Mathews Elementary School CT: Holly Skipper

Gabrielle Gregorie ETS Task 3

Praxis Performance Assessment for Teachers: Task 3

Designing Instruction for Student Learning Contextual Information: A. I am in a first grade classroom of twenty-one students. There are eight girls and thirteen boys. The personalities and characteristics of each individual student bring entertainment, happiness, and comfort to the classroom. There are students with special needs in my classroom: two students receive speech intervention, three students receive reading recovery intervention, two students that speak English as a second language (ESOL), two students that take ADHD medication, and one student who receives behavior therapy and is medicated for his anger/behavior disorder. The content area of the instruction assessed in Task 3 is a Shared Reading/ELA lesson. The specific subject matter requires students to compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of the characters in The Little Yellow Chickens House by Joy Cowley. B. There are social, behavioral and developmental factors that impact the instruction in our classroom. There is one student who is not socially developed for his age, and is unresponsive and lacking in verbal communication when he is asked questions. He also takes medicine for ADHD, which I feel also impacts his social skills. More often than not you have to provide him with the consequences of not communicating before you can get him to respond. He also lacks social skills among peers, and will soon begin the testing process to see if further instructional aid is needed in addition to reading recovery that he currently receives. Another student is medicated and counseled for anger and behavior due to situations he experienced at a young age and his current home life. For me it is very hard to understand what it must feel like to suffer bipolar and anger disorders at the age of seven, which allows me to not give up or burn out when he is having a rough day. Sometimes he does have to be removed from the classroom when it is disruptive to other students. I have learned ways of helping him keep it together and also ways to help him pull it back together, in order to make it through the day with hopes of starting over tomorrow. There are several other students that have behavior problems throughout the day. However, the classroom management plan allows me to solve our issues and allows the students to understand the system of consequences and resolutions used in managing our classroom. The fact that a lot of the students in the class are below grade level and have little to no help outside the school walls creates developmental factors that impact instruction. With the grading period just ending, there is now a list of students who are simply not ready for second grade. However, students that were on that list previously in the year have excelled in their reading and writing and have reached above and beyond where I thought they would be. If parents and teachers are working together, desired success can be achieved. However, there are many students in the classroom lacking basic structure, and needs that children their age demand and deserve. Therefore, these students do not have many resources at home. This is a big factor, because they are limited. This creates developmental
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Mathews Elementary School CT: Holly Skipper

Gabrielle Gregorie ETS Task 3

factors not only in my classroom but school wide. The Mathews Elementary faculty and staff work together as a community and with all public schools in the district and beyond that understand the foundation, life, and knowledge that a wonderful elementary school experience can bring to a child. The two ESOL students in the classroom are actually very verbal, social, confident and on grade level in their academics. I have gotten to know siblings of both students, and have learned the only impact they have on instruction is the language barrier when communicating with their parents. Both students parents, written and verbally, are challenging to communicate with. Luckily with some Spanish speaking knowledge, the help of the schools ESOL interventionist, and the connections and friendship I have formed with siblings, communication is successful. No real health considerations besides minor peanut allergies are an impact to teaching and learning in the classroom. Overall, the different characteristics, attributes and uniqueness each student offers to the classroom is used and portrayed in a positive light to provide a meaningful education to every student. C. As previously stated, the economic status of the zoned families and community that are a part of the Mathews Elementary family are very low. Not only impacting teaching but also impacting me personally are many conditions and situations that my students and others throughout the school experience. I have dealt with many heart wrenching days and stories hard to believe that you encounter teaching students raised in poverty. With poverty there is crime, illnesses, drug use, homeless and jobless families, and more. However, making the classroom the place of happiness, comfort, and security really is a rewarding feeling. I have learned a lot from my cooperating teacher, but something I am still working on is sometimes learning to leave it at school. There is only so much you can do in this profession, when it comes to terms of trying to improve their home life and living situation, and you have to remained focus on just trying to give them the best education you can for that school year. Overall, you do the best you can every day to deal with the many factors of twenty-one individual childrens lives that impact instruction and learning in the classroom. Standards and Learning Goals: *Artifact #1 attached A. A constructivist, cognitive learning theory will be the foundation approach for the planning and teaching process of the lesson. Piaget defines this stage of a first graders life where they are able to think abstractly and logically, and create understandings and explanations for their experiences. This will be challenged by the students ability to compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of the characters in stories during Shared Reading. B. Common Core State Standards for ELA: Grade 1 Reading Literature Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
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Mathews Elementary School CT: Holly Skipper

Gabrielle Gregorie ETS Task 3

RL 1.1.9 Compare and contrast adventures and experiences of characters in stories. South Carolina Academic Standards for ELA: Grade 1 Understanding and Using Literary Texts Standard 1-1 The student will read and comprehend a variety of literary texts in print and non-print format. Learning Goal: Identify and discuss similarities and differences of the characters and their experiences in The Little Yellow Chickens House. The learning goal and content standards identified for the lesson are essential in planning instruction. These foundational aspects of the lesson allow me to plan learning activities that support student understanding of the identified learning goal. I can use these resources to create planned learning activities that are developmentally appropriate, fun, and serve a meaningful purpose in supporting student learning. C. The content focus of the lesson is comparing and contrasting the adventures and experiences of the characters in The Little Yellow Chicken. Students have compared and contrasted their life experiences with the characters in stories read in class. These prior literary connections scaffold students understanding to support the learning in this lesson. D. It will be relatively easy for students to contrast the differences of the characters adventures and experiences, but they might encounter difficulties when they are asked to compare their similarities how are their adventures and experiences the same? I will address these difficulties by allowing those higher-level thinkers to encourage discussion of the more challenging similarities during partner turn-andtalks. Instructional Strategies: A. Three direct instructional strategies that I plan to use to engage students in the lesson and to enhance their learning are: 1. Compare and Contrast 2. Shared Reading and 3. Questioning to draw students into the lecture as a participant. All three of these indirect instructional strategies because they are effective for providing information and actively involving students in knowledge construction. B. The instructional strategies connect to the learning goal to facilitate student learning by integrating their knowledge and ideas of The Little Yellow Chickens House and form new understandings and connections within the text. C. The students visibility from the rug for Shared Reading and the use of the Smart Board informed my decision for whole group instruction. Learning Activities:

PPAT Task 3

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Mathews Elementary School CT: Holly Skipper

Gabrielle Gregorie ETS Task 3

A. Various learning activities will be implemented in the lesson. Students will participate in reading TLYCH, completing a Venn diagram as a class on the Smart Board, and completing independent work to assess the lesson daily after Shared Reading. These were my choices for learning activities because I feel they are good activities to practice foundational writing and brainstorming skills while and assess student understanding of the learning goal. B. The chosen learning activities address students different strengths and needs by challenging their understanding of literary text and providing them with the preparation and practice needed to understand the learning goal. C. The classroom demographics affect the learning activities that I choose to use during instruction. Through experience, I know that the boys and the girls really enjoy art projects and drawing. I choose independent work or other learning activities that allow the students to use illustrations to express their understanding or writing. Materials, Resources, and Technology: A. The materials and resources used to support student learning is The Little Yellow Chickens House big book and the independent worksheets and activities that the students complete daily after the shared reading lesson. These materials and resources were chosen because they provide students with the preparation and instruction to master understanding of the learning goal. B. The only technology I plan to use in instruction is the Smart Board. I will open a blank notebook to draw a Venn diagram that we will complete as a whole group. C. The use of the Smart Board to draw a Venn diagram enhances student learning and instruction during the lesson. It allows students to be a part of the construction process when brainstorming, and prepares the students with the knowledge and modeled representation of a graphic organizer to complete on their own in future instruction. Understanding Each of the Two Focus Students and Differentiating Instruction: *Artifacts #2 and 3 attached Focus Student 1: A. Focus Student 1 has a hard time focusing and participating during whole group discussion. This will be a challenge during the lesson. However Focus Students 1 has strength in understanding and relating experiences in stories and discussion to very abstract and knowledgeable experiences in Focus Student 1s life. B. Specific parts of the lesson plan will be differentiated to accommodate for Focus Student 1 meet the learning goal. During class discussion and creation of the Venn diagram comparing/contrasting the characters in TLYCH, I will move the graph
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Mathews Elementary School CT: Holly Skipper

Gabrielle Gregorie ETS Task 3

paper chart onto the big book stand where it can be visible to the students. Throughout shared reading that week, we discussed and took class notes on the chart paper: character traits of our stories characters, setting, problem, and solution. This will give Focus Student 1 a visual aid of the topics we have brainstormed about TLYCH throughout the week. It is a tool for aiding Focus Student 1s learning disability-ADD, and sums up the general overview of all the content to guide them in responding to the question at hand compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of the characters in The Little Yellow Chickens House. C. Evidence of Focus Student 1s participation and comments during instruction, independent seatwork, shared reading activities, reflections on the story - end of the week writing wrap-up, and students participation in the Readers Theater will be collected to show understanding and the learning goal. Focus Student 2: A. Focus Student 2 provides informative comments to discussion and is strong in their ability to soak in new information and text. This lesson will be challenging when students are asked to compare the characters experiences, because they are not clearly stated in the text. Focus Student 2 will be challenged to think outside of the texts to the experiences that the characters share. B. Students will participate in whole group discussion comparing and contrasting the characters in TLYCH. Together the class will brainstorm ideas to create a Venn diagram of the stories characters. Students will easily think of ways that the characters adventures and experiences are different, but it will be more challenging to think deeper about ways that the characters adventures and experiences are the same: ex. They both needed something. LYCneeded help building a house and his friends needed a place to go when it began to rain. Focus Student 2 will be prompted to think on a higher level and scaffold understanding amongst other students during student turn-and-talk discussions. This will modify the whole group instruction to accommodate the higher achieving students, like Focus Student 2. C. Evidence of Focus Student 2s participation and comments during instruction, independent seatwork, shared reading activities, reflections on the story - end of the week writing wrap-up, and students participation in the Readers Theater will be collected to show understanding and the learning goal. Analyzing the lesson for the Whole Class: *Artifact #4 attached A. The Shared Reading lessons facilitated learning for all students to allow them to relate the characters in their story and analyze their similarities and differences. Evidence of independent work, whole group instruction, classroom participation, reflective response writing, and Readers Theater performances will be collected to support student learning.
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Mathews Elementary School CT: Holly Skipper

Gabrielle Gregorie ETS Task 3

B. The students used the content presented to demonstrate meaningful learning by relating the story to experience of their own, connecting and understanding the characters and texts, and furthering their knowledge by reading other texts featuring the same characters. Focus Student 1 stated that TLYCs grandmother, The Little Red Hen, would not think the Chickens friends are very helpful. Sometimes Focus Student 2 plays and messes up the room with their older sibling, but then does not want to help them clean. Both students were able to make understanding and connections with the story and relate to the characters. New connections and understanding scaffold meaningful learning. C. Shared Reading is adapted for varying rates of learners. The text is chosen so that lower level students can read along and comprehend the chosen text. Turn-and-Talk partners will be used in this lesson to guide students reflection during and after the story. Students have followed the daily Shared Reading routine and assignments and are familiar with the format of the assignments given. D. Partner turn-and-talk questions and topics were planned to foster student- to student learning. I also walked around and interacted on a closer level with individual partners, while other discussed. This enabled students to brainstorm together to come up with engaging feedback to the discussion. E. Feedback is provided during the lesson to facilitate student learning. Feedback is always positive, even if the response was incorrect. A class member commented on the story calling it The Little Yellow Chickens Home. The feedback I provided her was simply running my finger over the word saying home, ho m- e. The student was quickly able to correct herself with out me ever having to address the fact that she was incorrect. Providing the students with positive feedback and support allows them to be more comfortable in the classroom, and engages student learning. Analyzing the Differentiated Instruction for Each of the Two Focus Students: *Artifact #5 and 6 attached A. The work samples from the Focus Students gave me useful information about the lesson. Focus Student 1 was very engaged during the lesson, but only drew illustrations for his responses for independent work. This allows me to show them their work and explain the importance of having key ideas to our writing. How can I know what the story was about if I only drew pictures before ever writing my ideas? Focus Student 2 had great effort to their work, but never totally answered the question of how the characters experiences are the same. Both of the focus students understand the concept and can discuss the differences and similarities of the characters, however they both lacked evidence of understanding in their independent work.

PPAT Task 3

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Mathews Elementary School CT: Holly Skipper

Gabrielle Gregorie ETS Task 3

B. Accommodations to the lesson plan for the individual Focus Students helped them in understanding the learning goal. By making the moving the story notes to a visible place for students to see while we create our Venn diagram, Focus Student 1 was able to remained focus on the characters and events from the story and guide their thought process to meaningful contribution to discussion. Focus Student 2 was able to use the turn-and-talk time as an opportunity to switch partner and collaborate and network ideas between other partnerships in the classroom. Theses modifications and adaptions made to instruction aid and support the Focus Students learning at an individual and whole class aspect. Reflecting on the Lesson for the Whole Class: A. Indirect instructional strategies will be used to work in guided reading groups with the students that did not achieve the learning goals of the lesson. The same standards will be used in the following weeks shared reading with a new text. The Little Yellow Chicken will be used next week, which has the same characters and themes. Further instruction on these foundational key ideas and events will continuously be worked on throughout the year with all fiction stories we study for Shared Reading. B. The analysis and evidence of student learning will be used to guide planning for future lessons. Shared Reading lessons review the learning goal with various texts before moving on to a new skill. Comparing and Contrasting the experiences and adventures of characters in a story will remain the goal of the lesson for the following week to promote student learning. Reflecting on the Lesson for Each of the Two Focus Students: A. The analysis and evidence of the Focus Students learning will be used to guide planning for future lessons for each of the two students. Focus Student 1s work show that they need to spend more time verbalizing the key ideas and events of the story. Drawing illustrations is not enough information to prove that they have an understanding for the learning goal. Focus Student 2s main problem shown in their work was the error of not reading directions to see what content is being asked to provide. It is important to make sure the quality of our writing is good, not just quantity. These observations from the data collected can be used to improve and correct what can be hindering the Focus Students from mastery of the learning goal. B. Differentiation will be applied for both of the focus students in future instruction. Focus Student 1 may need an alternative form of providing their understanding of the learning goal. Their ability to discuss the characters experiences was evident in verbal communication, but was not seen in their written response. Even though we discussed the independent work as a class and answered all the information while completing the Venn diagram, Focus Student 2 did not show evidence of Student learning through their work sample. This was due to the lack effort to read
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Mathews Elementary School CT: Holly Skipper

Gabrielle Gregorie ETS Task 3

directions, what is a common struggle for Focus Student 2. In the future assignments, Focus Students 2 will use a highlighter or underline directions before ever starting the assignment. Future lesson will have various activities and independent work to accommodate both Focus Students issues with the learning goal.

PPAT Task 3

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