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 samples are available:

Unit plan template. (Your overview and your lessons should be submitted in this template. Keep resubmitting the same file with more stuff added to it). There is a sample unit plan from last year in the Content section of D2L.

Rubrics

Teacher standard 1 essay template

Teacher standard 6 essay template

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. While you will be following the content and requirements of the lessons in the normal curriculum, you are required to personalize and adapt the full length lessons you will be writing and teaching.  You may use some of the activities specified in the textbook, but you are also required to significantly contribute to the form of at least one segment in each lesson <more>).  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. Ideally, you will be working on a unit between the dates of March 17 and May 4.

Step 2: Observe the class at math time at least once, and discuss the background knowledge of the students in the class with the teacher.  Use your observations in writing a context for learning essay.

Step 3: Overview of the unit. In the unit plan template, summarize each of the lessons in the unit. Make sure you figure out or at least verify Common Core State Standards for each lesson (don't just trust the textbook).  You should be reading through each of the lessons in making the summary--you should not be just copying from the teacher's manual.  You should be, however, copying the title of each lesson in its original words from the manual. Fill in the header information for the unit you will be teaching. Put this in the dropbox, and send me an e-mail alerting me that it is in there. You need summaries of at least 6 lessons, including those you will be expanding into full lesson plans.

Step 4: Central Concepts and skills essay. 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. 

Step 5: Student knowledge essay. Write down what relevant experience you know of that children will have that is relevant to the unit (talk to their teacher and/or consult the textbooks). This is the first page of the unit plan. Resubmit the unit plan with this added to it.

Step 6: Inquiry segment plan. 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.

There is a good chance that I will tell you that your idea does not qualify as an inquiry lesson segment (this happens with about half of all submitted inquiry lesson ideas). 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 7: Identify a lesson in the unit (preferably in a lesson you might teach) where it would be appropriate to...

• use a technology tool to help you communicate content in the lesson. 
• have children to work together collaboratively in pairs or groups
• address supportive interaction in the classroom.

You won't be turning this in.  I expect that your understanding of "technology" and "working in groups" matches what is required by the teacher standard just fine.  You do need to decide how you're going to work this in before you start writing lesson plans, however.

Step 8: Write the 3 full length lesson plans, and teach 2 of the lessons. The full length lesson plans must include lesson segments where:

• students engage in an inquiry activity
• you use technology to help you communicate in teaching
• students work together in collaborative groups
• you include a plan for encouraging supportive interaction by students.

These requirements can be in separate lessons, or they can be combined into the same lesson. You are required to teach two lessons, but it's OK if some of these required segments are in a lesson that you do not teach.

• In the lesson plans for the lesson plans you will be teaching, include the dates when you are scheduled to teach the lessons. Make sure you e-mail me as soon as these are submitted, and let me know in your e-mail what date you are scheduled to teach. These must be submitted at least 4 days before you are scheduled to teach the lessons.
• You must submit a full length lesson plan for a lesson in which there is a inquiry activity (see step 6).

  I intend to get you feedback on these lessons approximately 2 days after they are submitted and/or 2 days before you are scheduled to teach them. Feel free to remind me if and when I don't succeed in meeting my goals. You should also be submitting these lesson plans to your cooperating teacher (separately from the unit plan) before teaching the lessons. If I do not get feedback to you on time, but your cooperating teacher says it looks OK, you should go ahead and teach the lesson.

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 (video taped files are too big to submit via D2L--you will need to bring them in on a CD, DVD or flash drive. If necessary, the CD, DVD or flash drive can be mailed via regular physical-object mail.

Step 10: Write and submit reflections on the lessons you taught.

Step 11: 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 12: 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 13: Put your unit plan on Chalk and Wire; put your teacher standard reflections on Chalk and Wire, and link them to the unit plan.  Send me an e-mail alerting me that they have been submitted.