Running head: ENGAGING AND INTERACTING WITH STUDENTS 1

Engaging and Interacting with Students

Laura Crispin
OTL502- Learning Theories and Modules of Instruction
Colorado State University Global Campus
Nella B. Anderson, PhD
August 31, 2014









ENGAGING AND INTERACTING WITH STUDENTS 2
Engaging and Interacting with Students
In this assignment, we are asked to implement the strategies from item 5 and 6 in The 12
Touchstones of Good Thinking (Goodwin & Hubbell, 2013), which explains in great detail how to engage
and interact with students. Through the reading, I picked up so many great ideas on how to grab students
attention from the beginning of the lesson. Furthermore, asking the right questions is an idea that really
stuck out to me. Dean, Pitler, and Stone (2012) stated that asking the right questions at the beginning of a
lesson can spark students interest and curiosity and focus them on whats important (not just novel)
about what they are about to learn. Keeping students engaged can be a difficult task to do; however, if I
implement the right strategies and techniques it can be done. As a preschool teacher, I have noticed that
visuals are the best way to grab the attention of preschoolers. Younger students love tangible objects that
they can see, touch, and hear. Therefore, using visuals during my lesson will be a way that I will hook my
students from the start.
During my student teaching, I remember my advisor giving me this advice, she said, If your
students dont like you, they will not learn from you. It is difficult to develop relationships with students
if we dont interact with them (Goodwin & Hubbell, 2013). This statement is so true. Our students need
to know we care about them, are there to support them, and are there for them. This is why small group
and one-on-one conferences are good for teacher/student interactions. Our students have to know that
their educational pathway is valued by their teacher. Often, as educators, we have to know our students
on a personal level and when they observe this kind of relationship, their motivation of learning will
increase.
Critical Thinking: Module 4
With this assignment, I have included a detail lesson plan that I will follow during week 7. The
goal of this lesson is to pull the Big Idea out of the standard which will help students understand and
ENGAGING AND INTERACTING WITH STUDENTS 3
master the concepts of this lesson.
Maintaining Healthy Bodies in Preschool
Stage 1 Expected Results
Content Standard:
Comprehensive Health: Develop self-management skills and personal hygiene skills to promote healthy
habits (Unit of Academic Standards-Colorado Academic Standards, 2008).
Understandings:
Students will understand and identify.
How we keep our hands clean.
When should we wash our hands?
Why should we cover our sneeze/cough.
How to cover their sneeze/cough.
How not to sneeze in the air.
An awareness of healthy habits such as
using a clean tissue and disposing of it
correctly.
How to demonstrate what good hygiene
look like (hand washing, cover our
sneeze/cough, clean tissue).
Essential Questions:
How can we maintain a healthy body with
hand washing?
How can we prevent germs from
spreading?
What if nobody washed their hands?
In our environment, where can germs land?
Student Objectives:
Students will know and be able to.
Identify when to wash their hands.
Demonstrate how to wash their hands
Students will build relationships by.
Cooperative working during center time.
During small groups.

ENGAGING AND INTERACTING WITH STUDENTS 4
correctly.
Cover their sneeze and cough the correct
way to prevent germs from flying in air.
Locate Kleenex boxes within the classroom.
Get a tissue, wipe/blow their nose, dispose
of the tissue in the trash can.

During large groups.

Stage 2- Assessment Aligned to Content Standard
Performance Task (s):
The goal of this lesson is to help students understand when and how to wash their hands correctly,
how to prevent germs from flying in the air, and disposing of dirty Kleenex tissue paper.
The students will take part in a hand washing lesson that will come with visuals to ensure that they
are washing their hands correctly.
Alongside their teacher, the students will participate in a lesson on how to cover their
sneeze/cough.
The students will be assessed through the rubric that was created and through the K-W-L chart.
The K-W-L chart is a continuation of Week 2, during this time, Week 7; we will add what we
learn to the chart, focusing on our essential questions.
Self-Assessments:

Students are a given a visual to follow.
Adding more details to the K-W-L chart.
Teacher will give positive feedback during
participation.
Drop a cotton ball in the jar for progress.

Other Assessments:

Anecdotal Notes- taking personal and
group observations.
Singing songs/finger plays related to the
lesson.
Reading stories related to the lesson.


Differentiated Assessment Approaches:

Modification will be made for students with IEPs
and English Language Learners. Visuals, tangibles
ENGAGING AND INTERACTING WITH STUDENTS 5
as well as translation of speech will be provided for
those students who need extra support in
understanding and clarification.
Stage 3- Learning Plan: Aligned to Content Standard and Assessments

Learning Activities:

K-W-L Chart-Essential Questions.
Small Groups- participating in the hand washing activity/singing hand washing song.
Participation in how to dispose of our Kleenex properly.
Large Groups- Cooperative learning on how to cover our sneeze and cough/singing songs related.
Appling dryer lint to a hand to represent germs.
Listening to stories related to our lesson.
Dressing up in germ costumes/expresses how does it feel to have a germ on your body.
Observing what happens to germs when we apply soap to our hands.
Revisit our K-W-L chart to write down what we have learning and are learning.
Stage 4: Feedback Strategies
Students will know what they need to improve and work towards by.

Viewing K-W-L Chart
Observing their performance during the learning activities.

Step One: Ways to re-engage students every 10 minutes.
Throughout the day, I will engage students by showing visuals such as pictures demonstrating
when to wash your hands. The students will manipulate these visuals on an interactive board and during
this lesson, the students will have the opportunity to choose from visuals related to the lesson concept and
not related. The goal of their participation is to observe which students understands the concept of when
ENGAGING AND INTERACTING WITH STUDENTS 6
and why we should wash our hands. Furthermore, to ensure the students understand the process of
washing their hands correctly, we will sing a fun song related to hand washing. During this process, I
will have a visual of the hand washing steps, which will allow the students to refer to during this activity.
In addition, the students will participate in an activity that will help them understand how to prevent the
spread of germs. During work stations, the students will observe what happens to germs when we apply
soap to our hands, we will read books related to germs and observe germs that rest on our hands. We will
add our learning to our K-W-L chart.
Step Two: Offer students a choice.
In a preschool classroom, there are many choices. During our open station time, the students will
have the opportunity to engage in activities centered on this lesson which will increase their
understanding of our lesson. For example:
Science- the students will observe what happens to germs when we apply soap to our hands.
Listening Station- the students will listen to a story called, Germs are not for Sharing (Verdick, 2006).
Art Station- the students will work as a group, gluing dryer lint onto a big hand to represent germs that
we have on our hands.
Sensory Table- the students will be reminded to wash their hands before entering the water table, sand
table, and play dough zone. Prior to dismissing the students into stations, the teacher will discuss the
importance of washing your hands before entering these stations.
Dramatic Play Station- the students will have 2 to 4 germ costumes to put on and pretend to be germs.
Library Station: books related to germs and hand washing.
During choice time, I will document the students progress and understanding as well as areas I will still
ENGAGING AND INTERACTING WITH STUDENTS 7
need to focus on.
Step Three: Identify how you will explicitly align the skills being taught with real-world relevancy.
Staying healthy is a habit that everyone has to practice outside of 4 walls. Furthermore, there are
several ways to explicitly align the skills to real life situations. In preschool, one of our goals is to
include our parents in on what we are discussing in class. Through a newsletter, parents will be given
activities and strategies to work on at home as well. Parents that need visuals will be provided visuals to
use at home. In addition to aligning the skills to real-life situations, I will ask the students What are
some things you can do at home to stay healthy and clean? Parents will be provided with a copy of a
Wash Your Hands After. form to work on these strategies at home. This form will include washing
your hands after playing with animals, using the bathroom, sneezing, blowing your nose and coughing,
touch a cut or open sore, playing outside, as well as before/after you eat. Furthermore, there will be
ample amount of opportunities for parents to instill healthy practices at home.
Step Four: Opportunities to interact with students.
As a preschool teacher, our main goal is to interact with all students. Interactions start as soon as
the students walk through that door. Upon entering the classroom, I will greet students with a hand shake,
fist pump, hug, or high-five (their choice). After greeting, students are reminded to wash their hands after
putting their things away. I will interact with students during large group, during small group and on an
individual basis. During work stations, I will walk around the room, observing and asking questions
related to our current lesson. Circulating around the room will give me the opportunity to notice students
who may need more understanding, students that has mastered the learning goals, and students that may
need a greater challenge.

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References
Dean, C., Hubbell, E., Pitler, H., & Stone, B. (2012). Classroom instruction that works (2
nd
ed.).
Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Goodwin, B. & Hubbell, E. (2013). The 12 touchstones of good teaching. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Unit of Academic-Colorado Academic Standards. (2008). New Colorado P-12 Academic Standards.
Retrieved from http://www.2cde.state.co.us/scripts/allstandards/COStandards.asp.
Verdick, E. (2006). Germs are not for sharing. Free Spirit Publishing, Minneapolis, MN.