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Assessment Data Should Determine Instructional Design in Teacher Work Sample

Jane Wahlman

University of Alaska, Southeast

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Table of Contents

Section 1: Contextual Factors ....................................................................................................................... 5

Section 2: Assessment Plan......................................................................................................................... 10
Section 3: Learning Goals ............................................................................................................................ 14
Section 4: Design for Instruction................................................................................................................. 17
Section 5: Instructional Decision Making.................................................................................................... 29
Section 6: Analysis of Student Learning ...................................................................................................... 31
Section 7: Reflection and Self-Evaluation ................................................................................................... 34
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Table of Figures

Figure 1 (Anchorage Map).............................................................................................................. 5

Figure 2 (Learning Goals #1 – Table 2.1)..................................................................................... 10
Figure 3 (Story Map) .................................................................................................................... 11
Figure 4 (Learning Goals #2 – Table 2.2)..................................................................................... 12
Figure 5 (Ven Diagram) ................................................................................................................ 13
Figure 6 (Assessment Plan – Table 3.1) ....................................................................................... 14
Figure 7 (Story Retell Elements - Graph 4.1) ............................................................................... 17
Figure 8 (Retell Story Layout - Table 4.1) ................................................................................... 18
Figure 9 (Compare & Contrast - Graph 4.2) ................................................................................. 21
Figure 10 (Retell Results Learning Gain Data - Table 6.1) .......................................................... 31
Figure 11 (Retell Results by Student - Graph 6.1)........................................................................ 32
Figure 12 (Retell Results by Gender - Graph 6.2) ........................................................................ 33
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Abstract

Contextual factors were considered while establishing appropriate learning goals for the

kindergarten class at Bowman Elementary school. The learning goal of retelling a story in the

content area of English Language Arts was chosen to pre-assess. After the pre-assessment was

scored, an instructional design was created to teach the learning goal. After some practice, it was

clear certain students needed modifications for the learning goal assessment. These students

included but were not limited to mono-lingual students. After said modifications were made to

the instructional design, the students finished the unit and the post-assessment was completed. An

analysis of student learning was conducted from the results of the post-assessment to demonstrate

a learning gain score of 76%. Females performed higher than males on both the pre and post

assessments. Reflection specified a commitment to revise assessment scoring to include a rubric.

Professional development will include emphasis on English Language Learners and Bilingual

education.
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Section 1: Contextual Factors

Knowledge of Community, School and Classroom Factors

Bowman Elementary is located in Anchorage, Alaska and is part of the Anchorage

School District. The municipality of Anchorage is home to close to 300,000 residents.

Anchorage School District educates more than 48,000 students, encompasses almost 2,000

square miles (larger than the state of Rhode Island), and has more than 130 schools and

programs. Anchorage has the most diverse schools nationwide in all levels. Minority students

comprise more than 50 percent of the student population: African American 6%, Alaska

Native/American Indian 9%, Asian 10%, Biracial/Multiracial 15%, Hispanic 11%, Native

Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 5%, Caucasian 44%.

Figure 1 (Anchorage Map)

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While 80% of students speak English as their first language, the following five languages are

categorized from greatest to least spoken at ASD: Spanish (1394), Samoan (1238), Hmong

(1008), Filipino (811), and Yupik (300).

Bowman is located in Southeast Anchorage. The academic focus of Bowman includes a

number of paths to success, which include students participating in an Open Optional, traditional

Neighborhood, or Structured Learning environment. The school also includes three Pre-K

Special Education classrooms for students with individualized needs. The Neighborhood

Program serves more than 250 students in 11 traditional classrooms. These classrooms focus on

meeting all students’ academic needs through the use of the Common Core Standards. Teachers

in these classes use the district adopted curriculum of the National Geographic Reading Program,

Houghton Mifflin Reading Program and Go Math! The Open Optional Program serves 175

students in 7 classrooms. This program values communication, creativity, flexibility,

cooperation, small and large group participation, community service, goal-setting, leadership and

family involvement. The highly Structured Learning Classroom (SLC) incorporates a variety of

evidence-based teaching strategies and curricula to facilitate communication and social skills

while teaching grade-level expectations. Students may require adaptive living skill instruction.

The early childhood special education program provides and oversees services for children ages

3 to 5 who experience developmental delays or other disabilities. Please see the following link

to the Bowman brochure:

http://bowman.asdk12.org/media/anchorage/schoolsites/bowman/Bowman%20Brochure.pdf

Knowledge of Characteristics of Students

The dimensions of the classroom are quite large and include a coat area large enough to

accommodate backpacks on one side and outdoor gear including boots on the opposite side. The

gear is organized with one crate per child to house boots and one basket to house shoes. This
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minimizes confusion, maximizes efficiency and promotes safety. Students are grouped by table

and frequently meet together as a group on the carpet, situated at the front of the room, each

assigned a carpet “square” for their space. The classroom routines are well-established and

include: removing and putting on snow gear at their seat area rather than in the coat area, ‘stop’,

‘look’, and ‘listen’ at the sound of the chime, and ‘hugs’ and ‘bubbles’(signaling hands to

oneself and quiet) while in line. The classroom houses 7 large screen apple computers primarily

used for students to increase their time on Lexia and a cart of 25 I Pads shared with three other

classes. The room has a Smart Board which is used to conduct 30% of the whole group

instruction and a document camera which is utilized as another tool for whole group instruction.

The parental involvement is non-existent within the classroom, however we rely heavily on

parental and guardian involvement to complete additional “homework” outside of class which is

sent home to augment whole and small group instruction.

Classroom instruction during the morning includes both whole and small group settings.

There is one kindergarten aide scheduled from 9:00-12:30 pm. The schedule of the day also

dictates grouping patterns. Immediately upon entering, once students have their put their items

away (including home folders in their mailbox, lunches on the lunch cart, outside gear hung

up/put away, they get out their supply box (which is organized by drawer with each student’s

name) and begin working on their journal which is at their table. Upon completion of their

journal students meet at the carpet for whole group math instruction. Once the whole group

instruction is complete, they break into three leveled groups and work with their designated

teacher (Mrs. Councell-host teacher, Mrs. Wahlman-student teacher, and Ms. Krista-TA). This

process continues for the phonics lesson and then students break into RTI groups once again.

Four students leave the classroom for small group instruction in SPED. After lunch and recess

students receive whole group writing instruction minus three students who return to SPED for

individualized instruction.
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Knowledge of Students’ Varied Approaches to Learning

There are 24 students in the kindergarten class and it is one of two neighborhood

kindergarten classes. Additionally, there is one kindergarten class in the Bowman Open

Optional Program. There are three distinct groupings of students within the class: high achievers

that can and should be pushed to keep them interested and engaged in the learning process, a

middle group which includes both a higher and lower level, and a lower development group that

is pulled twice daily for individualized and small group instruction in a special education

classroom. About 50% of the students are Caucasian with the remainder a mixture of various

ethnicities including Alaska Native, Filipino, Samoan, African American, Korean and Russian.

There are two mono-linguistic students, one Korean and the other Russian, with very limited

understanding and speaking ability of the English language. The lower group is comprised of

three students. One student utilizes hearing aides and has an IEP for both her hearing disability

that was recently modified to include a behavior plan for defiance and not following directions.

This particular student has suffered severe early childhood trauma and is making progress in

small group instruction, but does not seem to benefit from whole group instruction. She did not

start school until October and continues to have frequent absences. Her recent assessments show

no measurable growth, other than concepts covered in small group, and her test scores show a

flat line. Another student has a scheduled IEP meeting for the upcoming week and the classroom

teacher will request full time TA support as he is developmentally at age 3, thus his ability to

follow directions is hampered and severely below the level of the other children in class.

Another student is currently undergoing the mandatory 6 weeks of intervention necessary to set

up an IEP meeting (he started at Bowman prior to the holiday break after moving to Anchorage

from a village near Barrow). While the three students mentioned above are currently pulled out

of the general education classroom twice a day for 30 minutes each session to receive small
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group and individualized instruction which is developmentally appropriate, whole group

instruction must be modified when they are present in the general education classroom.

Knowledge of Students’ Skills and Prior Learning

Activities that are developmentally appropriate for the majority of the students are not for

certain students, thus we utilize the presence of the three adults in the morning to provide small

group instruction tailored to each of the three groups in both math and phonics to differentiate

and teach to the level of the students in each small group. Activities and instruction are modified

slightly during whole group instruction to teach to and include all students regardless of their

development and/or command of the English language. This said, whole group instruction

includes many visual displays and kinesthetic opportunities in addition to auditory instruction to

encourage learning. In the afternoon, students in the lower development group and ELLs have

the opportunity to work on Lexia to increase basic literacy skills, while the remainder of the

group works at learning stations to increase independence and foster good study skills.

Implications for Instructional Planning and Assessment

Instructional development and assessment will need to focus on ensuring that students

receive appropriate developmental instruction meant to challenge them at their individual level,

appropriately scaffolded to bring them to the next level. Instruction in small groups is most

beneficial for the varying levels of student abilities and types of learning. Alternative

opportunities for differentiation in whole group instruction will also benefit students in this class,

thus I will attempt to offer differentiation when I plan my unit with auditory, visual, kinesthetic

and auditory approaches to instruction to reach the various types of learners. Differentiation

through instruction with various levels of materials will encourage students to excel at their

appropriate developmental level.

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Section 2: Assessment Plan
Learning Goals Assessments Format of Assessment
Pre- Cut, paste and organize
Assessment illustrations in the story flow
map according to the
beginning, middle, and end of
the story
Learning
Goal
Formative Record the threes: Head,
#1 shoulders, knees – Touch
Assessment your head and tell a detail
of the story in the
beginning, touch your
Retell a story shoulders and tell a detail
of the story in the middle
of the story, touch your
knees and tell a detail of
the story at the end.
Post-
Assessment Cut, paste and organize
illustrations in the story flow
map according to the
beginning, middle, and end of
the story
Figure 2 (Learning Goals #1 – Table 2.1)
10
Adaptations
Numbers correspond to parts of
the story: beginning =1,
middle=2, end=3. Teacher holds
up one finger when referring to
the beginning, two fingers when
referring to middle, and three
fingers when referring to end.
Students with limited English
will be able to hold up an
illustration while touching
head, shoulders, and knees to
correct identify events as they
occur in the story
Students write and/or dictate
details of the story in the
story map according to the
beginning, middle, and end
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Story Map
Name: Date:

1. Beginning

2. Middle

3. End

Figure 3 (Story Map)

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Learning Goals Assessments Format of Assessment Adaptations

Pre- Cut, categorize, and T-Chart on smartboard: move

Assessment paste illustrations in images to correct category; circle
Venn Diagram the images that both stories have in
common
Learning

Goal
Formative T-Chart on smartboard:
#2 Write/draw details of each
Assessment story; circle the details both Students add details by writing or
Compare and stores have in common dictation and/or add illustrations to
Contrast Two enhance details
Stories

Post- Cut, categorize, and

Assessment paste illustrations in
Venn Diagram

Figure 4 (Learning Goals #2 – Table 2.2)

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Story _________________________ Story ______________________

Figure 5 (Ven Diagram)

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Section 3: Learning Goals

Learning Goals Alaska Learning Levels Development

for Students English/Language Arts Discussion
Standards
Kindergarten C.C.
English Language
Arts/Literacy Standards
Goal 1: Reading Standards for Remembering Level 1 See below
Literature Grade K- –
Retell a story Exhibit memory of
RS.KI.2: With previously read fable
prompting and support, by recalling
retell familiar stories, associated details.
using key details.
Understanding Level
RS.IK.7: With II –
prompting and support, Demonstrate
describe the understanding of facts
relationship between and ideas by stating
the illustrations and the the main ideas in
story in which they one’s own words.
appear or use Explain verbally what
illustrations to tell or is happening in the
retell a story. fable using
illustrations as
RL.K.7 With prompting support. Summarize
and support, describe the fable in spoken
the relationship and written words.
between illustrations
and the story in which
they appear (e.g., what Analyze Level VI:
moment in a story an Inference: Can you
illustration depicts). change the plot for a
different ending?
Goal 2: Applying Level III – See below
RS.IK.9. With Organize similarities
Compare and prompting and support, and differences
Contrast Texts identify basic between two texts on
similarities in and the same topic.
differences between
information presented Understanding Level
in two texts on the same II -
topic (e.g., compare two Recall the main
photos or diagrams, details of the story.
compare two

Figure 6 (Assessment Plan – Table 3.1)

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Goal 1 -

For the first learning goal, pre-requisite knowledge includes the ability to listen to a story

using the support of the pictures to understand the events. In this class we have been practicing

“the eagle eye”, which looks for pictures to support understanding. For the ELL students and the

student with hearing loss the pictures of the story will function to tell the events without the

necessity of oral language. Students should be able to retell or rephrase (summarize) the story

using oral language and either writing the events or drawing pictures of the events in a graphic

organizer such as a story map. Students understand and have practice in recalling key details,

and summarizing them, which is the process of rephrasing events in one’s own words. Students

also have the pre-requisite knowledge and skills to identify the beginning, the middle and the end

of the story (order of events) and be able to recognize and fill out a story map. Some students

who are developmentally able to retell the story verbally may not be able to retell the story in

writing, thus, it is necessary to allow for differentiation in this situation. Retelling the story by

drawing pictures/images on the story map may be more developmentally appropriate and thus

allowable. Those students who are developmentally equipped to write the events on a story map

in order: beginning, middle, and end will be expected to.

Goal 2 -

The second goal requires that students have the pre-requisite knowledge of identifying

similarities and differences in informational text. Students with oral language capabilities will be

able to verbally identify details of two different texts; students lacking oral language skills

should be able to point to details/diagrams in the text and/or draw details to compare and contrast

two texts. Students will have pre-requisite knowledge of the use of Venn Diagrams to compare

and contrast similarities and differences of two texts. Categorizing images, such as diagrams

from the text to identify similarities and differences, will be most developmentally appropriate
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for some students, including the ELL learners. Students who can write the similarities and

differences on the Venn Diagram will do so.

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Section 4: Design for Instruction

Retell a Story
12

10
Number of Students

0
Elements of a Story Retold by a Student

All Components Some Components None

Figure 7 (Story Retell Elements - Graph 4.1)

Learning Goal #1
Results:
Blue – indicates those students can retell a story with beginning, middle and end.
Orange – indicates those students who can retell at least the beginning, middle, or end of the
story.
Grey – indicates those students who did not retell the beginning, middle or end of the story.
10 students can retell a story, 9 can retell one part of the story and 5 students cannot retell

a story. The five students who cannot retell the story are the two with IEPs, the two mono-

linguistic students, and one child who is easily distracted and off-task often. For the two students

with IEPs and mono-linguistic students it may be necessary to modify the task to include a sort

or a picture choice to circle. For the 9 students who can retell at least one part of the story, more

modeling and practice is necessary for them to retell the beginning, middle and end of the story.

It will be most beneficial to the students to relate the learning goal of Retelling a Story to a more
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familiar practice, that of a familiar routine, and utilize the schema in place to scaffold their

learning.

Retell a Story Unit Layout

Unit Week Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Layout Focus
Week 1 Familiar Name a Act out a Guided
Independent Share/Reinforce
Lessons Routine Familiar Familiar practice,
practice, - draw the steps
Getting Routine: Routine: think of a
turn and in a familiar
Ready at Retell a Retell a classroom
talk to routine:
the End Story Story routine:
shoulder Retell a Story
of the Retell a Story
partner
Day about a
classroom
routine:
Retell a Story
Week 2 Familiar Name the Model the Guided Independent Share/Reinforce:
Lessons Story Familiar Familiar practice with practice:
Three Story: Story: partner: Teacher Fill out a story
Little Teacher Use Partner with dictates map for the Three
Pigs Read Anchor understanding questions and Little Pigs with
Aloud Chart and of concept students drawing and/or
draw/write works with circle which writing to identify
Retell a steps of those who do picture the beginning,
Story familiar not; retell the happens in middle and end.
story story to a the beginning 1,2,3
Retell a partner. (1st), middle Retell a Story
Story Retell a Story (2nd), and in
the end (3rd)
Retell a Story
Week 3 New Listen to Model the Guided Assessment: Share/Reinforce:
Lessons Story the Story: Strategy: Practice with Students
The Bus You Tube Use partner: independently Students
is For Read Anchor Partner with create their read/share their
Us Aloud via Chart and understanding own mini book with a
Smartboard draw/write of concept book to retell partner to
steps of works with the story - reinforce retelling
Retell a new story those who do write and/or a story.
Story not; complete draw what Retell a Story
Retell a Story Map happens in
Story the beginning
Retell a Story (1st), middle
(2nd), and in
the end (3rd)
Retell a Story
Figure 8 (Retell Story Layout - Table 4.1)
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Activities for retelling a story -

Lesson 1: Name a Familiar Routine
In this lesson we’ll use a strategy to assist in retelling events. We’ll talk about a Familiar

Routine and identify the steps involved in a specific classroom routine, recall the steps from

beginning to end and say/see the steps from beginning to end. This relates to my instructional

goals because it uses a strategy to assist in retelling a story; retelling the events of a familiar

routine give students the opportunity to recall and retell familiar events in context, assisting them

in the process of the recall and retell process. Naming a familiar routine will assist those

students who were able to retell one event in the story, but unable to tell the beginning (first),

middle (second), and end (third) sequentially. The familiar routine makes retelling events more

relatable as it is in a context they understand thus they can recall the events more readily. I will

use the document camera to project the three steps on the smartboard in pictures: 1. Picture of

child getting jacket and backpack 2. Picture of child taking papers out of their mailbox 3. Child

putting their papers in their mailbox and putting their jacket on. This final piece will assist those

students who need visual cues in addition to the auditory cues. This will further help when they

do there own retelling with pictures. For the auditory piece I will say:

1.Get backpack and jacket from coat area

2. Empty mailbox
3. Put papers in backpack and put on jacket
The three basic steps will help students to remember and then think forward to retell.
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Lesson 2: Act out a Familiar Routine

In this activity I will model the Familiar Routine of getting ready at the end of the day.

With each step I will identify what order that step comes in:

1. First (in the beginning), I get my jacket and backpack (show students)
2. Second (in the middle), I empty my mailbox
3. Third (in the end), I put my papers in my backpack and put on my jacket Say: Think
aloud. Show: Model.
I will ask one of my IEP students and then one of my ELL learners to act out the routine and ask

them to repeat “first”, “second”, and “third” after each step to ensure they understand the process

of retelling events in order. This activity will be especially helpful for these learners as the

verbal message is often missed, thus the kinesthetic motion or acting out and visual cues will

establish a pathway to learning how to retell events in order.

Lesson 14: Assessment

In this lesson students will create a mini-book and identify the beginning, middle and end

of the story The Bus is For Us. With drawing and/or writing they will identify the beginning on

the first page, the middle on the second page, and the end on the third page. This will assist

those students who can recall and retell more readily by numbers: 1, 2, and 3 or first, second, and

third. The page numbers function as an accommodation and will communicate specifically to

those ELLs and students who may still have difficulty understanding beginning, middle, and end.

Students have the option to draw, write or draw and write in their books. For those students who

struggle with adequately expressing their ideas in writing, they have the option to draw.

Students will also be given the opportunity to dictate their ideas to the teacher as they “read their

book”. This differentiated approach gives all students the opportunity to display their learning in

a way that aligns with their abilities and level of understanding and is also in line with the

standards which state that students can draw, write or dictate key details.
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Use of Technology
Other than the use of the smartboard for a You Tube read aloud and use of projection,

there is minimal use of technology in this unit. This unit focuses on hearing and seeing through

retelling and replaying, thus the use of technology is not widely necessary. I chose to have the

final story read aloud via You Tube as I have found students are extremely engaged and attentive

during You Tube read alouds, thus this approach will ideally transfer into a higher retention of

details resulting in recalling and retelling the story with greater ease.

Learning Goal #2

Finally, my second learning goal is to compare and contrast two texts, however a

completely separate unit is necessary to compare and contrast two texts, thus see the notes below

as I foresee it will be confusing for students to try to master “Retelling a Story” in conjunction

with “Compare and Contrast Two Texts”.

Compare & Contrast Graph (Graph 4.2)

Compare and Contrast Two Texts

16

14

12

10
Number of Students

0
Compare/Constrast two texts

Compare and Contrast Compare or Contrast No Compare or Contrast

Figure 9 (Compare & Contrast - Graph 4.2)

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After reviewing the data it is quite apparent that many students need instruction in

comparing and contrasting two texts. Modification of the learning goals may be necessary to

include comparing and contrasting non-fiction vs. fiction rather than two informative or non-

fiction texts. At this point I don’t see how to best include this learning goal in the current unit,

thus will work to modify the learning goal and/or write up a separate unit to target this learning

goal for the future.

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TWS Lesson 1
Candidate Name: Janey Wahlman Host Teacher Name: Brenda Councell
Supervisor: Katy Spangler
School: Bowman Elementary Grade Level: K # of Students: 24
Date & Time of Lesson: Length of Lesson: (day or days) 1 day – 15
minutes
Topic of Lesson: Content Area: Language Arts
Name a Familiar Routine
(Unit - Retell a Story)

Materials:
Smartboard

Reading Standards for Literature Grade K:

Key Ideas and Details

2. With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, using key details.

STAGE 1 – Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings (Meaning)

Enduring Understanding(s): Essential Questions to be Considered:
Retelling a familiar routine is similar to retelling How can you use a familiar routine to
a story. retell a story?

STAGE ONE: STAGE TWO:

Objectives/Learning Targets (Acquisition) Assessment/Acceptable Evidence of
Learning
Knowledge: What students should know…. (2-3)
Steps make up the process of a routine. Students model familiar routine in partner
Steps are done in an order. groups, identifying steps in routine.
Skills: What students should be able to do….(2-3)
Name a familiar routine.
Identify steps in a familiar routine.
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STAGE THREE: Learning for Understanding/ Instructional Activities

In this lesson we’ll use a strategy to assist in retelling events. We’ll talk about a Familiar

Routine and identify the steps involved in a specific classroom routine, recall the steps from

beginning to end and say/see the steps from beginning to end. This relates to my instructional goals

because it uses a strategy to assist in retelling a story; retelling the events of a familiar routine give

students the opportunity to recall and retell familiar events in context, assisting them in the process of

the recall and retell process. Naming a familiar routine will assist those students who were able to

retell one event in the story, but unable to tell the beginning (first), middle (second), and end (third)

sequentially. The familiar routine makes retelling events more relatable as it is in a context they

understand thus they can recall the events more readily. I will use the document camera to project

the three steps on the smartboard in pictures: 1. Picture of child getting jacket and backpack 2.

Picture of child taking papers out of their mailbox 3. Child putting their papers in their mailbox and

putting their jacket on. This final piece will assist those students who need visual cues in addition to

the auditory cues. This will further help when they do their own retelling with pictures. For the

auditory piece I will say:

1.Get backpack and jacket from coat area6

2. Empty mailbox
3. Put papers in backpack and put on jacket

Closure: These three basic steps will help students to remember and then think forward to retell.
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TWS Lesson 2
Candidate Name: Janey Wahlman Host Teacher Name: Brenda Councell
Supervisor: Katy Spangler
School: Bowman Elementary Grade Level: K # of Students: 24
Date & Time of Lesson: Length of Lesson: (day or days) 1 day – 15
minutes
Topic of Lesson: Content Area: Language Arts
Model a Familiar Routine
Retell a Story

Materials: Backpack, folder, jacket

Reading Standards for Literature Grade K:

Key Ideas and Details

2. With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, using key details.

STAGE 1 – Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings (Meaning)

Enduring Understanding(s): Essential Questions to be Considered:

Modeling is an effective method of instruction. How can modeling a routine illustrate the
concept of retelling a story?

STAGE ONE: STAGE TWO:

Objectives/Learning Targets (Acquisition) Assessment/Acceptable Evidence of
Learning
Knowledge: What students should know…. (2-3)
A routine involves steps. Model routine in partners.
Steps are carried out in a certain order.
Skills: What students should be able to do….(2-3)
Demonstrate how steps are carried out in a certain
order.
Identify order by showing steps.
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STAGE THREE: Learning for Understanding/ Instructional Activities

In this activity I will model the Familiar Routine of getting ready at the end of the day. With

each step I will identify what order that step comes in:

4. First (in the beginning), I get my jacket and backpack (show students)
5. Second (in the middle), I empty my mailbox
6. Third (in the end), I put my papers in my backpack and put on my jacket Say: Think aloud.
Show: Model.
I will ask one of my IEP students and then one of my ELL learners to act out the routine and ask

them to repeat “first”, “second”, and “third” after each step to ensure they understand the process of

retelling events in order. This activity will be especially helpful for these learners as the verbal

message is often missed, thus the kinesthetic motion or acting out and visual cues will establish a

pathway to learning how to retell events in order.

Students will model the familiar routine in partners to demonstrate understanding.

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TWS Lesson 14
Candidate Name: Janey Wahlman Host Teacher Name: Brenda Councell
Supervisor: Katy Spangler
School: Bowman Elementary Grade Level: K # of Students: 24
Date & Time of Lesson: Length of Lesson: (day or days) 1 day – 15
minutes
Topic of Lesson: Content Area: Language Arts
Name a Familiar Routine
Retell a Story

Materials: Blank three-page book template, pencil, eraser

Reading Standards Foundational Skills Grade K

Reading Standards for Literature Grade K:

Key Ideas and Details

2. With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, using key details.
.
STAGE 1 – Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings (Meaning)
Enduring Understanding(s): Essential Questions to be Considered:
Retelling is synonymous with summarizing. How can students effectively summarize a
story?

STAGE ONE: STAGE TWO:

Objectives/Learning Targets (Acquisition) Assessment/Acceptable Evidence of
Learning
Knowledge: What students should know…. (2-3)
Identify the beginning, middle and end of the story, Create a 3-page book to retell the
The Bus is For Us. story The Bus is For Us. Present the
book to the class.
Retelling a story is summarizing or making it short
and putting it in your own words.
Skills: What students should be able to do…. (2-3)
Retell the beginning, middle and end of the story in
student’s own words.
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STAGE THREE: Learning for Understanding/ Instructional Activities

In this lesson students will create a mini-book and identify the beginning, middle and end of
the story The Bus is For Us. With drawing and/or writing they will identify the beginning
on the first page, the middle on the second page, and the end on the third page. This will
assist those students who can recall and retell more readily by numbers: 1, 2, and 3 or first,
second, and third. The page numbers function as an accommodation and will communicate
specifically to those ELLs and students who may still have difficulty understanding
beginning, middle, and end. Students have the option to draw, write or draw and write in
their books. For those students who struggle with adequately expressing their ideas in
writing, they have the option to draw. Students will also be given the opportunity to dictate
their ideas to the teacher as they “read their book”. This differentiated approach gives all
students the opportunity to display their learning in a way that aligns with their abilities and
level of understanding and is also in line with the standards which state that students can
draw, write or dictate key details.

*Retelling a story is common with folk tales and fairy tales. While everyone retells stories
slightly differently, the beginning, middle and the end are usually similar (the same).
TEACHER WORK SAMPLE 29

Section 5: Instructional Decision Making

1st Modification:
During Week 2, it became apparent that some students were having difficulty following

along while I wrote words or drew pictures on the Anchor Chart (Tuesday), thus an instructional

change I felt necessary to implement was to provide access to illustrations reminiscent of those

in the story and include a teaching opportunity such that students could retell the story with the

use of those same illustrations. I felt a story board with corresponding pictures would give

certain students immediate visual representation of the story. This allowed students to more

readily recall: 1. The story read and 2. Events during the story. I modeled a situation that

provided students an opportunity to draw upon their own schema. Upon revision of my

approach, I immediately noticed certain students, specifically the monolingual students, actively

participated because they not only recognized the story, they could more readily organize the

story with the provided pictures. Because of the effectiveness of this approach, I modified the

following days plan for partner work and provided certain pairs with pictures to categorize rather

than requiring them to draw or write their own. By providing another tool for certain partner

groups, it established an additional level of differentiation by equipping students with an

opportunity to contribute to the pair. This promoted group work between the ‘higher’ and ‘lower’

students rather than the higher students completing the task in their pair.
TEACHER WORK SAMPLE 30

2nd Modification:
I assumed because of the modification in the prior paragraph, students would be prepared

for the final lesson on Friday which would serve as a formative assessment (fill out a story map

for the Three Little Pigs with drawing and/or writing to identify the beginning, middle and end or

1,2,3). Using this information, I made an instructional decision to create pictures that specific

students could sort to retell the story. This approach assisted the mono-lingual students and

those students with developmental delays. This modification provided a context for the

assignment. Students could draw on their prior learning and use the provided illustrations to

retell (or reconstruct) the story rather than coming up with their own. In addition, this allowed

those students with little to no communication capability in the English language to demonstrate

their learning without dictating. These modifications are in line with the standards and

subsequent learning goals as the standards specify that children are to retell a story with

“prompting and support”, thus the provided changes are just that.
TEACHER WORK SAMPLE 31

Section 6: Analysis of Student Learning

Potential
Pre- Post- Gain
Assessment Assessment Score,
Raw Score, Raw Score, Pre- Post- Actual Top Learning
Students Top Top Assessment Assessment Gain Possible Gain
N= Possible = Possible = Percentage Percentage Score = Score
23 6 6 100%
Addison 4 6 67% 100% 33% 33% 100%
Aaliyah 2 6 33% 100% 67% 67% 100%
Abigail 4 6 67% 100% 33% 33% 100%
Aaron 2 6 33% 100% 67% 67% 100%
Blake 0 6 0% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Corrina 4 6 67% 100% 33% 33% 100%
Rhema 0 6 0% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Evan 2 5 33% 83% 50% 67% 75%
Adrien 2 6 33% 100% 67% 67% 100%
Jaxon L 4 6 67% 100% 33% 33% 100%
Ian 4 6 67% 100% 33% 33% 100%
Michael 2 4 33% 67% 33% 67% 50%
Scarlett 4 6 67% 100% 33% 33% 100%
Jaxon M 6 6 100% 100% 0% 0% 0%
Mikayla 4 6 67% 100% 33% 33% 100%
Maleiah 4 4 67% 67% 0% 33% 0%
Dima 6 6 100% 100% 0% 0% 0%
Joshua 2 4 33% 67% 33% 67% 50%
Kylie 6 6 100% 100% 0% 0% 0%
Kylin 4 6 67% 100% 33% 33% 100%
Zack 0 4 0% 67% 67% 100% 67%
Payton 4 6 67% 100% 33% 33% 100%
Andre 4 6 67% 100% 33% 33% 100%
Average Overall Learning Gain Score 76%

Figure 10 (Retell Results Learning Gain Data - Table 6.1)

TEACHER WORK SAMPLE 32

Bowman Elementary Kindergarten Students

Retell Test Results
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

Pre-Assessment Percentage Post-Assessment Percentage

Figure 11 (Retell Results by Student - Graph 6.1)

The above chart demonstrates that several students met the criteria for learning goal 1.

Two students, Blake and Rhema, made significant progress starting with 0 points on the pre-

assessment and earning 6 points on the post-assessment. Three students, Kylie, Dima and Jaxon

M. scored the same on the post-assessment as the pre-assessment, thus their learning gain score

was 0%, yet these students are in the high groups, and could form an independent group in

reading and phonics instruction due to their high level of understanding. While the monolingual

students did not receive full points, the graph demonstrates that, with accommodations in place,

they too are able to retell at least two parts of the story. Overall, it is clear that the class is well

on their way to mastering the learning goal of “retelling a story”.

TEACHER WORK SAMPLE 33

Bowman Elementary Kindergarten Students

Retell Test Results
100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Boy Average Girl Average

Pre-Assessment Percentage Post-Assessment Percentage

Figure 12 (Retell Results by Gender - Graph 6.2)

The above graph displays the well-documented reality that girls score higher than boys

on tests of reading ability and have for quite some time. Even prior to attending school, young

boys evidence more difficulty in learning to read than girls, thus the findings on this chart

demonstrate this to be true. The sexes may indeed be hard-wired differently for literacy.
TEACHER WORK SAMPLE 34

Section 7: Reflection and Self-Evaluation

What Went Well

I believe that the teaching on “retelling a story” went well for a variety of reasons. First,

I reviewed familiar routines with students to begin the unit thus it gave students a context by

which they could make a connection with what they were learning to something familiar. When

students practiced modeling a familiar routine such as “getting ready at the end of the day”, they

could identify the steps involved in that routine. After they modeled the routine, they were able

to retell the routine (aside from a few students limited by communication who continued to

“model” the routine). The students were then able to connect retelling a familiar routine with

retelling a familiar story. I have learned with kindergarten it is of utmost importance to model

expectations with regards to learning goals and not to assume prior understanding. For many

students this is their first formal introduction to school. Beginning with a familiar routine gave

children a context for the content they were being introduced to. When children were allowed to

act out a familiar routine, they could first recognize the steps or sequence of events which

allowed them to more readily recall and retell those events when asked to. I found that “retelling

a familiar story”, such as The Three Little Pigs, through words and pictures was the most

effective manner to teach the concept of “retelling” as it related to literature because it was

indeed a familiar story to many students, thus they could apply this concept more readily to a

new story. This in turn allowed children to build upon the skill of retelling by applying this

concept to retelling a new or unfamiliar story. The partner work was also beneficial to students

as I paired students with a stronger skill set in this area with those who were still in the beginning

stages of a building a skill set.

TEACHER WORK SAMPLE 35

What Was Least Successful

I found that designing an assessment that would adequately and fairly test the knowledge

of all students proved most difficult, thus it was the least successful component of the TWS.

With a class comprised of high students, ELLs, and children with development delays I wanted

to create an assessment that would assess the learning goal of “retelling a story” for all students.

In this manner the assessment I created was overly simplified for some students and did not test

their knowledge to the level they were capable of. Thus, going forward, I would utilize a rubric,

rather than a mere point system measuring content to score the assessments. This system of

scoring would allow for more points for those students who include more details (drawing,

dictating or writing) and less for those students who could still retell the story, yet did not include

as many details.

Professional Development

In order to develop my practice as an educator I plan to study bilingual education and

seek my ELL/ESL endorsement to specialize in teaching English Language Learners. This TWS

illuminated the fact that I can more effectively hone my instructional strategies and assessments

to reach monolingual and bilingual children. One book I plan to read is Foundations of Bilingual

Education and Bilingualism by Colin Baker. I also plan to become a member of the NABE

(National Association for Bilingual Education) which supports the education of English

Language Learners. This association believes that by using native and second languages in

everyday life, we not only develop intercultural understanding, but we also show by example that

we respect and can effectively cross cultural and linguistic borders. This association offers

yearly conferences and symposiums in the field of bilingual education. I would like to attend

the conference next year in Florida, http://www.nabe-conference.com/index.html. This

organization also publishes Perspectives which is published four times a year on a quarterly basis
TEACHER WORK SAMPLE 36

and is available to read via their website: http://nabe.org/publications. I have started reading this

publication and will continue to.