Cassie Koja

SPED 444
5/6/15
Part 1
Description of Classroom and Setting
My field placement is in a fifth grade class at Kaelepulu Elementary School. Kaelepulu
Elementary is a small school in Kailua with only one class per grade level. I have a total of 31
students including 16 males and 15 females ranging from ten to eleven years old. My 5th grade
class switches between the 5th grade classroom and the 6th grade classroom. My mentor teacher
teaches 5th and 6th grade language arts and social studies while the 6th grade teacher teaches 5th
and 6th grade math and science. Also, a part-time teacher helps the 5th graders every Monday
and Wednesday from the morning until recess. My classroom is the size of two regular
classrooms because the school is prepared to accommodate two classes per grade level. Onefourth of my classroom is reserved for upper grade level special education while three-fourths is
used for fifth grade general education students. The students are in a U-shaped formation
centered around the SmartBoard and Elmo. I have one IEP student with accommodations
including repeated directions, assessment in small groups, colored markers, backpack checks,
colored folders, planner checks, and preferential seating. Also, I have one ELL student with
supports such as guided reading, shared reading, and individual reading with the teacher.
The curriculum being used in language arts is a combination between a basal and a
teacher-created curriculum. Our basal curriculum is McGraw-Hills Reading Wonders program.
This is a research-based curriculum that has been mandated for all elementary schools in Hawaii.
There are a total of six units, and six weeks are dedicated to each unit. Teachers have the option
to utilize the online Wonders program and have access to PowerPoints, reading selections, lesson
details, assessments, and much more. Students use a literature anthology book and practice book
to respond to the readings, practice grammar, and learn vocabulary. Each lesson is targeted

towards Common Core Standards and is extremely fast-paced. The teacher is expected to rapidly
move through daily lessons, and it seems like the material is not student-centered. My mentors
teacher-created curriculum gives students the opportunity to experience authentic reading, which
is a quality that Wonders does not provide. My mentor selects appropriate lessons and books to
ensure that she covers all grade level standards. The students participate in reading workshop
where they are given the opportunity to read independently, read with a buddy, or listen to a read
aloud. She integrates many reading selections into other subjects such as social studies. For
example, my students are currently reading George Washingtons Socks by Elvira Woodruff, and
the story takes place in the time period of the American Revolution. My mentor uses authentic
reading selections to teach students strategies, skills, and vocabulary. She regularly encourages
high-level critical thinking through grand discussions, responses, and projects. Students are in
language arts class between 9:55 A.M.-10:55 A.M. every day. My mentors balanced reading
curriculum allows students to read good-fit books, motivates them to become better readers, and
makes them fall in love with reading.
The curriculum being used in mathematics is Stepping Stones. It is a basal, researchbased curriculum that has been mandated for all elementary schools in Hawaii. This program
seems well paced, and it helps to ensure that teachers cover all or most of the Common Core
mathematics standards. There are twelve modules with 12 lessons per module, and Stepping
Stones provides teachers with daily lessons and steps for implementation. Teachers have the
option to utilize the online Stepping Stones program and have access to PowerPoints, answer
sheets, and many other various resources. Students use a Student Journal to learn new concepts
and a practice book to reinforce previously learned concepts. Students are in mathematics class
between 8:10 A.M.-9:10 A.M. every day. The daily routine includes correcting homework,

answering questions about homework, learning new concepts, and doing select problems from
the Student Journal. Struggling students work with the part-time teacher for additional support
to learn key concepts. My mentor teacher tracks students mathematics skills through Stepping
Stones unit assessments and STAR assessments.

Description of Effective Teaching Strategies Being Used and Tier 1 Practices

I have seen many effective teaching practices in my field placement classroom. My
mentor teacher has high rates of student responses and allows the opportunity to respond
(Reed, 5). Most of her language arts and social studies lessons are based on student responses
and group discussions. She begins the lesson by asking the class an essential question using
effective questioning techniques, and students continue the discussion. Also, she paces her
instruction well and in a way that is suitable for all students learning. My mentor evaluates
students understanding of a concept using formative assessments throughout their learning. She
gathers evidence whether or not students have sufficient understanding of a topic and paces her
lesson based on that information. She reviews key topics, details, or strategies if students do not
grasp a concept, and she advances to deeper understandings if students display growth and
knowledge. Streamlined transitions are an effective teaching practice that my mentor has
mastered. Students make quick transitions while lining up for lunch, trading between
classrooms, and even going to the bathroom. They know their expectations in her classroom,
and she is able to dedicate more time towards teaching rather than classroom management during
transitions. Not to mention, my mentor frequently circulates around the room. She constantly
does formative assessments to check for understanding and makes adjustments accordingly.
Think Pair Share is used most often, and its when she has her students talk to each other about a

posed question. She walks around the classroom to listen to their responses and gathers
everyone to a class discussion. She is constantly walking around the classroom when she gives
students individual work. She reminds them that she is not there to look at and criticize their
work, but instead to discover what they learned. Lastly, my mentor teacher has a unique
enthusiasm towards teaching and learning, and its evident that it has a positive impact on her
students.
Ive observed numerous Tier I practices in place in my mentor teachers classroom. My
mentor includes differentiated learning to meet the need of all students. Ive seen my mentor
teacher prioritize instruction, adapt instruction, and use the SCREAM variables in her lessons.
My mentor teacher prioritizes her instruction by deciding on the most important parts of her
daily lessons. She sets goals for her students and tries to get each student to that goal. She is
aware of the many different learning needs of her students, but tries to get all students to the
same goal of the lesson. She makes many adaptations based on the learner characteristics of her
students including rearrangement of classroom layout, peer assistance, peer models, hands-on
orientated instruction, books on tape, and peer supports. Ive seen her implement some of the
SCREAM variables discussed in the text. She communicates the structure of her lesson and
discusses what the students will learn and do. Also, she uses an appropriate rate of presentation
when teaching. She told me that its important to do constant formative assessments in the
classroom to get a feel for where students are in the lesson and understanding of the lesson. If
the students dont understand the material, the teacher shouldnt continue to move on to the next
concept. She uses the knowledge of her different students to differentiate lessons that will be
most comprehensible for all students. Not to mention, my mentor frequently uses Tier I progress
monitoring to determine whether individual students are making adequate progress in the

general education classroom (Mastropieri, 155). Students take the STAR assessments and
Wonders assessments every two to four weeks throughout the school year. Its an effective
monitoring system that tracks student learning and response to instruction.

Universal Screening Assessment

I selected the Wonders Weekly Assessment as my universal screening assessment. My
mentor teacher suggested that I use this because she frequently uses the Wonders assessments to
monitor student progress. Students are usually given the assessment every two to four weeks
since the beginning of the school year. My mentor uses the results to indicate student
achievement with the aligned Common Core Standards, and the results tend to guide her
teaching. Also, the Wonders assessments align with what is being taught in the classroom and
intends to be administered after the specific week of each unit. I decided that this would be a
helpful universal screening assessments because students regularly receive Wonders instruction
and assessments and clearly indicates strengths and weaknesses.
The Wonders Weekly Assessments consists of four parts: two reading selections, ten
multiple-choice questions assessing comprehension skills, ten multiple-choice questions
assessing vocabulary strategies, and one short response assessing comprehension. My universal
screening assessment is the first Wonders assessment that my students took in the beginning of
the school year. My mentor teacher administered this assessment after completing unit one week
one of the Wonders curriculum and gave me the scores of the entire class (shown in the table
below). The scores specify students strengths and weaknesses in reading comprehension and
vocabulary. I chose to work with Student #20, Cathy (pseudonym) for my RTI Project.

Data of Universal Screening Assessment

Student #

Comprehension

Vocabulary

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20 (Cathy)
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

70%
90%
40%
80%
50%
60%
60%
100%
90%
70%
60%
70%
40%
70%
80%
70%
40%
80%
80%
30%
70%
60%
50%
60%
70%
90%
70%
80%
30%
40%
50%

70%
70%
50%
60%
60%
70%
80%
80%
100%
90%
80%
80%
50%
60%
70%
70%
60%
70%
70%
70%
80%
70%
60%
60%
70%
90%
90%
90%
20%
60%
40%

Total Weekly
Assessment Score
70%
80%
45%
70%
55%
65%
70%
90%
95%
80%
70%
75%
45%
65%
75%
70%
50%
75%
75%
50%
75%
65%
55%
60%
70%
90%
80%
85%
25%
50%
45%

I chose to work with Cathy because she is clearly struggling in reading. My mentor
teacher suggested that I work with her because she has been a struggling reader since she entered
5th grade. My mentor teacher pulls her aside with a few other students for guided reading at least
once a week in order to teach reading strategies and improve reading comprehension. I chose to

work with Cathy because she demonstrates curiosity and enthusiasm for learning. I believe
intrinsic motivation is a key factor in student learning, and it was important for me to work with
a student that wanted to improve. Cathy received a 30% for reading comprehension and a 70%
for vocabulary. Her total score for this weekly assessment is a 50%, which is a low score
compared to her classmates. It was interesting to analyze this evidence because she understood
most of the vocabulary words but was not able to comprehend the story. She has trouble in
identifying text elements and using reading strategies to understand a text selection. It is evident
that Cathy needed the most support in reading comprehension. A picture of her assessment score
sheet is shown below.

Works Cited
Mastropieri, M., & Scruggs, T. (2000). The inclusive classroom: Strategies for effective
instruction (5th ed., p. 155). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Merrill.
Reed, Rachelle. RTI Overview and Effective Teaching Practices [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved
from http://sped444.weebly.com/assignments.html