Clark University Master of Arts in Teaching Program
Learning Activity Plan
Hannah Moriarty
Teaching and Learning
Letina Jeranyama
L.A.P
11/12/13
L.A.P: Vocabulary Gallery Walk:
I.
Content: Describe what it is you will teach. What is the content?
In this particular class (anatomy class) students will learn the key vocabulary
terms associated with the skeletal system. They will also learn how to use these
words appropriately when talking about the skeletal system. Along with learning
what these words mean students will learn their functions and why they are
important in helping to skeletal system to carry out its main job and to help the
body maintain homeostasis.
II.
Learning Goal(s): Describe what specifically students will know and be able
to do after the experience of this class.
After this experience students should be able to describe in their own words the
main components that make up the skeletal system and how they help the skeletal
system to function. Students should be able to explain and identify the main parts
of the skeletal system as well as describe what role they play in helping the
skeletal system to function. They more importantly will be able to describe how
these components help the skeletal system to maintain homeostasis throughout the
body and how this particular body system (skeletal) affects the other body
systems as well.
III.
Rationale: Explain how the content and learning goal(s) relate to your
Curriculum Unit Plan learning goals.
This lesson will come towards the middle of the skeletal unit. Students have
already been introduced to these words through scientific articles, videos and
notes. Now they are being asked to put these vocabulary words in their own
words and describe how they are important to the skeletal system. The day before
the gallery walk students were each assigned a word and given a piece of paper.
They were asked to define the vocabulary word in their own words, explain why
it is important to the skeletal system and illustrate this word or something
associated with it. Students were given time in class to work on this poster. They
were allowed to use their, notes, books, ask one of their classmates or ask me for
help. Today they will be presenting their word and their classmates will be writing
down these definitions as a form on “disguised notes”. This way each student is
able to explain the word at hand, strengthening their knowledge of the word and
describing it to their classmates as well.
Revised 5/15/13
Clark University Master of Arts in Teaching Program
Learning Activity Plan
IV.
Assessment: Describe how you and your students will know they have
reached your learning goals.
I will assess the students work in various summative and formative ways
throughout this lesson. As a summative assessment students will turn in the
vocabulary page that they have made for a homework grade. If they the student
has completed the assignment mentioning all three parts I have asked for and
colored their page they will receive full credit. If the picture is not colored I will
deduct 10%, if they are missing any of the three parts I will deduct an additional
10%. The homework grade is out of ten possible points. As the students
explain/define their vocabulary words I assess how well they are able to explain
the word and if they need to read their definition directly off the paper. I will
come around and check off each students “disguised notes sheet” as one form of
an exit ticket. They cannot leave the room until they have filled out the entire
sheet (or as far as we get in class). Finally as a formative assessment I will have
an actual exit ticket where I will ask the students to state, “one thing they have
learned and one thing they are confused about.” By using these forms of
assessments I am able to determine who put forward a great deal of effort
completing this assignment and who is able to define these vocabulary words in
their “own words”. Also, checking off the students “disguised notes” sheet helps
me to determine if they are on task and the exit ticket will help me to determine
who may need more help understanding the information at hand.
V.
Personalization and equity: Describe how you will provide for individual
student strengths and needs. How will you and your lesson consider the
needs of each student and scaffold learning? How specifically will ELL
students and students with learning disabilities gain access and be
supported?
I.E.P:
I have designed this lesson in a way to meet the needs of my students with I.E.Ps
more effectively. This activity will allow the students to visualize the material at
hand and hear it in various ways. Also, this activity enforces the importance of
students teaching students and the fact that sometimes it may be easier for a
student to understand something that their classmates have defined for them in
their own words. This activity also forces students to take notes but in a neat and
orderly manner. This way it is easier for the students to get down the key
information and easier for them to study in the future. These “disguised notes”
will help students write down just the key information. This activity will also help
any students that are auditory learners and will help the class as a whole work on
their presenting skills. I will also give the students extra time at the end of the
activity to go back and recopy and parts they may be missing so that their charts
are completely filled out. Also, the use of exit tickets will help me to determine
who needs more help understanding the vocabulary words at hand.
Revised 5/15/13
Clark University Master of Arts in Teaching Program
Learning Activity Plan
E.L.L.:
For my students that are E.L.Ls I have offered them many accommodations
similar to that of my students with I.E.Ps as well as to my entire class in general.
Students who are E.L.Ls will benefit from drawing pictures to help them fully
understand certain vocabulary concepts. It will also help them to hear these words
defined by their classmates. Actively listening to the information at hand and then
writing it down on a “guided notes” template will help them to write down the
key concepts as well as retain the information in an organize and orderly fashion.
These “guided notes” will help them to review or study later in the future. Also,
having to present orally to the class will help them to practice their English and
help them to articulate their findings in their own words and in an academic
manner. All students will be given the opportunity to go back and copy any words
they may have missed. This will give the students time to get all of the
appropriate information at hand. Also, the exit tickets at the end of class will help
me to determine who needs more help understanding these particular words.
VI.
Activity description and agenda
a. Describe the activities that will help your students understand the content
of your class lesson by creating an agenda with time frames for your
class. Be prepared to explain why you think each activity will help
students on the path toward understanding.




Revised 5/15/13
Quick-write:
o I will start class by having students answer the following
quick-write question:
 Tell me about a time you went to a museum or art
exhibit?
 What was it like, what did you see?
 If you have never been to either a museum or an art
exhibit tell me about a field trip you’ve been on
o This starter question will prepare students for the activity we
are about to partake in and get them thinking about how art
galleries or new advertisements stick in our minds
Video-clip:
o The students will see a short video clip summarizing
everything we have covered so far so they have the opportunity
to quickly review their vocabulary words
Present:
o Each student will receive a vocabulary chart (disguised notes)
o Students one at a time will present their word, identify its
importance to the skeletal system and describe their illustration
o Students will copy the key concepts that define this word down
onto their vocabulary chart
Time to fill in notes/ check off work:
Clark University Master of Arts in Teaching Program
Learning Activity Plan

o After each student has presented I will give students time to
finish filling in their notes
o I will check off these charts as a form of an exit ticket to make
sure they define all of the important words
Exit Tickets:
o I will ask the students the following question:
 Name one new vocabulary word you now feel
confident identifying
 Name one word you are still confused about
 If you are not confused name something you want to
learn more about
o This will help me to assess which students need more help and
also what students are interested in learning about
b. What particular challenges, in terms of student learning or implementing
planned activity, do you anticipate and how will you address them?
Some challenges I see coming up are students are not listening to one another
present or are writing down the information their classmates is presenting on.
I plan to handle this issue by not allowing them to leave until they have the
required number of boxes filled out. This will force the students to listen to
one another and write down the main point of these definitions. I will also
give students extra time to fill in any parts they may be missing. I also could
see certain students reading off a definition that they copied down straight
from the book regardless of the fact I told them to “put it in their own words”.
If this happens I will as the students how we can define this word in a
simpler/easier to understand way. This will help the students to strengthen
their knowledge of the meanings of these words.
VII.
List the Massachusetts Learning Standards this lesson addresses.
Anatomy is an elective so there are no MA curriculum frameworks
VIII. Reflection
a. In light of all areas of planning, but especially in terms of your stated
purpose and learning goals, in what ways was the activity(ies) successful?
How do you know? In what ways was it not successful? How might the
activity be planned differently another time?
I was very pleased with the way in which this activity played out. I was very
impressed with the students’ ability to explain the words they had been given as
well as contribute to other classmates’ presentations. Most of the students asked
extremely intellectually stimulating questions and as a class were able to come to
a conclusion together. Also, for the most part all of the students were really
respectful of one another while they presented and they all filled out their
Revised 5/15/13
Clark University Master of Arts in Teaching Program
Learning Activity Plan
vocabulary sheets before leaving the room. I am learning that you will not get
100% of your class to understand exactly what is going on 100% of the time. But
if you can get all of them to be on board at least 75% of the time and keep
pushing for more then you will have a successful classroom community and
learning will take place.
Since this is not my classroom and I am not at U.P.C.S during the day I had to
quickly set-up the posters around the room in a somewhat hurried manner. I wish
that I could have displayed the posters in a different area that did the students hard
work more justice. I also wish I made the whole activity more of an adventure. I
wish that I dressed up as a museum director and made the whole lesson more
theatrical. Since the lesson itself wasn’t extremely exciting and you need to
unfortunately have classes like this from time to time to get work done this could
have possibly made the whole experience more enjoyable. If I could change this
lesson I would have somehow incorporated a more intense hook into the
beginning of the activity to get students laughing and have them be more excited
about learning. I need to work on being extremely excited about the lessons even
if I’m not this way the students will buy into it and be more engaged as well.
b. What did you learn from the experience of this lesson that will inform your
next LAP?
This experience has taught me about the importance of being able to set up your
room prior to the lesson. If I had more access to set up before the lesson I
wouldn’t have felt so rushed and stressed to get started that I could have probably
had more fun with it and made it more enjoyable for the entire class. For my next
LAP I want to try to incorporate better video clips and more theatrical material
into my lessons to get my students more excited about learning. If I could get
them laughing and enjoying themselves prior to the lesson they will be more
likely to follow instructions and will complete the assignment without me having
to threaten to not let them leave if they don’t get all of the facts down. I don’t
want to have to be the teacher that bribes or forces their kids to complete their
work. I want them to finish their work because they are interested in the material
and because they want to do well.
Revised 5/15/13