Part A: Learning Context, Topic and Objectives

This unit was taught to a ninth grade Study Skills and College & Career
Readiness self-contained class at Sparrows Point High School, Maryland.
Sparrows Point High School is a small school with 861 students from grades 9
to 12. The school has an attendance rate of 94% and is located in a blue
collar neighborhood called Edgemere. The demographics of this school
include 54 Black/African American, 26 Hispanic/Latino, 750 White/Caucasian,
and 19 two or more race students enrolled. There are 406 male and 454
female students enrolled. There are 6.7% of students with 504 Plans, 37.4%
receiving FARMS services, and a total of 9.5% of the student population
receiving Special Education services.
The purpose of this class is to teach these students the skills they will
need to succeed in high school, college and career settings. The unit covers
attitude adjustment skills the students will need to succeed in all settings of
life and fits into the curriculum created by my mentor. This class meets
during the last period of the day for 90 minutes. The class contains eight
students, four females and four males. All of these students have their own
Individualized Education Plan with goals pertaining to reading, writing,
mathematics, and behavior. All of these students also have point sheets to
track their individual behavior goals and progress. All students in the class
perform well below grade level in their core four classes and perform on an
average of a 4th grade level. In this unit, the students will be learning positive
thinking, anger management, and self-discipline through the use of reading,
writing, and interactive and discussion activities. These skills will be assessed
throughout the unit in order to document student progress and development.
On day one of this unit, students will be learning the difference
between a Growth Mindset and a Fixed Mindset. The objective for this lesson
reads as Students will learn the difference between a Growth Mindset and a
Fixed Mindset in order to identify new concepts about our brain. This lesson
uses the MCCR standards RH.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support
analysis of primary and secondary sources and WHST.6-8.2 Write
informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events,
scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes. Students will
demonstrate the knowledge learned from the lesson through classroom
discussion and informative writing on lesson topics.
On day two of the unit, students will be revisiting the differences
between a Growth and Fixed Mindset. The objective for this lesson reads as
Students will use their Growth Mindset to improve their writing skills. This
lesson uses the MCCR standards W2 Standard Write informative/explanatory
texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and
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accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of

content and RI2 Standard Determine central ideas or themes of a text and
analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and
ideas. Students will demonstrate their knowledge about the topic through
discussion of the previous lesson, discussion of life events/relevance to the
student, and an informative written assessment.
On day three of the unit, students will be learning the importance of
self-discipline and its importance to succeed in all areas of life. The objective
for this lesson reads as Students will acquire new study skills and
vocabulary concepts on Self-Discipline in order to improve overall classroom
performance. This lesson aligns with the MCCR standards RI2 Standard
Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development;
summarize the key supporting details and ideas and RI4 Determine the
meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of
specific word choice on meaning and tone. In this lesson students will
demonstrate their knowledge through analyzing a quote, class discussion on
the definition of self-discipline, and informative writing on the definition of
self-discipline.
On day four of the unit, students will be learning about anger
management and its importance. This lesson is possibly the most important
for this group due to the amount of point sheets and IEP goals directed at
aggressive behavior. The lessons object reads as Students will learn
effective ways to control their anger and apply it to real life situations
through the use of writing. This lesson aligns with MCCR standards RI2
Standard Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their
development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas and W2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas,
concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis
of relevant content. This lesson is the last lesson of the unit. Students
achievement and knowledge during this lesson will be demonstrated through
discussion on anger management, the analyzing of a celebritys anger
outbursts, and an informative writing piece that will demonstrate their
comprehension of the lesson.
On day five of the unit will be the summative assessment is the form of
a writing assignment. This summative assessment will tie in aspects of all
portions of the unit and will ask for specific information from each lesson.

Part B: Assessment Plan

For this unit, a pre-assessment, formative assessments, and a
summative assessment will be given to document and monitor student
achievement in relation to the MCCR standards, individual student IEP goals,
and class objectives. The summative assessment will be a writing
assignment. This assignment will be done in class on the 5th day of the unit.
The assessment will take 60 minutes of the 90-minute period. The beginning
15 minutes of the period will be dedicated to going over the essentials of
writing an excellent paragraph worksheet and the final 15 minutes (after the
assessment) will be dedicated to closing the unit with a brief class
discussion. All eight of the students in the class have IEP goals pertaining to
writing a formal paragraph. Students have access to a worksheet given
previously in the year explaining the elements of an excellent paragraph. In
this assessment students will use the rubric to help formulate a coherent and
well-written paragraph explaining the essentials for succeeding in a high
school, college and career setting. This assignment will require students to
recall information from the four previous lessons and use specific information
from each. Each written work must be at least two paragraphs long with ten
sentences in each paragraph. Students are required to use and cite specific
information from the materials, lessons, and notes from this unit. This
assignment will be collected and graded as a test/writing grade. This
assessment aligns with MCCR writing standards: W2 Write
informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas,
concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis
of relevant content and WHST.6-8.2 Write informative/explanatory texts,
including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/
experiments, or technical processes. This assessment also aligns with the
MCCR standard for reading: RH.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to
support analysis of primary and secondary sources and RI2 Standard
Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development;
summarize the key supporting details and ideas. For this summative
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assessment, there will be a designed rubric to fits the needs of all students,
while also measuring the quality of writing, accuracy of information, number
of specific examples, and personal experience references. The summative
assessment prompt is presented on page 6.
For the pre-assessment in this unit, students will be tested on the
knowledge of the skills needed to succeed in a high school, college, or career
setting. Each lesson in the unit uses drills or Do Now and discussion
questions to assess their prior knowledge of the lessons topic. For lessons
one and two of the unit, the pre-assessment is the same. Lessons one and
two of this unit both cover the topic of mindset and its importance. For
lessons one and two, students will be given a choice to answer two questions
for their drill. One of the pre-assessments for lesson one is a question the
students will answer on a separate sheet of paper and discuss as a class.
This question is: On your notes sheet write three things you know about the
brain. This pre-assessment gives a strong understanding on the amount of
knowledge students have about the human brain. Since this lesson talks
about the aspects of the human brain, knowing their knowledge on the topic
is extremely useful when differentiating the lesson. Students will answer one
of the two questions, which are Do you believe that you were born with a
certain amount of ability and you cant get any smarter than you are? --Or
Do you think you can develop your abilities and learn anything you
choose to learn through hard work? These questions open their mind to the
topic of positive Growth mindset and the aspects of the brain. Students
have 3 minutes to answer the drill question at the beginning of class. On day
three of the unit, the lessons pre-assessment is in the form of a discussion
question. This lesson covers the topic of self-discipline and is taught to teach
students the skill of self-discipline in several aspects of life. The question is
What are the three most important qualities you must have in order to be
successful in high school? Students will then think about their answer for
two minutes and take part in a class discussion. This pre-assessment is
important because it allows students to use information from the previous
lesson, while also testing their knowledge on the topic for that days lesson.
This pre-assessment gives a strong overall idea of the students thoughts on
what they need to be successful in high school, which is important when
teaching skills on how to succeed in high school. Finally, on day four of the
unit the pre-assessment will be a question the students will answer on their
note sheet given to them in the beginning of the lesson. This lesson covers
the topic of Anger Management and is taught to prepare the class for the
stresses of life. The pre-assessment question reads as What are three ways
you control your anger? This assessment allows students to relate to the
topic of discussion and look back at their answer later in the lesson to reflect
on their anger management strategies. Since every student in the class has
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IEP goals and point sheets targeting aggressive and inappropriate behavior,
this pre-assessment also gives me an inside look on how these students are
coping with these issues.
Throughout the entirety of this unit, there are several different
formative assessments to measure students knowledge, behavior, and
application of the information taught. All lessons in this unit use several
forms of formative assessments. One such form is the drill. Each class,
students enter the room knowing the routine to take out their drill sheet
(handout in their binder where all drills are recorded) and answer the drill.
Drills can also be used as a pre-assessment for the specific lesson. Students
are given three minutes to do this each class. The drill is used as a formative
assessment to assess their ability to get settled into class quickly and begin
working. This formative assessment is given a grade based off of effort. An
example of a drill used as a formative assessment is the drills used in lesson
two of the unit, 1. What is a Fixed-Mindset? 2. How can it hurt a persons
ability to reach their goals? This drill is used to test what the students
remember from the previous lesson and to see if the students have mastered
that material.
The next form of formative assessment used in this lesson is class
discussion. Class discussion is a great way to get an understanding for the
progress of the class and knowledge in a verbal and non-writing way. The
students in this class all struggle with aspects of writing, so a verbal
formative assessment is a great way to differentiate the lesson for students
who struggle with writing. An example of a classroom discussion in this unit
is a discussion in lesson 4. The discussion prompt reads as What are a two
life situations that make you angry? This formative assessment is used in
the Anger Management lesson of this unit and this discussion is used to open
students up to the topic of study. In this discussion students will be assessed
on their interactions with their peers and teacher, the quality of the
discussion, if the discussion is on task and if the students elaborate on their
answers. Class discussions will be student run with the teacher facilitating
questions and calling on individuals who have not participated.
Another form of formative assessment in this lesson is the students
notes. Students will be given a note sheet in the beginning of the lesson.
Each student will fill out their note sheets as the class goes through the
lesson. Note sheets will be collected at the end of class for a classwork grade
and returned the next class. These notes are collected to assess that the
students are getting the overall understanding and important information
being taught in the lesson. There is a large emphasis on taking notes so
students can receive full credit for their work and use those notes to assist
with assessments such as the exit ticket.
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The last form of formative assessment is the final assessment or exit

ticket. An exit ticket or final assessment is used to assess if the students
have a strong understanding of the material, reinforce an idea from the
lesson or facilitate implementation of the information taught to the during
the lesson. An example of an exit ticket is From your brain and/or your
notes, make a list of five new concepts about the brain that you learned
today. This assessment summarizes all of the learning students did in the
class period while also reinforces the information in the lesson. This
formative assessment aligns with the objective from that lesson perfectly
because the students are identifying at least 5 new concepts of the brain
(see lesson). One student has a very difficult time completing timed tasks
due to the rate of which she writes. To differentiate for this student, she is
able to verbally tell me her answer to the drill to ensure she has an
understanding and that she is given credit. To meet the goals and needs of
this student, she is also allowed to take her exit home with her and hand it in
next class. Some exit tickets require rubrics to guide the students on
completing the assignment.

Final Assessment for Success Unit

Write an essay on what is needed to succeed in high school, college
and career settings. Your essay should encompass all that has been taught in
the last 4 lessons. Each tool and technique taught in this unit is going to be
useful for you throughout life. You may use your notes as well as your
Essential Elements of an Excellent Paragraph handout to assist you. Be sure
to include the following:
1. Topic sentences that describes what the essay is about.
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2. Must have three paragraphs (introduction, body, and closing).

3. Each paragraph must be 8 sentences or more.
4. Describe the differences between a Growth and Fixed Mindset and
define them both.
5. Include one fact about the brain and how it develops.
6. One piece of your mindset and how it has helped you.
7. One fact about a celebritys mindset (use notes).
8. One fact about Self-Discipline and how it is useful.
9. At least one strategy to cope with stress/anger.
10. Provide one example of how failure can help you learn.
11. Must have a closing statement that wraps your essay together.
12. Spell and grammar check your essay.

Part C: Instruction
In this unit, there are several different instructional activities,
strategies and assessments. Every lesson will begin with the same routine;
students will enter class and take out their drill sheets. Three minutes will be
given to the class to complete their drill. Once the drill is completed and
explained, then objective is introduced. For each lesson, a student will read
the objective. I will then explain how we will reach the objective by
explaining the schedule for the class period. Each lessons objective outlines
the expectations for each student. When we are discussing the objective,
each student is made aware what is expected of them for the class and will
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be reminded of the objective and the expectations as we move through the

lesson.
The first lesson of the unit begins by covering the difference between a
Growth and Fixed Mindset and the different aspects of the brain. To begin
class, students will have three minutes to answer the drill question, which is
the pre-assessment for this lesson. Once the pre-assessment is completed,
as a class we will go over the objective and its importance, and the students
will write down both their drill answer and objective on their drill sheet. The
pre-assessment for the first lesson showed that the students had little to no
knowledge about the human brain and its ability. Most responses consisted of
it helps us think and we need it to think. This assessment showed that
students need to be shown some of the aspects of the brain, and in
particular how the brain grows. It is important to keep in mind the objective
for this lesson, Students will learn the difference between a Growth Mindset
and a Fixed Mindset in order to identify new concepts about our brain. The
use of this objective shows that before any new information is introduced to
the students, the students are unable to reach this objective. For motivation,
students will take part in an activity called Guess Box. In this activity
students will be shown a box with several things inside and asked to guess
what is in the box. This activity is a fun way to introduce them to the topic of
brain growth. Inside the box are eight balloons and each student will then be
given a balloon to blow up. Once the balloons are blown up, students are
asked to picture their brain being like the balloon and the air is knowledge
making your brain grow. As the lesson went on, we covered several topics
and a lot of information about the brain and specifically how a Growth
Mindset can improve your learning and in return improve your brain.
Students recorded this information on their note sheet given to them in the
beginning of the lesson. From looking at the formative assessment data, all
students began to reach the goal/objective of the lesson. The class
discussions showed that students understood the material. Students were
actively engaged and sharing their opinions about topics such as practice
makes perfect and the use of a positive mindset. Students began to
comprehend different aspects of the human brain and ultimately knew the
difference between a Growth and Fixed mindset. In this lesson I
demonstrated correct ways to take notes by using abbreviations and also the
correct way of being a part of a class discussion. In this lesson, it was
important to encourage students to think about how a Growth Mindset can
improve their everyday life and achievement. Through using videos about a
positive growth mindset of role models in their life, students were able to
critically think about how to apply the information from the lesson to their
everyday life. Once the lesson is finished, as a class we revisit the objective
and discuss as a class if we have achieved it.
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The second lesson of the unit revisits the topic of Growth Mindset and
goes into detail about how it can be applied to all settings of life. To begin, I
will explain the objective to the students in student friendly terms. The
objective for this lesson is Students will use their Growth Mindset to improve
their writing skills and I will explain this objective by informing the class that
by using a positive Growth Mindset, we will work on and improve our writing.
The pre-assessment for this lesson is the drill question which reads as What
is a Fixed-Mindset? How can it hurt a persons achievement? This question
will assess the students understanding of the previous lesson and important
information they will need to get through the current lesson. Based off of the
pre-assessment data, students knew and recalled information fairly well from
the previous lesson. Only two out of the eight students answered incorrectly
and through class discussion quickly corrected themselves. Once the drill is
completed, as a class we review information from the past lesson and move
to our motivation. For motivation, I showed a video made up of clips from
popular movies to be a motivational/positive mindset guide. Students will
watch this video and then identify the meaning behind it through the ThinkPair-Share group work method. I modeled this technique with my mentor
teacher so students knew exactly how to participate in this activity. Once
students discuss with a partner what they think the video means, we will
discuss as a class and apply its meaning to the topic of the lesson. Next, we
will cover new knowledge that is vital for these students to know. As a class,
we will analyze the importance of failure and discuss failures we have
learned from in our lives. As the teacher, I will facilitate the discussion with
using personal experiences and promoting for the students to think critically
about the failure they may have encountered. Most of these students
struggle in their other classes and feel as if they are failures. It is important
to use consistent praise throughout the discussion and to make students
aware that failure is important in order to learn. The formative assessment of
discussion was my primary way to assess that the students were on track
with the topic of Mindset. Based off of the data collected from this lesson, all
students were on track with the topic and were using critical thinking to
improve their discussions. With this lesson, two students who have difficulty
communicating through discussion struggled in this area. To make all content
and activities available for them, I allowed the students to write their
answers to discussion questions so they did not have to speak in front of the
class. Part of facilitating classroom discussion is using proximity control and
consistent praise to ensure that students are getting the feedback they
deserve for their participation and accuracy. Before the writing assessment
for the class is given, as a class we revisited the objective and summarized
the information of the lesson. Students were able to verbally tell me the
importance of failure, the difference between a Growth and Fixed mindset,
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and identified one way they can use a positive mindset to improve their
writing skills as well as skills in other areas of academia. The written
assessment is an exit ticket asking the students to write a speech about
Growth Mindsets at the request of Ms. Caster (principal of Sparrows Point).
This assessment gives clear instructions of how the students will go about
writing the speech as well as having a rubric for students to use as a guide to
ensure they receive full credit. The rubric calls for the students to write 6
sentences, which for one student, is a lot to write in only 35 minutes. This
student is the lowest functioning in the class and has a Personal Assistant to
assist her in her learning. For this assessment, this student will be allowed to
work on the assignment at home if she is unable to complete it with the time
allowed.
The third lesson of the unit covers the topic of self-discipline and its
uses in a high school, career, and college setting. This lesson fits well with
the topic of Growth Mindset because they are two skills necessary to
succeeding in all areas of life. To begin this lesson, I introduce the objective
to the class which is Students will acquire new study skills and vocabulary
concepts on through Self-Discipline, in order to improve overall classroom
performance. I will have a student read the objective to the class and then
discuss briefly what the lesson will cover. The pre-assessment for this lesson
is a question the students will answer using the Think-Pair-Share technique.
The question is What is Self-Discipline? and the class had five minutes to
discuss this question with a partner and then we discussed the question as a
class. Based off of this assessment and the data collected, the entire class
had difficultly defining the term self-discipline. This led me to show a video
on the definition of the term self-discipline. As the class watched the video,
they took notes on the definition of self-discipline and were instructed to
think about how it can apply to their life. To motivate the students, I created
a discussion about their plans after college. I asked the class What do you
plan to do once you graduate from high school? This discussion question
was to get the students comfortable and to have a good idea of their future
plans. Three students plan to go to a 2 or 4-year College, three plan to go to
some sort of vocational school or program, and two students were unsure of
their plans for the future. I then asked the class what skills are needed to
achieve these goals. This formative assessment showed me that the class as
a whole was on track with the unit by saying answers such as Growth
Mindset and determination. Next, as a class we discussed and recorded how
we can apply self-discipline to become prepared for a high school, college, or
career setting. Next, we read an article on how to succeed in college and
taking notes of the important/useful tips for studying. The reading was done
in a popcorn style, where everyone in the room participated in reading to the
class. To differentiate the reading to tailor to student needs, students who
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have difficulty reading read along with me to ensure their success. Students
were asked to identify one out of the several study techniques in the reading
to use in the upcoming week. The students were instructed to think about
using these study skills to improve and stop failures as talked about in the
previous lesson. Once the reading is done, students will begin working on
their assessment for the day, which is a summary exit ticket. The students
were asked to answer the following questions: What is Self-Discipline? What
is the story all about? and How is this information going to help me? Based
off of the answers on the exit ticket, all students were on track with the
objective. Every student showed knowledge of the new study concepts and
vocabulary concepts found in the lesson.
The fourth lesson of the unit covers the topic of Anger Management.
This lesson is the most important of the four because it deals with issues all
of these students are experiencing. Every student in the class has IEP goals
and point sheets targeting angry and aggressive behavior. To start the class,
I begin by addressing the objective which is Students will learn effective
ways to control their anger and apply it to real life situations and apply these
techniques in a writing prompt. This objective clearly introduces our topic
and allows for students to become aware of what is expected of them in the
lesson. Once the objective is read, students will begin to answer the drill
question. The drill question asks students to write three synonyms of the
word anger. This is relevant to the understanding of anger management and
builds vocabulary for the students. The students will then learn a new SAT
quality vocabulary word that is a synonym of anger. The pre-assessment for
this lesson is a question testing the skills and techniques these students use
to deal with anger. The assessment reads as What are three ways you
manage your anger? Write them down. Students recorded their answers on
their note sheet and shared them with the class. Based off of their answers,
the students do not use appropriate or useful means of releasing anger. This
allows myself to teach the class several strategies to improve their anger
and possibly help the students reach their IEP goals. As motivation, I wanted
the students to discuss specific scenarios and circumstances that have made
them angry in the past. It is important to relay that students be appropriate
when sharing their experiences to keep class structure. The students seemed
to be very interested in this discussion and had full participation. After the
motivation, the class took part in a 4 corners activity where they had to take
a stance on a scenario. Each scenario showed a persons reaction to situation
that made them angry and the students debated on whether the response
was appropriate or inappropriate. This formative assessment showed that
the students had an overall understanding on appropriate and inappropriate
ways to manage anger. After the 4 corner activity, I instructed several anger
management techniques that are appropriate by demonstrating to the class.
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Students took notes on the different techniques and picked three as their
favorite/future technique for managing anger. Next, as a class we read about
a famous football player and his anger issues that came out in a game.
Students read this passage as a class and decided if his actions were
appropriate or inappropriate. Next, I showed the class a letter I wrote to the
football player explaining anger management techniques that he could
possibly use. This letter is used an example for the final assessment of this
lesson. Students will choose one of two readings, a reading on Justin Biebers
anger issues or a reading on Tom Bradys anger issues. Students will read the
reading to find specific inappropriate behavior and to decide a better way to
manage the anger of the celebrity. The prompt tells the student that he or
she is a counselor for celebrities with anger issues, and either Justin or Tom
need your help. The students will write a letter to one of the celebrities
explaining why their behavior was wrong and what they can do in the future
to improve their behavior. Students must follow the specific rubric for this
assignment (see attached) and use evidence from the text. Based off of this
assessment, all of the students were able to identify the inappropriate
behavior of the celebrity and give them specific ways to improve their anger
management. Only one student was unable to finish this assessment and she
was allowed to take the assignment home and return it the next day.
Lesson plans will be presented on pages 11-30.

Lesson One: Growth Mindset Lesson

Description

Lesson: This lesson's topic is Growth Mindset. Students will be learning

about the differences between a Growth and Fixed Mindset through the use
of video, discussion and facts about the human brain.
Class Description: This lesson will be taught to a College and Career
Readiness class during period B4. The class has eight students and all
students have IEP's. There are four females and four males in the class. Each
student has an IEP with goals pertaining to reading, writing and behavior.
Each student has their own learning styles and require differentiation in
every lesson. The reading and writing levels of the class are extremely low
and range from a 3rd to 5th grade level. Even though there are only eight
students in this class, it has been made clear to me that these eight students
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are some of the most difficult students at SPHS. There are six students who
must have point sheets for their behavior goals at the end of each class.
Prerequisites

Estimated Time

1.5 hours
Potential Use
Purpose:

Classroom Instruction, Small Group

Grades:

Content Areas:

Other, English/Language Arts, Social Studies

Common Core:

College and Career Readiness: Anchor Standards

o Reading

Key Ideas and Details

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.2 Determine central

ideas or themes of a text and analyze their
development; summarize the key supporting details
and ideas.

o Writing

13

Text Types and Purposes

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.2 Write
informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey
complex ideas and information clearly and accurately
through the effective selection, organization, and
analysis of content.

Goals
Instructional Goals

The goal of this lesson is for students to learn effective ways to change
their mindset and gain more confidence in their ability.

Objectives

Students will learn the difference between a Growth Mindset and a

Fixed Mindset in order to identify new concepts about our brain
Variability

Differentiated Processes: All students will be engaged in high level and

purposeful activities that help them process and make sense of information.
Learning strategies balance critical and creative thinking, promote metacognition, and require students to stretch their current capacity for
independence. Differentiating the curriculum content, process, and product
increases the chances of meeting the needs of all students.
Accommodations/Strategies:
Before, During and After Reading Strategies, constant checking for
understanding, proximity control, verbal positive reinforcement, verbatim
reading, chunking of activities, extra time, think aloud, allowing time for oral
response, and higher level questioning are all differentiation techniques that
will be present during this lesson. All of these techniques and strategies will
help achieve and meet each student's IEP goal.
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IEP Goals Addressed:

One student will be able to determine and analyze important ideas and
messages in informational texts at grade level.

One student will

One student will be able to summarize or paraphrase.

One student will be able to draw conclusions and inferences and make
generalizations and predictions from text.

One student will look at teacher during teacher directed lessons.

One student will participate by contributing relevant comments or

questions on the current topic 3-5 times during class
discussions/activities.

One student will be able to state and support main ideas and
messages.

When given writing sample and direct instruction, one student will be
able to use suitable traditional resources to edit final copies of text for
correctness in language usage and conventions such as capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling.

One student will be able to use context to determine the meaning of

unknown words.

One student will be able to identify and provide 3-5 details to support
main idea(s).

One student will ask for assistance and clarification when needed.

One student will express himself in a socially appropriate manner.

One student will look back through the text to find details with 80%
accuracy as measured by classroom performance and informal
assessments.

One student will be able to ask and answer questions about the text
with 80% accuracy.

One student will decide if he needs to add more detail or delete

information, at his grade level, with 80% accuracy

Assessments
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Formative Assessments

Pre assessment: Students will answer their drill question "Do you
believe you were born with a certain amount of ability and you cannot get
smarter?"
Discussion will be a main form of Formative Assessment during this
lesson. To make sure all students are on track and paying attention they will
be asked a variety of thought provoking questions.
At the end of the lesson, Students will summarize their learning for the
lesson through choosing one of the two prompts to answer:
1. From your notes, make a list of at least 10 facts about the human
brain you did not know before.
2. Summarize in 25 words what this lesson is about and why it is
important for you to know.

Instructional Methods
Opening
To begin the class, students will come in and take out their drill sheets.
The students will have 3 minutes to write down the objective and answer the
drill. The drill is "Do you believe you are born with a certain amount of ability
and cannot get smarter?
After the drill, we will go into testing the students knowledge about
the human brain. Students will be asked to write three things about the
human brain. The class with go over this through discussion.
Next, as a class, we will look at pictures of the human brain and its
connections.
During
To begin instruction, as a class we will go through notes on the human
brain. Students will use their Cornell Notes handouts to record important
information on the human brain and mindset. Students will be asked thought
provoking questions such as "What has more connections, a telephone
company, adult brain, or the internet?" These questions are meant to interest
16

each student and have the student begin looking at the brain as this
complex organ.
Next we will transition into the Guess Box activity. Students will be
shown a box that has several objects in it. Students will be asked to guess
what is in the closed box. The students will be given one hint on the object
and can discuss the contents of the box with their classmates. Each student
will raise their hand and report what they believe is in the box. Once each
student shares, I will reveal what is in the box, which is a series of balloons.
Next the class will participate in a small discussion of the similarities of
a brain and a balloon. Students will use their notes to help them with the
series of discussion questions. Some examples of discussion questions are:
"How did you figure out what was in the box?" "What are some similarities
between a balloon and a brain?" "What happens to a balloon when it is not
used? How is that like the brain?"
After the discussion, students will continue taking notes of the many
connections of the brain and its purpose. Students will use life comparisons
of the connections in their own town and compare them to the connections
to the brain.

Closing
As a closing the students will complete the final assessment of the
class. The students will be asked to answer one of two displayed questions
on the board:
1. From your notes, make a list of at least 10 facts about the human
brain you did not know before.
2. Summarize in 25 words what this lesson is about and why it is
important for you to know.
Both of these questions best summarize the lessons content and fulfill
the objective and standards in relation to this lesson. Students notes and
final assessment will be collected to measure the students participation and
understanding of the lesson.
Materials

Materials and Supplies

17

Cornell Notes
Projector/Elmo
Celebrity Videos

Lesson 2: Growth Mindset Lesson day 2

DESCRIPTION
Lesson: This lesson's topic is Growth Mindset. This is the second
mindset lesson in the unit and will cover the effects of a Growth Mindset
rather than focusing on the aspects of the brain. In this lesson, students will
use the information from the previous lesson and this lesson to write an
informative text about mindset.
Class Description: This lesson will be taught to a College and Career
Readiness class during period B4. The class has eight students and all
18

students have IEP's. There are four females and four males in the class. Each
student has an IEP with goals pertaining to reading, writing and
behavior. Each student has their own learning styles and require
differentiation in every lesson. The reading and writing levels of the class are
extremely low and range from a 3rd to 5th grade level. Even though there
are only eight students in this class, it has been made clear to me that these
eight students are some of the most difficult students at SPHS. There are six
students who must have point sheets for their behavior goals at the end of
each class.
PREREQUISITES
ESTIMATED TIME
1.5 hours
Potential Use
PURPOSE:
Classroom Instruction, Small Group
GRADES:
9
CONTENT AREAS:
Other, English/Language Arts, Social Studies
COMMON CORE:

Reading

Key Ideas and Details

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.2 Determine central ideas or

themes of a text and analyze their development;
summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

Writing

Text Types and Purposes

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.2 Write
informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey
complex ideas and information clearly and accurately
through the effective selection, organization, and analysis
of content.

19

Goals
INSTRUCTIONAL GOALS
The goal of this lesson is for students to learn effective ways to change
their mindset and share the information about a Growth Mindset to gain
more confidence in their ability.

OBJECTIVES

Students will use their Growth Mindset to improve their writing skills.

VARIABILITY
Differentiated Processes: All students will be engaged in high level
and purposeful activities that help them process and make sense of
information. Learning strategies balance critical and creative thinking,
promote meta-cognition, and require students to stretch their current
capacity for independence. Differentiating the curriculum content, process,
and product increases the chances of meeting the needs of all students.
Accommodations/Strategies:
Before, During and After Reading Strategies, constant checking for
understanding, proximity control, verbal positive reinforcement, verbatim
reading, chunking of activities, extra time, think aloud, allowing time for oral
response, and higher level questioning are all differentiation techniques that
will be present during this lesson. All of these techniques and strategies will
help achieve and meet each student's IEP goal.
IEP Goals Addressed:

One student will be able to determine and analyze important ideas and
messages in informational texts at grade level.

One student will be able to summarize or paraphrase.

One student will be able to draw conclusions and inferences and make
generalizations and predictions from text.

One student will look at teacher during teacher directed lessons.

One student will participate by contributing relevant comments or

questions on the current topic 3-5 times during class
discussions/activities.
20

One student will be able to state and support main ideas and
messages.

When given writing sample and direct instruction, one student will be
able to use suitable traditional resources to edit final copies of text for
correctness in language usage and conventions such as capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling.

One student will be able to use context to determine the meaning of

unknown words.

One student will be able to identify and provide 3-5 details to support
main idea(s).

One student will ask for assistance and clarification when needed.

One student will express himself in a socially appropriate manner.

One student will look back through the text to find details with 80%
accuracy as measured by classroom performance and informal
assessments.

One student will be able to ask and answer questions about the text
with 80% accuracy.

One student will decide if he needs to add more detail or delete

information, at his grade level, with 80% accuracy.
Assessments
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS

Drill question: What is a Fixed Mindset? How can it hurt a persons

achievement in life?
Discussion will be a main form of Formative Assessment during this
lesson. To make sure all students are on track and paying attention they will
be asked a variety of thought provoking questions.
At the end of the lesson, Students will summarize their learning for the
lesson through writing an informative text about Growth Mindset.

Instructional Methods
OPENING

21

To begin the class, students will come in and take out their drill
sheets. The students will have 3 minutes to write down the objective and
answer the drill. The drill is "What is a Fixed Mindset? How can it hurt a
person's achievement in life?"
After the drill, we will review the information from the previous
lesson. This information includes aspects of the brain as well the differences
between a Growth and Fixed Mindset.
Next, as a class, we will discuss the answers to two discussion
questions:
1.How would you say that Will Smith and Michael Jordan are similar in
their mindset?
2. How would you say they are different in their mindset?

DURING
To being instruction, as a class we will look at and interpret different
Growth Mindset quotes by famous individuals. Students will use these quotes
to relate the topic of mindset to their own lives.
Next we will transition into a mindset/motivational video. The video is 3
minutes long and is made from different clips on popular movies. This video
is included in the lesson to help motivate students and use pop-culture to
relay the importance of a Growth Mindset.
Next the class will participate in a discussion of the importance of
failure. These students at times have relayed the feeling of being failures so
this discussion is included to show that failure is important to
learning. Students will conduct the discussion based off of three questions:
1. Why do you think failure is important?
2. What have you failed at?
3. What did that failure teach you?
Next as a class, we will watch a short video of "Famous Failures". This
video is included to show that failure will help each of these students
succeed in the future. This video shows famous people the students know
who have failed at their trade and learned from that experience.

22

CLOSING
As a closing the students will write an informative text about
Mindset. Students will use their notes as well as their Elements of an
Excellent Paragraph hand out to help them structure their thoughts. The
writing prompt goes as followed:
"Ms. Caster has heard that you are learning about the value of a
positive mindset. She would like for you to give a speech to your peers at
Sparrows Point High School about how mindset can help them.
Rubric: 1. Include 6 or more complete sentences with a topic and
closing sentence.
2. Describe what a Fixed and Growth Mindset is.
3. Describe how a Growth Mindset can help someone.
4. Use two examples from the information you have learned in the
class or videos that have been shown.
5.Use one example about your new Growth Mindset.
6. Check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors."
This assessment aligns with the standards and objective for this
lesson. All students in the class have IEP goals pertaining to writing a well
written paragraph. This assessment will be collected for a classwork grade
and to ensure students are ready to move on to the next topic.
Materials
MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES
Cornell Notes
Projector/Elmo
Mindset Videos
Famous Failure Videos

23

Lesson 3: Self-Discipline
DESCRIPTION
Lesson: This lesson's topic is Self-Discipline. Students will learn about
the importance of Self-Discipline and study skills to succeed in high school
and college. This lesson will target IEP goals of reading and
Class Description: This lesson will be taught to a College and Career
Readiness class during period B4. The class has eight students and all
students have IEP's. There are four females and four males in the class. Each
student has an IEP with goals pertaining to reading, writing and
behavior. Each student has their own learning styles and require
differentiation in every lesson. The reading and writing levels of the class are
extremely low and range from a 3rd to 5th grade level. Even though there
are only eight students in this class, it has been made clear to me that these
eight students are some of the most difficult students at SPHS. There are six
students who must have point sheets for their behavior goals at the end of
each class.
ESTIMATED TIME: 1.5 Hours
PURPOSE:
Classroom Instruction, Small Group
GRADES: 9
CONTENT AREAS:
Other, English/Language Arts, Social Studies
COMMON CORE:

College and Career Readiness: Anchor Standards

Reading

Key Ideas and Details

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.2 Determine central

ideas or themes of a text and analyze their
development; summarize the key supporting details
and ideas.

Craft and Structure

24

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.4 Interpret words and

phrases as they are used in a text, including
determining technical, connotative, and figurative
meanings, and analyze how specific word choices
shape meaning or tone.

Goals
INSTRUCTIONAL GOALS
The goal of this lesson is for students to learn effective ways to change
their mindset and share the information about a Growth Mindset to gain
more confidence in their ability.

OBJECTIVES

Students will use their Growth Mindset to improve their writing skills.

VARIABILITY
Differentiated Processes: All students will be engaged in high level
and purposeful activities that help them process and make sense of
information. Learning strategies balance critical and creative thinking,
promote meta-cognition, and require students to stretch their current
capacity for independence. Differentiating the curriculum content, process,
and product increases the chances of meeting the needs of all students.
Accommodations/Strategies:
Before, During and After Reading Strategies, constant checking for
understanding, proximity control, verbal positive reinforcement, verbatim
reading, chunking of activities, extra time, think aloud, allowing time for oral
response, and higher level questioning are all differentiation techniques that
will be present during this lesson. All of these techniques and strategies will
help achieve and meet each student's IEP goal.
IEP Goals Addressed:

One student will be able to determine and analyze important ideas and
messages in informational texts at grade level.

One student will be able to summarize or paraphrase.

25

One student will be able to draw conclusions and inferences and make
generalizations and predictions from text.

One student will look at teacher during teacher directed lessons.

One student will participate by contributing relevant comments or

questions on the current topic 3-5 times during class
discussions/activities.

One student will be able to state and support main ideas and
messages.

When given writing sample and direct instruction, one student will be
able to use suitable traditional resources to edit final copies of text for
correctness in language usage and conventions such as capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling.

One student will be able to use context to determine the meaning of

unknown words.

One student will ask for assistance and clarification when needed.

One student will express himself in a socially appropriate manner.

One student will be able to ask and answer questions about the text
with 80% accuracy.

One student will decide if he needs to add more detail or delete

information, at his grade level, with 80% accuracy.
Assessments
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS

Drill question: Interpret the quote in 14 words or less. "Discipline is the

bridge between goals and accomplishment."
Discussion will be a main form of Formative Assessment during this
lesson. To make sure all students are on track and paying attention they will
be asked a variety of thought provoking questions.
At the end of the lesson, Students will summarize their learning for the
lesson through summarizing the lessons topic by answering three questions:
1. What is Self-Discipline?
2. What is the story all about?
3. How is this information going to help me?
26

Instructional Methods
OPENING
To begin the class, students will come in and take out their drill
sheets. The students will have 3 minutes to write down the objective and
answer the drill. The drill will ask the students to interpret this quote
"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments."
After the drill, we will watch a short video giving background
information on what Self-Discipline is and why it is important. Next, as a
class, we will discuss the information in the video.

DURING
To being instruction, as a class we will look discuss the students future
plans after high school. This discussion is used to be a motivation to the
students and to open their eyes to the possibilities after high school as well
as the skills needed to achieve those plans.
Next we will transition into a discussion about the most important
qualities one must have in order to succeed in high school. This discussion
will morph into a discussion about what is needed to succeed outside of high
school as well. This discussion will be student run with the teacher
facilitating. This discussion will also play into the previous lesson topics of
mindset.
Next the class will take part in reading a section of a book pertaining
what is needed to succeed in college. The skills and techniques in this book
also apply to high school as well as a career setting. The reading will expose
the students to various study habits, work ethic, and personality traits
needed to succeed in high school and college. Students will take notes on
the specific study skills on their Cornell Notes. This reading will be read aloud
by the teacher due to student's difficulty reading long passages.
CLOSING
As a closing the students will summarize the information of the text by
answering three questions:
1. What is Self-Discipline?
2. What is the story all about?
3. How is this information going to help me?
27

This assessment will test the students knowledge on the reading as

well as their understanding of the topic Self-Discipline. Students will use their
notes to help them in this assessment. After the assessment is finished, as
class we will go over the questions while also getting the students opinion on
Self-Discipline.
At the very end of the class, we will revisit the objective and discuss if
we have accomplished it. Students will share their thoughts on the topic and
use one example of how Self Discipline will improve their school work and
help them achieve their goals for after high school.
MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES
Cornell Notes
Projector/Elmo
How to Make it in College (High School), Now That You're Here reading

Lesson 4: Anger Management Lesson

Description

Lesson: This lesson's topic is Anger Management. The lesson will teach
specific tools and strategies that students will use to prepare them for the
stress and difficulties of life. The students will use reading and writing
strategies to maneuver throughout the lesson and take part in several
activities.
Class Description: This lesson will be taught to a College and Career
Readiness class during period B4. The class has eight students and all
students have IEP's. There are four females and four males in the class. Each
student has an IEP with goals pertaining to reading, writing and behavior.
Each student has their own learning styles and require differentiation in
every lesson. The reading and writing levels of the class are extremely low
and range from a 3rd to 5th grade level. Even though there are only eight
students in this class, it has been made clear to me that these eight students
are some of the most difficult students at SPHS. There are six students who
must have point sheets for their behavior goals at the end of each class.
28

Prerequisites

Students will need to utilize several reading and writing strategies as

we go through the lesson. Students will need their Essentials of an Excellent
Paragraph rubric to assist them to complete the assessment.
Estimated Time

1.5 hours
Purpose:

Classroom Instruction, Small Group

Grades:
9
Content Areas:

Other, Social Studies, English/Language Arts

Common Core:

College and Career Readiness: Anchor Standards

o Reading

Key Ideas and Details

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.2 Determine central

ideas or themes of a text and analyze their
development; summarize the key supporting details
and ideas.
29

o Writing

Text Types and Purposes

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.2 Write
informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey
complex ideas and information clearly and accurately
through the effective selection, organization, and
analysis of content.

Production and Distribution of Writing

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.4 Produce clear and

coherent writing in which the development,
organization, and style are appropriate to task,
purpose, and audience.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.5 Develop and

strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising,
editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

Goals
Instructional Goals

The goal of this lesson is for students to learn effective techniques to

use when frustrated or angry and apply them to calm themselves down. This
will be taught through reading, writing, and hands-on activities.
Objectives

Students will learn effective ways to control their anger and apply it to
real life situations.

Variability

30

Differentiated Processes: All students will be engaged in high level and

purposeful activities that help them process and make sense of information.
Learning strategies balance critical and creative thinking, promote metacognition, and require students to stretch their current capacity for
independence. Differentiating the curriculum content, process, and product
increases the chances of meeting the needs of all students.
Accommodations/Strategies:
Before, During and After Reading Strategies, constant checking for
understanding, proximity control, verbal positive reinforcement, verbatim
reading, chunking of activities, extra time, think aloud, allowing time for oral
response, and higher level questioning are all differentiation techniques that
will be present during this lesson. All of these techniques and strategies will
help achieve and meet each student's IEP goal.
IEP Goals Addressed:

One student will be able to determine and analyze important ideas and
messages in informational texts at grade level.

One student will

One student will be able to summarize or paraphrase.

One student will be able to draw conclusions and inferences and make
generalizations and predictions from text.

One student will be able to improve his written answer by adding three
or more supporting sentences.

One student will look at teacher during teacher directed lessons.

One student will participate by contributing relevant comments or

questions on the current topic 3-5 times during class
discussions/activities.

One student will be able to state and support main ideas and
messages.

When given writing sample and direct instruction, one student will be
able to use suitable traditional resources to edit final copies of text for
correctness in language usage and conventions such as capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling.

One student will be able to use context to determine the meaning of

unknown words.

31

One student will be able to respond to questions (who, what, and

where) and verify answers using illustrations/text.

One student will be able to identify and provide 3-5 details to support
main idea(s).

One student will ask for assistance and clarification when needed.

One student will express himself in a socially appropriate manner.

One student will look back through the text to find details with 80%
accuracy as measured by classroom performance and informal
assessments.

One student will be able to ask and answer questions about the text
with 80% accuracy.

One student will decide if he needs to add more detail or delete

information, at his grade level, with 80% accuracy.

Assessments
Formative Assessments

Pre Assessment: Students will tell the class what they know about
anger and how they deal with anger as of before the lesson beings.
Discussion will be a main form of Formative Assessment during this
lesson. To make sure all students are on track and paying attention they will
be asked a variety of thought provoking questions.

Summative Assessments

The summative assessment is a writing assignment in the form of a

letter that will be written to a celebrity based off of a chosen reading.
Students will use specific details from the lesson to counsel the celebrity
regarding ways to control and deal with their anger. The assessment will be
collected at the end of the class and handed in as a writing grade. This
32

assessment will test the student's knowledge of their overall understanding

of anger management.
Instructional Methods
Opening
To begin the class, students will come in and take out their drill sheets.
The students will have 3 minutes to write down the objective and answer the
drill. The drill is "Write down three synonyms for the word Anger." We will go
over the drill and objective as a class.
After the drill, we will go over the exact definition for the word "anger"
and different synonyms for the word. Students will copy down different
synonyms on their Simply Stupendous Synonyms handout. Next, we will go
over one of those synonyms in detail that is an SAT word. Teaching SAT
words improves the students vocabulary in preparation for the SAT. That
word will be "Indignation". As a class we will define the word and the
students will write the word and definition on their Cornell notes sheet.
Next, students will be asked to define the word anger in 10 words or
less. This is to test how well the they know the term anger and how it plays a
role in their life. This discussion will lead into our pre-assessment.
The pre-assessment will be a question that test the student's
knowledge of the topic that is covered in the lesson. The question reads as:
"what are three ways you manage your anger?" The students will write down
their answer to the question and be asked to share it with the class.
During
Our first activity is a 2-corner activity. Students will be presented with a
quote of a hypothetical person's reaction to being angry. Students will decide
if the person's response are appropriate or not by walking to the "Agree" or
"Disagree" side of the room. The students will explain their decision to the
class and each quote will be open for debate. Once each scenario is read and
debated, students will then have the opportunity to go to a different side
based off of the discussion.
Next we will transition into effective anger management strategies. As
a class, we will discuss each strategy as they are presented on the board.
Students will then write down their definition to each strategy on their
Cornell notes. This will be the part of the lesson where student's notes are
very important for them to succeed on the assessment.

33

Next will be a short clip on anger management. Students will write

down key points of the video in order to participate in class discussion about
the video and its content.
After the video, the students will be given a reading on a famous
athlete and how he has lost control of his anger. I will read the reading to the
class while asking the students to follow along and to occasionally read out
loud for the class. Prior to the reading, I will go over specific vocabulary
words that may be too difficult for the students to read. Students will write
down and define each word as a class. Before reading, I will go over the
before, during, and after reading strategies the students will use for the
reading.
Once the reading is over, students will read a letter that I wrote to the
athlete (Odell Beckham) telling him how he can control his anger. Showing
this letter is important because it will lead into our final assessment for the
class.
Closing
As a closing the students will complete the final assessment of the
class. The students will be asked to write a letter to a celebrity out of options
presented to them in reading form. The readings are very short and give a
brief overview of how the celebrity has lost control of their anger. The
students will use the rubric (see attached) and their Essentials for Writing an
Excellent Paragraph handout to guide them in writing this letter. Students
must use information from the celebrity reading as well as information from
the lesson found in their notes.
Once the assessment is finished, there will be a summary. In this
summary, we will revisit the objective as a class and discuss if we have
achieved our goal for the lesson. This gives the students closure and allows
the students to reflect on what they have learned.

Materials
Materials and Supplies

Cornell Notes
Projector/Elmo
Beckham Reading
34

Two Celebrity Readings

Simply Stupendous Synonyms Handout

Part D: Analysis and Instructional Decision-Making

I determined the student achievement of the MCCRS aligned objectives
by converting the scores of students achievement on the pre-assessments,
formative assessments, and written classwork, and their summative
assessment into percentages. To achieve the objective and standards that
are expected of the students, each student must achieve at least a 70% of
each assessment. Any students who received lower than 75% on any
formative assessments will need extra instruction to ensure they reach the
35

appropriate level of achievement. All students who score higher than a 75%
do not need any extra instruction. The following table shows the data on
student achievement:
Assignm
ent
PreAssessme
nt
Lesson
One:
Summary
Exit Ticket
Mindset
Lesson
Two: Letter
to Ms.
Caster
Lesson
Three:
Summary
Exit Ticket
SelfDiscipline
Lesson
Four:
Letter to a
Celebrity
Anger
Managem
ent
Summativ
e
Assessme
nt
Overall
Achievem
ent
Growth
Percentag
e

D.L

D.D

T.S

A.A

C.D

B.L

A.S

T.J

1/3

1/3

0/3

0/3

2/3

0/3

0/3

1/3

33%
3/3

33%
3/3

0%
2/3

0%
3/3

66%
3/3

0%
3/3

0%
3/3

33%
2/3

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

19/20

15/20

16/20

15/20

18/20

0/20

14/20

16/20

95%

75%

80%

75%

90%

70%

80%

5/6

6/6

6/6

5/6

6/6

0%
(Absen
t)
4/6

6/6

6/6

83%

100%

100%

83%

100%

66%

100%

100%

20/25

23/25

23/25

22/25

25/25

19/25

25/25

22/25

80%

92%

92%

88%

100%

76%

100%

88%

80/10
0

78/10
0

90/100

88/10
0

83/10
0

85/100

90%
80%

78%

79%

77%

96/100 70/100
96%

70%

88%

90%

88%

85%
83%

94%

70%

83%

84%

36

As seen in the chart above all eight students grew from the initial preassessment to their summative assessment. The percentage of growth in all
eight students is clear in the data and throughout the discussions in the unit.
Each student increased their achievement by at least 70% throughout the
unit and every student scored above a 70% on all aspects of the unit with
the exception of one student being absent. This being the result of the unit,
no students needed specific help in increasing their knowledge of the unit as
a whole. The way I found the percentage change in achievement from preassessment to summative assessment is by subtracting the scores on both
the pre-assessment and summative assessment and then dividing that
number by the pre-assessment score. Below you will see several examples of
student work from the unit.
D.L: 81% achievement growth

37

T.S: 90% achievement growth

38

Student D.D: 79% achievement growth

39

Student C.D: 96% achievement growth

40

Part E: Reflection and Self-Evaluation

After analyzing the data from both the formative assessments that I
administered every day and the summative assessment, it is clear that the
instructional strategies and interventions positively affected students growth
in achievement. The lowest score in the unit (besides the 0 for student B.L
due to being absent) was a 66% on the lesson 3 topic of self-discipline. After
seeing this score, I approached the students and began to go over the
assessment with him and noticed that he did know the material. When asked
why he did not answer one of the questions for the exit ticket, the student
responded saying, I was tired. This response from the student made me
aware that if he were to have answered the assessment question on the
correct day, he would be on track for the learning curve of the class. From
that day on, this students achievement, as well as the rest of the class, was
well above the required 70% achievement to move throughout the unit.
The biggest interventions throughout this unit was the use of physical
proximity to keep students on track, and the use of discussion based
assessment rather than writing during the lesson. All students in my class
have expressed a great distaste for the task of writing. In order to address
this problem, I decided the best way to test their knowledge through the unit
and throughout each lesson was through discussions. Each student was
receptive to the change and participated on a wide scale. This being said,
almost every lesson taught new writing skills and required students to use
those skills in the final formative assessment at the end of the lesson.
Students were indirectly working on their writing through discussion, keeping
the positivity in the unit high.
Collaborating with school-based professionals would have definitely
assisted me throughout this unit. If I had collaborated with teachers that
have my students and know exciting way to engage them, each of my
students behavior and performance would have increased during this unit. If
one of my students is succeeding in another class, it would benefit my lesson
to collaborate with that teacher to mimic their strategies with these
students.
Implications for Future Instruction
1. One implication for future instruction would be to allow more time
for the written formative assessments at the end and throughout
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each lesson. Almost all of the students in my classroom have

difficulty writing and require extra time to complete the majority of
assignments. Though almost all of the students in the class have
the modification/accommodation of extended time, I have found
that students were becoming more and more frustrated because
they were incapable of finishing their work on time. With these
students, it is necessary to keep their attitudes and self-esteem high
during class so they do not become distracted. At times, it can
affect each students grades (as shown in the table) if he or she is
frustrated with writing.
2. Another implication for future instruction based on the data from
the unit would be to provide more student feedback for a more
positive effect on their grade. The students in my classroom have a
low self-esteem and I am finding myself forgetting to use positive
reinforcement to make sure they know how well they are doing. I
believe if I use this tool in future instruction students performance
would increase.
Professional Learning Goals
1. I believe that my unit has met the CEC standard of Instructional
Planning and Strategies. Throughout my planning of this unit, I was
constantly thinking and planning for student-based instruction that
would interest them. I was also thinking of the performance and
behavior of my class through previous lessons when coming up with
appropriate ways of instructing this unit. I believe this unit uses
unique and powerful strategies to engage and express students
learning.
2. I also believe my unit fulfilled the CEC standard of Learner
Development and Individual Learning Differences. Through the
planning of this unit, every single one of my students needs and
disabilities was taken into consideration. As seen in each attached
lesson plan, all students IEP goals were considered and met
throughout each lesson and activity. As shown in the data above,
each student reached the goal of 70% achievement on each lessons
assessment as well as the summative assessment. This is due to
the consideration in differences and disabilities of all students
involved.

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