4 Lesson Plan and and 1000-Word Reflection Essay
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BENCHMARK ASSIGNMENT: PRACTICUM TEACHER WORK SAMPLE
Benchmark Assignment: Practicum Teacher Work Sample
Student Student
Grand Canyon University: EED-470
October 4th, 2033
Instructor Cynthia Harrison
Benchmark Assignment: Practicum Teacher Work Sample
There is truly no experience like being in the classroom and really having a hands on approach to learning. When observing in the classroom, the future educators of tomorrow are being molded through experience in the field as well as through collaboration with veterans who have helped to make education what it is today. This essay encompasses the practicum learning experience, challenges and strengths of assessment, data analysis of assessments and student progress, activities during instruction, collaboration with the educator, and assessments and how they drive instruction. Through this experience, with the educator and with the young students of the elementary school kindergarteners observed, one would have a more thorough understanding of implementing literacy in the classroom and which assessments would be most effective.
Practicum Learning Experience
Anytime there is field experience, there are always new concepts learned and new stories to share. It is amazing being in the field because one not only experiences the joy, but can also be witness to the difficulties as well. The educator observed was by far one of the sweetest people observed thus far in the practicum experience. She had the same grace as Mrs. Honey from the movie Matilda. There were so many phrases learned from her in terms of how to help correct a group of emotional kindergarteners without once raising her voice. The students were rather well-behaved, however it was obvious this was due to composed structure that never changed and was consistent. The chance to introduce a pre-test, lesson plans, and a post-test to a student and see results was probably the most moving experience out of the entire duration of observations. To know that learning to be an educator is blossoming into becoming an educator is one of the best feelings one could ask to truly feel.
Challenges and Strengths of Assessment
When composing the assessment there was the fear of it being too difficult or too hard, but with the assistance of the standards and the particular educator being observed, the pre-test and post-test were a success. The challenge faced when giving the pre-test assessment was the learner having not been completely familiar with the material as some of it was still being learned. The challenge faced when giving the post-test assessment was that some of the learners remembered the answers from before as the exact same test was used. As there were weaknesses there were also strengths. The strength of the pre-test is that it was a completely unknown assessment that the student had never seen, yet there were some pretty good results. The strength of the post-test is that it was able to show growth within the student of concern, which is the result of tailoring instruction. With any assessment there will always be pros and cons, the goal is to find what best works for the students and the material being assessed.
Data Analysis of Assessments and Student Progress
Three students were selected to take the assessment labeled pre-test and post-test. These tests were performed in the category of literacy on two students who were considered average learners and one student who needed differentiation often as a student who was identified as having special needs. Of those assessed, all of them showed improvement by at least a 5 point increase. This could be due to the assessment being the same and administered after such a short period of time along with the growth of the students through the administering of the lesson plan tailored to their needs. The lesson took the areas that needed more attention and focused on them more through instructional practices in hopes of generating improvements in performance and skill retention.
Activities during Instruction
The activities used during instruction were beneficial to the outcome of the above assessment results. The students being tested seemed to be hands on learners who liked multiple examples of the same concept. Some of these hands on activities included the Zoo Keepers bag of interesting items, which kept the students focused on the letter. Using songs and pointing to parts on the body such as the upper arm to symbolize the beginning of a word were also very good methods as they stuck with the memory of the student through performing actions. The bread activity helped the students to pay attention, learn the importance of sequencing, and also peaked their attention. The Popcorn Princess/Prince helped to create a visual of the commonly used words that contribute to the daily reading process. These activities were not the only reasons the students did better on their second assessment, however they absolutely contributed to their educational growth and assessment scores.
Collaboration with the Educator
Anytime there are observation experiences, there too will come the need to collaborate with other educators. In this specific experience, the collaboration was one which should be the standard for every educator who works with young minds. The educator observed was polite, kind, graceful, positive, encouraging, and most importantly a team player. She never once left anyone feeling invisible or unwanted, and had ways to incorporate everyone by using their strengths. Mrs. Jones was a real team leader who, even during lunch, would discuss ways to help the children and collaborate with the educators. It was also above and beyond to collaborate and assist in the lesson plans and pre/post-tests for this assignment. A teacher never stops teaching, even if that means collaborating with other educators, parents, paraprofessionals, or even observers, to create the atmosphere most conducive to learning.
Assessments and How They Drive Instruction
Upon observing over the last few weeks, it has been made clear that assessments are very important to the growth of the learner. However, assessments are also the very determining factor of whether instruction continues forward or needs to circle back around for a second try. When students struggle with learning the material, they are essentially needing to revisit the lesson, but potentially in a different way. With assessments, it can be easier to see where these alterations need made, not to make the test easier for the learner, but to make the material presentable in a different manner so that it clicks within the learner. With the many different forms of assessments available to use, it is safe to say that there is an assessment out there that best fits each class, it is up to the educator to find what works best for that specific group of students.
Conclusion
Working with educators who are experienced in the field and collaborating with them to help the future leaders of tomorrow is quite a moving experience. One can never truly feel the power of helping that lightbulb turn on for a young mind unless in the moment. There are so many opportunities to help the youth their educational needs, and it was an honor to be a part of that. By acknowledging each category, such as the practicum learning experience, challenges and strengths of assessment, data analysis of assessments and student progress, activities during instruction, collaboration with the educator, and assessments and how they drive instruction, there is a gained exposure of the multiple meanings that came of the experience. When there are so many diverse and eager individuals pouring through the classroom doors, the educators must take this precious time in observing the field to see exactly what is needed to create the best educational journey for the educators and the students.
Pre /Post Literacy Test for Kindergarten
Lesson Plans EEI Lesson Plan Template
Client Organization: Grand Canyon University Telephone: (555)555-5555
Main Contact: Student Student Fax: (555)555-5555
Email Address: [email protected] Date: September 17th, 2044
| VITAL INFORMATION | |
| Author | Student Student |
| *Subject(s) | Literature Phonemic Awareness and Phonics |
| Topic or Unit of Study | The Zoo Lady/Man and Zoo Phonics |
| *Grade/Level | Kindergarten |
| *Summary | Students will learn phonics and phonemic awareness through circle time with the Zoo Lady/Man and interact with the Zoo Phonics program. The students will learn how to hear, manipulate, and identify phenomes. The students will also learn how the sounds together make a word that they are familiar with, such as /c/ /a/ /t/ is /cat/. |
| STANDARDS AND DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION: | |
| *Standards | CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.K.2 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.K.3 |
| Differentiated Instruction | To help differentiate instruction for those with special needs, those who are gifted, or those who are ELLs, the teacher provides special instruction or gives the learners separate time with a paraprofessional. The students perform extremely well with the specific format the zoo phonics are presented in. However, for those struggling, the educator provides more time for instruction and peer to peer learning. |
| EEI (ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF INSTRUCTION) - LESSON PLAN ELEMENTS REQUIRED: | |
| Objective | The objective of this lesson is to teach the students the names of their letters, the sounds of their letters, and how to use these sounds together to create a word. The students will know their letters, and how to use them. |
| Anticipatory Set | The teacher begins with asking the students to look above the board and to locate the last letter learned. We will start with the letter D. The students say the last letter was C. The teacher asks the students to gather one table at a time to the circle mat for learning their new letter of the day when the Zoo lady/man visits. |
| Teach Lesson / Model | The teacher gathers the students on the rug and puts on the Zoo Keeper outfit, which consists of a zoo hat and a vest. The teacher sits in a rocking chair in front of the mat and with them is a bag full of items with the letter of the day. The letter being introduced today is the letter D. The zoo keeper says “Hello class, can you tell me what letter we might see today?” The students raise their hands eagerly, some unable to contain themselves saying “D D D D”. The teacher tells the students they are correct. From the bag, the letter D is pulled and the teacher places it on the shelf beside her/him. The teacher then pulls out a stuffed animal deer named DeeDee. The teacher asks the students to say hello to DeeDee so she is not so nervous. The students do so. The teacher then begins to pull out the several different items in the bag that begin with D. A dollar, a dog, a picture of daytime, a dandelion, a picture of a desk, a miniature door, and a dime. The students do their best stating the names of the items. The teacher then leads the students into their guided practice. |
| Guided Practice | “Ok class, before the Zoo Keeper leaves we are going to add to our song…are you ready?” “D D D is DeeDee DeeDee DeeDee, D D D is D” During the song the students are making the sounds of D during the first set while making antlers on their head to symbolize the dear. Then they make the sound of D for the second round while making the sign language symbol for D. This is such a great time to implement the sign language because it is quite effortless and can be very useful. The teacher tells the students to return to their seat and if they are quiet the Zoo Keeper will bring the animal around to pet quietly before returning to the zoo. |
| Independent Practice | The Zoo Keeper leaves and the students are eager to draw their D. The teacher first shows the students how to draw the letter on the board and says “Straight line down, and around” to help the students with drawing their D’s. Those who have a difficult time can be helped or given special writing tools, such as a slanted board or pencil grips. The teacher then passes out the paper and the students practice writing their D’s, both uppercase and lowercase. The teacher then moves into the closure and assessment.
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| Closure | The teacher ends the lesson with talking to the students about some of their favorite D items. This gets the students thinking about words that begin with D. The teacher takes the lesson one step further and asks the students if they know a word that ends in D, and gives them an example “hard, bored, etc.”. This concludes the lesson for the day. |
| Evaluation *Assessment/Rubrics | The assessment for this lesson comes in the form of an informal verbal quiz. The teacher calls the students up to her desk one by one during free play time and asks the student the letter associated with a specific sound. The teacher also pointed to different letters on the list and asked the learner what the letter was or what sound was associated with the letter. The checklist form would list a checkbox next to the letter for a final determination on the assessment.
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| MATERIALS AND RESOURCES | |
| Instructional Materials (handouts, etc.) | Letter Worksheet, Zoo lady/man outfit, letter bag, items that begin with the letter being taught, crayons, pencil, and paper. |
| Resources | Zoo Phonics Song, Workbook, Letter Handout, and Zoo Phonics slideshow presentation. |
Client Organization: Grand Canyon University Telephone: (555)555-5555
Main Contact: Student Student Fax: (555)555-5555
Email Address: [email protected] Date: September 18th, 2044
| VITAL INFORMATION | |
| Author | Student Student |
| *Subject(s) | Literature Fluency |
| Topic or Unit of Study | Letters, Numbers, and Words |
| *Grade/Level | Kindergarten |
| *Summary | In this lesson the students will understand the beginning skills to fluency. They will learn how to identify their letters, numbers, and words with a sense of purpose and understanding. The students will exhibit experience with fluidity by the end of the lesson. |
| STANDARDS AND DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION: | |
| *Standards | CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.K.4 |
| Differentiated Instruction | To help differentiate instruction for those with special needs, those who are gifted, or those who are ELLs, the teacher provides special instruction or gives the learners separate time with a paraprofessional. The students will need help with fluency as this is a practice makes perfect sort of lesson. For those struggling, the educator provides more time for instruction and peer to peer learning. |
| EEI (ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF INSTRUCTION) - LESSON PLAN ELEMENTS REQUIRED: | |
| Objective | The objective of this lesson is to teach the students how to be fluent in their letters, numbers, and words, through practicing the through sounds. Students will gather an understanding for the merging of letters together to make words, as well as how two words together can make a larger word. |
| Anticipatory Set | The teacher begins by asking for three volunteers. Many students raise their hands, but the teacher strategically selects two students who have the same beginning letter to their name. Using masked names, the teacher chose Katie, Kevin, and Tony. The teacher then asks the students to stand in front of the class. The teacher asks the students, “What is her name?” pointing to Katie, and as the students say Katie, the teacher writes the name above the student on the board. The teacher repeats the same step for Kevin and Tony. The teacher then gives the students permission to sit down. The teacher asks, what is something you notice about these three names. After a moment, one student raised their hand and said that two of them began with a K. This was exactly where the teacher was leading up to. “You are correct” said the teacher. Now we will learn a trick to see if there are other words that begin or end in the same sound. |
| Teach Lesson / Model | The teacher begins with asking the students to touch their shoulder. The students touch their shoulder, then the teacher says to pretend this is the beginning of a word. The teacher says “cat” and taps the top of her should with the /c/ sound and the top of her hand with the/t/ sound. The teacher says now tap the top of your hand for the last sound in the word. The students follow by example. The teacher explains this is how to determine what the word begins with and ends with and moves into the guided practice. |
| Guided Practice | The teacher then asks the students to watch the slideshow of pictures placed side by side. The first is of a dog and a cat. The teacher asks the students, “Which one begins with a C”. The students raise their hands to say cat. The teacher then shows a picture of a cat and a cab and asks the students which one ends with a B. The students raise their hands to state their choice with a majority stating the word “cab”. The teacher shows a few more examples and moves into the independent practice. |
| Independent Practice | The teacher passes out the worksheets and places the students in groups of two. They work together to determine the accuracy in each other’s fluency raising their hands when questions arise. During this activity, the educator is walking around the room and informally assessing the learners on their progress. The students seemed to be catching on rather nicely.
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| Closure | The teacher concludes the lesson with a short video on rhyming as asks the students to name some words that rhymed with hat. There were students saying bat, mat, sat, fat, rat, etc. The teacher then asked if the students noticed something among those words that was the same. The teacher writes them on the board and underlines the last letter. They have the same ending sound just as part of our assignment. Can you think of any other words that rhyme? |
| Evaluation *Assessment/Rubrics | The assessment in the form of a formal assessment that looks almost identical to the worksheet above, except this time the letters are stated aloud to the teacher and the proper pictures that begin with and end with the given letter are to be circled. The students are graded based on their ability to perform at a specific level of fluency. |
| MATERIALS AND RESOURCES | |
| Instructional Materials (handouts, etc.) | Fluency Worksheet, Presentation on fluency, crayons, pencil, paper, scissors, and glue. |
| Resources | Workbook, Fluency Worksheet, and fluency video. |
Client Organization: Grand Canyon University Telephone: (937)555-5555
Main Contact: Student Student Fax: (555)555-5555
Email Address: [email protected] Date: September 24th, 2044
| VITAL INFORMATION | |
| Author | Student Student |
| *Subject(s) | Literature Comprehension |
| Topic or Unit of Study | Read and Bake |
| *Grade/Level | Kindergarten |
| *Summary | This lesson will help the students to build their skills in comprehension of readings. The students will learn to listen to the story for details, order of events, etc. in order to complete the portion where the students will put their comprehension to the test and bake. The teacher first reads “The Little Red Hen” then together the class bakes a loaf of bread. |
| STANDARDS AND DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION: | |
| *Standards | CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.K.1 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.K.2 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.K.3 |
| Differentiated Instruction | To help differentiate instruction for those with special needs, those who are gifted, or those who are ELLs, the teacher provides special instruction or gives the learners separate time with a paraprofessional. The students typically perform extremely well with the specific format of reading, stopping for comprehension questions, then performing the actions of the book as close as possible. However, for those struggling, the educator provides more time for instruction and peer to peer learning. |
| EEI (ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF INSTRUCTION) - LESSON PLAN ELEMENTS REQUIRED: | |
| Objective | The objective of this lesson is to teach the students how to have the ability to comprehend material, through stopping to ask questions and listening to the readings. Students will gather an understanding for the material, as well as be able to complete questions about the material at the end of the reading. |
| Anticipatory Set | The teacher begins by asking the students to gather around on the blue mat for a story about the red little hen and how she baked her bread. The teacher asks the students if they had ever heard the story about the little red hen. The students shook their heads no and began to come up with stories about hens to share. The teacher expressed how they could share their stories with each other once the book was finished. The teacher then moved on to the teach model. |
| Teach Lesson / Model | The teacher then tells the students that this book is about a little red hen. The teacher reads the story to the class, stopping to point out new words or asking questions about pictures on the page. The teacher then concluded the story by asking the students if they would have helped the hen to get the supplies to make the bread, or would they have chosen to not help and therefore get no bread. Every student raises their hand and the teacher calls on each student to see if they would help. As each student stated they would have helped, the teacher says, “Then I have quite the surprise, if everyone will help me make this bread, we will eat it while watching the video of the little red hen at the end of the day. The students were really excited. |
| Guided Practice | The teacher then pulled out the bread machine, and one by one gave each student a task to help in making the bread. The teacher explained each step, also explaining that there was no time to really wait for the wheat to grow, or the other stages, but that the students could pretend each event happened. The last student pushes the button to turn the bread machine on and the students are given the chance to look inside as its being kneaded before returning to their seats. The students begin independent practice. |
| Independent Practice | The students return to their seat and the teacher explains how the next worksheet is to be completed. The teacher shows the students that the bottom of the worksheet is first going to be cut off and each box is to be cut. The students are to then put these boxes in order as they remember it happening in the story. The teacher walks around the classroom to see how the students are doing. They are also told they can color the project to look more appealing. The teacher moves into the closure.
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| Closure | In conclusion, the teacher gathers the students around and gives them a piece of bread while watching the little red hen short video. The teacher asks the students if helping to pitch in can benefit everybody. The students express that they agreed. The teacher then gives the students a chance to share a time they helped someone do something. |
| Evaluation *Assessment/Rubrics | The assessment for this lesson is in the form of a formal assessment where the learners read a short folktale and answer questions about it at the end.
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| MATERIALS AND RESOURCES | |
| Instructional Materials (handouts, etc.) | Puzzle of the Hen Worksheet, crayons, pencil, paper, scissors, and glue. |
| Resources | The Little Red Hen, Puzzle of Hen Worksheet, Bread, and Bread machine. |
Client Organization: Grand Canyon University Telephone: (555)555-5555
Main Contact: Student Student Fax: (555)555-5555
Email Address:[email protected] Date: October 1st, 2044
| VITAL INFORMATION | |
| Author | Student Student |
| *Subject(s) | Literature Vocabulary |
| Topic or Unit of Study | Popcorn Princess/Prince and Popcorn Words |
| *Grade/Level | Kindergarten |
| *Summary | The students will learn new words, their meanings, and when it is appropriate to use. The teacher will dress as the popcorn prince or princess and give the students a popcorn word. The students will learn the word, its meaning, and definition, then locate the word in a story and “butter it in” or color it in with a yellow crayon to symbolize it is a popcorn word. |
| STANDARDS AND DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION: | |
| *Standards | CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.K.4 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.K.5 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.K.6 |
| Differentiated Instruction | To help differentiate instruction for those with special needs, those who are gifted, or those who are ELLs, the teacher provides special instruction or gives the learners separate time with a paraprofessional. The students typically perform extremely well with the specific format the popcorn words are presented in. However, for those struggling, the educator provides more time for instruction and peer to peer learning. |
| EEI (ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF INSTRUCTION) - LESSON PLAN ELEMENTS REQUIRED: | |
| Objective | The objective of this lesson is to teach the students the sight words that occur in a majority of readings. Students will also be able to identify these words within a given text. |
| Anticipatory Set | The teacher begins with asking the students to look above the board and to locate the last popcorn word learned. We will start with the word “the” today. The students say the last word was “a”. The teacher asks the students to gather one table at a time to the circle mat for learning their new popcorn of the day when the Popcorn Princess/Prince visits. |
| Teach Lesson / Model | The teacher gathers the students on the rug and puts on the Popcorn Princess/Prince outfit, which consists of a wig and wand or sword. The teacher sits in a rocking chair in front of the mat and with the popcorn word of the day. The popcorn word being introduced today is the word “the”. The Popcorn Princess/Prince says “Hello class, can you tell me what word this is?” The students raise their hands eagerly, some unable to contain themselves saying “the”. The teacher tells the students they are correct. From the bag, the teacher removes a book called the “My Favorite Things”. The book was a fill in the blank book with many popcorn words. The teacher told the students they would be given a book of their own to complete of their favorite things, then they were to “butter in” or color in their popcorn words. The teacher then leads the students into their guided practice. |
| Guided Practice | “Ok class, before the Popcorn Princess/Prince leaves we are going to add to our song…are you ready?” “The the the is the sun is yellow”. During the song the students are watching the coinciding sight words video. The teacher tells the students to return to their seat and if they are quiet the Popcorn Princess/Prince will bring some popcorn around while they work on their independent practice. |
| Independent Practice | The teacher gives the students some popcorn and asks them to pull out their yellow crayon. After the sight word story of the day, called “My favorite things” is passed out, the students are asked to move through the book “buttering in” the words they have already learned as their popcorn words, which was “is, a, and the”. The students quietly work individually butting in their words and will have the opportunity to share their favorite things upon the conclusion of the lesson. The teacher then moves into the closure.
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| Closure | The teacher ends the lesson with talking to the students about some of their favorite things. This gets the students thinking about their lesson. The teacher takes the lesson one step further and asks the students if they know a word that they see a lot when reading their books, and when a student mentions a popcorn word that has yet to be learned, the educator tells the student that this is a word to come. |
| Evaluation *Assessment/Rubrics | The assessment for this lesson comes in the form of an informal verbal quiz. The teacher calls the students up to her desk one by one during free play time and asks the student the popcorn word as it is shown on a flashcard. The teacher also said a specific popcorn word and asked the student to pick it out from a list. The checklist form would list a checkbox next to the letter for a final determination on the assessment.
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| MATERIALS AND RESOURCES | |
| Instructional Materials (handouts, etc.) | Popcorn Word Book, Popcorn prince or princess outfit, pencil, paper, crayons, and popcorn word worksheet. |
| Resources | Popcorn word worksheet, Popcorn word book, and Popcorn Word song. |
