The big picture of what you will be producing for this class is a plan for teaching part of a math unit. You will be making formative assessments, writing 2-3 detailed lesson plans, with lots of supporting information/essays. You will be teaching those two lessons, and you will have one of those two lessons video taped (for me to view).

Under construction Feb 7. I'm in the process of updating this after our class today. I'm about half way done.

Step 1: Meet with your cooperating teacher and discuss the requirements for your field experience (this can count as 1 observation hour):

• 10 hours of observation and teaching during math time,
• Write a summary of the lessons in a unit
• Write lesson plans for and teach 2 lessons within a single unit,
  • one taught lesson must be video taped (the videos will be shared with me at a minimum, and it would be best if they could be included in your electronic portfolio. Find out the restrictions of what can be shown in the video if it is to be included in your portfolio).
  • 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 activity in each lesson.
• Borrow or photocopy the textbook (preferably teacher's manual) for an upcoming unit. If you can get online access to the texthook, that would work as well as a physical copy. If you do have online access, please ask if you can share that online access with me. Make sure you have the teacher materials at least 2 weeks before the beginning of the unit. Ideally, you will be teaching in a unit between the dates of March 15 and May 9.
• Ask about special needs in the classroom: are there students who need special accomodations for your lesson, and if so, what are they?
• Ask about the children in the classroom in terms of their math skill and knowledge (you will be specifically observing 2 children prior to writing your lesson plans. Ask your cooperating teacher to help you identify 2 children at different levels of knowledge and understanding that you can observe and help with during your observation hours prior to teaching).
• Observe or ask about technology resources and manipulatives that are available in the classroom.
• Discuss permissions for video recording and documenting

Submit the plan you and your cooperating teacher worked out. Your plan must include:

• The name of the unit you will be teaching from
• The grade level
• The names of the lessons you will be teaching
• The dates on which you will be teaching
• A list of manipulatives and technology resources available in the classroom
• Questions and concerns that were raised in your planning session
• Electronic access, scans or photocopies for me of the two lessons you will be teaching.

Step 2: Read through the unit, and study the lessons you will be teaching. Unit outline template

• Familiarize yourself with the whole unit, and what the big learning goals are.
• Study the lessons you will be teaching in more detail.
  • Identify a place in at least one lesson where you could incorporate an inquiry activity
  • Identify prior knowledge and skills that will be needed for each lesson.
  • Identify concepts that students can/should connect to their prior knowledge
  • Identify resources, manipulatives, visualization tools and activities that can help children build a deeper understanding of the concepts in the lessons
  • Identify a part of a lesson where you could productively use a technology tool to help you teach a lesson.
  • Identify in the lessons, activities where children will be collaborating.

Submit an outline of the unit including:

• The name, publication date and grade level of your textbook
• The name of the unit you will be teaching from
• A summary of each of the lessons in the unit (even the ones you are not teaching) to show the progression of concepts and skills that lead up to and build on the lessons you will be teaching.
• Please use this unit plan template to submit your unit outline.

Step 3: Observe the class during math lessons:

• Watch for indicators of student knowledge and skills, especially those related to the lessons you'll be teaching.
• Informally assess the knowledge and skill of the students you are observing and working with.
• Carefully observe group work time: which groups work together best? which children talk and direct the group most? which children are less influential within the group? Pick a few groups or partners to observe and take notes on. Identify things that children do well when collaborating, and things that could be improved.

Submit an observation/ formative assessment plan (focusing on 3 children in the class). Your formative assessment plans should include:

• make a list of prior knowledge and skills that will help children learn the content of this unit (and your lessons in particular)
• ask your cooperating teacher to identify 3 children who are at different levels of knowledge and skill in math that you can observe and assist with during your observation hours (in your submitted plan, you should be able to tell me that you have done this).
• a description of how you will observe and/or interview children to find out what their current knowledge of the content is.
• a description of what you will look for when observing student interactions when working in partners or small groups
• how you will record your observations so you can plan your lesson more effectively.

Submit an observation report (focusing on 3 children in the class):

For the prior knowledge concepts and skills, report on the following (include specific examples whenever possible)

• For each of the children you observed, tell what you know about what they know and can do
• What children in the class may need extra support or extra challenges, and what sorts of support or challenges you think would be appropriate and/or are typically provided.
• What works and doesn't work to keep the child engaged in the math lesson.

For group and partner interactions, report on the following (include specific examples whenever possible)

• What are the typical groupings like for activities in this class (tables? partners? groups of 3?)
• What are partners and group members typically good at doing when working together (supporting each other, including everyone, everyone participating)
• What groups or specific children are most likely to have trouble working together, and what are the typical problems (being respectful of each other, monopolizing or withdrawing from activites, being respectful of the whole class/other groups).

Step 4: Write the 2 full length lesson plans, and teach 2 of the lessons. Lesson plan template

The full length lesson plans must include activities (at least one of each) where:

• students engage in an inquiry activity
• you use technology to help you communicate in teaching
• students work together in collaborative groups and you include a plan for encouraging supportive interaction by students.
• children make connections to prior knowledge or deepen their understanding of concepts through use of manipulatives, visualization or problem solving.

These requirements can be in separate lessons, or they can be combined into the same lesson. 

• 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.

Each lesson must also include:

• A detailed description of the lesson as you plan to teach it
• A materials list, and textbook and grade information
• Big ideas, Learning goals and Standards
• An explanation of how the lesson works to make the content meaningful for the students. Some ways that content is made meaningful by
• How you provided differentated scaffolding for the lesson based on your formative assments and observations of the students.

Step 5: Teach the lessons you are scheduled to teach. Video tape at least one of them. 

Prepare two 5-minute segments from your video taped lesson that show your communication skills.

Step 6: Write and submit reflections on the lessons you taught

within 1 week of teaching the lesson.

Step 7: 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. Your reflection should connect specifically to things shown in the video and in your lesson plans and reflections.

Step 8: Finish the reflection for teacher standard 1, and submit to the dropbox.

Your standard 1 reflection should reference both of your lesson plans.

Step 9: 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.