Post-Reflection

Now that all of the work is done, all I can say is "whew." That was a lot of work, but I learned so much from it at the same time. I really enjoyed working on this unit plan and had a lot of fun exploring things. Although I did not lay out all of the small details, like the worksheets I would use with the students, I was afraid of bogging down the unit plan with minor details. Using the worksheets would be another way to assess my students and their knowledge of historical fiction, as well as the their knowledge about the book. I wanted to leave space on the unit plan for all of the large assignments that I would like to accomplish with my students. I feel as though the assignments that I did create could not only be further expanded on over time as I found new resources to use with my students, but could also inspire additional lessons as I work with my students.

I think one thing that was somewhat difficult for me was not actually being able to implement or try these lessons out now. I think it would have been great if I could have taken the lessons I created and tried them out with students, so that I could tweak them even further if I did not like the way they work. However, when I do get the chance to implement this unit plan, I at least have a jumping off point.

Although I enjoyed working with Kirsten, I still would have liked to have worked with an actual classroom teacher. It would have been great to get their input and get their perspective on what I could have done for a historical fiction unit plan. On the other end of that though is the fact that all of the work would have fallen on my shoulders mostly so it was nice to share that responsibility with another person.

As my classmates go on and evaluate the unit plan, I am left with several questions. One: did I include everything that I could have included? Two: is there something that would have worked better than historical fiction? Three: is this really a unit plan that someone could use? Four: when will be the chance I get to use this unit plan? Finally, what did I learn from this experience? The first three questions are not really questions that someone can answer. I am a perfectionist and therefore, I don't know if I will ever be completely satisfied with my work without getting the chance to implement it. In regards to the fourth question, I can only hope that one day soon I can put this unit plan in motion in my own classroom. For the final question, I think I learned a lot, not only about myself, but about working with others. I learned that I am more than capable of completing a unit plan, and one that I can be proud of. I learned that I really do enjoy language arts and all the different things you can do with literature. I relearned that I do have a tendency to procrastinate at times, but when push comes to shove, I will put 110% into my work and get it done, and done well. Finally, I learned that working with another person can be hard, especially when not given the chance to see one another in class. I do much better at partner work when I can work one-on-one with another person. However, I discovered that I can be successful at working through emails.

In conclusion, this has been a great experience. I can't wait to get the chance to create a unit plan again, hopefully next time will be the time I get to actually use the unit plan!!