Prezi: My Path to Teaching
I made this presentation at the start of my Curriculum course this semester. Since then, I have come a long way. I feel that the end of this course represents the end to my path to teaching. I feel that now I am here, and am really starting to develop who I am as a teacher. I now know the process of developing lessons, units, and an entire course. My major take away is the importance of scaffolding. My lessons need to build on each other, so students can see a clear process to achieving an end goal. I am ready for the next stages of my teaching journey!
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Learning Plan: First Lesson, Literacy Lesson, and Tech Lesson
Unit Lessons
The following link includes my learning plan for three lessons of my unit. The first lesson begins with an overview of the war during 1941 and 1942. The course is taught chronologically, so students should already have an understanding of the first two years of war. Then, students will learn what the "People's War" is and why WWII was considered a "People's War." To do so, students will participate in a reenactment. This is an example of criterion 3.2 and 4.2 because students are active and are making the concept come to life. In the literacy lesson, I also address criterion 4.2 because the advertisement activity is a way for students to see how propaganda relates to their own lives. In my technology lesson, criterion 5.2 is addressed because students need to critically think about what they are reading, watching, and listening to. Students need to create, collaborate with their peers, and communicate their ideas when creating the piktochart. Throughout my unit, I tried to address a variety of these performance criteria.
The following link includes my learning plan for three lessons of my unit. The first lesson begins with an overview of the war during 1941 and 1942. The course is taught chronologically, so students should already have an understanding of the first two years of war. Then, students will learn what the "People's War" is and why WWII was considered a "People's War." To do so, students will participate in a reenactment. This is an example of criterion 3.2 and 4.2 because students are active and are making the concept come to life. In the literacy lesson, I also address criterion 4.2 because the advertisement activity is a way for students to see how propaganda relates to their own lives. In my technology lesson, criterion 5.2 is addressed because students need to critically think about what they are reading, watching, and listening to. Students need to create, collaborate with their peers, and communicate their ideas when creating the piktochart. Throughout my unit, I tried to address a variety of these performance criteria.
Unit Plan
Unit Plan
Cumulative Assessment: Journal Project
Journal Project Rubric
The two aspects of my unit plan that I am most proud of are the way I scaffolded my unit and lessons and my use of formative assessments. The major take-away from my Curriculum and Literacy courses this semester is that instruction needs to be progressive and prepare students to work towards a final goal or product. Students should not be constantly graded. Formative assessments are ways in which students can practice and prepare to demonstrate what they have learned. For example, my cumulative assessment for the unit was a journal project. Each week students handed-in one journal entry, not for a grade, but to receive feedback. Students will not receive a grade until all five journal entries have been handed-in. Constant feedback will become a key part of my future pedagogy. The journal entries are not the only examples of formative assessments in my unit. I have various exit-slips, discussion activities, presentations, and reflections to check-in with students and to be used to guide my instruction.
I tried to make sure each lesson built upon each other and that within each lesson there was evidence of scaffolding. For example, when looking at primary and secondary sources, I first explained what the difference was and asked students to categorize different examples. Then, I modeled how to read a primary source before I asked students to try on their own. In my unit plan, I think I demonstrate my understanding of the importance of building on student skills, meeting criterion 4.2. I think I organized the entire unit and each lesson in a non-overwhelming way.
Cumulative Assessment: Journal Project
Journal Project Rubric
The two aspects of my unit plan that I am most proud of are the way I scaffolded my unit and lessons and my use of formative assessments. The major take-away from my Curriculum and Literacy courses this semester is that instruction needs to be progressive and prepare students to work towards a final goal or product. Students should not be constantly graded. Formative assessments are ways in which students can practice and prepare to demonstrate what they have learned. For example, my cumulative assessment for the unit was a journal project. Each week students handed-in one journal entry, not for a grade, but to receive feedback. Students will not receive a grade until all five journal entries have been handed-in. Constant feedback will become a key part of my future pedagogy. The journal entries are not the only examples of formative assessments in my unit. I have various exit-slips, discussion activities, presentations, and reflections to check-in with students and to be used to guide my instruction.
I tried to make sure each lesson built upon each other and that within each lesson there was evidence of scaffolding. For example, when looking at primary and secondary sources, I first explained what the difference was and asked students to categorize different examples. Then, I modeled how to read a primary source before I asked students to try on their own. In my unit plan, I think I demonstrate my understanding of the importance of building on student skills, meeting criterion 4.2. I think I organized the entire unit and each lesson in a non-overwhelming way.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Brown Girl Dreaming Workshop
Tonight I was fortunate enough to attend a workshop on Brown Girl Dreaming, sponsored by Integrating Art, Social Studies, and Language Arts. The workshop consisted of a number of engaging activities. We began with a theme brainstorm of the book, in which we were asked to turn and talk with a partner and think about the themes we noticed when reading Brown Girl Dreaming. As a group, some of the major themes we noticed were identity, family, friendship, place, education. Afterwards, four poems from the book were recited, and we were asked to keep them in mind for the rest of the workshop. There was then a brief lecture on free verse, so we could understand Woodson's writing before we could write our own. This transitioned us into a free verse activity. My group was assigned the theme of friendship. We were given different images to trigger our thinking, then we created our own free verse poem in small groups. To break up the session, we played the game Zip Zap. I think this was a good way to get us up and moving before we continued. After the game, we did a tableau activity, in which we created a still scene of each other's free verse poems. Finally, we had time to reflect. We created a group mural about what the book made us think about and then created a free verse poem about ourselves.
I thought these activities were a really nice way of getting us to think about the book. I'm definitely going to add some of these techniques, like the tableau, to my strategies tool kit. I also enjoyed how we had time at the end of the lesson to reflect. I think this is crucial to every lesson. All learners need time to process new information and think about the activities they just participated in. The workshop was a perfect example of a lesson that designs approaches that engage. There was a nice balance of discussing in partners, small groups, and with the whole class, reflecting individually, writing, drawing, getting up and moving. I was busy and engaged the whole time, but it never felt overwhelming.
I thought these activities were a really nice way of getting us to think about the book. I'm definitely going to add some of these techniques, like the tableau, to my strategies tool kit. I also enjoyed how we had time at the end of the lesson to reflect. I think this is crucial to every lesson. All learners need time to process new information and think about the activities they just participated in. The workshop was a perfect example of a lesson that designs approaches that engage. There was a nice balance of discussing in partners, small groups, and with the whole class, reflecting individually, writing, drawing, getting up and moving. I was busy and engaged the whole time, but it never felt overwhelming.
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| This is the free verse my group wrote based on the images we saw and from what we remembered from the theme of friendship in the novel. |
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| This is from reflection. We added images and words to the class mural based on the themes of the book. The papers next to the mural are our free verses about ourselves. |
Monday, November 23, 2015
Vocabulary Lesson
Vocabulary Lesson Plan
Video of my lesson
In my vocabulary lesson, students learned the term "propaganda." In the World War II course I have created for my unit, students will be looking at wartime propaganda, but before they can do this, students need to know what propaganda means. For my mini-lesson, students looked at modern advertisements for chips, milk, and Lucky Charms in small groups. They were asked: What is the purpose of the advertisement? Who is the advertisement targeting? What strategies did the advertisement use to appeal to its audience? This activity connected the lives of my students to WWII propaganda. Just like advertisements, propaganda has a purpose, a targeted audience, and a number or strategies to create a successful campaign. After each group shared with the class and we made connections between advertisements and propaganda, students did an exit slip that gave students the actual definition of propaganda, asked students to write the definition in their own words, draw a picture, use the term in a sentence, and rate their understanding of the term. Based on these exit slips, my lesson was successful. Students demonstrated a clear understanding of the term.
To improve, I would start with the definition of propaganda. In the feedback I got from my peers, they thought the connection between the advertisements and the propaganda was a little unclear. I think I should have started with the definition and how it relates to advertisements instead of doing this after the activity. This was similar feedback that I received from my Berlin Wall lesson. Clarity is something I need to work on while studying to be a teacher. Even though it makes sense to me, this doesn't mean it makes sense to my students.
I connected my lesson to criterion 3.1 because I understand the importance of social learning. I had students make observations about their advertisement in small groups before sharing with the class. Students bounce ideas off of each other and often prefer speaking with each other, rather than the teacher talking at them. I also connected my lesson to criterion 4.2 because I made the vocabulary term accessible and meaningful by relating propaganda to something my students see in their every day lives.
Video of my lesson
In my vocabulary lesson, students learned the term "propaganda." In the World War II course I have created for my unit, students will be looking at wartime propaganda, but before they can do this, students need to know what propaganda means. For my mini-lesson, students looked at modern advertisements for chips, milk, and Lucky Charms in small groups. They were asked: What is the purpose of the advertisement? Who is the advertisement targeting? What strategies did the advertisement use to appeal to its audience? This activity connected the lives of my students to WWII propaganda. Just like advertisements, propaganda has a purpose, a targeted audience, and a number or strategies to create a successful campaign. After each group shared with the class and we made connections between advertisements and propaganda, students did an exit slip that gave students the actual definition of propaganda, asked students to write the definition in their own words, draw a picture, use the term in a sentence, and rate their understanding of the term. Based on these exit slips, my lesson was successful. Students demonstrated a clear understanding of the term.
To improve, I would start with the definition of propaganda. In the feedback I got from my peers, they thought the connection between the advertisements and the propaganda was a little unclear. I think I should have started with the definition and how it relates to advertisements instead of doing this after the activity. This was similar feedback that I received from my Berlin Wall lesson. Clarity is something I need to work on while studying to be a teacher. Even though it makes sense to me, this doesn't mean it makes sense to my students.
I connected my lesson to criterion 3.1 because I understand the importance of social learning. I had students make observations about their advertisement in small groups before sharing with the class. Students bounce ideas off of each other and often prefer speaking with each other, rather than the teacher talking at them. I also connected my lesson to criterion 4.2 because I made the vocabulary term accessible and meaningful by relating propaganda to something my students see in their every day lives.
Here are examples of the exit slip students completed:
Standards-Based Learning Symposium Reflection
On Friday, I attended the Standards-Based Learning Symposium. When we talk about standards-based education, we are talking about pedagogy that is based on students demonstrating their mastery of the content and skills they are expected to learn at that stage of their schooling. As a future educator, this seems logical; of course we should be assessing students based on the skills and content they need to move on in their education and to achieve their future aspirations. However, it isn't so simple; not everyone (teachers, parents, administration) are on board with this new system because many people prefer the traditional way of schooling. In response, the keynote speakers from the symposium highlighted why it is so important for teachers to take the steps needed to become standards-based. The first speaker explained that we need to choose standards that get students excited about learning and get students saying, "I want to be able to do that!" I think that if we make clear to students what these standards are and why it is important that they can show an understanding of the skills and knowledge that is asked of them, students will see why standards-based learning is so beneficial for them. The underlying concepts of standards-based learning are differentiation and personalized learning. Each student is an individual with unique interests and needs and it is our responsibility as educators to support these individuals in our classroom. At the heart of standards-based learning is the student. This relates to my goal as a teacher to create a student-centered classroom. I will strive to always put my students first and know each student, so I can differentiate my instruction to ensure that all of my students have the equal opportunity to succeed. Clearly, I support standards-based learning and hope to implement it in my future classroom!
However, I still had many questions about standards-based learning, so I attended a workshop on standards-based grading. The session began with using a metaphor to explain the difference between traditional grading and this new system of grading. The traditional grading system was referred to as "compensation for learning." Student can "earn" grades like they can "earn" money. Standards-based grading was referred to as "communication of learning." They compared it to a MapQuest App. First, we determine our learning targets (our destination). Second, we must determine where we are starting. If we have students starting from different locations, it become obvious that we will need to use different routes to get to the destination (differentiation). Then, the teacher becomes the GPS (instruction). The grade is the blue dot. It's the exact location of the student in relation to their destination. I found this metaphor extremely helpful in describing what standards-based learning looks like. The purpose of a grade in a standards-based system is to clearly communicate a student's current level of achievement.
This all makes sense to me. Clearly, the grade a student receives should reflect how well they met the standards. But, what about participation? Behavior? Shouldn't students be held accountable for these aspects of being a student? In standards-based grades, behavior shouldn't be included, unless it was specifically instructed. Only achievement should be measured. For example, lateness shouldn't reduce a grade. There is a difference between habits and achievement. I like this in the sense that their grade is accurately reflecting their ability currently, but I feel that certain habits (working well with others, handing in work on time, participating frequently, etc.) should impact a student's grade. In the future, maybe I could develop a dual grading system, one that is for achievement and one that is for behavior. Additionally, only summative assessments should be part of the grade. Formative assessments should only drive instruction. Students should have the chance to learn, practice what they learned, and receive feedback before being assessed.
I related standards-based grading to criterion 2.1 because all students are held to high expectations. Standards-based learning acknowledges that students are coming from different starting points, but that each student can successfully make it to the end destination, and the grade should reflect this. I also connected standards-based grading to criterion 6.1 because the end grade can be an accumulation of various summative assessments. However, various assessments, like formative assessments, can guide students to achievement and receiving a high grade. If students do the work that teachers assign leading up to the summative assessment, students should receive a high grade. This is when you know standards-based learning is working.
However, I still had many questions about standards-based learning, so I attended a workshop on standards-based grading. The session began with using a metaphor to explain the difference between traditional grading and this new system of grading. The traditional grading system was referred to as "compensation for learning." Student can "earn" grades like they can "earn" money. Standards-based grading was referred to as "communication of learning." They compared it to a MapQuest App. First, we determine our learning targets (our destination). Second, we must determine where we are starting. If we have students starting from different locations, it become obvious that we will need to use different routes to get to the destination (differentiation). Then, the teacher becomes the GPS (instruction). The grade is the blue dot. It's the exact location of the student in relation to their destination. I found this metaphor extremely helpful in describing what standards-based learning looks like. The purpose of a grade in a standards-based system is to clearly communicate a student's current level of achievement.
This all makes sense to me. Clearly, the grade a student receives should reflect how well they met the standards. But, what about participation? Behavior? Shouldn't students be held accountable for these aspects of being a student? In standards-based grades, behavior shouldn't be included, unless it was specifically instructed. Only achievement should be measured. For example, lateness shouldn't reduce a grade. There is a difference between habits and achievement. I like this in the sense that their grade is accurately reflecting their ability currently, but I feel that certain habits (working well with others, handing in work on time, participating frequently, etc.) should impact a student's grade. In the future, maybe I could develop a dual grading system, one that is for achievement and one that is for behavior. Additionally, only summative assessments should be part of the grade. Formative assessments should only drive instruction. Students should have the chance to learn, practice what they learned, and receive feedback before being assessed.
I related standards-based grading to criterion 2.1 because all students are held to high expectations. Standards-based learning acknowledges that students are coming from different starting points, but that each student can successfully make it to the end destination, and the grade should reflect this. I also connected standards-based grading to criterion 6.1 because the end grade can be an accumulation of various summative assessments. However, various assessments, like formative assessments, can guide students to achievement and receiving a high grade. If students do the work that teachers assign leading up to the summative assessment, students should receive a high grade. This is when you know standards-based learning is working.
Monday, November 16, 2015
Berlin Wall Lesson
Lesson Plan
Student Activities
Ian and I co-taught a Humanities lesson on the Berlin Wall. We opened the lesson with a visual literacy activity, in which we asked students to use the nearpod app to make observations about a photo. We thought this would be a good way to immediately engage students and make them curious about the lesson. After the photo activity, we looked at the "Berlin Wall in Context." This was in the format of a short lecture. Students took notes in the provided packet as I discussed the key concepts using a powerpoint. We then watched a short video clip that gave a nice overview of the Berlin Wall. The main activity of the lesson was a jigsaw. Students were broken into groups and were asked to discuss various Times articles about the Berlin Wall. Finally, we closed with the RAFT assignment. Students took on the role of an East Berliner and were asked to write a letter to a family member on the other side of the wall.
I think we were successful at creating a positive climate and designing approaches that engage. During the jigsaw activity, students were asked to work with their peers and practice their social skills of listening and speaking to each other respectfully. As a future teacher, I want to continue to emphasize social learning in my classroom. I think students get more out of working with each other than simply listening to the teacher. However, it is still important that the teacher acts as a guide for her students. I knew that before we could really begin to analyze the Berlin Wall and its significance, we needed to understand what the Berlin Wall actually was. I think I demonstrated that I understood my content knowledge. I was able to answer the students' questions. I made the content accessible by giving students a note packet. In the packet, students were asked to fill-in the blank, read along, write a definition, and use a map. This made the content less overwhelming. The RAFT assignment was a good example of how we were able to then make the content meaningful. Students had to practice empathy and think about what it would have been like to be a Berliner during this time. Through all of these strategies-- lecture, reading, discussion, writing-- students were engaged in a variety of ways.
Overall, I was pleased with the lesson. My peers noticed that Ian and I worked very well together and we integrated our content nicely. I think this is highly important because to be successful, teachers need to work together and communicate well all the time. They also highlighted that the lesson was very organized. They liked the notes packet and they liked that the powerpoint went along with the lesson. Finally, they observed our use of technology. They liked that in the beginning of the lesson technology was fully integrated, then in the middle of the lesson they were told to put all devices away, and then at the end of the lesson students had a choice to use technology or not. I think technology should be integrated into a classroom, but only when it can be used purposefully and meaningfully. I think Ian and I did a nice job with this.
However, there are many ways that I would change the lesson for the future. The most common feedback I received from my peers was that too much was included in just a 45 minute period. They did not have time to process all of the information. Part of this problem was that Ian and I didn't have a longer period of time to cover the material. In a normal classroom, I would have planned several lessons to cover the information. Nonetheless, this is a reminder to not overwhelm my students. Ian and I should have been more focused on exactly what we wanted our students to get out of the lesson. Another area of improvement is our explanations. Students felt unclear at times. For instance, when I was giving the lecture on "Berlin Wall in Context," I was asked a lot of questions about the location of Berlin and how it was divided. I was able to answer these questions, but I should have anticipated that this would have been an area of confusion. I was so comfortable with my content that I forgot my students wouldn't be. Clearly, it's confusing that Berlin is in the center of a Soviet zone. When planning lessons in the future, I need to consider my students' prior knowledge. Finally, we could have checked-in with students more. It came to our attention that one student was texting during the lecture and another student was more quiet than usual. During the lecture, I could have asked all students to face me, so I could see everybody better. Then, when students started working in groups I could have circled around better to check-in with groups and individual students.
Here is an example of one student's RAFT.
Here is an example of the notes packet from the lecture.
Here is an example of the articles students read during the jigsaw activity. Clearly, this student was engaging with the text.
Student Activities
Ian and I co-taught a Humanities lesson on the Berlin Wall. We opened the lesson with a visual literacy activity, in which we asked students to use the nearpod app to make observations about a photo. We thought this would be a good way to immediately engage students and make them curious about the lesson. After the photo activity, we looked at the "Berlin Wall in Context." This was in the format of a short lecture. Students took notes in the provided packet as I discussed the key concepts using a powerpoint. We then watched a short video clip that gave a nice overview of the Berlin Wall. The main activity of the lesson was a jigsaw. Students were broken into groups and were asked to discuss various Times articles about the Berlin Wall. Finally, we closed with the RAFT assignment. Students took on the role of an East Berliner and were asked to write a letter to a family member on the other side of the wall.
I think we were successful at creating a positive climate and designing approaches that engage. During the jigsaw activity, students were asked to work with their peers and practice their social skills of listening and speaking to each other respectfully. As a future teacher, I want to continue to emphasize social learning in my classroom. I think students get more out of working with each other than simply listening to the teacher. However, it is still important that the teacher acts as a guide for her students. I knew that before we could really begin to analyze the Berlin Wall and its significance, we needed to understand what the Berlin Wall actually was. I think I demonstrated that I understood my content knowledge. I was able to answer the students' questions. I made the content accessible by giving students a note packet. In the packet, students were asked to fill-in the blank, read along, write a definition, and use a map. This made the content less overwhelming. The RAFT assignment was a good example of how we were able to then make the content meaningful. Students had to practice empathy and think about what it would have been like to be a Berliner during this time. Through all of these strategies-- lecture, reading, discussion, writing-- students were engaged in a variety of ways.
Overall, I was pleased with the lesson. My peers noticed that Ian and I worked very well together and we integrated our content nicely. I think this is highly important because to be successful, teachers need to work together and communicate well all the time. They also highlighted that the lesson was very organized. They liked the notes packet and they liked that the powerpoint went along with the lesson. Finally, they observed our use of technology. They liked that in the beginning of the lesson technology was fully integrated, then in the middle of the lesson they were told to put all devices away, and then at the end of the lesson students had a choice to use technology or not. I think technology should be integrated into a classroom, but only when it can be used purposefully and meaningfully. I think Ian and I did a nice job with this.
However, there are many ways that I would change the lesson for the future. The most common feedback I received from my peers was that too much was included in just a 45 minute period. They did not have time to process all of the information. Part of this problem was that Ian and I didn't have a longer period of time to cover the material. In a normal classroom, I would have planned several lessons to cover the information. Nonetheless, this is a reminder to not overwhelm my students. Ian and I should have been more focused on exactly what we wanted our students to get out of the lesson. Another area of improvement is our explanations. Students felt unclear at times. For instance, when I was giving the lecture on "Berlin Wall in Context," I was asked a lot of questions about the location of Berlin and how it was divided. I was able to answer these questions, but I should have anticipated that this would have been an area of confusion. I was so comfortable with my content that I forgot my students wouldn't be. Clearly, it's confusing that Berlin is in the center of a Soviet zone. When planning lessons in the future, I need to consider my students' prior knowledge. Finally, we could have checked-in with students more. It came to our attention that one student was texting during the lecture and another student was more quiet than usual. During the lecture, I could have asked all students to face me, so I could see everybody better. Then, when students started working in groups I could have circled around better to check-in with groups and individual students.
Here is an example of one student's RAFT.
Here is an example of the notes packet from the lecture.
Here is an example of the articles students read during the jigsaw activity. Clearly, this student was engaging with the text.Literacy Formative Assessment Final
Literacy Formative Assessment Revised
To see my overview on the formative assessment I developed, refer to my prior blog post "Literacy Formative Assessment." The link above is my revised formative assessment. I didn't make major changes, but I did make minor adjustments. For example, I added more specific literacy objectives, which are: Students will be able to summarize the main ideas of the text (both of the informational writing and of the diaries); students will be able to connect the reading to the themes of gender, class, geography, politics, and morality in WWII. Also, I added a specific CCSS that my students will strive to meet while reading. By adding specific objectives and standards I, as a teacher, can plan learning opportunities for my students to be able to meet these objectives and standards, and my students will better understand what is expected of them.
In response to the feedback I received on my lesson draft, I made one adjustment in reference to technology. To check for chronological understanding of the war, my students will be asked to make a timeline of the war as a class. A big timeline will be drawn on the board. In their "year" groups (groups they have been assigned that focus on a specific year of the war), students need to write on blue sticky notes 5 events of the war for that year. On yellow sticky notes, each diarist representative will write what was going on with their diarist (the diarist they chose to read about and focus on) during that year. They will go up and paste the sticky notes on the board. I was asked if I thought this was something my students could do digitally. Since I was planning for a 90 minute class, I thought this was a good activity to get students to stand and walk up to the board. I think technology prevents students from being active sometimes. Instead, students can just do everything from their device. So, I kept this activity as it was, but I added the use of a timeline app for during reading. I planned this lesson as if it was for a post-reading class. But, I did discuss what I was planning to have my students do before and during. I think using technology during reading can be very helpful. As students read, they can use the timeline app to map out the events they read about. Then, when doing this timeline activity in class, they can take out the app to use as a helpful guide to refresh their memory. I always want to give my students the opportunity to use technology. But, I also only want to use it where I feel that it is necessary and meaningful.
As I planned this lesson, I anticipated what I thought my students would find useful. When reading Our Longest Days, I anticipated that some of the diarists and the many events of the war would all start to blend together, so I planned activities that would help them sort out the text. This achieves one of my goals as an educator because I'm putting my students first and thinking about their needs. I also think I scaffolded my lesson well. In a pre-reading lesson, I would model how to read a diary by annotating a diary entry in front of the class, so my students would know what is expected of them. Then during reading, students will be given a graphic organizer and shown the timeline app to guide their reading. This will prepare them for the activities I planned after they finished reading the book. This achieves my goal as a teacher to set high expectations for my students, but to also give them the means to succeed.
To see my overview on the formative assessment I developed, refer to my prior blog post "Literacy Formative Assessment." The link above is my revised formative assessment. I didn't make major changes, but I did make minor adjustments. For example, I added more specific literacy objectives, which are: Students will be able to summarize the main ideas of the text (both of the informational writing and of the diaries); students will be able to connect the reading to the themes of gender, class, geography, politics, and morality in WWII. Also, I added a specific CCSS that my students will strive to meet while reading. By adding specific objectives and standards I, as a teacher, can plan learning opportunities for my students to be able to meet these objectives and standards, and my students will better understand what is expected of them.
In response to the feedback I received on my lesson draft, I made one adjustment in reference to technology. To check for chronological understanding of the war, my students will be asked to make a timeline of the war as a class. A big timeline will be drawn on the board. In their "year" groups (groups they have been assigned that focus on a specific year of the war), students need to write on blue sticky notes 5 events of the war for that year. On yellow sticky notes, each diarist representative will write what was going on with their diarist (the diarist they chose to read about and focus on) during that year. They will go up and paste the sticky notes on the board. I was asked if I thought this was something my students could do digitally. Since I was planning for a 90 minute class, I thought this was a good activity to get students to stand and walk up to the board. I think technology prevents students from being active sometimes. Instead, students can just do everything from their device. So, I kept this activity as it was, but I added the use of a timeline app for during reading. I planned this lesson as if it was for a post-reading class. But, I did discuss what I was planning to have my students do before and during. I think using technology during reading can be very helpful. As students read, they can use the timeline app to map out the events they read about. Then, when doing this timeline activity in class, they can take out the app to use as a helpful guide to refresh their memory. I always want to give my students the opportunity to use technology. But, I also only want to use it where I feel that it is necessary and meaningful.
As I planned this lesson, I anticipated what I thought my students would find useful. When reading Our Longest Days, I anticipated that some of the diarists and the many events of the war would all start to blend together, so I planned activities that would help them sort out the text. This achieves one of my goals as an educator because I'm putting my students first and thinking about their needs. I also think I scaffolded my lesson well. In a pre-reading lesson, I would model how to read a diary by annotating a diary entry in front of the class, so my students would know what is expected of them. Then during reading, students will be given a graphic organizer and shown the timeline app to guide their reading. This will prepare them for the activities I planned after they finished reading the book. This achieves my goal as a teacher to set high expectations for my students, but to also give them the means to succeed.
Lesson In My Placement: Newspaper Articles
Newspaper Model
I've had plenty of practice developing lessons and teaching lessons in my education courses. However, I have never had the opportunity to teach a lesson to actual middle school students until my placement at Williston Central School. My cooperating teacher was teaching a unit on spatial inequity in Mexico City. For the summative assessment for the unit, she asked her students to write a newspaper article as if they were news reporters traveling to Mexico City. Before they could complete this task, students needed to learn how to go about writing a newspaper article. Sarah and I co-taught a lesson on how to write a newspaper article to prepare them for this assessment.
We began the lesson by handing out our school newspaper, The Defender, to each student. Students took time (10 minutes or so) to explore the articles, making observations as they read and flipped through the pages. Then, as a class, we shared our observations. Students noticed the catchy titles, quotes, photos and captions, facts, etc. Then, Sarah and I modeled what their articles should look like (see link). The night before, I interviewed Sarah about an event that recently happened in her life and took notes based on Who, What, Where, When, and Why. Then, after the interview, I proceeded to write the article, which I read aloud for the class. After we modeled, we asked students to pair up and interview each other doing the same process. Afterwards, students shared some of their interviews. We made the connection that for their summative assessment, their readings and class notes act as this interview. Then, students had the rest of class (10-15 min) to start working on their Mexico City articles.
I thought the lesson went well. Students were engaged throughout the entire lesson. They especially liked looking through The Defender and interviewing each other (examples of how I achieved criterion 3.2). The interview was also an example of how I integrated criterion 3.1 because students worked with their peers and they were very excited to share their interviews with the class. My cooperating teacher gave us positive feedback. Her feedback is the image below.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Student's Skills Summary
Today in class, we practiced parent-teacher conferences. To prepare for the conference, I prepared a progress report in the form of a Student Skills Summary. While creating this progress report, I kept in mind an actual student I am working with in my placement. In the practice conference, I met with a mother and father who did not demonstrate interest in their child's work. The mother works long hours and is not able to be very involved in her daughter's education and the father was not interested in helping his daughter, especially because he felt that he was incapable of doing so.
I learned a number of things from this practice conference. Firstly, setting an agenda for the conference and being prepared is essential. While reviewing my Student Skills Summary, I felt it addressed the right areas; it discussed the standards we are using in my unit, actual work the student used to demonstrate meeting these standards, and comments. I felt the comment section was most helpful because it was less generic and more personal. To improve my Student Skills Summary, I need to explain the grading scale I'm using (exceeds, meets, and working towards expectations). I need to be more specific on what exceeding, meeting, and working towards expectations actually means. Secondly, I realized not all parents are going to be patient and want to hear about how their child is doing. I struggled with how to react to the "mock" parents when they demonstrated boredom and an anxiousness to leave. In reflection afterwards, my peers suggested that I just highlight my main points instead of continuing to read through my entire progress report. I thought this was a good suggestion. However, I thought I handled the issue of the parents not being able to work with their child on school work well. I said I can schedule extra time to work with their child or send home a guide to assist the parents when trying to help their daughter.
Furthermore, if this was a real conference, I would have put together a portfolio of student work. I think parents would appreciate seeing evidence of their child's performance. Also, I would include a student self-assessment. I think it is important for students to be able to explain where they think they are and why. This is one reason why I really like the idea of student-led conferences. This connects to my goal as a future educator to encourage independence in my students by taking responsibility for their own work and behavior.
Today in class, we practiced parent-teacher conferences. To prepare for the conference, I prepared a progress report in the form of a Student Skills Summary. While creating this progress report, I kept in mind an actual student I am working with in my placement. In the practice conference, I met with a mother and father who did not demonstrate interest in their child's work. The mother works long hours and is not able to be very involved in her daughter's education and the father was not interested in helping his daughter, especially because he felt that he was incapable of doing so.
I learned a number of things from this practice conference. Firstly, setting an agenda for the conference and being prepared is essential. While reviewing my Student Skills Summary, I felt it addressed the right areas; it discussed the standards we are using in my unit, actual work the student used to demonstrate meeting these standards, and comments. I felt the comment section was most helpful because it was less generic and more personal. To improve my Student Skills Summary, I need to explain the grading scale I'm using (exceeds, meets, and working towards expectations). I need to be more specific on what exceeding, meeting, and working towards expectations actually means. Secondly, I realized not all parents are going to be patient and want to hear about how their child is doing. I struggled with how to react to the "mock" parents when they demonstrated boredom and an anxiousness to leave. In reflection afterwards, my peers suggested that I just highlight my main points instead of continuing to read through my entire progress report. I thought this was a good suggestion. However, I thought I handled the issue of the parents not being able to work with their child on school work well. I said I can schedule extra time to work with their child or send home a guide to assist the parents when trying to help their daughter.
Furthermore, if this was a real conference, I would have put together a portfolio of student work. I think parents would appreciate seeing evidence of their child's performance. Also, I would include a student self-assessment. I think it is important for students to be able to explain where they think they are and why. This is one reason why I really like the idea of student-led conferences. This connects to my goal as a future educator to encourage independence in my students by taking responsibility for their own work and behavior.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Unit Standards
Unit: Wartime Experiences: 1941-1942
Essential Question: How did individuals experience the war?
Standards: Proficiency Based Graduation Requirements: Global Citizenship: Vermont
1. Inquiry: Ask focused, probing, and significant questions that encourage inquiry around an issue of personal, community, or global relevance; revise explanations as necessary based on personal reflection, peer critique, and/or expert opinion; solicit and respond to feedback; identify possibilities for continued or further research.
2. History: Describe how life in the United States and/or the world has both changed and stayed the same over time and explain why these changes have occurred; identify different types of primary and secondary sources; evaluate the credibility of differing accounts of the same event(s).
Already I have made changes to my unit outline; I narrowed my essential question and expanded the unit standards. This unit will focus on the Inquiry and History standards that will guide my unit.
My goals for my unit (based on standards):
-I want to create lessons that are discussion-based, in which students can ask myself and their peers questions, share ideas, and receive feedback. Social learning will hold an important place in my unit.
-I want this unit to be reading and writing intensive. Students will read a variety of texts (diaries, informational accounts), in which they will need to understand the difference between primary and secondary sources. They will also read texts from diverse perspectives. For instance, we may look at the Blitz from the German and British perspective. Students will find that these perspectives are greatly different and will have to ask themselves, "Are both sides credible?" Similarly, I will ask students to complete various writing assignments, one in which students will write a journal as if they were living during WWII. Students will receive frequent feedback on their writing and will hand in multiple drafts.
Essential Question: How did individuals experience the war?
Standards: Proficiency Based Graduation Requirements: Global Citizenship: Vermont
1. Inquiry: Ask focused, probing, and significant questions that encourage inquiry around an issue of personal, community, or global relevance; revise explanations as necessary based on personal reflection, peer critique, and/or expert opinion; solicit and respond to feedback; identify possibilities for continued or further research.
2. History: Describe how life in the United States and/or the world has both changed and stayed the same over time and explain why these changes have occurred; identify different types of primary and secondary sources; evaluate the credibility of differing accounts of the same event(s).
Already I have made changes to my unit outline; I narrowed my essential question and expanded the unit standards. This unit will focus on the Inquiry and History standards that will guide my unit.
My goals for my unit (based on standards):
-I want to create lessons that are discussion-based, in which students can ask myself and their peers questions, share ideas, and receive feedback. Social learning will hold an important place in my unit.
-I want this unit to be reading and writing intensive. Students will read a variety of texts (diaries, informational accounts), in which they will need to understand the difference between primary and secondary sources. They will also read texts from diverse perspectives. For instance, we may look at the Blitz from the German and British perspective. Students will find that these perspectives are greatly different and will have to ask themselves, "Are both sides credible?" Similarly, I will ask students to complete various writing assignments, one in which students will write a journal as if they were living during WWII. Students will receive frequent feedback on their writing and will hand in multiple drafts.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Course Outline
Curriculum Course Outline
The course I am creating is a 7th and 8th grade Social Studies class on World War II. There will be 7 units: The Eve of War (1939), Geography (1940), Wartime Experiences (1941-1942), Politics and the War (1943), Racism and Imperialism (1944), Morality (1945), and Impacts of the War. I planned my course using the Proficiency Based Graduation Standards for the state of Vermont. My course addresses a number of the Global Citizenship standards from each category--Inquiry, History, Economics, Geography, and Civics, Government, and Society. The standards build upon each other. For instance, unit 2 focuses on geography. Students need to have a basic understanding of the geography of the war before they can explain how location impacts wartime experiences in unit 3. Some standards repeat each other. This is good in the sense that students will become very good at meeting these standards. However, I also want to address a variety of standards. As I plan more and think about the lessons for my unit, I hope to bring in more standards.
The course I am creating is a 7th and 8th grade Social Studies class on World War II. There will be 7 units: The Eve of War (1939), Geography (1940), Wartime Experiences (1941-1942), Politics and the War (1943), Racism and Imperialism (1944), Morality (1945), and Impacts of the War. I planned my course using the Proficiency Based Graduation Standards for the state of Vermont. My course addresses a number of the Global Citizenship standards from each category--Inquiry, History, Economics, Geography, and Civics, Government, and Society. The standards build upon each other. For instance, unit 2 focuses on geography. Students need to have a basic understanding of the geography of the war before they can explain how location impacts wartime experiences in unit 3. Some standards repeat each other. This is good in the sense that students will become very good at meeting these standards. However, I also want to address a variety of standards. As I plan more and think about the lessons for my unit, I hope to bring in more standards.
Literacy Formative Assessment
Literacy Formative Assessment
I designed this lesson as if I was teaching a unit on World War II in a 7th and 8th grade Social Studies classroom. My students will be reading Our Longest Days, a book that offers an overview of the war and compiles diary entries from actual people that lived throughout the war. I thought this was a good book selection because it ranked as a middle school reading level and it demonstrated two types of writing (diaries and informational). I planned the lesson as if the students already read the book in its entirety.
The lesson is discussion based. Students will work in groups and share ideas, achieving criterion 3.1. To transition to a class discussion, students will have to get up and create a timeline, meeting criterion 3.2 because it demonstrates my understanding of active learning. This is important during a 90 minute period. Performance criterion 4.1 and 4.2 were met because students learned how to read the diary entries like a historian. Students had to think about context and language while reading. They had to make connections between wartime events and the experiences of the diarists and make inferences about how certain events could shape the lives of the diarists. Finally, performance criterion 6.1 was achieved because multiple methods of assessment were used. I can measure my students understanding by listening to their discussions, collecting their graphic organizers/notes, and reviewing their timeline they created.
In the future, I would like to learn more strategies on how to plan a lesson for a long period. I found it difficult to break up the class into sections.
I designed this lesson as if I was teaching a unit on World War II in a 7th and 8th grade Social Studies classroom. My students will be reading Our Longest Days, a book that offers an overview of the war and compiles diary entries from actual people that lived throughout the war. I thought this was a good book selection because it ranked as a middle school reading level and it demonstrated two types of writing (diaries and informational). I planned the lesson as if the students already read the book in its entirety.
The lesson is discussion based. Students will work in groups and share ideas, achieving criterion 3.1. To transition to a class discussion, students will have to get up and create a timeline, meeting criterion 3.2 because it demonstrates my understanding of active learning. This is important during a 90 minute period. Performance criterion 4.1 and 4.2 were met because students learned how to read the diary entries like a historian. Students had to think about context and language while reading. They had to make connections between wartime events and the experiences of the diarists and make inferences about how certain events could shape the lives of the diarists. Finally, performance criterion 6.1 was achieved because multiple methods of assessment were used. I can measure my students understanding by listening to their discussions, collecting their graphic organizers/notes, and reviewing their timeline they created.
In the future, I would like to learn more strategies on how to plan a lesson for a long period. I found it difficult to break up the class into sections.
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Literacy In My Placement
I am working in a 7th grade Social Studies classroom at Williston Central School. The students are currently working on a country unit. They each chose a country they were interested in learning about and wrote a series of journal entries as if they were traveling to that country. Each entry was about a different topic: geography, climate, history, government, economics, and culture. Their journals are examples of recounts and informational reports. I would consider it a recount because they are writing as if they are in that country, but I also consider it an informational report because they have to share their research/ facts about their countries. I really like this project! I think it's engaging and encourages students to be creative. I'm not sure how my cooperating teacher started them on this assignment because I wasn't in the class at that time, but if it were me I would offer some research guidance. I would instruct students on how to find reliable resources on their country, how to paraphrase what they read, and how to then go and cite these sources properly.
After they complete 10 journals, students will do a final presentation in which they share their "suitcase." Students will bring back back a suitcase from their country with different items like, food, art, clothes, etc. Students need to create these pieces. As a class, students decided what kinds of things they could bring back. A picture might be worth one point, but food they made might be worth 4 points.
Below I attached the instructions for the journals. I also included modified instructions for students with learning disabilities.
After they complete 10 journals, students will do a final presentation in which they share their "suitcase." Students will bring back back a suitcase from their country with different items like, food, art, clothes, etc. Students need to create these pieces. As a class, students decided what kinds of things they could bring back. A picture might be worth one point, but food they made might be worth 4 points.
Below I attached the instructions for the journals. I also included modified instructions for students with learning disabilities.
Jacqueline Woodson
In my education classes, we read the book Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. On Monday night I was fortunate to hear her speak about her life and her writing. In her talk, she talked a lot about school and education. In discussing her own experience, she mentioned that many of her teachers recognized her passion for writing, even though she struggled with it. This stood out to me because it got me thinking about the importance of understanding our students' passions. Even though Woodson had a hard time writing, she clearly became a successful author and that was partly due to her teachers encouraging her to pursue her interest. Woodson said teachers should do more asking and less telling. She suggests that on the first day of class, teachers should ask their students questions like: What do you love to do? What is your preferred gender pronoun? I thought these were great suggestions because it sets an open and welcoming tone and creates a student-centered classroom.
Another part of Woodson's talk that stood out to me was her reflection on what we have students read in school. She mentioned how in school we often don't read books to our students that have sad endings. She said reading books with sad endings leaves students thinking and teaches them empathy, which is extremely important. Also, she said how students need "windows and mirrors in books." It's important to have students see themselves in what they are reading, but this isn't often the case for poor children, for example. Additionally, she said middle school and high school students should still read picture books! I definitely plan to use picture books in my classroom because I learned in my Literacy class that practicing visual literacy leads to close-reading skills. Creating/reading graphic novels is a good strategy I learned in my class. Jacqueline really got me thinking about my future pedagogy.
Another part of Woodson's talk that stood out to me was her reflection on what we have students read in school. She mentioned how in school we often don't read books to our students that have sad endings. She said reading books with sad endings leaves students thinking and teaches them empathy, which is extremely important. Also, she said how students need "windows and mirrors in books." It's important to have students see themselves in what they are reading, but this isn't often the case for poor children, for example. Additionally, she said middle school and high school students should still read picture books! I definitely plan to use picture books in my classroom because I learned in my Literacy class that practicing visual literacy leads to close-reading skills. Creating/reading graphic novels is a good strategy I learned in my class. Jacqueline really got me thinking about my future pedagogy.
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Mini Lesson: Arguments
Mini Lesson: Arguments
In our mini-lesson, Laura and I co-taught how to develop an argument to our Curriculum class. We began the lesson by modeling an argument based on our content area. We took on the roles of an anti-federalist and a federalist, debating the importance of the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution. We dressed the part; I wore a colonial wig. I was pleased with this part of the lesson. I think we captured our students' attention and got them excited for the lesson. It also showed them what was expected of them as students. We gave them our script and highlighted the thesis, our reasons (with transition words), and conclusion. Then, we divided the class into two groups and they had to work together to develop an argument on their own. The question we asked was: Should books be censored in schools?
I thought our lesson was very engaging. Students seemed to stay focused and they seemed to have fun with the debate. As seen on the attached worksheets, students clearly understood the process of developing an argument. Both sides successfully wrote a thesis, thought of three reasons to support their claim, and came up with a conclusion. Also, while they were debating, they included argumentative language, while transitioning from reason to reason. I was pleased with how the debate went, but there are some adjustments I would make for next time. Firstly, Laura and I did not provide both sides with sufficient evidence. We provided the pro-censorship side with a list of books that were banned and why, but the against side did not have a resource that supported their argument. This was a major overlook. Next time, I would give both sides at least two resources that supported each side. Additionally, I would have reviewed the modeled script from the beginning of class with my students before they started their own debate. This was mainly due to the time constraint. Overall, I think Laura and I created an engaging lesson.
In our mini-lesson, Laura and I co-taught how to develop an argument to our Curriculum class. We began the lesson by modeling an argument based on our content area. We took on the roles of an anti-federalist and a federalist, debating the importance of the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution. We dressed the part; I wore a colonial wig. I was pleased with this part of the lesson. I think we captured our students' attention and got them excited for the lesson. It also showed them what was expected of them as students. We gave them our script and highlighted the thesis, our reasons (with transition words), and conclusion. Then, we divided the class into two groups and they had to work together to develop an argument on their own. The question we asked was: Should books be censored in schools?
I thought our lesson was very engaging. Students seemed to stay focused and they seemed to have fun with the debate. As seen on the attached worksheets, students clearly understood the process of developing an argument. Both sides successfully wrote a thesis, thought of three reasons to support their claim, and came up with a conclusion. Also, while they were debating, they included argumentative language, while transitioning from reason to reason. I was pleased with how the debate went, but there are some adjustments I would make for next time. Firstly, Laura and I did not provide both sides with sufficient evidence. We provided the pro-censorship side with a list of books that were banned and why, but the against side did not have a resource that supported their argument. This was a major overlook. Next time, I would give both sides at least two resources that supported each side. Additionally, I would have reviewed the modeled script from the beginning of class with my students before they started their own debate. This was mainly due to the time constraint. Overall, I think Laura and I created an engaging lesson.
Monday, October 5, 2015
Letter to Stakeholders
Letter to Stakeholders
In my Literacy course, I wrote a letter analyzing the effects of adolescents' digital lifestyles. The principle point of my letter was that technology is not going away and we need to adjust our pedagogy to ensure that our students have the skills to be successful in a technologically advancing world. This letter connects to my goals I have set for myself as a future educator. I hope to be flexible and open to new ideas. While I might prefer printed text, for instance, my students might prefer reading and completing tasks on a devise. The needs and interests of my students should always come first. In regards to technology, to continue achieving my goal to be flexible and open, I need to expand my knowledge on the opportunities technology offers. In my education classes, I have learned a variety of strategies to implement technology in my future classroom. I need to continue discovering new apps and exploring their benefits.
Monday, September 28, 2015
Visual Literacy Lesson
Propaganda
In this activity, students will practice their visual literacy skills, while learning course content. Students will be guided by questions and the graphic organizer in order to make observations on the composition of each propaganda poster. By paying attention to the visual syntax of the posters, students will be able to make connections to wartime themes. After the activity, students will have the opportunity to create their own World War II propaganda posters.
This activity achieves criterion 4.1 because I will guide students to look at the propaganda posters through the eyes of a historian by thinking about the context of the posters and the audience that they target. This activity also achieves criterion 4.2 because the graphic organizer provided will make the lesson accessible by providing a place for students to organize their observations. By then giving students an opportunity to create their own propaganda posters, their learning can become more meaningful. Finally, the lesson meets criterion 5.2 because the activity requires critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication. Students need to analyze a poster (critical thinking), design their own (creativity) with a partner (collaboration) and then present and explain their poster to the class (communication). We can connect the activity to local or global issues by thinking about what messages we see everyday, as forms of "propaganda." For example, we can think about what we see in advertisements and who those advertisements are targeting and why.
In this activity, students will practice their visual literacy skills, while learning course content. Students will be guided by questions and the graphic organizer in order to make observations on the composition of each propaganda poster. By paying attention to the visual syntax of the posters, students will be able to make connections to wartime themes. After the activity, students will have the opportunity to create their own World War II propaganda posters.
This activity achieves criterion 4.1 because I will guide students to look at the propaganda posters through the eyes of a historian by thinking about the context of the posters and the audience that they target. This activity also achieves criterion 4.2 because the graphic organizer provided will make the lesson accessible by providing a place for students to organize their observations. By then giving students an opportunity to create their own propaganda posters, their learning can become more meaningful. Finally, the lesson meets criterion 5.2 because the activity requires critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication. Students need to analyze a poster (critical thinking), design their own (creativity) with a partner (collaboration) and then present and explain their poster to the class (communication). We can connect the activity to local or global issues by thinking about what messages we see everyday, as forms of "propaganda." For example, we can think about what we see in advertisements and who those advertisements are targeting and why.
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Literacy at SMC
This presentation illustrates the types of literacies I see on SMC campus. By acknowledging that there are different forms of literacy I can differentiate my teaching. For instance, I may have some students that can read body language in an advanced manner, but have difficulty reading a set of directions. I can design inclusive learning experiences by not using only one type of literacy in my future classroom. I hope to learn different strategies to be able to successfully integrate different forms of literacy in my class.
I can also use this activity in the future to engage my students. By giving students the opportunity to be active and walk around the school, while using their devices to take pictures and videos, students will remain interested and get excited about the content.
I can also use this activity in the future to engage my students. By giving students the opportunity to be active and walk around the school, while using their devices to take pictures and videos, students will remain interested and get excited about the content.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Accommodation Matrix
As a teacher, I will design inclusive learning experiences by understanding the background, needs, strengths, and interests of each student in my classroom. By using the accommodation matrix as a guide, I will be able to differentiate my teaching by knowing the individuals in my classroom. In the future, I hope to learn more strategies to implement choice in my classroom that would accommodate all the needs/interests/strengths of my students.
As a teacher, I will design inclusive learning experiences by understanding the background, needs, strengths, and interests of each student in my classroom. By using the accommodation matrix as a guide, I will be able to differentiate my teaching by knowing the individuals in my classroom. In the future, I hope to learn more strategies to implement choice in my classroom that would accommodate all the needs/interests/strengths of my students.
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