JillianSigman

ESLGrade1Reading,ElementsofaStory&Beginning,Middle,andEnd
LearningContext,Topic,andObjectives
VincentFarmElementarySchoolislocatedinBaltimoreCounty.Thisschool
servicesstudentsfromWhiteMarsh.Thisschoolismadeupofstudentsfroma
varietyofculturalbackgrounds,51%ofthestudentsareCaucasian,25%are
AfricanAmerican,13%areAsian,7%areHispanic/Latino,and4%aretwoor
moreraces.
VincentFarmprovidesseveralspecialeducationprograms.Theyoffer
inclusion,pulloutgroups,andFALSforbothprimaryandintermediatestudents.
Therearefive1stgradeclasses.Ms.WhitesclassincludesstudentswithIEPsand
studentswithnoplan.Allstudents,withorwithoutadisability,atVincentFarmare
encouragedtoparticipateinthemanyactivitiesthatthisschoolhastooffer.The
differenttheatricalperformancesputonbythestudentsareoneofthebiggestevents
throughouttheyear.Theschoolhasaverywelcomingcommunityfromstaff,to
students,toparents.Iwasveryhappytobeapartofthisexcitinggroupwhileteachinga
lessoninMs.Whitesclass.Thestudentsareexcellentparticipantsandenjoylearning.
Overall,thebehaviorsofthestudentscausenoproblems,besidestheoccasionalside
chatters.
Tokeepstudentsontask,thestoplightchartwillbeenforced.Eachstudenthasa
clipwithhisorhernameonit,andtheycanmoveitupforgoodbehavioranddownthe
chartforpoorbehavior,asdirectedbytheteacher.Therearefourlevelsonthechart,

silver,green,yellow,andred.Therearerewardsforreachingthehighestlevelonthe
chart,silver.Disciplinaryactionistakenwhenastudentreachesthelowestlevelofthe
chart,red.
Thestudentsusedinmyevidenceofstudentlearningprojectwereall
identifiedbythegeneraleducatorashavingdifficultywithreading.Asaresulta
pulloutgroupofthese5studentswasformed.Theclassismadeupof13boysand
12girls.ThreeoftheboyshaveIEPsforreadinggoals.Noneofthestudentsin
thisclasshaveculturalorlinguisticdifferences.
Allobjectivesforthisunitplancamedirectlyfromthestandardsalignedwith
MarylandCommonCore(RL3,RL7,andRL9).RL3Describecharacters,settings,
andmajoreventsinastory,usingkeydetails.RL7Useillustrationsanddetailsina
storytodescribeitscharacters,setting,orevents.RL9Compareandcontrastthe
adventuresandexperiencesofcharactersinstories.Theobjectivesforthisunitplan
were:1.Studentswilluseillustrationsanddetailsinastorytodescribeitscharacters,
settings,andmajorevents.2.Studentswillcompare/contrastthetoryelementsinThe
ThreeLittlePigsandTheThreeLittleDassiesinordertodeterminesimilaranddifferent
adventuresandexperiencesamongthecharactersinthetwotexts.3.Studentswill
identifythecharacters,setting,andmajoreventsusingkeydetails.
Objective1relatestothestandardRL3andRL7.AccordingtotheMCCSS
(MarylandCommonCoreStateStandards,MDk12.org)essentialskillsandknowledge,
studentsmustbeabletoidentifytheelementsinastory,includingcharactersandthe
setting.Studentsmustalsobeabletoidentifykeydetailsinastory.Studentsmustbe

abletoretelltheeventsinastoryinalogicalsequence.Studentsmustbeabletoexplain
theconnectionbetweentheillustrationsandwordsinastory.Theymustdescribepeople,
places,things,andeventswithrelevantdetails,expressingideasandfeelingsclearly.
Lastly,studentsmustadddrawingsorothervisualdisplaystodescriptionswhen
appropriatetoclarifyideas,thoughts,andfeelings
Objective2relatestothestandardsRL3andRL9.AccordingtoMCCSS
essentialskillsandknowledge,studentsmustidentifylikenessesanddifferencesbetween
charactersandeventsinstories.Objective3relatestostandardRL3.
Inorderforstudentstoachievethestandardsitwasimportantforthemtobe
proficientintheessentialskillsandknowledge.Thisobjectivewaswrittenbasedonthe
essentialskillsandknowledgeintheMarylandCommonCoreCurriculum.Eachofthe
objectiveswaswrittenwithconsiderationofstudentsIEPs.Forthesmallgroup,3out
ofthe5studentshavegoalsintheirIEPforreading.Thosegoalsincludegeneralreading
comprehension,producingrhymingwords,decodingwordsingradelevel,demonstrating
understandingoftextatgradelevel,andrecallingstoryinformationwithvisualsupports
andprompting.Thesestudentswerestrugglingwiththeskillsaddressedinthe
objectives,soitwasessentialtoreteachtheskillsinawaythatcaterstotheindividual
needsofthesestudents.
AssessmentPlan
Thesummativeassessmentforthisunitplanwasneededtoassesstheoverall
levelofunderstandinggainedfromtheentireunit.Thissummativeassessment
reflectedtheskillsthatthestudentswererequiredtolearn,basedontheobjectives,

whichcamefromtheMarylandCollegeandCareerReadyStandards.Students
completedastorymapwheretheyhadtoidentifythecharactersandsettingofthestory.
Studentsalsocompletedabeginning,middle,andendworksheetwheretheyneededto
identifykeyeventswrittensentencestrips,andputtheminsequentialorder.
Studentswererequiredtoidentify5charactersand3settingsonthestorymap.In
orderforstudentstoshowmasteryoftheskill,theyneededtoidentifyasmanyofthese
astheycould.Therewere3mainevents,whichstudentsneededtosequence.Inorder
forstudentstoshowmasteryoftheskill,theymustproperlyordertheeventsinthe
beginning,middle,andend.
Inordertodeterminestudentspriorknowledgeandlearningneeds,apre
assessmentwasgivenbeforetheunitplanbegan.Thepreassessmentmirroredthe
formatofthesummativeassessment,withadifferenttext.Studentswererequiredto
identifythecharacters,setting,andsequencemainevents.Therewere5charactersand4
settingsonthestorymap.Therewere3mainevents,whichstudentsneededtosequence.
Throughoutthethreelessons,Iusedseveralformativeassessmentstrategies
tohelpmedeterminewhereIneededdifferentiationssoallofthestudentsinthe
classwouldaccomplishthelessonobjective.Ondayone,duringlargegroup
instruction,IobservedhowthestudentswereabletoretellTheThreeLittleDassies.To
dothis,Iwouldsitwithseveralpairsofstudentstolisteninontheirdiscussion.Iwas
abletositinwiththreegroups,allofwhowereproperlysequencingthestoryaccurately.
Ondaytwo,duringwholegroupinstruction,Iobservedhowaccuratelystudentswould
identifyelementsofthestory.Todothis,Iwouldnotestudentresponseswhenthey

volunteeredtogiveananswerwhenwewerefillingoutourflipchartsonthePromethean
board.Attheendofthelesson,studentscompletedaworksheetwheretheydrewand
wrotehowTheThreeLittlePigsandTheThreeLittleDassiesweresimilaranddifferent.
Ondaythree,InotedhowmanyhandswereraisedwhenIaskedstudentstoidentifythe
elementsofastory.Whenamajorityoftheclasshadtheirhandsraised,Idetermined
mostofthemhadacorrectanswer.
Forboththepreassessmentandsummativeassessment,studentsidentified
characters,settings,andsequencedmaineventsfromthebeginning,middle,andendof
thestories.Thepreassessmentclassaverageswereasfollows,identifyingcharacters
76.8%,identifyingsettings43%,andsequencingmainevents94.6%.Thesummative
classaverageswereasfollows,identifyingcharacters91%,identifyingsettings90%,and
sequencingmainevents100%.Thescoringtoolusedforeachoftheseassessments
wasananswerkeythatIcreated.Iwouldscorethenumberofresponsesthatwere
correctonthestudentsassessment,anddivideitbythetotalnumberofcorrectanswers
ontheanswerkeytofindtheirpercentage.Combiningallofthestudentsscorestogether
allowedmetofindtheclassaveragesforeachtopic.
Allassessmentsusedintheunitplanweredirectlyalignedwitheachotheras
wellasunitgoalsandobjectives.Objectivesforallthreelessonswerefeaturedonall
assessments.Iwantedstudentstoseetheskillsreoccurringindifferentwayssothey
wouldhaveavarietyofpracticewiththemandalsosoIcouldseeiftheyweregaining
moreunderstandingofskills.

TheassessmentusedinthisunitplanincludedappropriateprinciplesofUDL
anddifferentiation.Certainstudentsintheclasshadpicturesontheirsentencesstrips,
inadditiontowords,tohelpthemproperlyidentifytheevents.Thosestudentsalsohad
theirstorymapchunked,andweworkedinasmallgrouptogooverthestoryelements
oneadditionaltime.
Inordertocollectdataforlessonsandtheunit,Iusedstudentsclasswork
andclassroomobservations.
PreAssessment:
StoryMap
Worksheet-

SentenceStrips

Beginning, Middle, End

DifferentiatedSentenceStrips

DifferentiatedBeginning,Middle,EndWorksheet

DayTwoFormativeAssessment:

SummativeAssessment:
StoryMap

Beginning,Middle,EndWorksheet

SentenceStrips

DifferentiatedSentenceStrips

DifferentiatedBeginning,Middle,EndWorksheet

Instruction
Atthebeginningofeachlesson,thefirstslideonthePrometheanBoardflipchart
statedthedaysobjective,inchildfriendlyterms.Iwouldbeginthelessonbyreading
theobjectivealoudtothestudents,andthenwewouldgobackandbreakitdown,sothey
trulyunderstoodwhatitmeant.Todothis,Iwouldunderlinekeytermsandask
studentstoexplainwhatthosewordsmeant.Thisensuredeachstudentfully
understoodhisorherexpectationsforachievementthatday.
Oncethepreassessmentwasevaluated,Ideterminedthattheobjectiveswere
appropriateforeachofthethreelessons.Idecidedthisbecausetheclasshadroomfor
improvementonallofthetopicsintheunit,basedonthescorestheyobtained.Atthe
endofeachday,IreviewedthedataIobtainedfromthestudentswork,andensuredthat
thenextdaysobjectivewasappropriate.Iconsideredwhattheirstrengthsand

weaknesseswerethroughmyobservations,whichallowedmetodeterminewhataspects
ofthelessonweneededtospendmoreorlesstimeon.Basedonthedataand
observations,Ididnothavetochangeanyofmylessonobjectives.Therefore,Iwas
abletodeterminethattheassessmentsthatwouldbeadministeredwere
appropriate.TheassessmentsIdesignedwerecreatedtoreflecttheobjectivesinthe
unit,andconstructedtomeettheabilitiesofeachstudentintheclass.
Tomotivateandengagestudents,Imadeeachofmylessonsinteractive.I
wantedthestudentstofeelexcitedaboutlearningstoryelementsandevents,andthought
thebestwayofdoingsowastohavethemparticipateasmuchaspossible.Duringmy
lessons,IalwaysusedaflipchartonthePrometheanBoard,sostudentscouldtaketurns
comingupandfillingintheiranswers.Thisgavethemtheopportunitytogetupand
movearound,andusesomeofthetechnologyintheclassroom.Iusedavarietyofways
tohavestudentsdiscusstheirideasincludingturnandtalk,writing,andwholeclass
discussions.
Inthisunit,newcontentwastaughttostudentsinawaythatusedtheirprior
knowledgetohelpthemunderstandnewconcepts.Studentswereintroducedto
storyelements,sequencingmainevents,andcomparingandcontrastingtwostories.
Theobjectiveforlessononewas,Studentswilluseillustrationsanddetailsinastoryto
describeitscharacters,settings,andmajorevents.Theobjectivewasstatedtothe
studentsinchildfriendlyterms,Todaywewilluseillustrationsanddetailsina
storytodescribeitscharacters,setting,andmajoreventsincludingproblemand
solution.Tobeginthelesson,wequicklyreviewedthetermscharacters,setting,and

eventstoensurethestudentsunderstoodwhatwewouldbelookingfor.Icalledon
studentswhowereraisingtheirhand,andtheywereeasilyabletodefinetheterms.To
furtherenhancetheirknowledgeandencouragecriticalthinkingskills,Iwouldask
questionslike,Cantherebemorethenonecharacter?Inordertoidentifythe
charactersandsettingsofTheThreeLittleDassies,wedidaclosereadofthosepagesin
thebook.Forourguidedpractice,werecordedourfindingsonthePrometheanBoard
storymap.Theillustrationsinthebookwereahelpfulwayforstudentstorecallthese
elements,sincetheweekendhadpastsincefirsthearingthestory.Todeterminethe
majorevents,Iusedaformativeassessmentwherestudentsturnedandtalkedwith
afriend,andthenwehadawholeclassdiscussion,wherestudentssharedtheideas
theydiscussed.Theturnandtalkwasmeaningfulforthestudentsbecausetheyeachhad
theopportunitytosharetheirthoughts,andbehelpedbytheirpartneriftheyneededit.
Thatway,bythetimewehadourclassdiscussioneveryonewasonthesametrack,and
thediscussionwentsmoothly.Iwasabletocheckfortheirunderstandingofthe
conceptbasedontheresponsestheygave.Whenstudentsanswered,Iwould
respondwithfeedbackbysayingstatementssuchas,Yes,thatwasthemiddle
event,becausethatwastheprobleminourstory.Next,Ihelduptheindependent
practicepartofthelesson,whichweretwoworksheetsthestudentswouldbecompleting
fortheirassessment.Imodeledexactlyhowtheyshouldbefilledout,usingtheElmo,
andcompletingeachsection.Iaskedstudentstohelpmecomeupwiththeanswers,
andwouldcallonthosewhoraisedtheirhands.Whentheygaveacorrectanswer,I

wouldfillitin.Doingthisallowedeachstudenttoseewhathisorherworkshould
looklike,andeliminateanypossibleconfusionormisunderstanding.
Theobjectiveforlessontwowas,Studentswillcompare/contrastthestory
elementsinTheThreeLittlePigsandTheThreeLittleDassiesinordertodetermine
similaranddifferentadventuresandexperiencesamongthecharactersinthetwotexts.
Theobjectivewasstatedtothestudentsinchildfriendlyterms,Todaywewill
compareandcontrastTheThreeLittlePigstoTheThreeLittleDassies.Wewill
thinkaboutthestoryelementsandhowtheadventuresandexperiencesofthe
charactersinthestoryaresimilaranddifferent.Tobeginthislesson,Iremindedthe
studentsthatyesterdaywediscussedTheThreeLittleDassiesandtodaywewerealso
goingtodiscussastorytheyhadreadafewdaysprior,TheThreeLittlePigs.Tohelp
furthertheirunderstandingandencouragecreativethinkingskillsofthecompare
andcontrastconcept,Ishowedthestudentsashortvideothatwasasongabout
comparingandcontrasting.Next,theclassdidaguidedpracticeactivitywherewe
workedtogethertocompleteacompareandcontrastchartonthePrometheanBoard.I
wouldaskthestudentsaboutkeyelementssuchas,WhowerethecharactersorWhere
wasthesetting?Afterwerecordedalloftheanswers,wewentbackandpointedout
thingsthatwerethesameandthingsthatweredifferent.Forexample,bothstorieshada
villain,butintheTheThreeLittlePigsitwasawolf,andinTheThreeLittleDassiesit
wasaneagle.Next,Imodeledtheworksheetthestudentswouldbecompletingas
independentpractice,usingtheElmo.Studentsneededtowriteonesimilarityandone

differenceinthestories,andthendrawapicturetogoalongwithit.Iaskedstudentsto
helpmebytellingmeoneofeach.WhenIcalledonastudent,andtheygavea
correctanswer,Ifilleditinontheworksheet.Thatway,thestudentscouldhavean
ideaofwhattheirsshouldlooklike,andhearwhatanappropriateresponsewould
be.
Theobjectiveforlessonthreewas,Studentswillidentifythecharacters,
setting,andmajoreventsusingkeydetails.Ifeltthisobjectivewasinchild
friendlyterms,andreaditassuchtothem.Tobeginthelesson,Ifirstreadaloudthe
book,CorduroysBestHalloweenEver.AsIwasreading,Istoppedatcertainpointsin
thebooktoidentifythesettingsandthecharacters.Iwouldthenaskthestudentstotell
mewhatcharacterwejustmetorwhatsettingwewerein.Whentheyanswered
correctly,Iknewtheywerefollowingalong,andunderstanding,andletthemknow
thataswell.Attheendofthestory,wedidaguidedpracticeactivity,wherewe
completedastorymap,andrecordedthecharactersandsettingsonthePrometheanBoard
flipchart.Iwouldgothrougheachsectionofthestorymap,andaskstudentstoraise
theirhandtogiveoneanswer.Next,Iaskedstudentstoturnandtalkwithafriendto
discussthemaineventsofthestoryinorder.Iremindedthemthattheproblemisthe
middleevent,andthesolutionistheendevent.Wefollowedtheturnandtalkwitha
wholeclassdiscussionwherewefilledintheeventsonthePrometheanBoardflipchart.
Thenextpartofthelessonwasindependentpractice,wherethestudentswould
completetheirworksheets.Beforetheystarted,ImodeledtheseontheElmo.To

makesurethestudentsunderstoodhowtocompletetheirstorymapbest,Iexplicitly
statedthatwewerelookingforfivecharactersandthreesettings.Inumberedmy
charactersection15andmysettingsection13.Iexplainedtotheclassthatthismight
behelpfulwhentheyarecompletingtheirstorymap.Iaskedstudentstoraisetheirhands
andgivemetheanswersIwaslookingfor.Whentheydid,Iwouldfilltheminonthe
worksheet.Forthebeginning,middle,andendworksheet,Ireadeachofthesentence
stripesaloud.Iaskedstudentstotellmewhereeachstripbelonged.Whenthey
answered,Iwouldholdthestriptothecorrectspotontheworksheet.
Inmyclass,itwasveryimportanttoplandifferentiatedinstructiontomeet
eachstudentsneeds.SincetherewerethreestudentswithIEPs,itwasnecessaryfor
metoknowtheirgoalsandaccommodations,inorderformetodesignthelessontoboth
meettheobjectiveandtheskillsofthesestudents.BasedontheirIEPsIdetermined
thesestudentswouldworkbestinasmallgroupfortheassessmentcomponentofallof
thelessons.Thereweretwootherstudentsintheclasswhowerestrugglingreaders,and
werealsoincludedinoursmallgroup.Ondayone,thesestudentssatatthebacktableto
completetheirworksheetswiththeirAAandmyself.Thefirstassessmentwasa
beginning,middle,andendworksheet,wherestudentsweregiventhreesentencestripes,
andhadtocorrectlygluethemineitherthebeginning,middle,orendspot.Forthese
students,Ialsoincludedapictureonthesentencestrip,tohelpthemunderstandwhat
theywerelookingat.Sincetheystrugglewithreading,providingthemwithapicture
helpedthemcompletetheirworkwithaccuracy.Forthestorymap,weworkedtogether,
reviewedtheanswersagain,andchunkedthesections.Chunkingthestorymapallowed

studentstofocusononesectionatatime,withoutgettingdisorganized.Thestudents
withIEPswereabletohavescribesrecordtheiranswers.Ondaytwo,thestudents
completedaworksheetthatcomparedandcontrastedtwostories.Weworkedtogetherat
thebacktable,wherewewereabletoreviewtheinstructionsagain,andchunkthe
worksheetintosmallerparts.Doingthiskeptthestudentsfromfeelingoverwhelmedand
insteadfocused.Onedaythree,wehadaverysimilarassessmentasdayone,anddidthe
sameexactdifferentiations.
Forthelessons,Imadesuretosummarizethemostimportantparts.Atthe
endofeachlesson,Iwouldreadtheobjectivealoudagain,andaskthestudentsifwe
havemetit.Todoso,Iwouldagainhighlightkeyterms,andaskstudentstoremindme
whattheywere.Whenwedidthis,Iwouldaskthewholeclassifwedidthis,andwhen
theysaidyes,Iassuredthemtheywerecorrect,andwedidmeetourobjectiveforthe
day.
AnalysisandInstructionalDecisionMaking
SmallGroup:
Thefollowinggraphsrepresentthethreetopicsthatwereassessedinthisunit.
Eachgraphincludesthepreassessmentandsummativeassessmentresults.Alainawas
absentforthesummativeassessment.Tofindtheaveragescoresforthepreassessment,
Idividedthetotalscoreby5.Tofindtheaveragescoresforsummativeassessment,I
dividedthetotalscoreby4,duetoAlainasabsence.

Character Identification Pre

Assessment
Character Identification
Summative Assessment

Thegraphaboveshowsthatstudentsscoreshaveeitherincreasedor
remainedthesamefrompreassessmenttothesummativeassessmentforcharacter
identification.Thegroupaverageforpreassessmentwas40%.Thegroupaveragefor
summativeassessmentwas60%.Therefore,thegroupaverageimproved20%.

Setting Identification Pre

Assessment
Setting Identification
Summative Assessment

Thegraphaboveshowsthatstudentsscoreshaveeitherincreasedor
remainedthesamefrompreassessmenttothesummativeassessmentforsetting
identification.Thegroupaverageforpreassessmentwas55%.Thegroupaveragefor
summativeassessmentwas91.75%.Therefore,thegroupaverageimproved36.75%.

Event Sequencing Pre

Assessment
Event Sequencing
Summative Assessment

Camren

Noah

Aneeb

MacKenzie

Alaina

Thegraphaboveshowsthatstudentsscoreshaveeitherincreasedor
remainedthesamefrompreassessmenttothesummativeassessmentforevent
sequencing.Thegroupaverageforpreassessmentwas86.6%.Thegroupaveragefor
summativeassessmentwas100%.Therefore,thegroupaverageimproved13.4%.
WholeGroup:
Thefollowinggraphsrepresentthethreetopicsthatwereassessedinthisunit.
Eachgraphincludespreassessmentandsummativeassessmentresults.Madison,
Hunter,Shane,andWyattwereabsentforthesummativeassessment.Tofindthe
averagescoresforthepreassessment,Idividedthetotalscoreby20.Tofindthe
averagescoresforsummativeassessment,Idividedthetotalscoreby16,duetothefour
studentsabsence.

120%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%

Character Identification Pre

Assessment
Character Identification
Summative Assessment

0%

Thegraphaboveshowsthatamajorityoftheclassincreasedtheirscores
fromthepreassessmenttothesummativeassessmentforcharacteridentification.
Thegroupaverageforpreassessmentwas86%.Thegroupaverageforsummative
assessmentwas98.75%.Therefore,thegroupaverageimproved12.75%.
120%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%

Setting Identification Pre

Assessment
Setting Identification
Summative Assessment

0%

Thegraphaboveshowsthatamajorityoftheclassincreasedtheirscores
fromthepreassessmenttothesummativeassessmentforsettingidentification.The
groupaverageforpreassessmentwas35.5%.Thegroupaverageforsummative

assessmentwas89.63%.Therefore,thegroupaverageimproved54.13%.Thistopic
hadthemostsignificantchangefrompreassessmenttothesummativeassessment.
120%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%

Event Sequencing Pre

Assessment
Event Sequencing Summative
Assessment

0%

Thegraphaboveshowsthattheentireclassincreasedtheirscoresfromthe
preassessmenttothesummativeassessmentforeventsequencing.Thegroup
averageforpreassessmentwas95.81%.Thegroupaverageforsummativeassessment
was100%.Therefore,thegroupaverageimproved4.19%.Thistopichadtheleast
changefrompreassessmenttothesummativeassessment.
WhencomparingthesmallgroupdatatothewholegroupInoticedsome
similarpatterns.Bothgroupsincreasedtheiraveragescoresacrossallthreetopics.
Bothgroupswerethemostsuccessfulwitheventsequencinginthepreassessmentand
summativeassessment.Bothofthesegroupshadthemostsignificantincrease,frompre
assessmenttosummativeassessment,insettingidentification.Ithinkthisoccurred
becauseafterInoticedthiswaswhattheyscoredlowestinforthepreassessment,Iput
extraemphasisonthisthroughoutmyinstruction.Forthesummativeassessment,I

focusedonassociatingthreemainsettingswiththethreemaineventsofthestory.Ithink
thishelpedthestudentsrememberthembetterandmakeaconnection.
WhencomparingthesmallgroupdatatothewholegroupIalsonoticed
somedifferences.Forcharacteridentification,theoverallassessmentscoreswerelower
forthesmallgroup;however,theydidhaveahigherpercentincreasefromthepre
assessmenttothesummativeassessment.Overall,thesmallgroupscoredhigherthanthe
wholegroupinsettingidentificationonboththepreassessmentandsummative
assessment.Ithinktheirdifferentiationscontributedtothis,andweretherefore,
successful.Thewholegrouphadagreaterincreaseinscorebetweenbothofthe
assessments,whichprovedtheygainedalotofnewknowledgethroughoutthelessons.
Basedonthedatacollected,Ideterminedthattheclasshasmasteredallof
thetopicsintheunit,withaveragescoresfrombothgroupsallabove80%.
Therefore,theyarepreparedtomoveontothenextunitinreading.
ReflectionandSelfEvaluation
Overall,Ithinkthatmyunitplan,ElementsofaStoryandBeginning,Middle,
andEnd,wasverysuccessful.Therewereimprovementsineachofthetopicsassessed
fromthepreassessmentstothesummativeassessments,whichprovedthestudents
successfullylearnedthecontentoftheunit.Someoftheimprovementsweregreaterthan
Iwouldhavepredicted,whichIwasthrilledtosee.Ibelievetheselessonswere
effectivebecauseeachaveragescoreforthesummativeassessment(forbothsmall
andwholeclassgroups)ofalltopicsassessed,wereover80%,withmostover90%.

Thesescoresshowthattheclasshadexemplaryknowledgeofthestoryelementsand
mainevents.
Theinstructionofthisunitinfluencedstudentslearning.Theassessment
activitiesthatweremosteffectivewerethemodelingonthePrometheanboardandElmo.
OnceIusedbothofthesetools,studentsshowedoverallimprovementingraspingthe
concepts.Ithinkmodelingthisactivityhelpedthestudentsbecausetheygottosee
exactlywhattheirassessmentwouldlooklike,andhowitshouldbecompleted.Ithinka
lotofrepetitionwasalsobeneficialtothestudentsandwedidthisthroughbreaking
downtheobjectiveeachday,doingclosereads,completingflipcharts,andhavingturn
andtalks.Ibelievethedifferentiations;includingaddingvisualcuesandchunking
material,helpedthestudentswhoneededthemsuccessfullyachievetheobjectives.
TherearesomechangesIwouldmaketoimprovestudentlearning.Inthe
future,Iwouldwanttomakesomechangestomydifferentiatedlesson.AsIobserved
thosestudentstakingtheirassessment,Iquicklyrealizedthewritingportionwas
overwhelmingforthemandtookagreatdealoftime.Sincewritingwasnotpartofthe
objective,Iwouldwanttofindawaytoassesstheknowledgeoftheobjectiveinaway
thatinvolvedlessofit.Onewaytodothiswouldbetohavedifferentcharactersand
settingsprintedontheirstorymap,andthestudentwouldhavetocirclethecorrectones.
Thiswaytheywouldstillbeprovingtheylearnedtheconcept,butwouldnothaveas
muchwritingtocomplete.AnotherwayIcouldhaveassessedthewholeclasses
knowledgeofthecontentwouldhavebeentoallowstudentstoactoutthestory,which
wouldallowthemtoidentifycharactersastheyrechoosingtheirroles,discussthemain

events,andconsiderthesettingtheyarein.Ithinkthiswouldbeacreativeandfunway
forthestudentstopickuptheknowledgeinadifferentformat.
Ihadtheopportunitytocollaboratewiththegeneraleducatoroftheclass
andthespecialeducatorwhoisthecasemanagerforthethreestudentswhohave
IEPs.Workingwithbothoftheseprofessionalshelpedmesignificantlyinplanningan
effectivelessonthataddressedtheneedsofallstudents.Thegeneraleducatorhelpedme
greatlywithcreatingthePrometheanBoardstorymaps,informingmeonthestudents
abilitiesandexperiences,andfollowingthecurriculum.Thespecialeducatorhelpedme
createdifferentiatedlessonsforthestudentswhorequiredthem.AlthoughIworkedwith
theAAduringthelesson,Ithinkitwouldhavebeenverybeneficialtocollaboratewith
herduringtheplanningprocess.Sincesheworksverycloselywiththethreestudents
whohaveIEPsthroughouttheday,shehasalotofknowledgeontheirneedsand
abilities.Ithinkitwouldalsobemeaningfultocollaboratewiththeschoolsoccupational
therapistaswell.SincethestudentwithIEPsstruggledwithwritingportionofthe
lesson,perhapsshecouldhavesuggestedsomewaystohelpthemwiththis.Havingboth
oftheseprofessionalsinputcouldhelpmetomakethechangesIwouldliketoseein
futureinstructionalactivities
ThislessonisagoodexampleofCECStandard3CurricularContentUnit
becauseIhadtounderstandthecentralconceptsItaughtinordertoprovidemy
studentswiththeknowledgetheyneededtomasterthecontent.Whenthestudents
askedmequestions,Ineededtobeabletoprovidethemwithameaningfulresponse.I

createdlearningexperiencesthatwereaccessibleandmeaningful,includingflipcharts,
discussions,andworksheets,forthelearnerstoassuretheymasteredthecontent.
ThislessonisalsoagoodexampleofCECStandard4AssessmentbecauseI
hadtounderstandanduseavarietyofassessmentsincludingthepreassessment,
formativeassessments,andthesummativeassessment.Iusedthedatafromtheseto
monitorstudentgrowththroughouttheunit.Additionally,Iusedthedatatomake
decisionsonhowIwouldteacheachlesson,andhelpthestudentslearnbest.These
assessmentsalsoengagedstudentsandhelpedtheirknowledgegrow.