Standard #4: Content Knowledge.The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and creates learning experiences that make the discipline accessible and meaningful for learners to assure mastery of the content.
4(b) The teacher engages students in learning experiences in the discipline(s) that encourage learners to understand, question, and analyze ideas from diverse perspectives so that they master the content. (Performances)
4(j) The teacher understands major concepts, assumptions, debates, processes of inquiry, and ways of knowing that are central to the discipline(s) s/he teaches. (Essential Knowledge)
4(o) The teacher realizes that content knowledge is not a fixed body of facts but is complex, culturally situated, and ever evolving. S/he keeps abreast of new ideas and understandings in the field. (Critical Dispositions)
In my words: As a teacher, I understand concepts, teaching tools, and behavior management techniques that allow me to have an effective classroom with appropriate discipline and mastery of content.
Gallery of Artifacts:
Google Classroom Website: created a class for each period to send information, post announcements and assignments, and stay in contact outside of school.
Tuesdays with Morrie – Online Version of Text
Assignments for Intro to Tuesdays with Morrie Day
These are the lists for my fourth period English 10 class.
Analyzing Anne Bradstreet poetry to lend to a deeper understanding of the Colonial Period
Teaching TKAM vocabulary in a collaborative setting.
WebQuest I created to introduce Sandra Cisneros and House on Mango Street!
Students wrote letters to their sixth grade selves after a discussion on growing up with House on Mango Street.
A breakdown of credible sources for my 6th graders.
Letter to parents, persuading them to buy a pet–part of a research activity.
List of Artifacts:
Esperanza Character Chart-Esperanza, the main character of House on Mango Street is a dynamic character that undergoes much change from the first vignette to the last. She is the main figure in the coming of age story, and it's essential that students understand who she is and how she changes through the course of the story.
Dear Sixth Grade Self-As my eighth graders discussed the theme of growing up in the novel House on Mango Street, I had them connect the idea to their own lives---How had they grown up? Especially in the transition from sixth to eighth grade?
Wolves Research Project-Piggy-backing off of the previous research activity I did with my sixth graders for practice, the Adopt a Pet, I started this week with a Wolves Research Project.
Dear Mom and Dad-To help my sixth graders understand how to research and get some practice before their assessment on informative/explanatory writing, I had them work on the Adopt a Pet project, where they had to research an animal of their choice, take notes, and then draft a letter to their parents/guardians about why they should buy that pet!
Intro to House on Mango Street – WebQuest-As my eighth graders were finishing up their collaborative discussions on people who have persevered, I wanted to transition into the next unit--House on Mango Street--so I created a WebQuest that they could work on when they weren't discussing with their groups! A great time-saver and way to have them learn independently and still be productive towards finishing their previous unit.
Vocab Terms: Part I-Vocabulary in To Kill a Mockingbird is difficult! Even as a college grad, I found myself struggling not only to understand some words, but even how to pronounce them!
Intro to To Kill a Mockingbird-I haven't read To Kill a Mockingbird in ages. But I knew I loved the book and I wanted my students to feel the same. To begin working with the novel, I set up a classroom activity. I split the class into groups with several topics to help preview some of the essential background information.
Anne Bradstreet Poetry-In my American Seminar classes, the advanced 11th grade course on American literature, I did a mini-unit on Anne Bradstreet poetry.
Is Love Rational or Irrational? [Part 1]-Today I started my English 10 class in a very strange way. I sat at a chair in the front of the room, and for the first five minutes, stayed absolutely silent.
Tuesdays With Morrie – Online Text-Let's face it. Students aren't always going to follow directions and bring their books to class, despite our best efforts to remind them. It's the sad reality about being a teacher.
Connecting Lessons to Real-Life: The Ice-Bucket Challenge [and more!]-As an intro activity to my English 10 class' first major reading, Tuesdays with Morrie, I wanted to talk about ALS and the complications of that disease since the main character, Morrie, struggles with ALS.
Classroom Website-My goal today was to create a classroom website that my students could use to easily access classes, homework assignments, and announcements.
