Standard D

Promotes Equity

Statement of Philosophy: Equity

Lesson Plan: My Personal Artifact

Literature Circles

Poetry Project

Reflective Essay

Statement of Philosophy: Equity

All classrooms are diverse. Whether that diversity is drawn along gender, cultural,

learning style or socioeconomic status does not matter. What matters is that teaching

acknowledges this diversity and celebrates it. As The Dreamkeepers by Gloria Ladson-Billings

says, “culturally relevant teaching fosters the kinds of social interactions in the classroom that

support the individual in the group context.” (p. 82). Everyone is an individual and this must be

remembered even when building a community of learners. I believe that curriculum and lessons

must address the uniqueness of the students in a classroom. Curriculum should not be completely

pre-determined without knowing anything about the students. Curriculum should be flexible so

that teachers can alter it based on student needs, interests or ability levels. There are numerous

effective ways to differentiate instruction based on content, process and product. This needs to be

at the forefront of teaching. Each student can succeed. A teacher has to facilitate curriculum to

allow all students to succeed. Success may look different for students, but I believe it is

attainable by all.

At the heart of differentiated instruction is social justice. Every child deserves the right to

an excellent education. Whether that child is rich, poor, black, white, developmentally

challenged or at the level of a genius. As a teacher, I will always remember that no matter what,

each child deserves an education. I believe that social justice is also about educating the whole

child, the whole person. Each child should understand that they are an important member of

society. Education is not always about learning math facts or how to write a paragraph.

Sometimes it is about learning respect, self-respect, compassion, responsibility and courage. The

Habits of Mind in the Boston Citywide Learning Standards speak to these elements of social

justice. I believe these are just as important and critical as the Massachusetts Curriculum

Frameworks and should be at the forefront of teaching with social justice.

To teach is to take on the responsibility of the future. It is an acceptance that you can

inspire a life. Teaching is not all about facts and information. It is about instilling a passion for

knowledge into all students; a passion to continuously explore, experiment and challenge. I

believe teachers should be passionate about knowledge and should be passionate in the belief

that all students are worthwhile individuals that will succeed.

My Personal Artifact Lesson

The following lesson plan is one example of how I differentiated learning and promoted equity in the

classroom. The lesson asked students to bring in a cultural artifact from home to share with the class

and then share in more detail with one student. While I was planning, I realized not all students may

have an available cultural artifact so I added in that students could bring something in that was

important to them. Student choice for what to bring in is one aspect of differentiation. Another element

of differentiation that I included is the processes that the students will do in the lesson. If I asked

students to just write a paragraph only, not all students would be successful. Instead, I asked students to

speak about their artifact in a whole class format, speak with an individual about their artifact, use a

graphic organizer to gather information and finally draw a picture of another student’s artifact. Students

had a chance to speak, write and draw. This allows students who are not strong in one area shine in

another. This provided various points of access for understanding.

Overall, this lesson promotes equity. Students had a chance to share something about themselves that is

important. They were able to listen to one another and broaden their understanding of diversity and

respect for each other. They were able to see that even though people can be different we all have

something to share and be proud of.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

My Personal Artifact

Reading-Grade 4

February 10, 2011 (Thursday)

60 minutes 1:00 – 2:00

Lesson Overview:

This lesson will ask students to bring in a personal artifact that represents something from their culture

or family or something that makes them a unique individual. Students will present their artifact to the

class and will then interview one student to get more information about his or her artifact. This lesson is

being done in conjunction with the reading of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes because in the

book there are many examples of Japanese artifacts. The goal is for students to personally connect with

the book and to learn something new about each other.

PART A: LEARNING STANDARDS, ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS & GOALS

Essential Questions

What is culture? What types of items or traditions represent Sadako’s culture?

Why does Sadako wish on a crane? Does she believe in the legend?

What kind of person is Sadako? Is there a lesson you can learn from her?

Goals (this lesson addresses the first essential question)

Content/Understanding Goals

o How culture can be represented by physical items or traditions

o Each individual has something unique and special about themselves

o Sadako’s cultural items were important to her, just as each student’s item is important

Technical Skills

o English Language Arts – Language – General Standard 1: Discussion

1.2 Follow agreed upon rules for class discussion and carry out assigned roles in self-run

small group discussions (p. 13)

o English Language Arts – Language – General Standard 3: Oral Presentation

3.5 Make informal presentations that have a recognizable organization (p. 17)

Habits of Mind

o Respect for Diversity: Students will recognize that even though they have different

backgrounds, they all have something to be proud of. They will recognize similarities

and differences between each others’ artifacts and will value that each is important.

o Consideration and Compassion: Students will build trust and respect with one another

by sharing something personal.

Curriculum Framework

English Language Arts – Reading and Literature – General Standard 9: Making Connections 9.5

Relate a literary work to artifacts, artistic creations, or historical sites of the period of its setting

(p. 40)

English Language Arts – Composition – General Standard 19: Writing

19.11 Write brief summaries of information gathered through research (I consider research to

be interviewing a partner) (p. 72)

Braintree Public Schools Department of English Language Arts

Category: Realistic Fiction with a Challenge

-Relating to the events in the story; personal connections

PART B: THE INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN

A. Introduction Initiating Engagement

I will introduce this lesson by bringing in my own artifact and sharing with the class something about my

Portuguese culture. This will show them what I expect them to share about their own items and will

allow them to learn a little more about me. About a week before the lesson I will also send home a letter

to parents explaining the activity and asking for their help in locating an artifact.

B. Assessing Ideas/Understanding

o Initial / Prior Ideas – I will assess their initial ideas about artifacts by listening to what they

have to say during their quick presentation of their artifact. I will listen to whether anyone

makes a connection to Sadako. For example, someone might say his/her artifact is like

Sadako’s kimono because he/she wears it.

o Developing Ideas – I will assess their developing ideas by reading what they write about

their partner’s artifact. I will be able to see what they learned about someone else’s culture

or about something important. I will also ask whole class questions about why they think we

are doing this lesson in conjunction with reading Sadako and what types of artifacts Sadako

could have brought in.

C. Materials and Resources

o Personal artifacts showing culture or an important aspect of each student’s life

o Graphic organizer to interview partner

The rational for using individual personal artifacts is to help the students make a connection between

themselves and the character of Sadako in the book. The book can be challenging because of all the

Japanese cultural items, so it help the students to see that they too have cultural items and items that

describe them. It is also a good way for students to practice their presentation skills informally and their

research/interview skills informally.

D. Processes – Questions

o Initiating Exploration

Students will each have a turn to show the class their artifact, explain what it is and why it is

important or what cultural significance it has

o Looking Closer

I will break the class up into partners where they will talk with each other more in-depth about

their artifacts. Each partner will write up three reasons why their partner’s artifact is significant

to them. The students will have the opportunity to question each other and discuss their

thoughts.

o Sense-Making

I will bring the class back together after the partner work is finished to discuss what was learned

from doing this activity. I will also make connections to Sadako by asking what she could have

brought in to our class today.

E. Products

Students will produce a completed graphic organizer that describes what their partner’s artifact is and

why it is significant. Students will also produce a drawing of their partner’s artifact.

F. Closure

I will wrap up this lesson mainly during the sense-making portion. I will not ask students to formally

write a “what did I learn” or “why was this important” but I will initiate a whole class discussion on these

questions.

PART C: FLOW OF LESSON / TRANSITIONS

This lesson will run for one hour. I will plan about 35 minutes for each student to present his or her

artifact and 25 minutes for the students to interview one another, fill in the graphic organizer and sketch

a quick picture of their partner’s artifact.

Literature Circles

During my last few weeks of the practicum, I implemented literature circles. I had learned a lot about

literature circles in the Literacy class as part of the graduate program and I was excited to put them into

action. I learned that literature circles are an excellent way to utilize differentiation effectively. I worked

with Miss Chiles to split the class into groups of students at similar ability levels. We then selected three

biographies, one of Walt Disney, one of Rachel Carson and one of the Wright Brothers that the lower

group, mid level group and higher group would read. As the literature circles progressed, I was able to

leave the mid level and high group to work very independently and I spent more time with the lower

group helping them along to understand and connect with the text. It was wonderful to see how some

students thrived on the autonomy and were motivated and focused. It was also wonderful to watch the

lower group progress as they embraced their roles and started having great discussions without much

assistance. Literature circles promote differentiation because each student is able to read a piece of

literature that is on level and connect with it, comprehend it and discuss it in ways that are appropriate

to his or her ability. This activity showed me that all students are capable of success, even if that success

looks slightly different.

Poetry Book

I designed and implemented a poetry project with differentiation in mind. I asked the students to create

a final product of four poems that would be put together to form their own poetry book. I differentiated

by giving the students six different types of poems to choose from. They were able to choose their

favorite four types to write. This allowed students who were not strong poetry writers to choose ones

they felt most comfortable with. I also encouraged a few strong writers to try out all six types. I was very

pleased with the results of this differentiation. The strong writers ended up writing all six types with

enthusiasm and a couple students wrote more than six. The struggling writers were able to focus in on

just four and feel a sense of accomplishment.

My Poetry Book Rubric

Points Earned

TOTAL POINTS EARNED ________________ / 100

I included four different types

of poems

10

I followed the definition of each

type of poem

30

I included at least one picture

for each poem that helped the

reader know what the poem is

about

20

My cover page includes a title,

my name, the date and a border

15

I have no spelling errors 15

My poetry book looks neat 10

Reflective Essay: Standard D

The students in my practicum classroom were a diverse group. Ability levels ranged from

very low to very high. I quickly realized that not all students are capable of doing the same work.

Over the course of the practicum, I also saw why all students should not be expected to do the same

work. Students should be pushed to succeed just past their level of comfort. The same assignment

can bore one student and be way beyond the reach of another student. Assignments and instruction

had to be consistently differentiated to meet the needs of particular students.

Math was a subject where differentiation had a large presence. One example of

differentiation that I used was having a challenging math game called Zupels always available for

early finishers in math. There were two students in particular who were fast finishers and enthusiastic

Zupels players. Having the game available allowed those students at a high math ability to spend

some time on a challenge. Another way I differentiated in math was by splitting the class into groups

to work. At times, I would assign students who were low and high to work together so the higher

students could help the more struggling students. At other times, I would split the groups by ability.

One of the first tasks I undertook in the practicum was working with small groups of students who

were struggling on a particular topic. While Miss Chiles worked on more challenging aspects of that

topic, I reviewed and reinforced the basics with small groups. As the practicum progressed, our roles

reversed. I would continue on with the larger class lesson and she would spend some time with

struggling students.

Because Miss Chiles is the science teacher for the whole fourth grade, I got to teach science

to three different classes. In one of the classes, there was an ELL student with extremely limited use

of English. I had to always differentiate for this student by allowing him to use a Mandarin to English

dictionary and drawing pictures or orally describing instead of writing. It was interesting to work

with this student because he demonstrated a strong understanding of the science concepts by working

with the materials and by the pictures he drew. It would be wrong to expect this student to do all of

the same work as the other students because of his limited knowledge of English, but he was able in

his own way to demonstrate an understanding of science.

With my Reading class, I created a few projects and lessons that were designed with

differentiation. One of those projects was the poetry book. Students were able to choose what types

of poems they wrote and if they wanted to write more than the four minimum. Students’ final

products looked different, but all were able to demonstrate they understood poetry at an appropriate

level for them. Another Reading project that exemplified differentiation was the Literature Circles.

All students went through the same processes of meeting in groups, performing roles and discussing

literature, but the texts used and expectations for each group were different. One group was expected

to take the autonomy in stride and discuss the more challenging text deeply. One group was expected

to start with some guidance and fairly quickly assume the responsibility of the group independently.

A third group was expected to need more guidance with the reading and performing of roles. It was

not expected that this group would take on a completely independent look. Surprisingly, this group

became more independent and hard working than Miss Chiles or I expected. Even though the groups

were differentiated, all students were able to succeed at reading a novel and building discussions

around it. I loved implementing Literature Circles. I think they are an excellent way to differentiate

and ensure all students can be successful. I hope to continue these in my own classroom.

Another Reading activity that showed differentiation was some guided reading work that I

did. I broke the class into three groups and selected three picture books all about a person during the

civil rights era. There was a challenging book, a mid level book and low book. The students read the

book that was on their level and then all students completed the same story board activity to work on

comprehension. Even though the texts were different, all students learned a little about civil rights

and practiced reading comprehension.

There were a number of students in the class that were on IEPs. One way I had to modify for

specific students on IEPs was by allowing for extra time to complete work. I also had to modify some

math homework so that particular students only did the odd numbered problems instead of the whole

sheet. I also had to remember that during tests and quizzes some students were allowed the use of a

multiplication chart. Alpha Smarts were another IEP requirement for a couple of students. Many of

the IEP students were also required to have individualized pull out assistance with specialists.

Keeping track of all the IEP requirements was the most challenging part of differentiating for me.

While planning, I had to keep in mind what students would be in the room or out of the room at a

specific time. While planning for the Reading class I also had to plan based on when the resource

specialist teacher would be in the room co-teaching. Sometimes, I also found it challenging to keep

track of what students needed to finish what work. Some students were much slower finishers than

others, so I had to plan accordingly with time for catch up. However, for the students who were all

caught up with everything I had to have some extra work or activities available. Of course, silently

reading was always an option, but some students would always be reading if I did not plan extra.

Differentiation and accommodations played a large role in my practicum experience. I am

happy that I was in this situation because it made me realize that differentiating can be done and

should be done to ensure that all students have a chance to succeed.