The Learner and Learning

InTASC Standard 1: Learner Development

The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning
and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional,
and physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging
learning experiences.
Throughout my time in college I have learned what is developmentally appropriate, and
expected, of students at certain times and ages. Specifically, with my psychology background,
and referencing Jean Piaget, there are developmental stages that children go through. During
the elementary school years most students are still not able to grasp abstract concepts. In
order to keep concepts literal and transfer meaning to students, using different items such as
manipulatives, the physical body, and pictures, help to convey concepts. Once a child is able to
recognize and apply one concept, then the later subject materials can be built off that concept
and increase in difficulty, deepening understanding of the curriculum.
While typical students are developing around the same rate, students who have disabilities may
struggle in one or more area developmentally. Whether the student is hindered cognitive,
linguistically, socially, emotionally, or physically, the appropriate accommodations to
environment and curriculum need to be addressed.
While in my student teaching placement these concepts have been taken into consideration
during lesson planning and room design. During my lesson planning I always make sure to
differentiate in case a student needs more assistance with material. I have also kept track of
individual students, on sticky notes, during each lesson that may struggle with one concept or
one lesson in particular. Those sticky-note students I might work with one day in a small group
to affirm one concept in particular. Other students that need accommodations receive one-onone time with me every lesson while the whole class is independently practicing the topic from
that day. For room design the student desks are placed in table groups to keep other areas of
the room open and easy to move around.
Below is a lesson plan where I display my consideration on how to reach my learners in various
ways. I had physical, auditory, visual, and social components to this lesson, this made it so all
my students were able to approach the concept in a way that best suited their needs.

Period/Time: Reading
Grade: 5th
Subject/Topic: Reading: Hyperbole & Onomatopoeia
Standards:
RL.5.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
figurative language.
Objectives:

SWBT: Create pop-up booklet with items displaying hyperbole and personification.
SWBT: Identify hyperbole and personification in the Paul Bunyan story.
Materials:
Paul Bunyan story
Pop-up book cut outs
Scissors
Glue
Colored pencils/crayons
Their own bodies
Procedures:
Introduction:
I will start off by telling the class that there is a very special activity we are about to be doing.
This activity is a privilege and we need to be respectful and understand that if someone is not
following directions appropriately then this privilege may not come again in the future.
I will explain that each round I will start on one end of the classroom modeling what motions I
expect the class to do and when I reach their table is when the students can start doing that
motion.

The class and I will make the rain sounds using the following steps:
(Rain sounds activity)
I will model each of the following actions, and continue doing it as I walk from one side of the
room to the other for each action:
Rub hands together
Snap fingers
Slap thighs
Stomp feet
Slap thighs
Snap fingers
Rub hands
Hands on lap
It should sound like a rain storm sweeping in and then passing by.
I will Ask these questions: (while they are thinking I will have them turn & talk)
How could you describe to me what just happened in here?
What different sounds were you hearing?
What type of words can you use to tell me about what we just did as a class?
Students should answer with saying sound words or something similar to that and I will lead
them to that answer, and then explain that sound words are what we call an onomatopoeia.
I will then say: (TURN & talk)

So we made the Classroom sound like a rainstorm, and turn into something really big. I could
have just put a video of the rainstorm on the smartboard but instead we exaggerated the
rainstorm sounds by making the noise with our bodies.
Has anyone ever heard of an exaggeration?
What IS and exaggeration?
Then I will say that the way we identify exaggeration in our reading or writing is called a
hyperbole.
Body:
So Today our Learning Goal is: I can identify literary elements within a story.
I will ask students to retell me what we just learned about onomatopoeia and hyperbole that will
lead to a conclusion of the following definitions:
An onomatopoeia is a word that makes a sound:
Crash, bang, boom, clank, pop, pow, buzz, swoosh
Hyperbole is an extreme exaggeration:
For example, if someone says they Cried a river then what could that possibly mean?
That they cried a LOT. They are exaggerating greatly.
So hungry I could eat a horse:
The person may be very hungry, but it is unlikely anyone could eat a whole horse.
>>Does anyone have a personal example of hyperbole they want to share?<<
Then I will pass out the Paul Bunyan story page and have students volunteer to read a
paragraph at a time while the rest of the class is following along. While we are reading I am
going to ask the students at the end of each paragraph if we can identify any onomatopoeias or
hyperboles in the paragraph, and what words they are.
On their paper I am going to have them highlight the hyperboles and underline the
onomatopoeias that they find.
Then hand out the cardstock to create the hyperbole and onomatopoeia pop-up card. Explain
that we are going to be showing our hyperboles and onomatopoeias that we read in the Paul
Bunyan story on our card.
We will each Cut out the pop up card on the black lines in the center. Then Pick which sound
word you think is the onomatopoeia to fit with how cutting down a tree sounds. You will write that
sound in the zigzag bubble and then cut it out to put on the card. The other two pieces we have
to put on the pop up are the tree that the onomatopoeia goes with, and our Paul Bunyan.

Lastly you will need to write a sentence from the Paul Bunyan story that has hyperbole. You
can pick one of the sentences from your worksheet and this will need to be on the pop up at the
bottom, below his feet.
Now why do you think Paul Bunyan looks this way? When you cut him out to put in your card
how will he look compared to everything else?
These questions are to reaffirm the point that this is hyperbole and how these work together for
the activity.
Closing:
At the end of the period I will ask for students to tell me in their own words what an
onomatopoeia and hyperbole is. I will call on 2-3 different students for each definition to
differentiate and make sure that they know what it means in their own way. I will collect their pop
up booklets before they leave the classroom.
Assessment:
I will be circulating the room to check that student highlighted the hyperbole in their story and
underlined the onomatopoeia in their stories as a check for understanding. I will also collect the
students pop up booklets. These will display their ability to identify the hyperbole and
onomatopoeia in the story based on their answers because they will put the onomatopoeia
cutouts on the pop up and write a hyperbole sentence under Paul Bunyans feet. This will
display that they are completing the learning goal for the day.
Management Issues, Transitions, and Differentiation:
Management & Transitions: To manage the students during the opening activity I will make sure
to tell them this is something special we are only doing in this class, and we need to be
respectful and understand that if someone is not following directions appropriately then this
privilege may not come again in the future. I will also use turn and talk between transitions from
activity to activity in order to have productive talk and let students brainstorm why they think we
made the sounds and what it was for.
Differentiation: When we are defining onomatopoeia and hyperbole I will give different students
in the class opportunities to restate their way of understanding. When students are working on
their pop up they will have the opportunity to pick which onomatopoeia they personally think fits
best instead of having a pre-made sound word to use. If students are having trouble I will
circulate the room and assist them one-on-one. For those who need extra help on the concepts
I can pull them for a small group at the back of the table during whole class independent
practice.

List of effective questions held in my hand when the rain activity ended:
I will Ask these questions: (while they are thinking I will have them turn & talk)
How could you describe to me what just happened in here?
What different sounds were you hearing?
What type of words can you use to tell me about what we just did as a class?

I will then say:

So we made the Classroom sound like a rainstorm, and turn into something really big. I could
have just put a video of the rainstorm on the smartboard but instead we exaggerated the
rainstorm sounds by making the noise with our bodies.
(TURN & talk)
Has anyone ever heard of an exaggeration?
What IS and exaggeration?

Things on the SMART Board: So students can see if they forget the directions
Learning Goal: I can identify literary elements (hyperbole and personification) within a story.
Highlight Hyperbole
Underline onomatopoeia