Teaching Direct Instruction Lesson to fifth grade students.

Preparing to teach Direct Instruction is a lot of prepared and practiced work. Direct Instruction is more of teaching the topic so students can gain the full understanding of the lesson. During Direct Instruction, my group and I provided a prepared powerpoint that we had taught to the students. Each slide of the powerpoint was well prepared with different parts of the lesson, "Changes in the Ecosystem." During our lesson, we made sure to stop at every few slides to let the children ponder and think about what they had just learned. Also, during Direct Instruction, we had made sure we provided different quick activities to keep the students engaged and focused. We included different guided practice activities the students took part in. At the end of the lesson, we had given the students a word match worksheet. During this practice, students were able to match the correct vocabulary word to the correct definition. The preparation for Direct Instruction is a long and steady process. Details have to be precise and you really cannot leave anything out. For Direct Instruction, all parts are essential for the student's learning. After much practice and reviewing my group and I had become more confident in what we were preparing and teaching for the students. I feel review and practice on what you are going to be teaching is essential. You as a teacher should always know what you are teaching so the student's will know as well. Practice does make perfect and it will make you more confident while teaching. Also, during Direct Instruction, do not forget to allow the children to stop and ponder! This will help them collect their thoughts and keep them on the right track.