E-JOURNAL-PRAC2001

JADE RAJKUMAR-71564 PRAC2001
REFLECTION-METAMORPHOSIS(LIFECYCLE OF A BUTTERFLY)
Metamorphosis-"Lifecycle of a Butterfly" was extracted from the Primary School "Science" curriculum under the guidelines from Standard Three. When the group and myself decided to teach this lesson I became ecstatic and intrigued with the idea of teaching the content to the class.
The lifecycle of the butterfly was divided into four sections:
Butterfly
Egg
Caterpillar
Pupa




WHAT WENT WELL IN THIS LESSON?
PLANNING:
Whilst planning the lesson:
We expected the students to adapt and build stimuli based on previous knowledge they had on family and their young in "Agricultural-Science" and based on the answers given, they did build on previous knowledge.
We also aimed at obtaining resources and integrating technology that were be colourful yet interesting and this objective was achieved.
We catered for a student with "low-vision" and she was able to use her strength of touch/feel to follow along with the listen. We catered by including "videos which included audio" along with  manipulative for her to feel the animals along with the stages for her to place them in order. This was executed quite well and she was part of an inclusive classroom. Based on the student's reactions, they loved the resources that were given to them and they participated willingly. We worked as a group to plan the lesson and the structure and consistency was well-organized and fortunately it was effective and it was presented smoothly.


WHAT DID YOU ENJOY?
PLANNING:
I enjoyed the entire planning process for this lesson. I really liked the viewing of the videos and researching the activities to integrate into the lesson. Whilst planning the lesson, we had to mentally derive to ideas to make our classroom engaging and fun and this was very intriguing. I loved viewing the videos and releasing how technology can become a new aspect of education.
AFTER TEACHING:
Metamorphosis(Lifecycle of a Butterfly) was a very interesting yet exciting topic to teach. I loved the students reactions in relation to the group activity that they had to engage in. I enjoyed the fact that they followed the classroom rules and also they felt comfortable to ask questions about the topic and how its important to us.


IF YOU WERE TO TEACH THIS LESSON, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DIFFERENTLY?
PLANNING:
In relation, to the planning process we could of added more content to the teaching points. I would of also included a song to include one more different learning style to the lesson.
REFLECTION:
Whilst teaching the lesson, I would of elaborate on the content of the stages a little more. There were four stages in the lifecycle of a butterfly and I believe that each stage needed a more precise definition. I would of also change my set induction for the lesson Our set induction was effective, however  I would of like for them to discover the topic. I would also change the video to a fully animated version since some of the students did not respond well to the video shown.


WHAT WOULD YOU ADD?
I would of added recourses to the set induction for the student's to discover what the lesson for that class was about. I would of also included a chart with the four stages to the front of the class that included an arrow to transition to the stages. I would of also added in a "classroom-rules" chart to the front of the class. In the class we did have classroom rules, however it was printed and it was stuck to each desk, however including it at the front would of been a little more effective. The class did become unruly at times especially in relation with the group work and I would include effective management strategies to help curb the noise amongst themselves.


WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE LEFT OUT?
Our lesson was very well-organized and interesting however there is one resource I would of changed in relation to the lesson.  I would of left out the pictures for the activity and instead allowed them to make the stages(insects and pupa.)


All the group members worked co-operatively to the plan the lesson. It was well-organized, interesting and it intrigued our student's attention. The manipulative, video, chart and song grasped out students academic interest and the content was suitable for their age group.