Self-Reflection

Without a doubt, this unit plan is the largest project I have done so far in the education
program, and teaching it has been a humbling experience. From constructing this unit plan, I
learned that teachers need to prepare a lot for their classes, especially if they are teaching it for
the first time. However, if they teach it again, they can simply modify the materials that they had
previously to improve it. Thus, since Mr. Mockabee already had all the materials, I just modified
his lesson plans by subtracting some activities and adding other ones. For instance, I added the
discussion on rules, the Kahoot vocabulary game, and the Readers Theater project but did not
use a reading power point that had been used previously. Since we wanted to teach the unit in
eight days, we read the book much more quickly than past classes had read it, finishing it in five
days, and then did other activities afterward. As for the content, teaching a book made the unit
more flexible than teaching vocabulary and grammar, since I could then add in the discussion on
rules and the Readers Theater project. The idea behind this was to have students apply what they
have learned this past year while also enjoying the language.
My Christian perspective did shape my instructional planning, in that I emphasized the
topic of rules, since Brandon often broke rules in the book and thus had to face consequences for
his actions. Because God tells us to submit to authority figures since He is the One who put them
in their positions, it is important for us to obey and to not defy rules. Moreover, many of these
rules are for the benefit of the people since they often protect us from harm and from each other.
Thus, the questions that were included in the summary and vocabulary worksheets asked
students which rule(s) Brandon broke and what they thought of his actions, which helped them to
discern what is good and what is wrong. Additionally, on day 6 we discussed the rules in the

book and connected these to the lives of the students and rules that God gives us. This was how
my perspective shaped instructional planning and implementation.
Overall, I would say that the unit has been fairly successful. Students applied their
previous knowledge of the preterite and the imperfect to read a book and in general, students did
an excellent job at reading comprehension. This was evident from the pre-assessments and
formative assessments that I have given so far. For instance, when we discussed comprehension
questions on chapter 8 as a class after they had talked about them in their groups, students were
quick to answer and answered correctly. Students also performed well on the two quizzes that we
gave on chapter 1 and chapters 5 and 6; most students received full credit or got only one
question wrong. Students reading comprehension success was also evident by their answers to
comprehension questions when we read together. In order to assess students learning more
accurately, it would be best to review the results of the two summative assessments which will
happen this week: Readers Theater project and the final quiz.
The two lessons that are left of the unit plan and that will be taught this week are days 7
and 8. On day 7, students will receive the main events that we expect their groups to cover and
they based on these main events provided, they will write their scripts and then practice them, if
there is time. Some potential barriers for successful implementation are students not being on
task or not working fast enough to complete their scripts. If they do not stay on task or complete
their scripts fast enough, Mr. Mockabee and I may be unable to help them with correct grammar
and vocabulary. Additionally, they may not have enough time to practice their skits before their
presentations the next class period. In order to make sure that students are on task and working at
a steady pace, we will walk around the room and check with each group, as well as help them
with questions or grammar and vocabulary. Day 8 is the presentation of the skits and the final

quiz, so there should not be barriers to planning and implementation. Groups should not exceed
the time limit, since they will be marked down, and if a skit really is too long, we will probably
ask them to finish quickly.
Like I mentioned before, teaching this unit plan has been a humbling experience. I have
made many fumbles throughout the unit but through these, I have learned which areas I need to
improve in as a teacher. For instance, on the first day of the unit plan, I was not looking at my
lesson plan, and I forgot to introduce chapter one vocabulary before we started to read the book.
So, I had the class stop reading on page two and then introduced the vocabulary to them. From
this experience, I learned that it is helpful to have a half sheet of paper with a list of activities
handy at all times, and I did this for all the lessons afterward. Another area of improvement is
knowing what students answers could possibly be before asking them. Sometimes, I asked
questions that students could not answer with their limited Spanish language abilities or I asked
questions that no one could really answer, even in English. If I were to do it over again, I would
prepare questions before I taught the lesson, think about if these questions are feasible for my
students considering their abilities and then use them if they are appropriate. Another area that I
could improve in is using the character chart well. Instead of waiting until we were halfway
through the book, I should have started filling it out with the class from the beginning, just taking
a few minutes to very briefly ensure that students know each character, their personality, and
their actions as we read chapter by chapter. Then, they could also use the character chart to study
for quizzes. Obviously, there are many areas that I could improve in in the planning and
implementation of the unit plan, and I am glad that these were identified so that I could work on
them and become a better teacher.

From teaching six lessons of the unit plan already, I know that I am a novice teacher and
that I will definitely make mistakes in the future and that I will often have to ask for grace from
my students. And I think that is okay. In fact, it is good to be aware of them and to receive
constructive criticism in order to improve, so I am extremely grateful to both my cooperating
teacher for his helpful suggestions and for the patience of my students with me. Personally, I
have noticed that I often focus on weaknesses rather than strengths, at least when it comes to
self-critiquing. When I shared this with a friend, he challenged me to look for merits instead of
flaws, and when I did that, when I gave thanks for my students, for teaching, or for certain things
that went well during the lesson, I enjoyed teaching more, so I have learned to not just focus on
the areas of improvement but also consider the areas that are already good.
Although the unit plan has taken a lot of time and effort, I am very, very grateful to God
for this opportunity to teach the unit plan at Grand Rapids Christian High School. I am also very
thankful for my cooperating teacher, who helped me a lot throughout the process, valued my
opinions, and gave thoughtful suggestions. I am thankful that it is one more step toward
becoming a teacher, and so far, I am humbled, because I know I will fail but I also know that I
have God, friends, colleagues, and hopefully gracious students that will help me along the way.
So, my heart is filled with thanksgiving to many people.