Unit+Reflection


 * Unit Reflection**

Planning this social studies unit on how communities changed has been an authentic learning experience for not only my student but for me as well. Creating the activities, worksheets, resources and accounting for behavior and time management needs, gave me a much better idea of the work and preparation teaching in my own class will require. Flexible planning and daily reflections were two areas that I focused on in order to grow from this experience. While this unit was organized and created by Howard County I revamped the entire unit. I did stick to the core curriculum requirements and standards for second grade social studies. I found that reworking the document repository lessons was necessary not only to meet the requirements for this assignment but also critical in order to meet the needs of **all** of my learners.

Technology integration and differentiation were two areas I aimed to incorporate. I was able to integrate technology into the majority of my lessons. Using new software programs such as kidspiration was one way to make learning engaging for the class. Every worksheet created for this unit was differentiated for multiple reasons. Some were altered based on handwriting ability and others required matching/gluing instead of note-taking. These areas were developed strongly and contributed to the success of this unit.

Throughout the lessons I was observing and making mental notes of student learning. The class seemed engaged and eager to learn about changing communities. It was not until the post-tests were graded that I realized how successful this unit has been. Every student improved his or her assessment score. While success cannot be measured by testing alone, I was pleased with the connections student made and their ability to grasp essential concepts relating to changing communities.

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