TEACHER WORK SAMPLE

Teacher Work Sample: Standard 2: Learning Goals

A Unit on Science for Fourth Grade
ELM 598
Mary Bartkowski
Judy Halvorson
University of Phoenix, Hawaii Campus

TEACHER WORK SAMPLE

Learning Goals
The goals for this unit are based on the Online Hawaii State Science Assessment designed
to test students on the Hawaii Content and Performance Standards Third Edition (HCPS III) for
fourth grade that relate to Physical, Earth, and Space Sciences. Hawaiian students in grade four
are administered the Hawaii State Assessment in Science (Hawaii DOE). This test is a
mandatory part of measuring science proficiency as part of the Strive HI Performance System
for schools (Hawaii DOE). The Hawaii Department of Education sends the results of this test
along with reports to the students family regarding the childs progress and proficiency (Hawaii
State Science Assessment HSSA). Wheeler Elementary school will administer this test in the
Spring of 2017. The fourth grade chair and curriculum director plan for the classroom teachers
to prepare the students for this science test during Quarter One and Quarter three of the school
year. The STEM teacher is responsible for providing unique lab experiences that should enhance
student knowledge on necessary skills for this test.
The standards for this unit align with the HCPS III. Although, the classroom is a general
classroom with mixed abilities, these standards should be appropriate for this classroom. Since
the HSSA uses multiple choice, interactive questions and simulation prompts (HSSA), I will also
use these types of activities and assessments during my lessons. In order to support my nonreaders in my class, I will read questions out loud to the students and provide visual aids for
many of the multiple choice questions. I do plan on helping support children with reading
difficulties with specific strategies for solving word problems during tests. Also for children
who require more work with language skills, I will have vocabulary cards available for review. I
will send these and other unit support items home with the students at the beginning of the unit.

TEACHER WORK SAMPLE

Other support items include additional at-home labs that are engaging, but require minimal set up
or specialty items.
The overall and general standard for this unit is HCPS III Standard 8: Physical, Earth,
and Space Sciences: Understand the Earth and its processes, the solar system, and the universe
and its contents.
The more specific standards for this unit are as follows:
1. Standard 1 (SC.4.8.1). Forces that Shape the Earth: Describe how slow processes
sometimes shape and reshape the surface of the Earth.
2. Standard 2 (SC.4.8.2). Forces that Shape the Earth: Describe how fast processes
(e.g., volcanoes, earthquakes) sometimes shape and reshape the surface of the
Earth.
Learning Goals
The learning goals and objectives selected for this unit are included in the
following section. The goals cover broad topics related to slow and fast processes that
shape the Earths surface. The objectives offer specific ways for the students to engage,
explore, explain, elaborate and evaluate the content related to the overall goal.
Learning Goal 1
Learning Goal 1 (LG1) Students will learn about how minerals are classified.
Learning Objective 1 (LO1.1) Students will examine and classify the rocks and minerals
into the correct groups by using the properties of texture, color, hardness, etc. and create a
classifying chart that diagrams the similarities and differences of the rocks and minerals with an
80% accuracy. Depth of Knowledge (DOK) level 2.

TEACHER WORK SAMPLE

Learning Objective 2 (LO1.2) The students will examine 12 common

household/classroom items and research what common minerals are used to make those items
and complete a product/mineral matching activity with an 80% accuracy. DOK level 2.
Learning Goal 2
Learning Goal 2 (LG1) Students will learn about how rocks are classified.
Learning Objective 1 (LO2.1) Students will examine three different types of rocks with a
hand lens and observe what occurs when each rock is placed into a cup of water and create a
three column chart to explain their results with an 80% accuracy. DOK level 3.
Learning Objective 2 (LO2.2) The students will make a clay brick to resemble a
sedimentary rock and then apply pressure to model a metamorphic rock and then create an
acrostic poem using vocabulary terms from the lesson that describes the process an 80%
accuracy. DOK level 1.
Learning Goal 3
Learning Goal 3 (LG1) Students will learn about weathering, erosion and deposition
Learning Objective 1 (LO3.1) Students will create a model using sand of two different
landforms (hill and plateau) and observe the effects of an ice cube being placed in the center of
each landform and create a 3-5 panel comic strip that demonstrates their observations to an 80%
accuracy. DOK level 2.
Learning Objective 2 (LO3.2) Students will work in teams to create a mountain using
Legos and then run a relay race to explore the effects of erosion and deposition and using their
vocabulary cards, they will match the correct term to the definition with an 80% accuracy. DOK
level 1.

TEACHER WORK SAMPLE

Learning Objective 3 (LO3.3) Students will compare the effects of shaking rocks and
chalk for 1-minute and 3-minute intervals and graph data on a chart with an 80% accuracy. DOK
level 2.
Learning Goal 4
Learning Goal 4 (LG4) Students will learn about volcanoes, earthquakes, floods,
droughts, and landslides.
Learning Objective 1 (LO4.1) Students will use Cool Whip and Graham Crackers to
simulate magma and the Earths plates converging, diverging, and transforming the Earths
surface and will write a sentence that explains which type of plate movement causes volcanoes to
an 80% accuracy. DOK level 2.
Learning Objective 2 (LO4.2) Students will examine photographs of volcanic ash filling
the sky and blocking sunlight after an eruption and develop a news report skit that clearly
demonstrates how volcanic ash might change the Earths surface temperature with an 80%
accuracy. DOK level 3.
Learning Objective 3 (LO4.3) The students will use sand, straws and small classroom
items to explore how drought, landslides and floods rapidly shape the Earth, the students will
provide proof as to why their method of preventing landslides is the best and then write a letter to
the city council advising them on implementing this idea to prevent landslides from covering
streets with an 80% accuracy. DOK level 4.
Learning Objective 4 (LO4.4) The students will communicate how a sponge and index
card activity models how mountains are formed and answer a set of multiple choice questions
regarding plate tectonics to an 80% accuracy. DOK level 1.

TEACHER WORK SAMPLE

I will consider that the student has mastered these goals based on rubrics created for lab
assignments. All skills must be demonstrated at meets proficiency or an 80% accuracy level to
be considered mastered. Each goal does have several objectives that will be assessed using
rubrics. The pre-assessment will be used to help gauge if my goals are too easy or too difficult to
master. I will also use input from my cooperating teacher to determine if the objectives need to
be modified to better accommodate the students. The post-assessment is set up to determine if
the students have mastered all of the units goals by applying the knowledge and skills learned
during each lesson and lab.
Each of the learning objectives supports kinesthetic, aural and visual learners. The labs
allow the students to explore concepts by using their hands. The students work in small groups
and explain concepts to each other by reviewing statements and describing events of the labs.
Students are able to evaluate their observations by creating charts, graphs and pictures to further
elaborate on the lab.
Most of these activities allow the students to be engaged in their own learning of the goal
by primarily focusing on levels two and three of Webbs Depth of Knowledge Chart. Level 2
objectives are used to offer engagement of some mental processing beyond recalling or
reproducing a response; it requires both comprehension and subsequent processing of the
content (Edutopia). These objectives are met through classifying materials, making
observations, and comparing items. The objectives that focus more on level 3 include
investigative work, constructing ways to prevent landslides, and drawing conclusions based on
recorded data. At first, I thought that I was avoiding level 1 in the Depth of Knowledge,
however, upon further examination, I realize this is not the case. There are instances where I
have the students recall information and perform rather routine tasks related to the material

TEACHER WORK SAMPLE

presented. I did not remove these items from my plan because I do believe that there are times
when these methods are necessary. The ability to keep information right at the forefront of the
mind and the capability to recall important details immediately is a beneficial skill that is used by
many adults in many professions. Teachers should allow the students some time to use this part
of the brain as a form of exercise similar to yoga stretches for our bodies. As for level 4, only
one of my objectives falls into this category. The lesson allows the students to create a model for
preventing landslides and then has them provide proof as to why this method will be the best
method for a city to use. This method allows the students to create a solution to a real-world
problem.

TEACHER WORK SAMPLE

8
References

Edutopia. (2016, August). Retrieved September 1, 2016, from

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/webbs-depth-knowledge-increase-rigor-gerald-aungst
Hawaii DOE | Other Assessments. (2016, August). Retrieved August 28, 2016, from
http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/TeachingAndLearning.
Hawaii State Science Assessments. (2016). Retrieved August 28, 2016, from
http://alohahsap.org/HSA/resources