Alyssa Tierney

EDUG 789
Dr. Sheehan
May 7, 2014
Final Paper
I. Background:
Student S is ten years old and in the 5th grade at a New York City public school.
She receives instruction in an inclusion classroom. She has a speech/language
impairment. S receives speech/language therapy twice a week, for 30 minutes, in a group
of three. She also gets extended time (time & 1/2) on all tests, a 5 minute break every 30
minutes during assessments, is tested in a separate location in a group no larger than 12,
and gets test directions and questions read aloud. She needs visual and verbal prompts. S
is a generally happy child, although has trouble staying on task and putting forth her best
effort in school. She gets easily upset after getting into confrontations with other students
and is spoken to by a teacher. She responds well to rewards/reinforcements.
III. IEP Goals:
Reading:
Within one year, S will be able to incorporate prior knowledge with new
information to make inferences when reading. S will be able to make inferences 4
out of 5 times. This will be measured during F&P assessments as well as
individual reading conferences once every two months.
Within one year, S will be able to correctly sound out unfamiliar words,
specifically the middle and ending of words she does not know, by using context
clues and substituting the unfamiliar word with a synonym. S will be able to
decode middle and endings of words 4 out of 5 times. This will be measured
during F&P assessments as well as individual reading conferences once every two
months.
Within one year, S will be able to identify the main idea of a section of text in a
chapter book on her independent reading level. Through scaffolded activities
throughout the year, S will be able to correctly identify the main idea 4 out of 5
times. This will be measured during F & P assessments and monthly individual
conferences.

Math:
Within one year, S will be able to effectively use mathematical vocabulary in
written and oral expressions to support her mathematical thinking. This goal will
be measured by one of more of the following assessment sources:
1.
Student will frequently use words from the math word wall during class
discussions by looking at the math word wall in the back of the room as a
reference during math workshop.
2.
Student will apply appropriate math vocabulary during number talks to
explain thinking by referring to math word wall in the back of the room and by
looking up relevant math vocabulary in their Go Math books pertaining to the
current math topic.

3.
Student will be able to explain how (steps taken) and why (why they did
those steps) they solved mathematical problems, using teacher created worksheets
to scaffold this thinking process.
S will achieve this goal if she is able to use at least two mathematical
vocabulary terms correctly during class math discussions/number talks.
Within one year, S will be able to determine what information is extra or
unnecessary in word problems. This goal will be measured by one of more of the
following assessment sources:
1.
Student comprehends what the problem is asking during
independent math work time and eliminates information that will not
help her solve the problem

2.
Student can explain why certain information is not necessary by
use of worksheets and think aloud discussions provided by the teacher
S will achieve this goal if she is able to use eliminate unnecessary
information in math word problems 3 out of 4 times.

Writing:
Within a year, S will be able to support her writing with specific text evidence (to
incorporate text based details). This goal will be measured by one of more of the
following assessment sources:
1.
Students will be able to explain the theme/main idea of a text (in writing or
orally) by using details from the text to support their ideas/thoughts.

2.
During reading conferences, students will be able to justify their opinions
about what they have read by referring to specific examples in the text.

Students will achieve this goal if they are able to provide at least two
specific details from the text to support their ideas about a story (orally or in
writing).
III. Formal Lessons:
1. Reading Lesson Determining Main Idea & Supporting Details
Objective: Students will determine the most accurate main idea and key details of
a section of a text.
NYS Common Core Learning Standard:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.2 Determine two or more main ideas of a text and
explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.
Connection/Purpose: The main idea is the most important idea about a topic.
Sometimes the main idea is directly stated in the text, like a heading, for example.
Sometimes, the main idea is not stated. As readers, it is our job to figure out the
main idea and key details to make sure we fully understand what we are reading.
Engage: Teacher will display a bag and take out the following items to show to
the students: toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, and mouthwash. Teacher will ask the
students what is the big idea of the bag based on the items they see (turn and talk).
Teacher will write down student ideas and lead them to the main idea of keeping
your teeth clean. Teacher will explain that the bag is like a story, or a page in a
story, or a paragraph. The items are like key details that we use to determine the
main idea.
Mini Lesson 15 mins:

Teacher will read aloud pages 4-11 of Our Solar System

Teacher will stop and ask students to determine the meaning of various
vocabulary words based on context clues and use of glossary.

The teacher will go back to page 7 and model how she determines the main
idea of the page by using the main idea chart. She will remind students that
they can think of the main idea as the surface of a table, and the key details are
like the legs that support the table.

Active Engagement (right after mini lesson, before students work

independently) 8-10mins:

Students turn and talk with a partner to figure out the main idea and
supporting details of another page (page 11). Each student will try to fill
out the main idea graphic organizer.
(Main idea pg. 11- the sun is made up of different parts/layers. Key
Details- The center/core is about as big as Jupiter. The surface is called the
photosphere. The sun has an inner and outer atmosphere.)

One student shares what they and their partner came up with.

Independent Work/Differentiation (20 mins):

Independent work is differentiated in three different ways to meet the
needs of all students. All students will read pages 12-15 in the book.
However, three different worksheets will be given out depending on
student capabilities.
High performing students will have to determine the main idea and
supporting details of page 15 on their own.
Students that have difficulty coming up with the main idea on their own
will be given the main idea of page 15. On their own, they will have to
pick three details that support this main idea (therefore having to
determine which details d not match the main idea).
Students that are struggling with main idea AND details will be given the
main idea of page 15. They will have to circle from a list of choices the
details that support the main idea (therefore having to determine which
details do not match the main idea.)
Share (5min):
Teacher will call the students to the rug to hear what the students came up with.
She will ask students how they figure out the main idea while reading and review
if necessary.
Assessment: Teacher will assess students through observations during mini
lesson as well as independent work to gage their ability for determining main idea
and supporting details.

2. Math Lesson Word Problems: Explaining How and Why

Objective: Students will be able to explain how (steps taken) and why (why they
did those steps) they solved mathematical problems, using teacher created
worksheets to scaffold this thinking process.
NYS Common Core Learning Standards:
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.A.2
Explain patterns in the number of zeros of the product when multiplying a number
by powers of 10, and explain patterns in the placement of the decimal point when
a decimal is multiplied or divided by a power of 10. Use whole-number exponents
to denote powers of 10.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.B.5
Fluently multiply multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.B.7
Add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals to hundredths, using concrete models
or drawings and strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or
the relationship between addition and subtraction; relate the strategy to a written
method and explain the reasoning used.
Connection/Purpose: Students must be able to understand the rationale behind
why they solve problems the way they do in order to fully understand the math
that they do. They will realize that when they are able to explain why they used
the steps they did to solve, they will be correct in their math. Usually when
students cannot explain, they do not understand what the question is asking them.
In the process of explaining why, they will catch their
mistakes/misunderstandings.
Engage: The teacher will have different word problems displayed up all around
the classroom. She will explain that after todays lesson, students will work in
groups of 2 or 3, walking around the room, to solve each problem with their
mathematicians thinking chart.
Mini Lesson:
The teacher will display a word problem and her How and Why chart
Teacher will model how she breaks down the problem (what is it asking
me, what information is important, etc)
Teacher will solve the problem step by step, filling out her chart.
Everytime she gives a step how to solve, she supports it with a reason
why.

Active Engagement:

Teacher displays another word problem. This time, students get their
mathematician chart and have to solve as well as explain how and why,
just as the teacher did.
Student will be selected to come up and explain his thinking. Then another
student will do the same, to compare answers. Class will review if anyone
solved differently.
Teacher will assign partners for independent work.

Independent Work/Differentiation (25-30 mins):

Students walk around to solve various word problems with their partners
and their charts. When the timer goes off, they move onto the next
problem, working together to solve.
Students that struggle with math are given different charts with First I,
because. Etc Students that do not need help with math have to write on
their own. There are also challenging bonus questions for pairs that finish
early.
Share (5 min):
At the rug, the class shares how they solved problems, what information
was extra, why they did what they did, clear any misconceptions, clarify
for each other.
Assessment: Teacher circulates to help groups and writes down notes as they are
solving. Teacher will collect mathematician sheets from each student and review
them to see where students had the most misunderstandings.
IV. Summary/ Recommendations:
Through repetition and guided, one on one instruction, student S has grasped
the concept of main idea, which was one of her IEP goals. At first, it was difficult for
her to do. I noticed that she is able to move away from being too specific, and can
now use fewer words and/or sentences to describe what a story or text is mainly
about (instead of just give details or step by step what happened). S has also been
able to translate this skill into her writing, as she gathers information from multiple
sources and must put it into her own words. Putting information in her own words
is something she has struggled with, but the practice with main idea helps her say
what the information is about in a more concise way. In math, S needs to work on
processing what the problem is actually asking her. Often, she will go ahead and do
the operation that seems the most obvious, when really that isnt what needs to be
done. We are working with word problems that make it seem like the way to solve is

obvious, but actually requires more thought. Together, we go through the problem
and why certain operations would not make sense. This is the type of conversation
she needs to have in her own head when she works independently with tricky word
problems. Overall, I have seen improvement in S, and I hope that by June she has a
better understanding of math concepts and can use these practiced skills to help her
in other areas.