Context for Learning Information

Context for Learning Information Directions: Respond to the prompts below (no more than 3 single-spaced pages, including prompts) by typing your responses within the brackets following each prompt. Do not delete or alter the prompts; both the prompts and your responses are included in the total page count allowed. Refer to the evidence chart in the handbook to ensure that this document complies with all format specifications. Pages exceeding the maximum will not be scored.

About the School Where You Are Teaching

1. In what type of school do you teach? Elementary school: [Yes, Pre-K 3rd] Middle school: [NA] Other (please describe): [NA] Urban: [Yes.] Suburban: [NA] Rural: [NA] 2. List any special features of your school or classroom setting (e.g., charter, co-teaching, themed magnet, classroom aide, bilingual, team taught with a special education teacher) that will affect your teaching in this learning segment. [We have an aide in our classroom whose designated job is to work with one student who has Autism. However, she routinely contributes to classroom discussions and classroom management, as she deems necessary, which can be very disrupting.] 3. Describe any district, school, or cooperating teacher requirements or expectations that might affect your planning or delivery of instruction, such as required curricula, pacing plan, use of specific instructional strategies, or standardized tests. [The lessons that you will see within my 3-5 lesson segment are a part of a poetry unit. I was required by the school to teach a poetry unit where I covered specific poetic devices (alliteration, imagery, metaphor, onomatopoeia, simile, stanza). However, I was given free range by my teacher to develop the unit however I wanted as long as it included the key terms that the school required me to cover. I ended up developing the poetry unit so that it covered the necessary items while being engaging and relevant to my students lives. I had about six weeks to complete the unit and during two weeks of that time, ISAT was going on so lesson times were shortened some.]

About the Class Featured in This Assessment

1. How much time is devoted each day to literacy instruction in your classroom? [Reading and writing are split into two separate blocks, each one about an hour long. Overall specific literacy instruction each day is approximately two hours. However, there is an afternoon read aloud for about 15 minutes and then students spend about 20 minutes working on eSpark an educational program that is geared to each student on the iPad. Each child has an iPad and is required to work in eSpark for at least 20 minutes a day. During this time some students are listening to reading and answering comprehension questions on eSpark. However, some might be working on math, science or social studies so this time cannot be directly counted as literacy instruction.] 2. Is there any ability grouping or tracking in literacy? If so, please describe how it affects your class.

Copyright 2012 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. 1 of 3 | 3 pages maximum All rights reserved. V1_0113 The edTPA trademarks are owned by The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. Use of the edTPA trademarks is permitted only pursuant to the terms of a written license agreement.

Context for Learning Information [There is no ability grouping in writing. However, in reading, we have four ELL students who are pulled out to work with the ELL specialist. We also have students whose test scores on the NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association) did not show adequate improvement who are pulled out by special subject teachers just to give them more work in a small group setting with greater individualized attention. The special subject teachers are not reading specialists they are the gym, art and library teachers. However, because they students will be getting more individualized attention, the idea is that they will see greater progress. For the remaining students in our classroom during the reading block, they are only pulled in small groups by reading level about once a week to work in a guided reading group. Otherwise, they are all working in Storytown, listening to reading on TumbleBooks, or reading to himself or herself or a partner with a self-chosen book. Students were instructed at the beginning on the school year how to pick a just right book for independent reading times. Students know that if they encounter more than five words on a page that they are struggling with, they should find a slightly lower book that is not in their frustration reading level.] 3. Identify any textbook or instructional program you primarily use for literacy instruction. If a textbook, please provide the title, publisher, and date of publication. [For our next unit of writing realistic fiction, I will be using Writing Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions Grades 3-5, FirstHand, 2006. My teacher has the Lucy Calkins series which she generally uses for writing instruction but that I did not use for the lesson segment that is shown in this assessment. For our students reading textbook we use Storytown Student Edition Level 3-1 2008, Harcourt School Publishers, 2004 and Storytown Student Edition Level 3-2 2008, Harcourt School Publishers, 2004. ] 4. List other resources (e.g., electronic whiteboard, classroom library or other text sets, on-line professional resources) you use for literacy instruction in this class. [My mentor teacher has a classroom library that has around 400 books in it. She also has about 50 titles outside of the library that she has four or more copies of each book so that they can be used in small, guided reading groups. In addition, for each unit that we do, I go to the public library and bring in 25-40 books in the specific subject area we are studying to supplement student learning and to make sure that the books represent a variety of cultures and languages when possible. The school has a subscription to TumbleBooks, which we can access on the four classroom computers. We have a document camera with an iPad hookup so that we can show paper documents as well as projecting whatever is on an iPad screen (text, movie, photo). Each student has an iPad. The iPads are used primarily for eSpark work but are also used when students need to research something or look up a photo, say, of a specific kind of animal for an illustration they are doing.]

About the Students in the Class Featured in This Assessment

1. Grade level(s) [3rd] 2. Number of

students in the class [22] males [14] females [8]

3. Complete the chart below to summarize required or needed supports, accommodations, or modifications for your students that will affect your instruction in this learning segment. As needed, consult with your cooperating teacher to complete the chart. The first two rows have been completed in italics as examples. Use as many rows as you need.
Copyright 2012 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. 2 of 3 | 3 pages maximum All rights reserved. V1_0113 The edTPA trademarks are owned by The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. Use of the edTPA trademarks is permitted only pursuant to the terms of a written license agreement.

Context for Learning Information Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different strategies/supports or accommodations/modifications to instruction or assessment (e.g., students with IEPs or 504 plans, English language learners, struggling readers, underperforming students or those with gaps in academic knowledge, and/or gifted students needing greater support or challenge). Learning Needs Category Example: Visual processing Number of Students 2 Supports, Accommodations, Modifications, and/or Pertinent IEP Goals Close monitoring, large print text, window card to isolate text

Example: Struggling readers English Language Learners IEP

5 15 2

Leveled text, targeted guided reading, ongoing reading assessment (e.g., running records, miscue, conferencing) Pullout with ELL specialist or RTI Self-contained special needs classroom are included in our classroom for science and social studies daily. Also included for any music instruction (Ravinia musicians, Old Town School of Folk Music African Dance and Storytelling) Full-time personal aide Pull out with special education teacher for small group work on math and literacy, once a week meetings with social worker, extra attention in the classroom, individualized assistance, behavior tracking. Extra attention in the classroom, RTI process, individualized assistance. Leveled text, individual work with teacher or student teacher on Frys phrases, lower level texts for guided reading, partnered with stronger reader for partner reading and partner activities, some pulled out for RTI. Materials for parents about ways to enrich their learning at home, extra opportunities in the classroom for extension and enrichment.

IEP IEP

1 1

Referred for IEP Struggling readers

1 6

Gifted

Copyright 2012 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. 3 of 3 | 3 pages maximum All rights reserved. V1_0113 The edTPA trademarks are owned by The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. Use of the edTPA trademarks is permitted only pursuant to the terms of a written license agreement.