Phase 1: Reflection on Creating Acrostic Poem Micro Lesson

Assessing Prior Knowledge:

Prior knowledge will be informally assessed at the beginning of the lesson. The teacher will prompt a class discussion on acrostic poems, asking the students what they know and showing them examples. From this class discussion, I expect to gather information regarding the students' knowledge of acrostic poems. This information will be useful in planning and adapting my lesson to the needs of the class. I can modify the lesson by spending more or less time where it is necessary. I can also use the differentiated instruction suggestions listed in my lesson plan, for remediation and enrichment.

Instruction Plans:

The objective and expected outcome of the lesson are clearly stated in my lesson plan. The objective is appropriate for the intended second grade learners. The expected outcome is discussed in the procedures of the lesson plan and in the rubric attached. It is based on an Arizona Academic Language Arts Standard for second grade writing applications.

Designing Instruction:

The lesson plan I created is contextually and logically organized. This lesson plan is part of a larger unit on poetry. The lesson process is as follows: we discuss what we know as a class, we learn new information together, we practice as a whole group, review what we've learned, practice individually, and finally publish and share our work. I will meet the needs of individual students by implementing differentiated instruction. For example, allowing a student who struggles to use a dictionary, or a student who needs enrichment, the opportunity to create a story around their poem. Students will practice using higher order thinking skills in creating their own acrostic poems. The technology integration for this lesson is an acrostic poem creator found at readwritethink.org. As research recommends, students use the technology in an interactive manner.

Discuss how your instructional design:

My lesson plan does not specifically address safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology. Nor does it specifically address digital etiquette and responsible social interactions. However, prior to this lesson students will be informed of proper Internet use and expected to practice it continuously. As it is necessary, I will remind and review with students how to properly use the Internet. This instructional design is built to meet the diverse needs of students in the way that suggested accommodations for differentiated instruction are included. The strategies are learner-centered in the way that prior knowledge is considered and each student uses the acrostic poem interactive to create their own. Equitable access is supported in the way that every student in the class will use a computer and the Internet to build their acrostic poem. This lesson plan does not address digital-age communication and global awareness.

Planning Assessment:

I will assess each student's final product, an acrostic poem. This assessment will demonstrate the performance of each student in relation to the objective: Students will be able to create an acrostic poem with the following criteria: proper format, their name or nickname as the base word, extending words beginning with the appropriate letter, and correct spelling. I created a detailed rubric (found below) to help effectively and consistently assess each individual student. Again, higher order thinking is supported in the way that students are assessed on their own original creative writing.  

Sample final product: