REID MASTER’S PORTFOLIO 1

Content Statement

University of Alaska Southeast, Alaska College of Education states that a teacher knows

the teacher’s content area and how to teach it. Fall 2016, while student teaching, I created a

Backward Design Unit in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Masters of Art, Elementary

Education, Student Teaching. My artifact, a Backwards Design Unit (BDU), shows integration of

content for instruction. The subject of the unit is social studies, specifically the city of Anchorage

and how people and the economy have caused change over time. I taught this unit to a

combination 1st/2nd grade class.

My Backwards Design Unit 1 took an enormous amount of time and preparation.

However, the students loved it, and their final presentations was the highlight of my student

teaching experience. In my artifact, I mention how the students got excited when they saw

“social studies” on the daily schedule. Then, at the end of the unit, when the students took turns

sharing their final group project, I was so proud of the completed posters and their ability to

speak publicly about what they knew of Anchorage and its history. This experience made me

want to design more BDUs for future classes because, “Students learn best when studying a

curriculum that replaces simple coverage with an in-depth inquiry and with independent

application experience” (Brown, 2004, p. 16).

My artifact states, “I feel the most learning happened during small group projects” (p.

20). Then I go on to state that the students were so engaged; I did not want to disrupt them. They

were talking and helping each other. I was glad that I had asked my host teacher for advice in

breaking the class into four groups. She recommended having a strong reader and writer in each

1 “An approach to designing a curriculum or unit that begins with the end in mind and designs
toward that end” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005, p. 338).
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group. When planning a BDU, Tomlinson and McTighe recommend, “Using pre-assigned

groups so students know by cue where to move in the room and who to sit with” (2006, p. 92).

They also recommend planning ahead for “like and unlike readiness, interest, and learning

profile groups” (2006, p. 92). I have since kept this in mind for planning my science and math

groups.

The greatest learning growth, while instructing the BDU, was how to give clear

directions to the students. I thought I was giving clear directions, but the students did not always

understand. The students were use to my language arts, math, and handwriting routines. My

BDU was all together new for them and for me. Miller states, “Thoughtful teachers everywhere

know that the best way to begin teaching children something new is to show them how... thinking

aloud about our mental processes, or demonstrating how it looks…showing is always better than

telling” (2008, p. 86). This is an area I need to continue to work on. I can verbally give the

instructions, have instruction written on the whiteboard, have a check-off sheet at each work

center, and/or have examples for students to look at.

As I stated above and in my artifact, the students final presentations were impressive. The

students were proud to show and talk about their posters (also known as Culminating

Performance Tasks in my artifact). Research by Larmer and Mergendoller state that Common

Core State Standards asks elementary students to “explain their ideas in oral presentations, use

visuals aids, and speak appropriately for various context and tasks” (2012, p. 74). The authors go

on to say that the best way to teach students this skill is by project-based learning” (2012, p. 74).

For this coming school year, I have started planning four BDUs, one unit for each

quarter. With the support of the online Anchorage School District 1st grade social studies, the

first quarter will be Families and Communities. The 2nd quarter will be Economics & Homes,
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Holidays and Friendships. The 3rd quarter will be Communities and Then & Now. Lastly, we will

cover Geography & Maps. Each social studies unit will coincide with the 1st grade Alaska

Content Standards and the 1st grade language arts curriculum. My goals for this year’s BDUs is

to give clear, concise directions to my students in order to avoid confusion during group work.

The second is to have adults watch the students’ presentations—maybe the principal, our

custodian, and one of their previous kindergarten teachers. If it goes well, maybe even present to

the parents! Lastly, I will need to reflect on the experience because creating BDUs takes an

investment of time, but the students are worth the time.

References

Larmer, J. & Mergendoller, J.R. (2012). Speaking of Speaking. Educational leadership,70(4),

74-76. Retrieved from

http://search.ebsohost.com.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db-

aph&AN=83757090&login.asp&site=ehost-live

Miller, D. (2008). Teaching with intention: Defining beliefs, aligning practice, taking action.

Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Tomlinson, C. A. and McTighe, J. (2006). Integrating differentiated instruction: Understanding

by design. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.