students, and I asked the class to please be patient with me as I was learning. I had thought one of the vocabulary activities went on a little too long and at the end of class I did not have enough time to have the students discuss the writing questions. However, my sponsor teacher said she thought the students needed the vocabulary practice and she also said she could have the students discuss the writing questions the following day. She also really liked the handout that I had prepared and plans to use it in the future. I had to remind myself a few times to slow down my speech as I am used to talking to fluent elementary school students! Overall I think the lesson went well and I have some ideas on how to make the next lesson better. I am looking forward to using some more interactive activities such as role-plays and games in the next lesson as it is closer to the end of the unit.

My lesson plan and handouts are attached below:

Lesson Plan 1
Unit 8 Preview
Shopping for Clothes Writing and Discussion

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