Portfolio Exemplar Cover Sheet

Teacher Candidate Donovan Martinez Cohort # 414

Title of Exemplar First Impressions

Portfolio Category x I II III IV V


ACEI Standard Development, Learning, & Motivation

ACEI Standard Element(s):

Development, Learning, and Motivation--Candidates know, understand, and use the
major concepts, principles, theories, and research related to development of children and
young adolescents to construct learning opportunities that support individual students
development, acquisition of knowledge, and motivation.


Semester Spring 2013 Date April 4, 2013

1. Description of exemplar and how it demonstrates meeting this ACEI Standard and
Elements.

During my field placement at Kalihi Kai Elementary School, inspired by the book
The Sign of the Beaver, I created a Language Arts lesson that discussed first impressions.
My mentor and I collaborated to come up with the base of the lesson as we just
completed Chapter 6 of the book when Matt encounters two new characters. My mentor
and I thought it would be a perfect time to learn more about first impressions. This
worked out perfectly to fall under drawing inferences and conclusions from a text as
stated in the standard.
This exemplar demonstrates meeting this ACEI Standard and Elements because it
constructed learning opportunities that supported individual students development,
acquisition of knowledge and motivation by teaching them how to identify first
impressions of a character in a story and also by having them relate first impressions to
the first time they met myself as their student teacher. Having them connect ideas from
real life and applying them into the classroom helped their development, acquisition of
knowledge, as well as motivation to learn by having that tie in.
Not only did I have my students discuss first impressions the characters made of
each other, but I related it to the real life scenario of the first day I came into class as a
student teacher. This was a great way to create a learning opportunity for my students, as
they may not have known that they already may have judged me based on the first
impression I made when I stepped into their classroom. This acquisition of knowledge is
important to these 5
th
graders because next year they will be stepping into unfamiliar


territory as 6
th
graders and they should be aware of the first impressions they make as that
will make a lasting statement of who they really are.


2. Reflection on my professional growth in knowledge, skills, and dispositions related to the
ACEI Standard and Element(s).

When I was in the planning and writing stages of this lesson on first impressions,
I was only thinking of the first impressions that the characters in the book made of each
other. I thought that was a great way for my students to draw inferences from what they
read to describe the first impressions the characters made. As I continued writing my
lesson, I realized I could tie in the first impressions that the class made on me and vice-
versa. The process of writing this lesson plan helped me to see that the acquisition of
knowledge was two-fold. I was extremely excited to implement this lesson because I felt
students would be able to connect with the content based on personal experiences in the
classroom.
Some skills I gained from this experience included the ability to connect ideas
from real life to the classroom. While planning this lesson, I wanted students to identify
their first impressions of characters in the story. I came up with the idea of recollecting
about my first day in the class and my first impressions about the students and I wanted
to share that with them. I felt they would be interested to hear my first impressions of
them. I also felt that by hearing my first impressions about them, that they would want to
share their first impressions about me. This would help students get engaged in the lesson
and excited about using these skills to draw first impressions of characters in the story.
The knowledge I gained from this lesson extends across literary curricula as well
as knowledge of my students. Identifying the 5
th
grade standards and creating this
exemplar to address the standards helped me gain knowledge of the requirements of 5
th

graders in language arts. It also helped me to get to know how in depth my students
thinking extended. By hearing their first impressions about myself, it helped me get to
know their perspective of myself. This knowledge helped me be aware of my disposition
as viewed by my students.





Teacher: Mr. (Donovan) Martinez
Title of Lesson: 1st Impression
Grade Level: 5
Time: 40 minutes. 9:00-9:40am.
Special Student Considerations: NA
Before Class: Have read Chapter 6, The Sign of the Beaver
Standards & Benchmarks: LA.5.2.2 Make inferences and draw conclusions about grade-appropriate
texts.

Introduction
& Session
Instructions

Introductions & Greeting: (2 min) 9:00-9:02a
- Greet students and note that they just read Chapter 6, The Sign of the Beaver.
- Remind students about their behavior during the last lesson, Lets improve on that and stay on
task.

Session Instructions:
- Have book opened to Chapter 6, The Sign of the Beaver, Elizabeth George Speare
- Write rules on the board: (1. Stay seated quietly; 2. Listen carefully, follow directions; 3. Raise
your hand; 4. Respect each other.)

Mini-Lesson
& Create
Connect and cite one example (from previous class/knowledge):
- Now that we have read Chapter 6 of The Sign of the Beaver we learned that Matt was
introduced to two new characters.

Say what youre going to teach: (2 min) 9:02-9:04a
- Today you will learn how to identify first impressions and be able to create our own.

Teach:
- Meaning of first impression. (opinions that you form immediately) What is the meaning of
First Impression?

Active Engagement: (5 min) 9:04-9:09a
- Students will recall first impression of myself. I want you to think back to my first day here in
this class. What was I wearing? What were the first thoughts that came to your mind?
- Tell class what your first impression of them was. My first impression of this class was.
- Raise your hand if you would like me to share my first impression of you.

Create: (26 min) 9:09-9:35a
- 1) Students will identify Matts first impression of both Saknis & Attean.
- 2) Students will write two paragraphs giving details about each first impression.
- 3) The first 10 minutes students will write about Matts first impression of Saknis, the next 10
minutes they will write about Matts first impression of Attean. They will use remaining time
to go back and edit each paragraph.
- 4) Your paragrah should have:
~Indent the first sentence.
~Use appropriate punctuation.
~Every sentence must begin with a capital letter.
~Must have at least 3 sentences with details.



Closing Closing reflections on lesson: (5 min) 9:35-9:40a
- Re-emphasize meaning of first impression, use class as an example.
- Compare first impression of the class to present. Is it same, does it differ? How?

Reflection &
Notes
...relate to another chapter. (already have basic questions...e.g. First Impressions?)
Vocabulary....choose the words. (last minute)
Template to apply to any chapter.
Read aloud.

Guided practice: Our first impression was....

Tell me more about that....go ahead, write that down.





Based on the work of Teachers College Reading & Writing Project, Columbia University
Materials
Students copy of The Sign of the Beaver, folder paper, pencil.