UTL 640 - POTTER

Amanda Juarez
Date Taught (10/12/16) followed by Submitted Date (10/14/16)
School: French I
Reflection Lesson #2/ Video #1

My First Video Reflection

Objective: Given a list of new vocabulary words, the students will practice in
groups and pairs asking and answering questions using the verb etre (to be),
the negation of etre, les matieres (school subjects), statements of agreement
Je suis daccord and statements of disagreement Je ne suis pas daccord, and
whether a statement is true or false by using vrai (true) or faux (false).
Procedure:
1. Students warmed up by individually answering 5 questions within a text
from a French student. Once they have finished they must share their
responses with several partners. These questions included introductory
questions such as name, how they are doing, adjectives to describe
themselves. The last question uses cognates of school subjects to ask
what the students favorite subject which will help transition into the
review of new vocabulary words Les matieres (school subjects).
2. As a class, the students and I went over new vocabulary words based on
the theme les matires. The teacher reads the vocabulary aloud to the
students, while they listen and repeat.
3. Next, I took the class to website for a high school called Lycee Colbert
which is located in Paris, France to transition into the topic of The French
Education System. Some of the things we analyzed were the curriculum
offered at Lycee Colbert, its geographical location,
4. Using a Venn Diagram, the students wrote down similarities and
differences they found as we explored the website as a class. The
students shared their responses in the Venn Diagram with a partner. Then
I asked the students as a class what some of the similarities and
differences that they or their partner found.
5. In the next activity students were given a blank chart with the day of the
week in French with the hours of the bell schedule. The students would
then tell their partner their schedule in French while their partner wrote it
down for them, and vice versa.
6. The students continued with a written and oral activity to help them
practice the use of je suis daccord et Je ne suis pas daccord. Given 10
sentences, the students must write if they agreed or disagreed. Then they
asked their partners to see if they agreed or disagreed as well.
7. The students were given a list of true or false sentences to practice the
use of the phrase Cest vrai et Cest faux. Then they would turn to their
partner and share their responses.
8. Exit Ticket: Students wrote one sentence about themselves that was true
and one sentence about themselves that was false. Then they would turn
to a partner and share their sentences while their partner guess which one
was true or false using Cest vrai or Cest faux.

UTL 640 - POTTER

Amanda Juarez
Date Taught (10/12/16) followed by Submitted Date (10/14/16)
School: French I
Reflection Lesson #2/ Video #1

Pacing: In retrospect, how well did you plan your time? (i.e.: Did you
over-plan or underplay activities or time requirements?)
For this lesson, I over planned the amount of activities needed. I thought that the
students would have been able to go through each one quickly, but the students
spent the most time on the activity lEmploi du temps, in which they needed to
tell their partner what their schedule is like while they write it down. I think for
future reference I need to be more attentive to time during lesson planning and
during instruction. The students were not able to finish the Cest vrai ou faux
activity towards the end so I asked them to jump ahead to the exit ticket activity
2 minutes before the bell rang. I felt like if I would have moved on a bit earlier
during the Je suis daccord activity we would have finished the last activities
without feeling rushed.
Looking at my lesson I realized that the students got off track many times.
Although I made several rounds around the classroom its very difficult for me to
recognize a student being on task when Im on the other side of the room
making sure other students are on task. Now knowing what is happening during
my lessons, I will be even more attentive to make sure students dont get
distracted or off task.
What do you consider successful about your lesson? Be specific and
include any relevant behavior management issues here also.
What I consider to successful was getting all the students who detest school
work to participate a little bit in each activity. This shows me that they are
trusting e and beginning to become more relaxed and confident in their French.
Also, the kids really enjoyed looking at the photos of Lycee Colbert. Using the
website from Lycee Colbert was a great way to introduce how the French
education system differs from the American education system. I think it was an
engaging topic, even though it is something that is a bit difficult to explain at
times because of the inversion of the grade levels. However, the infographic I
provided them was simple and straight to the point and it saved me and the
students from confusion or unclarity. Maybe for my future lessons I could include
some of the photos I took during my stay in Paris and create a theme from there.
Also, I may even create more infographics when introducing culture because it
made explaining it such a breeze!

UTL 640 - POTTER

Amanda Juarez
Date Taught (10/12/16) followed by Submitted Date (10/14/16)
School: French I
Reflection Lesson #2/ Video #1

What do you consider unsuccessful about your lesson? Be specific and

include any relevant behavior management issues here also.
What I consider unsuccessful about the lesson was that some students became
disengaged in the activities once they needed to begin the oral parts of the
activity. I think that the students are not confident in their speaking skills after
the first chapter exam they just took. When I asked for students to volunteer to
read the directions of each activity the two boys I asked hesitated and didnt say
a word so I called someone else to read. Knowing this, I want to help them
increase their confidence by working with them more during my observations.
Some of the students took out their phones during class which I needed to ask
them to put away. Some students were left without partners, but I was able to
group them with someone else. This is most likely the cause of the desk
arrangement of the classroom which is something I definitely need to fix.
TEACHER PERSONA: Techniques I used to present my teacher
persona:
I always greet the students at the beginning of class and ask how they're doing. I
always come with the material prepared for the students ahead of time. I use an
assertive voice as well. When students are speaking to me or asking questions
one-on-one I lower my stance but stay above them to let them know Im
listening but Im still in teacher mode. At times, I will kneel on the floor when the
student is completely lost or anxious about the work to let them know that we
are on the same level and Im here to help.
FUTURE: What I plan to do differently.
In my future lessons students will have assigned partners and seating that way
no one gets left out and there is more structure to the activities. I will also create
a list of vocabulary words for the students that will have a list of simple phrases
and commands that I use frequently during class so the students will understand
more clearly what I am asking or telling them. Doing so, I will not feel as though I
need to use English during my instruction as often. Seeing how using the website
for Lycee Colbert was such a success, I am going to integrate more online
resources into my lessons. Also, not only did I find the infographic on the
explanation of the French education system helpful, but the students were able
to clearly understand a topic that could be very difficult to explain or
understand. I think I will try to find or create more infographics when introducing
culture. Most importantly, I will have prepared meaningful questions throughout
the lessons.

UTL 640 - POTTER

Amanda Juarez
Date Taught (10/12/16) followed by Submitted Date (10/14/16)
School: French I
Reflection Lesson #2/ Video #1

FINAL THOUGHTS: Overall I (believe, discovered, feel, hope etc.)

Overall, I believe that the students will become more confident as time passes. I
hope that I can help them become successful and confident French speakers
(even if it is Novice).
AFTER WATCHING MYSELF ON VIDEO Minimally, one, well-developed
paragraph.
In general, I think that I was able to clearly explain and discuss the material from
each activity. I included questions that were engaging and required students to
problem solve with the material given to them and come up with logical
explanations. However, sometime I get lost in my own train of thoughts and I
think I need to improve on asking more meaningful questions. The students were
very cooperative with me throughout the lesson. However, there was one
student who refused to read the directions when I asked him to. But I quickly
figured out without having to ask him that the problem was he was not confident
in his speaking skills, not that he was being mean or lazy. Im very attentive to
my students needs therefore I am constantly making rounds throughout the
activities because I want to make sure that the students understood the
objective or answer questions they might have. During instructional time, I felt I
used a good balance of both English and French. However, looking at the video I
saw many missed opportunities for me to use French. Next time, I will push for
more use of LOTE during my lesson. Overall, the students were well behaved.
From time to time I needed to ask a few students to put away their phones.
When students got off task I would ask them about their work or if they finished,
and quickly they got back on task. I think the biggest surprise for me was how
much students were off task at times. Im a very observant person but during
instructional time is it difficult to keep track of such a big class. Recognizing this,
I will be more prepared to get students back on task.