Lynette Williams

College Supervisor: Dr. Donna Wright

Cooperating Teacher: Mrs. Murphy & Mr. Steinberg

Clinical Practice Site: P.S. 375 Jackie Robinson School

Room: # 103- 1-102 –CCT First Grade

12-05- 2012

Topic: Mathematics

                                                Conceptualizing Essay

Teachers are symbols of learning; they are leader of learners, and a miracle to education.

Teachers often times take the role of a friend, leader, coach, motivator, confidant, counselor, and more importantly, role model. They are individuals who helps to mould young minds stimulate student’s desire to learn and pursue knowledge by introducing them to new ways of thinking. As a prospective teacher I willbear in mind students emotional, social, physical, and cultural and socio- economic background, in order to plan and implement effective teaching strategies that would cater to the needs of each student in the classroom. The three instructional strategies that I will be using for this lesson are Direct Instructions, Cooperative Learning; Discovery Learning and In Class Activity.  These strategies will enhance my teaching mathematics problems of addition and subtraction to facilitate learning.

Theoretical perspective

It is my duty as a teacher to be creative, flexible and innovative and give my students many activities that will assist them to develop their ability to think about and use information.  These skills help in preparation of students becoming critical thinkers which gives them scope to explore, compare, contrast, examine, predict, create and classify information. I support the Constructivist approach which explains that, “Teachers provide students with support or “scaffolding” as they learn new materials… in the forms of clues, and encouragement, suggestions, or other assistance to guide their learning effort.” (Parkay and Stanford, 2007)

In addition, the teacher should ensure that students are actively involved in a process of meaning and knowledge construction as opposed to passively receiving information. Students are the makers of meaning and knowledge. Constructivist teaching fosters critical thinking, and creates motivated and independent learners. Constructivist teachingalso searches out students' understanding and prior experiences about a concept before teaching it to them.  It also encourages communication between the teacher and the students and also between the students and their peers about using their mathematical skill when solving addition and subtraction problems.

In planning this lesson I took into consideration the educational classes that I have taken in the previous semesters such as EDUC 307, EDUC 381, and EDUC 302 have prepared me with the pedagogical knowledge I need to complete this lesson. In EDUC 302 I was taught how to construct lesson plans that are age and developmentally appropriate.  In EDUC 381 I was taught how implement phonemic awareness in almost every lesson.   In EDUC 307 I was exposedto numerous instructional strategies that can be used in these lessons.  The most frequently used teaching strategy is Direct Instruction.  This strategy is being used in every lesson and it requires teacher to present the instructions and directions step by step in order for students to understand what has to be done.  At this stage teacher will recall what students already know about solving addition and subtraction problems.

Prior knowledge is one way of getting students to think critically. In a Constructivist classroom students are always engaged in their learning experiences, they are often encouraged to use their prior knowledge to recall experiences; social interactions which help them gain an understanding of new information. I think students should be allowed many opportunities to do group work; this helps them to explore activities of the different foods itemsand manipulatives, smart board, and learning centers to solve addition and subtraction problems. These activities can also develop their socialization skills and work collaboratively with each other.

Mustafa (2001) states that the amount of background a child has on a topic before reading or learning about it, would have a powerful effect on their ability to make sense of what they are reading. In this lesson the students should be able to solve addition and subtraction problems. A teacher must be able to create lessons which will access students` prior knowledge.

            Students should already have prior knowledge of the different manipulatives, foods and also how to interact with the smart board. This is a follow up lesson from a unit that has already been started in class. I will be looking at the different ways to solve addition and subtraction problems using these items and also the students. For example The New York Common Core standard for mathematics states that students solvea word problem by using multiple strategies that call for addition of three whole numbers whose sum is less than or equal to 20. For example, by using objects, drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.

It is my opinion; that students perform their best when they are exposed to challenging activities. Hence, I must be able to provide my students with activities that hold their interest and to keep them occupied in the learning process, not only for rewards but, to acquire knowledge. To facilitate students learning I would plan activities that will keep them engaged thus allowing them to get the experiences they need, which refers to the complete absorption in what one is doing (Reeve, 2009). Activities should not be too difficult or too simple so as become intrinsically motivated to learn, they will start to develop competence as they start to excel in whatever skills they are learning about solving addition and subtraction word problems.

As a teacher I must ensure that there is adequate preparation of activities and scope for students to understand through ways that they can acquire knowledge. Therefore, I agree with theorist Howard Gardner and his theory of multiple intelligences, he states that everyone has a preferred way of gaining knowledge. Gardner (1999) made two fundamental claims about multiple intelligences, (1) that the theory accounts for the full range of human cognition, and (2) each individual has a unique blend of the various intelligences that contributes to his/her personal predilections and abilities. One of the main challenges for educators and individuals is for each person to develop his/her intelligences to the fullest.   When it comes to teaching I need to understand students` academic levels, some may be able to verbally follow instructions and directions while some will have the instructions and directions drawn or written for them in order to complete a task.

Gardner`s theory of cognition will be used this theory to help students` thinking skills on how exploring with the different items help them figure out what they are doing while solving the word problems.

CHILDER`S CHARACTERISTICS

            I gather some information from the cooperating teacher about the cultural contributions and historical points of views. The teaching staffs consist of four teachers, two males and two females, the general education teacher is form Barbados, the male special education teacher is Caucasian, and the other two teachers are paraprofessionals. The female is Panamanian and the male is African American. Chronologically some of the students are operating above their grade level, four of them are hold over, two of them just came from a self-contained class, two live in shelters, and one student resides with her grandmother. Even though some of them bring lunch, most of them partake in school lunch. The classroom consists of diverse cultures and ethnicity.

For language, I will provide them with opportunities to enhance their learning by having them use context clues to sound out words found on the chart and interact with their peers during small group session and accountable talk.  Therefore, in this lesson I will have the students sound out vocabulary words, For example, addition, subtraction, more than, less than, altogether.

            After speaking to the cooperating teacher and observing the students, I notice that some of them like to draw.  Therefore, I have to prepare my lesson in such a way which will include pictures that student will be allowed to view as well as draw and color their own picture, which will show the aesthetic needs of the students. Students learn by observing; recognizing shapes and colors and can reproduce them through artwork.Therefore, I will allow students to use materials of different and create their own piece of artwork.

I also notice that two of the students like to sing I will include an action song about the senses in my lesson and allow them the opportunity to sing and do actions. Gardner emphasizes the importance of “arts'; the school needs a program rich in visual and musical arts, to adequately address the full range of intelligences.

Therefore, I will encourage students to participate drawing, coloring and painting,

 By nature every individual has their own mood when it comes to socializing, and for those students who are taken out of the classroom for occupational therapy need some kind help with their emotional, social and academic skill development. I must ensure that the learning environment is conducive to learning so I can plan and execute my lessons.  Theorist Eric Erikson explains in his psychosocial theory, those children go through various stages of social and emotional development. Each stage is regarded by Erikson as a “psychosocial” crisis where   children are faced with some form of challenge which in turn allows them scope for personal growth. Erikson believes that the fourth stage of psychosocial development (Industry vs. Inferiority) children at the first grade level focus on developing confidence, of being successful and not a failure. However, from observation I found that some students are functioning at a higher level the fourth stage of psychosocial development (Industry vs. Inferiority), and at this stage their focus it on developing competence.If children are praised for doing their best and encouraged to finish tasks then work, enjoyment and industry may result. Children's efforts to master school work help them to grow and form a positive self-concept ... a sense of who they are.

Therefore, I will have students work independently in the learning centers with peers to complete activities that involve solving addition and subtraction word problems.

            From my observation and what was shared by the teacher I obtained some information of the socio- economic status of the students and their parents, and from the information that they received from parents is that most of them of them come from homes where both parents are present and some of the students have siblings. Most of these students partake in the free breakfast and lunch program just a few bring their own lunch and snack. From the teacher`s knowledge three of the students are asthmatic and is being placed on the 504 Health Action Plan where medication (pump) is being administered by a nurse with permission given by the parents. Three students suffer from allergies. Apple (1) peanut (1) and sunny delight (1). The apple is being substituted by pear; the other two students are not allowed to have none of the other two items that were mentioned. Two of the students reside in the shelter; one sometimes shows up almost half an hour late for class and misses class activities. For the student who shows up late simple homework assignments will be sent home for him to complete. In planning this lesson I will have to provide the items for students manipulate and count during the lesson. Students will be allowed to play math games on the computer and IPod/or solve math number puzzles.

            As teachers, we all know that some students experience developmental delays, which hinders their ability to function at the same level as their peers. However, not all students learn at the same level or the same rate. For my clinical practice, I will be working with a first grade class of students in a Collaborative Team Teaching (CTT) setting. In this type of setting student work along with peers at the same age level in a general education classroom. In this classroom setting students with learning and social disabilities are taught together with their peers in a general education setting with the fulltime support of special education teachers. These special education teachers adapt and modify instructions to enhance the specific learning needs of their students (United Federation of Teachers, 2012).

It is my duty to show how efficient I am as a teacher, by familiarizing myself with the students in my class, and plan lessons to meet the difficulties and challenges that they may encounter. In EDUC 381, I was furnished with many different techniques that could be included in the lessons to enhance students` who have difficulty reading.  To cater to the students` learning needs I will execute my lesson on solving addition and subtraction word problems.For my independent practicestudents will be placed in learning centers according to their learning needs.  For those who cannot read, they will be given wordsor pictures to paste pictures to make up their number stories.The other students will work independently with little supervision. This lesson is part of a thematic unit that is included in the school`s curriculum, and has already been started in the class. Therefore, I will execute my lesson on number stories, solving addition and subtraction word problems.

            As a teacher, I have to first address the learning styles of student and ensure that they understand the concepts that are being taught to them, taking into consideration their cultural background and ethnicity, and plan my lesson in order to facilitate diversity in the classroom,  also to use the appropriate instructional strategies when working with these students. The classroom`s culture consist of students from African decent (Nigeria and Ghana), Caribbean (Guyana, Trinidad, Haiti, Grenada, Jamaica and Barbados), Latinos (Puerto Rico and Mexico) Hungary and some are Americans. From the teachers` understanding, English is the only language the students speak in school. I question whether or not the parents speak another language other than English at home, and was told that the Latino, Haitian and African decent they do. The teachers also indicated that these parents are encouraged to communicate in English. This will be a god time to demonstrate a sense of community whereby, teachers and students have shared goals, and are mutually and respective of one another`s efforts, and believe that everyone makes an important contribution to classroom learning. Students from other cultures will be asked to name the numbers in their language other than English.

After having had an idea of the students’ cultures, I will include cooperative learning, as a teaching strategy for it imparts itself as major role in students` learning process. After reading text “Culturally Responsive Teaching” by Geneva Gay (2010), it states that co operative learning plays a central role in the learning styles of Africans, Latinos, Asian American and, Hungarian students, especially in the areas of communicative, procedural, motivational and relational dimensions. She further said that these learning strategies will helps to students design their own assignments and work collaboratively with one another, and also in their reasoning, and clarity of expression in writing and reading skills. Gay (2010) also explains that teachers should include storytelling, music and movement, and rhythmic patterns into their learning activities, in order to facilitate African Hungarian and Latino students. In conducting this lesson, students will be working in groups to explore the five senses. Modification of instructional strategies will be made for these students. For audio visual learners’ students will use the smart board/computer kinesthetic learners will use different textures, and the use of peer tutoring as a means of providing one- to -one attention and instructions. Students with glasses will have larger or smaller prints depending on their sight either near of far sighted, hands-on will also be provided for touching and manipulating.

 The students who have an IEP will require additional scaffolding. Vygotsky sees the zone of  proximal development as the area where the most sensitive instruction or guidance should be given - allowing students to develop skills they will then use on their own - developing higher mental functions. Teachers need to “scaffold” on what students already know by helping them to gain knowledge. He also views interaction with peers as an effective way of developing skills and strategies.  He suggests that teachers use cooperative learning exercises where less competent students develop with help from more skillful peers - within the zone of proximal development. For example some students will work together with each other to explore with the different maniplatives, and foods to solve math problems.

Adaptive technology is used in the form of smart board, calculators, and IPAD are used by students and teachers to teach and reinforce activities. Assistive technology assists students to play interactive games, and completing activities as a follow up of five senses.

Therefore, I will allow students to take turns to complete activity on the computer or theIPAD.

CHILDREN`S CHARACTERISTICS AND THEIR RELATION DEVELOPMNT

The students will be given a chance to follow directions and interchange activities. I will commence my lesson with accountable talk; students will be seated on the rug as we continue our discussion on “places in the community where families can purchase their foods” by using the big book. Students will transition orderly to their desk to complete their activities. Independent practice will follow where students will complete assignment on worksheet in their individual groups. For those students who can follow directions they will be given both verbal and written instructions and directions as they proceed to finish the task assigned. For the group that needs help, I will solicit the help of the cooperating teachers and paraprofessionals

According to NAEYC (2009) students at this stage are curious in the different ideas of their peers and feel comfortable in sharing and interacting and socializing. Moreover, by giving them a chance to interact and work together, thus helping them to develop and master skills. Also, for them to understand behaviors that are acceptable and unacceptable in order to develop skills for self regulation.

Students work cooperatively in groups, the majority adhere to classroom rules as the teachers` give praise and gentle reminders. I will use my strategy of cooperative learning during the lesson to assist my students with their emotional and social needs, which will give them a chance to be a part of the group activity. For example, according to their learning ability, students will work together during guided practice they will participate in an interactive activity in solving addition and subtraction number stories. Students will act out number stories, they will use food items and manipulates for counting.  Also what they are doing with each other. ELL students will benefit more from cooperative learning because it will in improving their English language as well as socialization skills. Before going their respective group and learning centers for group work, students will be reminded of the rules.

CHILDREN `S CHARACTERISTICS AND PARTICULAR CONSIDERATION

            The classroom setting consists of 21 boys and 9 girls’ with13 special education and 17 general education students. These 13 students have IEP`s, recommendations for IEP services include speech and language therapy (6 Latino students), occupational therapy (3 students), ELA and mathematic (2 students) and counseling (2 students). Sessions for speech, language therapy and occupational therapy, students are taken out of the classroom for half an hour for each session, 1 to 2 times per week considering the needs of the student. Students for counseling attend sessions of 2 students, 2 to 3 times per week.

FAMILY AND COMMUNITY

Parental involvement and the community are important components in the all round development of our students, whereby they can work towards building and maintaining well home and community school involvement. . Letters were being sent out to parents; students’ information sheets for example, fun books, hobbies, allergies, medications, and address.

  In helping to make this connection between the home and community I will have students talk about their shopping experiences with their family.  Therefore, I will let students know how important it is for families to include children when they go shopping so as to get them involve in adding the prices of items that they need, and subtracting those that are not needed..

TEACHER CHARACTERISTICS

            As I brainstormed on this lesson, it was very frustrating at first but after meeting with my cooperating teachers I was able to put things together. During the meeting, they showed me appropriate books and topics that corresponded with what I wanted to teach and shared what types of teaching and learning strategies that are used. I can say that the students and I have developed a good teacher/student relationship. I also have the opportunity of working one on one with them who needed my help.

            I do not see the teaching experience as I thought it would have been, nor I do not believe that I will have to change my attitude and style to facilitate students` cultural and linguistic, exceptional and temperament differences because I accept others . In my opinion, I do not have any triggers that no student can easily press, if something should happen. I have always been able to control me temper and emotion by singing or clapping. I will ask the assistance of the cooperating teacher if something should get out of control.

            It is my duty to remember when executing my lesson that I must always remember the developmental stages of a student is a ongoing process and it is my goal as a culturally relevant change agent to always focus on a student`s developmental stages to help them to be independent as they strive for success in the future.

            Considerations are being made for students individual and exceptional / intervention needs. They do receive services that will cater to their needs, there is Extended Day Tutoring, Peer Tutoring, and After School for homework and the smart board is being used for technology to teach or reinforced activities.

            Paraprofessionals will work one-to- one with students at small groups; they also assist in guided reading and writing during class sessions.

            From my observation only one student have a physical disability and is being assisted by a paraprofessional, he writes well the left hand but has to be assisted during lunch.

Candidate: Lynette Williams

College Supervisor: Dr. Wright

Cooperating Teacher: Mrs. Murphy

Clinical Practice Site: PS. 375 Jackie Robinson School

Date: 12-05 12

Time: 12:00

Room:  103- 1-102- CTT First Grade

Topic: Math Exploring Number Stories (Operation and Computation)

Special Needs: Differentiated Instructions

 Modification of the lesson will include auditory and visual for ELL learners and kinesthetic for students who will be actively involved in doing something in the learning process.

Vocabulary

Addition, subtraction, more than, less than, equal and altogether.

Guided Practice Activities will be modified in the following manner:

 Given manipulatives and food items students and teacher will use these items to create and solve addition and subtraction problems.

Independent Practice: Activities will be modified in the following manner:

For independent practice students will use these items to create and solve addition and subtraction problems.

New York State Common Core Standards Mathematics:  First Grade

1. OA.2-Solve word problems that call for addition of three whole numbers whose sum is less than or equal to 20. e.g., by using objects, drawing, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.

1. OA.5- Relate counting to addition and subtraction.

NAEYC Standards: 1. Promoting Child Development and Learning

1a: Knowing and understanding young children’s characteristics and needs

2c: Involving families and communities in their children’s development and learning

Behavioral Objective:At the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

Model, describe, and illustrate the meanings and operation of addition and subtraction to solve problems.

Instructional Strategies: (Cooperative learning; direct instruction; in class activity).

Motivation (Direct instruction) Boys and girls today we are going to continue looking at word problems but this time we will be creating our word problems using the foods and students and manipulatives.Using familiar objects, students will create addition and subtraction word problems.  Look at all the fun things I brought to do math today.  We are going to do an operation today using these objects. We are going to perform the operation of addition and subtraction using these objects to create and solve problems.  Let’s try a few problems together.

Materials: Smart board, pencils, paper, plastic foods, manipulative, flash cards with plus, minus equal and numbers written on them.

Presentation (Direction Instruction, Cooperative Learning). To provide students with addition and subtraction, I will have students act out number stories with number and operation cards. One student will hold up the plus (+) or minus (-) sign another student will hold up the equal (=) sign and the sum of the number.

(i)Accountable Talk: Students will turn to their peer and share what they already know about using manipulatives to create and solve problems using addition and subtraction.

(ii)Guided Practice (In Class Activity, Direct instructions, Cooperative Learning)Students will turn their attention to the smart board, where I will lead an interactive lesson on how to solve addition and subtraction word problems, using the names of students and food items and maniplatives. After reviewing the lesson`s objective, students will then work together in demonstrating their knowledge of solving a number story. I will make a note of students who are able to contribute and those who seem lost. Student will create an addition or a subtraction problem with a partner using foods items or manipatives. My team and I will walk around and question the groups. Did you put the sets together?  What sign did you need?  What is the sum of your problem?  Write your addition problem on your paper.  Partner should check to see if the parts of the number sentence are in place.

Independent Practice: (Cooperative Learning, In Class Activity) Students will break off into guided/ independent math groups in order to begin their independent practice. Students will use the learning centres for their independent practice. After independent practice, students will share their work with their peers.

Learning Centers:

(i)Mathematics Center: Students will solve addition and subtraction word problems involving food items. For example, Omar went to the bakery, he bought 16 cupcakes, and he gave Carlos 5 cupcakes and Marcia 2. How many cupcakes were left? Students will create their own number stories.

      (ii) Reading Center: Students will independently read math informational text of number stories with teacher`s assistance.            

(iii)Art Center: Students below grade level will draw illustrations or paste pictures of foods in sets to solve word problem with teacher`s assistance.

(iv)Writing Center: Students above grade level will work independently to write and solve their own number stories.

 Mechanics: In order for this lesson to progress smoothly, the teacher must ensure that all materials and learning centers are organized and ready to be utilized by the students. This lesson will be forty five minutes long and each section is timed for a smooth transition from one section to the next. The first ten minutes will include the motivation and presentation, followed by ten minutes of accountable talk, and fifteen minutes of guided practice more time is allotted to guided practice because it is where the students will be involve in solving problems on the smart board using number stories. The last ten minutes will be allotted for independent work where the teacher will seek assistance from the cooperating teachers and Para- professionals to work with each group of students.

            Activities in the lesson will be modified to facilitate the different learning styles and needs of students those who require additional help during independent practice will be given the extra attention. Teacher will work together with staff members to ensure transitioning is smooth between tasks. Assignment will be distributed and directions read to students.

            This lesson will begin with students and teacher discussing the signs and their meanings. Students will ask and answer questions about the signs for presentation and accountable talk. For independent practice students will go to the different learning centers to complete assignments in their groups.

Assessment 

            Ongoing assessment will be done from teacher observing and taking anecdotal notes of how students respond to questions asked by the teacher and their ability to follow instructions and directions.  Groups will be assessed on their ability to solve addition and subtraction problems, using the different centers. They will show how they model, describe, and illustrate the meanings of addition and use the operation of addition and subtraction to solve problems. A rubric will be used to formally assess students`.

Summary: Students have different learning styles. This lesson is designed to cater to the learning needs of students in a CTT class. The activities chosen are developmentally appropriate for the students. At the end of this lesson, students in the class should be able to use addition and subtraction to solve word problems.

Rubric for Groups

Student`s Name: -______________________________________________

Reflective Essay

 Constructivist teaching fosters critical thinking, and creates motivated and independent learners. Constructivist teachingalso searches out students’ this lesson proved to be much fun for the students while engaging in math. This was a very nice day. The students were eager and ready to learn they were up and ready when I called on them. Some of the materials used in this lesson student were already familiar with.

            I planned this lesson with my students in mind so that they can become critical thinkers and solve problems. To begin this lesson I used my students as props to solve math problems. Students were used to act out number stories using addition and subtraction. It was engaging and the students knew what they were doing. The students were also familiar with the different materials because they were previously used in other lessons, they were anxious to see what was going to happen when the materials were put together, there were lots of hands- on activities for this lesson. The students maintain focus throughout the lesson. I used the teaching strategies of cooperative learning, discovery learning, and in class activity.

            I began the lesson by using addition, subtraction and equal signs. Some students were called to assist me in solving math number stories. Students were given the opportunities to act out their number story for the class, and discover new information how different manipulates can be used to solve math problems.

For this activity students were placed in four groups according to level of ability. This gave them the opportunity to work together as they discover how addition and subtraction can be used to make up and solve word problems (number stories).        

            With assistance of the teaching staff, each student was divided into four groups.   I continued my independent practice and assessment where each group was given manipulative to solve their own problem.         I then turned students` attention to the dry board where we solved some problems together. The students were given a chance to  do word problems in their books and the dry erase boards.       A rubric was used to assess the students’ independent work and to ensure the objectives were net. Students were graded as emerging, 1) point, competent 2) points, and exemplary3) points. I kept in mind students` abilities in the classroom so that each group will be given something different based on their ability.

Learning centers were created for this lesson there are as follows:

Mathematics Center: wherestudents will solve addition and subtraction word problems involving food items. For example, Omar went to the bakery, he bought 16 cupcakes, and he gave Carlos 5 cupcakes and Marcia 2. How many cupcakes were left? Students will create their own number stories.Reading Center students will independently read math informational text of number stories with teacher`s assistance. Art Center students below grade level will draw illustrations or paste pictures of foods in sets to solve word problem with teacher`s assistance.

Writing Center: Students above grade level will work independently to write and solve their own number stories.

            I met with my cooperating teacher; she agreed that the lesson was well done, and students were engaged, but the students were calm and worked with ease. Overall, the lesson was successful and developmentally appropriate and activities used were appropriate also activities were modified for students learning needs. There were happy to show and share their math problem. The lesson also built upon students’ knowledge of how items that are used in the home can be brought to school so students can explore and have fun.

             The rubrics used for assessment were appropriate and they were used to assess the different academic levels of students in the classroom. The assessments were used to ensure that it catered to assess the different academic level for students. Based on the results of the word problems there were nineemerging students these students were unable to solve the problems so they glued pictures of foods insteadto assist these students the teacher should provide lots of hands-on, and manipulates for students to solve problems. There were eleven competent and twelve exemplary students.

            The classroom created a safe, secure and healthy environment that is conducive to learning. There is adequate space for students’ easy access to materials and to move around. The materials used were supervised and they were not harmful to students. Students’ physical and psychological health was kept in good standing throughout the lesson and they were actively involved in learning new things and express themselves freely and participate in classroom activities. 

Sample of Students` Work

Result of Assessment for Lesson # 3

Summary of Samples of Students` Work

Emerging

            Desmond has socialissues and is slow in comprehending and completing assignments. He tries at times to participate in class discussions .During independent practice, he constantly calls on teachers and peers for help. In the course of this lesson, Desmond participation was good andwas anxious to solve math problems but he could not. In completingindependent task he was unable to work independently. He could not even write his name

            In order to assist him from emerging, he would need one on one during his independent practice. Teacher will also need to help him with activities to develop hisfine motor skills so he can eventually work on his own. By giving him scissors to cut, coloring, play dough, chubby pencils and crayons, Desmond would strengthen her fine motor skills.

Competent

            Alan is an ELL student with a Hispanic background. He is very quiet; he seldom speaks with his teachers and peers. During direct instruction, I would sit next to him and assist him with assignments. He has shown a great deal of improvement over the past month and is able to work with little supervision from his teachers.

            During this lesson, Alan was very much involved in solving his problems. For independent practice, he had a little difficulty in spelling the words however, I encouraged him to take his time and can use the word wall or sound out the words slowly, and he listened and was able to complete his task.

            Alan needs assistance in developing his social skills and he should be encouraged to participate more in class activities and instructional time. At group time he should be given the task of reading instructions because this would help him overcome his shyness and improve his socialization skills.

Exemplary

Carlos has an IEP for Behavioral issue (social) he is very smart and takes pride in achieving all his assignments. He is always actively involved in classroom activities and is able to work independently. During the lesson, Carlos was able to move from each area to explore all the experiments and was able to express how he felt before and after the experiments. For his independent practice Carlos was able to complete his experiment without any assistance from his teachers.