Form: "Designing Instruction Task - v2009" Author: steve rojas

Date Submitted: 02/27/2010 8:37 AM (PST)

Created With: TaskStream - Advancing Educational Excellence

* = Response is required

Before beginning this task, read the complete directions provided in the CTC TPA Candidate Handbook.

Step 1: Academic Content Selection and Learning about Students Directions: An important step in planning instruction is to learn about your students. Select one class, one content area, and the state-adopted academic content standards or state-adopted framework (if your single subject content area does not have content standards) for this task. Respond to the questions below about this class, unit of study, and how you learn about the students.

A. Academic Content Selection

* Grade Level 8th grade

* Content area History - Social Science framework -

* Subject matter United States History and Geography: Growth and Conflict - analyze the South from 1800 to

mid 1800

* 1. List the state-adopted academic content standards or state-adopted framework that you will cover for this unit of study. 8.7 Students analyze the divergent paths of the American people in the South from 1800 to

the mid-1800s and challenges they faced. 1.) Describe the development of the Agarian

economy in the South, identify the locations of the cotton producing states & discuss the

significance of cotton and the cotton gin. 2.) Trace the origins and development of slavery;

its effects on black Americans and on the region’s political, social, religious, economic, and

cultural development; and identify the strategies that were tried to both overturn and

preserve it (e.g., through the writings and historical documents on Nat Turner, Denmark

Vesey). 4.) Compare the lives of and opportunities for free blacks in north with those of free

blacks in the south.

* 2. Describe the unit of study that addresses those standards. 1. Students will use assigned text book to supplement 8.7 learning unit - the main text is

'The American Nation by Prentice Hall' 2. Students to watch selected/edited scenes from

Steven Spielberg's 1997 movie "Amistad"- in-addition watch KCET documentary of Abraham

Lincoln, Eli Whitney, Nat Turner et al. - other photos and visually aids will be used to

accentuate the learning unit. 3. Students will be asked to demonstrate their comprehension

and analysis of the films and text through various assessment methods which includes,

visual, written, cooperative learning groups and oral responses. *** The unit will help

students understand and analyze significant events and people who contributed to the

development of the United States and analyze the political influences that this era

contributed to the development of civil liberties.

* 3. What is (are) the academic learning goal(s) for this unit of study? 1. Content Knowledge - student will comprehend, analyze and determine what forces

brought about slavery to the United States. 2. Procedural Knowledge - Summative

assessment- at the end of the unit, there will be group presentations, each group will be

assigned significant events that propelled slavery and later abolished it, in-addition they will

explain, in their own words, how this crucial era in history has influenced the development

of the United States today.

Class Information

* Age range of students 12 -13

* Number of male students 15

* Number of female students 12

* Total number of students 27

B. Student Characteristics

Linguistic Background

* 1. What information that may influence instruction do you want to learn about your students? I would like to determine their primary language and level of literacy. I would like to know

how well they speak their primary language and how are their English writing and reading

comprehension skills. I would also like to learn the extent of their vocabulary.

* 2. How will you learn about your students? Describe the methods you will use and why you have chosen to use those particular methods. I will conduct a survey that will have a dual purpose. 1.) Survey will help determine

literacy/language strengths and weakness. 2.) Pre -assess prior knowledge about the

learning unit by posing questions about the subject matter. In- addition I can perform

language/vocabulary diagnostic tests, e.g. one on one interviews or have a Q & A with the

class. This will help me determine my student's academic language and communication

skills.

* 3. How will you use this information in planning academic instruction in your selected content area? The survey will help plan my instructions accordingly to my students needs, I will be readily

prepare if any of my students are having difficulties with communication and

comprehension. For example: if my students have a history of subpar reading and

comprehension or have a limited use of vocabulary, I can use visual aids to

express/translate content knowledge, so they may conceptualize the subject matter clearly.

Academic Language Abilities, Content Knowledge, and Skills

* 1. What information that may influence instruction do you want to learn about your students? Pinpoint any academic difficulties and what are their state standard test results, e.g. Stat 9

and CST. If possible, I would like to pre-screen students, on the first day of class, for any

undetected learning disabilities. I can network with other social science teachers who have

had my students to give me intel on their academic language abilities and what prior

content knowledge was developed. I can review CUME files and determine learning

development and what kind of student is entering my class. All this information will help me

determine what scaffolding techniques should be administered to help development, and in-

addition to determine if the student is academically ready for the course.

* 2. How will you learn about your students? Describe the methods you will use and why you have chosen to use those particular methods. 1. I will employ a three tier survey which will measure - a.) oral articulation b.) facts Q & A

c.) Written skills/critical thinking, this is an informal assessment to measure comprehension

strengths and weakness. 2. I will review student records and seek advice from former

teachers to measure the quality of education they have been receiving. The survey is critical

to how I structure the classroom learning environment. My lesson plans, goals etc will be

adjusted accordingly to my student's strengths and also to areas that need improvement.

Seeking student records and advice from prior teachers help measure quality of education

and provides intel about my students learning characteristics.

* 3. How will you use this information in planning academic instruction in your selected content area? With the combination of standard test results, student intel and my personal informal

survey assessment, I can hone in on my students needs and help determine were to start

development. Making class learning efficient and concise. As mentioned earlier, my survey

and student intel will measure my student's academic abilities for this particular learning

unit.

Physical, Social, and Emotional Development

* 1. What information that may influence instruction do you want to learn about your students? I would need to know and perform the following, do they have any physical and mental

health issues? Consult with administration if students have any home and family issues, e.g.

parents divorcing or hospitalized. Informal pre-screen my students - first day of class pre-

screen for any observable physical, social, and emotional concerns and bring about to

administration to review and determine any corrective actions should be taken. Establish a

line of communications with parents to get a feel about the student's physical and mental

state or if there are any sudden changes. This well help me construct an efficient learning

environment, e.g. I can recommend/suggest students with emotional conditions to get the

right help or I can get a trained/qualified/certified T.A. who can help assist me with students

who have physical, social and emotional conditions.

* 2. How will you learn about your students? Describe the methods you will use and why you have chosen to use those particular methods. 1. Distribute a diagnostic survey, this survey will have moral and ethical questions, along

with questions that deal with mental health. e.g. I can ask questions about how they feel

about school or do they have lots of friends at school or no friends at school...etc 2. I will

consult with administration and review the students' files and seek advice from former

teachers, counselors and school nurse/psychiatrist. 3. Parent communication and home life

are crucial to tracking any changes with my students behaviors etc... and gives me fair

warning on how to handle these sudden changes in the classroom.

* 3. How will you use this information in planning academic instruction in your selected content area? Knowing the state of my students conditions allows me to make the classroom climate

comfortable, secure and safe. It will allow me to implement effective pedagogy techniques

to best accommodate my students needs. It is important that I protect the integrity of my

students and enhance growth, knowing their physical, social and emotional conditions will

help me create a effective learning environment.

Cultural and Health Considerations

* 1. What information that may influence instruction do you want to learn about your students? Are my students provided the essential provisions to come prepared to learn e.g. diet,

clothing, housing and adequate transportation. Social Science curriculum presents many

challenging issues that questions and analyzes religion and cultural beliefs. I would need to

know if they are at odds with the curriculum at hand. Regarding health, I would check with

the school nurse if I have any students that need special medical attention and I will ask my

students if I should be aware of any health conditions that they did not report to

administration/nurse or even their parents.

* 2. How will you learn about your students? Describe the methods you will use and why you have chosen to use those particular methods. 1. Regarding Culture - I will send an agenda to all parents outlining our learning goals and

topics to be discussed throughout the semester. If parents believe topics discussed are in

conflict with their cultural beliefs and religion, there will be a disclaimer attached (disclaimer

to be approved by principal and district) that grants their child to be excused from the

learning exercise, I will then accommodate alternative learning lessons to meet/or are

within the standards and students needs. 2. Regarding Health - school administration should

advise teachers if any students with health concerns are entering their class, this may not

always be the case, so if health issues are not reported to administration. I will also

distribute a take home letter to my students that reminds parents and students the

importance of reporting health conditions/concerns. Also throughout the semester, I will

look for any changes in physical health or mental health that I may want to address to

administration and parents. E.g, if suddenly, a student comes in tired to my class all the

time, which they didn't before and is not doing any of the assignments, which they did

before, then this is an concern/issue that would need to be addressed to administration and

parents.

* 3. How will you use this information in planning academic instruction in your selected content area? Learning about my students cultural behaviors, health & emotional conditions will be

important in planning my lesson instructions. Some examples, some cultures do not

recognize Christmas and the subject maybe offensive to them and there is also the heated

debates about evolution taught in class. These are all cultural behaviors that I must

recognize/respect and adjust/plan my lesson instructions accordingly. Regarding health

conditions, I need to be aware of health issues that my students may have. For example,

some students may have bad eyesight or hearing difficulties, I may want to sit them near

the chalk board/teacher so the can adequately learn. The overall goal is that my students

have the right to equal and fair education, and I will do my best to accommodate their

needs to achieve this goal.

Interests and Aspirations

* 1. What information that may influence instruction do you want to learn about your students? I would like to learn the following: 1. What is their favorite subject and least favorite

subject? 2. Do they participate in any extracurricular activities? 3. What do they want to be?

4. What do they think about school? 5. What do they think about Social Science/History - is

it an important subject to learn??

* 2. How will you learn about your students? Describe the methods you will use and why you have chosen to use those particular methods. I can use the following methods to achieve my goal: 1. In class open discussion and pose

these questions (questions listed on Q.1) to each student, this would be my first method

and I think its a great idea; students will get to know their classmates better and it might

inspire other students to think about interests and aspirations, if they don't have any at this

point. 2. I can hand out questionnaires and have students fill them out and return to me.

Then discuss the questions and I can go over my personal interests and aspirations with

them, this will give them insight on me. I believe it is important that my students know

about me as well, and it will make them feel comfortable and develop trust.

* 3. How will you use this information in planning academic instruction in your selected content area? Knowing their interests and aspirations can help me create lesson plans that will be

interesting to them and wanting to do. This will be exciting and challenging for me because

I need to create instructions that are innovative and out of the box. For example; if my

class enjoys baseball and we are discussing 1800's American slavery - I can create a lesson

about Los Angeles baseball legend Jackie Robinson, I can draw parallels about how African

slaves were treated in the 1800's and how Jackie Robinson and African Americans were

treated in the 1940's.

Step 2: Learning about Two Focus Students Directions: Select two focus students from the class you identified in Step 1. Select one student who is an English learner and one student who presents a different instructional challenge. Use some of the methods you described in Step 1 to learn about these two students. Consider your selected content area and subject matter when describing what you learned about the two focus students. Complete the section below. In each box include:

a description of what you learned about each of the students

an explanation of how the information will influence your academic instructional planning.

Note: Single subject candidates for a credential in Languages Other Than English who are delivering instruction in the target language may choose another student with a different instructional challenge rather than an English learner.

Student 1: An English Learner

* Gender Male

* Age 13

* 1. Why did you select this student? I choose this student because he is an English language learner, who arrived from Mexico

four years ago. He is thriving in the classroom and I am interested to know how he

manages to cope/adapt in a new learning environment and I am interested to see what

pedagogy techniques are being used to help him learn.

* 2. What did you learn about this student's linguistic background? He speaks Spanish at home and at school, his school is in East Los Angeles, which is

dominated by Hispanic students. He watches Spanish network channels and listens to Rock

en Espanol (Spanish rock) and plays the guitar. His friends all speak Spanish and he goes to

Spanish held events. His English language acquisition is fair (BICS), he mixes lots of

Spanish words in English syntax. He substitutes Spanish words which he cannot express in

English, his vocabulary is appears to be limited but he connects his ideas and thoughts very

well and according to his teacher his vocabulary has increased(CALP) His teacher says that

he reads and writes well in Spanish and recently wrote a song in Spanish which incorporated

some English cognates. His CELDT score avg.3. Regarding content being taught in class, he

understands the severity of slavery and explains why slavery is inhuman, he also knows

who is Abraham Lincoln and that he is on the five dollar bill.

* 3. What did you learn about this student's academic language abilities in relation to this academic content area? His academic English still needs work, he can communicate but there are obvious English

structure/syntax that still need to be learned, he has trouble using verbs and is limited in

vocabulary. His English comprehension level is satisfactory. For example, I asked what he

does on the weekends? His reply..."I go to play Domingo my band play music" His Stat 9

test results indicate that he is performing average level in Reading, Vocabulary and

Comprehension. In class, he is paired with a student who is fluent in English and Spanish.

He is given a core vocabulary list to learn for each learning unit and the teacher

occassionally allows homework and assessments to be completed in Spanish.

* 4. What did you learn about this student's content knowledge and skills in this subject matter? The class is based on cooperative learning - he participates and is an active learner. Each

member in the group has assigned tasks. He says he is usually assigned to illustrations for

his group presentation and enjoys doing it. His last illustration was drawing Abraham Lincoln

and he enjoyed drawing him. There are also dramatizations that he participates and enjoys

acting and is confident in using his English.

* 5. What did you learn about this student's physical, social and emotional development relevant to this academic content area? Socially he appears to have adopted well, and gets along with other students and teacher,

as mentioned early, this student is thriving in school. Emotionally, he expresses himself with

confidence, I believe because the rest of the students are Hispanics and makes him feel

comfortable. I did hear some students chuckle at some of his English pronunciations but it

did not stifle him from presenting his project, also the teacher took pervasive action to

correct the chuckling students. The teacher said he is developing well in class and is

learning the content, his presentation on Abe Lincoln went well, according to the teacher he

draws good and he learned certain vocabulary words that align with the unit. e.g. civil war,

discrimination, segregation, amendment etc..

* 6. What did you learn about this student's cultural background, including family and home relevant to this academic content area? His family is a hardworking blue collar Catholic family. His older brother works full time and

goes to community college after work, he tells me that his older brother is his role model.

His Dad has two jobs. His mother takes him to school and picks him up after school. His

Mother and older brother are active in his learning development, they participate in every

parent conference and other school activities. He says he gets grades of B's and that he

strides for A's. Both Mother and Father didn't finish secondary school in Mexico and their

older brother was the first to graduate from High School. They live in a low income area but

his living conditions are better her in the States, e.g. better school resources.

* 7. What did you learn about this student's special considerations, including health issues relevant to this academic content area? As an English learner, the teacher does offer special considerations for him. e.g. allows the

student to answer questions in Spanish, he is assigned a peer/pair share student and is

given a core of vocabulary words to learn for each unit. Emotionally appears to have

adapted well in his new environment. Since the majority at his school are Hispanic students,

I believe it was an easy transition for him to get comfortable in his new environment. His

diet seems to be okay, I know he is in a free lunch program and I don't see any health

issues. His brother plays a big role in his development in learning and I believe this is a big

plus for his personal development.

* 8. What did you learn about this student's interests and aspirations relevant to this academic content area? I believe his family plays a big role on how he performs in school. He has his older brother,

who is a role model to him, who pushes him to do well in school. His father has two jobs to

support the family and I believe this is where the student gets his ideals of hard work

ethics. The Mom assures that he gets to school on time, picks him up after school and

attends parent conferences. He plays the guitar and likes to write songs, I believe music

plays a role on how he views the world. He says he likes his History class and his rapport

with the teacher is good.

* 9. Describe other information relevant to this academic content area that you learned about the student (e.g., attendance, extracurricular activities). As mentioned earlier... 1. Mom drives him to school everyday and picks him up after school

2. Older brother serves as a role model 3. Father has two jobs - hard work ethics 4. Plays

the guitar and writes songs - the music he listens to is relevant to how he views the world

5. Not shy and has a great rapport with teacher and students

Student 2: A Student Who Presents a Different Instructional Challenge

* Gender Male

* Age 13

* 1. Why did you select this student? This student is a "special need" student - who has been diagnosed with a speech/language

disorder and has some emotional challenges in class e.g shy. This student is also a non ELL

and just recently transferred to this school. This student represents a different instructional

challenge from my first case study ELL, I would like to know what teaching strategies and

what special conditions should be implemented to accommodate this students needs.

* 2. How is the instructional challenge that he or she presents different from that of the other student? My first case study was an ELL student who has hard work ethics and adapted well and is

thriving in the classroom. This students has emotional challenges and a speech disorders.

The speech impediments e.g. stuttering, has caused an emotional reaction for this students

learning and has minimal vocal participation in the classroom. He thrives with independent

work, but group learning activities represent the most challenges.

* 3. What did you learn about this student's linguistic background? This student's primary language is English, he speaks English at home and at school. He

does use some slang. His grammar is satisfactory...it appears that he stutters when words

have multiple syllables or when a question needs in-depth explanations. I asked him what

he thought about "segregation" and he was unfamiliar with the term. There were other

academic terms I used for this learning unit, that he didn't understand. That said, his

vocabulary is limited.

* 4. What did you learn about this student's academic language abilities in relation to this academic content area? As mentioned earlier, vocabulary terms like "segregation" "amendment" etc did not or could

not recognize or determine definitions that would lie in this content area. I reviewed one of

his quizzes and grammar and English structure sentences are satisfactory. E.g. the quiz

asked who is Abraham Lincoln and he wrote that he was the 16th president, he was the

president during the civil war, ended slavery and was killed. His answer was simple but

understood the significance of Abe Lincoln and articulated and communicated his answer

marginally. I believe providing a core list of vocabulary words for this unit and the

opportunity to use these words in tests and quizzes will help his academic language abilities

and prepare him for the next learning unit.

* 5. What did you learn about this student's content knowledge and skills in this subject matter? This student is meeting the learning goals for this unit. As mentioned earlier, I reviewed one

quiz and understood the significance of president Lincoln. The quiz also asked what was the

cotton gin, he said it was a machine that increased cotton production, increased slavery and

the south is where cotton came from. His comprehension of the subject matter is

satisfactory. Where he has challenges expressing content knowledge is through

presentations and group learning activities, where he is less active, due to his speech

disorder. He thrives doing independent work, with much time and patients allowing this

student to be active in group presentations will build self esteem and will gain the

confidence to express subject matter in front of class.

* 6. What did you learn about this student's physical, social and emotional development relevant to this academic content area? Due to his speech disorder, he participates less in group activities but completes assigned

tasks. From my observation of the student, there are good days where he has an active

voice in group activities. The teacher allows him much liberty to do oral presentations. E.g.

he can do oral presentations one on one with the teacher during breaks, but there are times

where he has the confidence to present in front of class. The teacher allows him to express

his thoughts slowly and thoroughly giving him plenty of time and building self esteem. Like

my ELL study case, when participating in group activities, he is assigned to illustrations, E.g.

he drew the cotton gin for his group presentation, which he did a great job and it was

posted in the classroom. I believe posting his work in class was an ingenious part of the

teacher because it builds self esteem and confidence, which he seems to lack at times.

Students also seem to respect and may feel sympathetic towards this students condition, I

did not observe any teasing or any other cruel acts towards his condition in class.

* 7. What did you learn about this student's cultural background, including family and home relevant to this academic content area? I learned that he transferred from Glendale unified school district, his parents lost their

home and are now living with his grand parents. They live in a low income area and his

parents are back in school for vocational training. He has a younger sister who is doing very

good in class. They are Catholics but do not practice their religion. How is this info relevant

to the academic content area?...it connects how people of color continue to struggle and

what adversities they must face.

* 8. What did you learn about this student's special considerations, including health issues relevant to this academic content area? With his speech disorder, he is allowed to do one-on-one presentations with the teacher

during breaks. Oral presentations that involve long answers are avoided. He is allowed as

much time to answer a question and his stuttering is not pointed out. He is also seeing a

speech pathologist at school to help overcome/cope with his disorder, in-addition the

teacher is asked to log/monitor speech behavioral changes and submit to the speech

pathologist.

* 9. What did you learn about this student's interests and aspirations relevant to this academic content area? Art and science are his favorite subjects. His group presentation art work has helped him

conceptualize learning units. For e.g. when he drew the cotton gin, he knew that it was a

machine that increased production. He also drew soldiers from the South and North (Civil

War) and identified their colors. His art work helps him conceptualize the content area and

learning units. He says that art brings peace to him and would like to be an artist one day.

* 10. Describe other information relevant to the academic content area that you learned about the student (e.g., attendance, extracurricular activities). He occasionally comes late to class because History is his first period and is not the only

student who comes in late. He mentions that he plays basketball at the park and I believe

this helps him work with others in class, since basketball takes a team effort. He tells me

that he does not like to brag about his abilities and lets his actions speak for himself. He

says that he does not enjoy school much but understands the importance of an education,

he says his parents always stress about going to school and that being educated will help

get a good job. He always turns in his homework and completes his tasks. He says he hates

taking tests and will only answer questions that he knows, and he does not like to guess.

Step 3: Planning for Academic Instruction for the Whole Class Directions: Consider your academic content selection in Step 1 and what you want the students to learn. As you begin to think about a lesson that falls within the selected unit of study, respond to the questions below about your plan for academic instruction for the whole class.

* 1. At what point in the sequence of the unit is this lesson? Put an X next to one: At the beginning of the unit of study

* 2. List the state-adopted academic content standard(s) or state-adopted framework you will address in the lesson. 8.7 Students analyze the divergent paths of the American people in the South from 1800 to

the mid-1800s and challenges they faced. 1.) Describe the development of the Agarian

economy in the South, identify the locations of the cotton producing states & discuss the

significance of cotton and the cotton gin. 2.) Trace the origins and development of slavery;

its effects on black Americans and on the region’s political, social, religious, economic, and

cultural development; and identify the strategies that were tried to both overturn and

preserve it (e.g., through the writings and historical documents on Nat Turner, Denmark

Vesey). 4.) Compare the lives of and opportunities for free blacks in north with those of free

blacks in the south. To be more creative with my unit, I can also implement the following

California English standard - because my summative oral presentation meets the following

8th grade English standard: English content standard - 2.0 Speaking Applications (Genres

and Their Characteristics): 2.1 - Using the speaking strategies of grade eight outlined in

Listening and Speaking Standard 1.0, students: 2.1 Deliver narrative presentations (e.g.,

biographical, autobiographical): a. Relate a clear, coherent incident, event, or situation by

using well-chosen details. b. Reveal the significance of, and the subject’s attitude about, the

incident, event, or situation. c. Employ narrative and descriptive strategies (e.g., relevant

dialogue, specific action, physical description, background description, comparison or

contrast of characters).

* 3. What is (are) your academic learning goal(s)? What specifically do you expect students to know or be able to do as a result of the lesson? 1. Content Knowledge - student will comprehend, analyze and determine what forces

brought about slavery to the United States. And what policies contributed to the

development to civil liberties. They will also compare and contrast the treatment of colored

people of the past and how people of color are being treated today. With the use of project

base learning, presentations and videos students will receive different learning modalities to

understand subject concepts. 2. Procedural Knowledge - Summative assessment- at the end

of the unit, there will be group presentations, each group will be assigned significant events

that propelled slavery and later abolished it, in-addition they will explain, in their own

words, how this crucial era in history has influenced the development of the United States

today.

* 4. How is (are) your academic learning goal(s) related to the state-adopted academic content standards or state-adopted framework? My first learning goal "content knowledge" will focus on concepts. For example: first portion

of the learning unit will delve into the start of slavery in the U.S. Videos and maps will help

accentuate this early portion of the learning unit. Maps will be used to identify where

plantations were and why slaves were used in these plantations. We will pinpoint what

regions slaves occupied, what were they used for and how policies kept slaves enslaved. To

be more creative with my unit, I can incorporate California English Standards. English

content standard 2.0 Speaking Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics) - students

will have the opportunity to full fill this English standard because they will have to perform

an oral unit presentation. My second learning goal "Procedural Knowledge" puts forth their

knowledge of the subject and the use of metacognition process. At the end of the unit they

will connect the past with the present. The final will be a summative presentation that will

have students identify what they believe maybe a form of slavery today. For example, they

may believe that "Sweat Shop" labor is a form of slavery, with there knowledge of the unit

they can identify why they believe and list their reasoning in their presentation, this

summative presentation gives the students the opportunity to display their new found

knowledge and, as mentioned earlier, full fills English standard 2.0.

* 5. How will the content of the lesson build on what the students already know and are able to do? Since elementary, students have studied the spatial geography of the U.S. They will be able

to recognize regions of the U.S. and identify the people how occupy these regions. Students

have had prior knowledge on the mistreatment of American native people and can correlate

this knowledge to the mistreatment of African slaves. Students also have had prior

knowledge on constitutional rights and can I identify what civil liberties were violated. In

regards to significant people in U.S. history, they will be familiar with Abraham Lincoln's

body of work. These examples are "prior knowledge" that my students should have acquired

before the start of my unit. They will be able to connect and identify significant events in

the early and mid 1800's and with my guidance build upon their prior knowledge.

* 6. How will the content of the lesson connect to the content of preceding and subsequent lessons? Before the lesson unit, a pre assessment of the subject matter will be administered to get a

feel of what my students know about the learning unit . This assessment will be an informal

assessment that fosters past lessons. For example, students should be familiar with natural

rights. I would ask my students... "what are natural rights?" Then I would ask my students

about the geography of the U.S. and ask... "Name me the Southern states?" Then I would

ask about important events and people for example: "Who is Abraham Lincoln?"... these are

questions that will help me adjust and create an effective learning unit and my early

informal assessment is a good warm up exercise for my students.

* 7. What difficulties do you anticipate students could have with the lesson content and why do you think these difficulties will arise? I believe my students will have difficulty with the content academic language. Words such

as; emancipation or chattel, will have a hard time to conceptualize these words because

these words are not in their daily use of vocabulary. They also may have difficulty

presenting their oral presentations, because this form of learning/assessment method is not

used often. The subject of slavery is also very sensitive because of the images that

represent slavery. For example, lynching of slaves. The ideas and policies that supported

slavery are abstract and my students may have trouble connecting those abstract ideas. But

with the right teaching instructions and good classroom management my students will

overcome these academic obstacles.

* 8. What evidence will you collect during the lesson or at the end of the lesson that will show the extent to which the students have learned what you intended? I will administer informal assessments, quizzes and homework to help me measure my

learning goals. For example, at an end of a lesson day, I will recap what we learned about

the voyage of African slaves. I will ask what part of Africa did the slaves come from? What

Caribbean islands did they stop at first? What European nation heavily used the

enslavement of people? etc....If my questions are not answered correctly, I will re-teach the

lesson. I have reserved days, in my unit curriculum, where I might have to re-teach

lessons. I will also assign homework that they can start in class, so I can guide them on

how to start their homework and then finish the assignment at home. Homework will be

used to compliment the lesson of the day. The end of the unit is summative presentation

underlying the main points of the lesson and my students will have the opportunity to

connect the past to present by following guide lines and instructions that I have taught

throughout the unit.

9. Think about how you will sequence your instruction of the academic content to be covered in this lesson. Describe your plan for instruction in the order in which it will be implemented. Address each of the following prompts and provide a rationale for each of your decisions.

* Communicating the academic learning goal(s) to the students

Instruction Plan

Since this is the beginning portion on the

unit. I will write the day's agenda on the

board. I will also address the State Standard

we will be working on for the next two

weeks. The standards will be posted on the

wall to remind my students the objectives

we will be working on. The first day of the

unit is crucial to how I will instruct and

manage my class, that said the objective of

the first day will focus on "prior knowledge"

exercises and diagnostics. For example:

have a Q & A session and ask how they feel

about slavery. In-addition I can measure

academic language by the responses they

give me, this will fall into diagnostics

assessments. To proceed after "warm up"

exercises, I will hand out my unit package

that outlines the learning goals of the unit

and the state standards that we will be

covering. In-addition, I will included a list of

key vocabulary terms that will be a common

theme throughout the unit.

Rationale

Writing the agenda on the board,distributing

unit packages, addressing the state

standards and discussing the unit goals will

establish a clear understanding of what our

objectives are. For example, the unit

package serves as a guidance of what we

will be covering for the day. If a student is

absent from class they can refer to their unit

package to see what they have missed, so

they may review in their texts book.

Conducting an open discussion about the

unit allows a free following open

communication and improves English

communication skills, which will prepare

students for their summative oral

presentations at the end of the unit.

* Instructional strategies

Instruction Plan

Day 2 into the Unit ** After assessing "prior

knowledge" and diagnostic tests, and

adjusting my unit instructions accordingly to

my students strengths and weakness, I will

perform the following instructional

strategies: 1. Agenda of the day written on

the board "Trace the development of slavery

and look into the life of a slave" 2.

Anticipatory set - verbally ask the following

questions: What does it me to be free? What

are civil rights? Do you believe that people

are being mistreated today? Where did early

American slaves come from? and other

questions to be posed relating to today's

topic....answers to be submitted on a piece a

paper and forwarded to the teacher for

credit. 3. Opening activity - students to be

arranged in assigned groups and discuss the

anticipatory questions posed earlier. The

teacher will then instruct one representative

from each group to answer the anticipatory

questions. 4. Lesson execution: students to

remain in their groups; Introduce PBS Video

"Slavery and the Making of America"

narrated by Morgan Freeman. Students to

listen and learn about early slaves in the

American British colonies,they will learn how

Anglos viewed African slaves, they will

discover the journey that slaves endured,

they will listen to several slaves account on

the daily life of a slave, and what was the

main purpose of having slaves. I will instruct

students to take notes and to keep in mind

about questions posed early in the

anticipatory set. 5. Guided practice -

students to remain in their groups, I will

distribute to each group narratives from

several slaves discussed on the PBS video,

for student to examine and discuss. Teacher

to call upon each group and ask the group to

give details about their assigned narrative.

Teacher to underline each narratives

common theme and how it relates to the

anticipatory set questions on the chalk

board, teachers instructs students to take

notes accordingly because today's topic will

be on Friday's quiz. 4. Closure - students to

log-in their daily journals what was discussed

in today's lesson, teacher to ask class if

Rationale

Anticipatory set - asking students questions

requires them to draw from previous

knowledge. Also, the questions posed are

the root to the theme of the lesson. Turning

in the answer sheets promotes

accountability and responsibility. Opening

activity - sharing thoughts and perceptions

gives me guidance of what my students

know about the subject. Group activities

promote brainstorming and improves verbal

communications skills Lesson execution -

video represents a different learning

modality. My students are great video and

auditory learners and visuals help my

students conceptualize the lesson and

subject matter. This visual/auditory learning

also helps my ELL students to visually

conceptualize the subject matter content.

Guided practice - students get to practice

oral literacy skills, brainstorm ideas, and

they will discover what the life of slave was

like and what is meant to be enslaved. They

will draw parallels from their own

experiences and recognize what being free

is. They will learn how to work with others,

and be accustomed to cooperative learning

environment, which is highly being used in

today's classroom. For my ELL students,

group members will help guide them to

complete tasks. Closure - Journals are used

to reflect on today's lesson, it also improves

their writing and comprehension skills. For

my ELL learners they will practice on English

writing skills. I ask my students if they have

any questions after the lesson to help clarify

the subject. Also, they turned in their signed

narrative activities because they should be

credited for participation in class.

Independent practice - reading from the

text, will act as a supplement to today's

lesson. My intention are that my students

will pick up on other information from the

text that wasn't discussed in class so they

may expand on their prior knowledge.

Reading will also expose them to new

vocabulary terms and polish up their reading

and comprehension skills.

there are any questions about today's

lesson. Return the narratives, with

signatures of the group members, so they

can get credit. 5. Independent practice:

assign to read chapter 6 of the text book,

"The Great Divide" the conflict between the

North and South.

* Student activities

Instruction Plan

1. Anticipatory set - "warm up" questions...

students to answer questions about what it

means to be free? what are civil liberties?

etc... They are to submit answers for credit.

2. Opening activities - students to be

arranged in assigned groups and discuss the

anticipatory questions. The teacher will then

instruct one representative from each group

to answer the anticipatory questions. 3.

Lesson execution: students to remain in their

groups; Introduce PBS Video "Slavery and

the Making of America" narrated by Morgan

Freeman. Students to listen and learn about

early slaves in the American British

colonies,they will learn how Anglos viewed

African slaves, they will discover the journey

that slaves endured, they will listen to

several slaves account on the daily life of a

slave, and what was the main purpose of

having slaves. I will instruct students to take

notes and to keep in mind about questions

posed early in the anticipatory set. 4. Guided

practice - students to remain in their groups,

I will distribute to each group narratives

from several slaves discussed on the PBS

video, for student to examine and discuss.

Teacher to call upon each group and ask the

group to give details about their assigned

narrative. Teacher to underline each

narratives common theme and how it relates

to the anticipatory set questions on the chalk

board, teachers instructs students to take

notes accordingly because today's topic will

be on Friday's quiz. 5. Closure - students to

log-in their daily journals what was discussed

in today's lesson, teacher to ask class if

there are any questions about today's

lesson. Return the narratives, with

signatures of the group members, so they

can get credit. 6. Independent practice:

Rationale

1. Anticipatory set - The reason I ask "warm

up" questions is to trigger prior content

knowledge. I want my students to connect

and understand how we live today Vs. how

people of America lived back then in the

early 1800. 2. Opening activities - grouping

my students will promote project based

learning and cooperative learning

environments. Brainstorming ideas and

coming with a solution helps students to

critical analyze a subject. In-addition, oral

presentations will help develop English

communication skills. 3. Lesson execution -

video and auditory learning is a popular

median for understanding content

knowledge. For my ELL students, they will

be able to understand concepts through

visual observation 4. Guided practice -

Distributing narratives of actual slaves

accounts will connect the past to the

present. Narratives will also improve reading

and comprehension skill. Note taking is also

involved and will improve writing skills. 5.

Closure - journal writings will encourage

critical thinking and to review what was

learned. It will also fine tune writing skills 6.

Independent practice - assigned readings

will promote good study habits, will improve

reading skills and will build on prior

knowledge. For example; the text book may

cover a subject that was not discussed in

class, so reading a chapter will serve a

supplementary to the lesson.

assign to read chapter 6 of the text book,

"The Great Divide" the conflict between the

North and South.

* Student grouping

Instruction Plan

2. Opening activities - students to be

arranged in assigned groups and discuss the

anticipatory questions. The teacher will then

instruct one representative from each group

to answer the anticipatory questions. 4.

Guided practice - students to remain in their

groups, I will distribute to each group

narratives from several slaves discussed on

the PBS video "Slavery and the Making of

America," for students to examine and

discuss. Teacher to call upon each group and

ask the group to give details about their

assigned narrative.

Rationale

Anticipatory set - students work

independently and get to express their own

personally ideas. They have the liberty to

write what they believe is important to them

and have the opportunity to express their

ideas in a group, this activity will led into

Opening activities (group learning exercise.)

Opening activities - allows students to

observe and digest other ideas. It promotes

brainstorming and cooperative learning.

They will have the opportunity to debate

which is the best answer to present, in

addition improve communication skills.

Closure - Journals writing will review the

day's lesson and improve writing skills.

Independent practice - improves study

habits, improves reading, writing and

comprehension skills, in-addition it

compliments the lesson of the day.

* Materials, technology, and/or resources, including the use of instructional aides, parents, or other adults in the room

Instruction Plan

Materials/resources needed; Text is 'The

American Nation by Prentice Hall'...PBS

Video "Slavery and the Making of America"

narrated by Morgan Freeman...Daily

journals. Unit vocabulary words list. Unit

package, includes Standards. Maps, pen or

pencil and instructional material/aid for my

ELL and Special Needs students.

Rationale

The text provided is a standard for the local

school district. Videos and auditory

equipment serves as a different form of a

learning modality, and is commonly used in

today's classroom. These video/auditory

materials are also user friendly to my ELL

/special need students, which helps them

conceptualize content easier.

* Progress monitoring of student learning

Instruction Plan

There are several informal assessment that

will be administered throughout the learning

unit to measure progress. 1.) 1st day of the

unit, informal assessment and diagnostics

e.g. Q & A discussions about the objective of

the learning unit. 2.) Daily journal writings:

Rationale

1.) The Q &A exercise serves as a measuring

stick to find out what my students know

about the unit learning subject matter,

triggering prior knowledge. In-addition, the

Q & A will serve as a diagnostic test for

academic language. 2.) Journal writings

reviews the days lesson. Also, improves

English writing and comprehension skills. 3.)

Guidance - I will periodically ask my students

during lessons, if they have any questions.

4.) Quizzes will be administered at the end

of the week. 5.) Warm up exercises before

lesson execution. 6.) Unit vocabulary words

usage.

reviews the day's lesson, and exercises

content knowledge. In-addition improves

writing skills. 3.) Asking my students

questions during lesson executions, helps

me measure learning and decide if I can

move forward with a lesson or re-teach a

lesson. 4.) Quizzes - is another form of

assessment but carries accountability. 5.)

"Warm up" exercises allow my students to

think about ideas and concepts before the

lesson execution. 6.) Unit vocabulary - my

students are given a list of vocabulary words

for the unit. I will monitor to see if these

words are used on quizzes, class

discussions, presentations and tests. *** all

these examples will help me keep my

students on task and ultimately produce

quality work and learning.

* 10. Given the difficulties you anticipate students could have with the content, what additional steps would you take to foster access and comprehension for all students? Social Science maybe a difficult subject to translate to my students because a.) History

deals with the past and may believe that history has no affect on them. b.) Vocabulary and

comprehension can also be difficult task for my students, since these are new ideas and

concepts for them. I have created "Warm Up" exercises and open activities exercises which

connects the past to the present, and how it affects their daily lives. I will be sure to use

SDAIE strategies to make my instruction explicit before we even begin a lesson. There will

be model examples of activities and we will go over the exercises in-depth, to ensure

learning is achieved. For my ELL and special need students; reading, comprehension and

communication will be a challenge, I will ensure that their needs are met. I have provided

site vocabulary words in the unit packages for them to learn, in-addition they will be paired

with other students who are performing well in the class to help assist. Journal writings will

help improve English skills and will tell me how much they are comprehending in class.

* 11. How would you share the results of student academic learning with students and families? Students - Warm up exercises and journals are to be completed in class and return to them

the following school day. I will review/correct these materials and suggest other ideas and

concepts to think about to help build their content knowledge and critical thinking skills.

Quizzes are given at the end of the week and serves as a summative review of the week. I

will grade the quizzes and suggest what my students should work on to improve

development. Parents - Open house and back to school nights will give me an opportunity to

display their child's development, e.g. have them review their child's journal. This will also

give me an opportunity to exchange contact info, such as emails. So I can establish a

network communication bridge. Progress reports are mailed out to the parents, I can review

their progress reports with parents, they can call me or email me. I will also send home

letters of improvement for parents to sign and return to me. I can send home letters of

under achievement, and underling goals and objectives that need to be met, parents need

to sign and return letter. I will try to schedule at least two parent conferences throughout

the semester to go over their child's development.

Step 4: Lesson Adaptations for the Two Focus Students Directions: Consider what you have learned about the two focus students in Step 2, along with the implications for instruction that you identified for each of them. For the two students, determine what adaptations you will make to this lesson you have planned for the whole class. Describe those adaptations for each of the two focus students. If you determine that no adaptations are needed for a part of the plan for instruction, indicate and explain that decision.

In each box below, include:

Your decisions about lesson adaptations

A rationale for these decisions

Student 1: An English Learner

* 1. Academic learning goal(s) or your expectations of what the student should know or be able to do as a result of this lesson. Adaptation - ELL student presented in step#2...the subject does have the competency to

accomplish activities and learning goals in the class. His ELD level is intermediate and BICs

is proficient. The unit vocabulary list will allow to expand English vocabulary and the journal

writings will allow him to practice on English writing mechanics, in-addition to exercise new

vocabulary and English cognates. Group presentations and group work will allow him to

exercise his English communications skills. Assigned "pair share" will also be used to help

assist my ELL students. I also have visual learning modalities that help all my students to

conceptualize content knowledge...as the phrase goes "pictures tell a thousand words."

Rationale - :Very little changes are going to made to the learning goals. As mentioned

earlier, the ELL student is thriving in class and has hard work ethics, he is more than

capable to completing tasks. His student profile justifies his status in the class. Some special

consideration would be to focus less on English mechanics and focus more on concepts and

content knowledge. I will allow more time to complete certain activities for e.g. journal

writings because I understand that it may take more time to translate ideas and concepts.

Another e.g. are presentations, if he doesn't feel comfortable presenting I will allow him to

do his presentation one on one with me, maybe during break or after school. My goal is to

make him feel comfortable and safe in the classroom.

* 2. Evidence of student learning you will collect during the lesson and/or at the end of the lesson. Adaptation - class participation: discussions and Q & A will help me measure learning.

Quizzes will help me measure lesson comprehension. Daily journal writings will also help me

assess learning, I will pay special attention to all my ELL students journals, I will focus more

on concepts and unit vocabulary usage. Visual lessons, students are asked to take notes -

for my ELL I will review their lesson notes to assess comprehension. Rationale - The ELL

student is very motivated and has good work ethics. My special accommodations such as;

reviewing notes or one on one presentations, will help me guide his development and most

importantly adjusting to his needs, will create a comfortable and safe learning environment

for him.

* 3. Communicating the academic learning goal(s) and/or expectations to the student. Adaptation - Academic learning goals will be communicated on the board and the unit

package. For my ELL student I will use techniques used for sheltered English to

communicate goals and SDAIE strategies to communicate goals e.g. visual lessons, slower

speech and using physical gestures etc. Instructions will be repeated and I will ask the ELL

student if instructions were clear. I will proceed to monitor his activities in class so that he

doesn't fall behind and ask if he has any questions. Rationale - implementing SDAIE and

techniques used for sheltered English, will ensure that the students needs are meet and

communicated. Using these ELL instructional strategies will help focus on ideas and

concepts Vs. figuring out English translations, vocabulary and other English mechanics. E.g.

visual lessons will focus on abstract ideas that are acted out or visually scene, verbal

interpretation is used less and drama and illustrations will transpose concepts and ideas.

* 4. Instructional strategies Adaptation - My instructional strategies are designed to promote cooperative learning,

comprehension, critical thinking, communication skills and literacy. E.g. The "pair share"

and group work activities are designed for students to work with each other. For this

particular ELL student he will get support from his peers and "pair share" partner to ensure

he doesn't fall behind, but as mentioned earlier, this ELL student is thriving in class and

completes all his task. In-addition, I will teach him how to take effective notes in class, so

that he knows exactly what I am looking for in lessons, I will give him more time to

complete writing assignments and if he feels uncomfortable doing his oral presentation, I

will offer him to do "one on one" presentation with me during break or after school.

Rationale - I know that his English mechanics are not all there, but I really don't want to

focus on that, my main objective is that he comprehends the material/subject. He will have

plenty of time to work on mechanics, for e.g. writing on daily journals. Support from his

peers will help his development and makes him feel comfortable in class and knowing that

other students want to help makes him feel safe in class too.

* 5. Student activities Adaptation - Cooperative learning is designed for students to brain storm and administrate

specific task for each group member and then present their findings to the class. For this

particular ELL student. He is normally assigned to illustrate events or individuals. For this

ELL student he enjoys to draw and learns from his illustrations. His work is pinned on the

wall because he does good work, and by showing off his work,I believe this boosts his self-

esteem. There is also dramatization in student activities which he enjoys and which is part

of my SDAIE instructional strategies that has been effective for all my ELL students. -

writing activities are used to exercise knowledge, for this active I would give him more time

to complete and I would provide guidance, in-addition I would ensure that he is using the

unit vocabulary words in his writings. Rationale - I have provided my ELL student every

option to complete tasks in the classroom and met his needs to succeed in the class. E.g I

have assigned illustrations to express ideas, provided guidance on how to take notes, given

more time to complete writing assignments and provided group assistance and "pair share"

partner to ensure he doesn't fall behind.

* 6. Student grouping Adaptation - Pair share is crucial to his development because I am not familiar with his

native language, which the pair share partner is. The pair share partner can translate

definitions/subject and can articulate ideas/concepts better than me. Group presentation, he

is given a specific task, illustration. It may not seem that he has maximum participation in

the group, but to the contrary, he is communicating understanding of content knowledge

through illustration, also he must communicate with others in the group to ensure that his

illustration is aligned with other group members work - . Rationale - Pair share partners

provides assistance and guidance, when I am not around to assist. The pair share partner

can clarify words and definitions. Also, pairing him with a student who has made the

transition from Spanish to English will also be a peer model. Overall, with group work and

pair share resources, the ELL student will develop his BICS and CALP skills.

* 7. Materials, technology, and/or resources, including the use of instructional aides, parents, or other adults in the room Adaptation - For all my ELL students I have provided several Spanish to English dictionaries

that are at my desk for my ELL students to use if they have difficulty with vocabulary

definitions. SDAIE strategies are used in the class room. In-addition, if I find out that my

ELL students are having difficulty with the text reading, I will find an alternative text that

will accommodate their level of English. e.g. maybe use a 6th grade level social science

book. For this particular ELL student - pair share peer is assigned and reviewing journal

writings, reviewing note taking and group participation will be enough resources for him to

succeed in class, as mentioned earlier he has hard work ethics and is very motivated.

Rationale - This particular ELL student is highly motivated, which makes my job easier to

focus on other students. Since I know what are his needs and what he needs development

on. E.g. oral presentations and comprehension, I have provided assistance to help him fill in

those weaknesses. e.g. peer tutor to discuss subjects not clear or group work to help him

build on communication skills, that will ultimately help him on his oral presentation. There

are times were he may not feel confident to present in front of class, which is

understandable, as mention earlier, he will have the opportunity to do his oral presentation,

on a "one on one" basis with me.

* 8. Progress monitoring of student learning Adaptation - I will ask simple in class questions to the ELL learner. E.g. "on the map, point

to me the Southern states?" or "Who wrote the Gettysburg address?" Review note taking,

will provide comprehension of the lesson. Group work participation and completion of task

will provide progress. Rationale - this particular ELL student has confidence in some of his

academic abilities, but I know what his strengths and weakness are, e.g. public speaking

presents some challenges, by asking him simple questions in class, that require a one word

answer, will help build/develop his public speaking. I know it would be unfair to ask in-depth

questions e.g."What did president Lincoln's 'emancipation proclamation' mean to black

slaves in the South and how did this enactment led to the 13th Amendment?" this question

would need detailed information, which would be unfair to the ELL student. Group work and

dramatization will help me measure progress as well.

* 9. Sharing results of the student learning with the student and/or the family Adaptations - Parent conference - since I don't know my ELL student's native language, I

will request for a translator to accompany me during parent conference. I will also send

progress reports that are universally understood, for example using percentages, using

negative/positive numbers or red check marks or symbols like happy faces etc... Rationale -

Standard progress reports are usually translated, but I may want to give out my own

personal progress reports, so using universal symbols and numbers will help parents

understand their students progress. Also, translators during parent conference is standard

procedure, this will help me communicate goals and objective of the class.

Student 2: A Student Who Presents a Different Instructional Challenge

* 1. Academic learning goal(s) or your expectations of what the student should know or be able to do as a result of this lesson. Adaptation - This particular student has a speech impediment (stuttering), and is getting

counseling from the schools speech pathologist. His state scores are avg. and is meeting

expectations in the class. There will be some activities that will present some difficulties e.g.

oral presentation in front of class. Reading, writing and comprehension are not an issue, he

has the tools and resources to complete the tasks in class. That said, there will be minor

changes to his learning goals, I expect him, like I expect all my students to complete tasks

and goals in the classroom. In-addition, I will seek advise from the speech pathologist to

confirm my objectives of the class and for the speech pathologist to review my

goals/objectives to ensure that the "special need" student is provided a safe and effective

learning environment. Rationale - This "special need" student has the skills to accomplish

the majority of the learning goals/activities in the class. This student performs well

independently, some minor adjustments will be made to some of the learning

goals/activities. E.g presentations, this exercise might raise the student's anxiety levels, for

this situation I would allow the student to do presentations on a "one on one" basis. Also,

class Q & A discussions, I would allow the student plenty of time to answer oral questions

and I will be sure to pose questions that are not in-depth. Also, working with the speech

pathologist will allow me to understand his condition and needs. It is said that

communications is a very complex process for those who have speech impediments.

Students who stutter can't always communicate effectively. Like all other students. With

sensitivity and understanding, I can reduce communication stress in the classroom, help

him accept himself as a valuable member of the class, and give much needed confidence

and success in speaking situations, this would be my promise/goal to him because he

deserves a fair and equal education.

* 2. Evidence of student learning you will collect during the lesson and/or at the end of the lesson. Adaptation - since there are minor changes to learning goals/objectives - reviewing

journals, quizzes, note taking, and in-class participation will provide evidence of learning.

Rationale - This students strengths is doing independent work. Weaknesses are working

with others and oral presentations because these are high anxiety activities for him. But

there are other forms of learning that I can extract from him, and that is what I have

included in this adaptation portion. Also, if the the student does not feel comfortable to

practice speaking in front of class, I will have options to present "one on one" basis with me

or write down the presentation or give more time to speak and less in-depth questions.

* 3. Communicating the academic learning goal(s) and/or expectations to the student. Adaptation - With this student, I will ensure that lessons/instructions are explicitly given.

In-addition, I always have a Q & A discussion about instructions and goals with the class to

confirm that the class understands the objective. This will allow my special need student to

listen and hone into the Q & A discussion, he doesn't necessarily need to participate, he just

needs to listen, but is encouraged to speak. Rationale - This student has the tools to do

certain tasks in the class, as mentioned earlier, his strengths are to work independently. I

expect him to do the writing assignments like the other students, he is given special

accommodations for presentation and open class discussions. Working with the speech

pathologist, the goals set for him are not unrealistic.

* 4. Instructional strategies Adaptation - This student has very little modification to instructional strategies. I will keep

in mind that oral participation and Q & A discussions, will need more time to express. In-

addition, he will be given an opportunity to participate with open discussions and oral

presentation, but this will be to the discretion of the student. Other than that, he would be

required to produce the same level of work as his peers. Rationale - One of my goals is to

make sure that my student feels that he is part of the classroom and not point out his

speech impediment. That said, there will be minimal adjustments to his instructional

strategies, working close with his speech pathologist allows me to defer high anxiety

activities to him. I always give my students explicit instruction. He is expected to meet all

goals in the class because he doesn't have a learning disability but a physical disability.

* 5. Student activities Adaptation - Oral presentations and open class discussions will be modified. These are

considered high anxiety activities, there are days where he will have the confidence to

speak in front of class and he will be given the opportunity to do this task but if he feels that

he is not ready to present in front of class, I will give him the option to write down his

presentation and submit it or he can do the presentation with me during break or after

school. Open class discussions, I will ensure that he is given more time to follow through

answers and that I will not give him in-depth questions. I will do my best to encourage him

to participate on open discussions but this is only option for him and I will not hold him

accountable. Group activities will give him the opportunity to practice his speech and builds

self esteem. Rationale - These adaptations are made to focus on mastering the objectives

and contents Vs. embarrassment and worrying about performing high anxiety activities.

* 6. Student grouping Adaptation - The special need student will be assigned with a group and is expected to

participate. As, mentioned earlier, group members are assigned certain tasks, and for the

most part work individually. When the group is ready to present, the student has the option

of submitting his portion of the presentation, in writing or present in front of class. For the

most part the student shows off his illustrations and really doesn't do an oral presentation.

Rationale - assigning a group to him will make him feel part of the class, the student will

have the opportunity to work with his communication skills with his group, and will build

self-esteem. Like my ELL students, assigning illustrations and less verbal presentation will

lessen anxiety and feel that he is an active participant in the group.

* 7. Materials, technology, and/or resources, including the use of instructional aides, parents, or other adults in the room Adaptation - A vital resource is the speech therapist - the student and I working closely with

the speech therapist will create a safe and effective learning environment. Some of the less

anxiety activities have been assigned to him with the learning goals/activities in mind, e.g.

presentation illustrations. Also, for oral presentations I can use an audio recorder, so he

may take home or during break use the recorder to tape his presentation. Rationale - The

speech therapist is a trained professional that will suggest the best activities/learn

modalities that will help the student's speech development. The audio recording will help the

student to record his speech/presentation at his own pace, with out an audience present.

* 8. Progress monitoring of student learning Adaptation - there will be minimal changes to monitoring learning. Quizzes, open activities

and warm up exercises will be submitted to me. During open Q & A discussions, he has an

option to participate , but I do require that he takes notes of the Q & A, so I can review his

comprehension of the lesson or if he has any questions. His illustrations will also indicate

learning. Also during group learning activities, I will monitor his participation and ask the

group if they have any questions about the activity. Rationale - As mentioned earlier, this

student has a physical disability and not a learning disability. The goals I have set for him

are not unrealistic and is expected to complete tasks on hand. There are some additional

writing activities to compensate for high anxiety activities, e.g. open discussion Q & A, he is

to take notes and write down questions so I can review and assess learning.

* 9. Sharing results of the student learning with the student and/or the family Adaptation - Like all my students, I will grade assignments and leave comments. During

individual activities, I will approach my students individually to go over graded material

etc...With this particular student, I would work with the speech pathologist and student,

after class, to go over results and I would also like to hear from the student and speech

therapist on what we can do to improve the student's needs. Regarding family - I will chart

progress, like I do with all my other students, and go over his development. I will show

individual activity work, so they can see what their child is learning in class. I will explain

what adaptation I have accommodated for him and go over the adaptation material with the

parents. Rationale - Sharing results with family, the speech pathologist and the student

provides insight on development, reiterate objectives and recognize achievement.

Step 5: Reflection on Connecting Instructional Planning to Student Characteristics Directions: Read your responses to the questions in Steps 1-4. Think about what you have learned by completing this task, including the characteristics of the two focus students, your instructional planning for the whole class, and your adaptations for the focus students. Respond to the questions below

* 1. What information that you collected for the whole class and/or for the two focus students most influenced your planning for this lesson? In your response, describe how and why the information was influential and why you found it to be so.

Collecting linguistic background data, knowing prior content knowledge, intel on students

cultural backgrounds, helped me create an effective lesson plan that my students can

personally connect to. With my two focus students - learning about their language abilities

(ELL) and special need (speech impediment) helped me to make adaptions to my lesson

plan. As a teacher it is our responsibility to make content accessible to all students, because

every student is entitled to an equal and fair education. I have used/demonstrated every

strategy to my ability to accommodate my students needs and have laid this out on my

TPA.

* 2. How will you use what you have learned regarding connecting instructional planning to student characteristics in the future? What I learned most from this TPA assignment is how to extract motivation from students

and how to accommodate students' needs, so that I can help improve their development

and ultimately succeed in class. Knowing your class and taking the time to learn about their

abilities is crucial to creating lessons and implementing effective adaptations. Talking with

students, communicating with parents and using resources are traits of what a good and

caring teacher would do. My students will recognize the hard work/effort I put forth in their

lessons and will inspire them to follow suit and give me all their efforts as well, so that we

will become successful in class.