Teach Now (Teacher Certification): Unpack a Standard

Module 5 Unit 1 Activity 2

Group Members: Analia Kim

                Ian Pollard

Unpack a Standard

We decided to choose these standards because, if we were to live in America and teach, Florida would be the prime destination. The standards are also laid out very nicely and easily understood which made the document really easy to work with.

Language Arts Florida Standards is found in the following website: http://www.fldoe.org/pdf/lafs.pdf

Analia:
Standard Code: LAFS.K.RF.2.2
Students demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).

The “big idea” in this standard is that students should be able to show an understanding of a variety of different vocabulary and how to pronounce different words and be able to read words even if they haven’t seen them previously by matching sounds to the letters and overall understanding the word.  The will be able to recognize and produce rhyming words, count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words and blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words. Also they will be able to isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds and add or substitute individual sounds  in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.

Unpacking the Standard:

1. Demonstrate understanding of spoken words.

2. Demonstrate understanding of syllables.

3. Demonstrate understanding of sounds (phonemes).

Lessons to help students unpack the standards:

1. Demonstrate understanding of spoken words.

In order for me to teach students to demonstrate understanding of spoken words, I would read a section of the story for the students. At the end of the section, I will ask specific question to check for comprehension and also make students clarify key words that were part of the story. I can also ask the students about different details that they were listening to, to check for understanding.

2. Demonstrate understanding of syllables.

I would explain syllables by clapping different words with my students. For example dog would get one clap, baby would get two claps, and calendar would get three claps. After a few examples are given, then I would start writing words and cut them together with the students where the claps are located i.e. ba/by or ca/len/dar. At the end of the lesson I would check for understanding by giving them a worksheet where they have to separate the words where the syllables would break.

3. Demonstrate understanding of sounds (phonemes).

The teacher will demonstrate different letters to the students by breaking up the phonemes by using his/her arm. They will have to segment the first three letter word i.e. the word mop. They will physically have to show the section of their arm that the letter represents. For example M-will be in the section of the wrist, O- will be inner part of the elbow, and P- will be at the shoulder. Then the teacher will blend the words to form the word “mop”. The students will have to follow the teacher’s actions and repeat with the teacher. Then other words will be introduced where the students will have a chance to segment the words and blend them together.

Ian:

Standard Code: LAFS.1.L.1.2

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization,

punctuation, and spelling when writing.

Basically, the “big idea” of this standard is that students need to recognize that dates and names of people should be capitalized. They need to be familiar with punctuation and recognize that every sentence needs punctuation at the end. Also, they should know how to use commas in dates, and to separate single words in a series. They must be able to use conventional spelling for words with common spelling patterns (roots, prefixes, and suffixes) and for frequently occurring irregular words. Also, they need to be able to spell untaught words phonetically, drawing on phonemic awareness and spelling conventions.

Unpacking the Standard:
1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization when writing.

2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English punctuation when writing.

3. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English spelling when writing.

Lessons to help students unpack the standards:

1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization when writing.

I would do this by first explaining what a proper noun is, and that they all must be capitalized. Students would then display understanding by going through sentences and marking all of the nouns (both common and proper). Then they would differentiate between them by writing either C (for common) or P (for proper) over each noun. Then, for each proper (P) noun identified, they would have to capitalize the first letter of each word that makes up the noun. They would also have to know that every new sentence has to start with a capital letter. I would tell them that each new sentence needs to begin with a capital letter.  In the end, since they need to be able to demonstrate command of this when writing, I would get them to write a paragraph and ask them to concentrate on capitalizing all of the proper nouns and the word at the beginning of each sentence.

2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English punctuation when writing.

First, I would thoroughly explain all of the different types of punctuation that they are expected to know at this level and the function of each (For example, periods (.), commas (,), and exclamation points (!)). Then, I would give the students a paragraph of written English with no punctuation and get them to add punctuation based upon their understanding of what was just taught to them. Next, I would correct the paragraph together with the class, giving them an opportunity to correct their mistakes and ask questions. In the end, I would get the students to write a paragraph emphasizing that they should concentrate on using punctuation correctly.

3. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English spelling when writing.

In order to show that my students are reaching this standard, I would first review phonetics and make sure the students know all of the words associated with reading phonetically. I would then give students a list of words with a familiar root, but having a prefix or suffix that alters the meaning of the word. Then they would have to establish the meaning of each word. After that, they would be asked to write sentences containing each word to display their understanding. Finally, they would be asked to write a paragraph using a defined number of words from the list and submit it to the teacher.