Educational Context
I am currently completing my student teaching at P.S. 290 in Manhattan. The school is located on the Upper East Side on 82nd street. The school is small, there are 646 students total in the school. It is a progressive school where the students call teachers and administrators by their first names. This is my least favorite aspect of the school because I feel as though it creates a lack of respect between the students and the adults in the school. Recently, the students have been talking back and showing disrespect toward the adults in the class and I believe it is due to the school culture.
The class that I am student teaching in is a third-grade ICT classroom. Although I am not in a special education program, I believe this placement was very beneficial to me. Ten of the students in the class have IEPs and fifteen of the students are general education students. I have had many exposures with the special education students both in small group settings as well as whole group instruction. Even though I am not receiving a degree or certificate in special education I will most likely have at least one special education student in my classroom. This student teaching placement has given me more opportunities to differentiate instruction and experience working with diverse learners.
The class is full of 25 eager students who seem to truly enjoy learning. All 25 children have at one time come into the classroom and become very excited just by looking at the daily schedule. As a whole I believe math is their favorite subject (besides gym, of course). They are always ready to jump into whatever lessons I or my cooperating teachers have designed for the day.
This class is interesting because many of the students are below grade level. While all of the students with IEPs are below grade level, some two or three grade levels below average, a few of the general education students are below grade-level as well. It has been very interesting to see how my cooperating teachers have worked with and communicated with families in order to improve the students’ learning experiences. I have been in conferences and meetings with teachers and parents and I have learned a lot.
The expectations at this school are very high. The students and the teachers are required to work very hard to maintain and perform well using rigorous curriculum. More recently in the class the students have been doing test preparation, which has limited my ability to do many lessons. Although they worked on test preparation, the teacher-created curriculum guided most of my other lessons.
Along with my many lessons, one of my biggest areas of growth in the classroom has been my ability to keep records of the students’ performance. My cooperating teachers have introduced me to a wide range of record keeping techniques that will considerably aid my teaching in my own classroom. I have helped the teachers with informal reading assessments, writing conferences, and informal math assessments. All of these exposures have opened my eyes to see just how useful and mandatory it is to continuously keep records of your students and constantly have goals for them.
I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of this school community and I feel like I have learned a lot from this experience. I am very excited to have my own class after getting to know this one so well.
Instruction
ACEI Standard 3.1: Integrating and Applying Knowledge for Instruction
For this lesson (see Artifact 1) I wanted to integrate a skill the students have been working on in writing with the main skill they are learning in reading. The students learned about point of view in the two previous lessons leading up to this one. They were thoroughly enjoying the previous lessons and I wanted to continue with something they were not only enjoying but they would learn a lot from and be able to integrate prior knowledge into.
During the lesson the students led a discussion about point of view and how point of view can affect the reader. In order to have each student share and participate, they call on one another to continue the conversation rather than the teacher controlling who speaks. After the short discussion I explained and modeled a short writing prompt using the document camera. The students were to write a persuasive letter from one of the characters’ point of view explaining why they should be free or another character should be in jail. The students had been reading both fairytales, The Three Little Pigs and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs during the two previous days and had become familiar with particular details. The students have also been focusing on persuasive writing for the past three months. In order to tap into their prior knowledge we listed the parts of a persuasive essay before the students went off to do their independent work.
I thought this string of lessons would be very beneficial to the students in my class because of their differing cultural backgrounds. Before reading the two fairytales I took a survey of the class to see who was familiar with The Three Little Pigs. Surprisingly there were many students in the class who were not familiar with the tale. After inquiring from the students why they had never heard the story, they told me it was because their parents had never read it to them. Most of the parents in the class are immigrants from countries in Europe and this opened my eyes to how different cultures can affect what fairytales and stories are considered important to some and not to others.
While planning this lesson I really had to think about the diversity of learners in the class and how I could benefit all of them. Since I am in an ICT classroom where ten students have IEPs I knew I would have to tailor my instruction to fit their needs. Most of the students in the class can write full persuasive essays with little help. The students with IEPs however needed extra help planning and organizing their thoughts into a clear, coherent essay. Taking this into consideration I decided to meet in a small group in the back of the classroom to assist the students who needed a graphic organizer. This proved to be successful in helping the students formulate clear ideas. Since there was no rush to complete the writing however, they were only able to finish the graphic organizer.
In order to teach the lessons I used Fisher’s Gradual Release of Responsibility (2008). With this method students learn through modeling and trying. It follows an “I do, we do, you do” instructional path that leads to better understanding for the students. I first modeled for the students what an appropriate letter would sound like. Then I asked the class for support while continuing my writing. I used questions such as “would a transition phrase be appropriate here?” and “if I’m writing from the wolf’s point of view, would I write that I made my house out of sticks?” These questions help to demonstrate to the students how I am integrating what I know about persuasive writing into the point of view of my letter. As a result the students participated in the modeling and their ideas were verified. Following this method, the next step was for the students to go off and try the skill independently with some help from the teacher. After reading their completed letters I was able to see that they understood the lesson and were able to tap into their prior knowledge and incorporate it into the new skill.
ACEI Standard 3.2: Adaptation to Diverse Learners
When considering the diverse learners in my class I wanted to create a lesson that would be accessible yet challenging. In this particular ICT classroom, there are very low learners with intense speech and language delays as well as two girls on kindergarten math levels while in the third grade. In the same classroom there are also students who are performing above grade level in multiple subject areas. Therefore when creating a math lesson (see Artifact 2) accessible yet challenging for some I knew I would have to develop the lesson in a very creative way.
The subject area in math was fractions on a number line. My experience with fractions was not one that I remember fondly so I wanted to create the opposite experience for my students. I thought out my plan in order to try to accommodate all the learners in the class. For the students who struggle with speech and language delays I used visuals as well as kinesthetics to improve their understanding. Having these few students moving and visually understanding how the lesson was progressing helped them with their independent work following the lesson. These visuals and the slow, focused pace I used during the lesson provided the students with other learning disabilities with the ability to understand the lesson from modeling and explanation.
The main part of the lesson took place on the bulletin board toward the back of the room. The students were gathered in chairs and on the floor around the bulletin board and myself. I used the sentence strips to create unmarked number lines and attached them to the board. With the students’ help I began to write the fractions on the number line. To begin helping me I called on one of the stronger mathematicians in the class. His suggestions along with the agreement of the class led me to label the number line correctly. Then I made sure to call on one of the lower students in the class for a question relating to the number line.
Then I began to model to the class the kinds of questions they would be asked about the number line and how to answer them. Both the higher and lower students were called on to answer questions and move the manipulatives along the number line. To differentiate the independent work I gave out two different investigation pages. The more challenging page went to those students who were able to correctly describe fractions in a previous lesson. The less challenging page went to those who needed more support during previous fraction lessons. After the higher students were finished they needed to make and label their own sentence strip number lines with halves, fourths, and eighths for more of a challenge.
Marcia L. Rock (2008) says that differentiating instruction is a way to accommodate the different ways that students learn and the pace at which they learn. Using adjustments to the content, process, and product of teaching can help teachers differentiate instruction for their diverse learners. Using two different investigation pages made the lesson and accompanying task accessible to all students in the class.
My differentiation for this lesson was well thought out and well planned. As a result most of the students successfully completed their investigation pages.
ACEI Standard 3.3: Development of Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
In order to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills in the classroom I like to use strategies that encourage students to build on their own ideas as well as their classmates’ ideas. During one Social Studies lesson the students were actively engaged in their learning through shared reading, a See, Think, Wonder activity, and a class-led discussion. These three engagement strategies allowed the students to use prior knowledge and discussion to make connections and expand their understanding of immigration in the early 1900s.
I wanted the students to learn the most they could during a relatively short 30 minute period. I used this time to do a shared reading with the class. To begin the activity they engaged in a See Think Wonder exercise. First the students observed two photographs in the student accessible book Life on the Lower East Side. After observing, the students shared with one another what they saw in the pictures. They mentioned only what they observed without trying to draw conclusions about the photograph as a whole. Then the children began to share and discuss what they thought was happening in the photographs and what the photographs made them think. Finally, the students took time to turn and talk with a partner to formulate questions they have from observing the photographs. When they were finished they wrote their questions on a Post-It note and we began to read.
The students had been actively trying to have me allow them to engage in “popcorn reading” so that is how was did the reading. The students would be able to choose who they wanted to read next but they had to go in boy-girl order. Throughout the reading I asked the students thought provoking questions that led to robust discussion. During these discussions the students would call on each other to add on to, critique, and dispute each other’s thoughts and ideas. This engagement exercise keeps the students focused on the lesson and forces them to use critical thinking and problem solving methods. In order to participate they must construct their own thoughts and connections to coincide with what their classmate has said. The students were encouraged to use their peers’ ideas to understand and build their own knowledge base.
After the read-aloud concluded the students used their Post-It note questions to decide if their question had been answered. If it had they wrote their “new learning” in their notebook. If it had not been answered, we taped it to the Social Studies bulletin board in hopes it would be answered in a later lesson.
Stage Theory, developed by Elder and Paul (2010), says that children develop their critical thinking skills in stages. At this point in their education the students in my class are in the “Challenged Thinker” stage. Because they are at this stage I chose to have the students reflect and think critically about their peers’ ideas. In this stage it is important for students to reflect on their own thinking and recognize their own flaws.
In teaching this lesson I found the students had to think critically to build off of what their peers said. They needed to make connections between prior learning about immigration and the new learning they were gaining from the read-aloud. In a later lesson of the same type the students once again were able to use their knowledge from this reading and apply it to the later reading. Overall, this lesson was a great way for students to hone their abilities to think critically and problem solve by making connections through student-centered, student-led discussion.
ACEI 3.4: Active Engagement in Learning
I quickly learned in my student teaching placement that the children in my class thoroughly enjoy learning better when they get to work in pairs. Although this is not always true, most students enjoy working in partnerships. They enjoy socializing and working with their peers simultaneously. Although I know this is how they prefer to work, I also know what they are more focused on the task at hand when they work alone with few outside distractions. With this being the case I will occasionally allow the students to work in pairs under certain conditions.
At the culmination of a few of my mini lessons you will here me say “I will allow you to choose your partner but if it gets too loud, you will work independently”. Then I will call out students to pick their partners, reminding them, to choose someone they work well with. One by one the students pick their partners, rarely their friends, and they will compete the assigned task well.
On my final day of student teaching I planned one last Social Studies lesson with my students. After we reviewed the material and I did a quick mini lesson on how to use a Venn Diagram the students were instructed to do a partner reading in their book and create a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting immigrant children in the early 1900s and children in 2016. When it came time to choose partners the students chose appropriate partnerships except for two groups. When Sabine chose Susannah I asked her directly “do you think this partnership is going to be a problem? And she promptly said no. When James chose Cameron as his partner I asked him the same question and was given the same response. These four children are the highest learners in the class so I allowed them to stay with the partner they chose.
Although other groups worked very well together, these two partnerships were my biggest problem while the students were performing the task. While the other partnerships were engaged in the lesson, working hard to compare and contrast children from the two time periods, the two problem partnerships were too busy engaging in conversation about topics unrelated to the task at hand. I thought I knew my students well enough to assume they could be mature enough to choose appropriate partners, however the four highest performing students in the class completed the least amount of work during the class period.
As a new teacher I took this as a learning experience. When reflecting on this lesson I realized that differentiating the partnerships by putting a struggling reader with a higher-level reader could have been very beneficial to the students. When planning further partnership reading lessons I will use the idea of peer coached reading. With one strong reader and one struggling reader to a partnership, a Science or Social Studies lesson can turn into fluency training. Having the strong reader model for and coach the struggling reader, it can improve both of their reading fluency, a key factor in increasing reading comprehension.
Active engagement comes from students’ intrinsic motivation. According to James Middleton, (1995) students will be actively engaged in a learning activity if they determine the task is interesting. However if the student is not interested but they feel stimulated by the activity and feel as though they can complete the activity then they will also be engaged. Even if the students were not necessarily interested in the subject during this Social Studies lesson, their stimulation and personal control through partnerships will keep them actively engaged in the lesson.
Working in partnerships keeps the students engaged throughout the lesson. It allows them to constantly have open communication while they are working through a task. Although partnerships may need to be chosen by the teacher, they are a great way for students to stay actively engaged in what the teacher is teaching.
Assessment
ACEI Standard 4.0: Assessment for Instruction
Formal assessments use data to draw conclusions about a student’s overall performance. Informal assessments use content and performance of a particular task to track how a student is performing. In my student teaching I was encouraged to do informal assessments on the students whenever possible. These informal assessments included taking notes on the students’ vocabulary use, their comments and questions during class discussions, and their descriptions and solutions of the task at hand.
I used both formal and informal assessments when teaching a unit on equivalent fractions. The students used pattern blocks to find equivalent fractions within large hexagons. On the first day of the unit the students used pattern blocks to see which blocks could represent fractions. For example, the students found that six green triangles made up one yellow hexagon. They then knew that the green triangle was equal to one-sixth of the yellow hexagon. While the students experimented with the blocks I circulated around the room with a chart to record the students’ conversations and how they were using the blocks. After many students had discovered what fraction of the hexagon each shape represented, we met back at the rug for a share. While at the rug I set up my recorder on my phone to record and later play back what the students said. I used the information I learned the first day to guide my lessons for the next few days.
On the last day of the unit, after the students found equivalent fractions I gave them a formal written assessment that adheres to the Common Core State Standards. I used the data from the assessment to gauge what students needed more help with when finding equivalent fractions.
The three students who scored the lowest on the assessment were Olivia, Za’Qiyah, and Gelson all three of these students have distinct learning disabilities and it was not a complete surprise they needed the most help. I planned a reteach lesson to help these three students better understand equivalent fractions.
Fractions of a piece of paper, fractions on a number line, and fractions of a hexagon using pattern blocks were all failing to demonstrate how equivalent fractions are equal to Olivia, Za’Qiyah, and Gelson. So for my reteach I needed to take what I learned in my informal and formal assessments of all three of them to find a way to show them why equivalent fractions are equal. After looking at my notes about each student I saw that they understood the manipulatives the best so I tried to use manipulatives again, but in a different way to try to better their understanding.
I used the stackable cubes to represent halves and fourths and eighths. I then drew bars representing their stacks of cubes on chart paper. They each explained several equivalent fractions to me before I assessed them one last time. To make sure they understood I had them write all the fractions they knew equaled one-half. They each wrote two-fourths and four-eighths on their white boards and I knew they understood.
Trumbull and Lash (2013) describe formative assessment as a process. Their approach, which uses assessment as a way to help form and shape a student’s learning during the learning process, is how I used formal and informal assessment in the fraction unit. Specifically the informal assessment was used to guide my reteaching lesson for Olivia, Gelson, and Za’Qiyah.
Using the formal and informal assessments I was able to design and implement a successful reteach lesson for my students.
Concluding Thoughts and Next Steps
ACEI 5.1: Professional Growth, Reflection, and Evaluation
In order to be a successful and effective teacher it is important to have your own philosophy of education. Reading and reviewing the theories and practices of previous educators and philosophers as well as sociologists and psychologists can heavily influence the feelings and beliefs of new teachers. The work of Howard Gardner incorporated multiple intelligences into the classroom while the work of Horace Mann used the Prussian model of education to make a new model for American education. It is the work of previous educational theorists to whom the successes and flaws of the current educational system is owed. Although their models and theories have not always proved beneficial, it is possible to use these theories to better our own teaching philosophies.
John Dewey was a philosopher, a social reformer, and an educator who brought the Progressive Movement to American schools. Dewey (1916) believed that schooling was not solely about learning facts but also about learning social norms and correct behaviors. Students were supposed to learn lessons that were relevant to their lives and to the job market they would most likely enter in the future. He incorporated a new teaching style that included more of an open classroom where the teacher facilitated conversation and interaction among students rather than commanding the attention of the entire class.
Considering Dewey’s contributions to the field of education, my ideal classroom would be a room of free thought and ideals as well as the ability of students to openly voice their opinions. Students should be able to walk in and immediately feel as though ,their class is not ruled by one person, like a dictatorship, but governed by the whole class, like a democracy. Classroom rules will be set by the class and will follow a democratic model. I, as the teacher, will always have the ultimate power in the classroom but it is important for the students to understand that they can have opinions too.
K. Lomawaima is a Native American raised on a reservation who fights for the equality of American education. Lomawaima and McCarty argue that the key to education is to embrace our cultural backgrounds as opposed to neglecting them and failing to let them shine through in our schooling and education. Lomawaima and McCarty believe it is important to include diversity into the American schooling system. Education should not be centered on standardization and tests, but rather learning from one another and learning valuable information for the future.
Our nation has a problem with acceptance. Early educational experiences in elementary school and middle school can have a heavy impact on the way children act later on in life. With the correct information they can be much more accepting and learn to stay away from stereotypes. It is the job of educators to prepare students for life, not just tests. The standardization of schools based on testing tends to eliminate any rooms for cultural learning. If we begin teaching about human diversity instead of constantly repeating the same math problems (which some children will never use in their adult lives) we can teach acceptance and understanding.
In her book, Dividing Classes, Ellen Brantlinger demonstrates how social class status reproduces educational inequality. She finds that the middle class yields tremendous power in shaping public education for all children. She also finds that working class children have the outcomes they do because their parents are realistic. They are aware of their children’s limitations and have lower expectations for educational achievement (2003).
It is the role of the educator to change the social and economic inequality between students. Granted these changes cannot take place without some help from other sources, but educators can take the first steps. These inequalities should not play a role in the educational attainment of a child. Because a parent does not believe their child cannot attain high educational achievement does not mean they should not be pushed to do so. It is the job of those in the school system to take time to help students and push students toward their goals. Spending extra time to help students work to their fullest potential and achieve their goals should never be a burden to a member of the teaching profession; it should be a priority.
My dream classroom is a learning environment, filled with enriching materials and resources. It is a place where children can learn, grow, and flourish. Students will feel like they are heard and their opinions are encouraged and valued. As an educator I believe it is my responsibility to both my students and myself to make my classroom a place where students not only feel comfortable but they feel alive, ready to learn, and able to make a difference.
Artifacts
Artifact 1
Alice Robinson
March 31, 2016
Fordham University Graduate School of Education
AIM / OBJECTIVE
Students will be able to use specific details from the text to form their own point of view.
Students will be able to use details from the text to write a short persuasive letter based on their point of view of the story
Students will be able to use the first person point of view to write a short persuasive letter
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
How can we develop our own point of view based on what we’ve read?
How can our opinion on a situation change once we’ve compared two stories from two different perspectives?
COMMON CORE STANDARDS
CCSS. W.3.1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons
CCSS.W.3.1.a: Introduce the topic or text they are writing about, state an opinion, and create and organizational structure that lists reasons
CCSS.W.3.1.b: Provide reasons that support the opinion
CCSS.W.3.1.c: Use linking words and phrases to connect opinion and reasons
CCSS.W.3.1.d: Provide a concluding statement or section
CCSS.W.3.4: With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose
CCSS.W.3.10: Write routine over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a range of disciplines – specific tasks, purposes, and audiences
MOTIVATION / HOOK
Start with a game that requires the students to recognize, using thumbs up and thumbs down, the parts of a persuasive essay. The game will serve as both a review and a hook for the lesson.
GROUPING
The mini lesson will be whole group using the SMARTboard and then the class will work independently to write their persuasive pieces. I will work in a small group to help them organize their ideas.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
The past two days the students have been working on point of view and picking out details from the two stories to compare and contrast them. They will use this knowledge to write their short essays.
MATERIALS
- SMARTboard
- Document Camera
- Handouts with lines to write their essays
- My pre-written paragraph to use when modeling
PROCEDURE and PRACTICE
1. I will begin the lesson by playing a thumbs up/thumbs down game that requires the class to recognize the parts of a persuasive essay.
2. We will then have a quick 5 minute discussion about how the point of view affects the reader. The discussion will be prompted by the question: How did you feel about the wolf after reading The True Story of the Three Little Pigs?
3. I will tell the students that they will be writing short, 2 – 3 paragraph, persuasive letter from the point of view of either the pig of the wolf. They will need to use the first-person point of view and text evidence to support their reasoning.
4. I will then model the first two-three sentences of the essay using the document camera.
5. I will ask if there are any questions and then hand out the paper they will use to write their letters.
6. They will go to their independent work spots to complete the prompts.
7. I will then call a small group to meet me at a low table where I can give them graphic organizers in order to help them better organize their thoughts. They can simply fill out the organizer or push themselves to also write the letter.
8. When the period is over I will collect their work to use as an assessment.
MODIFICATIONS FOR DIVERSE LEARNERS
I will demonstrate how I want the essay to sound by writing it under the document camera as well as saying it as I write it. I will supply the pages in order to write the essay on.
I will give those who need them graphic organizers to use to write their essays or to fill out in lieu of writing an essay in full.
INFORMAL ASSESSMENT
I will walk around the room with my assessment grid, talking to the students and asking them questions about their writing. This will be a good informal assessment of how the students understand point of view.
FORMAL ASSESSMENT
I will collect their essays to formally assess how well they understood the 3 lesson. Point of view, comparisons, and persuasive writing will all be assessed within the writing piece.
CLOSING & FOLLOW UP
I will close out the lesson by encouraging students to look at situations from more than one point of view or perspective. In the upcoming weeks I will continue to read them these types of books because of the enthusiasm they had for this book.
Artifact 2
Alice Robinson
March 15, 2016
Fordham University Graduate School of Education
AIM / OBJECTIVE
SWBAT: Represent fractions on a number line.
SWBAT: Compare fractions based on their lengths on a number line and their position relative to other fractions.
SWBAT: Find equivalent fractions on a number line.
SWBAT: Use the symbols >,<,- to compare fractions.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
- How do we represent fractions on a number line?
- How do we compare fractions?
- How do we identify equivalent fractions?
COMMON CORE STANDARDS
- 3.NF.2.a: Represent a fraction 1/b on a number line diagram by defining the interval from 0 to 1 as the whole and partitioning it into b equal parts. Recognize that each part has size 1/b and that the endpoint of the part based at 0 locates the number 1/b on the number line
- 3.NF.2.b: Represent a fraction a/b on a number line diagram by marking off a lengths 1/b from 0. Recognize that the resulting interval has size a/b and that its endpoint locates the number a/b on the number line.
- 3.NF.3.a: Understand two fractions as equivalent (equal) if they are the same size, or the same point on a number line.
- 3.NF.3.b: Recognize and generate simple equivalent fractions, e.g., ½=2/4, 4/6= 2/3. Explain why the fractions are equivalent, e.g., by using a visual fraction model.
- 3.NF.3.d: Compare two fractions with the same numerator or the same denominator by reasoning about their size. Recognize that comparisons are valid only when the two fractions refer to the same whole. Record the results of comparisons with the symbols >, =, or
We’re going to use our fractions number lines to compare the sizes of our fractions and we’re going to use alligator mouths to show which is greater.
GROUPING
This will be a whole group lesson. There will be turn and talks in partners during the whole group lesson. Then the students will go off and work independently on the activity.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
The students have spent 5 math periods looking at fractions and putting fractions on a number line.
MATERIALS
- Fraction bulletin board strips
- Small white board
- Dry erase markers
- “Ants”
- Sharpie markers
- Activities C44 and C45 (already in their packet)
VOCABULARY
Greater than: when one number has more value then another, >
Less than: when one number has less value than another, <
Equivalent: when one or more numbers have the same value but are written differently
PROCEDURE and PRACTICE
1. The students will be sitting around the bulletin board on the floor or in chairs with nothing but their math folders and a pencil. Neither the pencil nor the folder will be in front of them.
2. I will begin the lesson by putting the three number line strips (already marked with 0, 1, and 2, on the bulletin board.
3. I will ask the class what they notice about the board. At least one student will notice that the number line goes up to 2 but I will tell them that we will only be working with parts of one whole.
4. I will have one student come up and label the first number line with halves.
5. I will have a second student come up and label the second number line with fourths.
6. I will have a third student come up and label the third number line with eighths.
7. We will examine the number lines together to show that fourths are half of halves and eighths are half of fourths.
8. Then I will explain how were are going to compare the fractions using ants and alligator mouths. The ants will show us how big the fraction is and we will use the alligator mouths to show which fraction is greater.
9. Read the first sample problem, stopping to show how far each ant traveled.
10. Get the answer and then ask how they know… Turn and Talk
11. Use the mini white board to show the notations for ½ > ¼ and write it out in words
12. Repeat steps 9-11 for the next sample problem.
13. Show how we can use halves to see which fraction is bigger and how looking at the numerators and denominators can help us.
IF THE STUDENTS HAVE BEEN SITTING FOR MORE THAN 20 MINUTES AT THIS POINT THEN SEND THEM TO BEGIN THEIR INDEPENDENT WORK
14. Look at the number lines together and introduce the word equivalent. Ask the students to turn and talk about the equivalent fractions and how they know they are equal.
15. Demonstrate how to do number one on page C45.
15. Send them off to do page C45 and modified investigation sheet for those who require it. If they are finished and they may begin working on creating their own number line on a sentence strip.
MODIFICATIONS FOR DIVERSE LEARNERS
Everything in this lesson will be demonstrated using visuals. This class has a large number of students with speech and language IEPs and it is important for everything to be modeled visually for them. I have also created two separate investigation pages, one modified for lower students in the class. In order to challenge the higher thinkers in the class I will challenge them to make their own number lines using the sentence strips.
INFORMAL ASSESSMENT
I will be walking around during independent work checking in on the students’ progress. I will ask them questions such as, “how do you know that?” “Can you prove that to me?” “Did you use any strategies to help you?”
FORMAL ASSESSMENT
I will collect the investigation pages to see which students need more help with fractions on a number line and which students are ready to begin the next investigation into fractions.
CLOSING & FOLLOW UP
We will come back together with 5-10 minutes left if the period to have a share. The students will use the ants of the bulletin board to show their answers and then explain them to the class without saying that “Ant A went further on the number line.”
Artifact 3
Alice Robinson
April 21, 2016
Fordham University Graduate School of Education
AIM / OBJECTIVE
Students will be able to understand what life was like “in the streets” on the Lower East Side in the early 1900s.
Students will be able to draw conclusions and ask questions pertaining to photographs in a student-friendly text.
Students will be able to responsibly read a text as a group.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
What challenges do immigrants face when coming to a new country?
COMMON CORE STANDARDS
The lesson comes from a teacher-created curriculum that does not follow state standards for Social Studies in the third grade.
MOTIVATION / HOOK
The students will make predictions on a Post-It note of what like was like for immigrants in the early 1900s.
GROUPING
This will be a whole group lesson. There will be turn and talks in partners during the whole group lesson. The students will do “popcorn reading” throughout the lesson.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
The students have been studying immigration for at least 3 months and have recently gone to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.
MATERIALS
Life on the Lower East Side by Jennifer Blizin Gillis
VOCABULARY
Challenge: when a task or situation is particularly difficult
PROCEDURE and PRACTICE
1. The lesson will begin with the students writing predictions about what life was like for immigrants in America
2. The students will then do a See Think Wonder using the books in front of them.
3. They will observe the photographs and then share what they have observed.
4. Then they will try to draw conclusions about what they think is happening in the photographs.
5. The students will then turn and talk with the person next to them about a “wondering” they have from observing the photos. The students will record their questions on a Post-It.
6. We will then “popcorn read” the two pages from the book about “life in the streets.”
7. The students will go back to their Post-Its at the end of the read aloud to see if their question was answered. If it is they will write their new learning in their notebooks, if not they will tape the Post-It to the bulletin board.
MODIFICATIONS FOR DIVERSE LEARNERS
In order to differentiate instruction I will give extra think time for all the students as well as printing out notes from the reading for those who need them.
CLOSING & FOLLOW UP
We will continue this lesson for one more group of pages in the next week.
Artifact 4
Alice Robinson
May 6, 2016
Fordham University Graduate School of Education
AIM / OBJECTIVE
Students will be able to compare and contrast the lives of immigrant children in the early 1900s and the lives on children in 2016.
Students will be able to use a Venn Diagram in order to compare and contrast two subjects.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
What challenges do immigrants face when coming to a new country?
MOTIVATION / HOOK
We’re going to start with a very short game – its called Challenge or No Challenge. If you think what I say is a challenge I want you to give me a thumbs up. If you don’t think it’s a challenge I want you to give me a thumbs down. Lets try it: if I say playing a soccer game again an Olympic soccer player you would give me a… thumbs up!
- Eating 1,000 hot dogs in an hour
- Winning a race against a turtle
- Your whole family sharing one bedroom
GROUPING
The lesson will be whole class to review the material and then the students will go off in pairs to do a partnership reading and fill out individual Venn Diagrams.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
The students have studied many aspects of immigration as well as comparing and contrasting two stories.
MATERIALS
Chart paper
Life on the Lower East Side
Venn Diagram graphic organizers
VOCABULARY
Challenge: When a task or a situation is difficult
Compare: To show how two or more things are alike
Contrast: To show how two things are different
PROCEDURE and PRACTICE
1. We will begin by playing the very shirt game to remind ourselves of what a challenge is.
2. Then we will quickly list the challenges associated with immigrant tenements and immigrants’ jobs.
3. I will then go over partnership reading and how to use the Venn Diagram.
4. The students will then go off in partnerships to read pages 18 and 19 in the Life on the Lower East Side book. They will each fill out their own Venn Diagram comparing immigrant children in the early 1900s and children in 2016.
5. I will walk around to talk privately with each group to see how they are doing with the Venn Diagram and the reading.
6. If time permits we will have a share for the students to share 3 differences and 3 similarities.
MODIFICATIONS FOR DIVERSE LEARNERS
In order to modify instruction for the diverse learners in the class I will:
LOW: Draw lines on their diagrams to guide them when they’re filling in their Venn Diagram, walk around to be sure they are understanding how to use the graphic organizer
HIGH: Push them to elaborate on their comparisons by explaining why there were so many more challenges for immigrants.
INFORMAL ASSESSMENT
I will be walking around during independent work checking in on the students’ progress. I will ask them questions and pushing them to elaborate on their comparisons.
FORMAL ASSESSMENT
I will use the share to assess how well the students understood the reading and how well they were able to compare their own lives to those of immigrant children.
CLOSING & FOLLOW UP
The students will continue to explore the challenges that immigrants faced when coming to a new country in later lessons.
Artifact 5
Alice Robinson
March 24, 2016
Fordham University Graduate School of Education
AIM / OBJECTIVE
Students will be able to compare fractions.
Students will be able to find equivalent fractions.
Students will be able to name equivalent fractions.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
How do we know if two fractions are equivalent?
MOTIVATION / HOOK
I will demonstrate halves, fourths, and eighths of real cookie and then I will give each students one small cookie to eat to spark their interest in the lesson.
GROUPING
In order to give the students instructions on how to complete the math investigation we will meet at the rug in a whole class group. When the students go off to investigate using the pattern blocks they will be working individually at tables.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
The students have studied fractions in a variety of ways and have been introduced to equivalent fractions on a number line.
MATERIALS
Pattern blocks
Investigation pages
VOCABULARY
Equivalent: equal
PROCEDURE and PRACTICE
1. We will begin by meeting at the rug in order to introduce the investigation.
2. I will demonstrate how I can cut a giant cookie into halves, then fourths, then eighths. Then I will tell the students that they too will be using “cookies” to find fractions.
3. I will show the class the pattern bocks they will be using to find equivalent fractions.
4. The students will go off and work individually as I walk around to monitor how they are working.
5. We will come back together on the rug with 5 minutes left in the period to discuss and have a share.
MODIFICATIONS FOR DIVERSE LEARNERS
In order to modify instruction for the diverse learners in the class I will:
LOW: Print out hexagon sheets for them to draw what they are doing so they have two ways of seeing their thinking. I will also give these students extra assistance during the investigation.
HIGH: If they finish the investigation quickly I will require them to begin to show ways they can combine the fractions to equal one whole.
INFORMAL ASSESSMENT
I will be walking around during independent work checking in on the students’ progress. I will ask them questions and pushing them to elaborate on their thinking. I will use my chart to record their ideas and check off their strategies.
FORMAL ASSESSMENT
In math class the following day the students will complete a formal assessment that will tell me if they understand equivalent fractions and how to make them.
CLOSING & FOLLOW UP
The students will continue to explore fractions in the next few weeks, moving into more difficult fractions territories.