EDUC 323: FIELD EXPERIENCES LEVEL III SCHOOL OF EDUCATION CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY UNIT WORK SAMPLE GUIDELINES

Successful teacher candidates support learning by designing a Teacher Work Sample that employs a range of strategies and builds on each students strengths, needs and prior experiences. Through this performance assessment, candidates provide credible evidence of their ability to facilitate learning by meeting the following standards: The candidate uses multiple assessment strategies and approaches aligned with learning goals to assess student learning before, during and after instruction. The candidate designs instruction for specific learning goals, student characteristics and needs, and learning contexts. The candidate uses regular and systematic evaluations of student learning to make instructional decisions. The candidate uses assessment data to profile student learning and communicate information about student progress and achievement. The candidate reflects on his or her instruction and student learning in order to improve teaching practice.

The candidate will create a Unit Teacher Work Sample to demonstrate its impact on student learning. The attached template which consists of several components, should be used to fulfill this requirement. Attach samples of student work as an appendix.

EDUC 323: PROFESSIONAL CLINICAL PRACTICE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY UNIT WORK SAMPLE TEMPLATE

Student: Barry White Jr.

Mentor Teacher: Ms. Kennedy

Academic Year: Fall 12/13

District: Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5 Grade Level: 4th grade Subject: English

School: Whitaker Elementary

Dates of unit: from 09/12/12 to 11/12/12

Unit Title and/or Description: Comprehension

Describe the number of students, demographics of the students, and any other special features or important information.

Ms. Kennedy class is composed of 24 students, 12 students are males and 12 students are females. The class is majority African American with all the students being from the urban community. The class performs at an average reading level for the school standards.

Section I: Major Unit Objectives (Key Element 2.A) Describe the major objectives of the unit
and indicate the corresponding state standards.

Major Unit Objectives Key Element 2.A

44-1.1 Analyze the details that support the expression of the main idea in a given literary text. 4-2.2 Analyze informational texts to draw conclusions and make inferences. 4-2.3 Analyze informational texts to locate and identify facts and opinions. 4-2.8 Analyze informational texts to identify cause-and-effect relationships.

Reflect on the unit objectives (Key Element 2.A) How did you craft these objectives so that the students understand both the objectives and their relevance?

I used the teachers pacing guide to choose the standards the students would be learning at the time of my field experience. I choose topics that I was very familiar and comfortable with so it would be easier to disseminate the information to my students. The standards are also broken down and accompanied with mini lessons and activities that will engage the students in the

learning process. I understand this group of students is not below average neither are they above average so I broke the information up so that they would be able to comprehend the text in chunks. I also realized that the students have to be able to tell the difference between what is an opinion and what is a fact to be able to support some statements that they may make, so I included this as well. Students will use graphic organizers, i.e. maps, tables, charts diagrams, etc. every day in their real life environment; therefore, they need to be able to interpret what they are reading.

Section II: Unit Plan (Key Element 2.B)

Describe your instructional plan that is, the sequence of steps that you need to follow if your students are to achieve the unit objectives including the key activities or strategies and resources (e.g., materials, technology).

Instructional Plan for the Unit Key Element 2.B

After reading a story, students will create their own graphic organizer for the central idea and details. - Students will generate a series of open-ended questions about the details of a literary selection they have read independently. - Underline details in a text that support the main idea. Students will read a cold text and separate the important details from the non-essential details. Students will read a portion of The Stranger or other books by Chris Van Allsburg and chart the information below to help draw conclusions and make inferences - Students will write a description of a person in the room or a favorite toy, giving specific clues to describe the person or object. Students will read their paragraph, and the class will use the clues to make an inference about whom or what is being described The teacher will Make a list with the headings Fact and Opinions. - The teacher will give each student an index card with a fact or opinion. Students will place these under the correct heading of Fact or Opinion. - The teacher will make a list of facts and opinions. Students will than work in groups to prove that the facts are facts and to locate words and signal opinions The teacher will read aloud text and model the use of the graphic organizer. The students will use the graphic organizer for text read during Shared Reading. In a mini lesson students will: - Create a T-chart of causes and effects. Cause not brushing teeth Effect getting cavities

The teacher will provide each student with a card that has a cause or an effect written on it. The students will find the match to their card.

The teacher will give each group an effect. The students will formulate a cause. (It can be done visa versa.)

Reflect on the instructional plan for the unit (Key Element 2.B): How does this instructional plan establish a balance between grade level academic standards and expectations and the needs, abilities and developmental levels of individual students?

I believe students have different learning styles, some learn from audio, visual and some learn from doing hands on activities, therefore teachers should provide situations that create models that they will be able to apply concepts to their other situations in real life. The teacher should act as a guide and use scaffolding techniques to enhance the students skills while providing corrective feedback. I understand that not every student is the same and some will require more attention their others so I will identify those students by monitoring their work ethics and their progress their guided practice and independent activities. The objectives support students being able to understand and use informational texts.

Section III: Unit Assessments Key Element 3.A

List the key unit assessments.

Type of Assessment (Attach Copies) Key Unit Assessments (Key Element 3.A)

Teacher-Made

Commercially Available yes

Daily Assessments The daily assessment will cover current standard the students are learning that day. It will be in the form of review sheet with 10 different types of questions the students will complete.

Yes Unit Assessment The Unit assessment will cover all 4 standards. It will be in the form of multiple choice questions with two open ended response questions Student made Final Project: Students will create their own short stories incorporating two of the objectives from the unit. For ex: students must include two facts and two opinions, and create a scenario with a cause and effect relationship

Reflect on the unit assessments (Key Element 3.A): How did you determine that your unit assessments were valid and reliable for all students?

I believe that the assessments were valid and reliable because all of the students will be given a fair chance to respond to assessment questions in various forms like multiple choice. The assessment will be multiple -choice, based on different levels of Blooms Taxonomy; therefore, students will be able to determine the most appropriate response from several given responses. The review sheets students will be given for daily assessments will be appropriate because they will test the knowledge and understanding of the key unit objectives

Section IV: Analysis of Student Performance (Key Element 3.B)

Describe the way(s) in which you plan to analyze student performance.

As the unit progresses I will be able to analyze students performance based of the formal and informal assessments. I can determine if students have gained the knowledge of the key unit objectives by calculating the number of questions the students answer correctly and incorrectly. If the students answer the questions correctly 80% of the time I will know that the students are absorbing the content and I can then proceed to the next standard. However, if the students answer the questions correctly only 70% of the time or less, then I may need to implement other instructional strategies to make sure all students are comprehending.

Based on the ways you plan to assess your students, how do you feel that this information will (a) increase your understanding of individual students strengths and weaknesses and (b) determine specific aspects of you instruction that need to be modified?

If the students answer the questions correctly 80% of the time I will know that the students are absorbing the content and I can then proceed to the next standard. However, if the students answer the questions correctly only 70% of the time or less, then I may need to implement other instructional strategies to make sure all students are comprehending.

V. TIMELINE
Provide a timeline for the completion of all of the activities in your unit plan.

Unit Title:

Comprehension

Duration: 8 weeks

44-1.1 Analyze the details that support the expression of the main idea in a given literary text. 2 weeks 4-2.2 Analyze informational texts to draw conclusions and make inferences. 1.5 week 4-2.3 Analyze informational texts to locate and identify facts and opinions. 2 weeks 4-2.8 Analyze informational texts to identify cause-and-effect relationships. 2.5 weeks

ASSESSMENT EXAMPLES : http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/reading-comp/4th-missinginformation.pdf