Use+in+future+teaching

Teacher makes a few specific suggestions of what could be tried another time the lesson is taught.
 * Proficient Descriptor:**

Handwriting Lesson- Instead of expecting all students to complete the same handwriting worksheet I could modify the task for two of my students who are proficient in joined writing. The modified activity would be to write a paragraph in their journal using the words from the handwriting worksheet using joined handwriting.

Handwriting Worksheet Journal

Adjectives- Students are given candy to taste and think of words to describe the taste of their candy. Instead of just having students work individually and come up with as many adjectives to describe the taste of their candy we will do this as a class. Students share a word they think of to describe their candy and I write it on the board. Once we have a good collection of adjectives students will copy the adjective from the whiteboard along with the adjectives they came up with and write it on a shape of a candy made out of construction paper.

Candy

//Reflection //
My first year of teaching handwriting I found myself in a situation where some of my students had exceeded the expectations for handwriting. The lesson took about 20 minutes as students were required to write the 16 words four times each. We had 16 words because spelling and handwriting had to be done together. This in itself was a real struggle for me to not only teach students spelling words as well as have them focus on their handwriting. So on some occassion we would simply focus on one or two spelling patterns which also became their spelling words. My second year of teaching I was fully convinced through some research and talking with my peers that trying to teach 16 new words as well as joined writing with the same was outrageous. Now I use a patttern to teach joined writing and do spelling seperately. I also adapt the lesson for some of my students who already know how to do joined writing. I also remember that in my first year of teaching I did not do a very good job in recording and keeping a file of activities I had done that worked better for a lesson so now I keep a file I can refer to for ideas for a lesson that worked.