Form: "*Subject-Specific Pedagogy - Multiple Subject"

Created with: Taskstream

Author: Keziah Silva*
Date submitted: 03/31/2017 11:38 pm (PDT)
Before beginning this task, read the complete directions provided in the CTC TPA Candidate
Handbook.
Case Study 1: Subject-Specific and Developmentally-Appropriate Pedagogy
A. Contextual Information for Case Study 1
1. Elements of a Learning Experience in a Unit
Grade: Third
Content Area: Language Arts
Subject Matter: Reading and writing
Time Period for the Learning Experience: Two 30-minute sessions in two consecutive days

State-adopted Academic Content Standards for Students

Reading: Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level Appropriate Text
2.5 Distinguish the main idea and supporting details in expository text
Writing: Organization and Focus
1.1 Create a single paragraph:
a. Develop a topic sentence
b. Include simple supporting facts and details

Learning Goals for the Learning Experience

Students will be able to do the following with a focus on reading and writing:
Identify the main idea of an expository text
Identify three supporting details from the expository text
Summarize the expository text using the main idea and three supporting details in
one paragraph

Instructional Resources Available

Age-appropriate expository text and writing journals
2. Class Description
Students are in a self-contained third grade class. The school is located in a middle-level,
socio-economic community. It is the middle of the academic year. Most of the students are
eight years old. They particularly need opportunities to learn content in different ways and
to revisit content. Many of the students enjoy the school environment and like to socialize
with each other. Most of the students are active in after-school activities, including sports,
clubs, tutoring, and other community activities, which leaves little time for homework.
3. Developmental Needs of the Students in Grade 3
Experience a structured day
Develop age appropriate literacy skills
Participate in hands-on experience
B. Questions for Case Study 1:
1.
Given the contextual information for Case Study 1, think about a lesson you might
use with these students that addresses the subject matter learning goals and the
developmental needs of the students described. In the columns below describe:
o Instructional strategies
o Student activities
 o Instructional resources
Note: Instructional strategies are what the teacher does during instruction and
student activities are what the students do during the lesson. Include how you would
use the instructional resources as you describe your strategies and student activities.
(REQUIRED) 1a. and 1b.
Instructional Strategies
Day one:
Expository Text: Thomas Edison
Anticipatory set-(hook): (5 minutes)
To open the lesson and engage the students
in the subject, the students will watch a
Brain Pop video and participate in a short
quiz following the video.
Objective and its purpose: objective,
kid friendly objective:
The students will be able to use a graphic
organizer to identify the main idea of the
Thomas Edison passage as well as finding
supporting details. Blooms
Understanding.
Instructional input: (10 minutes)
o After the video, the students
will be given a short passage to read
about Thomas Edison. While the
teacher reads the passage, the
student will be instructed to
annotate. To clarify what annotating
means, the teacher will model how
the students will be looking for
important information and facts by
underlining them under a document
camera (Scaffolding) using the first
three sentences as an example.
After those sentences are
completed, the students will do the
same while the teacher clearly
reads through the passage, giving
the students a chance to annotate.
(5 minutes for the short passage
read aloud)
o After the students have
annotated the expository text, the
teacher will then introduce a graphic
organizer called a main idea map.
This map will help the students
organize the main idea of the text as
Student Activities
Day one:
Opening: (5 minutes)
1. Students will be taking a
short quiz from a video about
Thomas Edison to introduce the
expository text.
Instructional input: (10 minutes)
1. Next the students will learn
to annotate a text (underlining
important facts and information)
while the teacher reads it aloud for
the purposes of filling out a graphic
organizer that will help them
organize the main idea, supporting
details, and help them in creating a
paragraph.
1. The students will then find
the main idea of the text in a class
discussion as they answer prompted
questions such as
a. Who was this passage
about?
b. What did the passage
focus on mostly about
Thomas Edisons life?
c. What was he most
famous for achieving in his
life?
1. Once they discuss the
answers to these questions, they will
collectively come up with a sentence
describing the main idea that should
be along the lines of, Thomas
Edison is most famous for his
invention of the electric light,
however in his lifetime, he invented
over 1,200 other things.
Independent Practice: (15 minutes)
1. The students will then use
their annotation to fill out the rest of
 well as helping them structure a
paragraph by dividing out into boxes
the main idea, and supporting
details.
o To find the main idea of the
text, the teacher will conduct a short
class discussion, prompting the
students with specific questions to
find the main idea of the text
together as a class. The teacher will
as questions such as:
a. Who was this passage
about?
b. What did the passage
focus on mostly about
Thomas Edisons life?
c. What was he most
famous for achieving in his
life?
Once the class has found the main
idea together, they will be able to fill
out the box on the main idea map
called The main idea. The main
idea that the class has come up with
should be like Thomas Edison is
most famous for his invention of the
electric light, however in his lifetime,
he invented over 1,200 other
things. (5 minutes)
Independent Practice: (15 minutes)
o The students will use the
important information and facts that
they annotated during the read
aloud to fill in the supporting details.
The way that the map is structured,
the main idea box is on the top and
below that, there are three boxes
that is where the supporting details
belong. The students will work
independently in filling out these
boxes before they create a final
paragraph using this graphic
organizer as a guide. The students
will essentially be copying down the
main idea and supporting details
into their writing journals in
paragraph form.
Checking for understanding (formative
assessment):
1. The teacher will be checking
the main idea map with the
supporting details.
1. Once they have filled out the
map, they will take out their writing
journals and write a paragraph
where they copy what they put in
the graphic organizer in paragraph
form.
1. If it is not completed, by the
end of the lesson, the students will
have to stay in during recess or use
part of the time from another lesson
that day to complete it. It is
important for the students to have
their paragraphs completed because
they will be using it for the second
half of the lesson the next day.
Day two:
Opening: (5 minutes)
1. The students will participate
in a pair share discussion to recall
the information that they learned
the day before about Thomas
Edison. However, instead of giving
hem complete freedom in
discussing, the teacher has provided
some sentence frames to structure
the short conversation:
a. Thomas Edison was
most famous
for_______________
b. Thomas Edison
started to invent when he
was _________ years old
c. Thomas Edison
created ____________
(number) inventions in his
lifetime.
Instructional Input: (15 minutes)
1. The students will be put in
another group of two and will be
given instructions to share their
paragraph with their partner. Once
they have shared their paragraph,
they will have to come up with an
idea of an invention as if they
themselves were Thomas Edison.
The students will be told that they
will be timed, which will keep them
 for understanding by walking around on track in their discussion.
the classroom, checking the Checking for understanding: (10
students graphic organizers and minutes)
paragraphs. The teacher will have to 1. Once the time is up, the
prompt when necessary to keep the students will choose a representative
students on the same path to from their own groups and share
reaching the learning objective. The their idea of their invention to the
goal of this day is to complete the rest of the class.
graphic organizer and paragraph
before the day is over, so if there are
students who have not completed
the paragraph, then they will stay in
during recess to complete it or will
take some time from another lesson
in the day to complete it. It is
important for the paragraph to be
done for the second half of this
lesson.

Day two:
Anticipatory set - hook: (5 minutes)
1. To begin the second day of
this lesson, the students will be
recalling what they learned about
Thomas Edison from the day before
in a pair share. The teacher will give
the students sentence frames to
structure the discussion between
their partners while also
remembering important details
about the passage:
a. Thomas Edison was
most famous
for_______________
b. Thomas Edison
started to invent when he
was _________ years old
c. Thomas Edison
created ____________
(number) inventions in his
lifetime.
Instructional input and independent
practice: (15 minutes)
1. When the students have
recalled this information about the
expository text, then the teacher will
move on to the activity part of the
lesson.
1. Since part of this class
description is to learn different ways
 to revisit content, that is what the
activity will focus on. The teacher
will randomly select groups of two
and have the students work together
to complete the activity. The activity
goes as follows:
a. The students will read
to each other their paragraph
to share what they used as
supporting details from the
text.
b. Next, they will have to
come up with an idea of
something that they would
invent if they were Thomas
Edison. This is a timed
activity, so they will only
have up to three or four
minutes to read their
paragraphs to each other and
ten minutes to come up with
an idea for an invention to
share with the rest of the
class.
Checking for understanding: (10
minutes)
1. After their time is up, a
representative from each group will
stand up at their spot and share
what their invention would be.
In this lesson including both days, the
students have been able to achieve finding
the main idea of a text as well as finding
supporting details through annotating. They
have also learned how to use a graphic
organizer to create a paragraph. Through
the second half of the lesson, the students
were able to find new ways to revisit
content using sentence frames and pair
share. They were also able to use the
energy they have in enjoying socializing
with each other in a structured activity of
coming up with an idea of their own
invention and sharing it with the class. This
is all proof that the learning objective has
been reached in this lesson.

2.
Based on your knowledge of the content and of student development, explain why
the instructional strategies, student activities, and resources you listed in question 1:
(REQUIRED) 2a) are appropriate for this class
This lesson is appropriate for this class because it not only helps the students
reach their learning goals for the lesson, but it addresses their own
developmental needs as well as targets the classroom demographic profile.
By having the students annotate the passage during the read aloud and
using that to fill in the graphic organizer after the class has found the main
idea together provides a structured way for the students to reach the lesson
objectives. In addition, having the students complete the paragraph that day
in the class not only reached the lesson objective, but it also reaches the
classroom demographic of how many students do not have time for
homework after school due to other outside of class activities. By using the
age-appropriate expository text about Thomas Edison as well as having the
students write in their journals, the instructional resources available are
being used appropriately. Lastly, the students could use their social energy
with each other in the pair shares during the second day of the lesson while
also maintaining structure in the day by provided sentence frames and timed
tasks for the students to complete. Overall, this lesson was tailored for this
class specifically, and because it was, the students could reach all of their
learning goals.
(REQUIRED) 2b) address the developmental needs of these students
This lesson addresses the needs of the students' developmental needs in a
few specific ways. The first way that this lesson addresses these
developmental needs is by giving the students a structured day. Knowing
that the students need structure, the teacher created this lesson by giving
them specific tasks to complete and not allowing much room for distraction
and opportunities to get off task. By giving them a graphic organizer to
complete, the students could organize their thoughts by categorizing them
onto paper, especially with their annotated reading helping guide them in
completing it. For the class finding the main idea collectively, rather than
having an open discussion that may be too spontaneous and not as
controlled, the students were prompted to answering questions that would
help them come up with the main idea. By having the students pair share on
the second day of the lesson and recall the information that they learned
using sentence frames, they are experience structure as well as age
appropriate literacy skills. This provides different ways to revisit content on
an age-appropriate expository text, which means that they are meeting their
developmental needs. Lastly, the students participate in hands-on experience
in their second pair share of the second day of the lesson by placing
themselves in Thomas Edisons shoes and coming up with an invention of
their own. Although it is not physical hands on experience, they are visually
thinking like Thomas Edison which gives them the hands-on experience of
being an inventor.
(REQUIRED) 2c) help these students make progress toward achieving the
state-adopted academic content standards for students in this content area
This lesson plan has very specific instructions that help the students make
progress and achieve the standards that were chosen for this lesson. The
reading standard 2.5, distinguishing the main idea and supporting details in
expository text, is seen throughout the entire lesson in the use of a graphic
organizer. Using the main idea map helps the students find organize their
annotating of the reading by having to choose three of the most important
details and facts in their opinion. By using the structure of a main idea map,
the students are able to see that the main idea always belongs on the top,
before the supporting details, which helps them in learning how to create
paragraphs. This part of the lesson is also where we see the second standard
being addressed. The writing standard 1.1 section (a) and (b), states that the
students should be able to create a single paragraph which includes
developing a topic sentence while also including simple supporting fact and
details. The structure of this lesson goes with the structure of the standards,
because by the end of the lesson, each standard has been addressed and
mastered because they were able to work on each step of finding the main
idea and supporting details with the help of the idea map and prompted
discussions.
END OF CASE STUDY 1
Case Study 2: Assessment Practices
A. Contextual Information for Case Study 2:
1. Elements of a Learning Experience in a Unit
Grade: Second
Content Area: Mathematics
Subject Matter: Money
Time Period for Whole Unit: Three weeks

State-adopted Academic Content Standards for Students

Number Sense
5.0 Students model and solve problems by representing, adding, and subtracting
amounts of money.
5.1 Solve problems using combinations of coins and bills
Mathematical Reasoning
1.0 Students make decisions about how to set up a problem.
1.2 Use tools, such as manipulatives or sketches, to model problems

Learning Goals for Whole Unit

Students will be able to do the following:
o Identify and describe coins (pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, half-dollar) and
bills (one and five dollar)
o Add two or more coins of different values
o Identify multiple ways to show a specific amount
o Use coins and bills or sketches to model addition of two amounts
2. Teacher Reflection on Student Assessment for this Unit
I am not satisfied with the assessment plan I used for the last unit of study. I gave
the students a diagnostic test at the beginning of the unit, two quizzes during the
unit, and a final test, all of which came from the teachers guide. I feel, though, that
I need additional information on what students really know and understand, their
misconceptions, what they learned during the instruction, and their progress toward
achieving the learning goals. I am looking for ways to improve my assessment plan
so I can have a more complete understanding of how well these students learned the
subject matter.
3. Assessment Plan
Day 1 Day 6 Day 11 Day 15
Goals Assessed Identify the value of Add two or more coins Use coins and bills or Identify multiple ways to
coins and bills of different values sketches to model show a specific amount
addition of two
amounts
Type Formal, diagnostic Formal quiz from the Formal quiz from the Formal, final
test from curriculum textbook; multiple textbook; multiple chapter/unit exam
guide; multiple choice; formative choice; formative from textbook;
choice; formative multiple choice and fill
in the blank;
summative
Purpose Assess previous Assess acquired Assess acquired Assess acquired
knowledge and skills concepts and skills skills and concepts knowledge and skills
from instructional unit
Implementation Individual Individual Individual Individual assessment;
assessment; paper assessment; paper assessment; paper paper and pencil;
and pencil; teacher and pencil; teacher and pencil; teacher teacher corrects with
corrects with an corrects with an corrects with an an answer key
answer key answer key answer key
Feedback Tell students of Inform students of Inform students of Inform students of
Strategies scores and inform correct and incorrect correct and incorrect correct and incorrect
student of correct items items items
and incorrect items
Informing To determine what To determine who To determine who To determine the
Instruction needs to be has learned the has learned the achievement level of
reviewed and where material presented material presented each student towards
to begin teaching the goals

B. Questions for Case Study 2

1. Identifying strengths and weaknesses.
(REQUIRED) 1a) Identify one strength in the assessment plan and explain
why it is a strength in relation to the learning goals of this unit.
One strength in this assessment is how the first assessment is structured. The
purpose of this assessment is to assess previous knowledge and skills that the
students already have. This could also be called a pre-assessment. This is an
important aspect of any lesson because this type of assessment is necessary in
finding out where the student knowledge lies in this specific subject area, and where
the teacher needs to begin teaching. The first assessment is crucial in determining
how the lesson will play out because if, for example, there are students who have no
prior knowledge in identifying coins at all, then the teacher may want to focus on
practice in identifying coins before moving on to learning how to add coins of
different values. On the contrary, if the students display prior knowledge on
identifying and adding coins of different values, the teacher may want to take
advantage of that and conduct more challenging activities to extend the students'
prior knowledge. The teacher would then conclude the activity by assessing what the
students have obtained in the more challenging activity. An activity such as this puts
the student's prior knowledge to the test. These examples give proof as to why it is
important to begin a lesson with a more formal assessment to see where the
students' prior knowledge lies, because that is what is going to set the pace of the
following lessons, as well as help decide how challenging the lessons will be.
(REQUIRED) 1b) Identify one weakness in the assessment plan and explain
why it is a weakness in relation to the learning goals of this unit.
One weakness in this assessment plan was how the teacher used a formal
assessment each time to assess the students understanding at the end of each
lesson plan. The constant use of a formal assessment can turn counterproductive for
the students because they will either get used to the type of assessment and not
learn for understanding, but learn for a score on a test, or they could discourage the
students who may struggle with the subject matter and not receive higher scores
because they always see bad scores and feel like they may not be good enough or
that they are not smart. Having the students feeling this way is not going to help the
students want to learn and understand. By conducting informal assessment, the
students will be assessed on their understanding through a less intimidating way of
just having the teacher observe the work being done and helping them reach a
higher level of understanding, rather than a higher number on a test.
2. Suppose you found the additional assessment in a supplementary resource. Think
about how the additional assessment could improve the teachers assessment plan.
Additional Assessment
Each student is given a box of plastic coins and bills. The box contains examples of
each type of coin and bill. Students will use various coins and bills to demonstrate
the sum of two given amounts. In addition, students will use coins and bills to show
two different ways to make a given value.

Explain to the teacher how the additional assessment might be used to

improve the assessment plan by answering the following answering the
following questions:
(REQUIRED) 2a) When in the plan would you use this assessment?
This additional assessment is one that could be most effective as a formal
assessment, also known as a summative assessment, for the teacher to see
if the students have progressed towards achieving their objectives for the
unit after day fifteen, which is the end of the unit. This formal assessment
combines the goals and objectives from all the assessments in one activity
through the demonstration of each skill to complete specific tasks. The
students will demonstrate understanding in the skills learned in the unit if
they can complete this additional assessment with above average or high
achievement marks.
(REQUIRED) 2b) What goals would be assessed by this assessment?
The reason for this is because this activity contains all the goals from this
unit combined in one assessment, so it would be an appropriate assessment
for the end of a unit. Taking from the goals of the first assessment, this
activity allows practice in identifying the value of coins and bills by having
the students musts use various coins and bills to demonstrate the sum of
two given amounts. Regarding the second lesson and objective, the
students learned how to add two or more coins of different values, which is
being practiced in the additional formal assessment by having the students
demonstrate the sum of two given amounts and by using coins and bills to
show two different ways to make a given value. In the third lesson, the
students learned how to use coins and bills or sketches to model the
addition of two amounts. This is being demonstrated in this formal
assessment by having the students ca find the sum of two given amounts
using various coins and bills. Lastly, in the last lesson, the students are
identifying multiple ways to show a specific amount. This additional
summative assessment directly focuses on this skill throughout the entirety
of the assessment. This explanation gives direct proof of each assessment
goal being demonstrated and practiced in this additional formal
assessment.
(REQUIRED) 2c) What type of assessment would it be?
This additional assessment is a formal assessment because it would be
combining all the learning objectives from every lesson in the unit into one
assessment. However, just because it is a summative assessment, does not
mean that it must be in a form of a test. Having the assessment in the form
of an activity makes the assessment less intimidating for the students,
while reaching all the areas of skill they should be mastering when they are
completing the tasks in the assessment using coins and bills. Being that this
assessment is formal in the form of an activity, the teacher can take a less
intimidating front by allowing the class to complete the tasks at the same
time in an in-class activity where the teacher can walk around with a rubric
and the names of every student in the class, making sure that everyone is
completing the assessment with the right level understanding. To make the
assessment more concrete, the students can have tasks to complete and
answer sheets that they must fill out correctly to be sure that they have
achieved the objective of the unit. The teacher can then have them turn in
their answer sheets so that not only can the students complete the tasks of
the assessment, but they can follow through with providing the correct
responses to the tasks. The benefit of the formal assessment is geared
towards student understanding rather than just right or wrong answers on
a piece of paper.
(REQUIRED) 2d) What would be the purpose of the assessment?
The purpose of this formal assessment is to assess the level of achievement
the students have received at the end of the unit. Having the students
utilize each skill that was learned throughout the unit in the additional
summative assessment will ensure that the students understand how to
identify the value of coins and bills, add two or more coins of different
value, use the coils and bills to model the addition of two amounts, and it
will ensure that the students know how to identify multiple ways to show a
specific amount. If the students can complete the assessment with a level
of above average to higher achievement, then they have mastered an
understanding of how to count using money.
(REQUIRED) 2e) How would you implement the assessment?
This assessment would be given to the students to do with a partner. Before
beginning the assessment, I would set up the materials for each pair of
students at their desks. Using the materials provided, the students will be
taking turns on completing each task to demonstrate their understanding of
the unit. The assessment will be divided into two parts so that the teacher
can observe the level of understanding in a more organized manner. The
first section will be for the students to achieve the objective of using
various coins and bills to demonstrate the sum of two given amounts. Each
student will demonstrate the sum of two different sets of coins and bills to
each other by taking turns. The second section will be for the students to
obtain the objective of being able to use coins and bills to show two
different ways to make a given value. The students will each demonstrate
two different ways to make the given values provided by the teacher to
each other, taking turns in doing them. This assessment is implemented in
partner groups because having the students physically count with coins and
bills makes for a less intimidating summative assessment.
Before beginning the assessment, the teacher will model an example for
each section, giving the students a chance to recall the information they
learned and to observe the expectations the teacher has for the
assessment. Once each section has been modeled for the students, the
teacher will then le the students begin the assessment and the teacher will
begin the summative assessment. The teacher will be walking around with a
list of all the students being assessed and their rubrics and will be
conducting the formal assessment by checking off the students who
demonstrate understanding of how to count using coins and bills, and
giving them scores according to the rubric.
The teacher would provide feedback to the students by correcting any
errors that occur while the students are being assessed on their
understanding of the unit. Instead of just providing the correct answers to
the students who are struggling, the teacher will encourage discussion
between their partner groups as well as prompting them to find the answer
on their own using critical thinking skills.
(REQUIRED) 2f) What feedback strategies would you use?
The teacher would provide feedback to the students by correcting
any errors that occur while the students are being assessed on their
understanding of the unit. Instead of just providing the correct
answers to the students who are struggling, the teacher will
encourage discussions between their partner groups as well as
prompting them to find the answer on their own using critical
thinking skills.
(REQUIRED) 2g) How would the results of the assessment inform
instruction?
By observing the students working in pairs, the teacher can track the
progress of each student in their understanding of the unit. The teacher will
be able to know if the students can identify the value of coins and bills by
observing them adding two or more coins of different values and using
coins and bills to model the addition of two amounts. Based on the results
of this assessment, the teacher will be able to know if the students have
achieved the objectives of the unit. If the student were not able to achieve
these objectives, then the teacher will know if they must extend the unit for
further review and mastering of these skills.
(REQUIRED) 3)
Explain how using the additional assessment as you described in question 2
improves the teachers assessment plan and what specific information
would be gained about what the students really know and understand about
the content area, their misconceptions, and their progress toward achieving
the learning goals
Using the additional summative assessment improves the teachers
assessment plan by providing a more effective formal way of assessing
student understanding. The problem with the teachers original assessment
plan is the assessments were all in the form of formal tests and the
feedback was just providing the correct answers to the wrong answers. By
not addressing student error directly in the summative assessment activity,
and through student discussion, the students would not be achieving the
learning goals of the unit because their errors are not being reviewed for
understanding. Incorporating the additional assessment and having the
students work with partners, the teacher can observe their understanding
of the unit by watching how the students communicate the tasks to each
other as well as making sure the students follow through every step of
counting and adding with coins and bills. Through the additional
assessment, the teacher can notice if the students are obtaining specific
information and intervene when he or she observes gaps in the students
content knowledge. In the formal assessment, the teacher can monitor and
intervene when necessary to make sure that each student is making
progress toward achieving the learning goals.
END OF CASE STUDY 2
Case Study 3: Adaptation of Subject-Specific Pedagogy for English Learners
A. Contextual Information for Case Study 3
1. Elements of a Learning Experience for 2 Days in a Unit
Grade: Fourth
Content Area: Science
Subject Matter: Earth Science
Time Period for Whole Unit: Three weeks

State-adopted Academic Content Standards for Students

Earth Science
4. The properties and minerals reflect the processes that formed them. As a
basis for understanding this concept, students know:
a. how to differentiate among igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic
rocks by referring to their properties and methods of formation (the rock
cycle)
b. how to identify common rock-forming minerals (including quartz, calcite,
feldspar, mica, and hornblende) and ore minerals by using a table of
diagnostic properties
c. moving water erodes landforms, reshaping the land by taking it away
from some places and depositing it as pebbles, sand, silt, and mud in other
places (weathering, transport, and deposition)

Learning Goals for Whole Unit

Students will be able to do the following with a focus on Earth science:
o Identify and classify igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks
o Use diagnostic properties to identify rock-forming minerals
o Define the following vocabulary: weathering, transport, and
deposition
o Describe the process of erosion including weathering, transport, and
deposition

Relationship to Preceding and Subsequent Learning Experiences

Science-process skills are important investigation tools, and opportunities
for developing them are provided throughout the unit. Some of the skills,
such as observation and investigation, have been covered in other scientific
units and will again be used in the next unit on ecosystems and living
organisms.
2. Outline of Plans for Days 1 and 2
The following outline addresses some of the academic content standards
and unit goals, but it is not expected that the students will achieve them
during the two days.

Instructional Strategies
o On Day 1, students will be divided into small cooperative groups.
Each group will be assigned one type of rock (igneous, sedimentary,
 or metamorphic). Groups will identify defining characteristics of their
assigned rock using the science textbook, Internet, and
supplementary library resources.
o On Day 2 students lead a discussion by presenting the defining
characteristics of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. The
whole class will create a chart listing the characteristics of each type
of rock. Cooperative groups will be given ten rocks to sort into
categories based on their characteristics. Students will draw an
appropriate picture and write a corresponding paragraph in their
science journals about the characteristics of igneous, sedimentary,
and metamorphic rocks.

Student Activities
o Read the textbook about rock characteristics. Use library resources,
encyclopedias, or the Internet to research the characteristics of the
assigned type of rock (igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic).
o Participate in a group discussion. Groups generate a list of defining
characteristics of the assigned type of rock.
o Groups share findings with the whole class. The class will generate a
chart comparing their characteristics.
o Students will draw and write in individual science journals.

Progress Monitoring
o Teacher will use class discussions, oral presentations, journal writing,
quizzes on scientific terms, and written test to determine level of
learning.
o Students will receive written and oral feedback from the teacher and
oral feedback from peers.
3. Student Description
Guillermo is a 10-year-old fourth-grade English learner. He is from
Guatemala and lives with a single mother, three younger brothers, and a
younger sister. His mother works long hours and is often not home when he
returns from school. His extended family in the United States includes
aunts, uncles, and cousins. His grandparents live in Guatemala. Guillermos
family immigrated to the United States three years ago. His oral Spanish is
fluent, but he is unable to read or write in Spanish. Guillermo reads English
two years below grade level. He has difficulty using correct grammar when
writing or speaking. Guillermo is somewhat shy socially but is well liked and
works well in small groups. He is seldom absent from school. The CELDT
results indicate an overall score in the early intermediate range, and he has
been identified as an English learner.
Written Response to: What is your favorite family day?
A Special Family Celebration
My grandparents have special celebration. They have married 45 year. My
mother, my brothers and sister and me make long trip to Guatemala to
celebrate. We carry a special gift it is a picture of all family. My tio, tia and
primos going to. We like to visit our grandparents and especial celebration.
Our family cooks special food of Guatemala for celebration. I remember we
all had good time together. I miss my abuelita and abuelito. That is the
name we say for grandparent in my country. The celebration is fun we see
friends and play. My grandparents very happy. I want to stay in Guatemala
but my Mom say we come back to America.
Transcript of Oral Response to: Tell me about your soccer game.
I like to play soccer. Saturday I go to field to play with friends. We put
uniform on for games. I play center field and goal. It is fun to hit ball. My
brothers play. I like it.
B. Questions for Case Study 3
(REQUIRED) 1) Identify two specific learning needs the student has as an
English learner, based on the student description and the responses.
The focus student needs to work on his reading skills and his oral skills.
Regarding reading, the focus student does not read at his grade level and
is two years behind the rest of his grade. With his oral speaking skills, it
seems challenging for him to use proper grammar in connecting words. For
example, the focus student said orally Saturday I go to field to play with
friends. Although the person listening can understand what he is saying,
he does not connect words with proper grammar and is missing words to
make the sentence complete and grammatically correct like On Saturday, I
am going to go to the field to play with my friends. Instead, he simplifies
his speaking to get his point across.
(REQUIRED) 2a) Identify one instructional strategy or student activity from
the outline of plans that could be challenging for the student.
The focus student will have a difficult time during the first day of the lesson
when the class must be divided into groups and has to identify defining
characteristics of their assigned rock using the science textbook, internet,
and supplementary library resources. This assignment will serve as a
difficult task to complete because the focus students reading level is two
years below his grade level. Because of his lack of age-appropriate
academic vocabulary, it would be most challenging to find a text that meets
his academic and English language development needs.

(REQUIRED) 2b) Explain why the strategy or activity you chose could be
challenging to the student. Use your knowledge of English learners and
your analysis of the students learning needs in your explanation.
This activity could be challenging for the student because he needs to read different
expository texts on his assigned rock with this group where he is two years below
his grade level in reading and all the texts provided are grade-appropriate for his
grade. To give a grade level appropriate expository text to an English learner two
years below his grade level in reading would be counter-productive, even if the
focus student works well in groups and interacts well with his peers. It would be
difficult for him to find information about an assigned rock when most of the words
used to define the rock characteristics are not yet a part of his academic vocabulary
nor can he understand what he is reading because of his lower reading levels.
(REQUIRED) 3a) Describe how you would adapt the strategy or activity you
identified above to meet the learning needs of the student. Consider
specific subject matter pedagogy when writing your description.
To adapt this activity, the teacher will apply the SIOP (Sheltered
instruction observation protocol) model to instruction. The SIOP
model is an effective lesson planning and delivery system which
provides a way to plan and teach content in a way that is
understandable for ELLs and that also promotes English language
development. Each component of the SIOP model will help the
teacher give a lesson that is understandable not only the EL but all
the students in the class. In the first component, the teacher will
have effective lesson preparation, where he or she will select
content concepts that are appropriate for age and educational
background of the student. This would mean that the teacher would
look for specific concepts that connects the assigned rock to his
educational and even cultural background. Next, the teacher will
build on the background of the ELL by making links between past
learning and new concepts. In the case of the focus student, the
teacher can link some of the knowledge learned about his assigned
rock by showing him where you can find the rock in his home
country of Guatemala. Thirdly, the teacher will provide clear
explanations of academic tasks. This means that the teacher will
meet individually with the EL and clearly explain his responsibilities
and what he much complete in the activity. The next component of
the SIOP model that the teacher will use in this lesson is through
strategies, providing a variety of questions or tasks that promote
higher-order thinking skills. This means that the teacher will create
questions about the focus students assigned rock, connecting it to
his home country Guatemala. Some of these questions will look like
these, Where in Guatemala can you find a sedimentary rock? or
Provide at least three online resources with information on rocks in
Guatemala or Latin America. The next component is interaction,
where the focus student is provided with frequent opportunities for
interaction and discussion. This would mean the student would be
sharing what he finds with his assigned group. The last component
would be review and assessment, where the teacher will conduct an
assessment of the focus students comprehension and learning of all
lesson objectives. The teacher would do this in way of informal
assessment, keeping an eye on his progress and asking questions
about what he is finding in his research, prompting him to use
academic vocabulary from the lesson, which leads him to showing
English development.
(REQUIRED) 3b) Explain how your adaptation would be effective for the
student in making progress toward the learning goals of the lesson.
(In your explanation of the adaptation, refer to specific aspects of the
student description and to the samples of proficiency in English.)
The adaptation of the SIOP model being applied to the focus student
during this lesson is effective for the student in making progress
toward the learning goals. This adaptation does not take the focus
students away from working with his peers, but makes him feel like
he is contributing to the activity as well as being able to share some
of his background knowledge with the current learning that he is
doing. Him being able to research something that is a part of where
he comes from, he will be more willing to add to the chart with his
group as well as sharing out with his group and the class about it. It
will make him feel like he is sharing something about him, which
makes for a more meaningful experience. Since his reading level is
two grade levels below fourth grade, he can use the academic
vocabulary that he does possess to research about his country and
where sedimentary rocks are found in his country. In his research,
he will find himself face-to-face with new words that he has never
seen. As a part of the informal assessment, the teacher will be
monitoring what new words he is finding and check on his
understanding of these words, expanding his academic vocabulary.
(REQUIRED) 3c) Explain how your adaptation would be effective for the
student in making progress toward English language development.
(In your explanation of the adaptation, refer to specific aspects of the
student description and to the samples of proficiency in English.)
Adapting the SIOP model to this lesson helps the focus student make
progress toward English Language development because of its focus
on using the students background knowledge to learn the new
information along with the rest of the class. By giving him a specific
task to research his assigned rock in his home country of Guatemala
makes him more willing to learn new academic vocabulary about the
rock and his country. When he must present the information to the
class, he will be challenged to use the new academic vocabulary, as
well as prompted by the teacher to share using the new words he
learned. Even in discussing with his group, the student will be
sharing this information with them as well as contributing the new
information he learned to the chart that they are making.
(REQUIRED) 4a) Which progress monitoring assessment based on the
lesson plan would you choose to monitor this students progress toward
achieving the learning goal(s)?
While the focus student is engaging in the discussions occurring
within the group, the teacher will be walking around the classroom
and checking in on each group to see if everyone is understanding
the content they are discussing and reading about. This informal
formative assessment will make the focus student feel less
intimidated and not like they are being assessed or evaluated, which
allows for the student to not be afraid to speak up and use the new
vocabulary terms he is learning. I would observe the student's
understanding within the group setting, as well as individually
discussing with him after he has done his research on sedimentary
rocks in Guatemala. Having this one-on-one conversation with him
will help in making sure he is understanding what he is researching,
as well as tying up any lose ends of understanding on the subject.
(REQUIRED) 4b) Give a rationale for your choice of progress monitoring
assessment. Use knowledge of content in this unit, and this students
English language abilities in your rationale.
Although it may seem that the English learners may not be so prone to
sharing out of discussing in front of a class or a small group, that is not
exactly the case for this focus student. The student may be shy in some
settings, but also works well in small groups and is well liked. By knowing
this information about the student and observing over time the best ways
for him to learn in the classroom, the teacher decided that working and
discussing in a small group would be most effective for this focus student.
By taking advantage of the fact that he is more comfortable in working with
small groups, the focus student is more prone to speak to his peers and try
to use academic vocabulary which will only help with his English language
development. By observing his discussion, the teacher can get the most
accurate representation of where this focus student's level of learning is at
as well as seeing if he is reaching the learning goals for this unit. Discussing
the content on a scientific research project with his peers requires use of
more challenging English which will only help him in his speaking abilities.
(REQUIRED) 5) Based on what you learned about this students English
proficiency, what would be your next steps in planning to facilitate her
English language development?
Consider specific information from the student description and her written
and oral language samples when responding.
For the focus student to continue in his steps towards English language
development, the teacher will continue to use group work settings, and the
teacher will continue to pull more background information to encourage him
to expand on the knowledge that he already has. Having the student work
in groups will help build his confidence in oral speaking and contributing to
group activities and task. Also, using the students background information
will make him feel like he is valued in the class which will ultimately lead to
him being more comfortable to being challenged in the classroom.
Specifically, the teacher will do this by gradually introducing books that are
more and more challenging for him, but that peak his interest in things that
matter to him, like his family, his culture, and soccer. By continuing in doing
these things, by the end of the year, the focus students reading level will
have increased and his ability to speak orally will have strengthened and
improved greatly.
END OF CASE STUDY 3
Case Study 4: Adaptation of Subject-Specific Pedagogy for Students with Special Needs
A. Contextual Information for Case Study 4
1. Elements of a Learning Experience for 3 Days in a Unit
Grade: Fifth
Content Area: History/Social Science
Subject Matter: American Revolution
Time Period for Whole Unit: Three weeks

State-adopted Academic Content Standards for Students

United States History and Geography: Making a New Nation
5.6 Students understand the course and consequences of the American
Revolution.
1. Identify and map the majority of military battles, campaigns, and turning
points of the Revolutionary War, the roles of the American and British
leaders, and the Indian leaders alliances on both sides.
4. Understand the personal impact and economic hardship of the war on
families, problems of financing the war, wartime inflation, and laws against
hoarding goods and materials and profiteering.
5. Explain how state constitutions that were established after 1776
embodied the ideals of the American Revolution and helped serve as models
for the United States Constitution.

Learning Goals for Whole Unit

Students will be able to do the following with a focus on the American
Revolution
o Locate the major military battles on a map of pre-Revolutionary
America
o Identify the turning points of the American Revolution
o Describe the roles of the American, British, and Indian leaders
involved in the American Revolution
o Compare state constitutions created after 1776 to the United States
Constitution

Relationship to Preceding and Subsequent Learning Experiences

The American Revolutionary War will be covered in a manner similar to
other historical events. Events are being studied in chronological order.
Map-reading skills were covered during the study of other historical events.
Following this unit, students will study the United States Constitution more
in depth.
2. Outline of Plans for Days 3, 4, and 5
The following outline addresses some of the academic content standards
and unit goals, but it is not expected that the students will achieve them
during the three days.

Instructional Strategies
o On Day 3 the teacher will present information about what life was
like for a 12-year-old boy or girl during pre-Revolutionary time by
reading aloud text from biographies and other primary sources. As a
whole class, students will create a chart to list the defining
characteristics of life during pre-Revolutionary War time. Students
will write a journal entry to compare their own life with the life of
children who lived in the pre-Revolutionary War time.
o On Day 4 the teacher will ask students to work in small cooperative
groups to read biographies and other primary sources about what life
was like for a 12 year-old boy or girl during the Revolutionary War.
The small groups will generate a list of five characteristics that they
will then share with the whole class. The whole class will create a
chart that lists the defining characteristics of life during
Revolutionary War time. Then students will use the class-generated
charts to individually complete a Venn diagram comparing the
defining characteristics of life during pre-Revolutionary
o On Day 5 students will work in small cooperative groups. Each group
will choose one change in life between pre-Revolutionary War time
and Revolutionary War time. Then the group will use primary
resources, the textbook, the Internet, and other resources to draw
conclusions about what led to this particular change. The groups will
then present these causes to the whole class. Then students will
 individually write an essay that explains three causes of lifestyle
changes for a 12 year-old boy or girl between pre-Revolutionary and
Revolutionary War times.

Student Activities
o Students will listen to excerpts from biographies and other primary
sources. They will participate in class discussions and help to create a
chart listing defining characteristics of life during the pre-
Revolutionary War times. Students will individually complete a
written journal.
o Students will work in small cooperative groups to create a chart
listing defining characteristics of life during Revolutionary War times.
Then students will work as a whole class to generate a complete list
of characteristics. Students will individually complete a Venn diagram
comparing the two lists of characteristics.
o Students will work in groups to identify the causes of one change in
lifestyle between the pre-Revolutionary War time and Revolutionary
War time. The cooperative groups will present to the whole class.
Students will individually write an essay that demonstrates their
understanding of what aspects of life changed between pre-
Revolutionary and Revolutionary times.

Progress Monitoring
o To monitor student progress, the teacher will use class discussions,
written reflections, cooperative group work, and presentations.
o Students will receive written and oral feedback, peer review, and
feedback on group work, as well as individual conferencing with the
teacher when needed.
3. Student Description
Julie is an 11 year-old girl in the fifth grade. She has difficulty focusing,
which has an impact on her ability to complete course work and classroom
activities. In the first grade, Julie was diagnosed with attention-
deficit/hyperactivity disorder by her family physician. She receives
prescribed medication three times per day for ADHD. During first grade, an
Individualized Education Plan was developed to meet Julies needs. Since
then, Julie has been receiving special education support primarily in the
regular education classroom. She is included and participates in all general
education curriculum. The special education teacher provides two hours of
in-class support. She is able to independently read text at grade level. She
struggles with both written and oral communication skills and is currently
performing at a second-grade level. She often tries to dominate whole-class
discussions and group learning situations. On the playground, she attempts
to dominate games, and she struggles with organization. Her peers are
often frustrated by her behavior.
B. Questions for Case Study 4
(REQUIRED) 1a) Identify one instructional strategy or student activity from
the outline of plans that could be challenging for the student, considering
the description of the students learning disability.
One student activity that would prove to be challenging for the focus
student would be the instructional plan for day four. Because of the amount
of time spent in small groups as well as work that will be done in small
groups, the student with ADHD would not be able to focus or stay on track
with the class discussions and activities being done together. The focus
students experience with wanting to dominate in class discussions and
group learning situations, and even wanting to dominate games during
times of play is proof that she may be tempted to continue in these bad
habits.
(REQUIRED) 1b) Explain why the strategy or activity you chose could be
challenging for the student, based on specific aspects of the student
description.
The class activity on day four of this lesson will be challenging for the focus
student because the lesson has class discussions and small group
discussions that may pose as a challenge for the student in being able to
focus because of her ADHD. Another reason as to why this lesson would be
difficult is because of how all the student tasks to be completed on this day
are to be done in groups. This would be challenging for the student to be a
part of because of her history in trying to dominate whole-class discussions
and group learning situations.
(REQUIRED) 1c) Describe how you would adapt the strategy or activity you
identified to meet the needs of the student.
The way that the teacher would adapt the activity to meet the needs
of the student would be to create accommodations to help the
student stay focused and avoid taking over group discussions. One
of these accommodations would be to create an informal behavior
plan with a reward system. In this behavior plan, the teacher would
have to conduct informal assessments throughout the assessment
to monitor the focus students behavior, using a signal in the form
of a sticky note that is placed on her desk if she is not focused. This
will remind her to stay on task and help her work for a reinforcer of
her choice, whether it is to have independent reading time of her
choice, or to feed the class pet. Another accommodation that the
teacher would adapt in the lesson would be to encourage
cooperative learning by establishing a common goal for everyone in
the whole group. This means that the teacher will make it clear to
each group that they can only be successful if each individual
member of the group is successful as well. This could include
providing rewards that interest the entire class. The teacher will
remind the focus student that all team members are working toward
the same goal and rewards. This will give the focus student the
ability to focus all their energy in completing the task to achieve a
goal or reward.
(REQUIRED) 1d) Explain how your adaptation would be effective for the
student in making progress toward achieving the learning goal(s) of this
unit.
The adaptation to create an informal behavior plan and create goals
and rewards for successful work is effective because by encouraging
the student to work on a task for rewards and keeping her
accountable in completing these tasks with a behavior plan, she will
have a better chance to effectively work in a group and not get
distracted. The behavior plan will create a structured routine plan
that will work in any lesson conducted in the class because it
reminds the student that she is working toward a reward if she stays
focused. In creating goals and rewards for the entire group that will
only be given if each member of the group is successful in
completing the task, the student is held responsible for completing
not only for herself, but for her group. This will also help is her
struggles with working with groups. This way, the groups focus is to
help each other be successful for each of them to be rewarded.
(REQUIRED) 2a) Identify one additional instructional strategy or student
activity from the lesson plan that could be challenging for the student,
considering the students other learning needs.
An additional student activity that could be challenging for the focus
student would be the tasks that are to be completed on day five.
Considering that the students written and oral communication skills are
struggling, the student may find it difficult to individually write an essay
that ties in with a oral presentation of the causes of lifestyle changes for a
twelve year old boy or girl. Although the topics for both tasks are the same,
the focus student may find it challenging to do since she is performing at a
second-grade level.
(REQUIRED) 2b) Explain why the strategy or activity you chose could be
challenging for the student, based on specific aspects of the student
description.
Although the topics for both the oral presentation in front of the
entire class and the individually written essay are the same, the
focus student may find it challenging to do since she is currently
performing at a second-grade level in these areas. The student
would have support in the areas leading up to the presentation and
essay by having a special education teacher assist in the group work
and discussions, however there is no one that can help with writing
an individual essay or performing a presentation.
(REQUIRED) 2c) Describe how you would adapt the strategy or activity you
identified to meet the needs of the student.
A strength that the focus student possesses is reading
independently at grade level. The teacher would take advantage of
this strength and have the student read biographies and other
primary resources and expository texts on pre-Revolutionary and
Revolutionary war times independently while take notes on a
graphic organizer. The graphic organizer will prompt her to find the
causes of lifestyle changes of a twelve-year-old boy or girl between
pre-Revolutionary and Revolutionary war times. She will be able to
share those notes with her assigned group and contribute them in
helping draw conclusions about what led to this change. This way,
the student can feel like she is contributing in an area of strength,
while maintaining a calmer front because she was able to read
independently. This is also helping in targeting her learning needs
because the graphic organizer will help her in practicing her writing
skills through an area of strength. She will also be practicing and
growing in her oral communication skills because she will be orally
contributing her notes that were derived from an area of individual
strength. However, the student still needs to participate in the oral
presentation and needs to write an essay on what she read and
created the graphic organizer. Since the focus student has an
individualized Education plan to meet her learning needs, the
teacher will give the student a conferencing option where she can
give her oral presentation one on one with the teacher. The teacher
will also give individualized instructions to the focus student for the
essay. She will only need to write one paragraph for each cause that
she wrote about in her graphic organizer and read about in her
individual reading time. This adaptation plan allows for the focus
student to follow along with the rest of the class in achieving the
learning goals for the unit.
(REQUIRED) 2d) Explain how your adaptation would be effective for the
student in making progress toward achieving the learning goal(s) of this
unit.
The adaptation of individualizing instruction for the focus student is
most effective because the strategies used in this plan keeps the
student up to the same pace of learning as the rest of the class for
her to reach the same learning goals and objectives. The student
will be able to reach each of the learning goals in her own way. For
example, the student will still be able to reach the objective of being
able to identify the turning points of the American Revolution in her
own individualized reading as well as in working with the students in
a group to fill out a chart. Even though her way of learning the
information is different than the way the other students are learning
it, she is still learning in the reading she is doing as well as learning
by reviewing with the entire class when they create a cumulative
chart, combining the entire class' work.
(REQUIRED) 3a) What progress monitoring assessment would you choose
to obtain evidence of the students progress toward one or more learning
goal(s)?
A progress monitoring assessment that the teacher would choose to
obtain evidence of the students progress toward the learning goals
would be to assess through the cooperative group work. Although
the focus student struggles in focusing and working in groups, using
the informal behavior plan to keep the student focused as well as
giving the groups a reward to work for only if every member of the
group is successful in their work is the most effective way to push
the student to work for achieving the learning goals.
(REQUIRED) 3b) Give a rationale for your choice of assessment. Use your
knowledge of academic content in this unit, and this students learning
needs in your rationale.
The reason the teacher chose to assess the students progress through the
cooperative group work was because it would assess not only what the
student is learning and obtaining to achieve the learning goals for the unit,
but to assess how well the behavior plan works as well as how well the
accountability plan for having each member of the groups be successful in
their work to receive a reward. This way, the teacher can decide whether
these accommodations will work for the rest of the year and if any other
accommodations should be made. These could also be successful
accommodations and could prove the most effective to get the focus
student to focus in class as well as learn at the same level of the rest of the
class.
END OF CASE STUDY 4