Analysis of Lesson - After it was taught
I began my student teaching with a unit on African civilizations. My class had just learned about the four characteristics of civilization – surplus of food, towns and cities, government, and division of labor. Therefore, I started my unit by introducing them to the first four river valley civilizations. In particular, I wanted to explore Ancient Egyptian civilization because it has many interesting details that would entice high school students. I believe that in order to understand a place’s culture, it is imperative to understand that location’s geography. Hence, I made sure to start the unit by teaching the students how to read and label a map. After reviewing the map of Mesopotamia as a class, I broke the students up into smaller groups to apply the information that we just discussed to the map of Ancient Egypt. After about 10 minutes, we went over the information as a class. I think it was helpful to break them up into groups because the students were able to assist one another with finding the information. By working together, they could rely on one another and not have to worry about individual failure. Having a solid background of Ancient Egyptian geography allowed the next day’s lesson on Egyptian civilization to flow smoothly. This lesson fit with Pennsylvania Social Studies Curriculum standards 8.4.9 A and 8.4.9 B.
I began the day with a Do Now that reviewed the previous class’s lesson. Students were asked to write down and explain what they believed was the most important geographical feature of Ancient Egypt. I collected the students’ work and reviewed the answers in class. This allowed me to informally and formally assess whether they had learned the previous material. In class, the students were able to answer that the Nile River was Egypt’s key geographical feature because it allowed for irrigation and a surplus of food, which then led to civilization. I noticed however, that although they eventually got the right answer, I frequently had to probe at their answers and ask them further questions to reach the complete response. This corresponded to their written Do Nows. Most of the students were able to identify that the rivers were important because they gave people food, but they did not state which river or describe exactly how the river allowed civilization to develop.
After reviewing the Do Now, I told the students that we would be learning about how the 6 key historical terms, which the students had discussed at length in the previous unit, apply to Ancient Egyptian society. I told the students that they would be taking notes on a graphic organizer, instead of the usual outlines. I wanted to expose them to different ways of taking notes and thought it would help students who prefer a visual image to simple words. In this way, my lesson was geared towards diverse learners. At first, the students were slightly confused about how to use the graphic organize. Yet, as the lesson moved, they became more comfortable with it. Nevertheless, throughout the lesson, I was stopped several times when the students asked which box they should be writing in. When this happened, I tried to get them to answer their own question and I hope that in the future, this way of thinking will become almost automatic.
The body of lesson consisted mainly of different images of Ancient Egyptian society. I wanted students to analyze the graphics and determine what life was like in Ancient Egypt. This also allowed me to accommodate diverse learners, who may not be able to read large amounts of words or those who prefer analyzing images to copying notes. In order to discuss political and religious life, I showed the students a picture of a pharaoh. Multiple students shared their interpretation and they concluded that the Ancient Egyptians worshipped their pharaohs like a god and that they were very wealthy. I was impressed by the students’ ability to have a high level discussion with one another and that many students participated in the conversation! I also took this opportunity to teach students new terms, such as polytheism and theocracy so that they can increase their vocabulary.
To describe the social classes in Ancient Egypt, I put an image on the board. We then went through each category and students discussed what they thought the jobs of each group entailed. The high levels of thinking that were exhibited by the students again impressed me. For example, when talking about the scribes, I asked what else we could know about Egyptian society based on the fact that they were recording information. The students correctly answered paper and a writing system. This led into a discussion on hieroglyphics and the Rosetta Stone. During the lesson, I thought that it was obvious that I generally had a strong command of the subject material. However, when talking about the Rosetta Stone, I forgot the 3rd language that was written on it, aside from Greek and hieroglyphics. Instead of panicking, I continued through the lesson and the students were not able to pick up on the small fumble. In the future, I should make sure to have the details written somewhere handy so I can access them easily during the lesson. Nevertheless, I still think that the lesson was a great success.
Perhaps my favorite moment of the lesson was when students began to discuss –on their own! - whether Ancient Egypt should be considered a civilization. One student said that because Egypt was full of sand and not like the cities that we have today, it shouldn’t be considered civilized. I was ecstatic when other students immediately raised their hands to refute her point and used the information from the class to demonstrate that Egypt was in fact civilized. They supported their point based on the social classes and cultural achievements/inventions of Ancient Egypt. Eventually, the students together reached the conclusion that Ancient Egypt did qualify as a civilization. Another interesting point occurred when the same student who questioned me about Egypt being a civilization, asked me to show her what Egypt is like today. I quickly adapted my lesson plan and used Google Images to show her pictures of Egypt and how it has streets just like America. She then realized that she had a misconception of Egypt and was glad to clear it up. I am happy that I can adapt to different situations and help my students learn about the topics that interest them.
At the end of the lesson, I reviewed the content that we had covered, as well as key vocabulary terms that had been mentioned. I want my students to begin using more sophisticated words and hope that by the end of the unit they will be more familiar with important words. I also hope to give my students the tools to think critically. I do not want them to simply read the textbook for homework and memorize rote facts in class. I want them to become a part of the learning process that occurs in the classroom. By making the content relevant and exciting to them, the students will hopefully stay as involved as they were in this lesson. I also hope to be able to engage even more of the class in my next lessons. I believe that the lesson was truly student-focused and would not have played out in the same way without their involvement. I was pleased with how it turned out.
I began the day with a Do Now that reviewed the previous class’s lesson. Students were asked to write down and explain what they believed was the most important geographical feature of Ancient Egypt. I collected the students’ work and reviewed the answers in class. This allowed me to informally and formally assess whether they had learned the previous material. In class, the students were able to answer that the Nile River was Egypt’s key geographical feature because it allowed for irrigation and a surplus of food, which then led to civilization. I noticed however, that although they eventually got the right answer, I frequently had to probe at their answers and ask them further questions to reach the complete response. This corresponded to their written Do Nows. Most of the students were able to identify that the rivers were important because they gave people food, but they did not state which river or describe exactly how the river allowed civilization to develop.
After reviewing the Do Now, I told the students that we would be learning about how the 6 key historical terms, which the students had discussed at length in the previous unit, apply to Ancient Egyptian society. I told the students that they would be taking notes on a graphic organizer, instead of the usual outlines. I wanted to expose them to different ways of taking notes and thought it would help students who prefer a visual image to simple words. In this way, my lesson was geared towards diverse learners. At first, the students were slightly confused about how to use the graphic organize. Yet, as the lesson moved, they became more comfortable with it. Nevertheless, throughout the lesson, I was stopped several times when the students asked which box they should be writing in. When this happened, I tried to get them to answer their own question and I hope that in the future, this way of thinking will become almost automatic.
The body of lesson consisted mainly of different images of Ancient Egyptian society. I wanted students to analyze the graphics and determine what life was like in Ancient Egypt. This also allowed me to accommodate diverse learners, who may not be able to read large amounts of words or those who prefer analyzing images to copying notes. In order to discuss political and religious life, I showed the students a picture of a pharaoh. Multiple students shared their interpretation and they concluded that the Ancient Egyptians worshipped their pharaohs like a god and that they were very wealthy. I was impressed by the students’ ability to have a high level discussion with one another and that many students participated in the conversation! I also took this opportunity to teach students new terms, such as polytheism and theocracy so that they can increase their vocabulary.
To describe the social classes in Ancient Egypt, I put an image on the board. We then went through each category and students discussed what they thought the jobs of each group entailed. The high levels of thinking that were exhibited by the students again impressed me. For example, when talking about the scribes, I asked what else we could know about Egyptian society based on the fact that they were recording information. The students correctly answered paper and a writing system. This led into a discussion on hieroglyphics and the Rosetta Stone. During the lesson, I thought that it was obvious that I generally had a strong command of the subject material. However, when talking about the Rosetta Stone, I forgot the 3rd language that was written on it, aside from Greek and hieroglyphics. Instead of panicking, I continued through the lesson and the students were not able to pick up on the small fumble. In the future, I should make sure to have the details written somewhere handy so I can access them easily during the lesson. Nevertheless, I still think that the lesson was a great success.
Perhaps my favorite moment of the lesson was when students began to discuss –on their own! - whether Ancient Egypt should be considered a civilization. One student said that because Egypt was full of sand and not like the cities that we have today, it shouldn’t be considered civilized. I was ecstatic when other students immediately raised their hands to refute her point and used the information from the class to demonstrate that Egypt was in fact civilized. They supported their point based on the social classes and cultural achievements/inventions of Ancient Egypt. Eventually, the students together reached the conclusion that Ancient Egypt did qualify as a civilization. Another interesting point occurred when the same student who questioned me about Egypt being a civilization, asked me to show her what Egypt is like today. I quickly adapted my lesson plan and used Google Images to show her pictures of Egypt and how it has streets just like America. She then realized that she had a misconception of Egypt and was glad to clear it up. I am happy that I can adapt to different situations and help my students learn about the topics that interest them.
At the end of the lesson, I reviewed the content that we had covered, as well as key vocabulary terms that had been mentioned. I want my students to begin using more sophisticated words and hope that by the end of the unit they will be more familiar with important words. I also hope to give my students the tools to think critically. I do not want them to simply read the textbook for homework and memorize rote facts in class. I want them to become a part of the learning process that occurs in the classroom. By making the content relevant and exciting to them, the students will hopefully stay as involved as they were in this lesson. I also hope to be able to engage even more of the class in my next lessons. I believe that the lesson was truly student-focused and would not have played out in the same way without their involvement. I was pleased with how it turned out.