Artifact

Collection
Lauren
Weintraub
EDS 206
6/13/15

CSTP 1.2
Connecting learning to students
prior knowledge, backgrounds, life experiences
and interests
I created a final project that gave students the
opportunity to use their cultural understanding to
produce a symbolic skull decoration and
accompanying memoir (88% of the students in the class are
Hispanic). On 10/31, I staged an ofrenda with Mexican
treats from a local bakery and objects that you might
traditionally find on the altar. I then hung their
individual memoirs on the wall as the backdrop to
the ofrenda, memorializing those they had lost.
Aligns with TPE 5: Student Engagement

CSTP 1.2

A students hand-drawn skull and

accompanying memoir

CSTP 1.2

Da de los Muertos
ofrenda

CSTP 1.3
Connecting subject matter to meaningful real-life
contexts

In the creation of their unique superhero,

students thought of a national or global
issue that was important to them. Then,
they developed an alter-ego personality
(day job) that gave the superhero with
the knowledge needed to fix the issue.
Students shared their creations in small
groups and discussed how they could affect
similar change by pursuing the superheros
day job as a future career path.

CSTP 1.3

CSTP 1.3

Student Sample:
One of our biggest national issues is
climate change, there are many activities us
humans do that contribute to the change in our
world it is not a positive change. Climate
change is extremely damaging and can not be
reversed. The only way we can help our world is
by preventing more damage and Climate Man is
here to help and teach us many solutions.

Student Sample:

Alter-Ego Personality: Climate

Man is a professor at a university. He
majored in marine biology and loves
his job.

CSTP 2.7
Using instructional time to optimize learning
-

For all writing assignments (creative or formal),

students know to create, appropriately title and
share a Google Doc with me. This routine task
allows me to instantaneously approve their
proposed topics and titles, as well as suggest
revisions in the beginning stages of drafting.
Google Docs maximize student work time by
eliminating the need to line up and wait for
approval/suggestions. Additionally, the up-todate progress allows me to maximize effective
instructional time by providing me with a clear
assessment of shared misconceptions about the

CSTP 2.7

CSTP 2.7

CSTP 4.4
Planning instruction that incorporates
appropriate strategies to meet the learning needs
of all students
- The following samples of student handouts exemplify
my student-centered instruction by adjusting the
content in response to the unique learning needs of my
students.
- Both of the pictured graphic organizers were designed
to address the needs of students with IEPs who
required scaffolding in order to be able to access the
content.

CSTP 4.4
I effectively facilitated
the vocabulary
acquisition of a student
with auditory processing
difficulties by developing
a unique graphic
organizer that included
symbols/images next to
the corresponding terms.

CSTP 4.4

I created a graphic
organizer that allowed
visual learners to
transcribe the content
in an organized way.

CSTP 5.4
Using assessment data to establish learning goals
and to plan, differentiate and modify instruction
-Students took an individual Snapshot assessment
online questions chosen based on selected Common Core
standards. As I was circulating during the assessment, I
noticed students struggling with a question about
personification. After students completed the assessment,
I received a pie chart identifying 3 areas of class
weakness. One of them dealt with connotative and
figurative language.
-Aligns with TPE 2: Monitoring Student Learning During
Instruction

CSTP 5.4

CSTP 5.4

The following class,

I conducted a
Rhetorical
Devices minilesson on
personification. I
gave each student
a graphic organizer
and guided its
completion through
a PowerPoint

CSTP 6.3
Collaborating with colleagues and the broader
professional community to support teacher and
student learning

- For our Gender Equity unit, students created

collaborative collages and presented them in a gallery
walk. I invited two neighboring ELA teachers and their
students to participate in the gallery walk and ask
questions.
-Aligns with TPE 11: Social Environment

CSTP 6.3
Students looked for
images that
perpetuated or
defied gender
stereotypes.

CSTP 6.3

Students
presented their
collages to other
classes and
teachers in a
Gallery Walk.

CSTP 6.3
Collaborating with colleagues and the broader
professional community to support teacher and
student learning
- I collaborated with the school chef to develop a unit on
nutrition. Over the course of 1.5 weeks, our respective
classes joined in one room to learn about nutrition, write
persuasive business letters to Michelle Obama and develop
a nutritious lunch menu item to be served in the school
cafeteria. The students then presented their lunch creations
in a gallery walk and anonymously voted for their top two
choices. The students made the winning lunch item in the
school kitchen and we had a celebratory class lunch.
-Aligns with TPE 11: Social Environment

CSTP 6.3

Students searched
through grocery circulars
to get an idea of seasonal
produce and relative cost
of food items.

CSTP 6.3
Menu
Adobo Chicken
Tacos
served with rice,
beans, mango
salsa and
hibiscus
lemonade

Students worked
together to prepare
and cook the
ingredients in the
winning lunch item.

CSTP 6.3

A lunch
celebrating the
fruits of
collaborative
learning.