Context for Learning Information

About the School Where You Are Teaching

1. In what type of school do you teach? X Elementary school _____ Middle school _____ High school _____ Other (please describe): __________________________________________________________________________ 2. List any special features of your school or classroom setting (e.g., themed magnet, classroom aide, bilingual, team taught with a special education teacher) that will affect your teaching in this learning segment. o The classroom that I am currently in is a general education first grade classroom. There are 3-5 students who are bilingual; those students leave the classroom for 30 minutes a day to work on their English. Having these students in the classroom will affect my teaching because I will have to focus a little bit more attention in their direction due to the language barrier. These students may not fully understand directions or reading selections, which is when I will need to aide these students the most. There are also 2 students who have special needs and learning disabilities these children are out of the classroom the whole day unless there is a circumstance where they cannot be with the special education teacher. Having these students in my classroom will affect my teaching because their math, reading, writing and speaking abilities are below grade level. Along with their academic skills their emotional and behavioral skills are below age and grade level as well. My attention will be needed a great deal by these students in all aspects of learning. 3. Describe any district, school, or cooperating teacher requirements or expectations that might affect your planning or delivery of instruction, such as required curricula, pacing plan, use of specific instructional strategies, or standardized tests. o There are standards and objectives that the school and district require the teachers to follow, so I will be using those standards and objectives. The school also has instructional strategies and curricula that they follow. The teachers do not need to follow it to its entirety just as long as the students are learning the information that is required that they learn. The teachers get a great amount of ideas from the curricula books. o For comprehension lessons the school follows a curricula book, and a pacing guide. I will be using the pacing guide to determine what concepts need to be taught.

About the Class Featured in This Assessment

1. How much time is devoted each day to reading and comprehension instruction in your classroom?
35 minutes

2. Is there any ability grouping or tracking in the content area? If so, please describe how it affects your class. o The elementary school that I am at uses the Daily 5 method. The students read to themselves sometimes as well as to others at different points during the morning. During this time we work with reading groups. The students are grouped depending on their guided reading level. We also pull students who need to work on their phonics. This affects my class in the aspect of how I will continue to group my students and how I will place students in new groups if they show improvement. These reading groups also

2011 Stanford University Generic Handbook for use in 2011-12 academic year

remind me that while some students may grasp an all class activity or directions that are written on the board others may not and some may need ques or clues. 3. Identify any textbook or instructional program you primarily use for instruction. If a textbook, please provide the title, publisher, and date of publication. o Journeys, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publushing Company, 2012 o Being a writer, Developmental Studies Center, 2012 4. List other resources (e.g., SmartBoard, manipulatives, on-line resources) you use for reading instruction in this class. o White board, word cards, leveled readers

About the Students in the Class Featured in This Assessment

1. Grade level(s), first grade 2. Number of students in the class 24 males 16 females 5 English language learners 3 students identified as gifted and talented 0 students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or 504 plans 3

Generic Handbook for use in 2011-12 academic year

3. Complete the chart below to summarize required accommodations or modifications for students receiving special education services and/or students who are gifted and talented as they will affect your instruction in this learning segment. As needed, consult with your cooperating teacher to complete the chart. The first row has been completed in italics as an example. Use as many rows as you need.

Special Education Category

Number of Students

Accommodations, Modifications and/or Pertinent IEP Goals

Example: -Low reading skills (Not identified yet, but showing a discrepancy in phonics skills) - Learning disability

Example: 5

Example: Close monitoring, follow up, and small group meetings, eventual resource room, or reading teacher Differentiated lessons, more individualized attention, close monitoring, resource room, concrete examples

Generic Handbook for use in 2011-12 academic year