Name: Chandni Fisher Date of Reflection: 5/25/2026
TFE 800.71 Teacher of Record Field Experiences Reflection Questions
In this field-based experience, you will reflect on your teaching of a unit or group of lessons over five days. The
reflections should capture the trajectory of the five days and the unique ways each day played out. Each day represents
five hours of instruction.
Day 1 5/4/2026
Describe your first day teaching the lesson. How did you introduce the lesson? What specific things did you do in class to
prepare students for their initial engagement with the lesson?
We began the lesson with a warm-up preassessment: “What is a theme?” I read the question aloud and gave
students time to think. Then, I presented answer choices and read them aloud. Students used think-pair-share to
reflect on their ideas, and some shared examples from their favorite movies or books. Next, they paired with an
elbow partner to share their definition of the theme. Each student had 30 seconds. After the pairs discussed, we
shared their ideas as a class and reviewed the answer choices. Together, we eliminated two options and
discussed why they were incorrect. Building on the discussion, I gave students 5 minutes to choose between the
final two answers and write them on their desks. Those who answered correctly got a smiley face. Others had a
conference with me to discuss their answer and learn why the correct option was right. Students not in
conference watched a short video about themes using familiar movies. While watching, they wrote the
definition and one example from the video, completing the activity in journals or using a graphic organizer with
sentence stems like “Theme is…” and “An example of theme is….” Next, we created individual anchor charts.
Students used posters and markers to write the definition, matched theme examples to books or movies, and
glued them in their journal, or read their favorite books and created their own theme using evidence from the
text. Students had 20 minutes to share anchor charts with partners. Each partner had 10 minutes to teach about
the theme, keywords, and examples. While presenting, the other partner took notes in a graphic organizer or
journal. After this, we discussed common themes and keywords. Then, we added common themes such as
friendship, perseverance, honesty, hope, and courage to anchor charts. I read a short poem called "The
Crossover” by Kwame Alexander. Afterward, we watched a video reference, and students took notes or drew
their interpretations. We listened to an audio version featuring two student volunteers who acted out each
character’s point of view. Students then did a four-station rotation; each station lasted 25 minutes, with 5-
minute transitions. The first station was a movie station, where students watched clips, identified the theme of
each, and then gave three explanations. The second was a theme match station, using task cards to match story
summaries, pictures, and actions to themes. Students also created their own match cards for enrichment. After
these stations, students took a 10-minute brain break with a game. I displayed short stories and pictures.
Students identified the theme using the four corners. Then we resumed stations. The third station was an art
station. Students drew a theme comic strip, made a poster, or illustrated a life lesson for a classmate or sibling
using prompts like “It’s good to be honest,” “What does courage look like?” and “What does a good friendship
look like?” The fourth station was a read-and-response station. I read short stories with students. We discussed
the theme and used a highlighter to mark evidence. At the end of class, students discussed their favorite station
using the sentence stem: “My favorite station was …. because…” and “One theme I learned was…”
Day 2 5/5/2026
Think about your classroom environment. Describe the classroom set up in detail. How do the students interact with the
classroom itself (the seating arrangement and assignments, the anchor charts/posters/wall decorations, the
supplemental learning materials, etc.)? In what ways did the environment help or hinder the students’ engagement with
the lesson? The classroom was structured to support students’ collaboration, movement, and engagement.
Students sat in pairs with their elbow partner, had opportunities to participate in think-pair-share and
collaborative learning opportunities by forming their own partnerships, and participated in small groups during
stations and conferences. The heterogeneous seating arrangement also allowed students of different academic
levels to easily transition between independent, partner, and whole-group activities.
TFE 800.71 Teacher of Record Field Experiences Reflection Questions
In this field-based experience, you will reflect on your teaching of a unit or group of lessons over five days. The
reflections should capture the trajectory of the five days and the unique ways each day played out. Each day represents
five hours of instruction.
Day 1 5/4/2026
Describe your first day teaching the lesson. How did you introduce the lesson? What specific things did you do in class to
prepare students for their initial engagement with the lesson?
We began the lesson with a warm-up preassessment: “What is a theme?” I read the question aloud and gave
students time to think. Then, I presented answer choices and read them aloud. Students used think-pair-share to
reflect on their ideas, and some shared examples from their favorite movies or books. Next, they paired with an
elbow partner to share their definition of the theme. Each student had 30 seconds. After the pairs discussed, we
shared their ideas as a class and reviewed the answer choices. Together, we eliminated two options and
discussed why they were incorrect. Building on the discussion, I gave students 5 minutes to choose between the
final two answers and write them on their desks. Those who answered correctly got a smiley face. Others had a
conference with me to discuss their answer and learn why the correct option was right. Students not in
conference watched a short video about themes using familiar movies. While watching, they wrote the
definition and one example from the video, completing the activity in journals or using a graphic organizer with
sentence stems like “Theme is…” and “An example of theme is….” Next, we created individual anchor charts.
Students used posters and markers to write the definition, matched theme examples to books or movies, and
glued them in their journal, or read their favorite books and created their own theme using evidence from the
text. Students had 20 minutes to share anchor charts with partners. Each partner had 10 minutes to teach about
the theme, keywords, and examples. While presenting, the other partner took notes in a graphic organizer or
journal. After this, we discussed common themes and keywords. Then, we added common themes such as
friendship, perseverance, honesty, hope, and courage to anchor charts. I read a short poem called "The
Crossover” by Kwame Alexander. Afterward, we watched a video reference, and students took notes or drew
their interpretations. We listened to an audio version featuring two student volunteers who acted out each
character’s point of view. Students then did a four-station rotation; each station lasted 25 minutes, with 5-
minute transitions. The first station was a movie station, where students watched clips, identified the theme of
each, and then gave three explanations. The second was a theme match station, using task cards to match story
summaries, pictures, and actions to themes. Students also created their own match cards for enrichment. After
these stations, students took a 10-minute brain break with a game. I displayed short stories and pictures.
Students identified the theme using the four corners. Then we resumed stations. The third station was an art
station. Students drew a theme comic strip, made a poster, or illustrated a life lesson for a classmate or sibling
using prompts like “It’s good to be honest,” “What does courage look like?” and “What does a good friendship
look like?” The fourth station was a read-and-response station. I read short stories with students. We discussed
the theme and used a highlighter to mark evidence. At the end of class, students discussed their favorite station
using the sentence stem: “My favorite station was …. because…” and “One theme I learned was…”
Day 2 5/5/2026
Think about your classroom environment. Describe the classroom set up in detail. How do the students interact with the
classroom itself (the seating arrangement and assignments, the anchor charts/posters/wall decorations, the
supplemental learning materials, etc.)? In what ways did the environment help or hinder the students’ engagement with
the lesson? The classroom was structured to support students’ collaboration, movement, and engagement.
Students sat in pairs with their elbow partner, had opportunities to participate in think-pair-share and
collaborative learning opportunities by forming their own partnerships, and participated in small groups during
stations and conferences. The heterogeneous seating arrangement also allowed students of different academic
levels to easily transition between independent, partner, and whole-group activities.
