Read the following vignette and identify the factors that threaten the activity flow of the lesson. Once you have identified the problems, explain how you would avoid the problems if you were the teacher.
Here is the story
Mrs. P.waits while her second-grade students take out their fraction circles to begin
the math lesson. When most of the children have placed the circles on their desks,
she begins to remind the class of the work they did on fractions the previous day.
As she explains the tasks they are about to do, she notices that Jack doesn’t have his
circles.
“Jack, where are your circles?”
“I don’t know.”
“This is the third time you don’t have your circles.You didn’t have them last week,
and you had to stay in at recess one day and you also lost free time.What did I tell you
would happen if you lost your circles one more time?”
“You were going to call my mother.”
“That’s right.Now go and write your name on the board while I see if I have an extra
pack for you to use.”
Mrs. P. goes to the supply closet and pulls out a pack of fraction circles for Jack.
She then instructs the class to place the bag of shapes on the top left side of their
desks.
“Take out the blue circle and place it directly in front of you.”She checks to see that
all students have complied.
“Now take out one of the four red pieces and place it on the blue circle. Be careful
not to drop it, and do this without talking to your neighbor.”
Mrs. P. circulates to see if the children are following directions.“Now take out another
red piece and place it on the blue circle.”
The children do so. Mrs. P. then directs them to take out two remaining red pieces
and place them on the blue circle,“one at a time.”
“How many red pieces did you use to cover the blue circle?”
The class responds,“Four.”
“And what is one piece called?”
“One-fourth.”
“I’d like everyone to say it together, please.”
“One-fourth!”
“Did I hear the back table? I want everyone to repeat it with strong voices!”
“ONE-FOURTH!”
“Excellent.Now what are two pieces called?”
“Two-fourths.”
“I still didn’t hear everyone. Let’s hear Rhonda’s table. [Rhonda’s table responds.]
Okay, how about Shakia’s table? [They respond.] And now Reggie’s table. Good.”
As she passes Rob’s desk, she notices a pink slip of paper.“Class, I almost forgot.
Those children who have permission forms for the zoo trip need to give them to me
now, so I can get them to the office.”
Children proceed to hunt through their desks. Several ask permission to go get
their book bags. Once all the slips are collected, Mrs. P. returns to the lesson and goes
on to talk about thirds. She directs the children to put away the red pieces, to take out
the three green pieces, and to cover the blue circle with the green pieces. Mrs. P.
checks that students know each green piece is “one-third.” At the completion of this
activity,Mrs.P. directs the students to put away the fraction circles and to take out their
spelling books.
“Okay, children, turn to page 37 in your spellers and let’s review the words for this
week.Tanya, please read the first word and use it in a sentence.”
As Tanya begins, Mrs. P. interrupts:“I’m sorry, Tanya, but I just realized that I forgot
to tell you all what the math homework is.Everyone, take out your assignment pads and
write down the assignment as I write it on the board.” She takes a piece of chalk and
writes,“Math—page 25, even problems only.” The children copy the assignment. Mrs. P.
scans the room to make sure everyone has written the assignment. When all the children
are done, she directs them to return to their spellers.“All right, now where were
we? Tanya, you were doing number one.” When Tanya finishes, Mrs. P. has the class spell
the word out loud and then moves on to the next word. The class is on the fourth word
when the bell rings for lunch.
“Oh my, I don’t know where the time went. OK, boys and girls, get ready for lunch.
We’ll continue with spelling when you get back.”
this is what i said. any suggestions??
First of all Mrs. P. needs to learn how to stay on task. As we read in the text that Mrs. P. was going around the class to make sure they all knew what the fractions were she noticed a pink slip of paper on her desk. The pink slip of paper is a reminder for a field trip to the zoo. Instead of asking the class for their permission slips during the lesson she should have waited and asked for the permission slips after the lesson. Some students get distracted if someone jumps in and talks about something else. There mind was set on one thing which was the fractions. Secondly Mrs. P. needs to manage her time more. Mrs. P. could have asked the students at the beginning of class if any of them had their permission slips signed in order to go on the zoo field trip. She could have also had the students bring in their permission slips before the start of the school day. Organizing is the key to time management. Teachers often use the motto “a place for everything, and everything in its place.” Here is a list of teacher tested time saving tips. Use a daily planner. If you use a daily planner you can keep all you “to do” lists in there. Another tip is do not try to accomplish difficult tasks when you are tired. A teacher could also allow the students peer-grade or self-grade when it is appropriate. Another great tip is to make a "To-Do" reference sheet for events. For example, you may want to have a list for field trips. Include on the list everything that must be done before, during, and after the trip, then check off as completed. Lastly, Mrs. P. needs to learn how to prioritize time/activities. Here is a list on how to prioritize daily activities for better time management. The first thing to do is write down all the activities you do on each day. The next step is to classify each activity you have completed. Classify them into urgent/important, urgent/not important, not urgent/important, or not urgent/not important. The next would be calculating how much time you are actually spending on the task.
Based on the vignette provided, the factors that threaten the activity flow of the lesson are:
1. Students not having necessary materials (e.g., Jack not having his fraction circles).
2. Disruptions to address unrelated issues (e.g., collecting permission slips for a field trip).
3. Poor time management (e.g., forgetting to assign math homework and running out of time for spelling).
To avoid these problems, here are some suggestions for the teacher:
1. Prepare materials in advance: Before starting the lesson, the teacher should ensure that all students have their required materials, such as fraction circles. This can prevent disruptions and delays during the lesson.
2. Address unrelated issues outside of the lesson: Instead of collecting permission slips for a field trip during the math lesson, the teacher could set aside a specific time (e.g., before or after the lesson) to collect any necessary forms or handle administrative tasks. This allows the main lesson to proceed without interruptions.
3. Use effective time management techniques: The teacher should prioritize and allocate time effectively. This can be done by:
- Planning a schedule: Creating a structured daily plan with specific time allocations for each activity can help manage time more efficiently.
- Setting clear expectations: Communicating the time frame for each task or activity can help students stay on track and be aware of the time available.
- Limiting distractions: The teacher should minimize distractions, such as unrelated discussions or tasks, during the lesson, allowing more focus on the main topic.
- Being organized: Keeping track of tasks and upcoming events through tools like daily planners can help the teacher stay organized and avoid forgetting important elements of the lesson, such as assigning homework.
By implementing these strategies, the teacher can minimize disruptions and maintain a smooth flow of activities during the lesson, ultimately enhancing student engagement and learning.