WHAT?
During this lesson, we taught students about the culture of Massachusetts and also had them explore and talk about their own culture. The main objective was for students to be able to identify their own cultural identity and explain what makes them who they are.
We included several activities to help students understand this concept. One activity was a hide-and-seek picture game where students chose a place to “live” and gave clues using their five senses. We also had students discuss different cultural aspects of Massachusetts. Lastly, students drew a picture representing their own cultural identity and explained it.
We incorporated collaboration by working together as a teaching team to create and deliver the lesson. Communication was used when we shared ideas with each other and when students shared their thoughts during activities. Social awareness was incorporated by encouraging students to think about their own culture and how it connects to others. I demonstrated professionalism by being prepared, dressing appropriately, and speaking respectfully to students. I also showed adaptability by adjusting the lesson when we ran out of time and had to shorten certain parts.
What went well was that students were very engaged, especially during the hide-and-seek activity and the cultural identity drawing. These activities allowed students to be creative and personal, which helped them stay interested. In the moment, we adjusted by shortening parts of the lesson due to time constraints.
One area of weakness was the Massachusetts culture chart, as students seemed to struggle with it. I think this may have been because the directions were not as clear or it was less engaging compared to the other activities.
Most students met the objective based on their drawings and explanations. One student showed a strong understanding by explaining that she was African, describing the food she eats, and explaining how she could share her culture with others through food. Another student met the objective by explaining her background, including where her parents are from, and sharing that she could talk about her culture with others. One student did not meet the objective, as he drew a bank and was unable to explain how it connected to his culture or how he could share it with others.
To better support all students, I could model my own cultural identity more clearly. By sharing my own background and examples, students would have a better understanding of what is expected. I could also include more visuals or sentence starters to guide students.
SO WHAT?
From this experience, I learned that when asking students to share personal information about themselves, it is important to model expectations by giving an example. By talking about my own cultural identity, students can better understand what I am asking them to do.
This experience helped me grow as a teacher by showing me the importance of clear instruction and modeling. I learned that students feel more confident and are more successful when they are given a clear example to follow.
NOW WHAT?
This experience will influence my professional identity by helping me become a more student-centered and reflective teacher. I understand the importance of building connections with students and helping them feel comfortable sharing about themselves.
In the future, this will influence how I plan, teach, and assess my lessons. When planning, I will make sure to include clear examples. During teaching, I will share more about myself to help guide students. When assessing, I will make sure students fully understand expectations so their work accurately shows what they know. This will help improve student understanding and engagement overall.
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