Lesson and Reflection on Danielson’s Instruction Domain (Domain 3)

Aspects of the lesson and reflection that relate to each section of domain 3 will be highlighted as
follows:
3a: Communicating with students
3b: Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques
3c: Engaging Students in Learning
3d: Using Assessments in Instruction
3e: Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness

Teacher: Jillian Caspary Grade Level: Third Grade

I. Content and Standards:

3R1: Develop and answer questions to locate relevant and specific details in a text to
support an answer or inference.

3W1a: Introduce a claim, supported by details and organize the reasons and
evidence logically.

II. Prerequisites: Students should know the steps in the writing process. Students
should be able to to write a paragraph. Students should know grade level spelling
words, grammar, and punctuation.

III. Essential Questions (provide a framework):

Why do we write?

How can we use writing to communicate?

IV. Instructional Objective: Students will know what persuasive writing is and be able
to write a persuasive paragraph which remains on topic, includes a topic sentence,
three supporting details, and a conclusion sentence. Commented [1]: (Domain 3a: Communicating with
Students)
V. Instructional Procedures: My objective is clearly stated with a high set of
standards that I want students to achieve in their
Before: I will display a question of the day on the smart board, “What kind of writing writing.
do we do in third grade?”. After one minute I will ask 3 students to answer the Commented [2]: (Domain 3b: Using Questioning and
Thinking Techniques)
question. I will tell the class, “Now you have told me some types of writing we do in This is a higher order thinking question I used at the
third grade, today we will be doing persuasive writing”. Then, I will display the word beginning of my lesson to engage students and
introduce the topic of writing.
“Persuade” on the board with its definition, “Sometimes people write to convince
Commented [3]: (Domain 3a: Communicating with
another person to do something or to agree with their opinions”. I will tell the class I Students)
am going to read the book, “The Pigeon Needs a Bath!”. Keeping the idea of I am clearly stating what persuasive writing is to
students.
persuade in your mind, “Who can make a prediction about this book based on the
Commented [4]: (Domain 3b: Using Questioning and
cover?” Read the book aloud. Ask the class, “How does this book relate to the word Thinking Techniques)
This is a higher order thinking question that I used to
get students to think about the story prior to reading it
aloud.
 persuade?”. “What was pigeon persuaded to do?” “What are some details from the
book that were used to persuade pigeon?”
During: We just read an example of how authors use persuasive writing to convince
people to do something. Now, I am going to model how to use the idea of persuade
in writing. “How can I persuade my community to recycle more?” “How should I start
my paragraph about recycling?” Call on students in the class to give me sentences to
include in the model paragraph. The paragraph should have a topic sentence, three
details, and a conclusion sentence. When the paragraph is complete, read it aloud,
and ask students to put a thumbs up if they are persuaded to recycle now. After the
model, tell the class they are going to be practicing writing their own persuasive
paragraph. The topic is a class ice cream party. “How can you use persuasive writing
to convince me to give the class an ice cream party?”. I will give each table a graphic
organizer. Students will have 8 minutes to complete a graphic organizer in their
groups. I will collect the graphic organizers. Paper passers will give every student a
publishing paper and students will have 10 minutes to write their own paragraph,
individually.
After: I will tell the class, “Now that you have written a persuasive paragraph we are
going to underline some elements of persuasive writing on your own papers. I want
you all to take out a crayon and underline your topic sentence. Then, use a different
colored crayon to underline your three details. Last, use different crayon to underline
your conclusion sentence”. I will have the paper collectors collect all the paragraphs.
VI. Materials and Equipment:
Smartboard- This will be used to display questions, definitions, and models.
“The Pigeon Needs a Bath!” by Mo Willems- This will be used to introduce the
concept of persuasive writing through a book.
Graphic organizer- This will be used for group work.
Publishing paper- This will be used for students to practice the concept of persuasive
writing individually.
VII. Assessment/Evaluation:
Formative assessments will be performed during group work by noting if students
participating and contributing ideas related to the topic.
I will use this persuasive writing checklist to see if students achieved the objectives of
the lesson and were able to create their own persuasive paragraph. This will be a
summative assessment.
Commented [5]: (Domain 3b: Using Questioning and
Thinking Techniques)
This is a higher order thinking question that I used to
get students to understand why the book was read
aloud and how it relates to the topic of persuasive
writing.
Commented [6]: (Domain 3b: Using Questioning and
Thinking Techniques)
This is a question I used to get students to recall
specific details from the story that relate to persuasion.
These questions would create the basis for a
classroom discussion after reading the story. The
discussion will lead to a higher level of understanding
persuasive writing.
Commented [7]: (Domain 3b: Using Questioning and
Thinking Techniques)
This is a higher order thinking question used to get
students to think about creating a topic sentence for a
piece of writing.
Commented [8]: (Domain 3c: Engaging Students in
Learning)
Using a thumbs-up activity is a total participation
technique. Requiring every student to put their thumbs
up will make sure they are engaged and actively
thinking about the topic.
Commented [9]: (Domain 3b: Using Questioning and
Thinking Techniques)
This is a question I asked students in order for them to
demonstrate persuasive writing. This question was
essential to group discussions as students
brainstormed at their tables. It was also the question
students answered independently in their own
paragraphs.
Commented [10]: (Domain 3d: Using Assessment in
Instruction)
Having students underline specific parts of their
paragraph that I will be looking for when I grade them,
involves students in the assessment process of this
lesson. I will be able to look at the samples of writing
and determine if the lesson's objective was met.
Commented [11]: (Domain 3d: Using Assessment in
Instruction)
Throughout this lesson, I kept my objective and
assessment in my mind. I made sure that students
knew what they needed to include in their writing to
meet my standards.
VIII. VII. Differentiation: Individualized Activities:

The student with diabetes may leave the room to go to the nurse or eat snack during
the lesson. I will make sure if she leaves the room that she will be allowed to finish
the writing at another time. Commented [12]: (Domain 3b: Demonstrating
Flexibility and Responsiveness)
Students with difficulty focusing or staying on task will be given an individualized I was planning to work around the specific needs of
students and act responsively.
checklist with simplified steps in the lesson to remain on task and monitor their own
progress. I will check in with them more frequently. Commented [13]: (Domain 3b: Demonstrating
Flexibility and Responsiveness)
IX. Technology: The smartboard will be used throughout the lesson to aid students In planning for individualized instruction I kept the idea
of persistence in my mind. Students were reminded to
visually and reinforce what I am saying verbally. remain on task and continue to work.
X. Self-Assessment: I will determine if students met the instructional objective by
reading their paragraph, looking at what they underlined in their writing and
evaluating their writing using the checklist rubric. I will judge if the lesson kept the
students engaged and if my timing was correct.
 Reflection After Teaching the Lesson:
I planned and taught a lesson on persuasive writing. While I was teaching the
lesson it was being recorded. I received the opportunity to watch myself teaching and I
am able to reflect upon the lesson more deeply. In the planning phase of this lesson, I
began with opening up the Drexel lesson plan template. I started filling in this template
by writing an objective. My objective was “Students will know what persuasive writing is
and be able to write a persuasive paragraph which remains on topic, includes a topic
sentence, has three supporting details, and a conclusion sentence.” I wanted my objective
to be measurable for assessment purposes and directly related to the activities students
would be doing throughout the lesson. After writing the objective, I carefully thought
about each teaching phase of the lesson (before, during, and after). In addition, I wanted
to use an “I do, we do, you do” model of teaching. I knew I wanted my students to
understand what persuasive writing is and how to use it. Therefore, I introduced the
concept of persuasive writing by giving students the definition, using the book “Pigeon
Needs a Bath!” and following it with a discussion. After the topic was introduced, I
wanted to model how to create your own persuasive writing piece. I planned to use
“recycling” as my topic to model with. Then I started to think about what I wanted
students to do. I chose a specific topic for students to write about to demonstrate
persuasive writing. The topic was “persuade me to give the class an ice cream party”. I
wanted students to participate in group work, but also get individual practice with
persuasive writing. Therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to have student
brainstorm and fill in a graphic organizer with their table groups, but write their actual
paragraphs individually. This was the during phase of my lesson and also the “We do”
and “You do” aspect. To wrap up my lesson in the after phase I had students underline
parts of their persuasive paragraph that related to my objective and assessment checklist I
planned to use.
Planning and preparation had a clear impact on my quality of instruction. I feel I
used appropriate pacing and gave students enough time to complete activities, but not too
much time where they became bored. In one part of my lesson, I planned on giving
Commented [14]: (Domain 3a: Communicating with
Students)
I wrote and communicated a clear objective on the
topic of persuasive writing.
Commented [15]: (Domain 3b: Using Questioning and
Thinking Techniques)
I used a whole class discussion to increase
understanding about the connection between "Pigeon
Needs a Bath!" and the topic of persuasion. Students
were able to learn from one another and hear a variety
of opinions.
Commented [16]: (Domain 3a: Communicating with
Students)
By modeling a persusaive writing piece for the class, I
was able to demonstrate to the students what I was
looking for in their own writing.
Commented [17]: (Domain 3c: Engaging Students in
Learning)
This shows students had the opportunity to share ideas
and learn cooperatively. However, after students
brainstormed for their writing as a group, they were
required to write a paragraph individually.
Commented [18]: (Domain 3d: Using Assessment in
Instruction)
By having students identify specific aspects of their
writing that I will be looking for while grading, I was
using assessment in instruction. I was also actively
engaging every student by having them evaluate their
own writing.
Commented [19]: (Domain 3e: Demonstrating
Flexibility and Responsiveness)
While I had a time schedule planned, I gave students
extra time during their individual practice. I responded
to the class needs and demonstrated flexibility.
students eight minutes in their groups to complete a graphic organizer. I think I should
have given the groups more time to complete this activity because groups were rushing
when they noticed the timer was about to ring. In my instruction, I tried to incorporate a
variety of higher level thinking questions. I started with the question of the day which
stated, “What kinds of writing do we do in third grade?” This question allowed students
to think critically about different types of writing we’ve done so far. The first answer to
this question was “script writing”, which was very different from what I was expecting to
hear. As I continued to call on students to share their answers, new ideas kept coming to
the students. I asked students to make a prediction based on the cover of the book, which
is a higher order thinking question. I asked students, “How can you use persuasive
writing to convince me to give the class an ice cream party?”. I allowed time for whole
class discussions before reading the book and after reading the book. I incorporated small
group discussions by allowing the groups to plan their writing together. In my instruction
I used a variety of techniques to engage learners. I used the idea of a read aloud as an
introduction to the lesson. I read the book with emotion and a varied voice. I used a total
response technique when I asked students to put their thumbs up if they were persuaded
to recycle after reading the paragraph we wrote as a class. My lesson had visual and
auditory modalities. Upon reflection, I would like to be able to address the tactile or
kinesthetic modality, too.
While teaching my lesson I was focused on classroom management. I used a
system of positive reinforcement by acknowledging the students ideas and giving them
verbal praise. After a student shared an answer, I made comments like “good job” or
“that is a great idea”. I tried my best to manage both the entire class and individual
behaviors of students throughout the entire lesson. I was constantly moving around the
room to listen to conversations, read writing samples, and guide students. During group
work the class started off too noisy. I gave the entire class a volume warning. I
encouraged students who were not participating to share their ideas and talk to their
group members during group work. At one point I noticed a girl writing on another
student’s paragraph because “his spelling was wrong”. I reminded the girl to work on her
own writing. I told the boy we aren’t editing this writing and reminded him to try his
Commented [20]: (Domain 3b: Using Questioning and
Thinking Techniques)
This was an opening question that required students to
think about the kinds of writing they have done so far.
Commented [21]: (Domain 3b: Using Questioning and
Thinking Techniques)
This shows that different answers to the question were
constantly being shared. Students gained new ideas
from hearing what their classmates were saying.
Commented [22]: (Domain 3b: Using Questioning and
Discussion Techniques)
Throughout my lesson I used a variety of higher order
thinking questions and discussion techniques. I wanted
students to build a conceptual understanding of
persuasive writing which was achieved with higher
order thinking questions. I also used small group
discussions for students to brainstorm ideas together.
Commented [23]: (Domain 3c: Engaging Students in
Learning)
I used this total participation technique to engage every
student in the class and make sure that they are paying
attention.
Commented [24]: (Domain 3b: Using Assessment in
Instruction)
While I was walking around the room reading samples
of writing and guiding students, I was using
assessments in instruction. My comments and
suggestions were based on the assessments and
notes I was making while teaching the lesson. I let
assessment drive instruction.
Commented [25]: (Domain 3e: Demonstrating
Flexibility and Responsiveness)
When I noticed students off task I responded to their
behaviors and encouraged them to persist with the
task.
best. I saw a little girl playing with things on her desk. I took the things away and
reminded her to continuing writing. I noticed a few students sitting and doing nothing
after they finished writing. I instructed them to read a book silently or to look over their
persuasive writing paragraph. After reflecting, I feel like I should have made this
reminder to the entire class that they should do something useful if they finish early.

Throughout my lesson I showed a high level of professionalism. I was respectful

to all of the students’ needs, I was patient and fair. Prior to teaching the lesson, I asked
for feedback from my course instructor, site director, and cooperating teacher. They made
comments, suggestions, and ideas. I was able to take feedback in the planning stage to
refine my lesson. A major part of professionalism is being able to reflect on your
teaching. After my lesson I was able to state areas of the lesson that went well and other
areas of the lesson where improvements can be made. At this point in my career, I have a
lot to learn. I am constantly looking for ways to enhance my skills. I welcome all
feedback, comments, and suggestions.