FINAL EALR PROJECT Katy Bryan Date Submitted: June 1, 2009 First Grade Problem Solving Unit Length of Unit: 4/21/09 - 5/29/09Bryan-MIT 2009 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. CONTEXTUAL FACTORS………………………………………………………………3 - INTRO LETTER TO PARENTS…………………………………...………………...3 - CLASSROOM CHARACTERISTICS………………………………………………4 2. LEARNING GOALS……………………………………………………………………13 3. ASSESSMENT PLAN…………………………………………………………………..15 4. DESIGN FOR INSTRUCTION (THIS IS YOUR IP RATIONALE)…………………..17 - ALL UNIT LESSON PLANS, MATERIALS, HANDOUTS, ASSESSMENTS 5. INSTRUCTIONAL DECISION-MAKING…………………………………………….39 6. ANALYSIS OF STUDENT LEARNING………………………………………………40 - STUDENT WORK WITH TEACHER ASSESSMENT OF WORK 7. TEACHER REFLECTION AND SELF EVALUATION FOR FUTURE GROWTH…46 8. RUBRIC WITH COMPLETED SELF-ASSESSMENT………………………………..48Bryan-MIT 2009 3 SECTION I: CONTEXTUAL FACTORS Intro Letter to Parents: March 26, 2009 Dear Families and Students, I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to all of you! My name is Katy Bryan and I will be student teaching in Mrs. McCourt’s class until June 5th. I am in my second year of the Master in Teaching program at the Evergreen State College and will be graduating this June. My role in the classroom will include some observing and some solo teaching. I am very excited to be able to spend time learning from Mrs. McCourt’s wonderful example! I am so excited to be working in your 1st grade class this year! I am very passionate about teaching, learning, students, and community. I look forward to getting to know each and every student as well as all of the supporting adults and family in their lives. To tell you a little more about myself…I am twenty-seven years old and come from a family full of teachers. My passion for teaching comes from my family’s dedication to children and learning. My mom teaches first grade in Yelm and has been an amazing teacher and role model my whole life. This past summer I focused on finishing my master’s thesis (phew!!) as well as spending lots of time with my three cats, two puppies, and my husband-to-be Matt. Matt is currently active duty in the Army. I also enjoy playing guitar and piano and love to write music! I can’t wait to get to know more about all of you over the next few months and would be glad to answer any questions you have about myself or my time with all of you here at Meadows. Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your special class! Sincerely, Katy Bryan Student TeacherBryan-MIT 2009 4 Community: This school is located in a residential section of city with a population of approximately 38,000. The school is surrounded by many apartment complexes and duplex-style housing. Additionally, there are several neighborhoods that have housing ranging from lower to middle-high values. There is a new boundary change that will go into effect next year that will move a large number of the higher valued homes to a different elementary school. Along with that change, some new areas will be moved into the elementary school’s boundaries, most of which are apartments. Many of the families in the community are military families and have family members deployed overseas. District: The school is located in the 22nd largest school district in the state. The district serves nearly 13,500 students. According to the district website, the school district is the most ethnically diverse school district in the South Sound region. The district includes 13 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 4 high schools. The district is predicting a major budget reduction (4.8 million dollars) next year and is anticipating the layoff’s of several district level coordinator positions. School: The school has 493 students enrolled and 24 certified staff members. The school has grades K-6. The average class size for grades K-3 is 21 and for grades 4-6 is 24. The school was originally opened in 1986. The school has five guiding principles called the REACH principles. This stands for respect/responsibility, excellence, acceptance, cooperation, and honesty. The school has built reward systems around these principles including a monthly assembly in which students are honored for the exhibiting the chosen principle of the month. In terms of technology, there is one small computer lab for the school. There are some computers in classrooms but they are aging and not generally used. A few classroom are equipped with documents cameras but most only have overhead projectors. Classroom/physical: This is a first grade classroom. The classroom is located at the end of a hallway near an exit door that is always locked. On either side of the classroom are the other two first grade classes. Across the hall are two classrooms which are all second grade. There are two exit doors in the classroom; one which exits into the previously mentioned hall and one that exits to the playground. There are also two sets of windows; one which views into the hallway and one that views to the outside area. Included for this section is a written map of the entire classroom (see attached). The inside of the classroom displays many learning related posters and displays. There are alsoBryan-MIT 2009 5 representations of students work including writing and art. The front of the room has a cleared walkway area that is used for lining up as well as a meeting place where most instruction and group meetings occur. This open space includes a white board, calendar display, and rewards chart. The desks are set in groups of 3-5 students. The groups are categorized by colored fish that are hung from the ceiling above (red fish group, purple fish group, ect). There is a space in the desk where students can keep work, folders, ect. On top of the desk (for each group) is a tub that holds community pencils, crayons, and glue. The students stay in the assigned seats for approximately a month. If there is any extended behavior issues, there is a single desk that can be used to have a student move. Additionally, there is a