Teach Now (Teacher Certification): Lesson Objectives

Module 5 Unit 1 Activity 3 

Lesson Objectives

Standard Code: LAFS.1.L.1.2

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization,

punctuation, and spelling when writing.

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.

There are various ways an educator could potentially teach the contents included in this standard. These lesson plans could be taught at a 3rd grade level language arts class. It could also be varied to younger or older grade levels by adjusting the lesson.

Lesson 1

Lesson Objective:

• Students will be able to identify incorrectly capitalized words.
• Students will be able to correct errors in sentences that include capitalization of proper nouns.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Resources: http://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/capitalization-rules.html

Lesson Plan: The teacher first does this by first explaining the different rules of capitalization of proper nouns. They would also have to know that every new sentence has to start with a capital letter. The teacher should go through what a proper noun is, and that they all must be capitalized. He/she will give examples on the board such as names of things, places and people. The teacher will then go through some examples and work on different error corrections together with the students. Afterwards students will have to display understanding of the different nouns when given  a worksheet where they have to go through sentences and mark all of the nouns in the worksheet (both common and proper). The next step is they would differentiate between these nouns by writing if they are common or proper nouns. For each of the proper nouns that are identified, the students capitalize the first letter of each word that makes up the noun.  For further practice the students will write a paragraph concentrating on capitalizing all of the proper nouns and the words at the beginning of each sentence.

Rubric: Capitalization

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Capitalization	There are no capitalization error	There is one capitalization error.	There are 2-3 capitalization errors.	There are more than 3 capitalization errors.
Writing skills	The activity is readable, clean, neat and attractive. It is free of erasures and crossed-out words.	The activity is readable, clean, neat and attractive. It may have one or two erasures, but they are not distracting.	The activity is readable, clean, neat and attractive. It looks like parts of it might have been done in a hurry.	The activity is not neat or attractive. It looks like the student just wanted to get it done and didn't care.

Lesson 2

Lesson Objective:

• Students will be able to recognize the ending punctuations and the four different types of sentences which are: declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Resources: http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4/o/typesofsentencesl.cfm          http://www.time4writing.com/writing-resources/types-of-sentences-and-punctuation/

Lesson Plan: The teacher first thoroughly explains what a period, question mark, and exclamation mark is. After the students are familiar then the teacher explains the four types of sentences and what they are used for. The teacher will then give the students some examples and then they will read a few sentences and find the end mark together with the young learners. Then the teacher would give the students a worksheet of sentences with no punctuation and get them to write what type of sentences they are based upon their understanding of what was just taught to them.

Rubric: Sentence Identification

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Ending Punctuations	There are no punctuation errors.	There is one punctuation error.	There are 2-3 punctuation errors.	There are more than 3 punctuation errors.
Sentence Identification	There are no identification errors.	There is one identification error.	There are 2-3 identification errors.	There are more than 3 identification errors.

Lesson 3

Lesson Objective:

• The student will be able to correctly write and identify ending punctuations in a paragraph.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Resources: http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4/o/typesofsentencesl.cfm          http://www.time4writing.com/writing-resources/types-of-sentences-and-punctuation/

Lesson Plan: The teacher will explain the four types of sentences there are as mentioned above in Lesson 2. They will then give examples of different sentences and demonstrate how to use the correct ending punctuation with each (I, do). Then the teacher will have some examples on the board and he/she will do it together with the student (We, do). Afterwards the teacher can give out worksheets for the students to write the correct punctuation endings (You, do). This will be in a paragraph form where the students will have to read the text in context and write the correct punctuations at the end of each sentence. Next, the teacher would correct the paragraph together with the class giving them an opportunity to correct their mistakes and ask questions. For more practice, the teacher can ask the students to write their own paragraph demonstrating an example of each of the four types of sentences. .

Rubric: Sentence Identification

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Ending Punctuations	There are no punctuation errors.	There is one punctuation error.	There are 2-3 punctuation errors.	There are more than 3 punctuation errors.
Sentence Identification	There are no identification errors.	There is one identification error.	There are 2-3 identification errors.	There are more than 3 identification errors.

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.

Teach Now (Teacher Certification): Standards and Backwards Mapping

Module 5 Unit 1 Activity 1

Standards and Backwards Mapping

Florida

Elementary School

Language Arts Florida Standards

I don’t really have a particular interest, desire, or intention to ever teach in the United States but for the purpose of this assignment I chose Florida.

I would like to teach either elementary students or middle school students in the future and for this activity I chose to focus on the language arts standards in the state of Florida.

The Language Arts Florida Standards can be found be found here: http://www.fldoe.org/pdf/lafs.pdf

Below are the state’s standards that I chose to focus on.

Reading Standards for Foundational Skills (K-5):

Standard Code: LAFS.K.RF.2.2

This standard focuses on phonological awareness.

Standard Code: LAFS.K.RF.3.3

This standard focuses on phonics and word recognition.

Standard Code: LAFS.K.SL.1.2

This standard focuses comprehension and collaboration.

Standard Code: LAFS.1.RF.1.1

This standard focuses on print concepts.

Student performances indicating that the student has met these standards:

Standard Code: LAFS.K.RF.2.2

This student can demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes). They can recognize and produce rhyming words and count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words. The young learner can blend and segment onsets and rimes of single syllable spoken words and they are able to isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three -phoneme (consonant - vowel -consonant, or CVC) words. (This does not include CVCs ending with /l/, /r/, or /x/.) Also, they can add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one syllable words to make new words.

Standard Code: LAFS.K.RF.3.3

The student knows and applies grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words. They demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary or many of the most frequent sound for each consonant. They will also be able to associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels. These students can read common high- frequency words by sight i.e. the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does and will be able to distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that are different.

Standard Code: LAFS.K.SL.1.2

The student will be able to confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood.

Standard Code: LAFS.1.RF.1.1

The student will be able to demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print. They will also be able to recognize the distinguishing features of a sentence for example first words, capitalization and ending punctuations.

Teaching strategies to meet standards:

1. Students will be read a story by the teacher. Then the teacher will point out key words that the students will learn to blend and segment. The teacher will demonstrate different letters to the students and using his/her arm. They will have to segment the first three letter word i.e. the word cat. The letter C will be shown in the section of the wrist, A will be represented by the inner part of the elbow, and T will be at the shoulder. Then the teacher will blend the words for form the word “cat”.

2. Another strategy the teacher can use is to assign a section of the story for the students to read. He/she can then make students read out loud in a snake formation so everyone has a turn. At the end of the story, the teacher can ask specific question to check for comprehension and also make students clarify key words that were part of the story. Teachers can also ask the students about different details to check for understanding.

3. To be able to help students with their writing, one strategy the teacher could use is the “Do now” at the beginning of class and write a question for the students related to the topic to review, or a topic they will do that day and get them to write the answers in a notebook. The teacher can check these daily and the students can practice their writing every day.

Assessments to meet the standards:

1. One way teachers can assess if the students are meeting the standards by having them read out loud every day and checking for the difficulty deciphering texts, asking specific questions to the students about their reading. If this is done regularly, the educator can assess if his/her student is understanding the story and being able to segment and blend the words that this young learner is reading. This indicates if the student needs to go back and concentrate more on phonics or if they are easily reading the text and understanding, then the teacher can give the student longer words or reading material that could be more challenging.

 2. Another way to assess if the students understand punctuation, capitalization, and sentence structure is to give a quiz on a paragraph with mistakes in it where they have to correct these mistakes. If the student is repeating similar mistakes, they may have to get extra help.

3. Vocabulary tests are another great way to check if the students understand key words from stories. This also helps the student in improving their spelling and writing skills as well.

Teach Now (Teacher Certification): Video and Reflection

Module 4 Unit 6 Activity 4

Video and Reflection

Both Ms. Felix and Mr. Torres started the school year trying to genuinely get to know their students using name cards, superstar boards, introductions etc. This is a great way to enable students to feel better integrated, comfortable in their classrooms, and to get to like their teachers. I have also tried these techniques in my classes and I believe those teachers and myself are very similar in the way that we respect, love and show care for our students. I do have to admit that I am a bit stricter at the beginning of the school year, because it is easier to loosen up than to try and enforce stricter rules to a rambunctious classroom later.  

As the video progressed, I could see that Mr. Torres and Ms. Felix had issues with their classroom management. Being nice to your students and just showing them that you care is not going to make a classroom organize or behave itself. The teachers had problems because they were not very strict with the rules and the procedures were not clear to the students from the beginning of the year. Though Ms. Felix’s idea of brainstorming rules and consequences with her students was great, she did not follow through and enforce these as the year progressed. As I stated before, it is much easier to start off strict than try to gain control of an unmanageable classroom.

Having high expectations and challenging the students was a good way to manage the classroom. Ms. Felix’s warm up activity was very easy and because of this, the students started playing around without focusing on what they were supposed to do. When teachers make activities that are challenging and focus on learning instead of giving easy tasks such as just copying a picture and labeling it as she did it actually makes the students want to learn and accept the challenge and apply themselves especially if the topic is of interest. Mr. Torres did a better by enabling students to use math and solve real world problems. This also makes the exercise more authentic and the kids focus more when it feels like it is a real problem that they are solving.

One great thing that I do and I heard the mentor speak about was that there should be a certain tone used when expectations are not met. When a student crosses the line, is disrespectful, or another serious issue occurs, the teacher must be able to use a firmer tone demanding more authority. They must be able to correct the behavior instantly and give feedback explaining what is an acceptable or an unacceptable behavior in the classroom.

Overall I haven’t had major issues with behavior in my classroom so far as I am lucky to live in South Korea where the students are very respectful but I am also known in my department for being a little stricter than others. I make sure my rules and procedures are very clear from the beginning of the year and make sure I enforce them throughout the year. This is very important but I also make sure that I demonstrate that I am a caring educator who really respects and cares about my students and their learning. 

Teach Now (Teacher Certification): Teaching a Procedure to a Small Group

Module 4 Unit 6 Activity 3

Teaching a Procedure to a Small Group

Scavenger Hunt with QR Codes

·         Lesson Objectives: This lesson will teach students my young ELL how to follow directions but it focuses on learning prepositions of location taught during a lesson previous to the activity. The students will have to know the material and vocabulary to prepare for a test at the end of their semester.

·         Goals:  Learn new vocabulary, follow directions, and use technology using “I Do, We Do, You Do”.

·         Device: Smartphone or ipad/ tablet.

·         App: The app they will use is a free app called Google Goggles that they can download where they can scan QR codes.

·         Task: After teaching the students prepositions of location, they will have to go on a scavenger hunt around the different classrooms finding a QR code that is carefully hidden using prepositions of location such as:

1.    Go to the bathroom, it is next to the soap.

When they find the QR code, they will scan it on their phone and it will tell them a letter that they have to write on their clue sheet and give them directions to where the next QR code is such as:

      1.   Hurray! Your first letter is W.

                 2.    Next, go to the smallest classroom and it is under the table.

When they find all QR codes, they have to come back to their seats. Using all of the letters they have found, they then have to decipher what the phrase is.

The first students who decipher the phrase win.

Hopefully by looking at the vocabulary, and placing the objects in real life, not just in words and pictures, they will be able to remember the words (prepositions of location) and know what they actually mean.

* I usually do this outside with my university students but for these elementary school kids I am keeping it inside our small school.

·         Preparation: I will help them download the app one week previous to the activity during class time and explain the activity for the next week. I already know that all my students have smartphones but sometimes they aren’t allowed to bring their phones to my class. When I message the mothers, I will let them know they will need their smartphones for this activity. If their mothers do not allow them to bring their phones, they can always be partnered with a kid in the class who has a smartphone.

·         App Use: The app is very simple to use. Once the app is downloaded, all the kids have to do is press the camera button on the app and it will automatically scan the QR code. They will have to click on the link that they get, and their clues will appear on their phone/tablet screens.

Activity time:  60 minute lesson

5 minutes: Attendance and introduction

10 minutes: Explanation of prepositions and their tasks, demonstration of using QR codes (I Do). Here I will demonstrate to the students how to click on the application and then I will have a sample of a QR code. I will show the students how to scan the code and then show them the page that appears next that will show them a message.

5 minutes: As a class, I hand out the same QR code photocopy to each student and we practice using the application together (We Do). I will hand out a QR code to each student and we will all have to open the application together and then aim the camera at the QR code and scan it. They will all have a message that says “Good Luck” appear on their screen after they scan the QR code.

20 minutes: Students are put in groups and sent out to do the scavenger hunt (You Do It Together). In this section the students will have to go and find all the clues scanning the QR codes around the classroom where they are hidden. I will monitor and be there to help them if they need it.

5 minutes: Come back to their seats and decipher the clues

5 minutes: Review what they have learned and discuss their answers

5 minutes: Prepare for the next class and for their assignment they have to go home and find a QR code that they can scan (You Do It Alone) and take a picture of it so we can discuss it during our next class especially referring back to the lesson of prepositions of location.

Rubric:

Student Name:     ________________________________________

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Comprehension	Student seems to understand all directions and prepositions of location.	Student seems to understand most of the directions and prepositions of location.	Student understands some parts of the directions and prepositions of location.	Student has trouble understanding or remembering most directions and prepositions of location.
Respects Others	Student follows directions without without distracting others.	Student gets off tasks but does not distract others.	Student gets off task, distract others OR moves around in ways that distract others once.	Student gets off task distract others, OR moves around in ways that distract others more than once.
Participates Willingly	Student willingly tries to ask questions and find the clues on their own.	Student willingly tries to find clues but ask gets others off task by asking them for the clues.	Student does not willingly participate and tries to get answers from others.	Student does not participate.

Reflection

I believe that overall this activity went quite well. I have had these students before and this was not the first time that I have taught this lesson. It is one of my favorite lessons to teach and I feel that it really helps them learn the concept of preposition of locations as they are actually experiencing it for themselves.

I like bringing technology into this class and for this preparation is key. I made sure that my students knew what we were going to be doing from a week in advance and they all had their smartphones and apps ready to go.

My mentor and I applied “I Do, We Do, You Do” to the lesson and it really worked out well. Usually I let them do it individually but putting them in groups made the students collaborate with each other and use techniques to help them reach their goals faster.

All the students’ behavior was very good. They knew they were not allowed to run, push, shove other groups and as we have done similar activities in the past, they knew that if they broke these rules, they would have consequences. One group of students almost started running and I just gave them a stern look and they knew right away to walk.

My mentor mentioned that he thought I managed my time very well and like that I left an extra five minutes for flexibility during the time schedule. He said that he also thought this activity could work individually and I explained that that is how I usually do the activity, but that I also liked putting the students into groups as it brought more of a collaboration aspect to the lesson.

In conclusion, the lesson went as planned with no major behavior problems from the students and I hope a fun time was had and I will check how much they retained the coming week. 

Teach Now (Teacher Certification): Collaborative Movie Project

Module 4 Unit 6 Activity 2

I was in a group with Sean and Caitlin. 

Here is our video:

Teach Now (Teacher Certification): Observation and Report

Module 4 Unit 6 Activity 1

Observation and Report

I observed Mr. Hobden’s class at a small academy called Sunshine Academy for this exercise. His class was an English Language Arts class and the classroom had a very big space. It was rectangular shaped around 25 x 40 feet. The layout and classroom decor was great with a huge rug on the right side of the classroom with a fully equipped classroom on the left side. I found it a little problematic to draw the classroom layout with the recommended website (http://classroom.4teachers.org) because the desks can only be laid out completely vertically or horizontally on this program, but the desks in Mr. Hobden’s class were arranged at a 45 degree angle almost in an arrow formation. I have never seen the desks arranged in such a way, but I thought it was unique and worked really well for the students to view the board and also work in groups.

There were 11 boys and 12 girls in this classroom so it was quite large. The class walked in and sat directly in the rug. I guess this was a procedure that they do daily as the teacher didn’t ask them to sit there when they came in from their break. This was a non directed but purposeful student movement. Mr. Hobden was reading them a story and after asking a few questions about the story and teaching some new vocabulary, he stood up and the students returned to their desks on their own. This was another non-directed but purposeful movement I have watched. It was pretty amazing how the students knew what to do and went back to their desks in an orderly fashion. The green arrow above represents one of the male students that returned to his desk from the rug.

Mr. Hobden walked directly to his projector on the left side of the classroom and started with his lesson on segmenting and blending words. As he was explaining the exercise he was walking back and forth between the projector and the two desks closest to him until he called on a student to put one of the words together. This was a female student and it is represented on the picture above with the red arrow. This is an example of a directed student movement as he called on this student so she had to come to the projector. He also called on a few more students and again it demonstrated directed student movements.

When the students were working on their workbooks, one of the female students finished her work and got up to talk to her classmate. It is represented by the violet colored arrow below. She was distracting her friend from finishing her work and Mr. Hobden had to tell her to return to her seat. This was an example of a non-purposeful student movement. I was surprised because I watched this classroom for about 30 minutes but everyone stayed in their seat and I thought I would not be able to observe a non-purposeful student movement. Around the 28 minute mark, this female student got up so I was lucky to record that or else it would have been one of the most well-behaved classes I have observed.

While they were working on their workbooks, Mr. Hobden went around the front of the classroom to help a few students. Then he walked through the middle of the desks and returned to the area with the projector.

Watching the teacher’s movement patterns I couldn’t help noticing that he spent most of his time tethered to the projector and that he had very little contact with the rows in the back. Mr. Hobden spent a lot of the time on the left side of the classroom and walked back and forth in the front of the classroom from left to right. Perhaps he might not always work in the same movement patterns but because he was working with the projector today he might have been standing on the left side a lot for that reason.

One recommendation I have for this situation is that if he has a socket in the back of the classroom, he could move the projector to the back. That way he could have more contact with students in the back of the classroom but if he had to have everyone’s focus, he should have no problem walking to the front of the classroom where he spends a lot of his time anyway. This way it could balance out the time he is spending with the students in the front, as well as the students in the back of the classroom.  

I talked to Mr. Hobden after the class and told him what I saw in my observation. He said that he also found that he does spend most of his time in the front of the classroom and thanked me for my suggestion. He might move his desk to the side and move the projector to the back of the room. I also noticed that he had his transitions, and procedures well organized. He uses his classroom space very well including the rug area and the interesting way he organized his students’ desk. His class was well laid out and overall he didn’t have any major issues with any of his students’ behavior. I guess living in Korea helps. He managed his students very well and his class was a great example of having taught the rules and procedures properly to create a positive classroom environment.

* Here is the google doc.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n1DX7vAuG-n84u71cfCJwk5iw3I7CHbwF4LX0FDp_wk/edit