Early Literacy Lesson Reflection
Effective early childhood educators reflect on their instruction to grow in their professional practice. Student response, behavior, and data can all give the teacher valuable input on how a lesson went and what may need to be adjusted. Asking more experienced teachers to observe and provide feedback on lessons taught is another beneficial way to ensure you are making growth and improving your teaching.
Check out our Essay writing services
Early Literacy Lesson Reflection
Allocate at least 5 hours in the field to support this field experience.
Collaborate with your mentor teacher to review an upcoming ELA lesson that will be taught to the class or a small group of students and arrange a time for you to implement it. Teach the lesson to the class or small group. Following the lesson implementation, discuss how the lesson went and seek feedback from your mentor teacher.
Use the remaining field experience hours to assist the teacher in providing instruction and support to the class.
Following the lesson implementation and discussion with your mentor teacher, write a 250-500 word reflection that includes the following:
- A summary of the lesson you implemented including any developmentally appropriate resources/materials that were used.
- Describe how students responded to the lesson.
- Discuss the feedback you received from your mentor on what went well in the implementation and any areas for improvement.
- Discuss what you believe went well and what you would change for next time.
- Explain how you could integrate other content areas if you were to teach this lesson again.
APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is expected.
Field Experience Reflection: ELA Lesson Implementation
For this field experience, I implemented a kindergarten-level ELA lesson focusing on identifying beginning sounds in words. The lesson objective was for students to recognize and produce the initial sounds in spoken words using pictures and letter cards. I used developmentally appropriate materials including picture flashcards, a magnetic letter board, and a large chart with columns labeled by beginning consonant sounds. The lesson began with a short read-aloud of a phonics-based picture book, followed by a whole group discussion and a sorting activity using the flashcards.
Student Response
Overall, students responded positively to the lesson. They were highly engaged during the read-aloud and eager to participate in the sorting activity. Some students required additional prompting to produce the correct sound, but most were able to correctly identify beginning sounds using the visual aids. The hands-on nature of the activity seemed to support their learning and maintain interest.
Mentor Feedback
After the lesson, my mentor teacher provided feedback highlighting the strengths of the lesson. She praised my use of visuals and interactive components, noting that the sorting chart was a helpful tool for keeping students focused and reinforcing the concept. She also appreciated the pacing and my ability to manage student behavior effectively throughout the activity.
For areas of improvement, she suggested incorporating more movement for kinesthetic learners and offering a follow-up task for students who finished quickly. She also recommended checking for understanding more frequently by having students explain their choices.
Self-Reflection
I felt the lesson went smoothly and met the learning objective. I was pleased with how well the students stayed engaged and how many were able to participate meaningfully. However, I agree with my mentor that next time I would include more opportunities for physical movement, such as having students physically move to stations labeled with beginning sounds. I would also prepare an extension activity, such as a drawing or writing task, for students who complete the main activity early.
Integration of Other Content Areas
If I were to teach this lesson again, I would integrate art and science by having students sort pictures of animals or nature items based on beginning sounds and then draw and label their favorites. This would support vocabulary development, science knowledge, and fine motor skills while reinforcing the ELA objective.
