Guided Response: In your guided responses to two peers, the task requires you to assume the role of a school administrator. For each response, please evaluate the alignment of one specific lesson objective with its CCSS and provide additional or alternative, differentiated strategies based on your evaluation. 

Kimberly Leonard

“Common core emphasizes engagement, and requires “teaching up” (Tomilson, 2012)” and understanding Differentiating the lesson can be challenging as we live in a society with constant assessments held to a very high standard. It is important as educators that we follow the standards, but that does not mean that differenentation is not possible. In my classroom I have found ways to teach the TEKS (Texas’s version of common core), while still allowing my students the freedom t use the intellefeines best suited for them. Below are 2 examples of lessons I have taught in a 1st grade classroom.

Objective 1: TEK 1.7 Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Theme and Genre

Description of standard: Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about theme and genre in different cultural, historical and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the test to support their understanding.

Lesson: Read the story Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems and discuss how to make inferences and draw conclusions for what the author is saying to reader.

Differentiating the Lesson: After reading the story as a class, students will break into groups of 3-4 to use text evidence to make inferences and draw conclusions from the story. Student must use the text to prove what they are saying, but may do so in a medium of their choice. They may create a poster, song, poem, act out a interview, write a book review or another method they feel would best express their viewpoints.

Objective 2: TEK 1.10 Organisms and Environments

Description if standard: The student knows that organisms resemble their parents and have structures and processes that help the survive in specific environments or habitats.

Lesson: Create an anchor chart on animals and their characteristics. Discuss the word habitat and have student turn and talk with their neighbor about the habitat their favorite animal would have. Teacher will check for understanding of the meaning of the word and show several examples of an animal and its corresponding habitat.

Differentiating the Lesson: After the whole group lesson, students will break into groups for their favorite animal. They will work as a group to answer the question: What habitat does your animal live in and why? Students will conduct research and will use the medium of their choice to give their answer. Some examples of mediums could be a 3D diagram of their animals habitat, a poem, a song, a story, a drawing or photo collage or another medium they feel would best express their viewpoints.

References:

Puckett, K (2013). Differentiating Instruction: A Practical Guide[Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

Tomlinson, C., Britt, S. (2012). Common core state standards: Where does differentiating fit? ACSD. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/professional-development/webinars/tomlinson-and-britt-webinar.aspx

Laura Ferrari

Week 3 discussion 1

Professor Gugel and class,

In our text book it states: Differentiating Instruction: A Practical Guide: The standards are meant to help students continuously expand their repertoire of words and phrases using general academic and domain-specific vocabulary. General academic words are those that are commonly used in academic writing but are seldom used in informal speech. For example, the term multiple opportunities is more often expressed in informal conversation as many chances. Domain-specific words, such as fractal, species, phylum, and cardiovascular are specific to a content area. Understanding domain-specific words is reinforced in the reading and writing standards, as well as literacy standards for the subject areas (Kendall, 2011).

Number: 1

Literacy.RH.9-10.10 and Literacy RH.11-12.10. –  Read and Comprehend complex literacy and informational texts independently and proficiently or Group.

Objective: Students will analyze and evaluate wartime policy regarding the exclusion or over-inclusion of African Americans in the U.S. Armed Forces

Differentiation Lesson/Activity: GROUP ESSAY WRITING ACTIVITY: 

Duration time: 45 mins     Two Groups

Students will be assigned pages of the reading in groups to formulate a paragraph to contribute to the final class essay (merged paragraphs into document on Smart Board off student computers).   Together, they will draft, edit, and proofread, sequence, paraphrase, and quote to provide textual evidence to support the thesis-statement. 

Group 1:  Pages 265-273 American Revolution

Group 2:  Pages 273-283 Civil War

Group 3:  Pages 283-292 World War I

Group 4:  Pages 292-297 World War II

Group 5:  Pages 297-303 Korean War and Vietnam War

Number: 2

Literacy.RH.8-10.12 and Literacy RH.11-12.10. –  Read and Comprehend complex literacy and compare and contrast proficiently or in a Group.

Objective: Students will be able to work together and compare/contrast today’s war with civil war and share with other groups.

Duration time:  50 mins   Four in a group     Then Whole group discussion: After

Differentiation lesson: Students will be given a Venn diagram each. Students will compare and contrast today’s war with the civil war. Teacher will ask students to name major events in the civil war then teacher will ask students about major events in recent wars.

The differentiation of this lesson will be according to student’s abilities to have some knowledge of the civil war and be able to compare and contrast past and present wars. Students who are at the higher-level thinking skills will be paired up with students who demonstrate lower level thinking skills. Students who are overachievers will be paired up with students who are on the higher-level thinking skills. The Teacher will have some students to write fewer events, some students will find the picture that matches the events of the civil war, and some students can verbally discuss the events of the civil war.

References:

Puckett, K (2013). Differentiating Instruction: A Practical Guide [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

Tomlinson, C. A. (n.d.). How to Differentiate Instruction in Academically Diverse Classrooms (Vol. 3).

CPalms. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.cpalms.org/Standards/Common_Core_Standards.aspx

Tomlinson, C., Britt, S. (2012). Common core state standards: Where does differentiating fit? ACSD. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/professional-development/webinars/tomlinson-and-britt-webinar.aspx