Representative Examples of Grade 2 Student

Work, Goals of Instruction, and Assessment

Pre- and Post-assessment for 2
nd
Grade Math

Problem:

Jane and Ernie have some apples. Jane has 6 apples and Ernie has 9 apples. Who has more apples? How many
more?

1. Answer the problem
2. What is the problem about?
3. How many apples does Jane have?
4. How many apples does Ernie have
5. Who has more apples? Who has fewer apples?

Answers:

1. Ernie, 3 more
2. Jane and Ernies apples
3. 6 apples
4. 9 apples
5 Ernie has more apples, Jane has fewer apples.

Student Work Samples:
My student work samples are included in a PDF document.
Also included in an Excel spreadsheet document is a data spreadsheet of student work results.

Report and Reflection

Content Focus

List the standard(s) focused on in your TWS:
2.OA.A.1- Represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction. Use
addition and subtraction within 100 to solve one- to two step word problems
involving situations of adding to, taking from, putting together, taking apart, and
comparing, with unknowns in all positions, e.g., by using drawings and equations
with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.

2.NBT.B.5- Use place value understanding and properties of operations to add and
subtract. Fluently add and subtract within 100 using strategies based on place value,
properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction

2.NBT.B.9- Explain why addition and subtraction strategies work, using place value
and the properties of operations. Explanations may be supported by drawings or
objects.
Using Pre-Assessment
Data

Based on the pre-assessment data, describe the decisions you made in planning your
instructional unit/lessons.

I noticed from the pre-assessment data that students focused more on the content
questions rather than actually answer the question asked in the story problem. Many
students failed to answer the question in the way that the story problem was
presented. This showed me that I needed to focus in on encouraging students to
analyze the problem in its entirety, not only on just the important details. While it is
important students comprehend and pay attention to the important details, it is also
just as important to actually answer the question.

I decided that breaking up into smaller groups and working with individuals would
facilitate a learning environment conducive to comprehension of the wording of the
story problem in its entirety. I made sure to ask the students what the problem was
asking before jumping in and solving with a variety of strategies.

Using Formative Data

Based on the formative assessment probe you administered, describe how you
identified 1-2 small flexible groups in need of intervention and describe the
intervention(s) you planned based on the data.

For my formative assessment probe, I taught two whole group lessons on story
problems with the entire class. I made sure to give students an adequate amount of
time to complete the problems individually on their whiteboards. I also paired them
up with their Brain Buddy so that students who needed some extra help were able to
confer with their classmates in order to gain a deeper understanding. As students
were working, Iwalked around, observing and monitoring the progress they were
making on their work. When I noticed students not completing the problem as
planned or struggling where to start, I intervened and asked the students to explain
their thinking and then prompted students to correct their thinking by asking probing
questions. I also asked students to share with the class their answer and explain their
thinking. I encouraged students to compare with one another and explore different
ways of thinking and comprehension in order for them to discover the correct answer
on their own.
Reflecting on Post-
Assessment Data

Based on the post-assessment data, summarize and analyze your students' progress,
including what your next instructional steps would be.

Based on my data, the majority of my students improved on their assessment scores.
I was pleased that many students actually answered the question that the problem
was asking, as well as focusing on important detail questions. I did have several
students who did not improve and in fact, did worse on the post-assessment. I have
several theories as to why these students performed at a lower achievement level. For
Student 1, I know that she is a below grade level reader. While the story problems
were not extensive or extremely complicated, her comprehension level proves to be
lower than the levels of her fellow students. With student 6, I noticed that he seemed
distracted and had a difficult time focusing the day of the post-assessment. I spoke to
his father when he was visiting one day and he mentioned that while working with
Student 6 on addition and subtraction facts, he seemed to have a difficult time
focusing when he assessed in a formal situation. His father noted that student 6 plays
with his glasses during assessments, which is a distraction for him. Student 10 did
not improve or regress but rather showed no change. I know that Student 10 is a
below grade level reader and may have had difficulty with comprehending the story
problems. Finally, Student 16 seemed to struggle with time management. He had
written answers on his paper and then decided to erase them all and start again. He
did not have time to complete the assessment and I did not give him more time
because I wanted the data to be consistent.

My next steps would be to pull the students who regressed into small groups or
individual learning situations in order to work on comprehension for the story
problems, as well as strategies to solve them. I would provide them with
manipulatives and strategies for them be successful. I would also work with Student
16 on his time management skills and focus on teaching him what is important to
look for in a problem and what not to get distracted by in a story problem.
Reflection on Student
Learning and Teacher
Practice

Based on the collected data, reflect on the following questions:
1. What have you learned about your students' progress?
My students have made great progress even just in the five weeks that I have spent
with them. I have noticed an increase in their skill sets and strategies that they
choose to use in order to solve particular problems. It made me feel really
accomplished when comparing the pre-assessments with the post assessments. The
majority of our students performed better on the post assessments. This made me
feel like our teaching strategies were efficient and successful, especially for being our
first time teaching to an entire group. Although I am sure there were things we could
have improved on, based on the progress of our students, I think we did a great job! I
am very pleased with the outcomes of these assessments and this Teacher Work
Sample.
2. What have you learned about the teaching of mathematics?
The major thing that I learned about mathematics through teaching of these lessons
along with the assessments was that explaining math concepts using words can be
very difficult. It is important to prepare several ways of explaining once concept in
case a student does not understand your original explanation. Being prepared is the
best way to make sure that every student is given the same opportunities to learn in a
way that fits them best. Along with that, I think it is important to encourage students
to explain their thinking to their classmates. Sometimes students can make more
sense to other students or can point something out in a way that will click with a
student that may be struggling. Another thing that I gained from this experience is
several experiences in co-teaching with my colleague. I learned that it can be really
helpful to use your colleagues and co-teach lessons. I liked the co-teaching method
because I noticed that it works really well to take turns leading the class while the
other walks around and vice versa. It is nice to have that one teacher walking around
to check for understanding as well as help with classroom management. It is helpful
to have that extra set of eyes and makes for a more efficient lesson, especially with
such a large group of students (29). Lastly, I learned that second graders are brilliant.
It is not necessary for students to be spoon fed answers. They are more than capable
of discovering and coming up with answers all on their own. These lessons also
solidified my pre-existing belief that student talk is very important. Allowing the
students to discuss the problems amongst themselves was an integral part of the
lessons. Students were encouraged to share and bounce ideas off one another. These
types of group discussion led to a lot of self-discoveries during this particular lesson.

3. What have you learned about matching curriculum, methods, and assessment?
I really liked using the curriculum that is provided for the teachers at Target Range. I
found the teacher manual to be especially useful and reader-friendly. I got a lot of
great ideas for instruction straight from the manual. I was able to adapt a lot of the
things that I learned in the Math Methods class to go with the ideas from the manual.
It was easy for me to add in things such as manipulatives and technology into an
already strong curriculum guide. For the assessment, we used one of the story
problems provided to make sure that it directly matched with the curriculum and
learning targets. All of these steps are useful and doable if you take the time to
compare notes and put everything together in a way that makes sense to you as the
teacher.
4. What have you learned about the effect of your teaching on students?

My students really seemed to respond well to me and my teaching strategies. I was
impressed with their ability to get use to new adults in their classroom so quickly.
The students looked at me as their teacher and that was really helpful when it came
time to teach lessons. I could tell that they really listened to what I had to say and
did a great job paying attention as I taught. It was an overall great experience to feel
like my teaching affected my students learning. I could tell that my teaching was
effective based on the assessment results.
Supporting
Documentation
Pre/Post Assessment
Formative Assessment Probe
Data Spreadsheet
Samples of Student Work (WITHOUT student names)