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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.