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STANDARD 3A

Standard 3.a. Planning for Standards-Based ESL and Content Instruction. Candidates know, understand, and
apply concepts, research, and best practices to plan classroom instruction in a supportive learning environment for
ESOL students. Candidates plan for multi-level classrooms with learners from diverse backgrounds using standardsbased ESL and content curriculum. They use multiple modes of assessment and address their students diverse
backgrounds, developmental needs, and English proficiency as they plan their instruction. They plan toward specific
standards-based ESL and content objectives, but include multiple ways of presenting material. They collaborate with
general education and content-area teachers to ensure that ELLs access the whole curriculum while learning English.
Candidates design their classrooms as supportive, positive learning climates. They recognize the array of needs of SIFE
students acclimating to the school environment and plan instruction accordingly.

The artifact I chose for Standard 3a is the Unit Project from ESC 766. As I am currently in this course, my
artifact is still in progress. However, I will upload the completed assignment later. This assignment is for groups to create
an integrated unit of 10-20 lessons for classroom teaching. My group consists of four graduate students, two of whom are
certified teachers. Although neither of us, are classroom teachers yet, we all share experiences in the elementary grade
levels. Therefore we decided to plan an ELA curriculum unit on Human Rights for grade 5.
Our Unit Curriculum focused on the theme of Human Rights and involved various ELA and Social Studies
standards integrated with a multitude of learning styles. This Unit Curriculum addresses several parts of the standards,
including research and planning classroom instruction for diverse students.
The greatest process of working on this project is planning. We came together to choose a grade level and
designed a rich and appropriate curriculum. We also created the student needs analysis, based off our knowledge,
understanding and experience of student demographics and diversity. So, we prepared to plan lessons for a class
including ESL or IEP students and students of immigrant and SIFE backgrounds. Therefore our planning demonstrates
our groups knowledge of the potential makeup of a school community.
Another important aspect was researching. We found many sources for our unit, including unit examples,
different systems of standards, lesson plans and also the materials and materials for the actual lessons; student books,
informational videos, charts, the U.N Declaration of Human Rights etc. These resources are included in the respective
bibliography, which also includes related museums. The above- mentioned research experience demonstrates our groups
ability to be resourceful in planning instruction.
For each lesson, we attempt to integrate different materials, media, learning styles and activities to cater to
individual student needs (i.e- IEP/ESL students) and offer diverse options. With this practice, students are also able to
construct the same knowledge from various angles. This stems from our objective to focus on ELLs or working with a
large body of ESL students, while balancing the needs of special education students and general or advance students, as
well.
A great example is our unit lesson on civil right leaders, in which students correlate selected civil right activist
from a book and align them with an article from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was studied in the

previous lesson. The informal assessment is also a group activity, in which students will act out a commercial detailing
how their activist defended a specific Human Right article and also create and advertisement board of the same. These
activities include Total-Physical-Response, language, speech, literacy, artistic and analytical skills to differentiate for
learning styles and needs.
Another great example is the lesson that I created, on Cesar Chavez, in which students learn about workers
rights and historical movements over a few days. While the content objective involves the concept of cause and effect,
the language one is corresponding subordinator clauses like because/since so/therefore.The lesson also involved
pre-teaching and context learning of tired vocabulary like migrant worker, agriculture, pesticides, labor union, nonviolent
reform, protest and boycott.
Despite the high expectations, the content is made accessible by graphic organizers, diverse media and
activities. Student choice is also utilize by having students choose between the use of cause/effect charts or a 5W chart,
based on comfort ability. Students can also choose between diverse media including a narrative (the story of Cesar
Chavez), a Spanish Biography of Cesar Chavez, to promote bilinguals, and also a BrainPop documentary or a BrainPop
comic on Cesar Chavez.
While the informational sources help students report on Cesar Chavez, the activity draws away from the icon
and focuses on applied experience. After class-wide word-mapping on the term union (ideally include terms like unity,
work or even marriage), to assess background knowledge and support students in logical reasoning, student groups will
plan and create their own student unions, identifying community issues and brainstorming nonviolent solutions. The
formal assessment is a group presentation on their union, including an information session on why others should support
their union and a display of their student created boards to represent their union (logo or flag).The logo allows students
to integrate artistic abilities, concepts of symbolism and even helps low literacy students to develop speech.
The details of the lesson and the underlying teacher reasoning are not included in the actual unit but described
in this reflection as they display the use of best practices. Therefore, planning this lesson displays my use of multiple
modes of assessment and addressing diverse student backgrounds, developmental needs, and English proficiency as
stated in the standard.
Ultimately, this artifact contributed to my profession understanding, in providing me experience with group
work, lesson planning and integrating content areas. While the focus of our lesson is ELA, we also planned to
periodically cooperate with art and history classes, instead of completely integrating lesson with another content area. I
need to work on cooperating with teachers in grade-level planning by being resourceful, accepting input and welcoming
feedback. Nevertheless, I can impact student learning with the quality teaching and facilitating method I have gained
through working on this project.