3B: Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques, 3C: Engaging Students in Learning, 3D: Using Assessment in Instruction Pictured above is a pictorial chart from the 2nd Grade fossils unit. The first stage of this chart is to fill in each part of the chart with marker, making quick sketches, tracing out more detailed images, and writing important vocabulary, The second stage of the chart involves reviewing the different portions of the chart and having students come up as you review and discuss the chart to add either key vocabulary words or pictures that relate to the information on the chart. I find that this is useful for instruction because it teaches the students listening skills, it builds their vocabulary, and the pictures help the students to make text-to-world connections. It is also a great tool for getting the students engaged in the unit materials.
3C: Engaging Students in Learning, 3D: Using Assessment in Instruction Here I have a CCD, or Cognitive Content Dictionary. This particular one was in its beginning stages, but the chart is filled in over the course of a particular unit as often as the grade level dictates. This chart presents the class with important unit vocabulary. The word is written in the first column, then the teacher asks the students who has or has not heard the word before. Before the actual meaning is given, typically the teacher would have the students pair up and share with their partners what they think the meaning of the word could be and then the teacher calls on a few pairs to share their prediction. Once you have some predictions listed, the real meaning is then recorded, and then the teacher creates an action that helps the students to remember the meaning of the word. This is also good for creating a signal for what you want the students to do next. Again, this chart is filled in over the course of the unit, either once a week or more depending on the grade level. This is a useful instruction tool because it causes students to think about words in context, to think about the meanings of new vocabulary, and to practice the meaning of the word in a way that it is used many times throughout the day.
3B: Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques, 3C: Engaging Students in Learning, 3D: Using Assessment in Instruction Here are some pieces that pertained to a unit in my 4th Grade class about the states of matter. On the top is a narrative input chart, where students listen to a story about the unit topic and post up pictures and related vocabulary next to the section that matches. On the bottom right is a pictorial chart on the states of matter, and on the bottom left is a sentence patterning chart. The sentence patterning chart begins with the teacher giving the students a noun to start with. The students are then instructed to brainstorm in groups about adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and nouns that can be added to the chart, which can then be used to make multiple sentences. Collectively, these items are useful for improving listening skills, expanding vocabulary, improving sentence structure and composition, and making text-to-world connections.
3C: Engaging Students in Learning Here I have the culminating assignment for a 2nd Grade Math lesson on bartering. Students were asked prior to the day of this lesson to bring in 100 small items, because the day we did this project was on the 100th day of school. Once the students had brought their items, I gave a short lesson about what bartering was and how it was used even into today. The kids were then allowed to go through the room and trade their items with their fellow students. The main point was to keep trading items until most of the 100 items they had were traded out for something different. Then the kids took all 100 of their items and pasted them onto the 100 sheet. I thought this was a fun lesson to get the kids moving around and interacting with each other. It also teaches them a little bit about older forms of doing business and it also teaches number sense, because the students needed to have exactly 100 items to paste to their sheets.
3B: Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques, 3C: Engaging Students in Learning, 3D: Using Assessment in Instruction These were posters created by a few of my student groups in the 5th Grade when we were finishing our unit novel, Esperanza Rising. I tasked the students to create a character analysis poster regarding the main characters in the story and how their challenges fell in line with our talk about human rights.I believe that this fits as an artifact for this domain because it allowed students to engage in a creative process while also working together to use resources for filling out the essential components of the poster. These posters were also a chance for me to assess what the students had learned from the text and how they applied it to our overall discussion.
3B: Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques, 3C: Engaging Students in Learning, These are two examples of some informational pamphlets that the students created during our talk about natural disasters, or, more specifically, tornadoes in this case. Throughout this process, students were tasked to include what caused a tornado, what steps one can take to survive a tornado, and also information about a particularly destructive tornado that had occurred. During the process, students were able to conduct research in order to find the information they would need to complete the pamphlet properly. I believe this fits in this domain as an artifact because it encouraged students to explore a new avenue for research and note-taking, while also thinking in context and coming up with their own information in regards to survival techniques. There were some techniques that we learned about, but students were also coming up with other ways to survive a tornado that made sense.