Understanding and Applying Standards

Reflection 

This week was very new for me. I have never looked at the Common Core State Standards in detail before and have only skimmed what will be required of me when I start my teaching. I loved getting the opportunity to go onto the District Website where I will be teaching and seeing exactly what I will need to do for my grade level. I really liked how detailed the standards were and how organized the California Common Core State Standards are. This made it extremely easy for me to read through them all and get aquatinted with the ones I felt comfortable with for this module. 

In the first assignment this week where we did unpacking of standards, I felt that I struggled with figuring out projects for my standard. It was easy to think of fun things to do but I was more focused on finding the nouns and verbs and reflecting on my own learning experiences as a student. I think it would be beneficial to sit down and think in more detail about activities and projects that can reflect the standard I am teaching. I plan on doing more research to help break down activities for this standard so that I am more prepared when I student teach next month. 

The second assignment, backwards mapping, was my favorite. I felt that I had adequate resources to understand this assignment and this really helped me to focus on the planning of lessons for this standard. I really like to plan and think in detail when it comes to lessons because this means I will be more prepared. In previous modules we learned a lot about being prepared and planning ahead. I really feel that planning ahead and being organized is a strength and if I also understand the lesson in detail, I feel that I will be successful in teaching my lessons to my students. I also really liked being able to visualize what exactly the students would be doing when breaking down this standard. I thought of so many ideas in terms of worksheets and group activities. 

The third assignment for me was definitely a struggle. I am not used to writing SMART objectives and do not feel confident in the five objects I wrote for that assignment. I tried to do research and read  the required material but I just feel that this is a very weak point for me in applying standards. I hope to see more examples in the future or find resources that will help me be more confident when writing SMART objectives for my lessons. 

Overall this week was a great learning experience for me. I am very new to lesson planning but can't wait to get everything planned and ready for when I teach. I hope that in this module I will be more prepared for next month in the classroom. I really do feel that the more organized and prepared a teacher is, the smoother a lesson will go. 

Standards and Backwards Mapping

Overview 

In this blog post I will be discussing Standard RL.2.3 from the California Common Core State Standards. Starting next month, I will hopefully be teaching second grade in the Campbell Union School District. 

Standard: Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges. 

I have chosen to use this standard for the development of my unit because I feel that this was a standard that really had an impact on me as a student. I felt that my teachers really applied this standard in a way that was a benefit to me and I hope to do the same for my students. One of the key things that my teachers did was to make the lessons fun. At this grade level I was always extremely excited to come to school and reading was my favorite subject. I feel that the use of group work, visuals, worksheets and teacher participation really help to understand this standard from different learning capacities. Below, I have outlined three different ways to apply this standard using proficiencies, assessments and activities. 

Application of Standard 

Proficiency 1 - The student will be able to describe characters. 

Learning Activity - Student will describe a character by using a graphic organizer. Student will be given a worksheet (Character map) and will then name the main character in the story and describe the character by answering questions in each section. 

Assessment: Teacher evaluation to help understand if student is meeting the standard. 

Proficiency 2 - The student will identify similarities and differences between characters. 

Learning Activity - Students compare characters using a graphic organizer. Students will work in teams of two and be given a worksheet (Character map). Students will name the two main characters and write specific character attributes under the names of the characters. They will then write the shared characteristics between the two figures. 

Assessment - Teacher will evaluate a presentation given by each team of students. 

Proficiency 3 - The student will be able to identify story elements. 

Learning Activity - Student will record story details using a story grammar organizer. Student identifies and writes the setting, characters, problem, events and solution on the sheet provided. 

Assessment - Students will be quizzed and the teacher will evaluate the results. 

Applying Classroom Rules and Procedures

Introduction 

When applying my rules and procedures for my classroom in the future, one of my biggest tasks will be staying consistent with consequences. These consequences can be both positive and negative but as a teacher I need to focus on being consistent with all of my students. My first test of this will come in the spring when I do my student teaching for elementary aged children. I have experience working with children under the age of five but I do not have experience with groups of children who are older. I have approaches that I use but I also have other ideas that I will list below pertaining to positive reinforcement and students not meeting rules and procedures. 

Positive Reinforcement 

One of the most important things I can do as a teacher is show how much I value my students following the rules and procedures in the classroom. I plan to do this as a class and individually. I want my students to know that I can see how they are performing in the classroom as a group and by themselves. 

Examples and Application

1. Using verbal and non-verbal acknowledgement
• If I see that my students are doing something great then I plan to tell them. A couple of things I plan on implementing are:
• Praise ("Great job!", "Fantastic!", "Keep up the great work everyone!", "I'm so proud of you", "Thank you!") and changing my tone when giving the praise. 
• Nonverbal (Smile, nods, high fives, thumbs up) 
2. Using tangible recognition when appropriate. 
• This can directly be tied in with my rules and procedures project a couple of weeks ago when I displayed an example of how to track behavior. I used a chart in the front of the room with popsicle sticks. This same concept can be applied for rewarding good behavior with tangible rewards such as prizes, stickers or a group activity. 
3. Involve the home. 
• One of the biggest take aways that I took from my professor this week was her example in sending a letter in the mail to one student a week who had excellent behavior. This really struck me as a great idea especially with elementary aged students. I think it is vital to include parents and let them know how great their child is doing. 
• Specific examples I could use would be phone calls home, emails, notes sent home and the letter sent in the mail. 

Not Meeting Rules and Procedures 

One key factor to consider with students is that not everyone is perfect. Everyone has off days and there are times that students (and adults for that matter) act out when they have other aspects of their lives that are causing stress. This however is not an excuse to act out or break rules. With that being said, as a teacher I will do my best to be as patient as possible, but I know there will be days I might need to have steps in place for a situation that gets out of control. I have listed some strategies I can implement for students who are not meeting rules and procedures below. 

Strategies and Implementation 

1. Be with-it. 
• One of the biggest things as a teacher that I need to do is be aware of my classroom and everyone in it. After the year begins and I have started to get to know each of my students, I should then be very aware of any signs that problems will be occurring. I will also need to have an understanding about what is going on with my students outside of the classroom. 
• Stimulus cueing: If there is a student that I know is prone to certain behaviors during class that are disruptive, I need to be able to form a certain cue for that student so that it does not disrupt the class. Some examples of this could be tapping the desk as I walk by, maybe a shake of my head with eye contact, or marking a note that students desk. 
• Noticing potential problems and confronting the behavior: In terms of being aware of my class, I also need to be aware of anything out of the ordinary in terms of behavior. Once I notice this, I will need to address it right away to avoid the behavior from continuing. 
2. Using direct-cost consequences: Examples of this are time time out and overcorrection. 
• Time-out: Since I am working with younger children I do believe a time out is appropriate for students who need to take a break. I plan to have a designated area in my classroom where a student can go sit until they are ready to participate appropriately again. 
• Overcorrection: When a student acts out and does something to damage the classroom then having the student fix it is definitely going to happen in my classroom. This can also be applied to emotional outbursts and hitting. I want to make sure the student has time to think about what was wrong with what they did but I also want them to fix it. 
3. Involve the home. 
• If I notice that the behavior of my students who are acting out and not following rules is not improving then I think it is wise to include the parents. This can include a meeting with the parents, a meeting with the parents and the student, a note home, a phone call home and/or inviting the parents to come observe a class. 

Strategy for High Intensity Situations 

Part of handling behavior in the classroom is also being prepared for situations where a student might not respond to the approaches listed above. If a student loses control then as a teacher I need to be prepared with a strategy to resolve the situation. The first thing I can do in a situation like this is to recognize that the student is out of control. Once I do that then I take a step back and make sure I am calm. If the student is able to speak then I will listen and try to come up with a plan of action. The overall goal is to handle the situation in a calm manner. 

Diagram for Decisions to Reinforce Rules and Procedures