Lesson Plan Portfolio-Student Teaching-1
Lesson Plan Portfolio-Student Teaching-1
Lesson Plan Portfolio-Student Teaching-1
Christina Slavin
Spring 2016
Penn-Delco School District
Placement 1: Kindergarten, Pennell Elementary School
Placement 2: 6th, 7th, 8th Life Skills/Intensive Learning Support,
Northley Middle School
Lesson 2: English Language Arts: Writing Lesson (First Grade) Lesson Taught
This lesson focuses on the students coming together as a class and recognizing why they are important while also working on
their writing skills. After the book, The Sneetches, by Dr. Seuss was read aloud to the students and we discussed what a
complete sentence is as a class, the students were asked to look at a quote. The quote stated, Star or no star, I like who you
are. The students discussed with a partner what that quote meant, and then the students had to write why they thought they
were special. They had to brainstorm with a partner why people would like themselves or think that they are special. They all
shared their writing pieces aloud and drew a symbol to represent themselves on the large cut-out Sneetch.
Lesson 3: Social Studies: St. Patrick's Day Culture Lesson (Third Grade)
This lesson is written to go in a unit plan: Cultures around the World. First, students discuss the meaning of culture to them and
what they know about their culture while sitting on the carpet. Then, the students learn about the Irish culture as a group
through an interactive read aloud. The teacher discusses the important vocabulary words with the word shamrock being one of
them. The students write one thing on each leaf of the shamrock that they learned about the Irish culture, and then draw
something on the back of the shamrock that they are lucky to have. Each student would share with the class what they learned
and what they are lucky to have in their lives. Finally, I would hang up their shamrock on the back of the bulletin board to
represent what the students are lucky to have.
In my science methods class, I learned a lot about the importance of incorporating inquiry and group work into lessons. Howe, Tolmie, Thurston, Topping,
Christie, Livingston, Jessiman & Donaldson (2007) explain that, Classroom group work can usually be traced back to Deweys contention that pupils should be
encouraged to operate as members of communities, actively pursing interests in cooperation with others (p.550). Group work is important part of classroom
structure to ensure that every student has a voice. I wrote this lesson so that students would have the opportunity to learn through group work and learn from
one another. Howe et al. also states, The critical message is that group work in elementary science should be organized to maximize the proposal and
explanation of ideas in contests where teachers are relatively non-directiveproductive interaction can occur in cross-age, as well as single-age, classrooms, it
signals the power of interaction to create mutuality and equality in contexts. (p. 561). The first grade students learned through trial and error about what
made the marble stay inside the tubes a lot better than if I were to stand up in front of the classroom and teach them how to make the marble pass through
the tubes successfully. When asked to share how their group problem solved, they were able to compile responses that showed they worked as a team and
understood that height was a factor in the movement of the marble. My cooperating teacher at the time also said he will definitely use that lesson idea in the
in the future to introduce pushes and pulls to the students.
Lesson 3: Social Studies: St. Patrick's Day Culture Lesson (Third Grade)
This lesson allowed the students to view a culture that may differ from their culture at home. It also allowed the students to share something that they are
lucky to have with the class, which promotes diversity in the classroom. In the beginning of the lesson, there is time for discussion on what culture means to
students. During that time, students may share their culture with the class if they wish. I decided to open the lesson with a discussion on culture because it is
important for the students to understand that their peers come from different cultures and that all cultures are acceptable. I learned in my Engaging Learners
class that group discussion and sharing aloud are very important factors in creating a positive learning environment for students. According to Blount &
Napolitano (2014), Class discussions can enhance student understanding, add context to academic content, broaden student perspectives, highlight opposing
viewpoints, reinforce knowledge, build confidence, and support community in learning...Students will build their own support communities in this way. The
whole group discussion in this lesson increases the interpersonal connections between students in the classroom by allowing them to hear about their peers
personal lives and understand what culture means to others. The discussion supported the classroom community by reinforcing that every student in the
classroom has a voice.
The goal of this lesson was for the students to be able to break apart sounds that they hear in words. This is a skill that helps
them read words as they continue to become a proficient reader. I would read them the book, How Rocket Learned to Read by
Tad Hills because in the story, Rocket learns how to read as well. I stop throughout the read aloud and point out different sounds
and practice making those sounds with the students. For example, I point out that rocket said, Grrrr! in the story. I point out
that most times, there will be more letters than there are sounds. I then move into the guided practice with the students as they
work on filling in sounds in the Elkonin boxes on the board. I use words that Rocket learned how to read in the story. For
independent practice, the students receive playdoh and blank laminated Elkonin boxes and they practice counting the sounds in
the words.
In this lesson, students are introduced to the different types of Arctic animals that live in that habitat. To understand the animals that live
there, they are shown a PowerPoint slide of all of the animals including penguins, polar bear, and seals. I use the PowerPoint to point out
important features of the animals such as the Polar Bears furry coat or the seals flippers that keep them warm. After I go over the physical
features of the animals, we review the sounds the animals make through a song that goes along to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus. As
each sound of the animal is sung aloud, I hold up the picture of the animal. Instruments are passed around and each instrument represents
a different animal sound. The PowerPoint and music and able to help the auditory and visual learns in the classroom. As mentioned in my
differentiation section, students with hearing impairments could be provided with visual prompts of when to start singing and a hard copy of
the PowerPoint slide with more detailed pictures. Students with visual impairments could be provided with the song a week before class so
he or she can get familiar with the lyrics. He or she can also be provided a copy of the lyrics written in brail.
Lesson 2: English Language Arts: Compound Words (First Grade)- Lesson Taught
The lesson started off introducing compound words with a video shown on the smartboard. It was an interactive video that allowed students
to stand up and learn compound words using clapping to represent the compound words. One student in the class had ADHD, so I knew that
the interactive video would help her to move around and the kinesthetic learners to grasp the material. I read aloud, If you Give a Pig a
Pancake, by Laura Numeroff and they were following along with the text in their anthology. The students had to record the compound words
that they saw in the text on a worksheet. Then, they discussed the words as a class. As a closure activity, the students participated in a
smartboard activity in which the students had to drag and drop words into the appropriate spot on the board. Different students were
allowed to come up to the smart board to drag the word into the appropriate spot and read the word aloud to the class. I would assign
students words on the smartboard that I knew would be appropriate for different students based upon their reading level. It acted as a great
review for the lesson.
As learned throughout my college career, Howard Gardner created multiple intelligences, explaining how different students learn best in different ways. By adding
music along with the visual aid, it reaches different intelligences in the classroom. Governor (2011) states in her article that, There are differences in how each
childs brain works, and in how people acquire and represent knowledge (p.21). In this lesson, the students have the song to follow, but also the PowerPoint
displayed on the smartboard, instruments, and lyrics to keep them focused. It reaches the needs of all learners. Governor (2011) also states, In one of the few
studies conducted in an education setting, researchers used songs as a teaching strategy in kindergarten, second and fifth grade classroomsthere were gains in
subject matter knowledge, and student participation in class activities increased, when content-based music was implemented as a teaching strategy (p.2). By
adding the song and visual aid, it allowed students to become more engaged n the lesson and remember the content being taught. The students will walk away
knowing the different animals that are present in the Arctic.
Lesson 2: English Language Arts: Compound Words (First Grade)- Lesson Taught
I decided to incorporate an interactive video and a smart board activity to engage the students in the lesson and to differentiate for some of the students in the
classroom. The article titled, Interactive Whiteboards and Learning, states, Educators continuously strive to develop strategies and tools that will reach students
with unique or diverse learning needs. Many of these learning styles-even the requirements of visual, hearing-impaired and other special needs students-can be
addressed when lesson delivery and learning activities incorporate use of an interactive white board (2006, p. 8). In this first grade class, there was a student
with ADHD, two students with a learning disability, and a student with Cerebral Palsy. I knew I had to meet the needs of all the students, and the smartboard
allowed me to accomplish that task. The article also mentions the following: Students with ADHD are better able to control impulsive and disruptive outbursts
when an interactive white board is introduced . Visually-impaired students benefit from the size of the interactive white board and, according to Cooper and Clark
(2003), when a teacher plays videos on an interactive white board, students who would not normally see images are finally able to see and interact with a
computer image (Interactive Whiteboards, 2006, p.9). The interaction with the smartboard motivated the students to want to understand compound words.
They viewed the smartboard activity as if it was a game, which motivated them to succeed with the activity more than if there was just a paper and pencil
worksheet.
This lesson tied in two content areas: writing and science. The students were expected to create a roller coaster with their friends through the science inquiry process. They
were given the essential task of creating a roller coaster with just tubes, tape and a marble that successfully allowed the marble to travel through it. The students were
assessed on their science inquiry and problem solving skills through observation and a 3-2-1 Rubric. I was looking to hear questions such as, How can we make this roller
coaster work? and other good teamwork. statements I will use that rubric to conference with the different groups after they share aloud how they made their marble
successfully travel through the tubes. To assess the students writing for the final activity, I also used a 3-2-1- rubric to mark off if they followed directions and used
complete sentences.
Standards: 3.1.B7: Science Inquiry; skills CC.1.4.1.B: Identify and write about one specific topic
Objectives: (1)The students will be able to participate in the science inquiry experiences centered on the construction of their own roller coaster; (2)The students will be able to demonstrate
appropriate group interaction skills when investigating their roller coaster through a science inquiry experience; (3)The students will be able to draw their roller coaster they created
accompanied with a name for their roller coaster and two sentences about why their roller coaster is special through a writing activity.
Lesson 3: English Language Arts: Before, During, After Lesson (Second Grade)
This lesson was based upon the book Pinduli by Janell Cannon. In the before stage of the lesson, I preview the theme of the story with the students and ask them to share with a partner about a
time when someone was mean to them or would not share and how that made them feel. Again, in the after section of the lesson, the students have to Think-Pair-Share again based upon a
question related to the book. The students had to discuss with their partner why Pindulis mother told her that she was the smartest hyena ever, even though she was bullied. For the
summative assessment, students are asked to respond to a writing prompt which relates to the theme of the story. For a formative assessment, students are asked to write there name on a postit note and write what they think the theme was and hang it on the bulletin board. I would then be able to read aloud the themes that were appropriate, and keep those post-it notes to keep as
progress data.
Standard: CC.1.3.2.A Recount stories and determine their central message, lesson, moral; CC.1.3.2.B Ask and answer questions such as who, what, where, when, and why, and how to
demonstrate understanding of key details in the text; CC.1.3.2.C Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges; CC.1.3.2.M Write narratives to develop real or
imagined experiences or events.
Objective: (1)Students will be able to understand how the theme of the story and how it relates to the problems that Pinduli encounters; (2)Students will be able to explain the challenges that
the main character, Pinduli, overcomes in the jungle; (3)Students will be able to write in Pindulis point of view through creative writing and discussions using the main ideas from the text;
(4)Students will be able to collaboratively give a detailed summary of the main events and actions that occurred in Pinduli.
For this assessment, students were graded using a rubric based upon their science inquiry skills and their writing piece that described their roller coaster. They were expected to work
as a team to complete the essential task and compose a two-sentence description. On my rubric, I created the following three categories: Does not meet expectations, meets
expectations, exceeds expectations. The three objectives that I created are directly tied to the expectations placed upon my rubric. I learned in my assessment course that objectives
need to be clearly tied to what is being assessed. For example, my first objective stated the following: The students will be able to participate in the science inquiry experiences
centered on the construction of their own roller coaster. The row on my rubric was titled, Science Inquiry experience and under the Meet Expectations column, the criteria stated,
Student conveys new knowledge built through investigation. The student hypothesized how to create a successful roller coaster through numerous trial and error runs. Because my
objectives are directly tied to my assessment, I know that my rubric is valid. Leonhardt (2005) wrote in her article, Using Rubric as an Assessment Tool in Your Classroom, When
student performance is assessed using rubrics, evaluation does not take students by surprise.a clear outline shows the connection between the demonstration of a skills level and
the expectation for attaining that skill (para. 21). In the assessment description in my lesson, I explained I would discuss the rubric with the student during a one-on-one conference. I
could then keep the rubrics and see how the students progressed through their use of inquiry, writing, and interpersonal skills.
Lesson 3: English Language Arts: Before, During, After Lesson (Second Grade)
This lesson included a formative assessment and a summative assessment that tied directly to the objectives. The students had to respond to a prompt and write their response in
essay format as the summative assessment. For the formative assessment, the students had to write what they think the theme of the story is on a post-it-note as soon as I would
finish reading aloud the story. I chose to include the formative assessment so we could go over theme as a class once more before the students wrote their final essay on the theme of
the story. Bakula (2010) explains that, Teachers should use formative assessments to clarify what students are supposed to be learning, improve the instructional practices of
individual teachers, and allow for reteaching of concepts to reach struggling students (para. 5). If students were writing themes on the post-it notes that did not relate to the story at
all, then I would have went back to the carpet and discussed theme more explicitly; however, if students were able to appropriately write the theme, I would know they would be ready
to move on. Bakula (2010) supports the idea of re-teaching a concept if students are not grasping the content during a lesson by stating, Teachers must use the formative
assessment results to shape their teaching and create ways to reach their struggling students (para. 6). I observed one of my previous cooperating teachers using the post-it notes
during Language Arts, and I still think it is an effective way to collect tangible data and to provide a check-in with the students on their knowledge.
References
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