Pennington 1

Teacher Education Teacher Work Sample

Special Education Clinical 429
Amanda Pennington
1. Contextual Factors

Classroom Factors

Mrs. Sanders eighth grade self-contained/extended resource classroom at Westview Middle

School is very fast paced and filled with intensive instruction. This class is separated into five
core periods that serves many different students. Some students remain in the classroom all day
and others come for extended resource in one or more subjects. The classroom has an
atmosphere of positive encouragement, as well as high expectations. Mrs. Sanders follows a
strict and structured schedule. First she teaches social studies and then writing. After that, she has
planning, followed by lunch with her students in the cafeteria. After lunch, she teaches science,
math, and reading. Classroom procedures and routines were implemented at the beginning of the
school year and are firmly followed. Some of Mrs. Sanders classroom procedures include
entering quietly, raising hands to sharpen pencils, use the restroom, or ask a question, and
turning in classwork to the appropriate bin. This classroom functions off the school-wide positive
behavioral interventions and support (PBIS) rules and consequences. Westview Middle Schools
school-wide rules are based off of an acronym using their mascot, a titan. The titan expectations
are: teamwork, individual responsibility, tolerance for others, academic success, and never
ending respect. Teachers at Westview often say, Show me what a titan should look like!
Students can earn titan tickets (PBIS reinforcement) and then spend these tickets for things such
as a library pass, sneak-a-snack day, buddy lunch, or a buss room pass. If students choose not to

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follow the rules, then they may suffer consequences such as a verbal warning, teacher-student
conference, guidance referral, lunch detention, after school detention, or suspension. The 7th and
8th grade self-contained teachers take their students, who have earned it, to the gym every Friday
for twenty minutes of recess. This is a special privilege that students work hard for and look
forward to all week long. Students often participate in whole group instruction or independent
work. The room is arranged so desks are in rows that face the Promethean and white board.
There are approximately six rows, with five desks in each row. There are two horseshoe tables,
one on the left side of the room and the other connected to Mrs. Sanders desk. These tables are
usually used for assessments, small group instruction, and one-on-one instruction. The classroom
is decorated with students work, as well as encouraging quotes, rules, consequences, rewards,
and reminders. Mrs. Sanders also has a long table that runs along the back wall, which houses
four desktop computers. Students have access to technology in the classroom, such as iPads,
desktop computers, the Promethean Board, and Surface tablets. The back wall of the classroom
has shelves built into it, where materials are kept, such as textbooks, dictionaries, novels,
classroom supplies, manipulatives, etc. There is a small easel white board at the front of the
room where the agenda and objectives of each class period are posted. Mrs. Sanders has a
personal work area where she keeps all of her paperwork organized and completes orderly
duties, such as IEPs. She is in constant contact with parents throughout day. She is a strong
believer in parental involvement and leaves communication open for all parentsshe even gives
out her personal cell phone number and sends daily text updates on students. She is very
dedicated to getting students on a diploma track, and this goal is often easier if the parent is
involved.

Student Characteristics

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This class is separated into five academic periodssocial studies, writing, science, math, and
reading. Some students remain in the self-contained class for the whole school day and others
come for extended resource in their area of weakness. First period has a total roster of seven
students that attend the social studies class. The students consist of one Caucasian male, five
African American males, and one African American female, who range from age 13 to 15. There
are cultural differences in the classroom which may include traditions, holidays, religions, etc.
The instruction should be tailored to each student and accommodate to their lifestyle. There are
students in this class who live in a two parent home, a single parent home, a grandparents home,
or are cared for by another guardian. This should be considered when thinking about the whole
child and not just who the child is at school. All students speak English as their first language.
The disabilities within this class period include specific learning disabilities, emotional
behavioral disorder, and other health impairments. All of the students benefit from a balanced
approach of the learning modalities, as well as small group instruction with repetitive activities.
Each lesson should include some type of visual accompanied with auditory instruction and when
possible, tactile and kinesthetic instruction should be integrated into lessons. These students
share a common weakness in basic reading (such as decoding, phonemic awareness, and
fluency), comprehension skills, and basic writing skills. These lack of skills may hinder students
success in transitioning to high school and furthermore into college and/or the work force. All
students scored below basic on MAP last spring in ELA. Their scores were also below basic on
curriculum based measurements in the areas of decoding, reasoning, and writing. PASS scores
were all below basic as well and show severe weaknesses in ELA and math. These students
require constant praise and positive reinforcement for motivation. All of the students have IEPs

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and require special services such as a BIP, small group instruction, oral test administration, etc.
Each students IEP goal is individualized and implemented to promote student success.

Instructional Implications

Mrs. Sanders collaborates with the other special education teachers, as well as general
education teachers. It is important for her to know what is being taught in the other special
education and general education classrooms so that she can teach her students on relevant
content. The self-contained classroom is designed to help students with disabilities overcome
obstacles they may encounter in their area of remediation. Most students in a self-contained class
benefit from the smaller class numbers, simplified content, appropriately paced instruction, oneto-one, and intensive direct instruction. Each students instruction will be tailored to their IEP
goals. The most common adaptations implemented in instructional techniques include retaking
tests/quizzes, small group instruction, extended time, and one-to-one instruction.

3. Assessment Plan

Overview of Assessment Plan

My showcase lesson was titled Social Classes in South Carolina during the Antebellum Era
and consisted of listening to a text and finding the main idea. This lesson included a preassessment, during assessment, and a post assessment. The assessments were used to analyze the
students comprehension of the learning objective. The objective for this lesson was: after
reading the story Who Were They? from South CarolinaGreat Stories that Embrace the
History of South Carolina, students will create a bubble map of Antebellum Era social classes in

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South Carolina to recapture the main idea of the text, using at least six bubbles. This lesson
focused on the English language art of listening and allowed students to use their listening skills
to identify the main idea of the text. Below is a chart used to depict the pre-assessment, during
assessment, and post assessment.
Lesson Objective

Assessment(s) of
the Objective

Lesson Objective 1: After Pre-Assessment

reading the story Who
Were They? from South
Carolina: Great Stories
that Embrace the History
of South Carolina,
students will create a
bubble map of Antebellum
Era social classes in South
Carolina to recapture the
main idea of the text,
using at least six bubbles.

Format of
Formative
Assessments
Pre: Cold probe
ask students if they
are familiar with the
lessons five
vocabulary words.
Take a poll of who
has seen the word,
who knows the
word, and who can
define the word for
each vocabulary
word.

During
Assessment

During: Checklist
through teacher
observation made
while reading and
asking questions.

Post-Assessment

Post: Each student

will create a bubble
map of Antebellum
Era social classes in
South Carolina
using at least six
bubbles.

Accommodations

Give directions
several times and reword instructions if
students present
difficulty
understanding. Model
the pre- and postassessment so that
students may visually
see how to complete
the assessment.
Utilize appropriate
wait time and pace
lesson according to
students
performance. Give
verbal and physical
cues to keep students
on task. Tier postassessment for
students who are
struggling or
excelling.

Description of Pre/During/Post Assessments

The pre-assessment consisted of a vocabulary activity in which I gauged the class for
familiarity of vocabulary words related to the lessons text. I wrote out the five vocabulary words

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of the lesson on the Promethean Board. I told the class that these were our hot-topic words of the
day that will help us find the main idea of the text we will read. I asked the students to write the
words on their paper, and to think about the words as they wrote them. After copying down the
words, we read the words together. Then I asked students to put a plus sign (+) next to the word
if they had heard it before, a minus sign (-) next to the word if they have never heard it, or a
check mark next to the word if they could define it. I reassured students that it was okay if they
did not know a word because we were going to learn all of the words during class. This preassessment helped me decide which words I really needed to explode and which words the
students were already comfortable with. I did not expect the students to be able to define any of
the words, but I anticipated they had at least seen them before. This assessment did not receive a
numerical grade, but rather a participation grade, because it was a cold probe to assess what the
students did or did not know. The chart below should be used to obtain datachecks, minus
signs, and plus signs would be added:
Antebellum
Era

Social Class

Elite

Middle Class

Poverty

Student 1
Student 2
Student 3
Student 4
Student 5

During the lesson, students were informally assessed through teacher observation using a
checklist. I periodically asked questions while reading the text and I utilized a checklist for each
question to determine if the student answered the question, attempted to answer the question, or
did not try to answer the question. I asked all students to try and called on students who did not
volunteer, so that I could get an appropriate assessment of comprehension. This assessment did

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not receive a grade. I would use the checklist below when monitoring students and fill in checks
as necessary.
Answered a question

Attempted to answer

No Attempt made

Student 1
Student 2
Student 3
Student 4
Student 5

The post-assessment was given at the end of the lesson. Each student was asked to create
a bubble map of the main idea of the text using at least six bubbles. Each bubble needed at least
one complete sentence. First, students created their bubble map on paper at their desk. I used this
time to implement one-to-one instruction with struggling students and also help students create
their bubble map. After students showed me their completed bubble map, they were asked to recreate it in a word document on the computer for a final product. This assessment received a
grade of completion and was given 16.5 points per detail bubble and .5 points for the title bubble.
If the students performed well on this assessment then we would move on, but if students
performed poorly then we would reread the text and create the bubble map as a class to re-master
the content.
The pre- and during assessment did not require any specific accommodations other than
verbal and physical cues to remain on task. I repeated directions several times, in alternate ways,
and also wrote them on the white board to be sure that students could understand and follow
along. I modeled the pre- and post-assessment so that students could visually see and hear what I
expected of them. The post-assessment was tiered because the ability levels in this class period
range from kindergarten to middle fourth grade. For my lower achieving students, I had them

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create a bubble map with six key words versus six key details in complete sentences. For my
higher achieving students, I had them add more detail bubbles or expand on their current detail
bubbles.

Use of Formative Assessment

The pre-assessment vocabulary activity was used so I could evaluate which words students
were unfamiliar with and should be exploded in the text during the reading. This was a fun way
to take a private poll of each students ability to recognize or define the words. Students were
proud when they knew the word or could define it, and they were curious to learn the word when
they were unsure of it. This pre-assessment helped to guide the direction of the lesson and prime
the students for the topic associated with the lesson.
The during assessment data showed me which students were struggling and/or disengaged
with the content and which students were successful and/or engaged with the content. I used the
data to decide which students needed one-to-one instruction during independent work. This was
an informal way to gauge the classes comprehension and participation.
The post-assessment assessed the students understanding of the text and if students were able
to use supporting details to determine the main idea of the text. This data was important to
collect, because if students were not successful after learning the content, then the content
needed to be retaught in a different way. Post-assessment data is as follows:

Student #1
Student #2
Student #3
Student #4
Student #5

Number of
Bubbles
6/6
6/6
5/6
6/6
6/6

Main Idea
Bubble
1/1
1/1
1/1
1/1
1/1

Total
Grade
100%
100%
85%
100%
100%

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4. Instructional Design

Lesson Plans

I created five lessons plans which I taught to a diverse group of students in a self-contained
special education classroom. I taught an English language arts lesson, which encompassed the
language art of listening. The listening English language arts lesson plan was my showcase
lesson and was observed by Mrs. Sanders. I taught another English language arts lesson which
encompassed the language art of writing and was observed by Dr. OConnor. I taught a math
lesson which involved mean, median, mode, and range, which was observed by Mrs. Sanders. I
co-taught a math lesson with Mrs. Sanders on area and perimeter. I also taught a science minilesson used to review for the upcoming nine weeks test.
o Lesson #1: Showcase Lesson
Teacher Candidate: Amanda Pennington
Subject/Grade: ELA Listening/8th Grade Self Contained

Lesson # __2__
Date and Time of Lesson: 11/12/14
@ 8:15am

Learning Objective: After reading the story Who Were They? from South Carolina: Great Stories that
Embrace the History of South Carolina, students will create a bubble map of Antebellum Era social
classes in South Carolina to recapture the main idea of the text using at least six bubbles.

Alignment with Standards:

Common Core Standard: RI.8.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its
development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas;
provide an objective summary of the text.
EEDA Standard: Standard 2 Students will demonstrate decision-making, goal-setting,
problem-solving, and communication skills. Competency 3: Practice effective listening
and communication skills.
Developmental Appropriateness or Cross-curricular connections:

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Prerequisite knowledge: Social students need to be able to be respectful of their peers,
including questions and opinions of classmates. Cognitive students should be familiar with
determining two or more central ideas in a text and be able to provide an objective summary of
the text. Physical: Students should be able to attend to reading and remain focused during
whole group and independent instruction.
Assessment(s) of the Objectives:
Lesson Objective(s)
After reading the story Who
Were They? from South
Carolina: Great Stories that
Embrace the History of South
Carolina, students will create
a bubble map of Antebellum
Era social classes in South
Carolina to recapture the
main idea of the text using at
least six bubbles.

Assessment(s) of the
Objective(s)
Pre Assessment cold probe
ask students if they are familiar
with the lessons five
vocabulary words. Take a poll
of who has seen the word, who
knows the word, and who can
define the word for each
vocabulary word.

Use of Formative
Assessment
Pre assessment data will
be used to guide
instruction. This is will let
me how difficult the words
may be for my students.

During Assessment: Teacher

observations made while
reading and asking questions.

During assessment data

will be used to determine
which students are
struggling and may need
help with the assignment
after the reading.

Post Assessment: Each student

will create a bubble map of
Antebellum Era social classes in
South Carolina using at least six
bubbles.

Post assessment data will

be used to assess if
students are able to find
the main idea of the text
using supporting key
facts.

Accommodations:
I will be teaching this lesson in a self-contained/extended resource setting. These students academic and
social levels will range, as well as their actual grade level. Students will benefit from receiving instruction
with both visual and auditory stimuli. The post assessment will be tiered to accommodate for high and
low achieving students. Students who continue to struggle may work with a peer for support. Early
finishers will have an opportunity to create their bubble map on the computer and then present it to the
class.

Materials: Who Were They? from South Carolina: Great Stories that Embrace the History of the
Palmetto State., pencils, paper, computer, Promethean Board.

Procedures:
1. Before:
Warm Up: We are going to read a non-fiction story about the social classes of the Antebellum
Era in South Carolina. Before we read, I want to take a poll on the vocabulary words that we will

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see in todays non-fiction text. What does non-fiction mean? Not fakerealinformational.
Everyone get out a clean sheet of paper and put your name and date on it while I write our five
vocabulary words on the Promethean Board (Antebellum Era, Social Class, Elite, Middle Class,
and Poverty). Todays vocabulary words are Antebellum Era, Social Class, Elite, Middle Class, and
Poverty. We are going to focus on these five words to help us with the main idea of the
informational text that we will read today. Now I want everyone to write these five words on
their paper and as you write them I want you to think about the words and what you know about
these words. If youve heard the word before then I want you to put a plus sign (+) next to the
word. If youve never heard the word then I want you to put a minus sign (-) next to the word.
And if you know the word really well and can give me a definition for it, then put a check mark
next to the word. *Write instructions on the board. *Walk around to see the survey of the
vocabulary words.
Definitions: Now we are going to define these five words. You can use the same sheet of
notebook paper and draw a line under the words you have already written. I want you to copy
down the words and their definitions just as I do on the Promethean Board. *Pass out
highlighters. I want you to underline and highlight the word and write the definition beside it.
Lets define them together. Our first vocabulary word is Antebellum Era. Can anyone define it?
Antebellum Era time period between the end of the American Revolution and the Civil War.
**Repeat for all five words. Social Class a group in society who has a common economic,
cultural, or political status. So what does that mean? If someone belongs to a particular social
class then they might all make the same amount of money, or live in the same culture, or vote
the same. Elite a small powerful group of people. Middle Class: a social class under the elite but
above the lower class. It is mostly made up of business and professional people, farmers, and
skilled workers. Poverty: the state of being poor or having no money.
These vocabulary words are very important and will help us understand about the social classes
of South Carolina during the Antebellum Era.
Schema Check: Before we read, I am wondering if anyone can tell me anything about South
Carolina during the Antebellum Era? *Engage in discussion about the Antebellum South. (slaves,
succession, separate government, CSA)
Purpose: While we read about the social classes of South Carolina during the Antebellum Era, I
want you to be listening for the main idea. Think about details and key points that will support
the main idea. Track along with me while I read.
2. During:
Read: Stop at predetermined stopping points. Questions for stopping points are as follows: 1)
What social class were plantation owners classified under? What was the most respected way of
earning money in the South? 2) What was the most respected job in the North? Why? 3) In South
Carolina, during the Antebellum Era, was it better to be a part of the elite group or middle class?
Who was richer? 4) Why were poor farmers still proud to work their farms in South Carolina? 5)
Why was slavery considered a social class of its own? Even if an African American was no longer
a slave, why was it so hard for them to get out of poverty? *Engage students throughout reading
as if during an interactive read aloud.
3. After:
Follow Up Activity: Now that we are experts on South Carolinas social classes during the

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Antebellum Era, I want you to make a bubble map about South Carolinas Antebellum social
classes. *Draw example of a bubble map on the board. Each bubble needs a complete sentence.
*Write instructions on the board. You need to have at least six bubbles and include key points
from our informational text. This bubble map should tell me about the main idea of the
informational text we read today. Use your vocabulary words and your book.
If you finish early you may create your bubble map on the computer and have a chance to add
pictures. Then you can present your bubble map. *Monitor students as they work
independently.

References:
Cite all references for materials/resources used in preparing the lesson. Citations should be in APA, 6th
edition format.
Common Core Standard: http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RL/3/
Text: South Carolina: Great Stories that Embrace the History of the Palmetto State.

o Lesson #2:
Teacher Candidate: Amanda Pennington
Subject/Grade: Writing ELA/8th Grade Self Contained

Lesson # __1__
Date/Time of Lesson: 10/9/14
@ 8:05 AM

Learning Objective:
After listening to a short informative text, A Capital City, the students will write their own
informational webpage in the style of a webpage on South Carolinas current capital city, Columbia, with
at least one fact using complete sentences in paragraph form.

Alignment with Standards:

EEDA Standard: Standard 2 students will demonstrate decision making, goal-setting,
problem-solving, and communication skills.
Common Core Writing: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to
examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection,
organization, and analysis of relevant content.
Common Core ELA History (cross curricular): CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2 Determine the
central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate
summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
Developmental Appropriateness or Cross-curricular connections:
Prerequisite knowledge: Social students need to be able to be respectful of peers, including
questions and opinions of classmates. Cognitive students should be familiar with writing
informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information
through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. Students should also be
familiar with the concept of states capitals. Physical: Students should be able to attend to
reading and stay focused during whole group and independent instruction.

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Assessment(s) of the Objectives:
Lesson Objective(s)
After listening to a short
informative text, A Capital
City, the students will write
their own informational
webpage on South Carolinas
current capital city, Columbia
with at least one main fact
using complete sentences in
paragraph form.

Assessment(s) of the
Objective(s)
Pre-Assessment: Cold Probe
ask students if they are familiar
with informational text? What
is an informational text? Have
you all heard the term nonfiction? (The terms
informational and non-fiction
are synonyms). Why do we
have informational texts?

Use of Formative
Assessment
Pre-Assessment data will
be used to guide
instruction and follow up
with appropriate
information for students
who lack applicable
schema.

During Assessment:
Conferences confer with
students individually during
writers workshop to note
where they are in the
assignment.

During assessment data

will be used to identify
who is and who is not
struggling with the
assignment and who
needs additional support.

Post Assessment: Each student

will create a webpage on
Columbia, SC with at least one
main fact using the
informational text, A Capital
City and the Columbia fact
sheet provided.

Post assessment data will

be used to assess
students understanding
of an informational text
and organizational skills
of factual information.

Accommodations:
I will be teaching this lesson in a self-contained/extended resource setting. These students academic and
social levels will range, as well as their actual grade level. The students will benefit from receiving
instruction with both visual and auditory stimuli. If a student struggles with physically writing then they
may use the computer to type their webpage in a word document. Students who finish early will have an
opportunity to use the computer to type out their brochure and add pictures.

Materials: Columbia, SC fact sheet, pencil, paper, South Carolina Great Stories that Embrace the
History of the Palmetto State, computers, iPad look-alike paper, PowerPoint, Promethean Board.

Procedures:
Mini-Lesson:
1. Warm Up Today we are going to explore an informational text about our states capital. Is
everyone familiar with South Carolinas capital? Where is the states capital? Where was the
state capital previously located? Why do we have a state capital? Involve students in quick rich
discussion to build schema.

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2. Read aloud A Capital City, while students follow along in their class set of books.
3. Reflect: Are you all familiar with informational texts? Have you all heard the term non-fiction?
(The terms informational and non-fiction are synonyms). So, what is an informational or nonfiction text? Why do we have informational texts? Involve students in rich discussion to build
schema. Did we just read an informational text about the history of South Carolinas capital?
How do you know? (The CONTENT of the short story is what gives us the clues to know what type
of writing this is). When we look at the content do we see facts or opinions? Why? (Facts,
because we should never see an opinion in nonfiction writing). Now lets look at some examples
of facts from our short story that tell us this is an informational text. (Display three short clips of
the story on a PowerPoint via the Promethean board and discuss the traits of informational
content).
4. Recite: Turn and tell to your neighbor at least two things about informational texts and show
them a fact in the book that tells you this short story in an informational text. Walk around to
monitor partner conversation and assess understanding of studentshelp to clear confusion.
Status of the Class:
5. If you understand what an informational text is, then give me a thumbs up! (Note which
students arent comfortable with the content of an informational text and help these students
begin their work 1:1conference with these students first).
Writing Time:
6. Now its time to show what you know! We are going to create an informative web page
about the current capital city of South Carolina. What are some key things to remember when
writing an informational piece? (Its content is all factual, never include your opinion, have a
professional tone for all types of audiences. I am going to pass out a fact sheet about Columbia.
You should use this fact sheet and your book to research information about South Carolinas
capital. First, I want you to use three sticky notes and write your main fact on each one. Then I
want you to make a web page, on the paper I provide (iPad look-alike paper-see references for
example), and include at least three facts about Columbia using complete sentences in
paragraph form. That means I expect three paragraphs with at least one fact as the main detail
in each paragraph. I am going to also make a webpage while you all work. These instructions
will be posted on the Promethean Board for students to refer to periodically. Before I begin my
own webpage, I will confer with the students who did not seem to have a strong grasp on the
topic of informational pieces during the status of the class. Then I will write a quick webpage, so
that students can observe me writing. After I complete my webpage, I will honeybee conference
around the room to assess the students progress and guide them through the process of writing
an informational text.
Sharing:
7. Time to share! Students who have completed their work will have an opportunity to share
their webpage with the class. If I do not have any volunteers, then I will share my webpage. I will
not make students share who do not want to share because I do not want them to feel as if they
are being punished for finishing first. I will collect the work of students who have finished and
allow other students to finish in spare time or for homework and then collect their work upon
completion.

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Activity Analysis:

Reflection: Students will converse in pairs about the read aloud. This will allow students to
interact with the content socially and hear the content of an informational text from a peer. They
are prompted to tell each other at least two things of an informational text but will be
encouraged to create their own discussion.
Webpage: Students are to independently create a webpage about South Carolinas capital. This
activity will help students form the content of an informational piece of writing. In their webpage
they must include at least three facts. This will help remind them that informational texts include
factual content.
Students will not use technology in this assignment because of the nature of the mini lesson.
Technology may be used as an accommodation to students who struggle and/or early finishers.

References:
Information Sheet on Columbia, SC: http://www.sciway.net/city/columbia.html
Book: South Carolina Great Stories that Embrace the History of the Palmetto State

o Lesson #3:
Teacher Candidate: Amanda Pennington
Subject/Grade: Math/8th Grade Self-Contained

Lesson # __5__
Date and Time of Lesson: 11/20/2014 @
1:00pm

Learning Objective:
When given a list of eight numbers, the students will find the mean, median, mode, and range with at
least an 85% accuracy.

Alignment with Standards:

Common Core Standard: 6.SP.A.2 Understand that a set of data collected to answer a statistical question
has a distribution which can be described by its center, spread, and overall shape.

Developmental Appropriateness or Cross-curricular connections:

Prerequisite knowledge: Social students need to be able to be respectful of their peers, including
questions and opinions of classmates. Cognitive students should be familiar with the concepts of mean,
median, mode, and range. Physical: Students should be able to attend to the lesson and remain focused
during whole group instruction and independent work.

Assessment(s) of the Objectives:

Lesson Objective(s)
When given a list of eight
numbers, the students will
find the mean, median, mode,
and range with at least an
85% accuracy.

Assessment(s) of the
Objective(s)
During Assessment: Teacher
observation of the mean,
median, mode, and range
practice of Codys homework.

Use of Formative
Assessment
During assessment data
will be used to determine
the students
understanding of mean,
median, mode, and range.

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Post Assessment: Students will
compute two lists of eight
numbers to find the mean,
median, mode, and range.

Post assessment data will

be used to determine how
well students understood
the concept and if any
content should be
retaught.

Accommodations:
This lesson will be taught in a self-contained/extended resource setting. These students academic and
social levels range, as well as their actual grade level. The students will benefit from receiving visual,
auditory, and kinesthetic instruction. Students will be allowed to use calculators for simple computations.
Early finishers will be given more sets of numbers to continue practicing the concept of mean, median,
mode, and range.

Materials:
Promethean Board, Mean Median Mode Toads YouTube video, set of basketball stats to compute,
pencils, paper, calculators, homework sheet, warm up problems

Procedures:
1. Warm Up: Five bell-ringer problems will be on the Promethean Board as students walk into the
classroom. This warm up is used to transition students into math, build mathematic confidence, and gain
classroom management. *Greet students as they come in. Good afternoon.come in quietly and begin
the bell ringer. Walk around to monitor and assist students while they complete their bell ringer. As
students begin to wrap up, volunteers will be brought to the front to complete the problems on the
Promethean boardcandy reinforcement will be given. Check your work as the problems are solved on
the board.
2. Introduce todays lesson: Today we are going to explore mean, median, mode, and range. I want to
show you a cool video to help us learn about mean, median, mode, and range. *Put on mean, median,
and mode toads YouTube video.
3. Now that we had a refresher on mean, median, and modelets talk about range. Can anyone tell
me how to find the range in a list of numbers? (Find the largest number and the smallest number from
your list. Subtract the smallest from the largestand there is the range). Now, lets take a look at Codys
homework problems from the movie and see if we can complete his homework. *Put a list of 5 numbers
on the Promethean Board: 12, 6, 10, 12, and 15 lets find the mean, median, mode, and range
together. Who wants to come to the board and try to find the meandont worry we will all do it
together, but you will just be the one doing the writing. Practice these problems at your desk as we do
them together. *Repeat for median, mode, and rangeand give candy reinforcement.
4. Now its your turn to try. We are going to have a little bit of fun with some numberslet me show
you how. *Put up the picture of LeBron James VS Kevin Durant on the Promethean Board. I have two lists
of basketball stats. These numbers are the scores made by LeBron James and Kevin Durant in their last
basketball games. You are going to find the mean, median, mode, and range of these basketball players
scores. After you finish you can come up to the Promethean Board and vote on your favorite player
then we can find who the MVP of our class is. *Reinforce students who are on task with Titan Tickets.
***If students have conducted themselves appropriately throughout the lesson then I will allow them to

Pennington 17
work in partnersbut if they have not then it will not be an option. *Walk around to monitor and assist
as students complete their work.
5. After you finish turn in your work for a grade!!! Early finishers will have a chance to begin their
homework!

References:
Common Core Standard: http://www.corestandards.org/Math/Content/6/SP/
You Tube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C9LBF3b65s
Homework:http://www.mathaids.com/cgi/pdf_viewer_6.cgi?script_name=mean_median_mode.pl&me
an=1&median=1&mode=1&range=1&input_count=5&input_range=2&language=0&memo=&answer=1
&x=105&y=21

o Lesson #4: EEDA

Teacher Candidate: Amanda Pennington
Subject/Grade: Math/8th Grade Self-Contained

Lesson # __4__
Date and Time of Lesson: 11/13/14
@ 1:30PM

Learning Objective:
When given a square or rectangular object, the student will be able to determine the perimeter and area
with at least 80% accuracy.

Alignment with Standards:

Identify the source and list standards (local, state, and/or national) that align with the learning objective.
Common Core Standard: 4.MD.A.3 - Apply the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles in real
world and mathematical problems
EEDA Standard: Standard 2 Students will demonstrate decision-making, goal-setting, problemsolving, and communication skills. Competency 3: Practice effective listening and communication
skills.

Developmental Appropriateness or Cross-curricular connections:

Prerequisite knowledge: Social students need to be able to be respectful of their peers, including
questions and opinions of classmates. Students need to be able to work cooperatively with peers.
Cognitive students should be familiar with the concepts of area and perimeter of simple shapes, as well
as how to effectively utilize a ruler. Physical: Students should be able to attend to the lesson and remain
focused during whole group instruction and partner work.

Assessment(s) of the Objectives:

Lesson Objective(s)
When given a square or
rectangular object, the
student will be able to
determine the perimeter and
area with at least 80%

Assessment(s) of the
Objective(s)
Pre-Assessment: Students will
be given a warm up of area and
perimeter problems.

Use of Formative
Assessment
Pre-Assessment data will
be used to gauge the
students ability to solve
simple problems with area
and perimeter.

Pennington 18
accuracy.
During: Students will be given a
list of objects in the classroom
to find the area and perimeter.
(i.e. a desk, the door).

During Assessment data

will be used to analyze the
students ability to solve
for area and perimeter in
a real world setting.

Post Assessment: Students will

be given homework of area and
perimeter problems.

Post Assessment data will

allow me to see if students
grasped the concept and if
any misconceptions need
to be cleared up.

Accommodations:
This lesson will be taught in a self-contained/extended resource setting. These students academic and
social levels range, as well as their actual grade level. The students will benefit from receiving visual,
auditory, and kinesthetic instruction. Students will be allowed to use calculators for simple computations.
Early finishers will be given more classroom objects to practice measuring and computing area and
perimeter.

Materials: Promethean Board, pencil, paper, area and perimeter activity handout, homework
problems, rulers, yard sticks

Procedures:
1. Warm Up: Listen to area and perimeter YouTube rap video. Encourage students to rap along
for fun.
2. Now it is time to show what you know. I am going to put up six warm up problems on the
Promethean Board. Three are area and perimeter problems and three addition with fractions
problems (to have a mixed review and have students feeling competent). I want you to do your
best solving these problems and then I am going to have someone come up to the board and
solve for a titan ticket. *Reviewin regards to squares and rectanglesarea = L x W and
perimeter = all sides added together write on board.
3. Before we begin our activity, I want to review how to use a ruler. You will need to know how
to read measurements for todays activity. We will be using inches. *Demonstrate how to
measure in inches on the Promethean Board. Measurements for todays activity do not have to
be exact. You can round to the nearest half inch. *Demonstrate how to round to the nearest half
inch.
4. We are going to solve for the area and perimeter of real rectangular and square objects in
our classroom. I have a sheet of all the objects to measure and room to write your
measurements and then solve for the area and perimeter. You will be allowed to work in groups
of two or three Mrs. Sanders and I will assign the groups. If you cannot handle this activity
then we will all silently sit down and practice area and perimeter independently at our desks.
*Pass out activity sheets. We are going to measure the student desk top, the computer screen at
the back of the room, a green tile on the floor, a brick on the wall, the window, and the

Pennington 19
classroom door. Remember, all measurements should be done in inches. Youre measurements
do not have to be exact. You can round to the nearest half inch. I will grade your area and
perimeter computations based off of the measurements on your paper. All measurements will be
done in inches. Does anyone have any questions? *Pair studentsI will assist a group, Mrs.
Sanders will assist a group, and the para-educator will assist a group. Students complete task
under supervision. They measure the assigned objects and compute their area and perimeter.
5. After students finish the activity, they will report to Mrs. Sanders or me to have their work
checked. Then they will be assigned homework problems. If the students finish the activity before
the bell rings, then they may start on their area and perimeter homework.

References:
Common Core Standard: http://www.corestandards.org/Math/Content/4/MD/
Area and Perimeter Rap: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwXBMGdSWmI
Ruler Review: USING A RULER.docx
Warm Up Problems: Area and Perimeter Warm Up.docx
Activity Sheet: Area and Perimeter Activity.docx
Homework: Area and Perimeter Homework.pdf Area and Perimeter Homework2.pdf

*THIS IS A CO-TAUGHT LESSON WITH MRS. SANDERS*

o Lesson #5:
Teacher Candidate: Amanda Pennington
Subject/Grade: Science/8th Grade Self Contained

Lesson # __3__
Date and Time of Lesson: 11/12/14
@ 11:45am

Learning Objective:
After reviewing the power point on relative age, students will play a review quiz game of Kahoot and
answer 15 out of 20 questions correct.

Alignment with Standards:

Common Core: RST.6-8.4 Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domainspecific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to
grades 6-8 texts and topics.

Developmental Appropriateness or Cross-curricular connections:

Prerequisite knowledge: Social students need to be able to be respectful of their peers, including
questions and opinions of classmates. Cognitive students should be familiar with determining the
meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases. Physical: Students should
be able to attend to reading and remain focused during whole group and independent instruction.

Assessment(s) of the Objectives:

Lesson Objective(s)

Assessment(s) of the
Objective(s)

Use of Formative
Assessment

Pennington 20
After reviewing the power
point on relative age, students
will play a review quiz game
Kahoot and answer 15 out of
20 questions correct.

Pre-Assessment: Teacher
Observation through questions
to assess students retention of
knowledge of the previous
science lesson on relative age.

Pre-assessment data will

allow the teacher to know
who retained and/or
studied the previous
lessons content and what
should be reviewed before
beginning the lesson.

During Assessment: Students

will play Kahoot on the
Promethean Board with iPads.

During assessment will

gauge the students
understanding of the
instruction and if any
content should be retaught.

Post Assessment: Exit Ticket

students must tell me one thing
they learned today before
dismissal.

Post Assessment data will

show how effective the
Kahoot quiz was to help
students master the
material.

Accommodations:
I will be teaching this lesson in a self-contained/extended resource setting. These students academic and
social levels range, as well as their actual grade level. The students will benefit from receiving visual,
auditory, and kinesthetic instruction. I will read the question and answers aloud during the kahoot game
to aid students. This may help some students who struggle with visual processing.

Materials: Power point, Promethean Board, iPads/Chrome Books, Kahoot game

Procedures:
Warm Up: What did we learn about yesterday in science? *Relative Age, Index Fossils, Trilobites.
1. Lets review the PowerPoint on relative age. If you did not get all of your notes down two days
ago, now is a good time to complete them. They will help you study for the test! *Read/teach
each slide and ask question. Slide 1: Who can tell me what relative age means? How is relative
age determined? Slide 2: What is the law of superposition? Slide 3: In the picture in the bottom
left, where are the oldest fossils located? Slide 4: What are index fossils used for? Tell me some
characteristics of index fossils. Slide 5: What is a trilobite? Are trilobites helpful with relative
dating? Slide 6: Are fossils found all throughout time helpful for relative dating?
2. We are going to play Kahoot to review everything we have learning in science this year. This
kahoot game is going to be a little different though. We are going to play the game twice. The
first time we play, it will be for fun and to get you comfortable with the questions. The second
time we play, I will download everyones score and you will get a grade on based on your score! I
want you to try and not miss any more than five questionsthere are a total of 20 questions, so
youll have to be very careful!
Multiple choice questions from the Kahoot are as follows:

Pennington 21
1) The layer of Earth made of basalt in the oceanic ridge and granite in the continental region is
2) This layer of Earth has the heaviest materials and is the densest 3) What causes plate
movements? 4) The relationship between depth and density in the mantle 5) what causes sea
floor spreading? 6)The point beneath Earth's surface where rock breaks under stress and triggers
an earthquake 7)When comparing P waves to S waves, secondary waves move... 8)Which piece
of evidence does not support plate tectonics? 9) Where would you find the oldest fossils? 10)
Which era was dominated by reptiles? HINT: DINOSAURS 11) which of the following is NOT a
theory of how dinosaurs became extinct? 12) A fossil found in ice is called a.... 13) the earliest
time in Earth's history... 14) Earthquakes make seismic waves. These waves travel out... 15) Manmade factors have caused more extinctions during the.... 16) which era, period, and epoch do we
currently live in? 17) The AGE of one object compared to the AGE of another object 18) Which
law states that each rock layer is older than the one above it? 19) Hard shelled animals who lived
in shallow seas and became extinct 245 million years ago... 20) What does the picture show?
*Picture of an epicenter of an earthquake.
3. Exit Ticket: After playing Kahoot (once for fun and the second time for a grade), students must
tell me one thing they learned today before dismissal.
References:
Common Core Standard:
Kahoot (Created by me): https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/e00150f0-b89c-471a-8591-17dced6db411
*Note: This was a half day mini lesson*

Technology

Technology was used in all five lessons. I utilized the Promethean Board, desktop computers,
iPads, and surface tablets. The Promethean Board was used to give students visuals stimuli
during instruction. Students created main idea bubble maps on the desktop computers. They also
use the iPads and Surface tablets to play kahootan interactive Promethean Board game. I felt
that it was extremely important to use technology in the classroom. The integration of
technology into each lesson was crucial to the level of student engagement.

Activity Analysis
Lesson Four Area and Perimeter: During this lesson, students were able to work with

partners and find the area and perimeter of designated objects around the classroom. This

Pennington 22
activity was a huge risk, because I was concerned about the students ability to work
cooperatively and effectively with partners. I decided to give the students a chance and they
proved mature enough to learn using a hands-on activity with partners. This during
assessment directly correlated with the common core standard applied to the lesson: apply
the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles in real world and mathematical problems. The
students measured real life objects to solve area and perimeter of square and rectangular
objects. This activity used visual, auditory, and kinesthetic stimuli. The students were very
excited about the activity and were extremely engaged. The students benefited from verbal
and physical cues to remind them to stay on task. Students who were projected to struggle
with the task were paired with either Mrs. Sanders, me, or the para-educator. The materials
for this activity included designated square and rectangular objects in the classroom, a ruler,
a yard stick, a pre-made worksheet to fill in measurements and calculations, and a pencil.

5. Analysis of Student LearningShowcase Lesson

Whole Class

The chart pictured below examines the pre- and post-assessment scores of the students who
participated in the showcase lesson. The pre-assessment was a probe used to determine which
vocabulary words students were familiar or unfamiliar with. Students received one point if they
had heard or could define the word. The post-assessment was used as a measurement of the
lessons objective: after reading the story Who Were They? from South Carolina: Great Stories
that Embrace the History of South Carolina, students will create a bubble map of Antebellum Era
social classes in South Carolina to recapture the main idea of the text using at least six bubbles.
Students received 16.5 points per bubble.

Pennington 23

Student

Pre-Assessment Score

1 High
Performer
2
Average
Performer
3 Low
Performer
4
5

4/5

Post-Assessment
Score
100% (6/6)

3/5

100% (6/6)

1/5

85% (5/6)

3/5
0/5

100% (6/6)
85% (5/6)

I expected the students to do well on the pre- and post-assessment, but I was ecstatic at
how well each student performed! The pre-assessment was not difficult because it only prompted
students to identify which words they were familiar with and which ones they were not. Only
participation would be recorded in the grade book for this assessment. It would not be fair to
grade a student on accuracy for content they had not be taught. However, the score to analyze is
the how many words they knew and did not know. The raw score is in the above chart, but the
grade recorded for the activity would be 100%. This data allowed me to understand that the
students whether or not the students could recognize and connect with these words in the text. I
was very pleased with the familiarity of the vocabulary words. The students were very
enthusiastic about the pre-assessment because they were proud when they knew the word and
curious to learn unknown words. Pre-assessment data is as follows:

Student 1
Student 2
Student 3
Student 4
Student 5

Antebellum
Era

+
+

Social Class

Elite

Middle Class

Poverty

+
+
+
+
-

+
-

+
+
+
-

Pennington 24
During the lesson, the students were assessed through teacher observation. The students
did not know they were being assessed while answering questions from the text. I kept a
checklist of the students ability to answer or try to answer the questions asked about the text.
Most of the students at least tried to answer, but one student was very reluctant to answer. This
indicated that she may be having difficulty understanding the text and therefore is unable to
answer the questions related to the text. As a result, I worked one-on-one with this student during
independent work. During assessment data is as follows:

Student 1
Student 2
Student 3
Student 4
Student 5

Answered a question

Attempted to answer

No Attempt made

I was extremely satisfied with the final products of the post-assessment. The students had
to apply their knowledge of their vocabulary words and find supporting details to support the
main idea of the text. All students received 100% on this assessment except two, who received
85%. The scores of the students pre- and post-assessment shows that the students made
substantial progress from beginning to end. This tells me that the lesson was effectively and
students were able to master the content. The graph below gives a visual representation of the
pre- and post-assessment.

Pennington 25
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

Pre-Assessment (Out of 5 Points)

Post-Assessment (Out of 6)

Individuals

Three students were chosen to have their pre-, during, and post-assessment data analyzed.
One high performer, one average performer, and one low performer were chosen from the
student population. It is important to analyze the assessment data of each level of student in the
classroom so that the teacher can gauge how effective the teaching strategies are for all types of
learners. Based on the data in the above chart, every learner was successful, regardless of
performance level. This indicates that the lesson was tiered and spoke to every type of learner.
No student scored less than a letter grade of B, which is exceptional! All students participated,
regardless of achievement ability and were actually excited to participate. Below are samples of
the students post-assessment:

Pennington 26
High Performer:

Average Performer:

Pennington 27
Low Performer:

6. Reflection, Self-Evaluation, and Professional Development

Reflection on Showcase Lesson: ELA ListeningSocial Classes

o Whole Class: Overall, this lesson was very successful. I taught this lesson to five
8th grade students in a self-contained, social studies class. This lesson integrated
with English language arts and social studies. Students listened to a short
informational text about South Carolinas social classes during the Antebellum
Era and then created a bubble map to indicate the main idea with supporting
details. The lesson lasted an hour, which was the amount of time allotted for this
class. I believe it was appropriate for this lesson to span an hour because the
students engaged in several activities and were able to transition their focus three

Pennington 28
different times. All students remained engaged throughout the entire class period.
I began the lesson by introducing hot topic words that would be found in the text.
Then I took a poll of the class to assess the students familiarity of the words. The
students enjoyed this because they were excited when they knew a word and
curious to learn when they did not know a word. After, we defined the words
together to prime the students to understand the text and find its main idea. I read
the text aloud as students followed along, stopping periodically to ask students
questions, which proved very useful because it kept the students engaged. I used
the visual, auditory, and tactile learning modalities. When we finished reading,
students began to make their main idea bubble maps.
If I were to teach this lesson again, I would have students take turns reading the
text out loud, and then I would re-read the text after them to clear confusions and
ask questions. I believe this would further the students understanding of the text.
Overall, this lesson was fantastic. The students gladly participated and showed
full involvement in the lesson. The style of lesson and assessments were ideal for
this group of students and could absolutely be used again.
o Three Individual Students: The most successful student of the lesson typically
performs high in class and does not struggle with content. He has recently come
back to school full time after being on half days for four years. His placement has
more to do with his behavior rather than his disability. Although he has struggled
in the past, he is making vast improvements and demonstrating he can be a mature
and capable student. He has a new found goal of getting on the diploma track and
is therefore extremely eager to learn. This student is very motivated and can do

Pennington 29
anything that he sets his mind to.
The least successful student of the lesson is a student who typically struggles in
the classroom. He is currently performing on a first grade level. His work is often
modified to be made more attainable. For this student, I had him write five key
words from the text rather than five main ideas. He is very motivated and tries his
best on all assignments. Content should continue to be modified for this student.
The average performing student of this lesson always attempts all work that is
assigned. Even though this student completes the given task, it is not always the
best quality possible for this student. When prompted to try harder, the student
will put forth his full capabilities.
During my lesson, I asked questions about the text while reading. After asking
two questions, I noticed that the questions were a bit difficult for the students and
required a lot of prompting to receive a correct answer. For the rest of the
questions, I re-worded the questions in a simpler form and after asking the
question, I would tell students where to go back in the text to look for the answer.
This was immensely helpful and really turned this part of the lesson around.

Reflection on Lessons 2-4

o Lesson #2 ELA Writing: A Capital City
This was the first lesson that I taught, and was observed by Dr. OConnor.
Prior to the lesson, I created many visual aids for students to see during
the lesson because for the majority of instructional time I was giving direct
instruction. The Promethean Board was used throughout to displays visual
accompaniments to the content that was being taught. Students were

Pennington 30
engaged in this lesson because they were able to create their own webpage
on iPad paper. They were familiar with the topic so they felt confident in
their knowledge and they were ready to try a new activity. While I was
reading the text, the students were more passively involved. Next time I
teach this style of lesson, I will have students take turns reading aloud. I
believe this will encourage students to remain engaged. During the
independent work, students were actively engaged in creating their own
webpage about the states capital. I taught the lesson using a text from the
classroom called South Carolina: Great Stories that Embrace the History
of South Carolina, which was a great tool that students were already
familiar with for short text. The information seemed to flow sequentially
and be easy for students to understand. I was truly surprised at how well
behaved the students were during the lesson. I was a little nervous because
this was my first time teaching middle school. I was pleasantly surprised
that the students respected me and were able to vibe off of my style of
teaching. My lesson fell about 10 minutes short and I was stumped on
what to do. Mrs. Sanders helped pick up my slack and quizzed them on
relevant content. This experience was embarrassing, but also incredibly
enlightening. I felt how an entire classroom of students can slip away from
you if you are not ready with another task. I feel assured that after having
those feelings, I will never allow this to happen again. If I could re-do this
lesson, I would add an early finisher activity, in which students would recreate their webpage on the computer and then display it to the class.

Pennington 31

o Lesson 3: Mean, Median, Mode, and Range:

I was extremely excited to teach this lesson. I felt that I had successfully
used the interest inventory to fully engage the students in a topic that they
all lovedbasketball. I utilized the Promethean Board for a YouTube
video and visuals to accompany my direct instruction. Students effectively
utilized calculators as part of their accommodations for mathematics. It is
important for student to know how to compute the problem and not have
to worry about minor errors. Every student was actively involved, working
in pairs, to solve the mean, median, mode, and range of LeBron James and
Kevin Durants last eight points scored per game. I started off students
will a warm up with content that they had already mastered to build
confidence. Then I introduced mean, median, mode, and range via a
YouTube video. After that, we tried solving as a class. Finally, students
were able to solve on their own. This class is one of the larger classes with
a total of fourteen students. They benefited from verbal and physical cues
to remain on task. This lesson was a hit with the students and they all had
fun learning about mean, median, mode, and range.
o Lesson #4: Area and Perimeter
I chose to co-teach this lesson with Mrs. Sanders because I was unsure of
how smooth this lesson would flow. I choose to let students work in pairs
and measure designated objects around the room to find their area and
perimeter. This was a risky decision because sometimes the maturity level

Pennington 32
of the class can be questionable. Being optimistic, I allowed students to
partner up and move freely around the classroom. To my, and Mrs.
Sanders, amazement, the students performed with flying colors! They
were ideal students and completed the assignment without any issues. This
was a treat for students to be able to prove themselves worthy, so they
were on their best behavior and remained on task. I truly think that the
students had fun and were proud of the freedom they had been given for
this assignment. The Promethean Board was used for the warm up and a
review of how to utilize a ruler. I did not want to assume that every
student know how or remembered how to use a ruler, so I taught a quick
refresher. The lesson was not about measuring, so I was not a stickler on
exact measurementsI asked the students to round to the nearest half
inch. The lesson wrapped up in just enough time before students switched
class. I truly think the students had fun during this lesson. It was really
rewarding to be able to teach the students and see them enjoy being taught.
o Lesson #5: Relative AgeKahoot Quiz
This lesson was taught on a half day, so I was only allotted thirty five minutes
with these students. We started off by reviewing the PowerPoint they had been
learning. I asked students questions and had them answer using their notes. I also
took this time to clear up any previous confusions or misconceptions. After
reviewing relevant content, the students played a game of kahoot that I created to
help them study for the upcoming nine weeks test. The first round of kahoot was
just for fun, but the second round was calculated for a grade. This kept students

Pennington 33
engaged and serious about the questions, while also having fun playing an
interactive Promethean Broad/iPad game. It would have been ideal to have more
time to review the content before playing the game. If I were to do a lesson like
this again, I would review the content the day before and have the students
complete a homework assignment. Then I would use the half day period to review
by playing kahoot.

Professional Development

After teaching five lessons and being immersed in a middle school, self-contained, classroom
for two weeks, I have created two professional development goals for future clinical experiences.
My goals are to become more confident when teaching and to always model what I expect of my
students. I believe that confidence will naturally come over time as I teach more lessons. This
was my first clinical experience in a secondary setting and I was very nervous. One way I could
improve this in the future is by practicing my lessons on someone else so that I would not be so
anxious before teaching. Throughout this clinical experience, I learned that it is crucial to model
what you expect your students to do. In the future, I will be aware of this and be sure to include it
in all of my lesson plans that are applicable.
7. Communication and Collaboration

Parent/Teacher Communication
I will contact parents the first week of school by sending home a

letter with students. The letter will contain ways to contact me, such as my email and my
telephone number. It will also let parents know that I have an open door policy. I feel that parents
and teachers are partners in the education process and should always be in contact with each

Pennington 34
other. A positive parent teacher relationship is crucial to a students success. The letter sent at the
beginning of the school year will also inform parents of what I expect of their student in the
classroom. It is important that all expectations are clear so that the parent can reinforce these
behaviors at home. Brief notes will be added weekly in each students agenda to report on
behavior and participation. I will send home progress reports with students every four and a half
weeks so that parents can keep up with the students progress. I will add individualized notes for
each parent to address their students needs or concerns. Parent conferences will be held every
nine weeks, as report cards are distributed. Parents will be contacted as needed throughout the
school year, which may vary from student to student. I will also systematically contact parents
with positive news to build a constructive rapport with my students familiesthe form of
communication may vary depending on the easiest means per family. I will keep a parental
contact notebook so that I can document all communication with parents for future needs. This
data should include the type of communication, the result of the communication, and the date of
the communication.

Colleague Communication
I believe that, as a special education teacher, it is extremely important

to have strong relationships with the general education teachers of the students that you serve. It
is also important to communicate with grade equivalent general education teachers to try and
keep the special education classroom as close to the general education curriculum as possible.
The special education teacher and general education teacher must work in collaboration to ensure
that their student is reaching his/her highest ability of achievement. I will send out an email at the
beginning of the school year to all my cooperating general education teachers and let them know
that I think it is essential for us to have a strong collaborative relationship. I want the general

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education teachers to feel comfortable contacting me and always feel that they can come to me
with concerns regarding our mutual student, or any student they feel needs extra help. I will go
by each general education teachers classroom and personally introduce myself to help get
acquainted. I plan to stay in constant contact with the general education teachers and follow up
about each student at least once a week. Ideally, I would like to visit each of the general
education teachers classrooms at the end of the week to give a review of our student. If I cannot
make it to the teachers classroom to speak in person, then I will type up a weekly report of the
student and send it to the teacher. This time will also allow for the general education teacher to
suggest any academic issues that need to be addressed in the special education setting with
intensive instruction. I will make sure that all teachers are aware that I have an open door policy,
including for students who need assessment accommodations. I will also email the general
education teachers progress reports of their students every four and a half weeks. I think it is
important that the general education teacher know where their exceptional student are
performing academically. I will communicate with other colleagues as needed, such as the
principal, the nurse, other special educators, etc. I will form a positive professional relationship
with all colleagues through casual pleasantries. I will document all communications with
colleagues in a colleague communication notebook. I will document how we communicated. If
we emailed, then I will save these emails and also print them to add to the notebook.

Documentation of communication is essential. It is important to be able to refer to a set of

notes to know exactly what has been addressed and what has not. These notes may be
helpful in future situations so that you can have written documentation when referring to
a conversation.

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Form of Communication with Parents:

1. Example of a Parent Letter:

o 2. Communication Chart
Date

Who

Form

Topic/Details

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Form of Communication with Colleague:

o 1. Communication Chart *See above chart for Communication with Parents

8. Learning Environment
I believe that a classroom should be driven by a teachers warmth, because a safe and
nurturing environment is crucial to academic growth of children. Although a safe environment is
essential, it must be backed with an effective behavioral system, such as Skinners operant
conditioning; where positive reinforcement is implemented. I am a strong believer in positive
reinforcement and I believe Skinners behavioral system of operant conditioning to be most
effective.

Behavioral Expectations

When working with children, it is very important to give positive behavioral supports,
which includes telling children the good things they do. Through the use of positive behavioral
supports, teachers can build the self-esteem of students.
Behavioral Expectations:
Show respect (i.e.: follow directions, be kind to others, use inside voices)

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Be responsible (i.e.: bring materials, turn in work, use self-control)
Always give your best effort (i.e.: participate in class, complete work, ask for help,
TRY!)

Teaching Behavioral Expectations:

Respect: Use a role playing scenario to teach students respect. Model how to be
kind, have students practice, and then put on a play to assess if the students
understand the concept.
Responsibility: Talk to students about what it means to be responsible and engage
in instructional conversation about responsibility. Then I would display visual
cues in the classroom as a reminder of responsibility.
Best Effort: Stress the importance of always trying, no matter what the outcome
may be. Demonstrate an example of not trying your best by role play, and then
conclude by role playing a situation where you do try your best, so that students
can visually see the difference.

My behavioral expectations directly correlate with my philosophy of classroom

management. The main goal of my expectations is to create a safe and positive environment that
is closely aligned with productivity. In order for the classroom to be a safe and positive
environment, students must show respect for themselves, adults, and peers. In order for a
classroom to be productive, students must take some responsibility and always try to the best of
their ability. These three rules can range from every age and culture, but it is important to teach
and demonstrate expectations, so that every student is clear on what each rule means.

Hierarchy of Consequences

If students choose not to follow behavioral expectations and rules then they will suffer
the consequences. The hierarchy of consequences is as follows:

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1. Warning: may be given in a verbal or non-verbal fashion, i.e. : reminding a student about
procedures privately or in a note
2. Loss of Privileges: taking away something that is important to the child. i.e. : walking for
5 minutes of recess
3. Letter/Call Home: used to inform the parents that their student is behaving
inappropriately which will hopefully get parents involved to extinguish the undesirable
behavior(s)
4. Principal Office: used as a last resort or used when a students behavior has quickly
escalated beyond the first three consequences.
Consequences will be logical and will depend on the behavior of the individual student.
The consequences will be posted where students can see them and we will discuss the
consequences so that the class can be aware of what the consequences will include. I will
administer consequences in a straightforward manner without displaying any emotions and keep
consistency in delivering punishments.

Reinforcements

When students follow directions and do the right thing, it is important to reward students.
This will motivate students to continue on their successful path. Extrinsic and intrinsic
motivation will occur in the classroom as follows:
Motivational Strategies:
Use positive reinforcement, such as verbal praise, prizes, coupons, edibles, preferred
activity time, etc.
Have students set individual and whole class goals that will be rewarded when obtained.
Give students some autonomy. Let students choose certain activities, such as early
finisher work.
Develop exciting and engaging lesson plans to invoke curiosity and creativity in students.
Be aware of what students enjoy and capitalize on those interests to incorporate in
instruction and rewards.

Non-Instructional Routines and Procedures

In my classroom, students are expected to enter and exit the classroom quietly and
respectfully. They should go straight to their seat and be ready for the teachers direction.

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Attendance will be taken at the start of the class. Students who are not in their sit will be counted
absent. If the student was assigned homework then they should keep it at their seat and wait for it
to be collected by the teacher. At the end of class every student must make sure their area is
cleaned up and turn in all work to the teacher. If materials need to be disturbed the teacher will
hand out materials, including pencils, paper, books, etc. The teacher will collect all assignments
for the day and put them in the basket labeled for that class. Students should ask permission to
use the restroom, sharpen pencils, or to leave the classroom for any reason. The teacher and
assistant will assist students with all routines and procedures when needed, especially during
emergency situations.