Learning Letter

Mackinzi Archer

English 493

Sean Agriss

March 20, 2017

Dear Dr. Sean Agriss,

 The work we have completed in this course has made me a stronger teacher all around. When I sat in the first day of class I got so stressed out because it sounded like so much work. I didn’t know then how well this would benefit me in the long run. During the first half of the class we started doing blog posts and having discussions in class. This is when we started reflecting on the theories and concepts throughout our reading. I have gathered so much information from those readings and discussions that I will get to carry away from this class and remember to input them into my classroom. After the reading, we would meet the next class period and discuss we had read. Learning and listening to what my other classmates thought about the reading really made me understand the reading even more. The theories we have read about in class is something I can take into consideration during my EdTPA lesson plans. The research and books we have read is something I can connect my lessons to. If I have learned anything about this class it’s that you learn so much. What I liked the most is that all of this information will help me be a stronger teacher. Readicide is one of my favorite readings that we read in class. I will take this reading and the strategies that it expresses and carry it into my classroom for ideas to use with my students’. When we had our discussions on our readings, and I would get to hear what my other classmates thought, this would give me a chance to see what their side was on the certain aspect and topic. This gives you a chance to see things two-sided and maybe you didn’t view things how they did and this will make you a stronger teacher in the end.

We have completed a lot of work throughout this course. The first being the book talk. I absolutely loved this part of the class. This is because I got to recognize and hear about books and literature that I have never heard of before. Listening to my classmates describe their book and give teaching examples that they would use with their students’ is something I know I will take away from this class. I picked The Swimmer by John Cheever for my book talk and I hope my classmates learned something from my talk. Being that we had blogs for this class, is something that I also love. This gives us a chance to look back on it and these book talks so we can get examples for our future classrooms. Before this class I never really thought that when you use certain literature in your classroom that some parents might not like it. During our book talks we got the chance to describe the problems we might run into. I have learned that no matter what, you should check and make sure that the book you’re using in your classroom is okay with the people around you.
The second big work we have done in this class is the mini-lesson. I found this to be beyond helpful for the future. Twenty minutes is not a long time so I felt like I struggled the most with time management. Watching my classmates give their mini-lesson was also very helpful for me. I gather information and examples that I can use during my teaching career. We got the chance to pick from our readings in class. This was such a great idea because we got a wide range of ideas from all of the different books. I will say that it is more nerve wracking to teach in front of your peers rather than your students’. This is funny because they have all been in your shoes and know what you’re going through. During my mini-lesson I became a stronger teacher because of it and getting feedback from my peers really helped as well. I constantly try to stay up beat when it comes to teaching because students’ love to see that. I believe that I did well by describing and getting the learning objective into my students’ heads. Also, I thought my worksheet was very engaging for my students’ and I felt as if they could learn a lot. The mini-lesson was very beneficial for me and I am so glad that you gave me this opportunity.
The biggest work of it all throughout this course that we got the chance to complete is the unit plan. I know that this project will and has shaped me into a better teacher today. When hearing about the requirements at the beginning you don’t realize how much work it actually is until you do it. Hannah and I worked together on this project and we learned so much. This is because we had to really think about what we wanted to do and what would be best for our students’. We decided to do a unit on Where the Red Fern Grows and to have our students’ compare and contrast the book and the movie. I think we did the best we could knowing how much work this actually was. After making the calendar, we realized what our plan was. This is when we started making lesson plans and I will as if this is when I learned the most. We wrote the lesson plans together and I think we not only learned from each other, but ourselves as teachers and educators. When completing the unit plan, it felt like I had completed something so great. This unit plan is something that I will carry with me and use as an example when I have my own classroom one day.
My participation in this course has shaped me into a better teacher. My thinking has become stronger about myself as a teacher. This is because I have done work throughout this class that I know I can take-away with me. At first, I was scared I didn’t know how to plan lesson plans and I didn’t know how I would come up with ideas. This class has proved to me that I can do it. I now feel so much more confident to get up in front of a classroom and teach curriculum. Honestly, this class has made me realize that I am so excited for my career and the exciting things I have ahead of me. Thank you so much for testing our knowledge and believing in us.

Sincerely,

Mackinzi Archer

           

EdTPA lesson plan for mini lesson

Department of Education College of Arts, Letters and Education 312 Williamson Hall Cheney, WA   99004

TPA Lesson Plan #__1___

Course:

 

1. Teacher Candidate	Mackinzi Archer	Date Taught	March 15, 2017
Cooperating Teacher	Sean Agriss	School/District	N/A
2. Subject	English Language Arts	Field Supervisor	N/A
3. Lesson Title/Focus	Character roles and their impact on Elie for the book Night.	5. Length of Lesson	20 Minutes
4. Grade Level	11th-12th

 

6. Academic & Content Standards (Common Core/National)	CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1.a Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas.
7. Learning Objective(s)	Given the book Night, students’ will analyze three characters from the book by writing out their answers on the worksheet.   I can fully comprehend the character roles of Elie (Eliezer), Moishe the Beadle, and Elie’s father.
8. Academic Language demands (vocabulary, function, syntax, discourse)	Vocabulary: Students’ will need an understanding of the words characterization, importance, faith. Function: Students’ will analyze and answer the questions that come with their character. Discourse: Students’ will participate in a discussion in small groups, then again in a large group. Students’ will be read the objective and then turn to their neighbor and describe in their own words what it means to them. Syntax: Students’ will be put in groups of three and each group will be given a character and along with their character will come a worksheet: they will turn their worksheet in at the end of the class period.

 

9. Assessment Students’ will be formatively assessed be filling out their characterization worksheet. This will be a formative assessment. The students’ will hand this worksheet in at the end of the class period. Students’ will also be assessed by participating in small and large group discussions. Students’ will also be asked at the beginning of class to share with their neighbor on what they think the objective means to them. Then, at the end of the class period the students’ will be asked to put a thumbs up or thumbs down if they met the objective for the day.

**Attach** all assessment tools for this lesson

 

10. Lesson Connections

1.    Prior learning for this lesson is by reading the book Night so the students’ can be prepared for this lesson. Also, prior learning is we have already had a discussion on what the theme is throughout this book and how faith shows up in this book. 2.    Future learning for this lesson will consist of writing a summative assessment paper on the book Night. 3.    Students’ can have this worksheet on characterization when they start writing their papers for a reference. 4.    Research: Gallagher, Kelly, and Richard L. Allington. Readicide: how schools are killing reading and what you can do about it. Portland, Me.: Stenhouse Publishers, 2009. Print. 5.    I am using this source for my teaching because I want my students’ to be strong independent readers for their future. This gave me great ideas and strategies for how I can use this during my lesson plan.

 

11. Instructional Strategies/Learning Tasks to Support Learning
Learning Tasks and Strategies Sequenced Instruction   1.    Put objective sheet up on the board. 2.    Have a student read the objective to the class. 3.    Also have a different student read the I can statement. 4.    The students’ will share with their neighbor what the objective and I can statement means in their own words. (5 minutes or so) 5.    The teacher will bring the students’ back together. 6.    The teacher will explain that since they have finished the book Night and have talked about the theme the day before (faith) so we are going to work on the characterization of characters. 7.    I am going to have my students’ number off in 1’s, 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s to get into groups. (1-2 minutes) 8.    Once they are in their groups I will assign them their character and give them their worksheet. 9.    I will ask a student to read the directions on the worksheet. (1 minute) 10.  I will give them time to fill out the worksheet as a group. (8-10 minutes) 11.  Once I notice they have finished it in their small group, I will bring them back to their large group. 12.  Each group will share what character they had and also the answers to the questions on the worksheet. (5 minutes) 13.  We will discuss each character and ask questions to why those are the answers. 14.  After we have finished our discussion I will ask my students’ to put up a thumbs up or a thumbs down to if they met the objective for the day. (1-2 minutes) 15.  Class dismissed.
Teacher’s Role: ·         Put objective sheet up on the board. ·         Ask a student to read the objective and I can statement out loud to the class. ·         Ask the students’ to share with their neighbor what the objective means to them in their own words. ·         Bring the students’ back to a large group. ·         Explain to the students’ since they just finished the book Night we are going to look at the impact that certain characters have on one another. ·         Number off students’ in 1’s, 2’s, 3’s and 4’s for groups. ·         Get students’ in groups and direct them where to go. ·         Once they are in groups I will hand out their worksheet and assigned character. ·         Ask a student to read the directions on the worksheet. ·         They will each fill it out as a small group. ·         Once I have noticed they have finished the worksheet, I will bring them back to the large group. ·         Each group will share what character they had and the answers to the questions. ·         Students’ will ask any questions they may have. ·         I will ask my students’ to hold up a thumbs up or a thumbs down to if they met the objective for the day. ·         Dismiss students’.	Students’ Role ·         One student will read the objective and I can statement out loud to the class. ·         Students’ will discuss with their neighbor about what the objective means in their own words. ·         The students’ will come back together as a large group. ·         The students’ will be told that they are going to be going over characterization and the impact characters have on one another. ·         The students’ will number off in 1’s, 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s to get in their groups. ·         When they get in their groups they will be given their character and their worksheet. ·         A student will read the directions aloud to the class. ·         They will fill this out with their small group. ·         Once they have finished the worksheet they will come back to a large group. ·         Each group will share which character they had and the answers to their questions. ·         Students’ will ask any questions they might have on another characters. ·         Students’ will hold up a thumbs up or a thumbs down to if they met the objective for the day. ·         The students’ will be dismissed.
Student Voice to Gather Students’ are showing their own learning by filling out the characterization worksheet by determining the impacts on Elie. Students’ are also showing their learning by participating in a class discussion. Students’ will be pointed out the objective for the day. The students’ need to participate in the class discussion and fill out the characterization worksheet in order to meet the objective for the day. Students’ will be asked to give a thumbs up or a thumbs down to if they met the objective for the day. Students’ will be asked to participate before they can leave for the day.  They will have their characterization worksheet to look back on as a resource if they need it.   The characterization worksheet is something the students’ can look back on and see what these answers are and this will come into play towards the end of the unit when they write their paper.

 

12. Differentiated Instruction

Plan Student interests: This assignment is good for all students’ because they get to examine a certain character and really dig deeper into how the faith effected them. Students’ will get to work in groups and collaborate with one another. Student needs: There is a legally blind student in our classroom so we will make her worksheet bigger by making a different copy with larger font. She wouldn’t be able to see the original worksheet if it was given to her. Learning styles and modalities: The students’ will use auditory learning by listening to the teacher read the objective for the day. The students’ will use their writing skills by writing out their answers to the worksheet in a small group. The students’ will also use auditory learning by holding up a thumbs up or thumbs down after the teacher has asked them how well they met the target for the day.

 

13. Resources and Materials

Plan Computer so I can put the objective and I can statement up on the board. Students’ will need a pencil. The teacher can provide this for the students’ if they don’t have any. The novel Night.  The characterization worksheet. The students’ can use the computers to research what characterization means if they need extra help. Reference: Wiesel, E. (2013). Night. New York, NY: Hill and Wang, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Gallagher, Kelly, and Richard L. Allington. Readicide: how schools are killing reading and what you can do about it. Portland, Me.: Stenhouse Publishers, 2009. Print.

 

14. Management and Safety Issues

Plan ·          I want to make sure my students’ are respectful of one another and not disrupting others learning. ·         If the students’ have their cell phones out, they will be taken till the end of the period. ·         If any student doesn’t want to participate in the classroom discussion or do the characterization worksheet for the day, the student can spend their class period in the in school intervention room for the rest of the period. I will roam the room to make sure my students’ are staying on task and not disrupting others learning.

 

15. Parent & Community Connections

Plan I will interact with my students’ parents by calling home and letting them know how their student is doing. Also, there will be a newsletter that goes home to the parents before every unit to let them know what to expect when their students’ bring home their work and what they can help them with. I will ask my parents to sign the newsletter and give it back to me so I know that they have seen it. The community will be involved by having someone from the community who is in the Armed Forces come in and talk as a special guest to show my students’ what it’s like to be a hero.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian- Sherman Alexie

We notice the narrator explains that he is a budding artist and hopes to use his words to connect people. The narrator also explains the story of his friend Oscar. His family is too poor to afford vet bills so his father shoots the dog, because they are in poverty; this broke my heart. Junior and Rowdy seem to always have each other’s back. Rowdy seems to always protect Junior, which I found amazing. In Mr. P’s classroom Junior acts out when he sees his mother’s name in his textbook. He gets frustrated and throws the book around the room. Junior ends up wanting to move schools but his best friend, Rowdy is not okay with the idea. Which I wouldn’t be either if that was my best friend moving schools either. The reservation starts to get even more- angry when Junior decides to transfer to the white school. This is what makes me sad because best friends become more enemies. Junior meets the hot blonde Penelope and we also notice that the narrators name is Arnold. Arnold becomes so interested in Penelope and they start to become boyfriend and girlfriend, and she even knows Arnold is poor. One of my most favorite characters in this book is Gordy because he teachers Arnold how to read a book. This made my heart so happy because it takes a special person to do this for someone else, especially at their age. This is when Arnold starts to feel like a part-time Indian because he is part of this white school and also part of the reservation. Also, he has the courage to try out for the basketball team and makes the team. I liked this a lot because finally he felt a part of something great. Even though he did play his old school and he got bashed. Arnold still didn’t give up chasing his dreams which was something I cherished most about this book. This book was also sad for me by reading that Arnold faced a series of deaths in his family but he coped with it in the most amazing ways. I don’t know how a child that age could ever deal with what he did. This showed how strong he is and how much he cherished his life. The book ends by Arnold and Rowdy playing a one-on-one basketball game and they both decide that it is okay that Arnold transferred schools. Arnold then notices that he is a part of two great lives. This book was so eye-opening to me because you never know what students’ are struggling with in your classrooms. As a teacher you should always pay attention to your students’ backgrounds and their lifestyles.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Pride and Prejudice, A Modest Proposal, The Great Gatsby, and Faulkner's The Hill

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: I don’t even know where to begin. This story is amazing. The pictures in the Graphic Canon especially on page 308 when the picture of Alice is up and one is down. I really like how it mentions in the beginning before the graphic novel starts, that maybe Wonderland is just full of joy or maybe it’s not. I believe that even younger students’ would enjoy this novel because it is fun and creative. Students’ would have so much fun following this reading and looking through all of the pictures that go along with it. Another thing I think students’ would like most about this is the nutty characters that go along with the story. It would be so fun to do activities with this graphic novel and using the characters so students’ can examine them and get to know them. Some students’ might even relate to Alice’s character because she doesn’t understand the rules and wants to do things her own way. This graphic novel was so fun to read.

Pride and Prejudice: I’m going to be honest, this graphic novel was a little easier to read. I really like the sass in this story. They are all waiting on Mr. Bingley and have no patience. At the end when it explains that Lydia will get to dance with him at the next ball. Then she explains that she may be the youngest but she is the tallest. I really liked this line because it sounds to me like she is high and mighty. This graphic novel would be so fun to use in the classroom because it is short and sweet. I think you can keep the students’ attention by having them read this one and having them explain Mr. Bingley’s character. There is so much detail to these pictures and you can even see every line in the women’s hair that gives this story an even more creative style to it.

A Modest Proposal: This one was even more short and sweet. It has a sort of yellow tone to the pages. I love the pictures in this one because it really gives a sense for what the story line is about. My favorite line in this story though is at the very end when it says: “But I have no other motive than the public good of my country, by providing for infants, relieving the poor, and giving some pleasure to the rich” (465). I love this line because it is so true. The poor can use some help and this would give pleasure to the rich by doing so. We definitely need to provide for infants, because they are the ones who should get the most love. The message here is so amazing and I really enjoyed reading this short story.

The Great Gatsby: This is one of my favorites! I love the theme in this story because at the end it says “Every step you do, leads to something new.” That is so true and I loved how it ended that way. Such an inspiring message getting across. I even love the illustration in this because it is very outside of the lines. This story is very unique in its own way. I believe that students’ would love the message here and I think every high school student should take this into consideration. If you are taking risks and living your life the way you want to, then something new and amazing will come your way, and I think students’ would love to learn more about this.

The Hill: The art in this story is just amazing. There is so much detail in the pages that keep you wanting to read more. Not only is their detail in the art work, but there is also detail in the writing. For example, on page 265 it explains: “—then the house tops, red and faded green and olive half hidden in budded oaks and elms.” Then it continues to give in great detail about the leaves and the trees. The hill described is beautiful. On the last page when he is standing and kneeling on the hill, you can truly see how beautiful it actually is. This seems to me like this is his happy place, and somewhere he can go to forget anything and relax. This gave me a sense of calmness.