Nicole Loraas

494: Portfolio
22 April 2015
Teacher Work Sample
1. In my student teaching Kindergarten class we completed a solar system
unit where the students learned about the planets and our solar system.
The solar system unit was compromised of thirteen lessons in which the
students were introduced to the solar system and gained a general
knowledge of the solar system and its components. The main objectives
of the unit were;
a. Students will be able to define solar system.
b. Students will be able to identify the planet names and their order.
c. Students will be able to identify one fact about each planet.
d. Students will be able to recognize that the planets orbit the sun.
e. Students will be able to define orbit.
f. Students will be able to describe what the sun is.
I opened the unit with a pre-assessment by providing each student
with a work sheet. I read the questions and answers aloud for the students
and allowed them think time before moving on to the next question. After
pre-assessing the students I introduced the solar system to them by
playing a music video on the smart board and showing a 3-D model of the
solar system. The song and video introduced each planet by name and
order while providing a visual. The next eleven lessons were introduced by
listening to and watching the solar system music video and then studying
facts about the sun and each planet. Every lesson focused on one planet
by watching a video, learning facts, and using the 3-D model of the solar
system. The lesson would open by watching a video about the sun or the
planet and afterwards students would have the opportunity to share their
knowledge about the planet. Students would also learn how each planet
orbits the sun and how its distance from the sun affects its climate. Each
student was assessed after each lesson by adding a page into their solar
system flip books. The flip books included the planet name, an accurate
drawing of the planet, and one written fact about that planet.
The solar system unit was important because students should
understand the environment they live in and how it works. Students were
able to learn what the sun is and how it heats the Earth and planets. This
unit helps show students how the Earth is able to support life and why the
other planets cant. It is important to have a general understanding of the
solar system because it allows students to investigate and learn why the

planets are the way they are, how weather and climate is controlled, and
how life is supported.
During this unit, for each lesson, I plan to use whole group instruction
as well as independent practice. During whole group instruction I will
introduce the lesson by displaying a 3-D model of the solar system to
review the planets and aid students in visualizing the planet sizes and
distances in comparison to each other. I will also play the solar system
music video to help students remember the planet names and order. I will
then play an informational video about that lessons specific planet to
teach the important facts. This use of technology and planet models will
aid students different learning styles by providing information in visual,
auditory, and tactile methods. The class will then review the major facts
about the planet which I will write on the white board. After whole group
instruction, the students will then demonstrate their knowledge
independently by completing that planets page in their solar system
flipbook. In the flipbook the students will write the planet name,
accurately color the planet, and write a complete sentence containing a
major fact about the planet. After students have studied each planet and
completed the flipbooks, the class will review the planets. I will provide a
review session by writing the planet names on sheets of paper and
posting them around the room. I will read aloud a fact about a planet and
the students will walk to which planet they believe the fact belongs to.
Lastly, the students will complete a final assessment in which they will
match the planets to their facts.
I will begin the unit by spending a lesson instructing the students on
what our solar system is and what makes up a solar system. I will use
videos and 3-D models to demonstrate that the sun in the center of the
solar system and how the planets orbit around the sun. The rest of the
unit will focus on learning about each of the planets.
2. See Excel Spreadsheet
3. I used a class sample of fifteen students consistently to assess throughout
the unit. Each student received a pre-assessment worksheet. I read each
question and the answers for the students, and allowed think time for
each question. The assessment consisted of seven questions and multiple
choice answers. The questions included:
a. How many planets are in the solar system?
b. What are the planet names?
c. What is the Sun?
d. What is the center of our solar system?
e. What is a solar system?
f. Do the planets move?
g. Is there more than one solar system in outer space?
The class average on the pre-assessment concluded of 30%. The most
frequently missed questions were naming all the planets, defining solar

system, and defining the sun and recognizing it as the center of our solar
system. Based on the results I will ensure students understand what a
solar system is and spend time learning the names and order of the
planets in the solar system.
4. After the first couple lessons learning about the solar system in general I
provided an assessment for the students. For this assessment, I used the
same worksheet as the pre-assessment to assess what areas the students
now understand and what areas still need more instruction. Students
gravely improved on this assessment scoring a class average of 87%.
Most students can now name all the planets, understand that the sun is a
star, and that the sun is the center of our solar system. The most
frequently, and consistently, missed question was What is our solar
system? Students received the choices of:
a. The Sun, stars, planets, and moons
b. The Sun and planets
c. The Sun, Earth, and Moon
d. All of outer space
Students should have answered The Sun, stars, planets, and moons. The
most popular answer was All of outer space. I used this assessment to
view where students are at and where I need to spend more time
throughout the rest of the unit. While discussing each planet I ensured to
recap what our solar system looks like, how it operates, and that it is only
one part of outer space.
5. After teaching the rest of the unit, which focused on learning about each
planet, I provided another assessment. This assessment listed each planet
in order on one side, and on the other side it listed a major fact about
each planet. The students had to draw lines and match each planet to
their major fact. Students scored a class average of 79% on this
assessment. Most of the students could name all the planets and in order,
however, some still mixed up the characteristics of each planet. The most
frequently missed questions were matching Venus and Mars to their
correct facts; many students switched the two planets facts up.
Next time, in order to make the assessment more clear I would print the
assessment in color because the visual helps students identify the
planets. I would also allow more think time for students to answer each
question and go through and repeat the assessment again to aid students
if they want to switch an answer since kindergarteners struggle with
reading.
6. From pre to post assessment the students knowledge improved
dramatically. The students were able to recognize the planets names,
their order, and how they orbit around the sun. They were also able to
recognize what the sun is, that it is the center of the solar system, and

that the planets orbit around the sun. If I were to teach this unit again I
would add in another lesson near the beginning of the unit that goes more
in depth about a solar system and what components make up a solar
system. I might also show a brief video that describes our solar system
and how it works to add a visual as well. I would keep the rest of the unit
the same because the students thoroughly enjoyed it, learning about each
planet, creating their flipbooks, and exceled throughout the course of the
unit.
I learned that it is important to match the curriculum throughout the
course of a unit so that students hear and view information multiple times
instead of during just one lesson. The pre and post assessments helped
me judge what the students already knew, what they did not know, and if
there were any misconceptions. By using the assessments I could gear my
unit in the direction that would benefit the students the most. The first
assessment helped show me how I need to review the solar system during
each lesson and not just in the beginning of the unit in order to help the
students understand what the solar system is and how our planets,
moons, sun, and stars operate within it. I also needed to explain how the
solar system is just one part of outer space. I learned in my own teaching
that by using pre and post assessments I can guide the curriculum and my
instruction in order to teach to the students needs and learning abilities
in order to provide them with the best education possible. My teaching
abilities grew because I was able to assess the students knowledge
accurately and spend more time teaching the students in areas they were
struggling and less time teaching what they already knew. I was also able
to track which students needed more advanced work and which needed
extra help. By viewing the assessments I can see that each student
gravely improved and grew in their understanding of the solar system.
Each student possesses the ability to learn, and each student gained
knowledge and improved because of this unit.