UCA MAT Lesson Plan Analysis 1. How do the lesson concepts fit within the scope of the discipline ? (Tess – 1a) NSS-C.5-8.4 Other Nations and World Affairs. “How has the United States influenced other nations and how have other nations influenced American politics and society?” http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands The objective of being able to describe an Arkansan who has made a contribution is closely related to the above National Social Study Standards. While the National Standard is using a broader scope to examine how countries as a whole have made contributions/influenced others, in class we will be look at how Arkansans have made contributions that impacted the culture of Arkansas. By focusing in on Arkansans specifically, students are able to see this standard as more concrete and accessible. Middle level students sometimes have difficulty understanding broad standards like the one above, but if you keep the same idea of the standard and bring it down to something they can better relate to, they will be able to more clearly understand the concept. National Professional Organizations Overall Standards Guide - http://www.educationworld.com/standards/national/toc/index.shtml#soc English/Reading/Language Arts - http://www.ncte.org/standards/ncte-ira or http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Books/Sample/StandardsDoc.pdf Fine Arts - http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/standards.aspx Math - http://www.nctm.org/standards/content.aspx?id=4294967312 Social Studies - http://downloads.ncss.org/NCSSTeacherStandardsVol1-rev2004.pdf or http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands Science http://www.educationworld.com/standards/national/toc/index.shtml#soc PE/Health - http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/standards/nationalStandards/PEstandards.cfm or http://www.aahperd.org/whatwedo/nationalStandards.cfm Foreign Language - http://www.actfl.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3392 2. How do you become familiar with the diversity (culture, learning styles, interest, special needs, etc.) of students in your class? Use the columns below to provide details on your students and then answer the prompt. (Tess – 1b) Approximately how many students have the following exceptionalities? [ 1 ] visual impairment [ ] hearing impairment [ ] developmental disability [ 1 ] emotional or behavioral disability [ 3 ] gifted [ ] learning disability [ ] physical disability [ 1 ] ADD/ADHD [ ] other (please specify) With respect to the following categories, how would you describe your students? [ 2 ] African American/Black [ ] American Indian [ ] Asian [ 20 ] Hispanic [ ] White, non-Hispanic [ 3 ] 2 or more races With respect to student learning styles/preferences, how would you describe your students? [ 1 ] Gardner [ ] Gregorc [ ] Myers-Briggs [ ] other (please specify) Adapted from http://www.arkansased.org/divisions/human-resources-educator-effectiveness-andlicensure/office-of-educator-effectiveness/teacher-evaluation-system/tess-evaluation-forms 3. How do you use knowledge of the diversity in your classroom in planning instruction for students to be successful in reaching the learning goal(s) of the lesson? (Tess – 1b) There are several accommodations that will be available to students who have diverse needs or characteristics. Since we will be doing the main part of the lesson in the library, there will be three teachers available to help those students who need further instruction: Mrs. xyz (the media specialist), Mrs. abc (my mentor teacher), and I. Because there are multiple teachers on hand, I will be able to devote proper one-on-one time with those students who have diverse needs. Students like Monica, who struggle with a lack of confidence in her academic abilities, will be assigned to sit next to students who constantly encourage her. Lisa will be paired with Eli to help her stay on track in the lesson. Those students who need extra time to complete assignments will be able to take home a paper copy of the information they will be reading on the computer. Finally, if Shavonne and Nathan and Samuel need additional challenge, they will be asked to complete a T-chart on their research to truly discuss the relative value of the contributions of the Arkansan’s they researched. Because I know most of my learners are not verbal-linguistic learners, I have provided them with the note-taking sheet to help them determine what information is most important in their research and to set their purpose for reading. This note sheet will also appeal to the logical math learners in the class. The challenge to create a symbol for each person researched should appeal to the visual-spatial learners in the class. 4. How does your lesson objective connect to prior lessons and future learning expectations? (Tess – 1c) Students have spent the past two weeks learning about Arkansas. Students have already learned about Arkansas’ government and how Arkansas is represented in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Students have also been working on identify major cities in Arkansas, as well as the major railroads, rivers, lakes, airports, and highways of Arkansas. Students have also been working on labeling and locating major geographic landforms in Arkansas and their ability to do so will be necessary in aiding them locate the hometowns of the contributing Arkansans on their Arkansas map. In addition, students are always working to improve on their penmanship and mechanics. This lesson will give them another opportunity to practice those skills and become more proficient. Finally, students will need to be able to read and comprehend non-fiction texts in order to accomplish this objective. Students will also need to be able to look at a road map and locate a specific town according to the reference points given. With the implementation of CCSS in content areas such as Language Arts, it is important that students are able to read and analyze non-fiction texts, which is what they will have to be able to do so they can find the contribution their “chosen” Arkansan made. They will continue to use their analytical skills, such as being able to find information pertaining to the contribution their Arkansan made, in their next unit of study that they will begin the following week, the Roaring 20s. The labeling and locating skills they have been using in their Arkansas map will be beneficial to them during upcoming unit. When we discuss the Roaring 20s, students will be expected to know how to locate several of the major cities that get discussed in the unit. The information they are learning about Arkansas, such as being able to describe an Arkansan who made a contribution to Arkansas’ culture, connects to future learning because in 8th grade they will have to take a semester long Arkansas History course. In their 8th grade course, they will once again have to be able to describe Arkansans who contributed positively. Students are also expected to continue to improve their understanding and comprehension of non-fiction texts which will be especially useful in their Language Arts/Literacy classes where non-fiction reading has become a newly revitalized or reemphasized standard 5. What do you want students to know and be able to do as a result of this lesson? (Tess – 1c) I want my students to be able to identify and evaluate Arkansans who have made a difference in the state as well as evaluate their relative contributions. I also want them to conduct basic research from a secondary source. Ultimately, I want them to see that individuals can and do make a difference for the culture of the state and that we can strive to make positive change in our communities. The lesson procedures and activities support my instructional objectives because students will get to watch as I walk them through the steps of what I expect. Once it is time for them to find their own Arkansans, they will know exactly what to look for and will have been given an example of how they could word the information. This will help eliminate a lot of confusion that they would otherwise encounter without having the objective modeled for them. Students will be able to raise their hands for help at any point during the lesson. By having students use the symbols they created for their Arkansans to mark each person’s hometown, it will help connect what the students have been doing (labeling and locating cities, highways, rivers, ect) to what they will be doing in today’s lesson 6. What resources will you utilize to enhance this lesson? (Tess – 1d) I used this website http://www.arkansas.com/kids/famous-arkansans/ to plan the lesson. Arkansas map Note organizers Arkansas Road map Library computer lab space Smart board 7. How will these instructional resources help you achieve the learning goals for the lesson? (Tess – 1d) Students will need their Arkansas map that they have been working on labeling over the past two weeks. Last week, on the back of their maps, I had students create four note organizers which they will use to record the information regarding their four Arkansans and the contributions. Students will also have the Arkansas Road Map provided for them if they should need it while trying to locate their Arkansans hometowns. I reserved the library for class so that way each student will have access to a computer so they can do their research. I will be using the library’s Smart Board to explain and model the instructions. In order for students to be able to find information on their famous Arkansan, they need to be able to access a computer. The computer allows them to access the website where they can then identify and describe an Arkansan who made a contribution to the culture of Arkansas. This website is a safe website for kids that provide them with factual information. 8. Describe your method/strategy/approach to the lesson and explain why you made this choice. (Tess – 1a, 1e) I will be using the method of whole group direct instruction at the beginning of the lesson following the behaviorist and social cognitive learning theory. I will be telling the students exactly what I need them to do and what the goal of their project is (behaviorism). I will then be showing them a model of a completed note-taking guide sheet they must complete on their chosen Arkansans (social cognitive theory). They will then work independently to conduct and present their research. I have chosen to use whole group instruction for several reasons. One reason is that by using this method, it allows for an increase in student/teacher interactions. It is important that I make myself accessible and available to my students and create an environment where their participation is encouraged and expected based on observing and following the model with an understanding that peers can be positive models as well. Another reason why I have chosen this method is because students have to stay on task and focus because of the possibility that they might be called on to answer a question. This method is also beneficial because I will be able to go over the directions for what students are expected to complete during the lesson. Instead of explaining that students are to describe an Arkansan that made positive contributions to 18 different students, I can say it to the whole class at once therefore allowing more time to be devoted to one-on-one work. I also wanted to use individual practice during this lesson so I can better assess to what extent each student is able to meet the objectives. It can sometimes be difficult to assess how well each student is able to meet the objectives when they are placed in a group setting. By having students do this assignment individually, I will be able to better gauge how well they have met the objectives. 9. Describe the structure of your lesson. How do you use the materials, methods, and activities to differentiate instruction for students to achieve the learning outcomes? (Tess – 1e) 10. How will you actively engage ALL students in the learning process? (Tess – 1e) The objectives are appropriate for the whole class, including students with diverse learning needs, because it is important that all students have a firm understanding of what a contribution is and the 2 different ways Arkansans have made positive contributions to the culture of Arkansas. At this age, 6th grade students are entering Erikson’s identity vs role confusion stage of development. In this stage, the learner is starting to ask questions about “who they are” and “what they do well” as they seek to form a vision of themselves to present to the outside world. By examining the contributions of Arkansans of note, these students may see role models for their own identity formation, and they can begin to think about what they, as 6th grade individuals, can do to make a difference. 11. Describe and explain the various groupings of students throughout the lesson. (Tess – 1e) At the beginning of class, students will be sitting in their assigned groups. We will then have to transition to the library where students will have to research their famous Arkansan who contributed to the culture of Arkansas. In the library each student will be sitting at their own computer according to their assignment number (each student has an assigned number and will sit at the specific computer that corresponds with their assigned number) where individual research will take place. Student are required to pick four Arkansans, from four different categories (politics, arts and entertainment, sports, ECT) to research so that way they are exposed to a variety of Arkansans who have each made contributions in their own way. Once students have completed their research on their four famous Arkansans, we will then go back to the classroom where they will once again sit in their assigned groups. I have chosen type of grouping for several reasons. These students crave order and structure. As soon as students enter the classroom they automatically go to their assigned seat where they begin working on their bell ringers. The reason why students will go to their assigned computer in the library is because this will eliminate any issues with fighting over who sits by whom when researching. Having them sit at their assigned numbered computer also helps keep the talking down, therefore allowing them to better focus on the instructions and directions I will be giving them. 12. What methods of assessment (formative/summative) will you use to determine whether ALL students have mastered the learning goals (Tess – 1f) I will assess their answer to the bellringer question and exit slips for depth of thought in responding to the provided questions and for change from their first response to the final response (objectives 1 and 2). As students work, I will ask questions and record on my student check sheet how well students were able to formulate answers and back those answers up with evidence. These questions will range from “How do you think this Arkansan made a difference/contribution to the culture of Arkansas” to “Do you think that Arkansas would be different without their contribution and why?” There is no single correct answer, but I will expect students to provide me with evidence to back up their response. These questions will be asked individually while I make my rounds in the library. I will be going in number order checking the progress of each student in the library while also asking them the above questions (objectives 1 and 2 and 4). I will also be assessing student learning by checking on student progress throughout our time in the library. I will be able to stop by each student’s computer and record to what degree they were able to determine the contribution their Arkansan made based on their reading of the website text. Students will also be assessed on filling out their famous Arkansan’s information on their guide sheet (objectives 1 and 2 and 4). I will assess their presentation to their peers’ for their ability to communicate basic facts about their Arkansan based on their note taking guide sheet and for their ability to locate the Arkansan’s hometown on the large class map (objectives 1 and 3). I think that using informal assessments mixed with formal assessments are a great way to assess student learning. Throughout the lesson I will be able to interact with the students and see how well they grasp the concept of being able to describe an Arkansan who contributed to the culture of Arkansas. Instead of relying on one specific time to assess students, I will be able to evaluate their learning multiple times, ensuring that I have a better grasp on the extent to which they understand the objective. 13. How will you use assessment data to plan for future instruction? (Tess – 1f) 14. Is there anything else I need to know about the lesson? 15. Is there anything else I need to know about the classroom environment? 16. Why are you teaching this content? I have chosen these objectives because it is important that students understand what it means to make a positive contribution. As an active part of society, students will be expected to participate and positively contribute to the world. It is essential that students recognize the fact that they have the ability to make positive contributions. I also want them to evaluate the idea that some contributions have more impact than others. In order to find the information required of them in regards to their Arkansan who helped contribute to the culture of Arkansas, they will have to gather their information from non-fiction texts they locate online. With Common Core implementation in almost all of the content areas, it has become increasingly important that students are able to read and analyze non-fiction texts, especially information from secondary sources. Students will be sharpening this skill during this lesson which will benefit them later in school by having this academic objective. I decided to have students locate the hometowns of their Arkansans because not only will it give them another chance to practice their mapping skills using N, S, E, W, but it will also help make the person they just researched more relatable to them. Students might end up discovering that their famous Arkansan who contributed to Arkansas only lived 20 miles away from them. This will pique their interest and excite them. 17. In what ways does this lesson stimulate higher order thinking? What evidence do you have that all students are thinking beyond knowledge and comprehension?) The lesson reaches the analysis and evaluation levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy as students are asked to evaluate the relative contributions of famous Arkansans.