1  

Heather  Corpuz  
EDEE  490  
Student  Teaching  
Spring  2019  
My  Best  Lesson  
Description  
In  my  paper,  I  will  be  going  over  the  overall  lesson  planning  process  as  well  as  
the  implementation  that  I  designed  and  went  through  for  teaching  this  lesson.  To  start  
this  paper,  I  would  like  to  introduce  the  classroom  setting  and  demographics  that  my  
Best  Lesson  was  taught  in.  I  am  currently  student  teaching  at  Lehua  Elementary  School  
in  a  6th  grade  classroom.  Lehua  is  a  Title  1  school  with  a  large  portion  of  their  student  
population  to  be  limited  in  English  proficiency.  Throughout  my  best  lesson,  I  tried  to  
bring  in  strategies  that  will  help  students  who  are  English  Language  Learners  to  engage  
and  better  understand  on  a  challenging,  meaningful  and  creative  level.  
Prior  to  teaching  and  planning  for  this  assignment,  my  mentor  and  I  have  
discussed  upcoming  lesson  topics  within  the  grade  level’s  curriculum  map.  As  my  
mentor  and  I  were  planning,  she  mentioned  figurative  language  will  play  a  prominent  
role  in  the  students  Smarter  Balanced  Assessment,  as  well  for  an  upcoming  project  
assignment  for  Health.  Having  that  mindset,  my  mentor  and  I  have  decided  two  units.  
First,  a  unit  on  figurative  language  unit  and  then  a  unit  on  Haiku  poetry.  For  the  first  unit,  
students  were  introduced  to  the  following  figurative  languages:  similes  and  metaphors,  
alliteration,  personification,  onomatopoeia,  and  idioms.  The  second  unit  will  then  take  
into  consideration  some  components  of  figurative  language  to  introduce  the  literary  art  
form  of  haiku  poetry.  Reason  being,  haiku  poetry  uses  aspects  of  figurative  language  to  
create  visual  experiences  and  connections  so  the  reader  can  understand.  My  goal  for  
this  lesson  was  to  encourage  students  to  take  those  their  skills  learned  from  their  
figurative  language  unit  and  apply  into  their  writing  through  poetry.  Doing  so  would  help  
students  to  improve  in  their  word  choice.  Simply  put,  when  it  comes  to  composing  
haikus,  I  wanted  students  to  make  the  discovery  that  word  choice  can  make  or  break  
their  poem.  I  thought  this  lesson  provided  students  with  a  great  platform  for  them  to  
explore  in  word  play  and  parts  of  speech,  which  is  why  I  paid  close  attention  to  their  
ability  to  follow  the  syllable  count,  as  well  as  adjectives,  and  adverbs.  For  students  to  
realize  they  must  be  purposeful  in  choosing  “just  right”  words  for  their  haiku  poem  and  
to  conquer  the  creative  task  of  paint  a  mental  image  in  their  reader’s  mind  were  my  two  
ultimate  goals.    
Prior  to  planning  for  this  unit,  I  wanted  to  seek  advice  and  feedback  from  other  
teachers  in  the  school.  The  teachers  I  reached  out  to  include  my  two  mentor  teachers:  
sixth-­grade  teacher  who  teaches  ELA,  and  SpEd/Resource  teacher  for  grades  4-­6.  As  I  
gathered  their  feedback  on  how  to  plan  for  this  unit,  I  noticed  a  commonality  in  the  
advice  I  received.  Both  teachers  encouraged  me  to  be  explicit  and  visual  in  my  
instruction  because  the  topic  itself  can  present  uncooperative  attitudes  from  ELL  
students  as  well  as  struggling  readers.  Reason  being,  figurative  language  uses  creative  
language  in  the  form  of  figures  of  speech;;  it  is  using  words  in  a  nonliteral  sense  to  get  
one’s  meaning  across.  Essentially,  it  is  meaning  what  you  say  but  not  saying  what  you  
mean.  As  an  ELL  student,  that  can  be  a  very  confusing  and  challenging  task  because  
the  language  that  may  be  presented  to  them  may  not  translate  to  their  first  language.  To  
   2  

combat  this  challenge  for  my  Best  Lesson,  I  wanted  to  make  sure  I  provided  all  my  
students  with  a  supportive  learning  environment  that  engages  them  in  multiple  ways,  as  
well  as  present  opportunities  for  them  to  discuss,  practice,  and  to  apply  meaning  to  their  
learning.  
During  the  lesson  planning  process,  I  had  to  think  of  differentiated  strategies  to  
reach  all  learners.  As  a  teacher,  it  is  important  for  me  to  be  intentional  and  sensitive  to  
the  learning  needs  of  all  my  students.  I  wanted  to  make  sure  I  provide  every  student  
with  multiple  pathways  of  learning,  especially  for  those  who  are  classified  as  ELL,  
because  I  want  them  to  have  the  same  learning  outcomes  as  other  students  in  their  
classroom.  The  methods  I  used  involved  whole-­group  and  small  group  instruction.  
Students  were  seated  at  their  desk  for  majority  of  this  lesson,  but  there  were  
opportunities  throughout  the  lesson  that  enabled  students  to  work  and  discuss  with  
peers.  I  also  incorporated  the  use  of  a  PowerPoint  presentation,  and  a  graphic  
organizer  (i.e.  a  haiku  template)  as  an  avenue  for  visual  representations.    
As  for  research-­based  methods,  I  included  elements  of  explicit  instruction.  Since  
this  lesson  was  an  introductory  to  teaching  students  haiku  poetry,  it  was  important  that  I  
led  instruction  and  made  activities  task-­specific.  First,  I  explained  what  they  are  going  to  
do  and  why.  Then,  I  demonstrated  what  a  haiku  is  and  modeled  step-­by-­step  how  it  is  
structured  and  composed  by  using  a  think-­aloud  strategy.  After  that,  I  provided  multiple  
learning  opportunities  for  students  to  practice  and  to  review  the  skills  and  strategies.  
Finally,  I  let  students  use  these  newly  skills  learn  for  independent  practice  to  compose  
their  own  haiku  and  guided  them  as  needed.    
Other  research-­based  strategies  include  cooperative  learning  through  “turn  and  
talk”  or  “think-­pair-­share,”  and  peer-­reviewing.  As  part  of  this  lesson  and  shown  in  the  
video,  students  were  given  multiple  opportunities  to  learn  and  discuss  with  their  peers.  It  
was  discussed  with  my  university  supervisor  during  previous  observed  lessons  that  I  
should  incorporate  more  opportunities  for  students  to  discuss  with  their  peers.  Being  
that  they  are  sixth-­graders  and  as  part  of  their  physical  development  at  this  age,  these  
students  absolutely  love  to  talk  and  socialize.  It  is  part  of  the  school  experience  and  for  
many  students,  it  is  what  motivates  them  to  come  to  school.  So  why  not  use  that  as  an  
advantage  for  my  instruction  and  capitalize  their  preference  to  engage  their  learning?  
By  utilizing  turn  and  talks,  it  allows  students  to  strengthen  their  own  learning  because  it  
enables  them  to  translate  the  teacher's  language  into  "student  friendly  language.”  Turn  
and  talks  also  provides  me,  as  the  teacher,  with  opportunities  to  assess  student  learning  
during  instruction.  As  students  engage  in  peer-­discussions,  it  allows  me  to  circulate  
around  the  room  to  listen  in  on  conversations  taking  place  and  respond  accordingly.  
During  a  portion  of  turn  and  talk,  I  was  lucky  enough  to  encounter  a  “teacher  moment”  
with  one  of  my  students.  At  the  time  of  my  lesson,  I  did  a  short  review  on  syllables  and  I  
gave  students  the  task  of  finding  how  many  syllables  are  in  their  name.  Originally,  I  had  
students  use  the  clapping  method  to  count  how  many  syllables  are  in  their  name,  but  
one  student  mentioned  she  uses  her  chins  to  count  syllables.  She  demonstrated  this  
method  by  resting  her  hand  under  her  chin.  She  slowly  began  to  say  her  name  and  
explained  to  me,  as  well  as  to  her  peers  nearby,  that  you  can  count  the  syllables  by  
counting  how  many  times  your  chin  drops  into  your  hand.  It  was  an  awestruck  moment  
for  me  because  I  have  never  seen  a  teacher  utilize  this  method  and  I  was  never  taught  
   3  

this  method  as  a  student.  I  saw  this  moment  as  an  opportunity  to  share  her  knowledge  
with  her  entire  class,  so  every  student  can  be  more  successful.  Luckily,  the  students  
responded  positively  to  this  chin  counting  method  and  many  began  using  it  throughout  
the  lesson.    
Peer-­reviewing  was  also  embedded  in  this  lesson.  Unfortunately,  I  was  unable  to  
record  students  during  independent  practice  in  which  peer-­reviews  took  place.  After  
students  completed  their  first  draft  of  their  haikus,  students  were  given  the  task  of  
having  their  haikus  looked  at  by  2  of  their  peers.  They  exchanged  their  haikus  and  
completed  a  checklist  that  followed  the  6  Traits  of  Writing,  and  discussed  their  positive  
feedback  with  each  other.  After  that,  students  made  revisions  and  began  finalizing  and  
illustrating  their  haikus.  
Analysis  
  The  15-­minute  video  that  I  used  for  this  assignment  presents  only  the  instruction  
portion  of  my  lesson.  Students’  engaging  in  independent  practice  and  the  assessment  
used  to  measure  student  growth  and  learning  was  not  recorded  due  to  time  instructional  
time  constraints.  Students  began  their  rough  drafts  of  their  haiku  but  many  needed  
additional  time  to  finish,  so  I  decided  to  continue  the  lesson  the  following  day.    
  I  assessed  students  through  multiple  forms,  such  as  informal,  formative  and  
summative.  Informal  assessments  were  done  through  entrance  and  exit  tickets,  as  well  
as  through  observations  of  student  participation  in  activities  (e.g.  creating  a  class  haiku  
and  participation  in  a  Kahoot  game),  discussions  (think-­pair-­share)  and  group  work  
(creating  haikus  in  small  groups).  For  the  students’  entrance  and  exit  tickets,  students  
had  to  write  their  initial  and  final  thoughts  on  haiku  poetry  on  two  separate  sticky  notes.  
Students  answered  the  following  questions:  
Entrance/Pre-­assessment:    
1)  What  do  you  know  about  haiku  poetry?    
2)  What  are  you  hoping  to  learn?    
Exit/Post-­assessment:    
1)  What  did  you  learn  about  haiku  poetry?    
2)  How  you  do  you  feel  about  writing  haiku  poetry:  J  L  or  in  between?    

Students  were  also  given  a  planning  sheet  (i.e.  a  haiku  checklist)  and  had  to  conference  
with  me  throughout  the  process  of  writing  their  haiku,  which  allowed  me  to  observe  and  
analyze  their  work.  
  To  evaluate  student  learning  on  a  summative  scale,  students  had  to  create  an  
original  haiku  poem  of  their  own;;  I  relied  on  a  rubric  to  evaluate  their  final  haiku.  This  
rubric  focused  on  five  criteria  characteristics  of  creating  a  haiku  poem:    
1)  Format:  Does  it  contain  three  lines  and  follow  the  5-­7-­5  pattern  of  syllables?    
2)  Topic  of  poem:  Does  the  poem  relate  to  an  image  from  nature  and  does  it  stay  
focused?    
3)  Grammar  and  Spelling:  Does  the  poem  contain  errors  in  grammar  and  spelling?    
4)  Imagery:  Do  the  words  in  the  poem  describe  a  vivid  image  in  the  reader’s  mind?    
5)  Expression:  Does  the  poem  suggest  or  create  a  strong  emotional  response  for  
the  reader?    
   4  

When  looking  at  the  assessment  tool,  90%  of  students  received  a  score  of  ME  (27  
students  out  of  30),  10%  scored  MP  (3  students  out  of  30).  This  data  shows  that  all  
students  successfully  learned  how  to  compose  a  haiku  with  only  minimal  errors  in  
spelling  and  format.  Within  each  criterion,  83%  of  students  (25  students  out  of  30)  could  
format  their  haikus  correctly.  All  students  were  successful  in  composing  three  lines,  the  
only  common  errors  within  the  format  criterion  included  missing  or  additional  syllables.  I  
believe  some  students  may  have  miscounted  the  syllables  in  the  words  they  have  
chosen  for  their  poetry.  As  for  students  relating  their  haiku  on  an  image  or  on  an  aspect  
of  nature,  about  56%  of  the  grade  level  could  successfully  maintain  their  focus.  The  
remaining  percentage  of  students  were  wanting  to  write  about  things  that  attracted  
them,  like  food  and  personal  hobbies.  I  did  not  want  to  limit  my  students’  creativity,  so  I  
allowed  those  students  to  continue  their  writing.  I  thought  of  it  as  a  natural  motivator  and  
as  a  chance  for  students  to  increase  and  maintain  engagement.  As  for  the  criterion  of  
imagery  and  expression,  majority  of  the  students  (average  78%  of  students)  were  
successful  in  creatively  using  imagery,  descriptive  terms  as  well  as  components  of  
figurative  language  in  their  haiku  to  paint  a  mental  picture  for  their  readers.    
  As  for  my  2  focus  students,  who  are  classified  as  English  Language  Learners,  
both  students  received  a  score  of  ME  (24  points,  96%).  These  students  were  given  the  
same  expectations  as  the  rest  of  their  classmates  (i.e.  in  terms  of  achieving  the  learning  
objective),  however,  I  made  sure  to  provide  these  students  with  additional  writing  
conferences  and  feedback.  As  part  of  my  experience  in  working  and  getting  to  know  
these  focus  students,  I  personally  know  they  need  an  extra  push  in  finding  their  own  
poetic  voice.  Both  students,  and  many  others  in  their  class  have  the  tendency  to  “tell”  
and  not  “show”  when  it  comes  to  creative  writing.  For  “Jay”  (Focus  student  #1),  my  goal  
was  to  motivate  him  to  be  more  descriptive  and  elaborative  with  his  words.  He  focused  
his  haiku  poem  on  his  guitar.  In  his  first  draft,  he  used  common  words  like  “so,”  “very,”  
“soothing”  and  “relaxing”  to  depict  his  guitar.  Based  on  his  peer  reviews  and  comments,  
they  thought  Jay  could  have  added  more  details  to  his  writing  and  should  stop  using  
words  that  “mean  the  same  thing,”  and  I  agreed.  Although  they  are  great  words  to  use  
for  description,  it  lacks  in  providing  mental  imagery  for  readers.  During  my  writing  
conferences  with  Jay,  I  reminded  him  to  utilize  his  five  senses.  I  encouraged  him  to  
specifically  explore  his  senses  of  sight,  hearing,  and  touch  to  describe  his  guitar  for  his  
readers,  as  well  as  to  show  he  feels  when  he  plays  it.  He  took  those  suggestions  and  
revised  his  haiku  to  enhance  the  experience  and  depth  of  his  poem.  As  for  “Gene”  
(Focus  student  #2),  I  too,  encouraged  her  to  be  more  descriptive  and  elaborative  with  
her  words.  However,  I  provided  her  additional  assistance  to  develop  her  understanding  
of  vocabulary.  Essentially,  I  wanted  her  to  be  expressive  with  her  ideas  and  word  choice  
so  she  could  evoke  the  emotions  and  visuals  she  wants  to  share  with  her  readers.  Like  
Jay,  she  lacked  in  exercising  her  senses  to  describe  her  haiku  about  winter  time.  Based  
on  her  peer  reviews  and  comments,  her  classmates  encouraged  her  to  be  more  
descriptive  and  expressive  on  why  she  loves  the  snow.  She  took  into  consideration  of  
those  comments,  as  well  as  with  an  additional  conference  with  me,  and  made  drastic  
revisions  to  her  haiku.  She  was  successful  in  utilizing  her  senses  to  express  her  ideas  
and  used  an  online  thesaurus  to  enhance  the  precision  of  her  word  choice.  
  When  teaching  students  how  to  write  haikus,  I  wanted  students  to  realize  that  it  is  
an  important  process  they  need  to  partake  in.  I  did  not  want  students  to  think  that  their  
   5  

first  writing  attempt  was  their  completed  item.  Instead,  it  is  a  process  that  spans  multiple  
steps.  I  wanted  my  students  to  realize  that  their  skill  and  success  as  a  writer  will  
improve  as  they  devote  more  time  and  attention  to  each  phase  of  the  process.  The  
process  included  pre-­writing  and  thinking  (i.e.  students  used  a  haiku  checklist  to  guide  
their  thinking),  editing,  sharing,  and  publishing  (finalizing  their  poem  and  including  an  
illustration).  During  the  editing  and  revision  stage  and  prior  to  conferring  with  the  
teacher,  students  relied  on  a  checklist  and  a  peer-­rubric  to  self-­and  peer-­revise.  
Students  used  the  checklist  and  peer  rubric  to  determine  the  good  qualities  of  a  haiku  
and  to  see  if  they  are  on  their  way  to  meeting  expectations.  I  essentially  used  a  similar  
success  criteria  that  follows  the  six  traits  of  writing  to  evaluate  their  final  poem.    
  Throughout  my  lesson  and  video,  I  noticed  the  use  of  think-­pair-­share  and  small  
groups  were  effective  in  keeping  students  on-­task  and  engaged.  It  was  also  effective  in  
applying  what  they  were  learning  from  the  lesson  to  the  task  of  creating  their  very  own  
haiku  poem.  There  were  many  instances  during  the  lesson  in  which  I  found  the  
students’  responses  to  be  meaningful.  As  mentioned  earlier,  seeing  students  engaged  
and  respond  positively  to  the  “chin  method”  was  a  meaningful  teaching  moment  for  me.  
By  observing  this  part  of  the  lesson,  I  could  see  students  were  deepening  their  
understanding  of  how  to  count  syllables.  I  noticed  many,  if  not  all  students  referred  to  
the  chin  and  clapping  method  when  they  began  their  rough  drafts  of  their  haiku.  This  
showed  me  that  they  were  successful  in  applying  what  they  learned  and  discussed  with  
their  peers  to  compose  their  own  haiku.  This  type  of  feedback  was  also  helpful  in  
improving  my  future  instruction.  As  a  teacher  and  student,  it  reminded  me  that  I,  as  the  
teacher,  do  not  always  have  to  be  the  sole  person  to  guide  students  in  the  learning-­
process.  Instead  of  being  the  main  vessel  for  interaction  and  delivery,  I  should  be  
emphasizing  more  student-­to-­student  interaction.  Allowing  positive  interactions  will  
provide  students  with  the  opportunity  to  learn  and  communicate  with  others,  and  helps  
to  effectively  construct  their  knowledge.  
  There  were  also  instances  in  which  I  thought  students  had  difficulty  with  the  
lesson.  As  part  of  the  peer-­editing  and  reviewing  portion  of  my  lesson,  many  of  the  
students  needed  clarification  on  how  to  complete  this  task.  For  example,  I  had  multiple  
students  confused  with  who  was  considered  the  “author”  and  who  were  the  “peer-­
editors”  in  their  group.  I  also  had  students  puzzled  on  how  to  provide  proper,  specific  
and  positive  feedback  to  their  peers.  I  think  students  had  difficulty  with  this  task  of  peer-­
editing  because  they  are  simply  not  exposed  to  it  enough  with  their  own  teacher.  I  
assumed  the  students  already  had  skills  needed  to  participate  in  peer  reviewing,  so  I  
just  quickly  brushed  through  the  directions  for  this  portion  of  the  lesson.  As  I  looked  
through  each  of  their  peer-­reviews  and  specifically  with  my  2  focus  students,  I  noticed  
that  many  students  did  not  include  specific  feedback  and  comments.  I  also  noticed  only  
a  common  theme  within  their  comments,  where  it  is  just  vague  feedback,  such  as  “good  
job”  or  “I  liked  your  poem,  but  a  few  parts  need  more  work.”  Due  to  these  results,  
students  were  unable  to  clarify  and  strengthen  their  own  writing.  Typically,  the  first  and  
only  person  to  ever  look  at  their  writing  assignments  is  their  teacher;;  students  hardly  
read  each  other’s  work  and  there  are  not  many  instances  in  which  I  can  recall  where  
students  are  engaged  in  a  peer-­review  environment.  It  was  interesting  to  see  a  change  
in  roles  for  students,  and  that  is  something  I  would  like  to  incorporate  more  in  the  
classroom  and  for  these  students.  I  believe  it  is  important  for  students  to  engage  in  the  
   6  

practice  early  on,  so  next  time,  it  will  be  done  in  a  more  directed  fashion  where  I  will  go  
into  depth  to  teach  students  how  to  peer  review  since  it  is  an  essential  part  of  the  
learning  and  writing  process.  I  will  also  provide  clearer  guidance  on  how  to  read,  
formulate  and  communicate  specific  and  constructive  feedback  to  one  another’s  writing.    
Reflection  
  Being  able  to  reflect  on  this  lesson  and  to  re-­watch  myself  teach  has  given  me  so  
much  valuable  feedback  on  my  instruction,  as  well  as  insight  on  a  student  level.  In  this  
lesson,  I  was  quite  satisfied  with  the  level  of  engagement  that  the  students  
demonstrated.  Students  also  showed  exemplary  behavior  during  this  lesson;;  that  took  
me  by  surprise  since  managing  student  behavior  is  something  I  typically  struggled  with  
during  this  semester  and  with  this  specific  grade  level  and  students.  Based  on  previous  
feedback  from  past  mentor  teachers  and  supervisors,  I  was  always  told  that  for  you  to  
create  and  maintain  success  in  classroom  management,  you  must  make  sure  your  
lessons  are  active,  engaging  and  challenging.  If  lessons  are  boring  or  it  does  not  match  
the  interests  of  your  students,  students  are  more  likely  to  be  less  engaged  with  the  
content.  With  this  lesson,  I  was  satisfied  with  my  ability  to  create  a  learning  environment  
that  reaches  and  engages  all  students.  It  also  demonstrated  my  ability  to  provide  
students  with  multiple  opportunities  to  practice  the  skills  being  taught.    
  There  was  a  portion  of  lesson  that  particularly  took  me  by  surprise.  After  students  
shared  their  small  group  created  poems,  I  asked  the  students  to  vote  for  the  best/most  
clever  haiku.  The  team  that  win  the  most  votes,  would  receive  a  small  prize  from  me  
(i.e.  a  small  piece  of  candy).  This  particularly  took  me  by  surprise  because  the  students  
out-­smarted  me  by  deciding  as  a  class  to  vote  equally  for  one  another.  At  the  end  of  this  
“haiku  competition,”  every  team  was  tied  in  votes,  so  they  all  received  a  small  prize  from  
me.  This  was  a  heartwarming  moment  for  me  because  I  saw  the  students  engaged  and  
involved  in  the  lesson  and  with  their  peers.  It  was  also  pleasing  to  see  the  student  
develop  in  peer  relationships.  All  in  all,  it  made  me  happy  and  proud  as  a  teacher  to  see  
them  work  together  so  kindly  towards  a  common  goal.  
  Although  I  was  content  with  how  this  lesson  turned  out,  I  know  I  could  always  
include  more  room  for  improvement.  Reflecting  back  on  my  lesson  video,  I  certainly  
would  have  included  more  opportunities  for  students  to  be  engaged  in  a  more  
experiential  learning  setting.  Being  that  students  were  introduced  to  haiku  poetry,  it  
would  have  been  more  effective  to  begin  this  lesson  by  looking  more  into  traditional  
haiku  poems  by  Basho,  who  is  a  revered  as  the  Shakespeare  of  haiku.  I  mentioned  
Basho  briefly  in  my  lesson.  I  also  encouraged  students  to  use  their  senses,  but  again,  it  
was  brief  and  scratched  only  the  surface.  Instead,  I  should  have  been  more  purposeful  
in  my  delivery  and  should  have  gone  more  in  depth  in  how  Basho  would  immerse  
himself  in  nature  to  be  inspired.  I  could  have  provided  students  with  the  same  
experience  as  Basho,  in  terms  of  allowing  students  to  get  out  of  their  normal  setting  of  
being  in  the  classroom  to  being  outdoors.  I  should  have  let  the  students  explore  their  
environment  on  campus  and  to  let  their  senses  guide  their  writing,  and  what  they  are  
feeling  and  experiencing  in  that  moment.  As  mentioned  earlier,  students  were  seated  at  
their  desks  for  majority  of  my  lesson.  It  would  have  been  nice  to  provide  a  change  in  
pace  and  get  students  physically  active  in  their  learning.  I  also  should  have  considered  
providing  students  with  tasks  that  involve  higher-­order  thinking.  Again,  this  links  back  to  
studying  more  traditional  haiku  poems.  I  could  have  probed  students  in  a  deeper  
   7  

manner  by  allowing  students  to  focus  on  theme  and  allowing  them  to  summarize  and  
interpret  a  variety  of  haiku  poems.  After  discussing  with  my  mentor,  we  both  agreed  that  
providing  students  with  more  chances  to  engage  in  experiential  learning  and  higher-­
order  thinking  would  have  made  this  lesson  more  meaningful,  relevant  and  memorable.  
Due  to  instructional  time  constraints,  as  well  as  transitional  times  for  the  sixth-­grade  
classes,  this  is  a  challenging  requirement  to  meet.  My  mentor  and  I  have  been  working  
together  to  figure  out  ways  to  include  more  opportunities  for  students  to  engage  in  
purposeful,  as  well  as  experiential  and  structured  learning  experiences  outside  the  
classroom.    
  Seeking  advice  and  guidance  from  other  school  teachers,  like  Lehua’s  ELL  
coordinator  and  primary  teacher  is  something  I  should  have  utilized  for  this  lesson.  I  
believe  she  would  have  provided  me  with  much  more  personalized  strategies  for  my  
ELL  focus  students  to  improve  on  in  their  language.  For  future  lessons,  I  will  reach  out  
to  other  teachers  and  staff  on  campus,  like  an  ELL  teacher,  for  feedback  and  insight  on  
how  I  could  better  my  practice  and  support  for  students,  as  well  as  how  to  assist  ELL  
students  or  students  who  are  similar  in  learning  needs  in  the  mainstream  classroom.    
  As  mentioned  in  the  beginning  portion  of  this  paper,  there  are  many  students  
who  are  classified  with  limited  English  proficiency.  As  part  of  my  experience  working  
with  the  two  sixth  grade  classes,  I  can  certainly  sense  that  both  classrooms  have  a  
diverse  range  of  academic  abilities  and  learning  styles;;  such  as  students  who  are  bright  
and  motivated,  to  students  who  need  more  intensive  support.  I  believe  my  lesson  plan  
was  sensitive  to  the  diversity  of  students,  especially  for  my  2  focus  students  who  are  
ELL.  In  my  lesson,  I  made  sure  to  provide  students  with  multiple  avenues  to  learn,  
observe  and  practice  in  the  skills  needed  to  create  a  haiku.  Reason  being,  I  was  
intentional  when  it  came  students  participating  in  peer  and  small  group  discussion  by  
making  sure  no  group  is  composed  entirely  of  less-­advanced  ELL  students  but  of  
students  who  are  different  in  learning  abilities  and  learning  styles.  I  believe  learning  
becomes  more  effective  for  students  who  are  given  chances  to  practice  language  with  
their  peers  in  a  more  personal,  and  low-­risk  setting.  I  also  supported  my  lesson  with  
visuals  by  providing  graphic  organizers  (e.g.  Haiku  template,  and  haiku  checklist  and  
rubric),  and  by  using  a  PowerPoint  presentation  to  display  examples  and  illustrations  of  
haiku,  as  well  as  to  help  students  better  process  spoken  language,  as  well  as  to  present  
activity  directions  and  procedures.    
  Overall,  I  enjoyed  this  lesson  and  was  pleased  by  what  I  have  observed  and  
experienced.  I  believe  this  lesson  could  satisfy  the  requirements  of  this  assignment;;  it  is  
not  perfect  in  any  sense,  but  it  does  show  my  successful  growth  as  a  student  teacher  
and  potential  as  a  professional  educator,  in  terms  of  familiarizing  myself  with  this  grade  
level,  with  the  students  in  this  classroom,  and  in  learning  how  to  differentiate  and  
support  learning  to  ensure  all  children's  needs  were  met.