Pedagogical Practices:

1. Outside lesson plan: week two

For our week two outside lesson plan, we decided to play a more challenging
game called Ships and Sailors. This game requires students to recall
commands that we teach them before the game starts. If the student does
not act quickly when a command is called, they are eliminated from the
game. That day, we had students ranging from kindergarten to third grade.
To differentiate the lesson, we came up with several ways for each grade
level to succeed. The first way being giving the younger grades less
commands to remember. There are fourteen commands in total, we gave
kindergarten eight commands to remember. Also, after each round, we
taught them a new command. Kindergarten started with five commands to
remember. This technique allowed the students to get used to the
commands, and the game. Once I thought the students were responding to
the game well, by remembering the commands, we challenged them with
new commands, and faster games. The oldest grade, third, was
differentiated by allowing them to become the caller and by allowing them to
work together as a group to create new commands. They really loved the
idea of having the power. This differentiation also motivated them to
participate and win the games because the winner became the caller. Paul
Gorski wrote the article, Building a pedagogy of engagement for students in
poverty, that connects to this outside lesson plan (2013). One of the
headings for this article is titled, incorporate movement into instruction
(Gorski, 2013). When planning this lesson, movement was my focus. I
believe PE teachers, and us interns who plan outside time, have pressure on
us because that is the only time students get to run around. It is important
that students get to move around. Students who are physically fit fare
better in school.

2. Curriculum lesson plan: week one

 Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEFEyDRE658 (third grade)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0-
iarafusI&feature=youtu.be (second grade)

This curriculum lesson plan was used as a way to learn about our students.
The activity is called All About Me! Students have to come up with math
equations that relate to certain facts about them. We planned for
differentiation by using different math (addition, subtraction, multiplication,
division), and by giving kindergarten five categories instead of eight.
Kindergarten did addition only, second grade did addition and subtraction,
third and fourth did multiplication, and fifth had to do multiplication and
division. Gorski and Swalwell wrote a section in the article Equity Literacy
for All that talked about the importance of embracing equity literacy (Gorski
& Swalwell, 2015). The bullet point in this section that stood out to me was,
cultivate and sustain bias-free and discrimination-free communities (Gorski
& Swalwell, 2015). Creating that type of environment is essential for
students to feel comfortable. I believe we did that during this lesson because
while students were creating their posters, they were free to talk about their
lives, and many disclosed a lot of information. Not one student was judged
by us, or by the other students.

Model poster:
Learning Environment:

1. Curriculum lesson: week two

Our week two science lesson displays equity in the learning environment
because students were able to work in groups to receive support from their
peers. However, I believe that we could have improved this lesson if we knew
more about our students. Knowing which students are ELL or have disabilities
could have helped us to form strong groups. Students worked with the group
they were sitting with. Next time, I would assign them groups based on
strengths, weaknesses, and other factors. Some groups felt discouraged
because certain students thrived during this building lesson, and most of the
advanced students were friends so they were in the same group. Forming the
groups, will eliminate this issue. Another fix I would make is making sure
every team had the same experience. While every team had the same
amount of supplies, I would give each group even more supplies because
they were running out of marshmallows. I would also give each team a spot
in the room for privacy. I saw a lot of wondering eyes, and they were copying
designs. This lesson aligned with Principle 1, written in Equity Literacy for
All. Principle 1, equity literacy is important in every subject area (Gorski &
Swalwell, 2015). It is important that equity spans across every subject, not
just reading and writing. I believe we showed this in our science lesson.

2. Read aloud lesson: week one

Link: https://youtu.be/xrT2nBczK6U
While I believe the planned lesson show equity through the work, it does not
show equity through the learning environment. At HOST, the environment is
out of our control. During read aloud, we are set up in the multipurpose
room. This is the room where everything is, where people are constantly
walking in and out. This environment makes it difficult for students to learn
and focus. Next time, I would ask to do the read aloud in the media center.
However, we were able to plan equity when it came to student activity.
Students who were antsy and had special needs were able to stand up or
pace, as long as their full attention was on the book. Other students could sit
in chairs, or on the ground. This equity also goes along with including
movement in instruction that Paul Gorski wrote about. Pedro Noguera said it
best when he stated that parents do not treat all of their kids the same,
because everyone has different needs (Noguera, 2012). This is important to
remember because we have to be able to help all of our students succeed,
and they will not all succeed using the same materials or strategies.

Reference:

Gorski, Paul C. "Building a Pedagogy of Engagement for Students in

Poverty." Phi Delta Kappan 95.1 (2013): 48-52. Web. 5 June 2017.

Gorski, Paul, and Katy Swalwell. "Equity Literacy for All." (2015): 34-40. Print.

How Do Schools Promote Equity among Students? Dir. Pedro Noguera.

Steinhardt School at NYU, 7 Nov. 2012. Web. 5 June 2017.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WizJD7B0leo>.