The big picture of what you will be producing for this class is a unit plan for teaching a math unit. Within that unit, there are several major items:

The following templates, rubrics and samples are available:

Template for unit plan
(Sample unit plan )
Rubrics for all things
Template for teacher standard 1 reflection
(Sample teacher standard 1 reflection)
Template for teacher standard 6 reflection
(Sample teacher standard 6 reflection)

There will be several check-points along the way to help you keep track of what needs to be done and in what order.

Step 1: meet with your cooperating teacher and discuss the requirements for your field experience (10 hours during math time, teach 2 lessons including one where you are video taped, write a unit plan for an upcoming unit).  Borrow or photocopy a textbook (preferably teacher's manual) for an upcoming unit. Make sure you have the teacher materials at least 2 weeks before the beginning of the unit.

Step 2: Fill out page 1 of the unit plan: Write down what relevant experience you know of that children will have that is relevant to the unit (observe the children at math time, talk to their teacher and/or consult the textbooks). Make a summary of the content of each of the lessons/sections in the unit as described in the textbook and/or teacher's manual.  Submit your summary to the dropbox, and send me an e-mail so I'm alerted to go an look for it.

You should not expect to get immediate feedback on this assignment, since I will mostly be using it to inform me as I read your later assignments.  You may resubmit updated/improved versions of this assignment as you add to your unit plan.

Step 3: Research and/or review the central content ideas in the unit.  You should be looking at materials from this class on the web, materials in your textbooks, and the common core standards.  You should be able to describe several (at least 2, but fewer than the number of lessons in the unit) central concepts that are used and/or developed in the unit.  Write an essay describing these key concepts and how those concepts are developed across the elementary curriculum. This is part 1 of the teacher standard 1 reflection, and you may turn it in using that template. Submit your essay to the dropbox, and send me an e-mail so I'm alerted to go an look for it. 

You should expect to get feedback at the time you get feedback on your step 4 assignment or earlier (I will probably read these at the same time).  You will get suggestions for improvement at that point and not a final grade.

Step 4: Identify a lesson in the unit where children could investigate and discover mathematical relationships and/or use math to investigate significant questions based in the world around them.  Write a description of how you would teach the investigation as part of a lesson. See the rubric for the inquiry activity/lesson.  Submit your activity plan to the dropbox, and send me an e-mail so I'm alerted to go an look for it. Allow 2 days before going on to step 6. The products from steps 2, 3 and 4 should all be submitted at least 1 week before the beginning of the unit.

I intend to get you feedback on this idea within 2 days--before you start writing this up as a formal lesson plan.  Please wait for my comments before launching into writing mode. If you don't get feedback in 48 hours, please e-mail me again to remind me.

Step 5: Identify a lesson in the unit where you could use a technology tool to help you communicate content in the lesson.  Identify a place in one of the lessons you are planning to teach where it would be appropriate for children to work together collaboratively in pairs or groups. You won't be turning this in.  I don't expect to have to discuss with you what "technology" is or what "working in groups" is.  You do need to decide how you're going to work this in before you start writing lesson plans, however.

Step 6, 7, 8: Write short summaries for each of the lessons in the unit, and write the full length lesson plans that are required.  The requirement for full length lesson plans is as follows.  If you can schedule things conveniently, you will be writing 2 lesson plans; if you can't schedule things conveniently, you may need to write as many as 4 lessons. Submit these to the dropbox and send me an e-mail so I'm alerted to look for it. My samples are lessons 1 and 2 of my sample unit plan.

Step 9: Teach the lessons you are scheduled to teach. Video tape at least one of them.  Bring the video to the next in-person class meeting.

Step 10: Write the reflection for teacher standard 6, and submit to the dropbox.

Your standard 6 reflection should in part reflect on what you actually did while teaching a lesson.  This reflection should be written after teaching a lesson that you can use to talk about your communication skills and strategies.

Step 11: Finish the reflection for teacher standard 1, and submit to the dropbox.

Your standard 1 reflection should reference your entire unit plan--both the lessons you planned in detail, and those you gave only a short outline for.  It should show that you understand both the content relevant to the unit plan and ways to help children make connections to the content.  You will need  to include specific examples from your lesson plans.  I expect that you will probably be adding details to the unit plan as you write this reflection.  I will not grade this reflection until I can grade it and the unit plan simultaneously.

Step 12: Compile your lesson plans into your unit plan, so that you have no more than 2 separate files, and put it on Chalk and Wire; put your teacher standard reflections on to Chalk and Wire, and link them to the unit plan.  Send me an e-mail alerting me that they have been submitted.