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Kelsey Kinard
TWS 7: Instructional Decision Making

Feedback to the Whole Class

The formative assessments used throughout the unit showed which students
understood the material presented in the lessons and which students required some additional
help. According to the assessments from the instructional lessons (Lessons 1-6), a majority of
the students did well. At the beginning of each lesson as we reviewed the information from the
day before, I engaged the students in discussions about the topic and asked questions to ensure
that they knew the information. During post-assessments, the students were able to take the
information presented during direct instruction and relay it correctly through their own writings
and illustrations. They showed great improvement throughout the unit. As I checked journal
entries after each lesson, I was able to provide feedback to the students based on individual
need. I provided praise to the students for their good work, encouraged students to try to
write or draw more, and addressed any misconceptions the students had about communities.
Feedback to the Three Individual Students
High Student
Student A did very well on the assessments throughout the unit. During whole group
instruction when I would do pre- and during assessment checklists, Student A was always
attentive and ready to add to the discussion. She tries her best and her work is neat and
organized. Her journal entries used for the post-assessments were always very neat. Therefore,
I would use her journal as a visual example for some of the other students of what I was
expecting. She is a strong reader and writer which helped when writing her journal entries.
She listens carefully to instructions, stays on task, and completes her work quickly. Because she
was always an early finisher, I would have to encourage her to add another sentence to her

journal entry or add to her illustrations. Student A responds better to praise than constructive
comments, but she would go back and quickly make correction when needed.
Average Student
Student B did well on the post-assessment journal entries. Her work is fairly neat and
she enjoys art so her illustrations were very good. Student B is on level as a first grader reader,
but she does not apply herself when it comes to writing. She lacks confidence and frequently
asks questions to make sure she is right. This showed in her assessments, but it did not affect
her scoring. When walking around the classroom monitoring, I would stop at her desk often to
provide reassurance even though she was always on task. Her strength is assignments on
paper. She was involved in the class discussions, but she could not formulate conclusions or
new ideas without heavy prompting. During whole group discussions and instruction, I would
ask her direct questions which she is better at answering.
Low Student
Student C did fair on the assessments used in the unit. He has a difficult time working
individually and staying on task. He is very inattentive and shows little self-motivation. While
working on the journal entries, I would have to stand over him constantly prompting to keep
him on task and focused on what he was doing. Otherwise, he would sit there or walk around
the room and not write anything on his paper. Student C required constant redirection, but he
did understand most of the material. He rarely could stay on task long enough to realize that
he was not finished with the assessment or pay attention long enough to go back and correct
his work even when clear and exact directions were given. When Student C did manage to
complete his journal entry in a timely manner or stay seated and on task during the lesson, I
made a point to praise his hard work.
Reflection on Teaching Style
I monitored and adjusted my teaching throughout the unit. The three types of
communities are a concept that my students were not at all familiar with. Because of the
subject matter and the allotted teaching time, I had to find ways to keep my students engaged

and interested throughout content-based lessons. I used a variety of strategies and tools
during instruction to keep the students engaged such as researching communities on Google
Images, watching video clips about communities, tying in the students personal experience,
creating bubble maps, whole group discussions, using turn and talk points for the students to
exchange ideas with their peers, and creating Are, Can, Have charts. I adjusted my
expectations halfway through teaching the unit. Teaching the first two lessons of the unit on
rural communities and urban communities went well and it appeared as though the students
were understanding and retaining the information. On the third day when I introduced
suburban as the third type of community, the discussions and journal entry assessments were
terrible. The students begin confusing the names and characteristics of all three types of
communities. At the beginning of the unit, I expected to quickly cover the types of
communities and then go further into the lifestyles and jobs associated with each community. I
had to adjust my expectation for the unit and instead focused on the students being able to
differentiate between the three types of communities.