Professional Documents
Culture Documents
and has a population of 26,791 people, averaging 2,067 people per square mile. It is the
third largest city in a small state and has several different elementary schools, both
private and public along with several different businesses. During the 2012-2013 school
year, Elementary School X had an enrollment of 425 students and 28 teachers with
average class size ranging from 20-26 students. The majority ethnicity is white at 93%,
and 7% students of other races. Out of the students 49.5% are male and 50.5% are
female. The attendance of the students in the elementary school for the 2012-2013
The 3-5th grade resource room has a total of 16 students, 7 girls and 9 boys with
all students receiving special education services. The layout of the room has two main
table groups, the reading tables and the math table. The reading table is made up of
four long tables with a teachers chair in the middle to address each table, the reading
table seats 10 students at most at one time. The math table is made of one large table
and seats at most 6 students. The reading table is facing the Smartboard with the
teacher in the middle of the tables. The math table faces a white board with the teacher
at the head of the table. Students sit at a table depending on what they are covering, if
they come in with work they find a spot in the room to receive help. There is a Smart
Board at the front of the class along with a white board which the teacher uses to
extend learning. There are specific baskets where the students hand in assignments as
well as a table for group work or individual work with the teacher. There are multiple
drawers with math centers along the counter on the east side of the room. The room is
also equipped with cubbies for the student to use. The classroom is located in a closed
in area of the school, which is originally an open classroom school, the room has two
doors with a large window. The room is also attached to a smaller room for students to
work individually on test and also as an escape room. This section of the school houses
mainly 3rd-5th grade classrooms. Each grade has 3 grades, with two recourse rooms one
for lower grades k-2 and one for higher grades 3-5. The class has carpeted floors and
two bathrooms (male and female), a water fountain and a sink. There is a large window
along the one side of the class that lets in a lot of natural light.
3. Student Information
There are sixteen students in the class, only 9 students receive pull out math or
reading. Ages range from 8 to 11 years old, third to fifth grade. There are three students
in third grade which receive both pull out math, reading and spelling instruction. Three
students in fourth grade that receive pull out reading lessons, two students in fourth
grade receive pull out spelling. In fifth grade two students receive pull out math lessons
and three receive pull out reading and spelling lessons. All sixteen students receive
additional help with school work and often come into the room to have text read aloud to
them. Each student has an individual learning plan that works best for them, many
students prefer to work in pairs, and others prefer to work alone with additional help
when they ask. Students are motivated to work hard with a reward system. If they work
the whole time while in the room they get to add a sticker to their intensive chart, once
the chart is full they receive a prize from the prize drawer. Students are also motivated
by the idea of 5 minutes of reading or draw time at the end of a lesson if well behaved
4. Instructional Implications
Since the classroom has a wide range of disabilities and difficulties instruction
needs to challenge students while being at a level they can reach. As many students
struggle with attention deficit disorder lessons need to be engaging and students need
to have hand on experiences. I will help students by reading test and assignments aloud
and providing extra help when needed. I will differentiate my instruction to meet the
needs of all students. I will keep my lesson interactive and include many assessments
where I allow them to collaborate with peers to best benefit their learning styles.
The student I choose for my case study is a 16 year old 10 th grade male. Student
X comes from a middle income home and lives with both parents. Student X receives
services under the eligibility category of Cognitive Impairment, full scale IQ is 62, as well
Student X is currently taking medication (Tenex and Adderall) for his ADHD symptoms.
He does not display attention or behavior concerns at the home or at school. His mother
reported Student Xs strengths as being that he respects others and is willing to help.
Student X struggles most in math, reading and spelling and his favorite subject is
science. Student X struggles with social norms and is very sensitive and worries about
what others think of him. When asked Student X says he learns best when he can both
see and hear information at the same time. He also works best in small group settings
During his first class Student X would socialize with his peers less than in other classes
but would be more willing to read and provide answers in class. In his first class he had
a total of three times that he would approach the teacher with a complaint that someone
didnt like him or was being intentionally cruel. While in his second class he would
socialize more with his peers he would be less willing to participate in class, he would
read quietly and offer answers much less. In this class he would talk and laugh with his
friends. During super study Student X is quite and keeps to himself, mostly using this
time to work, in relationship to the other students in the class this can be very different
behavior. Most students use this time as a chance to socialize but Student X seems
uncomfortable in this setting with many peers he does not know well. While at lunch
Student X socializes and laughs with his friends, he shows social normal behavior and
does not seem to upset easy. During the last class I observed him, photography,
Student X would spend the majority of his time with two female peers. I also had some
as efficiently as possible and walks with his head slightly down. From my observations I
noticed that Student X has preset ideas about people perception of himself and bases
most opportunities to observe this students in many different environments and he was
a student on my cooperating teachers case load, which gave me the chance to learn
more about him. Secondly his behavior peeked my interest right away, from the
beginning he claimed that certain teachers and students did not like him and would
refuse to work with him. After I observed the class that he would make these claims in I
found that they were false and it was within his own perception that the teacher refused
to provide help, the teacher would actually try especially hard to make sure he was
ready before moving on. I was curious how to counteract a students own set of
perception as it was effecting his work. While a polite student, his self-hate perceptive
affected not only his academics but his social interactions. In choosing to study this
student I hoped to learn more about teenage students self-confidence issues in their
The main issues Student Xs behavior presents is a fall in academic and social
success in school. His proclamation that certain teachers disliked him affected his
school work in those classes as well as affected the amount of effort put forth in those
classes. This behavior is not appropriate to a student his age, he is displaying a high
level of dependency on teachers and is not using self-efficacy and instead takes the
victim role. My main concern with this student is that he is letting his academics fall and
is putting the blame elsewhere instead of talking responsibility himself. This behavior
affects the quality of work he does in many of his classes. In classes where he has a
positive relationship with his teacher he is more willing to do the work and offers
answers more willingly, the class where he believe the teacher does not like him he is
Two strategies I would utilize for this student would be to increase his feelings of
self-efficacy as well as improve his relationships with his teachers. According to Reivich;
Self-efficacy is the belief that you have skills that you can rely on to help you navigate
life and reach your goals, I believe that if Student X has self-efficacy he will discover
that he is in charge of his own grades and outcomes and will gain confidence. To build
a good grade he needs to recognize that he received it because he showed good study
habits and tried his best, instead of a feeling of luck. A second building block of self-
efficacy is observing others who achieve goals. We need to provided positive examples
of other teens achieving their goals, this gives students the added support that they
need to believe in themselves. Building Block 3 is direct persuasion by others that is the
influence teachers, parents and peers have on a students beliefs about their ability.
Student X needs to hear more positive strong messages about the skills and capabilities
he has. Feedback needs to be given that is specific to him, if teachers can emphasis
this students strengths in following direction and organization in relation to his grades he
will develop an understanding that he is in control of his life. If his teachers provide
direct feedback he will also put forth more effort as well as develop a positive
relationship with that teacher. The last building block of self-efficacy is mood, which is to
there are many different techniques to try when encouraging self-efficacy. In Student Xs
case I would work with him in recognizing negative thoughts and challenging them with
positive thoughts. When student X expresses a negative thought the teacher should ask
him where this thought is coming from and what evidence there is to back it up, once
they do this help them realize the falsehood behind the evidence and change the
thought to a positive one, after several times the students should respond by controlling
negative thoughts. Also providing this students with many different opportunities to gain
praise and mastery experiences, praise should be very specific so that the student
understands exactly why he did well. I also think it is important for Student X to have a
chance to pick out his own strengths, ask him to reflect on his own work and decide if
given honest and realistic praise about his work he will develop a sense of self-efficacy
and will take responsibility for his own work and will no longer have this victim attitude
he has developed.
Work Cited
Reivich, K. (n.d.). Self-Efficacy: Helping Children Believe They Can Succeed. Communique, 39(3).
efficacy_helping_children_believe_they_can_suceed.pdf
Classroom Environment
The classroom is set up with two main stations, a math and a reading station.
The room lets in a lot of natural light and students are very at home their. The math
station has a white board and various math activities around it, as well as a place for
students to grab individual white boards and other supplies. The walls surrounding the
math station are of various helpers, such as a multiplication chart, hundreds chart, a
finger counting poster and a place value poster. Surrounding the reading center is
another area for students to use supplies, white boards, pencils, rulers, etc...as
well as being surrounded by reading help posters. Both the math and reading center
have an area where the students keep their books and students are aware of where
everything is located. Each student who comes in the room for pullout math or reading
has a cubicle in the room to keep their supplies. Students have specific areas where
they hand in assignments as well as an area they go to pick up graded assignments.
The room has a very friendly environment, it seems more like a home than a classroom.
The students are very at ease in this room and navigate it like they would their room at
home. It is a safe environment for students to go to when they are overwhelmed in the
general education classroom. This room offers privacy as well as support for students
that need it.
Students work for an individual reward throughout their time in the resource
room. Each student has an incentive chart. On this chart they have 25 slots to fill with
stickers. Once all the slots are filled they choose a reward from the reward drawer. To
earn stickers students have to work throughout their whole time in the resource room
and display positive behavior throughout. Stickers are taken away in supplies is not put
away or if extremely negative behavior is displayed. This incentive chart has had very
positive effects on students behavior, especially in the area of picking up after
themselves. Students never leave their things out on the desks or forget to push in their
chairs if they worry about losing a sticker. While I do not commonly encourage taking
away something the student has to earn it has worked positively in this classroom and it
is very rare that stickers are taken but very common that they are given. If a student
loses a sticker do to behavior they will often be asked to bring the teacher the sticker
themselves, making them have the responsibility of taking away their own sticker.
Students are very excited to receive a prize from the prize drawer and work hard while
in the resource room to earn a sticker each day.
Group Motivation
One group motivation strategy that is used is class incentives. Many times a
group of students will not receive a desired reward unless the whole group shows the
desired behavior. For example, if the whole group behaves and works the whole time
through they will receive time to read at the end of the lesson or if they behave extra
well time to draw. The motivation here often comes from positive peer pressure,
students encourage each other to behave so that they can receive an incentive at the
close of the lesson. As these students are very familiar with each other they feed
of each others behaviors. In other words if one is misbehavior it is much more likely for
another to misbehave and if one is having a positive day and behaving with desired
behaviors the other students will follow in his/her example. As much as these students
work as a group and often observe each others behavior, group motivation is a very
positive way to encourage desired behavior.
Verbal Communication
The teacher communicates expectations verbally often when the students are
not meeting her expectations. At anytime we have at least one student in the room with
a behavior disability. When working with these students I found that the most effective
way of communication was direct verbal communication. My cooperating teacher would
often verbally tell students what behavior they are showing and what the desire
behavior is instead. I believe she used this technique in hopes that they would realize
the behavior they were displaying, that of an immature level. Students never seemed to
express any discomfort or embarrassment at being addressed verbally and in front of
peers. Indirect methods of behavior management did not have the same desired result
as direct verbal communication did. Once my cooperating teacher video taped the
student to show them their own behavior, she wanted to show the students how they act
to make them aware of their behaviors and hopefully succeed in making them
responsible for their own actions.
Non-Verbal Communication
School-Home Communication
Dear Parents/Guardians:
With much anticipation I will begin my teaching experience in your childs classroom
from September 22nd to December 11th. I am looking forward to joining XXXXX
classroom and working with your child in their search for knowledge.
I am an Aberdeen local who has been attending Northern State University for the last
three years. I will complete my BS in May with a double major in Special Education and
Elementary Education and a K-12 Reading Minor. While in Aberdeen I have driven the
Storybook Land express and marched in the Gypsy day Parade. I have also been in the
community orchestra and enjoyed going to concerts and plays around the Aberdeen
area.
I decided to study education because I have a strong faith in children. I want to help
them reach their full potential and become active members of their society. I believe
every student who walks in my classroom has the capability to succeed and brings with
them a multitude of different experiences and talents. In my classroom students will be
expected to utilize their talents while also experimenting with new techniques to apply
information in useful ways. In my classroom we work together to gain knowledge and
understanding. We will all take an active part in figuring ways to apply that knowledge in
a multitude of different ways. My classroom is a safe and open place to learn, where
questions are welcomed and new ideas are much-admired.
Sincerely,
Kallyn Jerde
Teacher Candidate
Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.
~Anthony J. DAngelo
I will have a reward system set up for good behavior, example: If they keep their hands
to themselves all day they get a star sticker to use towards an award. If a student
displays unwanted behavior I will first use non-verbal warning, example making eye
contact with a disapproving look on my face, or getting close to student. Then I will
follow this by praising the student for good behavior. Then if the behavior continues I will
praise other students near that student who are displaying the behavior I want.
Afterwards I will give respectful verbal warning, if the behavior continues I will have the
class repeat the classroom rules out loud. Next I will have the student talk to me during
work time and explain what behavior he/she was exhibiting and how I want them to
behave instead. If the behavior continues after that I will temporally put the child in time
out and have him/her reflect on their behavior. The next consequence will be contacting
the parents and discussing with them the behavior. Lastly, I will set up a behavior
contract with the child to encourage proper behavior and discourage unwanted
behavior.
Unit Overview
This Reading Unit is based in students practice reading skills such as retelling,
vocabulary and understanding story content and characteristics. The book this unit is
over is called The Fighting Ground by Avi, it is a book to connect to their social studies
unit of the Revolutionary War. The story is told over a period of 24 hours in the
perspective of a 13 year old boy and his experience with the war. This book challenges
students vocabulary and comprehension. The story using many old phrases and words
making it a difficult story for students to follow along with. This unit focuses on building
student reading skills with a story that relates back to a subject covered in social
studies.
Unit Objectives:
Pre-Assessment Test
For the pre-assessment students were asked to write a word splash about what they
think the story will be about. Students were first given an overview of the story, we
discussed the setting, characters and the author. Students then write out what they
think the story will be about and what will happen. Students also took a pre-test that
tested their knowledge of certain vocabulary terms they should recognize from the story
Pre-Assessment Results
Pretest for the Fighting Ground Vocabulary
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Student 1 Student 2 Student 3
The graph above show the results students had on the vocabulary section of the exam.
As the results show students were not familiar with many of the vocabulary used in the
story. This is evidence that vocabulary will be one area that must be covered during the
unit to improve comprehension of the story. The students also made predictions about
the story, based off their predictions I was able to tell that each student has at least a
basic understanding of the Revolutionary War and understands the setting of the story. I
will have to make sure to explain unfamiliar words to the students as we read to improve
Date: 4/3/15
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.1
Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and
when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including
how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a
poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6
Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are
described.
Learning Objective(s):
Pre-Assessment
Assessment
How will the students demonstrate that they have attained the goals of the
lesson?
o There are five quizzes given throughout the book. Each quiz is over
approximately 40 pages. These quizzes focus mainly on the students abilities
to recall what happened in the story. Students are also given worksheets to
determine their understanding of the vocabulary words.
o Explain how the assessment aligns to the objective.
Students have to be able to recall what happened in the story and when.
Students also have to explain the reactions the characters have in the story.
Students need to correctly place vocabulary words to finish sentences.
o Include a copy of the lesson assessment.
o Provide exemplar student responses/products (model outcome.)
Post-Assessment
How will you evaluate the students work/performance? (e.g., rubric, weighted
responses, checklist)
o Students are evaluated based on points systems for the quizzes, the number
correct out of the total and the amount of answers correctly given in their
vocabulary worksheets.
o Report results In qualitative and/or quantitative format.
Key Vocabulary: Technology needed:
Accommodations:
Lesson Opening:
L Instructional Input
e
s How will you model/explain/demonstrate all knowledge and skills required
s of the objectives?
o Restate the objective
o
To be able to recall and retell the story, understand the characters
n
different point of views and be familiar with new vocabulary.
o Introduce new material (describe what types of instructional supports you
P will use: visuals, manipulatives, artifacts, etc.)
l Book, Smartboard, and various worksheets.
a o Model and demonstrate procedural and behavioral expectations required
n to meet the objective?
Show expected reading fluency by reading for them, guide discussion with
I questions, define and use vocabulary in sentences.
m How will you check for understanding before moving on to guided
p practice?
l o Each student will answer different questions or retell a different part of the
e story.
o Students will practice vocabulary using Quizlet
m https://quizlet.com/65634147/the-fighting-ground-reading-3-24-flash-
e cards/
n https://quizlet.com/65634147/scatter
t Guided Practice
a
How will students practice, with your support, all content and skills
t
required to continue to internalize the objective? (How will students be
i
engaged?)
o o Students will answer questions regarding the story thus far.
n The Corporal shouts orders. How do the men react? What does this show
about the men?
Describe how Jonathan loads his weapon. Estimate how long it took him to
do this.
What exact words does Avi use to describe how Jonathan is feeling and
acting?
Describe the Hessian mercenaries. How do the Hessians affect Jonathan?
Predict what will happen when these two groups meet.
How will you ensure that all students have multiple opportunities to
practice new skills/content?
o Each student will have an opportunity to answer a question, as well as
have a chance to play the scramble vocabulary game on the Smartboard.
How are students practicing in ways that align to independent practice?
o Students listen to others response but respond as individuals to prompts.
They also have a chance to complete the Scramble game themselves.
How will you provide guidance to all students as they practice?
o I will provide additional prompts when students give incomplete answers.
How will you check for understanding before moving on to independent
practice?
o I will pay attention to students answers to see if they grasped the chapter
and will provide additional input if they do not show understanding.
Independent Practice
How will you clearly state and model academic and behavioral
expectations?
o During my anticipatory set I will explain my expectations for the day, as
well as what I expect them to be able to do by the end of the day. I expect
them to follow along as we read and try their hardest to understand the
story and be ready to participate in discussion.
How will students independently practice the knowledge and skills
required by the objective?
o Students will use their knowledge of the story to help them place
vocabulary words in correct placements in sentences. They will also finish
a quiz with True/False questions that ask about what happened in the story.
How will you support student learning during this practice?
o I will read any question out loud to students as well as provide prompts to
help them recall any particular part of the story.
Lesson Closing
After you have administered your assessments (formal and informal) for this
lesson, analyze the results.
A
How did the students perform on this assessment? To what degree did they
n
achieve mastery toward the lesson objective(s)?
a
Students preformed with an average of two questions wrong on a
l
14 problem quiz. They were able to accurately recall most of the
y
information throughout the first 44 pages of the story.
z How will you provided opportunities for remediation and extension?
e We will go over the results of the quiz and go back in the story to
find the answers to the questions answered wrongly and students will be
given a chance to defend their answers.
Date: 4/10/15
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.1
Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and
when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including
how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a
poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6
Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are
described.
Learning Objective(s):
Pre-Assessment
Assessment
How will the students demonstrate that they have attained the goals of the
lesson?
o There are five quizzes given throughout the book. Each quiz is over
approximately 40 pages. These quizzes focus mainly on the students abilities
to recall what happened in the story. Students are also given worksheets to
determine their understanding of the vocabulary words.
o Explain how the assessment aligns to the objective.
Students have to be able to recall what happened in the story and when.
Students also have to explain the reactions the characters have in the story.
Students need to correctly place vocabulary words to finish sentences.
o Include a copy of the lesson assessment.
o Provide exemplar student responses/products (model outcome.)
Post-Assessment
How will you evaluate the students work/performance? (e.g., rubric, weighted
responses, checklist)
o Students are evaluated based on points systems for the quizzes, the number
correct out of the total and the amount of answers correctly given in their
vocabulary worksheets.
Lesson Opening:
L Instructional Input
e
s How will you model/explain/demonstrate all knowledge and skills required
s of the objectives?
o Restate the objective
o
To be able to recall and retell the story, understand the characters
n
different point of views and be familiar with new vocabulary.
o Introduce new material (describe what types of instructional supports you
P will use: visuals, manipulatives, artifacts, etc.)
l Book, Smartboard, and various worksheets.
a o Model and demonstrate procedural and behavioral expectations required
n to meet the objective?
Show expected reading fluency by reading for them, guide discussion with
I questions, define and use vocabulary in sentences.
m How will you check for understanding before moving on to guided
p practice?
l o Each student will answer different questions or retell a different part of the
story.
e o Students will practice vocabulary using Quizlet
m o https://quizlet.com/53168236/fighting-ground-
e vocabulary-set-2-flash-cards/
n Guided Practice
t
How will students practice, with your support, all content and skills
a
required to continue to internalize the objective? (How will students be
t
engaged?)
i o Students will answer questions regarding the story thus far.
o Where is Jonathan and what is he doing as the Hessian Grenadiers
n advance?
Someone asks Wheres your Snydertown Committee, Corporal? What
does he mean by this?
Why would the Hessians be so hated by the Americans?
What is the Americans plan of attack?
What are the thoughts running through Jonathans head?
What happened when hysteria welled up inside Jonathan?
How would you describe this skirmish? How does Avi make his readers feel
they are there?
How will you ensure that all students have multiple opportunities to
practice new skills/content?
o Each student will have an opportunity to answer a question, as well as
have a chance to play the scramble vocabulary game on the Smartboard.
How are students practicing in ways that align to independent practice?
o Students listen to others response but respond as individuals to prompts.
They also have a chance to complete the Scramble game themselves.
How will you provide guidance to all students as they practice?
o I will provide additional prompts when students give incomplete answers.
How will you check for understanding before moving on to independent
practice?
o I will pay attention to students answers to see if they grasped the chapter
and will provide additional input if they do not show understanding.
Independent Practice
How will you clearly state and model academic and behavioral
expectations?
o During my anticipatory set I will explain my expectations for the day, as
well as what I expect them to be able to do by the end of the day. I expect
them to follow along as we read and try their hardest to understand the
story and be ready to participate in discussion.
How will students independently practice the knowledge and skills
required by the objective?
o Students will use their knowledge of the story to help them place
vocabulary words in correct placements in sentences. They will also finish
a quiz with True/False questions that ask about what happened in the story.
How will you support student learning during this practice?
o I will read any question out loud to students as well as provide prompts to
help them recall any particular part of the story.
Lesson Closing
After you have administered your assessments (formal and informal) for this
lesson, analyze the results.
A
How did the students perform on this assessment? To what degree did they
n
achieve mastery toward the lesson objective(s)?
a
Students averaged 2 wrong on the 14 question quiz again.
l
Students were able to sort vocabulary words with 95% accuracy during
y
the Quizlet activity.
z How will you provided opportunities for remediation and extension?
e We will go over items missed in the quiz and go back in the book
to explain those events. Practice the vocabulary words missed at the
beginning of each lesson.
Date: 4/17/15
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.1
Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and
when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including
how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a
poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6
Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are
described.
Learning Objective(s):
Pre-Assessment
Assessment
How will the students demonstrate that they have attained the goals of the
lesson?
o There are five quizzes given throughout the book. Each quiz is over
approximately 40 pages. These quizzes focus mainly on the students abilities
to recall what happened in the story. Students are also given worksheets to
determine their understanding of the vocabulary words.
o Explain how the assessment aligns to the objective.
Students have to be able to recall what happened in the story and when.
Students also have to explain the reactions the characters have in the story.
Students need to correctly place vocabulary words to finish sentences.
o Include a copy of the lesson assessment.
o Provide exemplar student responses/products (model outcome.)
Post-Assessment
How will you evaluate the students work/performance? (e.g., rubric, weighted
responses, checklist)
o Students are evaluated based on points systems for the quizzes, the number
correct out of the total and the amount of answers correctly given in their
vocabulary worksheets.
Key Vocabulary: Technology needed:
Lesson Opening:
L Instructional Input
e
s How will you model/explain/demonstrate all knowledge and skills required
s of the objectives?
o Restate the objective
o
To be able to recall and retell the story, understand the characters
n
different point of views and be familiar with new vocabulary.
o Introduce new material (describe what types of instructional supports you
P will use: visuals, manipulatives, artifacts, etc.)
l Book, Smartboard, and various worksheets.
a o Model and demonstrate procedural and behavioral expectations required
n to meet the objective?
Show expected reading fluency by reading for them, guide discussion with
I questions, define and use vocabulary in sentences.
How will you check for understanding before moving on to guided
m practice?
p o Each student will answer different questions or retell a different part of the
l story.
e o Students will practice vocabulary using Quizlet
m o https://quizlet.com/68209194/the-fighting-
e ground-vocab-19-58-flash-cards/
Guided Practice
n
t How will students practice, with your support, all content and skills
a required to continue to internalize the objective? (How will students be
t engaged?)
i o Students will answer questions regarding the story thus far.
o Can you answer Jonathans questions: Were all the others caught? Why
n did the rest run? Am I the only one alive?
Why does Avi use the German words in his story?
What are Jonathans feelings towards the Hessians? AS soldiers, do they
have anything in common with each other?
How do you explain Jonathans desire to be cared for?
How do you think the Hessians are feeling? Of the tall one, the older one,
and the younger one, whom would you trust more?
Do you believe Jonathan is a failure? Why?
Why does Jonathan feel the Hessians may be his only friends?
How is it that Jonathan understands some of the things the Hessians say?
Who/What is making that plaintive sound? Where is it coming from?
Why would Jonathan be afraid of both the Hessians and the Americans?
What is the condition of the boy? Why is he alone? Why doesnt he answer
Jonathan?
Do you think Jonathan should tell the Hessians about the boy? What might
happen if he does?
Do you think Jonathan expects the Hessians to act as friends or enemies to
the boy?
What questions would you like answered in the next chapter?
How will you ensure that all students have multiple opportunities to
practice new skills/content?
o Each student will have an opportunity to answer a question, as well as
have a chance to play the scramble vocabulary game on the Smartboard.
How are students practicing in ways that align to independent practice?
o Students listen to others response but respond as individuals to prompts.
They also have a chance to complete the Scramble game themselves.
How will you provide guidance to all students as they practice?
o I will provide additional prompts when students give incomplete answers.
How will you check for understanding before moving on to independent
practice?
o I will pay attention to students answers to see if they grasped the chapter
and will provide additional input if they do not show understanding.
Independent Practice
How will you clearly state and model academic and behavioral
expectations?
o During my anticipatory set I will explain my expectations for the day, as
well as what I expect them to be able to do by the end of the day. I expect
them to follow along as we read and try their hardest to understand the
story and be ready to participate in discussion.
How will students independently practice the knowledge and skills
required by the objective?
o Students will use their knowledge of the story to help them place
vocabulary words in correct placements in sentences. They will also finish
a quiz with True/False questions that ask about what happened in the story.
How will you support student learning during this practice?
o I will read any question out loud to students as well as provide prompts to
help them recall any particular part of the story.
Lesson Closing
After you have administered your assessments (formal and informal) for this
lesson, analyze the results.
A
n
How did the students perform on this assessment? To what degree did they
a achieve mastery toward the lesson objective(s)?
l Students averaged 3-4 questions wrong on an 18 question quiz.
y They are able to recall events with a high accuracy as well as defend
z their answers well.
R
List two things you feel you did well to plan, implement, or assess instruction.
e I was able to keep students engaged throughout lesson, students
f were following along and could read when I asked them to. They also
l provided answers that showed deep insight.
e Describe the changes you would make if you were to teach this lesson again.
c I would like to give students more chances to read without
t sacrificing a lot of time. I would like to go through and choose specific
passages for the students to read beforehand, that way I can avoid
passages that will be extremely difficult while given the students to read
more often.
Date: 4/24/15
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.1
Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and
when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including
how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a
poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6
Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are
described.
Learning Objective(s):
Pre-Assessment
Assessment
How will the students demonstrate that they have attained the goals of the
lesson?
o There are five quizzes given throughout the book. Each quiz is over
approximately 40 pages. These quizzes focus mainly on the students abilities
to recall what happened in the story. Students are also given worksheets to
determine their understanding of the vocabulary words.
o Explain how the assessment aligns to the objective.
Students have to be able to recall what happened in the story and when.
Students also have to explain the reactions the characters have in the story.
Students need to correctly place vocabulary words to finish sentences.
o Include a copy of the lesson assessment.
o Provide exemplar student responses/products (model outcome.)
Post-Assessment
How will you evaluate the students work/performance? (e.g., rubric, weighted
responses, checklist)
o Students are evaluated based on points systems for the quizzes, the number
correct out of the total and the amount of answers correctly given in their
vocabulary worksheets.
Key Vocabulary: Technology needed:
Lesson Opening:
L Instructional Input
e
s How will you model/explain/demonstrate all knowledge and skills required
s of the objectives?
o Restate the objective
o
To be able to recall and retell the story, understand the characters
n
different point of views and be familiar with new vocabulary.
o Introduce new material (describe what types of instructional supports you
P will use: visuals, manipulatives, artifacts, etc.)
l Book, Smartboard, and various worksheets.
a o Model and demonstrate procedural and behavioral expectations required
n to meet the objective?
Show expected reading fluency by reading for them, guide discussion with
I questions, define and use vocabulary in sentences.
m How will you check for understanding before moving on to guided
p practice?
l o Each student will answer different questions or retell a different part of the
e story.
o Students will practice vocabulary using Quizlet
m
o https://quizlet.com/5018072/the-fighting-ground-
e
pages-94-123-flash-cards/
n Guided Practice
t
a How will students practice, with your support, all content and skills
t required to continue to internalize the objective? (How will students be
i engaged?)
o o Students will answer questions regarding the story thus far.
n It is obvious that one of the Hessians is older and tired. Why would he
come to America to fight a war that really doesnt involve him?
How does Jonathan get help with the burial? How does the young one
help? What effect does the burial have on Jonathan, the soldier, and the
young boy?
Do you believe Jonathan could kill the Hessians soldiers? What would you
do finding yourself free?
Is Jonathan a soldier or a boy? What is Jonathans duty as a soldier?
What is Jonathans plan and how does it involve the Corporal?
How do the men and the Corporal react when Jonathan finds them? What
do they think of his story?
Is Jonathan still ashamed of his actions?
The Corporal only wants one thing from Jonathan. What does he want?
How does the Corporal know where the Hessians are? What is the
monstrous idea forming in Jonathans mind?
Think back, what was the Corporals reputation? What is he capable of
doing?
In Chapter 1 Jonathan thought Tories got what they deserved. Would he
say the same today?
Who can Jonathan trust? Who can he believe? Whose side is he on?
How will you ensure that all students have multiple opportunities to
practice new skills/content?
o Each student will have an opportunity to answer a question, as well as
have a chance to play the scramble vocabulary game on the Smartboard.
How are students practicing in ways that align to independent practice?
o Students listen to others response but respond as individuals to prompts.
They also have a chance to complete the Scramble game themselves.
How will you provide guidance to all students as they practice?
o I will provide additional prompts when students give incomplete answers.
How will you check for understanding before moving on to independent
practice?
o I will pay attention to students answers to see if they grasped the chapter
and will provide additional input if they do not show understanding.
Independent Practice
How will you clearly state and model academic and behavioral
expectations?
o During my anticipatory set I will explain my expectations for the day, as
well as what I expect them to be able to do by the end of the day. I expect
them to follow along as we read and try their hardest to understand the
story and be ready to participate in discussion.
How will students independently practice the knowledge and skills
required by the objective?
o Students will use their knowledge of the story to help them place
vocabulary words in correct placements in sentences. They will also finish
a quiz with True/False questions that ask about what happened in the story.
How will you support student learning during this practice?
o I will read any question out loud to students as well as provide prompts to
help them recall any particular part of the story.
Lesson Closing
After you have administered your assessments (formal and informal) for this
lesson, analyze the results.
A
How did the students perform on this assessment? To what degree did they
n achieve mastery toward the lesson objective(s)?
a The average score on this ending quiz was 19/22. This shows that
l students are still able to recall information in the story as well as
y comprehend it. They are also starting to improve on their vocabulary as
z they keeping getting faster on the quizlet games.
e How will you provided opportunities for remediation and extension?
As we having been doing in the past we will go over the questions
answered incorrectly and discuss the correct answer and why it is
correct.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.1
Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and
when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including
how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a
poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6
Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are
described.
Learning Objective(s):
Pre-Assessment
Assessment
How will the students demonstrate that they have attained the goals of the
lesson?
o There are five quizzes given throughout the book. Each quiz is over
approximately 40 pages. These quizzes focus mainly on the students abilities
to recall what happened in the story. Students are also given worksheets to
determine their understanding of the vocabulary words.
o Explain how the assessment aligns to the objective.
Students have to be able to recall what happened in the story and when.
Students also have to explain the reactions the characters have in the story.
Students need to correctly place vocabulary words to finish sentences.
o Include a copy of the lesson assessment.
o Provide exemplar student responses/products (model outcome.)
Post-Assessment
How will you evaluate the students work/performance? (e.g., rubric, weighted
responses, checklist)
o Students are evaluated based on points systems for the quizzes, the number
correct out of the total and the amount of answers correctly given in their
vocabulary worksheets.
Key Vocabulary: Technology needed:
Lesson Opening:
L Instructional Input
e
s How will you model/explain/demonstrate all knowledge and skills required
s of the objectives?
o Restate the objective
o
To be able to recall and retell the story, understand the characters
n
different point of views and be familiar with new vocabulary.
o Introduce new material (describe what types of instructional supports you
P will use: visuals, manipulatives, artifacts, etc.)
l Book, Smartboard, and various worksheets.
a o Model and demonstrate procedural and behavioral expectations required
n to meet the objective?
Show expected reading fluency by reading for them, guide discussion with
I questions, define and use vocabulary in sentences.
m How will you check for understanding before moving on to guided
p practice?
l o Each student will answer different questions or retell a different part of the
e story.
o Students will practice vocabulary using Quizlet
m
o https://quizlet.com/72921943/the-fighting-
e ground-pgs-132-145-flash-cards/
n Guided Practice
t
How will students practice, with your support, all content and skills
a
required to continue to internalize the objective? (How will students be
t
engaged?)
i
o Students will answer questions regarding the story thus far.
o Is Jonathan with the men of his own free will? What is their goal?
n Could any of the outcomes have been different if they all spoke the same
language? Explain.
What is Jonathan asked to do? Is this fair? Is war fair?
What is Jonathan feeling at this moment?
What if Jonathan refused to cooperate with the Corporal? What could
happen?
The Corporal says Do what I told you to do and youll be safe. Do you
believe him?
How do the Hessians respond to the volley of shots? Do they know they
are offered surrender?
Both sides used Jonathan. Explain.
Describe how the battle played out.
How do you think it ended? What does the silence signify? How will
Jonathan be judged?
What happened in the gun battle?
Why do the Americans just leave? What is the mood of the men?
What did the Corporal mean when he said to Jonathan, you were
lucky., do you agree?
Why does Jonathan smash his gun?
How has Jonathan changed?
What do you think Jonathans father and mother have experienced in the
last 24 hours?
Avi writes Jonathan understood more. What does he understand? Could
he have reached this understanding any other way?
How will you ensure that all students have multiple opportunities to
practice new skills/content?
o Each student will have an opportunity to answer a question, as well as
have a chance to play the scramble vocabulary game on the Smartboard.
How are students practicing in ways that align to independent practice?
o Students listen to others response but respond as individuals to prompts.
They also have a chance to complete the Scramble game themselves.
How will you provide guidance to all students as they practice?
o I will provide additional prompts when students give incomplete answers.
How will you check for understanding before moving on to independent
practice?
o I will pay attention to students answers to see if they grasped the chapter
and will provide additional input if they do not show understanding.
Independent Practice
How will you clearly state and model academic and behavioral
expectations?
o During my anticipatory set I will explain my expectations for the day, as
well as what I expect them to be able to do by the end of the day. I expect
them to follow along as we read and try their hardest to understand the
story and be ready to participate in discussion.
How will students independently practice the knowledge and skills
required by the objective?
o Students will use their knowledge of the story to help them place
vocabulary words in correct placements in sentences. They will also finish
a quiz with True/False questions that ask about what happened in the story.
How will you support student learning during this practice?
o I will read any question out loud to students as well as provide prompts to
help them recall any particular part of the story.
Lesson Closing
After you have administered your assessments (formal and informal) for this
lesson, analyze the results.
A
n
How did the students perform on this assessment? To what degree did they
a achieve mastery toward the lesson objective(s)?
l Student preformed between 5-2 wrong on a 24 questioned exam.
y Because of the difficulty of this final exam they achieve partial mastery
z and show a good understanding on the content covered this unit.
Pre/Post Assessment
100%
90%
80%
70%
Pre-test
60%
Post-Test
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Student 1 Student 2 Student 3
The graph above shows the results of pre/post vocabulary exam. This exam
did students vocabulary improved but using context clues and comprehension as well.
Not shown in graph form is the students results from 5 different quizzes given
throughout the unit. The total average scores on all the quizzes combined was 92%,
these quizzes measured student retention and recall of the event of the story. In this
aspect the students were very successful, not only were they able to recall on the
written exams but during many informal assessments they were able to engage in
detailed and significant discussion. While I did not use these informal assessments as a
comprehension level.
Each of my three students in this unit made vast improvement, Student 1 had
64% increase in their scores from the pre to the post test, Student 2 had a 61%
increase and Student 3 had a 66% increase. They each improved their vocabulary and
comprehension. I was very impressed with all three students, each of whom struggle
with either a learning disability, ADHD, cognitive impairment or a mixture of the three.
Not only did they show significant improvement in academics but also in their behavior
with me in particular.
Outside factors that may have influenced the results could have been the wait
time in-between covering the material and test time. Quizzes over the material were
given once we had read that section or reviewed it. We also had many practice sections
with vocabulary and that helps explain the improvement in vocabulary. During this unit
each student missed at least one lesson, one student was out for multiple days with
illness. While this student did not fall behind it is possible that this factor could have
affected results. There is also the possibility of cheating by the students, I did not use
dividers when giving the exam, I trusted they would not cheat off each other, so it is
possible, however unlikely, that they sneaked peaks at each others exam. Students
could also have guessed on the exam and just got lucky with their answers. To prevent
the cheating factor in the future I would have students use dividers or move farther apart
when given quizzes and exams in the future. There are many different possible factors
Knowledge of Self
Procedure: I will accomplish this goal by practicing speaking slower to myself and
pronunciation. I will take great care in being aware of my speech and forcing myself to
speak slower. I will also try to slow my speech by taking deep breaths before I speak.
preparation for class. This includes reading my lesson plans out loud to myself. Once a
week I will record myself reading lesson plans or other high level reading material and
mispronounce a word. I will keep track of these mistakes in a table and each week I will
mark whether I am improving and what words/subjects I tend to have more difficulty in.
Knowledge of Content
teach before each lesson as well as do additional research. I will be well prepared with
Procedure: I will accomplish this goal by going through my lessons plans before I
present them. I will spend time reviewing the teacher material and videos as well as
give myself time for additional research on the subject. I will research ahead of the
Procedure 2: I will write down each question and possible answers to those
questions. To help my understanding of the topic I will research the topic by reading
related articles.
Evaluation: I will evaluate this goal by ask my cooperating teacher to make note
addition my lesson plan will reflect step by step instructions and questions and answers.
In my lesson plan reflection I will reflect on how prepared I was of the content.
Goal: I will write age and level appropriate lesson plans that work with the
books and researching my age levels and different theorist frameworks on their
educational journals on the development and proper lessons for elementary age and
high school aged students. I will focus my lesson plans around what I find to be the best
learning strategy for their developmental level. I will also focus on strategies that are
students. As not every student in my class will be at the same level I will then
differentiate my lessons to benefit the whole class and challenge those students who
need it as well as give extra help to those students who need it. My observations will
Evaluation: In my lesson plan I will identify objectives and activities that are age
and level appropriate. By assessments I will discover if what Im asking of them is within
their developmental ranges. I will evaluate this goal by observing my learners and by
asking probing questions to see if they are working to their full potential or if the task I
Knowledge of Pedagogy
Goal: I will use multiple assessment tools when figuring a students academic
assessments.
Goal: I will talk and collaborate with other teachers in my community and also
with other education majors to have multiple ideas to enhance my students possibilities
Procedure: I will accomplish this goal by working with myself to become more
involved in the school system. I will practice first approaching people I am comfortable
with and engage them in conversations about teaching strategies, I will then start
working with people who are easily contacted, my cooperating teacher will be one I will
first approach and collaborate with. I will continue to work on my collaboration skills by
and other teachers in the teachers lounge every day. I will reach out to learn about
different techniques teachers find useful in their classroom and their opinions on certain
Evaluation: I will evaluate this goal by keeping a daily chart of the number of
conversations I had started that day. I will then keep a daily chart of the number of times
I had made an effort to talk to teachers and education majors on their thought about
certain educational techniques that interest me. I will also evaluate this goal by keeping
skills.
Student Teaching Reflection Paper
Kallyn Jerde
5/3/15
During this experience I worked on improving myself on many different levels expected
by a professional teacher. I believe I made great improvement but also discovered many
new weaknesses and areas of improvement on top of the ones I was already aware of.
Many of my goals for this experience were similar from past teaching experience, I still
consider them some of my weakest points and will probably never improve them to a
level I would be comfortable with. I accomplished each goal in that I improved each area
exceptionally, however I do not think I can be rid of all of these goals and put them in
the done folder. I have to continue to improve my speech, work on my content, learn
more about my students and their unique needs, improve my use of assessment tools,
still. I was able to improve the speed of my speech when giving instruction but still
speak fast in average conversation and especially when nervous. In this experience I
focused more on my mispronunciation than my actually speech rate. Even with the
recording and listening back I found that I was not improving at a rate I had wished. My
tables showed good improvement for the first 4 weeks of my experience then a stagnant
for 3 weeks, followed by a deterioration for 1 week, then slight improvement for 2 weeks
before it leveled off for the rest of my experience. At the end of my experience I would
still find words that I had mispronounced or if my recording went well I would
mispronounce the word during lessons. This goal remains a serious concern for me and
would study the teacher manuals in advance and research concepts unfamiliar to me to
knowledge with each lesson I gave and I felt that I was well prepared and
accomplished this goal. This goal is very broad, I realize that as I reflect on it, while I
made vast improvements I do not know everything about phonemes or literacy devices
important that I continue to push my understanding of the content I teach and gain an
understanding far beyond what is needed to teach the content. I believe I was
knowledge in my content through my procedures I took to reach this goal and will
I feel I was unable to truly reach my knowledge of learner goal. While my lessons
were considered age and level appropriate I did not receive a chance to really
customize my lessons to my students like I would have preferred. Even though I was
with my students for 6 weeks each I did not feel that I had a chance to fully observe
them and understand their needs in the fullest. In order to truly provide my students with
instructional experiments to find a technique that works best for the individual students,
because although there are norms for every age group and even disability group each
student is individual and might learn in ways not suggested by theorist. I plan to
personal level, I will ask them to tell me how to teach them. Once each of my lessons
are designed to help the student in the best possible way I will have reached this goal, I
am not at this level yet but I have made significant improvements during this
experience.
show me their knowledge in a multitude of ways, however I would not classify these
understanding of student knowledge and I am drawn to use them, mainly quizzes and
test. I also find myself lacking in performance based assessments and that my projects
lack originality. This goal corresponds with my knowledge of learning goal, they both
should be focused on giving students the best possible instruction. I want to provide
students with more chances to show me what they know. Like in my knowledge of
learner goal where I want to ask the students how I should teach them I want to ask
then how I should assess them. I need to continue to work on this goal and go outside
My final goal was to collaborate with other teachers in my community and other
student teachers. I have half accomplished this goal. While I still find it difficult to start
conversations revolving around education I find myself participating in them when they
arise and I always want to take part in these discussion. I had many conversations with
my cooperating teacher on working with students with disabilities during this experience
and I loved when they would talk about their experiences. I still need to actively seek out
go online with it. I have found many different education blogs that I could join and talk to
other educators. This is a way for me to join the learning community without having to
speak face to face. I have started to join different education blogs and am enjoining
I believe there is always room for improvement which prevents me from saying I
accomplished any of my goals. While I did not accomplish any of my goals I believe I
educator and take any opportunities I have to improve myself not only as a teacher but
as a person. These goals will continue to remain areas that need improvement.