Beverly Cortez

ITE313
April 22, 2014
Narrative Summary
Barbers Point Elementary School is a Leeward District school located on the
former Naval Air Station, which is known as Kalaeloa. The school is part of the Kapolei
Complex and has been accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
(WASC) since 1987. The school had recently undergone mid-term review and its
accreditation will expire in 2017 (Hawaii DOE, 2010). Recently, Barbers Point
Elementary lost their Title I identification.
The administrators at Barbers Point Elementary include Principal Claudia
Nakachi and Vice Principal Dyana Ontai-Machado. The total school enrollment was
approximately 614 students at the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year. There is a
wide range of ethnic background that is present within the school community. The
majority are White, Native Hawaiian and Filipinos. More information about the school
can be found by visiting their school website: http://barbers.k12.hi.us/
Currently, I am assigned at Barbers Point Elementary in a third grade classroom.
The third grade level has a total of four classrooms, with approximately 27 students per
classroom. In my third grade classroom (room 33), there are 26 students in which
fourteen are girls and twelve are boys. One girl is classified as an English Language
Learner (ELL) and one boy is classified as Special Education (SPED). There is an ELL
resource teacher who provides support in and outside of the classroom. There are two
Paraprofessional Tutor (PPT) that works with the SPED student throughout the school
day. One PPT is present for the first half of the day while the other is present the last

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half of the school day. These PPTs are always observing and assisting the SPED
student throughout the school day. In addition, there is also a speech pathologist that
provides services for the SPED student. There are no students who are classified as
Gifted and Talented (GT) in this classroom. Thus far in the school year the students
have finished the reading portion of their Hawaii State Assessment (HSA) and still
continuing with the math portion of the assessment.
Barbers Point Elementary School implements the Harcourt Trophies reading
curriculum. This curriculum emphasizes reading comprehension. Students develop an
understanding of comprehension and what readers do to be successful through a
combination of instruction and authentic reading activities (Tompkins, 2014, p. 267).
The reading block is taught daily for 60 minutes during the instructional block after
recess and before lunch. In the third grade classrooms, each student is placed at an
appropriate level based on their reading level. The third graders are grouped based on
their ability to read and comprehend. Each third grade teacher is responsible for one
group of students with similar reading levels. Teachers use instructional grouping to
differentiate instruction, make accurate placement decisions and create meaningful
classroom interventions (Tompkins, 2014, p. 79). My particular reading class generally
reads the story at least 3 times whether it would be students following along as the
teacher reads, following along with the audio recording or reading on their own. Also,
students constantly engage in various activities and discussions to check for
comprehension.
The third grade teachers assesses regularly. If anytime a student shows a huge
progress or a huge decline in their reading level, the teacher can move the student to a

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different classroom with the appropriate level. It is recommended that teachers
dramatically increase the amount of time struggling readers spend reading each day so
that they can become more capable and confident readers and develop greater interest
in reading (Tompkins, 2014, p. 25).
The third grade teachers at Barbers Point Elementary use the reading
curriculums assessment to measure students progress in reading. They have
beginning, middle and end of the year assessment as part of Trophies. The
assessments usually involve a vocabulary section, comprehension section and writing
section. Most of the vocabulary section asks for synonyms of the words. The HSA is
also another way for the teachers to assess reading. In addition, my mentor teacher
creates her own assessments to track her students progress. Students are assessed
weekly to biweekly in my classroom.
Apart from reading, the science block has no designated instructional days
because it alternates with social studies and world language. Science blocks are usually
60 minutes per day and also use a Harcourt Trophies science curriculum. This
curriculum focuses on life science, earth science, and physical science.
Barbers Point Elementary provides various programs to promote reading. My
third grade students uses Accelerated Reader (AR) program constantly. AR is a reading
program created by Renaissance Learning, Inc. Students read a book, take an AR quiz
and get immediate feedback. It monitors students progress and allows teachers to have
access to this information. This program consistently monitors the changes of state
standards and refines the program in order to have a strong alignment.

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Another program is called I-ready, which is an online and teacher-led instruction
for reading and math. This program assesses the students in the beginning when they
start to use this program and determines their level. Through this assessment, the
program differentiates the lessons for each student. I-ready includes engaging lessons
that build conceptual understanding and offers explicit instruction using real world
experiences. It also measures growth, identify gaps and pin points where students need
to be challenged (Curriculum Associates Hawaii, 2013). Through this program, my
mentor teacher is able to determine who is below, on and above grade level. I-ready is
said to have a strong alignment with the Common Core State Standards (Charlie B.,
Rocketship Education, n.d).
In addition, KidBiz3000 is a differentiated online literacy instruction program and
offers non-fiction content-based readings. This program provides nonfiction text on the
same topics and lessons to all students, but differentiates the assignments based on
students reading level. My mentor teacher encourages the students to complete lessons
from this program and awards students with an incentive when they receive 80 % or
higher on the first try of completing the activity questions.
I administered a reading survey in my third grade classroom on February 26,
2014. The survey consisted of questions that addresses students attitude, learning
style, interest, and work habits. The result for students attitude is most of the students
likes reading or is okay with reading. However, majority of them do not consider reading
as leisure but to learn new information and for achieving good grades in school. My
mentor teacher expressed that as teachers we need to set good examples for our
students. Therefore, during Drop Everything And Read (D.E.A.R) time, teachers should

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read as well. Although majority of the class likes reading, they are not very fond of
reading out loud in class. As far as their learning style, more than half of the class reads
at home while the rest only reads at home sometimes. A little over half of the class
prefers to read on their own while the rest prefers to read with someone or with a friend
during DEAR time. Also, most of the students prefer to read in a quiet place. In this
classroom of 26 students, there are a range variety of topics that students are interested
in reading. A few examples topics include books that deal with adventures, sports and
mysteries. Moreover, students work habits in my classroom, majority of the students
complete their homework right when they get home, which is a great habit.
In my lesson, I plan to integrate reading in the content area of science. Students
will be introduced to simple machines through Barbers Point Elementary Science
curriculum. There is a unit on simple machines in the Harcourt textbook, which I will
instruct students to read. The information obtained will then be transferred into a graphic
organizer as a way to categorize the important main ideas of the topic. Through this
task, students will learn about simple machines and how they make our work simpler
and easier.
In this unit plan, I will be displaying various Association for Childhood Education
International (ACEI) standards. I will demonstrate ACEI I-Development, learning and
motivation by creating learning opportunities for each student to improve her/his
development. In this lesson, I included a differentiation plan that modifies the lesson to
create an appropriate instruction which takes account the individual learners that are
present in my classroom. The differentiation plan includes different types of learners
such as English Language Learners (ELL), Special Education (SPED), and Accelerated

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Learners. Because students achievement levels differ and their interests and preferred
ways of learning vary, teachers modify their instructional programs so that all students
can be successful (Tompkins, 2014, p.365).
For this lesson, the ELL and SPED students will be challenged with the
vocabulary because they lack background knowledge and/or they lack vocabulary
development. "Vocabulary knowledge and reading achievement are closely related:
Students with larger vocabularies are more capable readers, and they know more
strategies for figuring out the meanings of unfamiliar words than less capable readers
do" (Tompkins, 2014, p. 218). To accommodate these students, I will explain the
vocabulary terms in a student friendly definition and show visuals. The selection of
materials use in the classroom is a crucial next step to effective differentiated
instruction (Van Tassel-Baska, 2003). Instead of acquiring information through one
form, students will be exposed to different multimodal texts such as written print,
pictures and videos.
Throughout my lesson, I will provide students with a way to build knowledge
about simple machines through their exposure of their science textbook. From this
foundation I incorporate different stations that exposes them to engaging and hands-on
activities. Not every child learns the same; therefore, learning centers are a way to
incorporate multiple teaching styles (Rocco T., Rossella J., 2010)
Moreover, I will be demonstrating ACEI Standard II. Curriculum. Emphasizing in
reading, writing, oral language and science. In my lesson, I will use the instructional
approach of teaching with content area textbook. Commercial reading programs,
commonly called basal readers, have been a staple in reading instruction for more than

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150 years (Tompkins, 2014, p. 328). I will teach students to read simple machines in
their science textbook. I selected to use this instructional approach because basal
reading programs deliver explicit and systematic instruction that is aligned with the
Common Core State Standards (Tompkins, 2014, p. 330). Through the use of this
instructional approach, I am utilizing Barbers Point Elementary Schools curriculum. In
addition, I will require students to refer back to their reading and write the main ideas
including details in a graphic organizer. Graphic organizers help students make
powerful connections between ideas and concepts (Kharbach, 2014). Through the use
of a graphic organizer, students will be able to practice the strategy of determining main
ideas and details. The strategy of selecting the main ideas and details allows students
to create connections, which will help with their reading comprehension. This strategy is
an important comprehension strategy because it teaches students to distinguish the big
ideas and details and teaches them to recognize whats important in the text they are
reading. My class reading comprehension level varies from below third grade level to
fourth grade level.
Throughout their reading, I will remind students to make connections of the text
and their background knowledge. Specifically, I want students to perform personal
connections, which is text-to-self. Since my lesson topic is on simple machines,
students have experienced using simple machines on a daily basis. I know that each
student will have a personal connection with this topic. Through this personal
connection, students become more engaged in their reading therefore contributing to
students comprehension of the text.

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Furthermore, students will construct a report on their observations and findings
by recording on paper then presenting the information orally to the class. I designed a
lesson that is age-appropriate to teach science through the incorporation of different
stations that deals with simple machines. Through these hands-on activities, students
are able to build understanding of the nature of science. This lesson is a reading lesson
integrated in a science content area. The strategy of integrating the subjects has been
found to increase achievement in both areas (Romance, N.R., 2001).
Questioning is one of the comprehension strategies that is recommended for
students to execute. As students use the questioning strategy, they become more
engaged with the text and want to keep reading to find answers (Tompkins, 2014, p.
263). In my lesson, I will ask students to practice questioning before they start reading
their textbook. I will require them to write down a few questions on their paper. I will
remind students to keep adding to their questions throughout their reading. Their
questions will be answered with the help of their text, teacher or from their experience.
Questioning strategy will help students comprehend the text better because they are
actively engaged in the reading process.
Besides comprehension, my lesson will focus on vocabulary. Vocabulary has a
strong relationship in reading achievement (Tompkins, 2014, p. 218). Through the use
of the graphic organizer, students will acquire knowledge on vocabulary terms for
simple machines. In my lesson, I will teach students vocabulary by requiring them to
write the definition and purpose of the different types of simple machines. Another way
that Im teaching vocabulary is through the scavenger web hunt. In the web hunt,
students are asked to identify examples of simple machines then it presents questions

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for students to answer. The questions presented ask about the vocabulary terms of the
different types of simple machines. In addition, vocabulary will be taught through
students oral presentation. It is a requirement for students to use the vocabulary that
we learned throughout the simple machine lessons when presenting their information.
Through exposure of the vocabulary words during readings, discussions and activities,
students will be able to gain word knowledge that will increase their vocabulary and
assist them with their reading comprehension. Vocabulary learning cant be left to
chance because students word knowledge affects whether they comprehend what
theyre reading, write effectively, and learn content-area information (Tompkins, 2014,
p. 218).
Another ACEI Standard that I will be addressing is ACEI Standard 3.2, which
emphasizes diverse students. I will address ELL, SPED, accelerated learners and
below grade level students. The ELL student is on grade level, , however she lacks
background knowledge. To assist this student needs, I will offer various materials to
guide this student visually, explain the vocabulary in a student-friendly language and in
a more relatable way in order for this student to be successful in my lesson. Effective
teachers adjust their instruction because students vary in their levels of development,
achievement, and ability (Tompkins, 2014, p. 30). I also plan to differentiate my lesson
for SPED students.
The SPED student needs a different type of modification based on his abilities
and Individualized Education Program (IEP). One major differentiation that I will need to
execute is lessening the workload. For my lesson, there are various activities that are
required at each station. These activities comprise of different questions and specific

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task for students to complete. For my SPED student, I will not require this student to
complete all the requirements for each station.
To accommodate the accelerated learners students, I will differentiate the
process and product. In my lesson, I will ask these students to elaborate on their
answers on the different activities that I will present. Through this elaboration, I will train
them to become critically thinkers. Also, I will instruct these students to perform an extra
step in certain stations in order to further their learning. In addition, I will differentiate the
process for below grade level students. To accomplish this, I will provide them with
more time to read the content and display pictures to assist with their comprehension.
Also, I will explain the vocabulary terms in a friendlier wording.
There are three objectives from Blooms Taxonomys cognitive domain that I will
implement in my lesson, which encourages the development of critical thinking and
problem-solving skills. These objectives are remembering, understanding and applying.
Remembering is the first level in Blooms Taxonomy. It is classified as the lowest level
of learning. Understanding is the second level and often go together with remembering.
Applying is the third level and requires learners to have a deeper understanding of the
concepts being taught (Overbaugh & Schultz, 2010). For my lesson, students will have
to remember and record important information about simple machines in the provided
graphic organizer. Then, students will have to understand the different types of simple
machines and be able to give examples of each type in their graphic organizer. Graphic
organizers support student understanding, possibly because they provide learners with
visual representations of the content at hand (Frey N., Fisher D., Everlove S., 2009, p.

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72). Lastly, students will apply their understanding through hands-on activities at the
different simple machine stations.
I will implement classroom management strategies throughout my lesson.
Effective classroom managers had significantly higher student engagement rates and
significantly lower student off-task behavior throughout the school year (Borich, 2011,
p. 72). In the beginning of my lesson, I will remind students with the attention getter that
I will be using when I want to get students to stop what they are doing and turn their
focus on me. For my attention getter, I will say Class Class, students then responds
with Yes, Yes while turning their eyes on the teacher. The students are very familiar
with the attention getter because my mentor teacher has been practicing this strategy
since the beginning of the school year.
Collaboration and social interaction plays a major role in my lesson. The first
behavior for promoting higher thought processes involves collaborative and group
activities (Borich, 2011, p. 196). Students must collaborate with their partner(s) in
completing the graphic organizer sheet. They must work together in finding the main
ideas and supporting details. The second collaboration involves students working with
their table groups in completing the assigned stations. In this part of my lesson, each
student is given a role and within this role is a certain job that they must accomplish
throughout the stations. In each group there is a facilitator who keeps the group on task.
There is also a helper who checks for understanding within the members of their group.
Another member will be a speaker who shares information from their group to the class.
In addition, one member of the group is a safety captain that ensures safe environment
for everyone. Lastly, there is a reader who reads directions for each station. Through

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the incorporation of group roles, it produces a positive and productive learning for all
students. The assignment of roles is important to the success of a cooperative learning
activity (Borich, 2011, p. 197).
To develop students use of effective oral communication skills, I will be enforcing
students to perform multiple partner(s) sharing and group collaboration throughout my
lesson. As simple as instructing students to share what they are learning to their side
partner supports interaction in the classroom. Oral language is the foundation for
student learning. It is essential for literacy learning, and successful use of language is
critical for students well being (Department of Education and Early Childhood
Development, 2013). In addition, I will require students to report on their experiences
during the different stations. Their group must collaborate and communicate with each
other on what information they would need to include in their presentation. Through this
report, it fulfills Common Core Standards Speaking and Listening (3.SL.4) Presentation
of Knowledge and Ideas.
As for fostering active inquiry, in the beginning of my lesson, I will have my
students write questions about simple machines before they start reading their science
textbooks. I will also encourage them to add to this list throughout their reading and
throughout the entire lesson especially before beginning their activity within their
stations. Learners are innately curious and actively create their own knowledge and
concluded that collaboration, not competition, is more conducive to learning (Tompkins,
2011, p. 8)
Teachers use a combination of assessment tools to collect meaningful
information about what students know and do (Tompkins, 2014, p.72). Throughout my

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lesson, I will be constantly assessing students by asking comprehension questions as a
formative assessment. Also, I will use a rubric to evaluate their graphic organizer. This
will serve as a summative assessment and provide me with information if students have
acquired the main ideas of the topic. In addition, another summative assessment will be
in the form of a checklist and the given handout will be assessed. For the oral
presentation, students will be assessed through the use of a rubric and a checklist.
There are numerous types of technology that my students and I will use
throughout my lesson. I plan to use the Elmo in showing the scenario and with the
modeling of the graphic organizers. This will allow students to have a visual and aid
them with their independent work. Throughout my lesson, I will use a timer to keep me
on track with managing my time. Time management is the thread running through
almost all aspects of teaching (Scholastic, 2014). One of my stations involves students
to use the computer in order to visit an education website. In the website edheads.org,
they will be required to find ten hidden simple machines and answer questions to check
for their understanding. Another part of my lesson also involves students to watch a
simple machine video therefore I plan to use the television and the dvd player. Effective
teachers plan for activities that involve the use of different modalities in different
combinations to provide task demands at the current level of understanding of individual
learners and groups of similar learners (Borich, 2011, p. 120). In addition, I plan to use
my cellphone in capturing pictures to document students within their stations. I will only
take pictures of students who submitted a media release form. Lastly, I will use a video
camera in which I will be filmed teaching. This will serve as a way for me to reflect and
improve my teaching to better benefit the students.

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References:
Borich, G. (2011). Observation Skills for Effective Teaching (6th ed.) Austin, TX:
Pearson
Charlie B.,(n.d.) Rocketship Education. Web. 11 April. 2014. Retrieved from
http://www.curriculumassociates.com/products/iready/diagnosticinstruction.aspx#
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (2013). Importance of Oral
Language. Web. 19 April 2014. Retrieved from
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/support/pages/lspmod11intro4.a
spx
Hawaii DOE. (2010). Barbers Point Elementary. Web. 9 April 2014. Retrieved from
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olFinder/Pages/Barbers-Point-Elementary.aspx
Curriculum Associates Hawaii (2013). Web. 9 April 2014. Retrieved from
http://www.curriculumassociates.com/products/iready/diagnostic-instruction.aspx
Kharbach, M. (2014). Teachers Guide on the Use of Graphic Organizer in the
Classroom. R. Web. 8 April 2014
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Rocco T. & Rosella J. (2010). Benefits and Disadvantages of using Centers in
Elementary Rooms. Web. 8 April 2014. Retrieved from
http://nyteachers.wordpress.com/2010/04/20/1357/

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Romance, N. R., (2001) Journal of Research in Science Teaching. Web. 9 April 2014.
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Tompkins, G. (2014). Literacy for the 21st Century: A Balanced Approach (6th ed.).
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http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Teacher_s_Guide/?page=2