model lesson help needed asap

ilovethecold

Mon, Mar 17 2014, 8:38 pm

Hi all-

I have been out of work for some time and am going to do my first model lesson in a while. To say I am nervous and anxious is a huge understatement. I need an incredible English lesson I can model within a 40 minute time slot to a mixed-gender, 8th grade ELA class.

Just in case you were wondering, I am so nervous I could puke.

mummiedearest

Mon, Mar 17 2014, 9:06 pm

any more details you can give us? I assume you don't want to give a grammar lesson. you want to do something that will capture the kids' attention/generate discussion.

bamba

Mon, Mar 17 2014, 9:07 pm

I camt think of anything off the top ofvmy head but wanna wish u good luck I know how it feels...:-)

justcallmeima

Mon, Mar 17 2014, 9:10 pm

Google is your friend.

morah

Mon, Mar 17 2014, 9:13 pm

I would do either a poem- since that's short enough to do in a single shot- or bring in an interesting op-ed to get a discussion going (while you slip in a little something about how to craft a rhetorical argument).

Happy18

Mon, Mar 17 2014, 9:15 pm

I second the poetry idea.

nyer1

Mon, Mar 17 2014, 9:16 pm

Is this for nyc schools? If yes...

Whatever u do, make sure it's common core aligned. Look up the standards

Look up depth of knowledge ... Aim for categories 3 and 4

Don't waste any time. Seamless transitions are key

ilovethecold

Mon, Mar 17 2014, 9:28 pm

OP here. Ok, poem suggestions? And no, it's a private NJ Jewish school.

oliveoil

Mon, Mar 17 2014, 9:46 pm

Honestly, if you can't even come up with a decent model lesson, are you sure it's the job for you?

Frenchfry

Mon, Mar 17 2014, 10:40 pm

Is the school giving you any parameters?

By the way, having a hard time coming up with a model lesson, doesn't mean you won't be an amazing teacher. I've been teaching 15 years, but if o had to prepare something so open ended, I'd be stumped.

mummiedearest

Mon, Mar 17 2014, 10:51 pm

poem suggestion? I like "coconut."

http://www.paulhostovsky.com/p......html

Volunteer

Tue, Mar 18 2014, 12:09 am

oliveoil wrote:

Honestly, if you can't even come up with a decent model lesson, are you sure it's the job for you?

Actually, planning a model lesson is very difficult. Two vital parts of effective lesson planning are knowing your audience, and knowing what exact goals you want the learners to achieve. In a model lesson, you almost definitely do not know your audience at all. Also, the class also knows that you are not their regular teacher, nor are you a regular sub, so they may be unsure of what is really expected of them. Since you're just dropping into a classroom mid-year, you can't know what the class has or has not learned already, or what the regular classroom routines are. Sometimes principals are quite fuzzy about what they want you to do with the class, and without that anchor, you feel like you're just picking topics at random. Worse, some principals seem to think that's a good thing, as if that setup is a better test of your educational skills, which it is not. Learning is not a random process. In my experience as a classroom and individual teacher of a range of ages, when a lesson seems too random to kids, they have a hard time getting involved.

To the OP:
I have always tried to contact the regular teacher well before the lesson, and ask questions about what the class is learning. That way, you can introduce something to them that is connected to their regular lessons. The kids respond much more when there is context. If you don't know who the teacher is now, ask the principal, or vice principal if he or she is nice. They should understand exactly why you are asking if you explain that you want to help the students learn something meaningful with you, and a canned lesson dropped out of thin air will not be as effective. It will show that you take your job as an educator seriously.
Best wishes!

seeker

Tue, Mar 18 2014, 1:15 am

I would have responded, but Volunteer already basically said everything I was thinking. Model lessons are SO much more anxiety-provoking than any normal one, including a performance review observation - at least there you know your kids!

My only additional bit of advice is don't bother with anything too fancy. Rather go with SOLID. Obviously, you don't want it to be boring, but you can make it interesting with an interesting topic and interesting literary selection - not an elaborate activity or circus act, if you know what I mean. They want to see that you can construct a solid NORMAL lesson plan, and they are also looking at your general demeanor and clarity of presentation - they are not looking to be wowed with some awesome creative activity. If you are a creative person and wish to highlight that, do it in small ways by injecting creative anecdotes or mnemonics or something into an overall NORMAL lesson.

Another bit of comfort: I have found that students generally behave for model lessons. The principal is right there and even if they are aware that they are not the ones being observed, they STILL want to be on something near their best behavior. There will almost always be good engagement because there are almost always some kids who just want to impress you. They likely have only a vague idea of what you're there for, or maybe their natural instinct is to make a favorable first impression. lol. Don't worry if they've already learned what you're teaching; they will have plenty to share and then you can be the effusively praising lovely nurturing teacher persona! Plan for a LOWER level than you expect because the only disaster would be if nobody in the whole class comprehends any of your poem or passage. If you do a poem, go for something thought-provoking but written in plain English. You don't want the blank stares. Too easy would be much less of a problem.

Good luck!

(P.S. another benefit to asking the teacher is that they won't have to worry as much about the wasted time. If they're hosting a lot of applicants for the same position, they are probably getting annoyed about that!)

wifeandmore

Tue, Mar 18 2014, 1:22 am

Maybe analyzing a dr Seuss book and having them come up with something on their own for the last ten minutes (his style... A lesson to be learned, his style rhymes, made up words) but don't know if there time for that

ilovethecold

Tue, Mar 18 2014, 8:31 am

OP here again. I really appreciate all your help, everyone.

To the imamother who suggested that perhaps this job isn't the right "fit"- I would have to disagree with you. That is the entire point of not only the interview with the school (to check them out as much as they are checking into me) but also this entire imamother forum (hence the title "Teacher's Room").

nyer1

Tue, Mar 18 2014, 8:52 am

well now that I think about it.. take a look at 'depth of knowledge' anyway. it gives great ideas for higher level thinking, which would lend itself great to activities dealing with poetry. good luck!