EDEE 490

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Alyssa Marie Balmaceda

Dr. Stephanie Kamai

EDEE 490

April 15, 2024

My Best Lesson

I. Description

To begin strategizing my lesson plan, I consulted my mentor for guidance on which

lesson to tackle next. Looking at our pacing guide, I focused on a Science unit that measured the

height of green onion plants following her advice. Before teaching the first day of the lesson, Sae

and I reached out to one of the teachers in our grade level, Jaida Cook, an alumnus of the

University of Hawaii - West O’ahu. With Jaida’s support, she went over what she did for her

Best Lesson, and through reaching out to her, we could ask any questions we had and how many

work samples we needed to collect. The lesson standard of this lesson was that students needed

to support an argument that plants get the materials they need for growth, mainly from air and

water. For an assessment at the end of this unit, they needed to gather evidence from the Green

Onion Plant Lab Station and write a Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning (CER) Response. To model

the CER lesson, students watch a non-science video called “My Dad’s an Alien,” then they

analyze what claim they could make based on the video they watched on the first day of the

lesson. Next, they had to provide evidence supporting their claim and explain why or how their

evidence supports it. Students wrote their own CER Response in their Science journals about the

Inside Earth passage posted on Google Classroom.

We continued with our lab stations the following week of this unit. Before I had the
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students transition to our lab, I briefly went over what they did during the lab the week before.

To apply differentiating instruction, I displayed a slide displaying their lab rotations and

explained to them what they were expected to do. Students in their stations had a task they

needed to do: watch the two videos - Photosynthesis and “Who Needs Dirt?” Having the students

watch the videos benefits students who are visual and auditory learners, allowing them to review

what photosynthesis is and gather information that they could use to support their claim. The

rotations took three rounds, with two groups measuring the five different Green Onion Plants

from Box 1 and 2. After 10-12 minutes, students rotated to their following stations while the

other two groups were in the back tables measuring the plants' height and writing their

observations. As two groups were measuring their plants, the remaining groups read A Fresh of

Breath Air article and needed to complete a worksheet based on the article they read. Students

considered mid to low students had a worksheet with a word bank compared to the other students

who only needed to answer the questions. I had the stations set up like this so that it was easier

for students to transition from one station to another and for me to manage the class as they were

working in their stations.

II. Analysis

One of the ways I applied differentiation instruction was by having a slide displayed on

the board for our science stations. The stations include what each group would do and an early

finisher task. Before the students started working in their stations, I explained what they were

expected to do. Displaying and defining their expectations to the class benefits students who are

visual and auditory learners because they can look at the station rotations displayed to refer to

and listen for directions given to them. In addition, I also provided a hard copy of each station to

refer to, which included their learning target, success criteria, roles, and materials needed. This
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was successful because it allowed the students to have something to refer back to if they were

unsure what to do. Another way I applied differentiation instruction was by providing a

worksheet with a word bank included for my mid and lower-learner students, especially with one

of my lower learners who has a second-grade comprehension level. The rest of the class received

a worksheet that did not have a word bank. It also consists of a model that looks exactly like the

one they were required to read in the article. This allowed my visual learners to understand the

process of photosynthesis. Moreover, students could move around during the lab, which

benefited kinesthetic learners.

Based on their assessment data, one student scored a Meeting with Excellence (ME), four

students scored a Meeting Proficiency (MP), ten students received a Developing Proficiency

(DP), and five students scored a WB (Well Below). One of my focus students scored a DP, and

the other scored a WB. As for my other focused student, a mid-learner, I gave her a worksheet

without the word bank. In addition, I gave her extra time to complete her worksheet and

assessment because I know she usually takes a while to complete her assignments. Both students

could also use their notes and resources to help with their assessment. While analyzing their

assessments, most students needed to include evidence from their observation sheets, even

though I emphasized to the class that they would need their data collected to write out their

responses. This student feedback is crucial in helping me shape future instruction and enhance

their learning experience.

Additionally, I noticed that some students included evidence from the A Fresh Breath of

Air article, such as mentioning the model and pulling details from the article. Although the

article consists of a model of each component of the photosynthesis process and parts of the

plant, students were also expected to include measurements from the lab to support their claims.
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Moreover, I also noticed that some students were using their reasoning in the evidence and

writing something similar in the Reasoning section. As for the student who received an ME, she

restates her claim of what materials need to grow. In addition, she also included measurements

and descriptions from her observation sheet. Based on the class’s assessment data, I plan to give

the students more exposure to writing a CER Response tied to Science as a next step. I plan to

provide additional practice activities, such as assigning readings and asking the students to write

a CER Response, to give students more exposure to writing and reinforce the idea that there are

specific rules when writing a CER Response.

III. Reflection

Overall, my best lesson went well, and I was satisfied with how the rotations with all the

stations turned out. All five groups could rotate through their stations effectively and collaborate

to engage in measurement and observation tasks. They could also discuss their observations and

double-check each other’s work. Supplementary materials like readings and videos enhanced

their understanding of photosynthesis and plant requirements. However, pre-reviewing the CER

Response Assessment could have helped the students understand what each section asks and

emphasized that each part has a rule. For example, students needed to include at least two or

more pieces of evidence from a table or a model in the evidence section. In addition, students

cannot include transition words, such as “because,” in the Claim section and can only include

them when explaining their reasoning. If I were to review the rules, students would know they

are expected to apply them to their assessment. As a follow-up approach, I could have

incorporated a word bank for the claim section and simplified directions, such as rewording “a

chain of reasoning” into simple terms. Despite these considerations, the lesson effectively

catered to diverse learning styles, providing satisfactory results.

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Student Assessment Sample - Higher Learner

This student received an ME because she restated the claim and wrote it as a complete
answer. She also provided accurate evidence, including measurements and observations.
She also uses her reasoning to connect it to the evidence she provides to back up her
claim.
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Student Assessment Sample - Mid Learner

This student received a DP because she restated the claim and wrote it as a complete
answer. She also provided accurate evidence, including measurements and observation.
She used her reasoning to connect the evidence to the claim she provided.
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Student Assessment Sample - Lower Learner

This student received a WB because he did not provide evidence from his observation
sheet. His statement for his evidence and reasoning could be more specific. Though his
reasoning is connected with his evidence, I did not see how they both support the claim.
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Focus Student Assessment Sample - Mid-Learner

This student received a DP because none of her evidence supports her claim, even though
her claim is accurate. However, she partially explained why or how the evidence she
provided supports her claim.
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Focus Student Assessment Sample - Low Learner

This student received a WB because none of her evidence supports her claim, even
though it is accurate. Her reasoning could be more precise, as she restated her evidence in
the Reasoning section and elaborated.
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7. Assessment Data Graph
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8. List of Resources Used

● Lab Stations Handout

● A Fresh Breath of Air Article

● A Fresh Breath of Air Worksheet

● Inside Earth Resources

● Who Needs Dirt? Video

● Photosynthesis Video

● My Dad’s an Alien Video