1. Learner Development

Narrative-

This artifact demonstrates my understanding of how learners grow and develop in a certain subject area. During this project, I discussed measurement and data in first, third and fifth grade through the Common Core State Standards and the Everyday Math program. This project allowed me to see what students at certain ages are supposed to know and how the skills carry over and change as the students move into the older grades. I also took a close look at different lessons related to measurement and graphing for first, third and fifth grade. I made a detailed table about the materials and types of problems included in each lesson. Again, this let me understand appropriate ways to teach these skills to varying ages. It also let me see that there were many similarities from year to year that grew in difficulty based on students’ development. Although this project was only related to one math skill, I could apply this knowledge about development and learning to other content areas.

Artifact-

Common Core State Standards for Measurement and Data

First Grade- Measurement & Data

Represent and interpret data.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.MD.C.4Organize, represent, and interpret data with up to three categories; ask and answer questions about the total number of data points, how many in each category, and how many more or less are in one category than in another.

Third Grade- Measurement & Data

Represent and interpret data.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.B.3Draw a scaled picture graph and a scaled bar graph to represent a data set with several categories. Solve one- and two-step "how many more" and "how many less" problems using information presented in scaled bar graphs. For example, draw a bar graph in which each square in the bar graph might represent 5 pets.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.B.4Generate measurement data by measuring lengths using rulers marked with halves and fourths of an inch. Show the data by making a line plot, where the horizontal scale is marked off in appropriate units— whole numbers, halves, or quarters.

Sixth Grade- Statistics & Probability

Develop understanding of statistical variability.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.A.1Recognize a statistical question as one that anticipates variability in the data related to the question and accounts for it in the answers. For example, "How old am I?" is not a statistical question, but "How old are the students in my school?" is a statistical question because one anticipates variability in students' ages.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.A.2Understand 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.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.A.3Recognize that a measure of center for a numerical data set summarizes all of its values with a single number, while a measure of variation describes how its values vary with a single number.

Summarize and describe distributions.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.4Display numerical data in plots on a number line, including dot plots, histograms, and box plots.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.5Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context, such as by:CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.5.AReporting the number of observations.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.5.BDescribing the nature of the attribute under investigation, including how it was measured and its units of measurement.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.5.CGiving quantitative measures of center (median and/or mean) and variability (interquartile range and/or mean absolute deviation), as well as describing any overall pattern and any striking deviations from the overall pattern with reference to the context in which the data were gathered.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.5.DRelating the choice of measures of center and variability to the shape of the data distribution and the context in which the data were gathered.

Comparison Table of Textbook Lessons

1st Grade Data Collection/Graphing

3rd Grade Data Collection/Graphing

6th Grade Data Collection/Graphing

Displaying data in a tally chart

Displaying data in pictographs and bar graphs

Displaying data in broken line graphs

Objective: Children use tally marks to represent data and to practice counting by 5s and 1s.

Objective: To introduce the mean of a set of data; and to review the median of a set of data.

Objective: To create, read, and interpret broken line-graphs.

Children count up tallies in the tally chart

Children determine the mean and median of a graph they’ve created

Children answer complex questions related to a broken-line graph they’ve created

Displaying data related to characteristics of animals

Displaying data related to number of children in a class and number of eggs in a clutch

Displaying data related to temperature

1 type of graph used in lesson

2 types of graphs used in lesson

1 type of graph used in lesson

No math journal pages for children to complete

2 math journal pages for children to complete

3 math journal pages for children to complete

Homework assignment included that asks children to cut out examples of numbers from a magazine

Homework assignment included that follows up from the lesson (finding the median and mode)

Homework assignment included that follows up from the lesson (answering questions related to broken-line graph)

Game included in lesson- “Penny Dice”

No game included in lesson

Game included in lesson- “Landmark Shark”

Differentiation options are offered (readiness and enrichment)

Differentiation options are offered (readiness and enrichment)

Differentiation options are offered (readiness and enrichment)

Vocabulary Words- tally marks, tallies, tally chart

Vocabulary Words- mean, average and median

Vocabulary Words- line graph, broken line graph, precipitation and graph key

Lesson begins with Mental Math and Fluency related to counting up and back

Lesson begins with Mental Math and Reflexes related to multiplication and Math Message related to reading a bar graph

Lesson begins with Mental Math and Reflexes related to positive and negative numbers and Math Message related to reading a broken-line graph

2. Learning Differences

Narrative-

This artifact discusses a lesson where I supported a first grade ESL student. The class was working on a project that involved a lot of language and more abstract thinking. I took into account her strengths and challenges and made sure that the child was able to complete the project to the best of her ability. I did a lot of scaffolding with her to ensure that she understood the project and was able to discuss her thoughts in complete sentences. This experience taught me that all students have difficulties in learning and this can me more prevalent in students who are just learning English. English is very difficult to learn but as long as effective teaching takes place and teachers modify assignments, all ESL students can thrive.

Artifact-

Inclusive Instruction: I will be working with a child in the class who is an ESL student. She is getting more comfortable speaking English but needs support in certain areas of expressing herself clearly. I will be her buddy and will support her through the project. When she is starting the project I will help her figure out what the ideas in her head are. At the end, I will also encourage her to share her project with me. I will make sure that she speaks in complete sentences and I will give her sentence starters or model how she could share to help her when she explains her project to me.

3. Learning Environments

Narrative-

This artifact demonstrates my ability to create an appropriate, safe and organized learning environment. I discussed ways that my classroom would be managed socially, emotionally, academically and physically to ensure success for all students. Socially, I discussed that students would be given the opportunity to get to know each other and converse during unstructured times in the classroom. Emotionally, I made sure to create a space that was organized and safe so that students know how to move around the room and feel like they are coming to a happy place each day. Academically, I discussed the importance of putting routines in place for a meaningful morning routine and handing in homework and classwork so that students feel accountable for their own work. Physically, I talked in detail about the materials that would be in the classroom and the things that would be hung up in the classroom. In addition, I included opportunities for students to work collaboratively or individually in the management plan. I included that my desks would be set up in groups but that there would be tables for the students to work at individually or with a teacher. All of these details related to management demonstrate my understanding and commitment to createing a positive learning environment for all students.

Artifact-

Management Plan Outline

1. Physical Spacea. The students will have their own desks that are put together in groups

of four or five. The students will store a variety of materials in their desks so they can work quietly at their seats without getting up and down all the time. However, they could also work in small groups at the table since they will be facing each other. The students will also have a carpet for whole group meetings and whole group mini-lessons. In addition, there will be a computer station for technology work and a horseshoe table for small group work.

b. The classroom library will include a variety of books at different levels for students to choose. These books will include fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Students will be able to place the books they choose in a book bin on top of the library shelving. Another section of the room would have dictionaries and other reference materials. The room will also have at least five computers for students to work on and play games related to the curriculum. There will be many anchor charts displayed around the room related to topics being studied. Shelves that hold calculators, base 10 blocks, markers, crayons, rulers, colored pencils, glue, scissors, clocks, and dice will line the front of the classroom. The students will be able to access these materials easily as they will be at their height. The students will also have materials for immediate use at their seats, such as pencils, erasers, dry erase markers, math notebooks, spelling notebooks and small white boards. I will have access to a large whiteboard and Smartboard for teaching lessons and practicing skills. For more storage, the students would have cubbies that would work similarly to mailboxes.

c. The students will be placed in groups of four or five spread throughout the classroom with enough travel space for children to move around the classroom freely. All the students will be able to see the Smartboard and whiteboard from their seats. Students will change seats or table arrangements at least once a month.

d. This classroom would be fully functional so students have the opportunity to learn and grow. The students would be safe and the materials would be available to them when needed. This would help the students take more time learning and working together instead of searching for materials. Due to the set up of the room, the students would be able to transition from whole group lessons at the carpet, to individual work to small group conversations at their tables. They would not always working or sitting in one area of the room. Also, I would be able to keep an eye on everyone from multiple areas in the room.

2. Managing Student Behavior/Classroom Climate

a. One thing I would do to promote positive student teacher relationships would be to greet each child by name every morning and say goodbye to them at the end of each day. I think that teachers need to be compassionate and students feel supported when their teacher greets them. Next, I would implement a closing circle. This would be a time to recap the day and review learning, both academically and socially. I think that students should always leave school on a positive note and feel that they accomplished something.

b. I would address behaviors by talking to students about their actions. I will work with students to show them what is positive about their behavior and what needs to be corrected in the future. This helps students understand how to act more appropriately the next time. Most importantly, I would use modeling to address behaviors in the classroom by demonstrating to the students what behaviors are acceptable and which are unacceptable. I think that this allows the students to have a physical reminder of what appropriate behavior looks like.

c. One of the ways I would create a consistent, supportive environment is through Morning Meeting. During Morning Meeting, students greet each other and share what is going on each and every day. The students will know that it is a set time each day and will feel safe and supported. In addition, I will have a posted schedule in the classroom. The students will become accustomed to when we are doing certain subject areas. I think that structure is very important and students learn more in organized environments.

d. I will design activities based around my students’ abilities and interests to motivate the students. The activities will not be too hard or too easy. I think that it is important to have new and fresh ideas that are interesting and engaging for the students. The activities should also relate to their own lives. In addition, I would motivate the students by assigning classroom jobs. I feel that jobs are very important since students should take on some responsibilities in the classroom and it makes them feel that they are contributing. It helps them learn to be accountable for doing a specific task correctly on a daily basis.

3. Instructional management and routinesa. Attendance: After the students come in, one of the student jobs will be

to do a roll call count off. Each child will have a number by last name and the attendance helper will call out the names in order to listen for who is here and who is absent. When a child hears his or her number he or she would respond by saying “here.” I will be listening during this time to make sure it is correct and then I would post the attendance online.

b. Morning Routine: I will greet the students at the door and ask them to unpack, take their chairs down, hand in homework or notes, use the

bathroom, complete jobs and go directly to the carpet for Morning Meeting. This would all take about ten to twelve minutes depending on the morning. During Morning Meeting, the students will greet each other and complete the calendar and weather chart as a whole group.

c. Paper Flow: The classroom would have three bins, including the homework bin, classwork bin and mail bin. The students will place their homework folder with the homework inside in the homework bin each morning. When completing worksheets in class, the students will place the sheets in the classwork bin. In addition, the teacher will keep handouts that need to go back to the students in the mail bin. One classroom job would be to place the items in the mail bin into the children’s cubbies. Another way to manage paper flow would be for the students to have class folders. The class folders would hold any work that is not finished or extra work for students who finish early or need a challenge. This ensures that students do not have papers falling out of their desks.

d. One of the things I will do to manage transitions is give warning before the end of an activity. For example, I would say, “There is five more minutes to work on your spelling.” This would make sure the students are prepared for when an activity is coming to a close. I will also use a timer to show the students how long they have to get their work done or complete a task. For example, I would set the timer for twenty minutes and let students know that they need to complete their work in that amount of time.

4. Accountability Proceduresa. The students will have reading, math and spelling homework each

night. The students will be expected to complete the homework every night and hand them in the next morning. These assignments will be listed on a homework chart. Each day, the students will copy down the homework before it is time to pack up. I will have the assignment up on the Smartboard for the students to copy and then will go around to check that it is written down correctly. The next morning, the students will hand in the homework to the homework bin. I will check the homework each day. If students miss homework, it must be completed the next night along with the next night’s homework. If it is not completed the next night, it will be reflected in the homework grade for the marking period.

b. Late or missing classwork assignments will need to be made up by the student. Even though student will make it up, they will not get full credit and some points may be taken away depending on the assignment. The students will be responsible for finding time to complete missing or late assignments. If they cannot find time, the assignment will need to be completed as a homework assignment.

c. I will create an End of the Week Newsletter to go home on Friday that recaps what the students did throughout the week. The newsletter

would also include a short synopsis of what is coming up the following week. It would also give reminders for things that are coming up and things that need to be sent back to school. This would keep the parents informed about what is going on. I would also offer conferences for the parents to come in to discuss their child’s progress and development in the social, emotional, physical and academic domains. These would happen at least once during the year but could also occur more frequently depending on the family.

4. Content Knowledge

Narrative-

This artifact is a lesson plan I created to review concepts about latitude and longitude related to the themes of geography. Prior to planning the unit on this topic, I reviewed the student textbook and various other materials to ensure that I understood the content. This shows my awareness and detailed knowledge of the content. When planning this lesson, I understood that students need to learn content in meaningful ways. Sometimes geography can be a little dry, but I wanted to make the review lesson exciting for the students. I set the students up on a “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” type game on the student laptops. They had to answer questions related to the concepts we focused on during the unit on latitude and longitude. Allowing students to use technology in this lesson helped them be engaged. They felt that this was more of a game even though they were reviewing important concepts and thinking about how to answer higher-level thinking questions. Even though they used technology, this lesson also let them use a variety of materials besides the computer, including their notes and the social studies textbook. This made them feel that there was a purpose for reading the text and taking notes.

Artifact-

Seton Hall UniversityCollege of Education and Human Services

Elementary/Special Education Lesson Plan DescriptionLesson Plan

LESSON PLAN DESCRIPTION:      Carlos Torres       October 8, 2015       Kelly Feeley        Franklin Elementary School/5th Grade       Social Studies- Geography       Latitude and Longitude

 1. Content Area :

Latitude- Imaginary lines that run from east to west Longitude- Imaginary lines that run from north to southEquator- Imaginary line that runs from east to west and divides the entire world into the northern and southern hemisphere. It is halfway between the north and south poles. Prime Meridian- Imaginary line that runs from north to south. It separates the eastern hemisphere from the western hemisphere.

2. National and New Jersey State Standards :

Common Core State Standards- English Language Arts Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.7Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.

New Jersey Core Curriculum Content StandardsStandard 6.1 U.S. History: America in the World: All students will acquire the knowledge and skills to

think analytically about how past and present interactions of people, cultures, and the environment shape the American heritage. Such knowledge and skills

enable students to make informed decisions that reflect fundamental rights and core democratic values as productive citizens in local, national, and global communities.

Strand B. Geography, People, and the Environment

By the end of grade 4

Spatial thinking and geographic tools can be used to describe and analyze the spatial patterns and organization of people, places, and environments on Earth.

6.1.4.B.2 Use physical and political maps to explain how the location and spatial relationship of places in New Jersey, the United States, and other areas, worldwide, have contributed to cultural diffusion and economic interdependence.

New Jersey Curriculum Content Standards- Technology

8.1 Educational Technology

All students will use digital tools to access, manage, evaluate and synthesize information in order to solve problems individually and collaborate and to create and communicate knowledge.

8.1.5.A.1

Select and use the appropriate digital tools and resources to accomplish a variety of tasks including solving problems.

3. Community Knowledge and Experience : As the students are getting older and are beginning to move around more and more, they are starting to see what the world outside of their hometown is like. They can start to think about how they can use topics like cardinal directions, map skills and latitude and longitude in their real lives. The students did do some work with latitude and longitude in fourth grade but this year they will go into it in more depth.

This week, the students are learning about location. They are starting to understand that there is absolute location and relative location. We discussed that absolute location can only be one spot and is labeled with a line of latitude and longitude. We also discussed that relative location can be more general. The students also watched a Brainpop video about latitude and longitude. It highlighted the important information and they were introduced to the Equator and the Prime Meridian. Along with this, they have learned about cardinal directions and are beginning to understand how latitude and longitude can relate to the cardinal directions.

4. Purpose/Goal :To identify and apply knowledge related to latitude and longitude

5. Objective(s) :Students will use maps to answer questions related to latitude and longitude.

6. Procedures/ Format :

Step 1 INTRODUCTION: The teacher will review location with students by asking them what they know about relative and exact location. The teacher will tell the students that they will do some work with location today. The teacher will have a map that students used in the last two lesson projected on the Smartboard. The teacher will ask students general questions regarding latitude, longitude and coordinates. Students will come to the Smartboard and answer the question they were asked. The teacher will bring up the Latitude and Longitude Millionaire Game on the Smartboard and explain the activity that the students will be doing by telling them that they should click on the correct answer to the question. If they get it correct, the computer will automatically move onto the next question. If they get it wrong, they will go back to the first question and begin again. The teacher will tell the students that some questions are challenging and they shouldn’t feel bad if they get something wrong. The teacher will tell the students that they can use the maps in the social studies textbooks or their notes to answer the questions. They will get it right on another try. The teacher will direct the students to the laptop on their desk and review use of the laptops from previous years. The teacher will also remind the students that they are only using the computer for what is assigned of them. Then, the teacher will ask the students to open the laptop and type in the web address to begin the game.

Step 2 DEVELOPMENT:The students will play the game and the teacher will encourage them to use the social studies textbook and other notes to help them answer the game questions correctly. The teacher will walk around and make sure that the students are on task. The teacher will also answer questions and give scaffolding when needed to help a student answer a question in the game. If students are getting questions wrong, the teacher will encourage them to try it again as they start the game over. If students are all getting one questions wrong, the teacher can pause and try to support the children to get the correct answer. The teacher will give warnings so students know when the game time will be over.

Step 3 CONCLUSION: The teacher will have the kids stop, close out of the program and close the laptops. The teacher will ask what the students learned from the game and what questions they thought were challenging. The teacher will let them know that they did well with the game even if they did not complete it. The teacher will call students to put laptops away.

7. Resources :Laptops Maps in Social Studies Textbook Smartboard Map Screen with Latitude and Longitude Lines

8. Inclusive Instruction :The in-class support teacher, general education teacher and myself will be walking around supporting students who might need help. To make beginning the game easier, we can already have the website up for students who may have difficulty. If someone is having difficulty with a question, a teacher can re-read the question aloud to them or rephrase the question so that it is easier for the student to understand. The teacher can also direct the student to the correct resource or map.

9. Assessment :

10. Applications, Connections, Extensions :The students will connect the idea of latitude and longitude lines to their previous knowledge of location and maps. They will start to have a better understanding of how maps can be used to find relative and absolute locations. They may begin to think of their own location in terms of latitude and longitude.

As an extension, the teacher can give the students the link to the game website and the necessary materials and the students can try to play it at home. The teacher can challenge them to get to the million-dollar question.

5. Application of Content

Narrative-

During this artifact, I guided my students through a lesson reflecting on their work of an open response math problem. In the problem, the students had to create a rule based on a game that a student in the problem was playing. The game related to fractions and in order to win the game the students had to create the biggest fraction based on cards chosen. This was a challenging problem, but I encouraged my students to engage in critical thinking and problem solving as they looked back at their work from the first day. As we looked back as a whole group, I used fraction circle pieces to connect what they did in the problem to this familiar tool that they use during math. I reminded them that they should be using these tools to help them solve the open response problem. In addition, the students had to decide how they would revise their work from the first day to make it more complete, correct or clear. Along with these things, the students were

encouraged to share their problem solving strategies and learn from others. This helps students see that there are always different perspectives when solving problems. Artifact-

Class: 5FSubject: Math (3.5 Day 2)Date: 11.30.15Time: 60 minutes

Objective: Students discuss whether other students’ rules work and revise their own rules

Materials: Smartboard, deck of cards, math journals, math masters, whiteboards, dry erase markers

Procedure: Teacher and students will review the open response problem from 3.5 Day 1. Teacher will ask students, What were you asked to do? Teacher will also ask, What do you think a good response would include? Upon conclusion of the discussion, the teacher will inform students that they will now look at other students work and see if they thought about the problem in the same way. Students will try and figure out how other students created and justified their rules. Teacher will explain to students that mathematicians make mistakes and we learn from them. Teacher will provide students with some sentence prompts to help them explain their findings. (I noticed……. Or I disagree because……)

Students will now reengage in the problem by analyzing and critiquing other student’s work in pairs and in a whole group discussion. Teacher will now pass back the students work from day 1. Before the students revise their work, the teacher will ask students to examine their responses and decide how they could be improved. Some questions that can be posed to students to help them decided on their work:

Did you show how you chose to place the cards for each round? Did you describe a rule to make the largest possible fraction using any three

number cards? Did you explain why the rule works?

Teacher will now inform the students that they will have a chance to revise their work. Using a correcting pen or colored pencil, students will revise their work from day 1. After students revise their work and hand it in, students will be directed to continue playing top it with a partner or check and complete any unfinished pages in their math journal.

Closure: Teacher will ask students to reflect back on their work and revisions and ask, What did you do to improve your rule or explanation?

Assessment: student’s worksheets, math boxes, math journal pages, class discussion, Homework: HomeLink 3-5

6. Assessment

Narrative-

This artifact is the pre-assessment that I gave prior to teaching my Teacher Work Sample to my fifth grade students. I understood that I needed to give a thorough pre-assessment so I could plan my unit appropriately based on students needs. I didn’t just assess the students at the end with a post-assessment or unit test. After grading the pre-assessment, I could easily see what skills my students needed the most support with and which concepts could simply be reviewed in a short lesson. The pre-assessment also gave me the opportunity to let the students be exposed to concepts before they are taught. This helps them feel prepared for what they will be learning about and helps them track their own progress. For example, if they could not answer the division problem on the pre-assessment but could on the post-assessment, they would see their own growth. Finally, I was able to compare data from the pre-assessment to the post-assessment. This helped me track student growth in a very clear and detailed way. This artifact helped me see the importance of assessment and what can be gained from strong assessment.

Artifact-

Name: ____________________ Date: _____________TWS Pre-Assessment: Division

Answer the following problems. It’s okay if you don’t know how to do all the problems. I just want to see what you know. Do your best!

1. 32,000 / 4 = _________

32/4 = _________

What basic multiplication fact could you use to help you solve this problem?_______________

2. Solve this problem using partial quotients.

3. Solve this problem using partial quotients.

4.

In fifth grade, there are a total of 160 students. They are going on a field trip. Each bus holds 32 students. How many busses are needed so all the students can go on the field trip?

________________

5. It costs $3 for a 24 hour digital movie rental. Julia has $14. How many movies can she rent?

Quotient: _______________ Remainder: _____________

What does the remainder represent?

________________________________________________________________________________

Circle what you did with the remainder.

Ignored it Rounded the quotient up

Why?

7. Planning for Instruction

Narrative-

This artifact is my Block Unit Plan from my Teacher Work Sample. Prior to teaching the unit, I looked at my math curriculum and thought about appropriate ways to teacher math to fifth graders. After thinking and reviewing these things, I create a Block Unit Plan to follow for the five-day unit. I felt that the skills in my TWS were very rigorous but still

appropriate for all students. The learning goals were based on the Everyday Math Curriculum and the Common Core State Standards. These are things that good teachers use to plan instruction, as they are research based and widely used. While creating the Block Unit Plan, I was able to think about certain students and how they would need support with each objective. I also planned different types of formative assessment to be used so that I could ensure that all students were succeeding during my Teacher Work Sample. Finally, although the Block Unit Plan was very detailed and clear, I knew that I would be flexible in my teaching and change the Block Unit Plan as needed. I had to do this at several points during my TWS to ensure that the students were understanding the concepts I taught.

Artifact-

Table 4.4: Block Unit PlanDay 1

Topic: A Mental Division StrategyLearning Objective: Students will use the relationship between multiplication and division to mentally divide multi-digit numbers.Teaching Strategy: Direct Instruction, Guided Practice, Modeling, Game, Discussions with Peers and Workbook Pages Procedure Overview: Mental Math and Fluency, Math Message, Solving Extended Division Facts, Using Multiples to Divide Mentally, Math Journal pg. 60, Introducing Division Dash, Math Journal pg. 61, Math Boxes pg. 62 Formative Assessment: Anecdotal Notes

Day 2Topic: Reviewing Partial Quotients DivisionLearning Objective: Students will use the partial quotients method of division to divide whole numbers.Teaching Strategy: Direct Instruction, Guided Practice, Modeling, Workbook Pages and Discussions with PeersProcedure Overview: Mental Math and Fluency, Math Message, Reviewing Partial-Quotients Division, Making Area Models, Estimating and Dividing, Math Journal pg. 63, Math Boxes pg. 64Formative Assessment: Exit Slip

Day 3Topic: Strategies for Choosing Partial QuotientsLearning Objective: Students will use lists of multiples to find and choose partial quotients.Teaching Strategy: Direct Instruction, Guided Practice, Modeling, Game, Workbook Pages and Discussions with PeersProcedure Overview: Mental Math and Fluency, Math Message, Choosing Partial Quotients, Using Partial Quotients Division with Lists of Multiples, Math Journal pg. 65, Introducing Power Up, Math Boxes pg. 66Formative Assessment: Homework

Day 4Topic: Division Number Stories and Interpreting RemaindersLearning Objective: 1) Students will solve division number stories involving whole numbers

and 2) Students will understand remainders by determining if they are relevant or not. Teaching Strategy: Direct Instruction, Guided Practice, Modeling, Workbook Pages and Discussions with PeersProcedure Overview: Mental Math and Fluency, Math Message, Modeling a Division Problem, Interpreting Remainders, Math Journal pg. 68-69, Math Boxes pg. 67Formative Assessment: White Boards and Work Book pg. 69

Day 5Topic: Division ReviewLearning Objective: Review of all 4 objectives from past 4 daysTeaching Strategy: Centers, Small Group Work and Computer Game Procedure Overview: Introduce Centers (Review Packet and Computer Game), Work with struggling students in small group, Review the Review Packet as a Class Formative Assessment: Review Packet

8. Instructional Strategies

Narrative-

This artifact is a Reading Workshop lesson I taught my fifth graders related to making connections as they read. During Reading Workshop lessons, I always use a variety of strategies to teach the students important reading concepts. During this particular mini-lesson, I introduced the ideas of making connections during reading at the carpet as a whole group. I did some direct teaching and modeling of how to make connections as you are reading. After I taught the skill for the day, I asked the students to turn and talk to each other to discuss a question I proposed to them. After working in partners and as a whole group, the students went off to work independently on activities related to the skill taught in the lesson that day. In addition, I pulled small groups or conferenced with students based on their needs. I thought that this artifact clearly showed my varied use of instructional strategies including whole group, small group, individual and partner learning. In addition to this, the students were learning through a variety of assignments. They were asked to record work in their reading notebooks or mark things down with post-its. These are all different strategies of assessing the students.

Artifact-

Class: 5-FSubject: ReadingDate: 11.2.15Time: 40 minutes

Objective: Students will make a connection to their just-right book. Students will identify the part of the text that they are connecting to.

Materials: Connections Anchor Chart, post-its for students, just-right books, pens/pencils, Frindle

Procedures: Readers, last week we worked on visualizing as we read and it helped us understand our books better. Today, we are going to work on making connections to the books we read to help us understand stories better. This is something that I know you’ve done in reading workshop in third and fourth grade and even before then. When we make a connection we think about how a book or story relates to something that we know about in our lives or something that we’ve seen or heard about. We can make lots of connections when we read. We make text-to-self connections when something in a book relates to our own life. We make text-to-text connections when a book we are reading reminds us of another text. We make text to world connections when a book reminds us of an event that is happening in the real world. We can also make a text to media connections when something that happens in a book reminds us of something that we saw on T.V. or heard in song. These connections help us understand the text on a deeper level. We are going to practice making text-to-self connections in our books today. (Read the first two paragraphs of Frindle aloud). During the first paragraph of Frindle, I made a text-to-self connection about how Nick was described. The book said that if the students at Nick’s elementary school made a list of all the bad kids, good kids and smart kids, Nick would be on them. The book said that “Nick deserved a list all his own, and everyone knew it.” This part reminded me of myself as a student. I was smart and respectful to my teachers but played harmless tricks on people as much as possible. I was a mixture of a kid like Nick. If I was reading this during independent reading time, I would set up a page in my journal to record the connection. (Set up the page with a t chart—quote from the text on one side and connection on the other.) Then I would write the quote from the book under the quote section and on the connection side I would write, “When I was a student, I was similar to Nick. I wasn’t a strictly good, bad or smart kid. I had my own category which was a mixture of all the categories. I completed all my school work on time by enjoyed playing tricks on people anytime possible.” I wrote down the part of the text that I made a connection to and why. I’m going to keep reading the next section of the book and see if you can make a text-to-self connection. (Read

page 1-3.) Turn and talk to your partner about a text to self connection you made. Let’s set up our journals for writing down our Frindle text-to-self connection. Write down the line of the text that you connected to and make sure to write why you made a connection. When you read your just-right books today see if you can make a text-to-self connection and jot it down in your reading journal on the chart. If you want to challenge yourself, you can see if you can make a text-to-text, text-to-world or text-to-media connection.

The teacher will send the students back to their seats to read and make connections. The teacher will conference with students during independent reading time. The teacher will remind the students that they need to make at least one connection in their notebooks today.

Closure: The teacher will ask the students to finish their reading and bring the book that they made a connection to and their reading journals to the carpet. The teacher will ask the students to turn and talk to their partner about the connection they made. The teacher will ask four to five students to share the connection that they made. The teacher will tell the students that they will continue to make connections to help them understand the text better.

Assessment: Connectios in reading journal, conferences

9. Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

Narrative-

This artifact is a final reflection on my Teacher Work Sample. The Teacher Work Sample was a very large teaching project and it called for a detailed reflection and evaluation of my teaching. Good teachers always reflect on and improve their practice. In my reflection I discussed things that worked very well and things that did not go so well. I also discussed things that I would do differently if I were to do the unit again. Finally, I was able to reflect on how individual and groups of students did with the TWS objective. This let me know which students still need support as we move on and learn new concepts. Sitting down to complete a reflection like this was much more effective than just being done with the unit and moving on. It will be important to me to reflect on all my teaching in this way. I know that I will be able to use the information gathered from this TWS in my future teaching. I will also be able to use the information from my TWS as an outline for how to complete similar units in other grade levels, schools or classes.

Artifact- Chapter 6: Reflection and Self-Evaluation

It was very interesting to teach and formally track student progress for an entire unit. I felt comfortable doing it in math since I find that as an area of strength for myself. As I taught the unit, I had to make a lot of changes based on what my students already knew or didn’t know about multiplication and division. I also had to make changes if the

students needed more work on one lesson or with one concept. Finally, my cooperating teacher and I found that many of the students did not even know the traditional division method so they were totally unaware of how to set up and begin to complete bigger division problems. This made it a big challenge to formally teach them and expect them to independently do partial quotients for divison problems. We allowed the students to use a variety of strategies to complete division problems even though most of them could eventually do partial quotients by themselves or with a little support from a teacher.

My students did the best with the objective about finding the meaning of the remainder in a division word problem. 12 students got the problem related to this incorrect on the pre-assessment but 0 students got the problem incorrect on the post-assessment. It was very promising to see this. I think there are a few reasons why this objective went well for many students. First of all, I tried to pose division problems to the students that were meaningful to their lives. I gave word problems about downloading videos or songs or about objects or toys that they like. This made the problems relatable to the students and they were able to understand why the remainder could be ignored or used. In addition, I helped the students clearly understand how the reaminder could be ignored or accounted for by offering plenty of practice. Some of the other objectives were so detailed that it seemed that the students did not get a multitude of practice. However, problems related to this objective could be completed faster so the students got more practice.

My students did not perform as well with the objectives about solving multi-digit division problems. I think that this was due to several things, some of which I already mentioned in the first paragraph. My cooperating teacher and I were under the impression that the students in our class learned how to do traditional division in fourth grade. However, when I started going over division with the students, it was clear that they did not have experience with division or simply did not remember it from the year before. This made it hard for them to understand how to do partial quotients which takes a lot of understanding about division. In addition, the students struggle with place value concepts. During partial quotients, students need to be able to break numbers down based on place value. Then, they use this information to solve the problem. My big goal of the TWS was to teach the students how to use partial quotients to solve division problems, but I realized that this is hard if students do not have a lot of experience or confidence with division or place value. Another huge factor that recently played into this was the new math curriculum. Students have been taught using the old Everyday Math Curriculum up until September of this year. Some of the things that the students were doing in the old curriculum did not carry over into fifth grade. This made it very difficult for the students.

In the future, I think it would be important to communicate more clearly with the fourth grade teachers about what was done related to division and place value. It would also benefit me to look at the fourth grade curriculum to see what was covered and focused on. In addition, even though I was focused on teaching the students how to do partial quotients division in this TWS, I think that it is better to let students choose how they will solve a division problem. When I taught my students the traditional way of dividing some of them did so much better with that method. Partial quotients just made it more challenging for them. On the other hand, some higher students did very well with partial quotients. This is actually what the Common Core State Standards say. It doesn’t

say that students have to do partial quotients but just that they need to complete multi-digit division problems.

After completing the TWS, I have two professional goals that I would like to focus on in my teaching career. First of all, I would like to get better at differentiating my instruction in math. Some of the students are so high and really do not need all the extra practice. They would benefit from doing different higher-level activities. However, some students really do need a lot of teacher support, one on one and small group instruction. I would like to learn more about having groups in math similar to what is done during reading and writing. In addition to this, I would like to learn more about incorporating technology into math instruction. I felt that the only technology I used was presenting the presentations for each lesson the Smartboard. The students didn’t really get to use technology. One way that I could meet this goal is by asking my cooperating teacher and principals if I could attend a workshop offered in my current district in December. The workshop is about Everyday Math ConnectEd and focuses on helping teachers use the technology resources available to them to enhance math instruction. It will discuss things that can be done on computer or on iPads. In addition to this, I am going to read up on the ideas of “Math Workshop.” I have seen this idea a lot on Pinterest and have heard about some teachers using it to differentiate instruction for math.

10. Leadership and Collaboration

Narrative-

This artifact demonstrates my commitment to connecting with families to in turn help students learn and grow. The artifact is a letter that I might send home to families in my class during the first few days of school. It lets parents know who I am and briefly touches on my philosophy of education and important things that they need to know. It also sets a positive tone with the families and parents so that they know I am committed to teaching their children and helping their children learn and grown throughout the whole year. In addition, I let the families know that I hope to see them at Back to School Night to show how important it is for them to come to school and be involved. Teachers must communicate with families on a frequent basis so that the home and school connection stays strong. Also, students shouldn’t just be learning at school. The learning

should continue in the home. Communication and collaboration between teachers and parents not only support learners but make teachers and the teaching profession better.

Artifact-

Dear Families,

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you and your child to fifth grade. My name is Carlos Torres and I will be your child’s teacher this year. This is my first year in Westfield as a teacher, but I am deeply connected to the district through my work as a paraprofessional and high school basketball coach over the past five years. It has been my dream to be a teacher and I am thrilled to have your child in my first class. I am looking forward to getting to know you and your child and know that we will have an exciting and productive year.

My goal is to create a partnership with each family. If we work together, we can support your child and help him or her succeed in all areas. Keeping this in mind, I will be in contact with you regularly throughout the year by phone or e-mail to keep you updated on your child’s progress. Should you have any questions or concerns as time goes on, please do not hesitate to contact me.

At Back to School Night we will review all of the classroom policies and procedures. I realize that the opening of school brings a multitude of information to read and forms to complete as well as adjustments to a new schedule. I would appreciate if you would take a few minutes over the next week to look in your child’s home folder and read the information so that you will be familiar with the classroom.

Attached to this letter is a family questionnaire. At your convenience, please fill it out and send it back to school in your child’s home folder. This form will help me learn more about your child and your family.

I hope you all had a relaxing summer. I will be seeing you very soon at Back to School Night.

Thank you,

Mr. Torres