Lesson Study Explanations

Lesson Study Explanations

1. Achievement Motivation Strategies - 

There were two specific achievement motivation strategies implemented within this lesson.  Using modeling, guided practice, and additional time to scaffold students was a group of strategies that were used to ensure students achieved mastery of the content.  The students were guided through the drawing of each of the first 2 body parts on their poster together as a group so that they could understand the task at hand.  Gradually, they were scaffolded into completing the remaining parts: skeleton and muscles completely independently without teacher instruction or guidance.  Additionally, this lesson was designed to fit into one 45 minute science block but was pushed to 1 hour and 20 minutes to allow the students to complete their posters, add details that they wished and participate in the body parts song a few more time, per their request.  The additional time provided for a much more meaningful experience for the students.  Another achievement motivation strategy that was included in this lesson was the use of fun and game like activities to boost the interest level of the students.  The students were able to engage and dance with a song that is similar to those  that they hear on the radio and were allowed a great deal of freedom within the song to express themselves in a variety of ways.  The students enjoyed this part of the lesson so much that they asked to interact with the song numerous times after the lesson was completed.  Also, creating the life size body posters was also a game like activity for them.  They had a great time tracing one another and creating such a large artifact.  

1. Communication Strategies - 

During the explicit instruction and guided practice portion of the lesson, the students were able to both demonstrate knowledge and ask questions through use of the SmartBoard and interactive modules within the presentation.  They were able to come to the board to manipulate different aspects of the lesson.  They were able to verbalize their understanding as they were called on and were also able to call on a friend for assistance if they had questions that a classmate could answer.  During independent practice, through the use of two teachers, the students were able to each participate in individual conferencing to demonstrate their knowledge and clarify misconceptions.  The teachers ensured that each student was thoroughly interviewed to ensure maximum retention from all students.  The different communication strategies within this lesson allowed for the students to demonstrate their learning a variety of ways and with a variety of options.  Although some of them may have struggled with one area of communicating, the varied number of options allowed for them to excel and demonstrate learning.