INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

1.) To begin, I would ask students to raise their hand if they have ever heard of Thomas
Edison. I would then ask students to share what they know about him prior to reading. I
will write their answers on a chart on the board with two sections saying what we know
vs. what we learn.
2.) Next, I will explain to students that we are going to be working on uncovering the main
idea of a text on Thomas Edison. I will then ask students to share what they know of what
a main idea, topic sentence, and supporting details of a text are. After allowing a few
students to answer, I will pass out a small paper with a short paragraph on how electricity
has changed the world. The topic sentence will be very clear with supporting details as
well. Students will be given five minutes to read the paragraph and highlight the topic
sentence in yellow and the supporting details in blue. I will then collect these papers to
see where student understanding is at before the lesson to compare later on.
3.) I will then explain to students that we are going to read a passage on Thomas Edison. I
will first read the story out-loud while the students follow along with their own copies.
After reading, I will then give students two minutes to discuss with each other about what
they think this text is mostly about.
4.) For the second reading, I will then use the document camera to model annotating for my
students. First I will tell students that for this reading I want students to think about what
is this mostly about? What words are repeated? And what details support one main point?
I will then refer them to the quiz we took before reading when we highlighted in yellow
and blue. I will explain to students that we are going to look at each paragraph finding a
main idea and supporting details. I will model through the first paragraph highlighting the
supporting details in blue and the main idea in yellow. For the next paragraph I will take
student input on what they think are supporting details and the main idea with raised
hands. I will correct any misconceptions and encourage understanding.
5.) After the second paragraph students will annotate on their own. During independent
work, I will pass out a graphic organizer in three sections: key details, repeated words and
phrases, main idea from each paragraph. I will then explain to students to use this to
record their findings from this second reading. Students will be told that they can work
together with their partners for filling out the organizer and coming up with the main
ideas.
6.) For the third reading, I will ask students to reread while thinking about what the overall
main idea of the text is. After reading, I will have students work with their partners to
discuss what they believe the main idea is, write it down, and find three pieces of
evidence that support this from the text.
DAY 2:
1.) I will first review and discuss the activities that we went over the day before. I will ask
students to take out their Thomas Edison text with annotations, their graphic organizer, as

well as their three pieces of evidence writing. I will ask students to define the main idea
of a text, its supporting details, and what a topic sentence is.
2.) After a review of this, I will explain to students that some students think that Thomas
Edison is a hero. I would then ask students why some people may think this and have
them use supporting evidence from what we have read to answer. I will then instruct
students to take out their writing journals. I will tell students I want them to think of a
person whom they consider to be a hero and explain why other people should admire this
person. Once students come up with their person, I will ask them to brainstorm three
reasons using a bubble map. I will model the bubble map on the white board using
Thomas Edison as the hero of choice and have students offer evidence of why people
should admire him and why he is a hero. Students will work on their maps independently
as I walk around and assess student work. I will ask prompting questions such as, Why
does being an athlete make someone a hero? What makes this person someone people
can look up to? I will also ask students to check their progress with their peers before
the begin writing and ask for feedback.
3.) After students create their maps and receive feedback on their ideas, they will be
instructed to write out their paragraphs with appropriate grammar and sentence structure.
I will remind students to have a clear topic sentence along with their supporting details.
4.) Time permitting, I will have students volunteer to read their writing aloud to the class.
Student Activities
Day 1:
1.) Students will participate in a class discussion on Thomas Edison and add their ideas to a
chart on the board.
2.) Students will then share what they know of what a main idea, topic sentence, and
supporting details of a text are. Students will then participate in a pre-assessment
independently, in which they highlight the topic sentence of the given text in yellow and
the supporting details in blue.
3.) Students will participate in a read-aloud of a text on Thomas Edison while they follow
along with their own copies. Then students will participate in a two-minute discussion of
the text.
4.) Students will participate in a second reading and annotate their text finding the main
ideas of each paragraph and supporting details. Students will observe first, provide input
next, and work independently on the last two paragraphs.
5.) Students will fill out a graphic organizer with a partner to record their findings of key
details, repeated words and phrases, and main ideas.

6.) Students will participate in a third reading and be asked to think about what the overall
main idea of the text is. Students will write their answer down and support it with three
pieces of evidence from the text.
DAY 2
1.) Students will participate in a discussion about what they remember from the day before.
Students will define a main idea, supporting details, and a topic sentence.
2.) Students will use strategies learned from the previous lesson to brainstorm ideas using a
bubble map of whom they consider to be a hero and why other people should admire that
person. Students must have three supporting details in their bubble map.
3.) Students will then write out their ideas in paragraph form with appropriate grammar and
sentence structure.
4.) Finally, students will be allowed to share their paragraphs in front of the class.

2.) This lesson is appropriate for this class because it incorporates

instructional strategies that align with the state-adapted academic content
standards as well as focuses on two specific standards that are taught over a
course of two days giving students the opportunity to fully grasp the
concept. This makes content in this lesson being taught accessible for all
students. The reading on Thomas Edison is engaging and relevant to the
class as students are becoming familiar with life and technology during this
time period. This lesson also benefits students by teaching them to read text
closely in order to maximize comprehension. Students are being presented
with more and more challenging texts, this lesson provides an opportunity
for them to read the text multiple times, break down key details, and
reference textual evidence to support the main idea of a challenging text.
This teaches these students strategies to read and comprehend a variety of
texts inside of the classroom and out of it. By splitting this lesson into two
days, students will have an opportunity to learn a new concept of annotating
text, review, and practice it. This also provides students with the opportunity
to build their 21st century skills as they work collaboratively with their
partners to uncover the main idea of a text. This lesson also provides a
positive and unique environment for learning that engages each student in a
way they learn best in. Through direct instruction, detailed modeling, guided
instruction, and independent practice, students will be able to reach the
goals of this lesson with success.
3.) These instructional strategies address the developmental needs of these
students because these activities provide structure and assists in developing
age appropriate literacy skills in students. Students experience structure
through this lesson by having three readings, detailed modeling, and guided

instruction from the teacher on the main idea, topic sentence, and
supporting details of the text. The structure of the three readings fulfills the
students need for the opportunity to revisit content, analyze it, and have a
hands-on experience with the content as they come up with their own writing
pieces on the second day of this lesson. This lesson is developmentally
appropriate because it begins with direct instruction and detailed modeling,
and gradually releases responsibility to the students to tackle the content on
their own during independent work time. It is also appropriate because it
aligns directly with the state-adapted standards that call for students to
determine the main idea of an informational text and recount key details and
explain how they support the main idea.
The activities of this lesson provide multiple opportunities to meet the need
of students to have a hands-on experience with their learning. They are able
to highlight and annotate their text on their own, work with a partner to find
main ideas and key details, and create a writing piece of their own. This
activity provides multiple means of instruction, opportunities for discussion,
and time for peer and teacher input on student work. This activity provides
an experience from learning as it makes learning personal. Students will read
an informational text, understand how to identify the main idea and
supporting details, then create their own writing piece on a person of their
choosing.
4.) These instructional strategies will help my students make progress toward
achieving standards for this content area because they will teach students
how to distinguish the main idea and supporting details from an
informational text. Including three readings into the activities requires
students to read carefully and think about what it is saying. It also teaches
students the skills to identify the main idea, topic sentence, and supporting
details through annotating the text. These strategies are designed to teach
students to understand the text as a whole, so that they can complete the
assignment with success and full comprehension.
These student activities help students make progress toward achieving the
standards in this content area because they are designed to assist in and
give practice to students writing a single paragraph. Through annotating the
text, students have a visual to see where a main idea or topic sentence is
placed and how the supporting details follow and support their opinion. At
the end of this lesson, students will understand how to create a paragraph
that is meaningful and influential. They will be able to do this by finding and
writing references from the text that support what they found as the main
idea in their graphic organizers.
CASE STUDY 2

1.) This assessment plan was strong in the start. The teacher used a quick
and effective way to assess previous knowledge and skills in order to
determine where to begin teaching in goal of identifying the value of
coins and bills and what needs to be reviewed. This measured student
understanding and corrected any misconceptions in an efficient way
before students even received any instruction from the teacher.
2.) The major weakness of this assessment plan is in the fact that each
assessment is multiple choice answer tests. This cannot give a
complete view of student knowledge of a particular subject, especially
for students who may need modifications for these sort of tests. As a
whole, a comprehensive assessment plan should use multiple means of
testing, especially in math. Multiple choice tests may show what
students do not understand, but may not always show exactly where
students go wrong, what they do understand or any misconceptions
they may have.
3.) I would introduce this assessment on day six when the learning goal
focus is to add two or more coins of different values, and use it to see if
additional teaching on this topic is necessary. I would then continue to
use this assessment during each learning goal teaching time as a way
to informally test my students, if they seem to have mastered the
content, I would then consider giving them a more formal assessment,
like the multiple choice test, if needed. This type of assessment
teaches students relevance of math in the real world, provides a
hands-on experience, and gives the teacher the opportunity to walk
around and assist students who are struggling before they are formally
assessed on the specific learning goal.
4.) This assessment would assess students ability to add two or more
coins of different values, identify multiple ways to show a specific
amount, and use coins and bills or sketches to model addition of two
amounts. I would focus on each goal individually, directly following
instruction on the goal. These goals would be accomplished by asking
students to add a quarter, dime, and penny or asking students to show
two different ways to create $.75. Students will again be able to
accomplish these goals through a hands-on experience as they are
working with tangible materials.
5.) This assessment would be an informal formative one, as the teacher
would be walking around observing students add money and create
multiple ways of finding a single amount. It can be done independently
or in a group setting as well.
6.) The purpose of this assessment would be to measure student ability to
achieve the learning goals in a realistic, not figurative, way before
being formally assessed. It gives the teacher an opportunity to observe
the process of student learning, rather than just the end result. In
addition, it gives the teacher the opportunity to give specific and direct
instruction for any misconceptions present among students.

7.) I would implement this assessment by first starting with passing out
the boxes of money and then writing a problem on the board. I would
then instruct students to work with their partners to solve for the
answer using their fake money. While the groups are working, I would
walk around the room and informally observe students for
understanding. After a few problems of working collaboratively with
their peers, I would instruct students to solve the next series of
problems independently. I would continue to walk around the room
checking for understanding and correcting any misconceptions or
assisting any students struggling. We would then come together as a
class and go over the answers as a class.
8.) I would provide students with verbal feedback by walking around the
room and explaining what they did well or where they went wrong. I
would walk students through the process step by step so that they can
see exactly where they may have messed up or misunderstood.
9.) This assessment would directly affect instruction. It would be a tool for
the teacher to be able to identify any weak points or
misunderstandings in their students and address them accordingly. It
also is a way of identifying students who may need any specialized
instruction or additional time on that specific learning goal before
moving on to the next one.
10.)
This additional assessment improves the teachers original plan
by giving students the opportunity to demonstrate what they know or
struggle with in an informal setting before being formally tested. For
any struggling students, like an EL who may have trouble reading on a
formal test, it gives an opportunity to work with visuals and tangible
materials to solve problems. It also adds to the plan by creating an
assessment that does not just show student learning from the end
result, but through the learning process as well. Additionally, it gives
the teacher the chance to identify, understand, and correct any
student misconceptions of learning content and adjust their instruction
accordingly before formally assessing students.
CASE STUDY 3
1.) The first learning need that is identified is that the student is two
years below his grade level. This will present potential difficulties for
his success in the classroom as he will struggle greatly reading any
text assigned to him in the classroom. This learner will need
additional scaffolding and an appropriate amount of assistance with
vocabulary words, especially in a unit like this one in science.
The second learning need that is identified from student work is his
struggle with the appropriate tense. In his description to describe an
event that has already passed, he continues to use present tense
such as we carry or the celebration is fun. He only uses the past

tense to describe these events a few times. This EL could use extra
assistance and support in his grammar usage, especially with the
appropriate tenses.
2.) One student activity in this lesson plan that could present
challenges for this learner is the research aspect of the assignment.
This aspect requires extensive reading of the text with challenging
vocabulary words that may stump this student.
3.) This activity will be difficult for this student because of his reading
level. The informational text will present an overload of unfamiliar
words, leading the student to struggle in researching his given
topic. Based on his writing samples, he continues to incorporate
Spanish words when he is unsure of the correct English word to use
in writing. With a textbook that is two grades above his reading
level, challenging vocabulary, and a second language this student
will be highly challenged to complete this activity with success if not
given any scaffolding or assistance.
4.) To adapt this activity, I would first start out with a contextual
redefinition activity of difficult vocabulary from the text with the
class. I would have students work with partners to come up with a
definition of a given word, then use it in context, then go over the
actual definition. This provides focused time on these specific words
and an engaging way to remember them. Students will then have
these definitions to refer to when researching. In addition, I would
provide this student with additional reading materials to use during
his research time that are at his reading level. This way, he can still
complete the assignment, understand vocabulary words along with
his peers, and reach the goals of this lesson.
5.) This adaption would still be effective for the students progress
towards learning goals in this unit because he is still able to define
vocabulary from the text, but is able to complete the research
portion of the activity with reading materials that are at his level.
This way, he is still able to engage with the activity and complete
the assignment, but with materials that are differentiated for his
reading level.
6.) This adaption is effective for the student in making progress
towards in English language development in several ways. First, he
will be participating in a class activity that will identify and define
challenging vocabulary words that he may come across during his
research time. He will also be reading materials that are at his
reading level, which makes the content accessible to him. The
information on rocks and vocabulary words may be new to him, but
he will still be able to grasp what he is reading and complete the
task at hand. During his reading, he will have his vocabulary sheet
to refer to that will be a tool to assist him while learning this new
information.

7.) The progress monitoring assessment that I would use to monitor

this students progress toward achieving the learning goals would
be the class discussions, oral presentations, and journal writing.
8.) I would use these assessments in order to informally assess the
students verbal expression of his understanding of the assignment
through the discussions and oral presentation and analyzing his
responses. I can then use his journal activity to formally assess his
understanding of his modified reading assessments.
9.) The next steps I would take in facilitating this students English
language development would be to work with him to improve his
reading and grammar skills. I would do this by focusing on the
English Language Development (ELD) strategies and standards. I
would focus on the standard that calls for reading closely literary
and informational texts and viewing multimedia to determine how
meaning is conveyed throughout the text. I would assist this student
by using small group instruction and individual instruction by giving
a more direct instruction approach to any vocabulary or grammar
activities.
CASE STUDY 4
1.) One activity that could be difficult for this student is the activity that
requires her to write individually in her journal as she struggles with
written communication skills. This activity would require her to focus
on a single activity for an extended period of time as they write
individually comparing their own lives to the lives of those during the
War. Due to this students diagnosis, a teacher who knows their learner
will expect difficulties from this student during this portion of the
lesson.
2.) This activity would pose a challenge for this student because it
requires her to individually write in her journal for an extended period
of time. Without peer support and an extended time focusing on a
single activity, Julie may not be able to complete this activity with
success. This student is described as performing below grade level, but
is expected to participate in a fifth grade-level activity for an extensive
block of time. This student also shows difficulty expressing ideas orally
and verbally. This student may have ideas in her head and ready to
express her opinions, but may find difficulty in expressing herself
adequately through writing.
3.) In order to differentiate instruction for this student and create an
activity she can succeed in, I would adapt this writing activity by first
having Julie create a thinking map to concentrate her thoughts with
main topics already written in for her. I would then provide sentence
frames or starters for her to continue in her journal. This will help

organize her thinking and direct her ideas on paper. The first sentence
frame would include an introduction to childrens lives during this time
period, the next would include a start to facts about her life, then how
they are similar, and how they are different. I would explicitly tell her to
refer to her Venn Diagram to compare and contrast her life and a child
during this time period in her writing. These adaptions will focus her
attention, scaffold her abilities in writing, and give her a solid
foundation to form the writing piece required for this lesson.
4.) This adaption would be effective for the student in making progress
towards the learning goals in several ways. First, the adaption still
requires her to complete the assignment. This adaption simply
scaffolds the process she uses to get to the end goal of this lesson. The
sentence frames and the graphic organizer give her visual tools to
assist this student in focusing on the assignment at hand and
beginning the writing process. This assignment may be above her
capabilities as she struggles with expressing her thoughts on paper,
but this adaption gives her the assistance she needs to complete this
assignment with success. She will have the opportunity to display her
understanding and knowledge of the topic while having tools that keep
her focused on the task being asked of her.
5.) Another activity that could pose challenges for this student is the class
discussion as it is specifically discussed that this student struggles with
oral communication. She may have difficulty expressing her thoughts
or ideas on the subject clearly, as she may blurt out answers without
thinking, answers off topic, or incomplete ones.
6.) This activity may be difficult for this student because she struggles
expressing her thoughts orally. A cooperative discussion may be
difficult for her as well as she often tries to dominate whole-class
discussions and group learning situations. Her peers may become
annoyed with her blurting out answers, talking off topic, or struggling
to stay focused on the task. Although this student may have legitimate
opinions and understanding of the topic, she may struggle to
adequately communicate her thoughts to her peers. As she tries to
dominate the conversation or veer off topic, her peers may become
frustrated thus diminishing the quality of the social environment of the
classroom during these activities.
7.) I would adapt this activity to fit the needs of this student in a simple
way. I would set clear learning and behavior expectations from the
start. For example, I would explain to the whole class that students
must raise their hand to participate in the instruction creating an
environment that is safe for all students to participate in and not
dominated by this particular student. In addition, I would limit student

input to only three raised hands during the discussion. This way, each
student has an opportunity to participate in the discussion and limits
this students tendencies to attempt to dominate the conversation. I
would also allow for partner discussion and then whole group
instruction for this activity. I would be sure to pair this student with
someone she works well with and someone who keeps her on task as
well. This gives this student a less intimidating environment to try and
express her ideas with her partner first, and think about three main
points she would like to share with the class.
8.) These adaptions would be effective for the student in making progress
toward achieving the learning goals of this unit in multiple ways. This
adaption does not shut down student participation in the discussion
completely, but rather regulates the student and provides her with an
opportunity to discuss with a partner before discussing whole-group.
This provides a positive climate for learning for all students as it is
creating a social environment that is safe for all students to participate
in, without being interrupted or dominated by a single student. This
adaption will encourage this student to think carefully about what she
decides to share with the class and keep this student on topic as she
participates.
9.) I would choose to use the class discussions as a whole and with a peer
as well as her journal writing work as evidence of this students strides
towards the learning goals of this lesson. Class discussions would be
informally assessed as I would walk around and observe conversations
students are having with each other, and gaining further
understanding as we discuss as a whole class. As for her writing, I
would have a modified rubric created ahead of time for this specific
student. This rubric would ensure that she still reaches the goals of this
lesson, but with the necessary scaffolding this student needs to reach
them.
10.)
I chose to use these assessments because they will be the most
effective way of monitoring this students progress throughout this unit
as well as an effective use of time. Through effective instructional
planning, I will be able to create her adaptions before hand, and
modified assessments for this learner. I will be able to assess her
formally and informally, providing me with knowledge of her
understanding of the concept as well as being able to observe her
learning process, rather than just her end result of the writing piece. By
using a modified rubric, I am able to assure this student still makes
progress towards the learning goals in this unit by tailoring instruction
and assessment to her specific needs.