Kimberly A. Williams Professional Portfolio. Table of Contents Introduction Educational Experiences...

Kimberly A. Williams’ Professional Portfolio

Table of ContentsIntroduction

Educational ExperiencesEducational PhilosophyInstructional StrategiesLearning EnvironmentInstructional ResourcesAssessment Protocols:

FormalInformal

TechnologyDeaf Education Resources

Representative Instructional UnitReference List

IntroductionDuring my high school years, it was when I decided to become a teacher for the deaf children. Becoming a teacher was the last career choice I thought I would ever make. A doctor, a lawyer, and a psychologist were all the career choices that I considered when I was growing up. Being a part of the school system was something that I have experienced since age 3. Due to that experience, I have always told myself that I did not want to become a teacher. If I became a teacher, then I would spend my entire life in the school system. But all of that changed during my high school years. When I was in high school, I was always helping other deaf students in the class with homework or explaining how to perform different tasks. It was something that I really enjoyed doing. That was when I started to realize that teaching was an appropriate career choice for me. I really enjoyed helping the other deaf students with their homework or explaining a concept to them. Once they understood, it was a good feeling to have. I just really enjoyed helping others to learn. Ever since, I just knew that I wanted to be a teacher for the deaf children.

IntroductionI also realized that I wanted to be a teacher because I wanted to be a role model for the deaf children. When I was growing up, I never really had many deaf role models in my life other than my deaf parents and their deaf friends. I never had any deaf teachers when I was attending Wickliffe City Schools. From that experience, I realized that there were not many deaf teachers who taught deaf children. That even gave me greater motivation and desire to become a teacher for the deaf children. Knowing that I am deaf myself, I know that I can relate even better with deaf children than hearing teachers could. I would want the deaf children to have the opportunity to experience having a deaf teacher in the classroom. This helped me to make my decision about entering the field of deaf education in order to become a teacher for the deaf children.

Educational ExperiencesIntroduction:

Throughout my years in the schools, I have been exposed to many different teachers. Teachers that I have been exposed to are the teachers that I have been taught to throughout my educational years and the teachers that I have been placed with for my practicum and two student teaching experiences. Unfortunately, I have spent time with teachers who have exhibited negative teaching characteristics. That had made me determined to become a teacher who will have many of the positive teaching characteristics to be exhibited in the classroom.

Educational ExperiencesIntroduction

I have learned some of the positive teaching characteristics by surrounding myself with the best teachers during my student teaching experiences and some of my professors during my collegiate years. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to be taught and mentored by some of the best teachers. By having these positive and negative experiences, it has altered my ways of teaching. It forced me to reflect on different kinds of characteristics that makes a best or a worst teacher. It has made me realize what kinds of characteristics that it takes to be an effective teacher for the students.

Educational ExperiencesNegative Teacher Characteristics:

UnorganizedDoes not respect students’ opinions and their culturesHas poor class management skillsDoes not meet students’ needsLack of enthusiasm or motivation in teachingNot creativeImpatientNot knowledgeableEmbarrasses the studentsHas negative attitude towards studentsLack of effective signing skills

Educational ExperiencesPositive Teacher Characteristics:

Makes learning FUNFairRespectfulOpen-mindedGoal orientedClear and conciseGood listenerCreativeEncouragingHelpfulMeets the needs of EACH studentHas sense of humor

Educational ExperiencesConclusion:

The information presented here is something that I need to reflect on throughout my teaching career. It is very vital for me to occasionally reflect on the list of positive teaching characteristics. So that I will develop these characteristics and become an effective teacher as I progress my teaching career in the future. It is possible that my list of negative and positive teaching characteristics will change over the years as I gain more experience teaching. My ultimate goal is to have the students to view me as one of the teachers has positive teaching characteristics.

Educational PhilosophyIntroduction:

In this section, my purpose is to express my philosophy of education. Every teacher has their own educational philosophy, which is a set of beliefs about how teaching should be implemented in the classroom. There are many different educational philosophies among the teachers. That is why it is important to have this section so that you can see what is my philosophy is regarding education. I have developed my educational philosophy based on my coursework at Gallaudet University and Kent State University and my practicum experiences in the schools.

Educational PhilosophyConstructivism

My philosophy of teaching is parallel with constructivism. I feel that this philosophy is really beneficial for the students if teachers how have this philosophy teach them. My goal is to have a constructivist classroom where the pursuit of student questions is highly valued. (Orlich & Harder & Callahan & Gibson, 2001)

Students viewed as thinkersThe students are viewed as thinkers with emerging theories of the world. I always have believed that children need to work in groups more often. They do need some individual work from time to time. But I really want to have a classroom where students primarily work in groups because they can really learn a lot by working with their peers. (Tompkins, 1998)

Educational PhilosophyInteractive classroom

My belief is that the teacher should behave in an interactive manner mediating the environment for the students. My philosophy reflects the thinking that students should be doing numerous hands-on activities. Therefore, the curricular activities rely heavily on primary sources of data and manipulative materials. The teacher should make sure that the classroom would be student-centered at most of the times.

Teacher as a facilitator The teacher is just there to provide guidance to the students. Teachers should be letting the students do most of the talking. The teacher encourages students to engage in dialogue, both with the teacher and with one another

Educational PhilosophyInformal assessment

As for determining the grade of each student, the assessment of student learning is interwoven with teaching and occurs though teacher observations of students at work and through student exhibitions and portfolios.

Value students’ commentsToo many times, teachers do not give the opportunity for students to express their opinions. Some teachers do not make the time to listen to the students. I believe that it is very important for the teachers to listen when the students are saying something. When a student says that he/she is bored, the teacher needs to listen and reflect upon on what the student just said. Too many times, we disregard students’ comments just because they are only students and not colleagues. It does indeed hurt the ability to have good rapport with the students in the long run.

Educational PhilosophyReflective teaching

Being able to reflect upon lessons is the main ingredient to become a successful teacher. I believe that it is important to continuously reflect on the lessons that were taught because there is always room for improvement. No teacher is perfect and to be able to reflect upon your teaching will make you an excellent teacher in the long run.

Educational PhilosophyConclusion:

This is currently my philosophy of teaching. It is different from my teachers that I have had during my elementary school years. This philosophy is very different because most of the teachers that I have had in the past did not have student – centered classrooms. I mostly worked alone focusing on the worksheets during my elementary and high school years. I did not have many chances to experience cooperative learning (group work). I hope to apply this philosophy that I have to my future classroom.

Instructional StrategiesIntroduction:

The purpose of this section is to present some of the key instructional strategies that I believe is very important. Those instructional strategies are the ones that I have learned throughout my experience in the teacher preparation programs at Gallaudet University and Kent State University. It is important to have instructional strategies because they do reflect my teaching philosophy. The instructional strategies also reflect my personal teaching beliefs and style for my classroom instruction. My instructional strategies can be applicable to all subjects and grade levels.

Instructional StrategiesCooperative Learning

It is important have cooperative learning in the classroom because it will teach students to learn how to work together in a small-group setting. Teamwork is a very important concept for students to learn. Also, the students can gain some independence by working on their own or with others rather than to depend on the teachers constantly for help. (Augustine & Gruber & Hanson, 1990).

Students as Active LearnersThe students need to be actively involved in their learning. They need opportunities to explore, discover, and discuss, and apply all subjects in their world. Students may not have the motivation to learn if they are always passive in the classroom knowing that the teacher will be the one to present new information to the students. (Reutzel & Cooter, 1996).

Instructional StrategiesUse KWL

This is one instructional strategy that I believe can be very effective with the students. This gives the teacher an opportunity to present a topic and find out what the student’s previous knowledge on that particular subject. “K” stands for “what you already know.” The teacher can find out what students already know on that topic so that the teacher does not repeat the same information. “W” stands for “what do you want to learn.” The teacher can find out what the students’ interests are on this topic. The students will learn what they are interested in knowing. “L” stands for “what have you learned.” At the end of the lesson, the teacher can find out what new information that the students have learned from this topic. (Reutzel & Cooter, 1996).

Instructional StrategiesGive plenty of wait time for the students to answer questions

It is important for the teachers to give students time for them to answer the question. Too often, a teacher would not give students enough time to answer after asking a question. The teacher usually moves on to another student who already knows the answer. Therefore, it is important to increase the amount of wait time during questioning in order to encourage participation among the students. (Orlich, et.al., 2001).

Use semantic webThis is a good way for teachers to use in order to organize information about a new or unfamiliar topic. It can help students to see how one piece of information is related to another piece of information. The ideas on the semantic web are all organized and it will help students to visualize the information better and see how they are related to each other. (Orlich, et.al., 2001)

Instructional StrategiesUse observations and interviews

I believe that it is very important to include that as one of the key instructional strategies. There are teachers who rely solely lectures and activities in order to teach the students. It is also important for the teacher to observe the students to identify patterns of student process errors. Teachers can also interview or observe the students to see how they feel about a particular subject or their knowledge about a subject. (Johnson, 2000).

Use variety of lesson plans (different activities)It is important for teachers to use variety of activities to make it more interesting for the students. The teachers should include activities that would include lectures, role-playing, hands-on activities, group work, reading with partner, silent reading, and many more. The purpose of using different kinds of lesson plans is to prevent from students experiencing boredom in the classroom.

Instructional StrategiesProgression of learning

In that concept, there are several steps that I believe are vital in teaching students to learn. The teachers should begin with hands-on activities with actual objects when introducing a topic (concrete level of learning). After that, the teacher should move on to a matching of the actual object with pictorial representations of the object (semi-concrete level of learning). Then, the teacher should move on to matching the pictorial representations to a symbolic representation of the object (abstract level of learning).

Use guided inductive inquiry when doing hands-on activitiesThis is a strategy that can be done with many activities. The concept is that the teacher will be the question asker. The students will be allowed to explore or investigate something. The teacher will be present in order to guide their learning. The teacher is not there to give the answers to the students but to promote their curiousness about an object.

Instructional StrategiesTeach activities that promote cognitive thinking from students

This is very important for teachers to have activities that would encourage students to use their thinking skills. Many students have struggled in developing their thinking skills because they do not have the opportunity to develop it. Teachers are always giving them information rather than to have the students to think for themselves. The teacher should promote cognitive thinking from the students by giving them activities that would promote cognitive challenge and require the students to show a deep understanding of the subject matter.

Instructional StrategiesMeet the students’ needs

Based my practicum experience, I learned that it is important to plan some lessons according to the students’ likes even if you may not feel agree it is the best way of learning (e.g. students love worksheets – teacher use worksheets as part of the lesson even if the teacher does not like it). It is important to do that because the teacher is taking into consideration regarding the students’ likes and dislikes. In a sense, the teacher is trying to meet the students’ needs by planning activities that the students enjoy.

“Laugh and Smile” when teaching becomes difficultThis is something that I have learned at my practicum. You need to have sense of humor. It is important to have the ability to laugh and smile when things seem so hard. There will be times when you will have the most difficult students or when it seems like it is impossible to teach the students anything.

Instructional StrategiesMake lesson plans applicable to students’ lives

As I have spent time in Dr. Harold Johnson’s class, I have realized how critical it is to have lesson plans to be applicable in the students’ lives. It makes more of an impact to the students when they are learning information that they can use in their daily life.

Instructional StrategiesConclusion:

All of the concepts listed are different instructional strategies that can be used in a classroom. Those are the strategies that describe how I would want to teach in my classroom. Different instructional strategies that I have listed are based on my experiences in the university coursework, and my practicum experience in public and private schools. Also, the instructional strategies reflect my educational philosophy of teaching. For example, I strongly believe that teachers should behave in an interactive manner while teaching. One of the teaching strategies is to have the the students to be involved in hands-on activities and be active learners. In conclusion, these experiences have led me to believe that these are the instructional strategies that will be effective when teaching the students.

Learning EnvironmentIntroduction:

The definition of learning environment is having an environment where the students can effectively learn. It is also should bean environment where students can feel at ease. It can be contributed to the physical characteristics of the classroom. It can also be contributed to how the teacher would operate things in the classroom and use instructional strategies effectively. The purpose of this section is to explain my ideas of what would make an environment where students would be able to effectively learn.

Learning EnvironmentFlexibility in the classroom

Being flexible is often the key to having an effective learning environment. The students will feel more at ease in the classroom knowing that the teacher is flexible and is willing to adapt to the needs of the students. Being flexible does not necessarily mean that the students have the freedom to do anything they want. Flexibility involves having a teacher who is capable of making necessary changes to make the students learn effectively. (Woolfolk, 1995).

Reinforce positive behaviorStudents would feel more motivated to learn knowing that their good behavior does not go unnoticed. Based on my past experiences, teachers spend too much time attending students who have behavior problems. The students who do behave well do not receive any compliments from the teacher. I believe that it is important for the well-behaved students to receive attention from the teacher. (Kennedy & Tipps, 1997).

Learning EnvironmentEstablish Basic Rules and Procedures and Explain the Consequences

The teachers who set rules and procedures for handling predictable problems create an effective learning environment. By explaining the rules and procedures to the students, the students have a better idea of what the teacher’s expectations are. Procedures can include administrative tasks, student movement, housekeeping, routines for running lessons, interaction between students and teachers, and interactions among students. Consequences are explained so that teacher and the students know what will happen. (Woolfolk, 1995).

Provide manipulatives and visual aids in the classroom I strongly believe that the students learn at their best when they are able to experience some hands-on activities. The teachers should have many materials available to the students to use while learning. It is also important to have different visual aids on the walls in the classroom. It provides more opportunities for the students to be exposed to new information. (Kennedy & Tipps, 1997).

Learning EnvironmentSet up an area in the classroom for enjoyable reading

Dividing up the space in the classroom into different areas may be beneficial for the students. One area should be considered to be the reading area. There would be some beanbags on the floor. The students can go to that area to do some silent reading and be comfortable. They can also use that area if they are interfering other students and they need to sit quietly until they can start behaving appropriately again. (Reutzel & Cooter, 1996).

Accept DiversityUnique considerations are necessary for teachers who may need to assist children with special needs and those with cultural or linguistic differences. It is important for the teacher to be open-minded to all students that comes in the classroom. Once the teacher is sensitive to the needs of all the students, the students will feel motivated to learn in the classroom knowing that they are accepted.

Learning EnvironmentOrganization

In order to have an effective learning environment, a teacher needs to be organized. That is because the classrooms are by nature multidimensional, full of simultaneous activities, fast-paced, unpredictable, and affected by the history of students’ and teachers’ actions. By being organized, it will help the teacher to effectively juggle all these elements every day better.

Give one mini-break each day This is something that I have learned from my student teaching experience. My student teacher always made sure that her students had one mini-break in the morning. The break only lasts 15 minutes. During that time, the teacher would read aloud from a book while the students listened. It gives students time to recuperate and have more energy to complete tasks throughout the day. I thought that it was very effective because the students were ready to learn some more after that mini-break.

Learning EnvironmentClear and effective communication

Communication between teacher and student is essential when problems arise. All interactions between people (even silence or neglect) communicate some meaning. It is important for the teacher to listen to the students. Teachers need to avoid passive and hostile responses and have active problem solving with the students. It will help to open the lines of positive communication between teacher and student.

Willingness to adapt The teacher need to have this willingness to adapt anything in the teaching or the classroom itself in order to meet the students’ needs. Every student that comes in the classroom has different needs. The teacher needs to be willing to adapt to the students’ needs whenever possible. A teacher cannot be set in his/her own ways. That will not create an effective learning environment for the students.

Learning EnvironmentFormulate an individual behavior plan for each student

As I have spent time in my practicum setting, I have been exposed to students who have behavior problems. My practicum teacher has repeatedly said that you need to use different behavior plan for each student in order to effectively teach in the class and to have the class in order. (Tucker, 2001).

Learning EnvironmentConclusion:

These are different factors that I strongly believe that will contribute positively into having an effective learning environment. It is very vital to have an effective learning environment for the students. If the environment lacks the idea/feel of wanting to learn, then there will not be many opportunities for students to learn. That will hurt the students’ chances of achieving in the future. By implementing different factors that were listed earlier in the classroom along with effective instructional strategies, there would be a very good chance of instilling the belief of wanting to learn in the students. For example, providing manipulatives and visual aids in the classroom is one way to have an effective learning environment and that reflects one of the instruction strategies that views students as active learners.

Learning Environment

Conclusion:It is important to incorporate the effective use of instructional strategies into the classroom in order to have an effective learning environment. By then, hopefully the students would have experienced an effective learning environment. To sum it up, the goal of teachers is to have students to be exposed to an effective learning environment and that can be done by incorporating effective instructional strategies.

Instructional ResourcesIntroduction:

This is a section where it can be most beneficial for professionals in the educational field who browse through my professional portfolio. It can be a frustrating task for the teachers to spend hours browsing through the Internet in order to find excellent curricular resources and activities to use for their classrooms. This section provides links to different national organizations, national standards, and curricular resources on the Internet. Those presentations were developed by the students in the Deaf/HH teacher preparation at Kent State University. These presentations cover subject areas such as science, mathematics, and Deaf studies.

Instructional ResourcesMath

National Organizations• National Council Teachers of Mathematics, www.nctm.org/, Cathy Wilson and

Adrienne Rossi• The Mathematical Association of America, www.maa.org/, Jennifer Fabian and

Robyn Kwiatkowski• American Mathematical Society, http://e-math.ams.org/, Jennifer Fabian and Robyn

Kwiatkowski

National Standards• NCTM Standards, http://nctm.org/standards/, Jennifer Fabian and Robyn

Kwiatkowski• Principles and Standards for School Mathematics,

http://standards.nctm.org/document/chapter5/index.htm, Carrie Majewski and Kim Williams

• National Math Standards Grades K-4, http://www.education-world.com/standards/national/math/k_4.shtml, Jennifer Fabian and Robyn Kwiatkowski

Instructional ResourcesMath

Curricular Resources• LightSpan, http://lightspan.com/, Carrie Majewski and Kim Williams• Teacher/Pathfinder Educational Village, http://teacherpathfinder.org/,

Carrie Majewski and Kim Williams• Math through Ages,

www.coreknowledge.org/CKproto2/resrcs/lessons/498MathAges.htm, Jennifer Fabian and Robyn Kwiatkowski

• Dr. Math, http://forum.swarthmore.edu/dr.math/drmath.elem.html, Jennifer Fabian and Robyn Kwiatkowski

• The Math Forum, http://mathforum.com/, Cathy Wilson and Adrienne Rossi

• The Global Schoolhouse, www.globalschoolhouse.com/, Cathy Wilson and Adrienne Rossi

Instructional ResourcesScience

National Organizations• National Science Teaching Association, www.nsta.org/, Crystal Wiece and

Shannon Collins • American Association for the Advancement of Science, www.aaas.org/, Meg

Coyne and Nancy Sutherland• The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse, www.enc.org/, Meg Coyne and Nancy

Sutherland

National Standards• National Science Education Standards,

www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/html/index.html, Meg Coyne, Nancy Sutherland

• National Science Standards, http://books.nap.edu/html/nses/html/index.html, Crystal Wiece and Shannon Collins

• Project 2061:Science Literacy for a Changing Future, www.project2061.org//, Crystal Wiece and Shannon Collins

Instructional ResourcesScience

Curricular Resources• Education World, www.educationworld.com/science/, Meg Coyne and

Nancy Sutherland• Science and Math Initiatives, www.learner.org/sami, Meg Coyne and

Nancy Sutherland• Athena-earth and space science for teachers, www.athena.ivv.nasa.gov/,

Meg Coyne and Nancy Sutherland• K-12 Science Education Resources,

www.eskimo.com/~billb/edu.html#free, Crystal Wiece and Shannon Collins

• SRA Science, www.sra4kids.com/teacher/science/index.html, Crystal Wiece and Shannon Collins

• Science Made Simple, www.sciencemadesimple.com/, Crystal Wiece and Shannon Collins

Instructional Resources

Deaf StudiesNational Organizations

• National Association of the Deaf, http://nad.policy.net, Ashley Ayers and Holly Maines

• Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf/HH, www.agbell.org/, Ashley Ayers and Holly Maines

• American Society for Deaf Children, www.deafchildren.org/, Ashley Ayers and Holly Maines

National Standards• National Association of the Deaf,

http://nad.policy.net/proactive/newsroom/release.vtml?id=17960, Ashley Ayers and Holly Maines

Instructional ResourcesDeaf Studies

Curricular Resources• Hand Glass, www.handglass.com, Ashley Ayers and Holly Maines• Deaf Views, http://www.deafview.com, Ashley Ayers and Holly

Maines• Deaf Today, http://www.deafspot.ds.net/, Ashley Ayers and Holly

Maines• Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center,

http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/, Ashley Ayers and Holly Maines• Residential Schools and Deaf Cultures,

http://www.gallaudet.edu/~pcnmpper/nov-dec97/residential.html, Ashley Ayers and Holly Maines

• Gallaudet University Library, http://library.gallaudet.edu/dr/, Ashley Ayers and Holly Maines

Instructional ResourcesConclusion:

The information provided in this section should serve as a tool for teachers to use in their classroom. The teachers can use this section in order to help them get started on teaching a specific topic if they are looking for instructional materials to use in their curriculum. Also, this section can be viewed as additional resources for the teachers because they may already have some resources in the first place. This is a section that can be beneficial for teachers because they can use the information and apply it to their classrooms.

Formal Assessment ProtocolsIntroduction:

Assessment occurs in every classroom. It is the teacher’s responsibility to continuously monitor students’ progress. Over the years, the school systems have relied on formal assessments to monitor students’ progress. The formal assessments include tests that are designed to compare individual students with national averages, or norms of expectancy (Overton, 2000). The tests are also standardized in order to obtain favorable results. Unfortunately, there have not been many standardized tests that include norms for the deaf students. Teachers need to remember how critical it is when it comes to choosing a specific kind of test to use with the deaf students. The next slide lists several tests that have been used with the Deaf/HH students. The teachers can benefit from the next slide if they are not sure about which tests to use with the Deaf/HH students.

Formal Assessment ProtocolsEven though there are not many standardized tests that are designed for the Deaf/HH students, there are some standardized tests that have been commonly used for the Deaf/HH students. The formal assessment listed below have shown some kind of validity for the Deaf/HH Students (Gibbins, 1989). These standardized tests are:

The Hiskey-Nebraska Test of Learning AptitudeThe Pintner Language TestThe Stanford Achievement TestThe performance scale of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Revised (WISC-R).

Formal Assessment ProtocolsAll of the tests that were mentioned in the previous list do include norms for the Deaf/HH students. The WISC-R include norms for both hearing and Deaf/HH students. The Hiskey-Nebraska Test include information about standardization administration procedures for hearing and Deaf/HH students. The Pintner Language test also include norms for Deaf/HH students. The WISC-R tends to be the most popular one among the other tests to be used with Deaf/HH students (Gibbins, 1989).

Formal Assessment ProtocolsConclusion

Formal assessments have been repeatedly used over number of years for Deaf/HH students. It is difficult to find tests that include norms for Deaf/HH students. It is very important to use tests that do include the norms for Deaf/HH students when testing the Deaf/HH students. Deaf/HH students have not been properly tested over number of years because they have been tested using inappropriate testing materials that did not include norms for Deaf/HH students. Teachers need to remember how important to choose appropriate testing materials to ensure fair testing for the Deaf/HH students.

Informal Assessment ProtocolsIntroduction:

Informal assessment are non-standardized methods of evaluating progress such as interviews, observations, teacher-made tests, and more. Informal assessments are starting to be widely used by many teachers today. Informal assessments are an alternative way to monitor students’ progress rather than using formal measures. Teachers today are starting not to rely so much on formal measures because it may not be a true estimate of the student’s ability. There are several different ways to use informal assessments to monitor students’ progress. There is a list of different techniques that can be used with the students on the next slide.

Informal Assessment ProtocolsPerformance Assessment

This is an assessment where students are required to create a product to demonstrate knowledge. Student knowledge and ability are measured through actual performance through a product that they develop in response to a question (Overton, 2000).

Authentic AssessmentIt is somewhat similar to the idea of performance assessment. But the questions or the problems are more realistic and are set in real-life context. An example of this kind of assessment is a publication of a classroom newspaper. This can be used in many different ways to assess students’ ability in many subject areas (Overton, 2000).

Curriculum-Based AssessmentThis is an assessment where using the content from the currently used curriculum to assess students’ progress. Using a criterion referenced tests is the most common form of this tool (Overton, 2000).

Informal Assessment ProtocolsPortfolio Assessment

This is a way to evaluate students’ progress, strengths, and weaknesses using a collection of different measurements and work samples. This is the kind of assessment that I would want to use with my students because I believe that the students will benefit greatly from this kind of assessment. Students may get the sense of ownership if they do have a say of what is being put in their portfolio. A portfolio would include a wide variety of students’ work samples that does not only focus on written tests. This is something that really focus on the process rather than the product. This reflects some of the ideas within my philosophy of education (Orlich, et.al., 2001).

Informal Assessment Protocols

This is a list of different ideas that teachers can use during an informal assessment (Overton, 2000):

Observations• Teachers can use anecdotal records in order to record things that are

being seen and are worth recording the information on paper.

Interviews• Teachers are encouraged to interview the students to ask the students

to evaluate their progress in the classroom. Also, the teachers can interview the students’ families to learn more about the students and their progresses.

Informal Assessment ProtocolsChecklists

• There are so many different kinds of checklists that can be used during informal assessment. There is a checklist that evaluates the student’s ability to read or write. There is another kind of checklist that evaluates the student’s behavior in the classroom. There are also checklist for the students to fill out so that they can self-evaluate themselves based on how well they are doing in the class or in an activity.

Teacher-made tests• The teachers can develop their own tests in during teaching an unit.

The teachers can develop their own test questions that looks for specific information or skill that students are supposed to acquire throughout the unit.

Informal Assessment ProtocolsConclusion:

Informal assessments are gaining popularity among many teachers today. However, it really does consume a lot of time in order to develop informal assessments in order to assess the students’ progress. As I have mentioned in my Instructional Strategies section, it is important to include observations and interviews while teaching. By incorporating informal assessments in the classroom, being able to get an accurate evaluation of the students’ progress will be very effective. Informal assessments are a great way to assess students’ progress in class because it covers a wide variety of students’ skills. Formal assessments naturally tend to focus only on students’ test taking skills. The format of formal assessments are only in the test form while informal assessments include test forms, students’ work samples, and many more. Informal assessments are becoming the trend today in the educational field because it is more valid and extensive that teachers can use in teaching the students and it reflects their teaching philosophy even more.

TechnologyIntroduction:

Technology is becoming a part of people’s everyday lives. For instance, computers are starting to be considered as common objects such as television and microwaves that are found in many people’s home today. Children young as five years old are learning how to use computers. Advances in technology have been great improved in the last 10 years. It is important for teachers today to use technology to enhance teaching and the students’ learning. The purpose of this section is to list some ideas of how teachers can incorporate technology in the classroom in order to enhance students’ learning. I have repeatedly stated how important it is to have an interactive classroom environment in my educational philosophy. By using some of the technology such as computers, digital cameras, and more, it is possible to have an interactive classroom by incorporating the technology in the classroom.

TechnologyUse Internet

Teachers can allow students to use the Internet to gather information. If the students have a question about anything, they can use the Internet to find the information. They can use the Internet to find locations of countries, use interactive math or other subject-related activities, and many more. Basically, using the Internet is an effective tool for the students to use in order to enhance their curiosity about something. (http://members.aol.com/MrsGoudie/InternetAdventures.html)

Computer software (games related to subject matter) Teachers can purchase some software that students can use. Many of the software are designed for educational purpose. There are many different kinds of software that teachers can choose from. It is a good way for students to learn about a specific concept using the software rather than listening to the teacher lecture. It puts some taste of variety in the classroom by using computer games rather than teacher lecturing. (Kennedy & Tipps, 1997)

TechnologyWord Processor

Students can use the computer’s word processing program to type their writings. In order to have a completed writing product at the end, it takes several revisions before a finished product. The students can use the word processor in order to type up their work and be able to save their work. Later on, the students will be able to go back to their work and do some revisions to their writings. It is easier to do that because the students may get frustrated knowing that they would have to start writing the whole thing over if they had to make some revisions to their writings. Using a word processor is a good way to have students improve their revising skills. (Weinstock, 1999)

Video ProgramIt is important for teachers to have some video programs in the classroom. That is because there are some video programs that develop concepts and skills and provide another technical means of presenting information to children. A typical program has an overall theme that is presented in segments. Teacher and students view and discuss the video a segment at a time as the program is used. As the story line unfolds, children speculate, study patterns, make predictions, and draw conclusions. (Kennedy & Tipps, 1997).

TechnologyGetting Class On-Line

A large part of education is moving information from one person to another. Teachers have policies they must communicate to students and their parents. Teachers have assignments with instructions for their students to complete. Students and their parents have questions for teachers. Internet technologies, web servers, e-mail servers, and browsers are very good at presenting this type of information. By having this available, it will free the teaches from some repetitive tasks so that teachers, students and their parents can focus more time on student achievement. (http://www.integratingit.com/Classroom/Strategies/GettingYourClassOnline.html)

Video CameraA video camera can be used in the classroom. Many students do enjoy having short skids in the classroom. The teacher can give opportunity to the students to develop their own skit or role-play in the classroom. The teacher can videotape the skit/role-play and the students can enjoy watching the tape after the skits/role-plays are completed.

TechnologyTelevision and VCR

A Television and a VCR can be used in the classroom. There are many wonderful educational videotapes that can be shown in the class. There are many videotapes that cover a variety of educational topics. Many students do enjoy watching TV and this is an activity that can be done from time to time to give students breaks from lectures or hands-on activities.

TTY and FaxHaving a TTY in the classroom would be wonderful for the students because they can make the phone calls themselves. Some of the deaf students do not have a TTY at home and this is a good opportunity for them to learn how to use a TTY and how to make a polite phone conversation. Having a fax in the classroom would be useful for the students. There may be some students who do not have a fax at home and this is a good way to expose them to fax machines. The students can use the fax machine to send faxes to contact different organizations to request for additional information on a specific topic. They can also use the fax machine to send faxes to other schools. It is a good opportunity for students to be in contact with other schools across the nation or even at an international level.

TechnologyRegular and Digital Cameras

Students can use regular cameras to take pictures of their works that they have invested large amount of time to complete their work. They can also take pictures of their friends. There are many different ideas that students can use with the regular cameras. Digital cameras are also effective. The students can use the digital cameras and print out the images on a paper. The digital cameras can be used in the same way that a regular camera is used. Both cameras are effective tools for the students to use in order to exhibit their work that they have done in the classroom. They can use the pictures to add to their portfolio.

Technology

Conclusion:Incorporating technology into classrooms is one of the tasks that teachers need to do today. Teachers of the past did not have to deal with that issue. Today, technology is a vital part of people’s everyday lives. Therefore, it is important for teachers to find ways to incorporate technology into the learning environment. I believe that having an effective learning environment, the teacher must have the attitude of being willing to adapt. Therefore, the teacher needs to be willing to adapt to the changes that are being made in the society today due to advancements in technology. The classroom design needs to allow technology to become a part of the daily life in the classroom.

Technology

Conclusion:Some professional organizations that I have mentioned in my Deaf Education Resources section assert that the teachers should encourage and accept the use of computers, and other technology in the classroom. It is very important to expose technology to students so that the students can develop skills to use in the future since technology are becoming a large part of people’s every day lives. To sum it up, the purpose of this section was to provide some ideas of how teachers can use technology in the classroom to enhance their teaching and the students’ learning and emphasize how important it is to do so in order to have an effective learning environment.

Deaf Education ResourcesIntroduction:

This section provides many different kinds of resources that are available to parents and teachers and professionals in the Deaf education field. Texts, videotapes, Web sites, publications, and organizations are the different kinds of resources that can be used and applied in the Deaf world. It is very important for these resources to be used and shared because it will make a huge difference in the Deaf education because there will be a higher percentage of people who are more educated about the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in general. Taking advantage of the resources is something that is imperative to those who are involved in the field of Deaf education.

Deaf Education ResourcesOrganizations:

National Association of the Deaf• It is an organization that focuses on the Deaf community. It provides information

on deafness. It is a wonderful web site to begin with in order to learn more about deafness.

• http://nad.policy.net/

American Society for the Deaf• It is a great web site for those who are involved with Deaf children. It provides

directory of members and parent networking services. It also has a list of support services for one with a Deaf child may use.

• www.deafchildren.org/

Alexander Graham Bell• It is a wonderful web site to begin with in order to learn more about deafness.

Also, teachers can use this web site to get obtain the latest information about advocacy, conferences, workshops, and publications.

• http://nad.policy.net/

Deaf Education ResourcesTexts:

Choices in Deafness: A Parents’ Guide to Communication Options

• An excellent book for parents of deaf children to read about different methods of communicating with a Deaf child.

• Book edited by Sue Schwartz – Published in1996 by Woodbine House

Deaf Heritage: A Narrative History of Deaf America• Anybody interested in the Deaf should read this book in order to

become more knowledgeable about the history of the Deaf community.

• Book written by Dr. Jack R. Gannon – Published in1981 by the National Association of the Deaf

Deaf Education ResourcesTexts:

A Journey into the Deaf-World• A great book for anybody who wants to try to understand what the Deaf

world is like.• Written by Harlan Lane, Robert Hoffmeister, Ben Bahan – Published in 1996

by DawnSign Press

Manual Communication: Implications for Education• Another great book for teachers to read about different kinds of

communication modality that are used by Deaf children and its implications• Edited by Harry Bornstein – Published in 1990 by Gallaudet University Press

Language & Literacy Development in Children Who Are Deaf• An excellent book for teachers or professors who are interested in the literacy

development of Deaf children• Book written by Dr. Barbara Schirmer – Published in 2000 by Allyn &

Bacon

Deaf Education Resources

Web Sites:Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center

• It is a great web site to begin with when you are looking for information related to deafness in general – this web site alone provides a directory of over sixty national organizations and associations dealing with deafness.

• http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/infotogo

Deaf Education Web site• A great web site for anybody who is involved or interested in the

Deaf education field – a wide array of information and resources provided on the Internet

• www.deafed.net

Deaf Education ResourcesPublications:

Odyssey• It is a great publication that features articles about many different issues that are

important to the families of deaf and hard of hearing children and to anyone else involved in deaf education

• http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/Odyssey/index.html

World Around You• It is a magazine for Deaf and hard of hearing teenagers. It has hero/adventure

stories about deaf teens and adults as well as information about careers, role models, technology, laws, and deaf culture.

• http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/WorldAroundYou/index.html

Sharing Ideas• Sharing Ideas series is comprised of working or occasional papers of interest to

parents and teachers of deaf children, researchers, school administrators, support service personnel, and policy makers.

• http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/Products/Sharing-Ideas/index.html

Deaf Education Resources

Videotapes:Reading to deaf children: Learning from deaf adults

• It is a videotape that shows the process of how to story sign to deaf children from books appropriately. Parents and teachers can benefit from this videotape.

• Videotape developed by David Schleper in 1997 – Gallaudet University

Reading it Again and Again• It is a great videotape for parents and teachers to learn from about

story signing books to Deaf children

• Videotape developed by David Schleper in 1998 – Gallaudet University

Deaf Education ResourcesSummary:

This section provides a wide array of resources that are available to parents, teachers and other professionals in the Deaf education field. These resources provide valuable information about Deafness in general. My goal is to use these resources and benefit from these resources throughout my teaching career. It is important to take advantage of what is out there today in order to learn more about the Deaf world. It is important to be knowledgeable about the Deaf world in order to be able to effectively teach and interact with Deaf children.

Representative Instructional Unit

Introduction:I have developed a unit during my practicum experience at Beachwood Middle School. This unit was designed for three seventh-grade students. They do not perform at the seventh grade level academically. Third and fourth grade may be the appropriate grade levels for these students. The focus of this unit is the Great Lakes. The unit itself represents my educational philosophy and instructional strategies. For example, I believe that it is very important to have an interactive classroom in order to have the students to learn effectively. One of my activities included my students going on a field trip to see Lake Erie and the students would bring along the digital cameras to take pictures of the Lake Erie. This kind of activity has the students being involved rather than being passive learners. This activity reflects my educational philosophy.


IntroductionIt also represents one of my instructional strategies as well. That is because one of my instructional strategies listed involves the concept related to the progression of learning. In order to teach effectively, you need to start teaching a concept that is concrete and then eventually teach abstract concept. That is why my first activity in this unit involved going on a field trip. It is a concrete activity for the student so that they may understand it better. As you can see, the representative instructional unit does indeed incorporate my critical teaching beliefs that I feel are necessary to be an effective teacher for the Deaf students.


Unit Organization

Academic Subject: Geography Unit Objectives:

*Note: The following unit objectives were derived from a 4 th grade curriculum unit. The reason that these unit objectives are at the 4 th grade level is because of the fact that the 7th grade students at my practicum are functioning well below the 7 th grade level. I have looked at the 7th grade unit objectives and the students in that class are nowhere close to achieving the unit objectives at the end of the unit. I have looked through the other unit objectives at different grade levels and I truly believe that the 4th grade unit objectives are somewhat close to their level. I do not expect the students to be able to meet all of these unit objectives after the completion of this unit. The design of this unit is only expected to have the students to achieve some of these unit objectives. In order to achieve all of these unit objectives listed; it would be necessary to develop another unit that has a different topical focus. This unit primarily focuses on the topic of water and specifically Great Lakes.


Unit OrganizationUnit Objectives

1. Develop map skills:Point out major reference points, parallels, and meridians on maps and globes - North and South Poles, Equator, Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, and Arctic and Antarctic CirclesUse maps to locate major landforms and bodies of water in Ohio, the United States, and other nations in the world Use a number/letter grid system to locate places on a mapLocate places on maps and globes using latitude and longitudeUtilize map keys to understand map symbols 2. Use maps as a source of informationRecognize continents by their outlines and define their characteristicsDefine the characteristics of major landformsDefine the characteristics of major bodies of waterObtain information from maps to describe climate, natural vegetation, and resourcesExamine maps and globes to note physical and/or human (cultural) differences between places - Landforms, ecosystems, population densities, ethnic distributionsDetermine the impact of technology on Ohio 3. Demonstrate the relationship between historical events in Ohio, the nation, and world 4. Describe the location of Ohio relative to other states, nations, and physical features of the world 5. Describe factors that helped influence the location, growth, and development of places in Ohio and compare with sites in other states 6. Create tables, charts, and graphs to compare climate, vegetation, and resources in Ohio with other states and nations 7. Recognize that the government of Ohio deals with governments of other nations - Sister-state relationships, official trips by the governor or members of the General Assembly to other countries8. Recognize the interdependence of Ohio's economy with nations around the world


This instructional unit is quite long and extensive. If you are truly interested in reading more about this instructional unit, the rest of the unit is located after the reference section. Please feel free to read more about this unit after reading the reference section.


Summary:As part of the requirement, I have taught approximately three lessons at my practicum using the activities that I have developed in this unit. I have included some of my thoughts and comments based on the two lessons that I have taught at my practicum. This reflects my educational philosophy. As I have mentioned in my educational philosophy section, it is important for a teacher to reflect upon the lesson plans that were taught. I have included my reflective thoughts in this summary section evaluating my two lessons that I have taught.


Unit Feedback: Lesson #1This is one of the lessons that I would teach at my practicum placement. If I had it my way, I would love to take the students on a field trip where they can see the Lake Erie. Unfortunately, there was not time for it and the teacher did not seem open to the idea. Therefore, my lesson with then was a K-W-L activity and I felt that it was quite successful. The students seemed perplexed at first when I told them to stand up and come to the chart and write down some of the information that they already know about the lakes (K column). It seems like the students are so used to sitting down and they were like shocked to be standing up. I felt at ease with them during most of the period. There were a time when one of the students who refused to cooperate with me and I was not sure how to handle that. He kept on standing around the room and I asked him to go back to his desk and he refused and I was not sure how to handle him. I discussed this with my practicum teacher afterwards and I felt better. She just said that it takes time for him to get used to me and that I need to be more tough with him. It works with that particular student but it does not work with the other students. That is when I learned that you really need to individualize in this class. During this lesson, I had the students to go to the computer lab and find some information about the Great Lakes. The students were excited about going to the computer lab. You could see it in their eyes that they were really tired of worksheets and lectures and I kind of could see that. That is why I had this idea of having them to go to the computer lab. They were really excited about that. As soon as I said the word computers, they perked up and were ready to go. It is frustrating at times to teach them the lesson because their language is so limited and I am not used to that. It is really a struggle to have a classroom discussion with that class. I love having group discussions in the class but sometimes it is not always possible with this group of students. They are a great group to teach but it is a challenge to maintain their attention during the lesson and have them answer the questions. But I have enjoyed teaching them this lesson and I felt quite successful after this lesson. However, I knew that I would have to make sure that I review the information that they learned in that day in the next day or so in order to have them retain the information. They really struggle with retaining the information. Despite all of that, they are a great bunch of students and I enjoyed teaching them.


Unit Feedback: Lesson #2This is the second lesson that I taught them. This activity was an exploratory activity for the students learning about the different aspects of the Great Lakes. By this time, I felt a bit more comfortable with the students and I was not as nervous this time when compared with the first lesson. I bought in many materials on that day to have the students to become involved. As I have said before, their language is really limited and I felt that the only way that I could really have them understand this is to have a lot of hands on experience during the lesson. That is why I brought in many materials that the students could play with. At first, I had them drinking freshwater and saltwater. One of the students resisted and did not want to participate during the activity. I truly believe that it is partly because they are so used to being passive and they are not used to having a teacher asking them to become involved during the lesson and touching different things. You should see the look on their face when I asked them to come up and touch some of these things and drink the water. They looked puzzled and a bit apprehensive. Once one of the students drank it, then the rest of the class did it. It may be because they did not trust me and I would have to gain their trust. If that was the case, then that is okay because I do feel that I have somewhat gained their trust towards the end of the activity. I do feel pretty good about this activity because I felt more comfortable with the students. As I have mentioned earlier, there was one student who refused to cooperate with me and I was not sure how to handle him. During this lesson, he did refuse a little bit because I think he was testing me and I handled him better this time than the last time and he cooperated with me for most of the time during this lesson. I felt good about that because I was able to get everybody involved at one point in this activity. I also introduced some vocabulary words (length, depth, and replacement time) along with the signs and I was not sure if they had entirely understood the vocabulary words or not. But I was really impressed when the students remembered the signs and the meanings few days later. It showed me that they were really paying attention during my lesson and that they did actually learn something from it. It really did make me feel good. As I have mentioned before, this is a tough group to teach but it is a challenge that I feel that I can handle it. It is a great experience for me to be teaching this group and I do enjoy it.


Summary continued…I do have every intention to continuously reflect on my lessons throughout my teaching career. It is very important for me to evaluate my lessons so that I can become a better teacher for my students. In the long run, my students will become better learners because of the time that I take to reflect on my lessons. This unit has taught me to enforce my beliefs into action. It was quite challenging to do so. Doing something like this takes a lot of time and effort and practice to be successful. I am not giving up. I am determined to be the best teacher that I can be.

Reference ListAugustine, D.K., Gruber, K.D., & Hanson, L.R. (1990) . Cooperation works: cooperative learning can benefit all students, even those who are low- achieving, gifted, or mainstreamed. Educational Leadership, 4-7.

Blair, C. (1999). Getting your Class On- line. Available: http://www.integratingit.com/Classroom/Strategies/GettingYourClassOnline.html [1999, September 17].

Gibbins, S. (1989). The provision of school psychological assessment services for the hearing impaired: A national survey. The Volta Review, 91, 95-103.

http://www.integratingit.com/Classroom/Strategies/GettingYourClassOnline.html

http://www.integratingit.com/Classroom/Strategies/GettingYourClassOnline.html

Reference ListGoudie, Marcia (1999). Internet Activities for Elementary Classroom. Available: http://members.aol.com/MrsGoudie/InternetAdventures.html [February 25, 1999].

Johnson, Harold. Lecture. Language Instruction for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing. Kent, 25 September 2000.

Kennedy, L.M., & Tipps, S. (1997). Guiding children's learning of mathematics (8th ed.). New York: Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Orlich, D. C., Harder, R. J., Callahan, R. C., & Gibson, H. W. (2001). Teaching strategies: A guide to better instruction (3rd ed.). Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.

Reference ListOverton, T. (2000). Assessment in special education: an applied approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Reutzel, D.R., & Cooter, R.B. (1996). Teaching children to read: from basals to books (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tompkins, G.E. (1998). Language arts (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Tucker, Suzanne. Discussion. Practicum. Beachwood, 14 March 2001.

Weinstock, Janet. Classroom. Field Experience. Washington, DC, 10 January 1999.

Woolfolk, A.E. (1995). Educational psychology (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Representative Instructional Unit Continued….

Curriculum MaterialsThe fourth grade global unit objectives that were listed in the unit objectives section were derived from the State of Ohio Curriculum Guide in Social Studies. A copy of the State of Ohio Curriculum Guide in Social Studies can be found at http://w3.iac.net/~pfilio/. Ideas that were used in the lesson plans in this unit, this web address, http://www.lerc.nasa.gov/WWW/K12/Summer_Training/LincolnParkES/PROBLEMS.html, was used in order to develop lesson plans for this unit. A videotape, Great Lakes: A Bitter Legacy, produced in 1992 by the National Audubon Society, Turner Broadcasting System and WETA-TV, was used in this unit in order to expose the students about the Great Lakes.


Classroom InformationThere are 3 students (two boys and one girl) in this class. They are in the 7 th grade class. They are performing at approximately between second and fourth grade levels. This is the main reason why the unit objectives of this section were derived from the fourth grade section. They have social studies class during the first period on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. The first period lasts from 7:40 a.m. – 8:22 a.m. This geography unit primarily focuses on the bodies of water particularly the Great Lakes. It approximately takes about 2 to 3 weeks to teach the unit about bodies of water and specifically the Great Lakes.

Number of Students3

Number of classesApproximately 10-11

Length of classesapproximately 40 minutes (7:40 a.m. – 8:22 a.m.)


Language Goals*Note: The function of the language goals and the cognitive goals that are listed below closely resembles the function of the objectives rather than the goals. The ultimate goal is to have the student achieving these goals at the end of this unit, which is about few weeks. These goals are not expected to be achieved fully but the goal is to have the student to be able to do that from time to time throughout the unit through the opportunity to practice during the instructional unit. The student will be able to increase the expression and the reception of language through ASL and written English. The student will be able to specifically state the topic of the conversation before engaging in a conversation with students or teachers.

Cognitive GoalsThe student will ask a specific request when he does not understand the teacher or the written English. The student will be able to self-correct his form of questioning or sentences if he is having a difficulty communicating with students or teachers.


Lesson DesignUnit Segment: Introduction

Academic Objective(s):The students will be able to list at least 2 things that they wish to learn about bodies of water during the K-W-L activity. The students will be able to express at least one thing that they know about water in general during the K-W-L activity.

The students will be able to express at least two things that they learned

from the field trip. Lesson’s Curriculum Materials:

Lunches, Digital Cameras, Poster, Markers, Papers, Pencils


Lesson’s Student Activities: A) Field Trip Duration: One day

In this introductory lesson, the students will be involved in several activities in order to introduce them to the concept of bodies of water, which will lead up to the concept of lakes. A field trip would be the first activity for this unit. It would be more effective if the students were to be able to get hands-on experience by going on the field trip and then coming back to class and discuss about the field trip. It will be a good start for this unit because the students are all on the same page because they all have seen one of the Great Lakes. This field trip is going to take place in Cleveland. The students will be going to see the Lake Erie. The teacher will make the arrangements for the students to go on Goodtime III, which is a huge boat traveling on Lake Erie. The field trip will take almost the entire day. Therefore, the students will spend most of the school day cruising on Lake Erie. The students will be asked to bring their lunches so that they can eat on the boat while riding. The students will be exposed to Lake Erie. During the trip, the students will be engaged in a discussion about Lake Erie. The teacher will give them a piece of paper for the students to write down their thoughts and insights while cruising on the boat. Also, all of the students will have an opportunity to use the digital camera to take pictures of any aspects of Lake Erie or the environment surrounding the Lake Erie. The pictures that the students take will be eventually posted in the classroom. This is the very first activity that the students will do in this unit. The field trip will not take up the entire day. The students will be leaving at 8 a.m. in the morning and they will be returning by 1:30 p.m., which gives the teacher one hour to do the next activity.


Lesson’s Student Activities: B) K-W-L activity

Duration: 1 day – same day as field trip Once the students return from the field trip, the teacher will post a poster and tape it to the board. The teacher will ask the students what do they know about water in general. The teacher will also ask the students what they have learned from the field trip today. The teacher may ask them different questions such as: what are the different bodies of water? Have you seen a lake, ocean, sea, or any other kind body of water besides Lake Erie? Have you gone swimming before? The teacher will also ask them to share their knowledge about lakes. From there, the teacher can see how much knowledge the students have about water in general and specifically the Great Lakes. The teacher will give students the opportunity to share their experiences with water. All of the students’ comments will be recorded on the poster. After that, the teacher will ask the students about what do they want to learn regarding to water in general. The teacher will also ask the students what do they want to learn about the Great Lakes since part of the unit will be focused on the Great Lakes. After this activity, the teacher will have a better understanding of how much the students understand when it comes to the concepts of lakes. At the end, the teacher will give the students a checklist for them to complete evaluating themselves based on today’s lesson. Also, the teacher will tell the class what the homework assignment will be.


Lesson’s Student Evaluation:The teacher will be observing the students. The teacher will be observing to see whether if the students are actively participating in the discussion. The students will be evaluated based on their behavior, which includes:paying attentionmaking eye contact with the teacher and their peersparticipating during the discussion, taking pictures on the field tripcompleting the homeworkfilling out the self-evaluation paperasking questions during the field trip or classroom time

Lesson’s Student Homework:The students would go home and ask their parents or a family member that lives with them some questions related to their experiences about the Great Lakes or bodies of water in general. The students are expected to find out what kind of experiences does that certain family member has when it comes to the Great Lakes or any bodies of water in general. The students will be asked to write down the responses that their family member gives them. The students will be asked to share the information with the class on the next day.


Lesson DesignUnit Segment: Exploration

Academic Objective(s):Each student will be able to compare and contrast the difference between freshwater and saltwater by explaining to the teacher or one of the staff workers in the deaf education classroom. Each student will be able to define and sign these words: length, depth, and replacement time with 100% accuracy. Each student will be able to state at least one similarity or difference based on all of the summaries that the teacher wrote on the board from the students’ presentations.

Each student will be able to express at least one concept that they have learned from this

lesson at the end of this lesson plan. Lesson’s Curriculum Materials:

Baby pool, Water, Chalk, Chalkboard, Measuring Tape, Worksheets, Cups, Water, Salt, Computers, Internet, Digital Cameras, TV, VCR, Videotape: Great Lakes: A Bitter Legacy


Lesson’s Student Activities:A) Using manipulatives Duration: 4 days

This is an exploration time for the students in related to the concept of lakes. First of all, the teacher will give students the pictures from the field trip the day before that the students took using the digital cameras. The teacher will give students few minutes to tape the pictures on the Great Lakes bulletin board that the teacher has developed for this unit. After that, the teacher will have each of the student present their information that they have gathered from homework the day before. The students will be asked to stand up in the front of the class and share with their classmates about what they have learned the night before when they were asking their family member questions about their experience in relation to the bodies of water or the Great Lakes. The teacher will write a brief summary for each of the student’s information that he/she gathered for homework. After that, the teacher will ask the students to compare and contrast all of the summaries that are presented on the board. Then, the teacher tells the class that they will be playing with different materials in class in order to learn more about the lakes. First, the teacher will be bringing in a baby pool. It is the kind of pool that is not very deep at all and small. The teacher will fill up the pool with some water and leave it in the middle of the classroom. The class will be engaged in a discussion about the concept of lakes. The class will be discussing different things that make up a lake. The students will be encouraged to actually put their feet or hands in the baby pool. That way, the students will be having some kind of hands-on experience with the water and baby pool. The teacher explains that the baby pool can be considered a very small lake. It may not be an actual lake but you can consider it to be a very small lake. The students take a picture of the baby pool. That way, the picture will be posted on the board. Eventually, the students will be posting different pictures of different “lakes” on the board.


Lesson’s Student Activities: Then, the students will be discussing the difference between freshwater and saltwater. The students will be actively engaged in tasting freshwater and saltwater. The students will be mixing salt into the water and consider that to be the saltwater. The students will be drinking the saltwater. The students will also drink water from the fountain that is being considered as freshwater. The students will be discussing the differences between the two and discuss their experiences related with freshwater and saltwater. Then, each of the students will be given a tape measure. The students will be using that to measure their height and record the information because the students will be using that information to compare with the actual depth of the Great Lakes. It gives the students something to compare with when they find out the actual depths for all of the 5 Great Lakes. The students can compare their heights to the actual depths of the Great Lakes in order to understand how deep all of the 5 Great Lakes are. Once all of that has been completed, the students will be asked to go on the Internet and explore and see what kind of information they can find about the Great Lakes. Each of the students will be assigned a lake. Since there are only 3 students in this class, the teacher will do the remaining two lakes. The students will be recording different kinds of information about each of the Great Lakes such as length, depth, replacement time, fishes, and so forth. The teacher will ask the students to compare and contrast the differences between all of the lakes that are part of the Great Lakes. Then the students will be watching some portions of the videotape during class about the Great Lakes. The teacher will be using the videotape, Great Lakes: A Bitter Legacy to show it to the class. The students can learn even more about the Great Lakes by watching this videotape. After that, the teacher will explain to the students about the homework. The teacher will ask the students to go home and record what they know about that lake that is close to their home. The students will be asked to stand in front of the class on the next day to present their findings after completing the homework.


Lesson’s Student Evaluation:The teacher will be observing the students. The teacher will be observing to see whether if the students are actively participating in the discussion. The students will be evaluated based on their behavior, which includes:paying attentionmaking eye contact with the teacher and their peersparticipating during the discussion, completing the self-evaluation formcompleting the homeworkpresenting the homework about interviewing the family member.

Lesson’s Student Homework:The students would go home and look around the house and see where they can make a “lake.” Suppose, the students realize that they can fill up their bathtub or sink or other places in order to make a “lake.” For example, if the student decides to fill up the bathtub, then student will take a picture of the bathtub with the digital camera in order to print out the picture and post it on the board comparing it to Lake Erie on the next day. The students will be also be asked to compare the similarities and the differences between Lake Erie and the lake that they created in their own home. The students would have to use the information that they found related to the Great Lakes and use that information and compare it to the lake that they have created. The students would have to record the similarities and the differences on a piece of paper so that the each of the students can present their findings to the class during social studies period the next day.


Lesson Design

Unit Segment: Application

Academic Objective(s):Each student will create and write a scene in the play related to the Great Lakes applying the information that he/she has learned from this unit.

Each student will make at least one thing/prop that can be used during the play.

Lesson’s Curriculum Materials:Construction papers, Posters, Markers, Crayons, Water, Baby pool, Measuring tape, Salt, Cups, Digital cameras, Computers


Lesson’s Student Activities:A) Creating a play

Duration: 5 days This is an application time for the students in related to the concept of lakes. The teacher will ask the students to create a play about lakes. The teacher will tell the students that they must involve all of the students in the play, which means that every student in the class must have a role in the play. The teacher will tell the students that they can create a story about the Great Lakes using the information that they have learned. If the students are struggling with ideas, the teacher can use the chalkboard and have the students brainstorm different ideas. The teacher can write down the possible ideas for the play on the chalkboard. The teacher will only provide some ideas if the students are having a difficulty of creating ideas and the teacher can provide some in order to generate more ideas. The teacher will tell the class that they can use any of the materials that they already have used in the past when learning about the lakes. The students will be using the chalkboard in order to brainstorm different ideas about a play. Once the students have selected a topic for the play, the students will be using computers in order to create a short script of the play. The students will be working in groups in order to create a script. One group of students will focus on the beginning part of the play (Act I). The second group will focus on creating the script for the middle part of the play (Act II). The third group will focus on creating a script for the last part of the play (Act III). All of the groups will be asked to collaborate in order to create a script for the play that makes sense and is fluent. The students will be given some time to rehearse for the play. Their homework is to go home and memorize their lines and practice their lines with a family member so that they will be well prepared for the play. The teacher will invite their two other classes and the students’ parents and/or families to come and watch the play. At last, the students will be performing a play in front of the other classes and their parents and/or families.


Lesson’s Student Evaluation:The teacher will be observing the students. The teacher will be observing to see whether if the students are actively participating in the discussion. The students will be evaluated based on their behavior, which includes:paying attentionmaking eye contact with the teacher and their peersparticipating during the discussion, involving in the class playincluding different information about the concept of lakes in the class playhaving some kind of team work when creating the playcompleting the homeworkcreating the scriptcompleting the self-evaluation form.

Lesson’s Student Homework:The students will be asked to rehearse their part at home the night before they give their performance to the other classes and their parents and/or families. The students will be practicing their lines with a family member at home so that they can be well prepared for the play the next following day.


Lesson Design

Unit Segment: Evaluation

Academic Objective(s):Each student will answer at least one question asked by the audience correctly.

Each student will share at least one important idea or concept that they have learned from this unit.

Each student will create an invitation including all of the necessary information (when, place, time and date) for the other classes and his or her parents and/or families.

Lesson’s Curriculum Materials:Papers with questions, Script of the play, Construction papers, Markers, Crayons


Lesson’s Student Activities: A) Performing the play

Duration: 1 dayThis is an evaluation time for the students in related to the concept of lakes. The teacher will not be using tests in order to test their knowledge. There is another way to test the students’ knowledge in order to find out how much they have learned from this unit. What the teacher is going to do is to have the students create invitations to send out to the other two classes and to their parents and/or families inviting them to the play. The teacher will explain to the other two teachers that the teacher is evaluating the students based on how well they will answer the questions that will be asked by the audience. The teacher will give a copy of the script based on the play that the students created along with several sample questions to be asked after the play to the other classroom teachers. The other classroom teachers are welcome to create more questions. The other classroom teachers will also ask their students to think of questions to ask the students in the play once the play concludes. Once the play is over, the audience will ask the questions and the teacher will evaluate based on how well the students in the play answer these questions. Then the students in the play will be asked to share at least one important idea or concept that they have learned from this unit to the audience after the questions were asked by the audience.


Lesson’s Student Evaluation:The teacher will be observing the students. The teacher will be observing to see whether if the students are actively participating in the discussion. The students will be evaluated based on their behavior, which includes:paying attentionmaking eye contact with the teacher and their peersparticipating during the discussion, involving in the class playanswering the questionssharing one important idea or concept with the audiencecompleting the self-evaluation form.

Lesson’s Student Homework:This is the end of the unit so there will not be any homework for the students to do.

Kimberly A. Williams Professional Portfolio. Table of Contents Introduction Educational Experiences...

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