Amanda Gibson

November 17, 2017

9th Grade

English

Delta State University

Teaching Language Arts in Secondary Schools-CUR 485

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Table of Contents

Contextual Factors and Students Knowledge……………………………………Section 1 - p.2

Learning Objectives……………………………………………………………...Section 2 - p.5

Assessment Plan………………………………………………………………….Section 3 - p.7

Design for Instruction…………………………………………………………….Section 4 - p.9

Instructional Decision Making……………………………………………………Section 5 - p.13

Analysis of Student Learning……………………………………………………..Section 6 - p.14

Reflection and Self Evaluation……………………………………………………Section 7 - p.17

Design for Instruction in Elementary Education………………………………….Section 8 - p. 19

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Section 1 Contextual Facts

The city of Cleveland, Mississippi, named after President Grover Cleveland, is located in

Bolivar County and was established in 1886. Before given its current name, Cleveland was first a

recognized community called Coleman’s Station (named after Moses W. Coleman who built the

first home in the area) and then in 1884, it was changed to Fontaine until it was established as a

city. Cleveland is one of two county seats of Bolivar County (named after South American

liberator Simon Bolivar). According to the Census Bureau, Cleveland, MS had a population of

12, 101 in 2016. The median household income is around $32,600 and the percentage of poverty

is 29.9%. This is considerably high for a town as small as Cleveland. 49.9% of the population is

African American, 46.8% Caucasian, 1.5% Hispanic, and .9% is Asian.

Cleveland, MS contains a rich history mostly centered around Blues music. The Dockery

Plantation, located on the outskirts of Cleveland, MS, is considered by many as the “birthplace of

the blues.” Attractions include the Grammy Museum Mississippi, Bologna Performing Arts

Center, McCarty’s Pottery, Martin and Sue King Railroad Heritage Museum, and many little

shops of knickknacks located in the square. Delta State University is nestled in the heart of the

city. Cleveland, MS hosts several festivals including the Jazz Festival each April and Octoberfest

in the Fall. There are two Mississippi Blues Trail markers located in Cleveland. One marker is

Chrisman Street, which at one time was the center of African American social life and business.

The other marker recognizes W. C. Handy, a celebrated blues musician.

Cleveland, MS contains Delta State University and Cleveland Central School District. Delta

State University, established in 1924, is one of eight publicly funded universities in the state. It

was originally founded as a teacher college and began in the humble establishment of the old

Bolivar County Agricultural High School. In 1955, DSU received its current name and

developed graduate programs that consisted of more than teaching programs. Delta State now

accommodates more than 4,800 students with an additional 600 students enrolled in post-

graduate or professional courses. Cleveland Central Schools were formerly two separate school

districts: Cleveland High/Margaret Green and Eastside School. In 1965, the district received a

desegregation lawsuit protesting racial segregation and the case took over 62 years to resolve.

CSD never consolidated their black and white school until recently.

The school system was issued a court mandate in May of 2016 to integrate the two separate

school districts that existed. It is now one district with the name of Cleveland Central.

Previously, Cleveland High School’s demographics were 46% African American, 48% white,

4% Hispanic, and 2% Asian. Eastside was 100% African American. Because the schools were

just combined this year, there is no current demographical information available. The current

observing classroom contains 25 students. 19 are African American, 6 are Caucasian. There

have been many articles written regarding the feelings of students and teachers from the two

schools once they were made aware of the court mandate. The overall feeling was great sorrow

that each school was being required to give up years of tradition and school spirit in order to

follow the ruling. Alumni made comments that they had graduated from one of the schools and

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were hoping that their own children would follow in their footsteps. This underlying tone of

melancholy is felt even stronger in the classrooms.

Cleveland Central High School is now located in the combined buildings of the old

Margaret Green Junior High and Cleveland High School. Margaret Green was built in the 1950s

and has not been updated except for a fresh coat of paint. It is generally clean, but desperately

needs updating and new resources. Its mission and vision is to educate and empower all students

to excel and to produce students who are well equipped with knowledge and skills to be

successful citizens. Dr. Randy Grierson is the new principal with Frederick Ford, Justin

Mitchell, Steven Craddock, and Leroy Cotton as Assistant Principals. CCHS offers many

extracurricular activities such as soccer, basketball, football, cross-country, track, beta club, and

chess club. The class schedule is set up in block time with 100-minute class times. The students

only have four subjects each semester.

Mrs. Dana Killion’s classroom has four rows of desks, all in straight lines that face the white

board nearest the door. Two walls are covered with white boards, one wall is solid in windows,

and the back wall contains bookshelves. Mrs. Killion has several framed posters on the walls

above the white boards. She has access to a classroom set of chrome books and a smart board

that has recently been installed. There is an old unused tv above the front white board. Some of

the desks are in bad shape and others look newer. The windows are all covered by closed blinds.

There is a brand new set of Literature books that are kept under each desk in the baskets. The

overall feel of the classroom is cramped. There are bookshelves and carts in every available

space. The teacher’s desk is in the back righthand corner of the room behind the students. She

has the standard that is being covered for the day hanging on the wall near the door along with a

list of class rules. Mrs. Killion always teaches standing at a podium in the front center of the

room. She goes by the same schedule every day. The students come in and have a few minutes

to settle down. She then puts two daily language sentences to be copied and corrected on the

smart board. She gives them four minutes to accomplish this assignment and then they go over

the sentences as a class. The students then take out their practice test packet and the class

reviews over two test questions, covering why certain answers are right and how to choose the

best answer. She then either has the class read a short story from their literature book and

answer the questions on their own paper or they have a lengthy grammar lesson that includes a

worksheet.

Knowledge of students’ characteristic and varied approaches to learning.

There are 24 students in Mrs. Killion’s second period class. Six of the 25 students are

white and 18 are African American. This class is the most advanced class of all the English I

classes according to the teacher. However, there is no Pre-AP or specified advanced class

available. The students are very talkative, friendly, and require her to repetitively ask for the

attention to focus back on her while teaching. Most of the students seem distracted and bored

even during discussion. The students that sit in the back would rather talk among themselves

than participate in any kind of class discussion.

Knowledge of students’ skills and prior learning.

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In the five weeks that I have observed in the classroom, the teacher has mainly covered

grammar lessons such as appositives, gerund phrases, verb tenses, and prepositional phrases and

test preparation/practice questions. A few students have made comments before class began

about how they already know everything that is being taught in the class and wish they could just

take the state test and skip the class. One student made a statement that the requirements of this

English class were way below their level and what they were capable of comprehending. On the

last week of my observation, they started a new unit on Shakespeare and extensively covered his

background before delving into Romeo and Juliet. I asked if the students worked well in groups,

but she said she rarely issues group assignments. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday most

of the class time is taken up by reading assignments and quizzes that are taken on the classroom

set of chrome books.

Implications for instructional planning and assessment

Because this class is considered advanced, I will be sure to challenge the students to think

critically and evaluate the text I am using. I will also require them to write their own narrative

essay that parallels their own experiences with the short story that will be read in class on my

first day of teaching (which the teacher commented that she was so glad I was covering since she

had not had time to cover this). Since they like to socialize, they will be placed into groups and

complete one assignment together. Students will also be asked to share their stories on the last

day of class. My lesson contains a pre-assessment and post-assessment quiz that will test the

students on their knowledge of the objectives in the lesson before and after it is taught. I will

change the format of the class since they seem incapable of staying focused during the current

format and will introduce a new schedule.

Resources:

http://www.visitclevelandms.com/top-10-attractions

https://www.publicschoolreview.com/east-side-high-school-profile

https://www.publicschoolreview.com/cleveland-high-school-

profile/38732https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/clevelandcitymississippi/PST045216

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Section 2 Instructional Objectives

Instructional objectives that will guide the planning, delivery, and assessment of unit:

1. Students will summarize text by documenting important events throughout the story.

2. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the story’s themes through writing tasks

and class participation in discussion.

3. Students will discuss themes of death, grief, and fear and relate those themes to their own

life experiences.

4. Students will relate themes to their own personal experiences.

5. Students will write their own narrative essay and share their personal experiences with

the class.

6. Students will recognize the historical setting and significance of The Boarded Window.

7. Students will gain understanding of new vocabulary in the text.

8. Students will critique and evaluate another student’s essay.

Information from contextual factors to justify goals:

This class is the most advanced ninth grade English class in Cleveland Central High School

according to the teacher. Therefore, I chose more difficult vocabulary and created assignments

that would not just require an understanding of the chosen text, but also expect students to relate

the themes and values of the story to their own lives and then write about their view and share it

with the class.

Show how the objectives are aligned explicitly with local, state, or national standards.

Objective one and six align with Mississippi College and Career Readiness Standard RL.9.1

which states to cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says

explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

Objective two aligns with W.9.1 which contains: write arguments to support claims in an

analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

Objective three aligns with MCCRS RI.9.2: Determine the theme(s) or central idea(s) of a text

and analyze in detail the development over the course of the text, including how details of a text

interact and build on one another to shape and refine the theme(s) or central idea(s); provide an

accurate summary of the text based upon this analysis. It also connects with Standard RL.9.3

stating: analyze how complex characters develop over the course of a literary text, interact with

other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

Objective four and eight align with MCCRS SL.9.1d: Respond thoughtfully to diverse

perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or

justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence

and reasoning presented.

Objective five aligns with MCCRS W.9.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined

experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event

sequences.

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Objective seven aligns with MCCRS RL.9.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as

they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative

impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.

Label the level of each unit and lesson learning objectives using Bloom’s Taxonomy of

objectives.

1. Objective one = Understand level

2. Objective two = Analyze level

3. Objective three = Apply level

4. Objective four = Apply level

5. Objective five = Create level

6. Objective six = Understand level

7. Objective seven = Understand level

8. Objective eight = Evaluate level

Discuss why these learning objectives are appropriate in terms of development,

prerequisite knowledge, skills, and other student need.

These learning objectives are appropriate because they are designed to not only implement

new material, the objectives will challenge these higher-level learners and allow them to share

their own experiences. Their communication skills will be utilized by the incorporation of

several class discussions and the sharing of their personal narrative essays. The students will be

allowed to discuss their cultural diversity in the classroom by connecting the text’s themes to

their own individual experiences, customs, cultures, and home lives.

Explain why the objectives will promote creativity and higher-level thinking skills.

Students will be given the opportunity to create their own story. They will also be

required to analyze the short story and relate the themes from the text to their past individual

experiences. A personal narrative essay planning worksheet will challenge them to carefully

compile their thoughts in an orderly fashion. The final product will then be scored by a fellow

classmate and shared with the entire class.

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Section 3 Assessment Plan for All Students’ Learning

Describe the pre- and post-assessments that are aligned with your learning objectives.

My pre- and post- assessment quizzes are composed of a seven-question quiz created on

Google Forms. These questions contain vocabulary words from the short story that will be read

in class, questions regarding narrative essay and the structure of the paragraphs, and one question

asking about theme. I used the pre-assessment quiz to establish what former knowledge the

students already had of the topics we would cover throughout the unit. I used the exact same

quiz to test them at the end of the unit in order to gain an understanding of how much they had

learned from the beginning of day one to the end of day three. I also created a story/grammar

map that would clearly represent what the students obtained from the story on the first day and a

personal narrative essay worksheet to assist them in creating their own story.

Clearly explain how you will evaluate or score pre- and post-assessments, including criteria

you will use to determine if the students’ performance meets the learning objectives.

The 10 question assessment quizzes will be scored based on how many questions the

student scored correctly on a 100-point scale. The objectives are covered within each question

and the student will be scored on the percentage of accuracy for objectives based on the post-

assessment quiz. Since each question aligns with an objective except for numbers five and eight,

the student’s level of understanding will be identified by whether they answered the question

right or wrong. Objectives five and eight are creative and will be assessed by the student’s

personal narrative essay that they write according to the rubric that was covered and distributed

to the students on the second day of teaching.

Provide a comprehensive overview of the assessment plan based upon the objectives for

your unit.

Question one asks about the specific story and author that I used in the lesson plan and matches

with objective number one. Question two covers the historical setting of the story by asking

about the American Frontier. This question aligns with objective number six (recognizing the

historical significance). Question three asks about theme and parallels with objectives three and

four. Questions four, five, and nine align with objective seven by examining vocabulary

understanding from the story. Questions six, seven, and ten coordinate with objectives three,

four, and five by evaluating the writing process of creating personal narrative essays.

Describe how you determined what was to be assessed.

I determined what was to be assessed by several questions that I previously asked the teacher

regarding what had been covered in class already this year and by the standards that align with

these objectives. My questions on the assessment quiz not only coincide with my objectives, but

also with the MS-CCR Standards covered in this unit lesson plan. I realized that in order to meet

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the demands for this class, a more advanced approach would be required for the lesson. I created

assignments that was a margin above the ninth-grade level in order to challenge each student.

Describe how you provided assessments appropriate for individual learners.

According to my observing teacher, these students are all her most advanced learners. They

have been placed in her second block class because of their high level of achievement.

Therefore, I chose higher level vocabulary and focused mainly on the creation of personal

narrative essays rather than basing my assessment on generic questions regarding the

comprehension of the story and themes. Students were not only required to summarize and

repeat back the knowledge taught on a test. They were expected to relate the theme of the

original short story that was read on the first day to their own personal experiences, and then

demonstrate their understanding in a creation of their own, of which they had the option to share

with the entire on the last day of my lesson. I used several different methods of instruction such

as reading aloud for auditory learners and teaching from a PowerPoint for visual learners, to

connect with the different types of learning styles in the classroom. I incorporated group

assignments, individual written assignments, teacher-led discussions, and visual media of word

clouds and a PowerPoint presentation.

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Section 4 Design for Instruction

Results of pre-assessment.

After scoring the pre-assessment quiz at the beginning of the class on the first day of

teaching, I realized that almost all the students struggled with the vocabulary and the writing

process for an essay. I made certain that on day two we covered these two topics extensively

during class discussion.

When broken down into each question and the objective that it covers, the results look like:

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Question 1/Objective 1

Question 2/Objective 6

Question 3/Objective 2

Question 4/Objective 7

Question 5/Objective 7

Question 6/Objective 5

Question 7/Objective 5

Question 8/Objective 4

Question 9/Objective 7

Question 10/Objective 4

Number of Correct Answers Per Question

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The range of scores on the Pre-Assessment Quiz for each individual student were from 10

to 70 points. Out of the 24 students that completed the quiz, the average score was a 45. The

most common score was a 50.

Here are the individual student results:

Unit Overview

This unit focused on a primary text by Ambrose Bierce, The Boarded Window. Students

were introduced to the American Frontier, the location of story setting, and themes contained in

the main text. Students were led in a group discussion about ideas such as death, grief, and fear

that were considered by the class as some of the themes within the story. Students were required

to choose one of the themes from the story and relate it to a personal experience from their lives.

Students were then given the opportunity to write their own personal narrative essay and share it

with the class. Because there were no special education students in this class, none of required

components were necessary.

Activities

Day one:

I introduced myself and gave a brief explanation of what I would be doing and why. I

then passed out the Pre-Assessment Quiz, explained to the students the reason for issuing the

quiz, and asked them to do their best. When they had passed these back to me, I pulled up a

short PowerPoint and gave a quick introduction to the story setting in six slides. Many of the

students were unfamiliar with the American Frontier which happened to be part of the setting of

the story. I discussed the topic in more depth during my PowerPoint lesson. Because the

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YouTube audio reading that I had found didn’t match the original story, I changed my lesson and

dramatically read the story to the students, adding my own sound effects. Before reading the

story, I asked the students to highlight all the vocabulary words that they were not familiar with

as we went through “The Boarded Window.” After the reading, the class called out the words

that they had highlighted, and I typed them into a Word document. I ended the class by passing

out a Story/Grammar Map in which I asked the students to choose three of the vocabulary words

that they had highlighted to look up for homework. I went over each section of the map in detail

and gave them the last few minutes to start on the worksheet. Whatever they did not finish, they

were asked to complete for homework. There were no ESL students in this classroom, but if

there would have been, I understand that my descriptions and vocabulary choice would have to

have contained shorter words at a slower pace while continually asking for questions.

Day two:

The first thing I did was review the lesson from the day before with the class. We had a

class discussion over the events from the story. The students took out their worksheets that had

been assigned for homework and I created a word cloud from the themes they had decided upon.

We then had another class discussion in which I asked the students to explain why they had

chosen the specific themes that were on the word cloud. I then passed out Personal Narrative

Essay handouts, a grading rubric, and an essay planning worksheet. I asked the students to

volunteer to read each section aloud. Before moving to each new section, I would explain what

they had read. We went over the grading rubric as a class, and I explained what was expected in

their essays and how they would be graded. The students split into groups and began

brainstorming. I walked around answering questions and helping the students choose a story that

would relate to the theme they had picked. I gave specific expectations of what I wanted them to

discuss in the groups before they moved from their individual seats. Finally, I assigned the rest

of the worksheet for homework after going over each paragraph section and answering questions.

Day three:

I asked the students to take out their essay planning worksheet that had been assigned for homework and answered any questions that they had. I then set a timer and gave them 15 minutes to write their final draft of their personal narrative essay. Once the timer went off, there were several students that were not finished yet. I explained that if they finished the next assignment early, they could use the extra time to finish the draft. I passed out the classroom set of Chrome Books to the students and helped them log in to the post-assessment quiz I had created on Google Forms. They took the quiz, and many students went back to work on finishing up their essays while waiting for the rest of their classmates. Because the quiz took so much extra time, I ran out of time to have the students grade each other’s work using the rubric I had previously passed out. I instead asked for volunteers to share their story with the class. I had four volunteers who all evoked an emotional response from students and teachers alike. I ended my last class by thanking the students and my observing teachers for allowing me the opportunity to teach and I passed out candy to the participators who read their essay.

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Technology

I used several different forms of technology including:

• Google Forms for Pre- and Post-Assessment Quizzes

• Classroom set of Chrome Books to take the quizzes

• PowerPoint presentation of the story setting

• Creating a word cloud through worditout.com

• Microsoft Word to type in the student’s highlighted vocabulary

• I had a YouTube audio reading in my lesson, but ended up not being able to use it

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Section 5 Instructional Decision Making

The teacher uses on-going analysis of student learning to make instructional decisions.

• During the presentation of the PowerPoint on day one, I realized that many of my

students did not understand what the American Frontier was and had never

considered the difficulties. Because this idea was such a significant part of the

story, we spent extra time as a class discussing the Frontier and the difficulties

that were connected to the westward expansion of the population during that time.

• On day two, five students laid their heads down and went to sleep at the very

beginning of the class. I tapped each of them on the shoulder and asked them to

rejoin the class, but they refused by telling me no. After discussing this with my

observing teacher, I realized that this was almost an everyday occurrence. After

receiving their refusal to participate, I left them alone to sleep.

• After going over the handout, rubric, and planning worksheet at the end of day

two, I realized that these students comprehended the new concepts that had been

introduced much quicker than I had previously anticipated. I was able to give

them more time in class to work on their homework, but decided to add more

activities for the next day just in case we went through the lesson more quickly

than planned.

• On day three, the quizzes took much longer to complete that I had allotted time

for. This took up the time I had allowed for the students to score each other’s

papers with the rubric I had handed out and discussed the day before. I felt that

the sharing of the students’ papers was more important and skipped to this

activity.

• One student became very emotional during the reading of her essay about her

grandmother’s death. I immediately moved to stand next to her in case she

decided that she could not finish and to be available if she needed me. However,

she had a greater connection with the teacher and sought consolation from her.

• The post-assessment quiz had an unusually long and complicated URL, and I

suspected that the students would have trouble putting in the correct address.

Because of this, I arrived 20 minutes early in order to personally type in as many

as possible before the bell rang. I was able to pull up only a few quizzes before

students began entering the classroom for second block. So, when the time

arrived for the students to take the quiz, I went around and individually helped the

class. A student also helped at the request of the observing teacher.

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Section 6 Analysis of Student Learning

Whole Class:

There was a consistent increase in scores of 23 students. Student nine was the only

one who’s pre- and post-assessment scores stayed the same. Ten students achieved a

perfect score of 100 on the post-assessment. The lowest post-assessment grade was a

40. However, this student received a 10 on the pre-assessment, so there was a

definite improvement from beginning to end. The students were encouraged to share

their personal narrative essays at the end of the last day, which provided them the

opportunity to share how they applied the information that was covered during the

unit lesson to their own life experiences.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Pre-/Post Assessment Scores: Individual Student

Pre-Assessment Post-Assessment

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Subgroup

I chose to represent the scores of African-American students vs. the white students in the

class. Block two contained six white students and 18 African American students.

.

After averaging the pre- and post-assessment scores for the two different ethnic groups, I found

that there was very little difference between them. The African-American students did score

lower on both pre- and post-assessment, but only marginally. The pre-assessment average

contained a difference of 8 points (44 vs. 52) and the post-assessment average contained a

difference of 5 points (85 vs. 90).

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

White students' average scores on Pre-Assessment

African-American students' average scores on Pre-Assessment

White students' average scores on Post-Assessment

African-American students' average scores on Post-Assessment

African-American Students' vs. Caucasian Students' Average Scores (Pre- and Post-Assessment)

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Two individual students:

I chose students 4 and 8 because of the difference of attitude and class participation of the two.

Student 4 was the same student that complained each day before class about the material

being too easy and how she was not challenged in any way during the five weeks that I observed.

Yet, she did seem to participate and pay attention during the three days I taught. Student 8 never

seemed to pay attention throughout my five weeks of observation. She sat in the very back and

talked most of the time, refusing to cooperate even when the teacher asked her to be quiet and

pay attention. Even during my three days of teaching, she seemed to be ignoring me most of the

time. Although the two students’ learning styles were very different, their scores were identical.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Student 4 Student 8

Student 4 vs. Student 8 Pre- and Post Assessment Scores

Pre-Assessment Post-Assessment

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Section 7 Reflection and Self-Evaluation

Provide a specific example of determining your teaching effectiveness by examining written

records in your planning and assessment subsequent to each lesson:

The Story/Grammar Map and the Personal Narrative Essay planning worksheet that I

assignment to the students on day one and day two gave me a clear indication of how much the

students were comprehending and the level of each individual student’s involvement during class

discussion. I realized that although several students refused to participate on day two, I could

only ask and then move on since it was not my class and I had no authority to administer

discipline. I also realized that I needed to over-plan each day’s lesson and add extra activities,

after realizing on day one that my allotted time on my lesson plans was entirely too generous and

I finished with everything for day one much earlier than anticipated.

List how your learners are given formal opportunities to inform you of their perceptions of

your effectiveness:

I gave my students opportunities to ask questions during the class discussions on day one and

day two. I also walked around the room answering questions individually and allowing students

to explain their ideas and concerns on a one-on-one basis. On day three, I allowed the students

to present their creation to the entire class and relate their learning experience to their personal

experiences.

List a specific example of how you received information on your effectiveness from peers or

administrators:

At the end of each lesson, I would ask the observing teacher about any changes that she thought I

should make and how she felt that it went overall. She would give my verbal feedback each day

and explain how I could make things better or what I needed to change. For example, after the

first day of teaching, she told me that I needed to plan more activities just in case the lesson was

shorter than anticipated and that I should use a timer during activity times. On day two, she told

me several things that I explained wrong to the class and that I needed to change it for future use.

On day three, Dr. Scala observed me and gave me verbal and written feedback of my

effectiveness during teaching and issues that I could change to become a more effective teacher.

List the methods by which you determined the effectiveness of your instruction:

1. Grammar/Story map- this worksheet required students to summarize the story in bullet

points, draw the most important scene, choose a main theme, and define vocabulary. It

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helped me evaluate how effective I was during the reading of the story and the

thoroughness of my teacher-guided class discussion.

2. Personal Narrative Essay- Helped me understand how much the students understood of

my lesson on theme and the handout explanation of how to write this type of essay.

3. Post-Assessment Quiz- because the questions on this quiz covered most of my objectives,

I was able to evaluate how effective I was at covered each objective and how much each

student actually understood once I finished the three-day unit.

Select the learning objective for which your students were most successful:

4. My students were most successful with objective number five: Students will write their

own narrative essay and share their personal experiences with the class. The class as a

whole created wonderful essays that dealt with their personal difficulties in life. Many of

them chose to write about the death of a loved one. This is a very private and emotional

topic to choose, yet they were mature in the handling of the assignment and poured out

their heart. The few essays that were shared evoked an overwhelming emotional

response from the students and teachers alike.

Select the learning objective for which your students were least successful:

The only one that students seemed to struggle with was objective five: Students will summarize

text by documenting important events throughout the story. This seemed to be more of an issue

with not wanting to complete the homework assignment than actually not understanding it.

More than half the class did not complete the Story/Grammar Map that was assigned for

homework at the end of day one. The beginning of day two revealed that most worksheets were

incomplete.

Reflections on possibilities for professional development:

I need to slow down and allow the students time to ask questions and give their opinions. I

rushed through most of each lesson attempting to cover everything instead of allowing the

students to have time to think through each section of information. I also need to review the

previous day’s lesson at the beginning of each day so that the students have a clear recollection

of previous lessons before moving on. I will thoroughly examine worksheets and handouts for

errors before distributing them in the future as well.

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Section 8 Design for Instruction in Secondary Education

1. Alignment with Mississippi Curricular Frameworks.

Art: CCRS RI.9.2 Determine the theme(s) or central idea(s) of a text and analyze in detail the

development over the course of the text, including how details of a text interact and build on one

another to shape and refine the theme(s) or central idea(s); provide an accurate summary of the

text based upon this analysis.

History: CCRS SL.9.1d Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of

agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and

understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented.

2. Integration of content.

My subject area is English/Language Arts. Therefore, all of the MS-CCR Standards and

objectives are all related to this subject. I incorporated art and history into my three day unit

lesson plan. For art, I had the students draw the most important scene from the story that helped

explain the theme. To include history, I used a PowerPoint presentation to talk about the

American Frontier during the 1800s (setting of the story). We then had a class discussion

regarding the hardships of this time and how they connected to present day.