Task 4 Contextual Information My classroom consists of twenty-five, fourth grade students.

I have a homeroom class for the first half of the day, and I have a second class from after lunch to the end of the day. For my homeroom, I teach word study, grammar, writing, math, and science. For my second class I only teach math and science. I have no students with special needs. I have 4 ESOL students in my homeroom class, but only two are pulled for assistance. In my afternoon class, I have four students who are pulled for resource in math. I also have four GATAS (gifted and talented) students in my afternoon class. My classroom is a normal classroom in terms of physical environment. I have 2-3 students who are generally very quiet. I have one student in each of my classes that can be very disruptive. That is something that I have had to learn to deal with and make adjustments for. One of my homeroom students is in the testing process for special needs but there has been no real progress because we are waiting. This student struggles with math very much, so I have had to spend a lot of one-on-one time with this student during independent work time. All of my ESOL students are very fluent so there is no barrier there. There are many cultural differences. Several of my students are Hispanic and Indian but there are no problems in the classroom. I do my best to welcome the cultural differences in my classroom. However, there are several students who have little to no manners at all and do not know how to be polite. That has been an issue because I will not tolerate students being disrespectful to others. The school I am in has a wonderful environment and a wonderful principal. However, there are many at-risk students who come from very different situations and that sometimes cause issues. Some of these students do not have a solid foundation at home, which at times cause behavioral problems. These students also may not have as much exposure to technology or help at home with schoolwork. At my school, we do a lot to motivate and encourage all students, no matter their background. Part 1:1 Planning The content standard for my lesson is 4.MD. 1 Know relative sizes of measurement units within one system of units including km, m, cm; kg, g; lb, oz.; l, ml; hr, min, sec. Within a single system of measurement, express measurements in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Record measurement equivalents in a twocolumn table. My learning goal is that students will be able to estimate and measure length using customary units. My lesson was an introduction to the customary system of length therefore my standard was appropriate. My students have completed fraction and decimal work so they are prepared to handle measurement. Customary system of length is the most basic and familiar of the measurements, so this was appropriate for my students learning needs. All of my students are familiar with fractions and decimals now, so they are all capable to succeeding with measurement. Many of my students were already familiar with using rulers and the number of inches in a foot, feet in a yard, and

inches in a yard. Because of their background knowledge, I did not have to spend very much time going over that. Part 1:2 Instructional Strategies In order to engage my students in content area languages, I will use the instructional strategy of front loading. At the beginning of my lesson, I will give my students a handout with several vocabulary terms to define. These terms are customary system, foot, yard, convert, and mile. My students will have about five minutes to use their book to find the words. Then, we will go over them as a class and I will have different students share their findings. This strategy helps facilitate comprehension throughout the lesson. The instructional strategy I will use to engage students in critical thinking is using cooperative partner work. Students will have time in the lesson to estimate the length of objects and then actually use a ruler and measure them. While completing this, students will have opportunities to talk and discuss with their surrounding peers. This strategy supports critical thinking because students are constantly receiving informal feedback from peers and the teacher. To engage students in inquiry, I will use inductive inquiry as a strategy throughout the lesson. This strategy involves students finding information and facts (definitions) and putting these in use (measuring real objects). Each of these instructional strategies enables me to teach necessary components of the lesson in the beginning, and then just become the classroom facilitator as my students explore and practice independently and with partners. These types of strategies enhance my teaching because it allows me to step back and let my students make connections and discoveries for themselves. This will improve student learning because it gives them the opportunity to take ownership of the knowledge and have an experience with it. Part 1:3 Lesson Activities The main activity of the lesson is after direct instruction when students use a ruler to measure several items that they each have at their desk. They must measure to the nearest inch, nearest inch, and nearest inch. They are also allowed to choose several items and measure them. This activity should take 10-15 minutes and is the time for students to explore the three different ways to measure items. On the handout that each student has, there is a chart for these measurements. Also on the handout is a close up picture of one inch on a ruler. Before the activity, we will mark inch, inch, and inch on that handout. I am doing this because I am sure that I will get many questions about to measure to the nearest and inch. This activity allows students to practice this because it is tricky in the beginning. It also allows me to have time to move about the classroom and assist those students who need a little help. During the lesson, I will be moving around the room to make sure that students are using the ruler correctly, beginning on the 0 mark, and are on task. Moving throughout the classroom allows me to monitor student progress and learning. I can easily target students who are lost and need help, students who could

benefit from partner help, and students who definitely understand. Because I know my class, I also know which students to check on more frequently. I will require my students to submit the independent work they complete at the end of the lesson. For this, students measure several items and work on estimating the length of items and then checking for correctness. I will take this up at the end of the lesson. For that reason, the responses will not be integrated in the lesson plan but will be used to determine the lesson for the next day. This type of student work will give me clear evidence of what students show understanding and can progress and what students need more support. If I see that most of the class did not do well on this assignment, then I can re-teach the lesson as well. The lesson involves basic measuring with a ruler, using inches, and making estimations. The assignment at the end that I will assess is the same work from the lesson, only independent. The responses I receive from students will determine what the next lesson is like. My students may need more work with measuring to the closest inch or they might need more help with estimating measurements. The assignment will allow me to see what I need to go for the next lesson. Part 2:1 Instructional Strategies During the lesson, I used content area language multiple times. I began the lesson by having my students find the vocabulary words in their book. Throughout the lesson, they heard these words and were encouraged to use the new vocabulary. I reviewed the words with my students and made certain that they had correct definitions. There were able to use them in the lesson. I used questioning in the lesson to engage my students in critical thinking. Firstly, I had my students find the vocabulary words instead of just giving them the definitions. For example, when reviewing the words, some students gave me examples of a foot or a yard but I continued questioning them until they were able to tell me 12 inches or 36 inches. When a student told me that a yard was equal to 36 inches, I responded by asking if anyone knew how many feet that was. After introducing the vocabulary terms, I pointed out the marks on a ruler that represent 1/2, 1/4, and 3/4. When doing this, I pointed at the lines and had students raise their hands to tell what they thought the lines meant. I did not directly feed the information to them, but several students knew already what the lines meant. Using questioning techniques requires students to use critical thinking skills. Student learning was promoted by critical thinking by not feeding all of the information to my students. I made certain that they all knew the new vocabulary and the parts between an inch on the ruler and led them into measuring items. I gave them opportunities to be engaged in measuring items for themselves. I was there to guide and assist but they also depended on their partner or neighbor. In the beginning of the lesson, students had to read through pages in the book to find the definitions of the new vocabulary terms. With this particular lesson, I feel that I effectively integrated reading but I could have done more. However, with this being an introductory lesson to measurement, my students are not ready for word problems and work that requires more reading. Instruction and practice is the main components of an introduction.

Part 2:2 Interacting with the Students During the lesson, I was able to monitor student learning by moving throughout the classroom and answering questions. Students were given time to work with partners to measure items so I was able to listen in on conversations, ask questions, and answer questions. I felt that most students were catching on quickly and understood how to measure to the nearest inch and half inch. However, I did see some problems with measuring to the nearest inch and decided that we would come back to that in the future and spend more time on it. When we reviewed the measurements as a class and I called on students to give answers, students were able to give correct answers; thus showing student learning. Even though this was a new unit for the year, it is definitely not a new concept. There were several time in the lesson when I noticed that a student was not showing clear understand. Most students had no problems at all, but I did provide feedback to let students know that they were on the right track or to let them know that they were doing something incorrectly. Giving student feedback advances student learning because students know if and what they are doing incorrectly and how to fix it. I also give positive feedback that lets students know they are doing well. Communication really fosters how well students learn. I try to be positive and help students see things they need to correct in a positive light. I not only let them know when they are wrong, but how they can fix what they did wrong. There are several nonverbal cues I can give to students who are having behavior problems instead of interrupting the whole class to address a problem. This type of communication helps student learning because it is not disruptive. Part 2:3 Classroom Management In my classroom, I do a lot of monitoring to prevent behavior issues. In the video, I display a positive disposition and use monitoring instead of discipline. If it is needed, I do use discipline, but in the video lesson there was no need to use discipline. Procedures are a major component in classroom management and something I practice with my students often. My students know the everyday procedures and their expectations, so they raise their hand; they stay seated, and do not disrupt others. When my cooperating teacher is recording a lesson, my class has better behavior than normal. Normally, I do have to exhibit more classroom management. When a student is not on task or is causing problems, I usually walk near their desk and simply say their name and a comment. If a student is disruptive to the point that it bothers the class, then I ask the student to fill out a slip. All 4th grade teachers use the slip system. Every other week we have some type of celebration and if a student receives over 2 slips, they are not allowed to go. I try to refrain from giving slips but it does work well with my class if needed. The strategies I use for management promote a positive learning environment because I make learning the focus. I generally do no waste time correcting a student unless it is absolutely necessary. I let the student know that I know what they are doing and that they need to stop. Then, I speak to them during a non-instructional time. This supports a positive environment because no one student is put on the spot and the attention is not away from learning. In the video,

there are several times that I compliment students on correct answers, hard work, and good ideas or thoughts. I try to refrain from using negative words frequently, although I am aware that they are necessary at times. Part 3:1 Student Samples Students completed independent work at the end of the lesson (not recorded). We discussed how to estimate measurements and my students completed this assignment. It was used as an informal assessment. The assignment that the students completed had a conversion chart for inches, feet, and yard. There were three multiple-choice questions that students had to choose the best estimate of objects. For the last part of the assignment, the students selected the best unit of measurement for several items. Both students correctly answered all of the questions. My learning goal was that students would be able to estimate and measure length using customary units. The student work (student sample 1) demonstrates that both students met the learning goal for being able to estimate length using customary units. The first independent work that students complete show understanding for being able to measure using customary units for length. According to both students samples, they have demonstrated learning towards the learning goal. I provided feedback to these students responses (student sample 2) when going over the answers with the class. Students completed this work independently, discussed with partners, and then I called on students to provide answers. During this time, students had the chance to correct answers and ask questions. Most students did well on this assignment because, as previously stated, this is not new content. My feedback helped students understand the content because I was able to clarify any confusion. For some students, it is hard to visualize objects and decide which unit of measurement would be best to measure with. I tried to compare the units (foot, inch, yard) using items that they could picture. The student samples I chose were from student who had background knowledge of the concept prior to my teaching. These students did not have many complications with this concept, other than some items that were tricky to choose one unit of measurement to use. Part 4: Reflection I feel that most students met the learning goal. From the video, I see that most students were able to give correct measurements of the items that were measured. Also, based on the assignment, students were able to accurately estimate the measurement of items. This introduction activity gave students a better understanding of the customary units of length. The instructional strategies I used were beneficial for my students. There were hands-on activities for them to experience actually measuring items using inches. Students became very familiar with the vocabulary because they had the opportunity to search for the words themselves. I feel that I could always improve the way I interact with my students; however, I feel that I am positive and encouraging to my student and am confident in that area.

In the future, I would spend more time teaching students how to measure to the nearest inch. Before teaching the lesson, I thought measuring would be the simplest part. However, after teaching it was evident that they needed more time and instruction on using inch on the ruler. Later in the lesson, we discussed which measurement is most accurate when measuring. My lesson was much longer than 15 minutes, so this was only the first quarter of the entire lesson. It is not long enough to see my students completing independent work, me circulating the classroom to help students, or the final assignment I used as the student work sample.