Date Created: April 17th, 2017

Date Submitted: Spring 2017

Title of Artifact: Observation 8: Language Arts
New Jersey Professional Standards for Teachers: Standard Seven Planning for Instruction

I am placing my artifact, Observation 8: Language Arts, under Standard Seven Planning for
Instruction as evidence of continued mastery of the different methods to provide students with
the proper strategies in order to be successful educationally. Within this observation, I observed
several ways to differentiate lessons to reach all student capabilities. Due to the setting being a
more individualized atmosphere I had the ability to acknowledge how teachers provide specific
methods for struggling students. This observation proves my ability to research and evaluate
effective instructional strategies to provide students with the skills they need to be successful.

References:
New Jersey Professional Standards for Teachers. (2014, August 4). Retrieved from
http://www.state.nj.us/education/code/current/title6a/chap9.pdf
I. Observation:
Language Arts
II. Grade:
Second
III. Students:
1 Boy (7 years old, Second Grade)
IV. Setting:
Pull-Out Resource Room/Special Education Classroom
V. Pre-Observation:
Due to the fact that I was observing a special education teacher, I was unable to

observe a social studies lesson. I decided it would be best to complete another

observation on language arts because that was the subject I had the most information

and notes on. I used my previous knowledge from past observations to further

understand what topics and concepts would be covered for this lesson. I figured I

should observe a one-on-one lesson of a second-grade student who needed help with

their reading and writing. I completed further research on how to teach students in a

smaller classroom setting such as this. This student struggled a lot linguistically from

the start of the school year so I figured it would be a very informing observation.
VI. Data:
This lesson was a unique one because it was not a typical teacher instructing a large

group of students. The atmosphere was much more calm and focused. The teacher

Im observing meets with this student multiple times throughout the day so they are

comfortable with one another. They have a specific program they use for this

students language arts lessons; therefore, the student was already accustomed to the

program and what it entailed. They went through some flashcards of the words he

struggles with most and the teacher asked him to read them aloud. After completing

the flashcards, they moved onto reading full sentences and underlining the similar

endings of words. Once finished with both of those tasks, the teacher gave the student
 a selection of flashcards and asked them to form their own sentence however they

liked if it was a complete sentence.

VII. Analysis:
This student seemed to be very bored and unfocused with this lesson. Although the

student was making progress with this program, it seemed as if they were not

interested enough in their education. The student would often lose their focus and go

off task and it was difficult for the teacher to bring the student back on the subject.

According to Moore and Hansen, authors of Effective Strategies for Teaching in K-8

Classrooms states, The ultimate goal of teaching and learning is to develop

students ability to apply knowledge and skills acquired in one situation (such as the

classroom) to new situations, (p. 177). Therefore, this student was accustomed to the

program but it is possible that it was either too challenging or not challenging enough

for them anymore. This could mean that the student is ready for a new or more

advanced program.
VIII. Recommendations:
Due to the fact that this student has an IEP, it is possible that the program they were

being taught was a requirement within their individualized education program.

Therefore, the student must complete and advance to a higher level in order to receive

or move onto a new program. With this being the case, I would recommend the

teacher to incorporate mini lessons or activities into the program or bring in outside

materials to grab the students attention. The student was accustomed to completing

the same program and using the same methods each time they came to the resource

room. This repetitiveness could have impacted the learners outlook on education

which could be a possible reason for their lack of focus. If the student had different
 materials to use each time it could possibly create a new love for language arts and

their education in general.

IX. Post-Observation:
There was a pattern of this lack of focus within the resource room with this specific

student throughout the year. They may have other factors that play into their lack of

focus but personally as a pre-service teacher I would make that my challenge to

understand this students interests to immerse and incorporate those interests into the

daily lessons. The resource room teacher has more individualized one-on-one time

with students therefore, the students should truly enjoy this time and the lessons

should be interesting and effective. If the student was really struggling to focus, it

would help immensely to have materials or activities that truly engaged and interested

them.
X. Citations:
Moore, K. D., & Hansen, J. R. (2012). Effective Strategies for Teaching in K-8

Classrooms. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc.