MSED Elementary Portfolio Project

Christopher Stephen Curry

May 30th, 2020

An Elementary Portfolio Project submitted to the

Faculty of the Graduate School of Education of

Medaille College

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Science in Education

______________________________
Christopher Stephen Curry
Medaille College Graduate Student

______________________________
Dr. Susan Dunkle, Associate Professor
Project Director
 Section One:
Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio Project

Introduction to the Portfolio Project

I was a late call-in to a grade one class, which meant I had to be ready for anything as I

would not have the benefit of preparing in advance for the student activities. As I entered the

class I noted many students busy working on a colouring activity but there was one student all by

themselves in an open closet. Two adults approached me and told me to leave the student alone

as they were having a difficult morning and they didn’t want to participate. They were his

support staff and they seemed quite frustrated. As I worked my way through the class, checking

in on the other students I was kept looking over at the child in the closet, who looked quite sad. I

appreciated that the support staff had said that the boy didn’t want to participate but I wanted to

introduce myself and to do so in a way that would not cause him stress. Instead of walking right

up to him, I got within about 8-10 feet away, crouched down really low and said hello,

introduced myself and said that it was nice to meet him. I commented that, it sure looks like the

other kids are having fun colouring. I asked if they liked colouring as well? The student didn’t

say anything but they did look up towards the other students. I said, do you think you like to try

some colouring and have fun like they are”? The boy nodded and slowly got up and we went

over to his desk and on the way I asked what his favourite colour was. He said green, so I got a

green crayon out and put it on his desk with the colouring page. He immediately sat down and

started to work. The support staff couldn’t believe it! They came up to me, stunned, and said he

usually never does colouring activities with the class.

Respect, creativity, encouragement, and the willingness to meet students where they are

at. These are critical attributes needed to build trust and rapport with students and in creating a

safe environment for learning. Students come from many different backgrounds, abilities and
may deal with a wide spectrum of challenges to their success in a classroom. An educator needs

to have the ability to form respectful relationships, use their creativity and knowledge to inform

effective planning, instructional and assessment strategies and provide the necessary extrinsic

motivation to help students reach their potential.

Throughout this portfolio, I will demonstrate to prospective employers that I possess

those attributes. It will also provide a complete picture of the knowledge and competencies I

have acquired as well as the strategies and teaching methods I will employ to foster the success

of students in my classroom. The artifacts that I will include will highlight my abilities to

construct lesson plans and activities that are culturally responsive, differentiated for a variety of

learners and reflect my knowledge of the curriculum.

Portfolio Overview, Rationale and Development

There are six sections in this portfolio, with each section having a set of subsections. The

titles for these sections are as follows: The Candidate Introduction to the Elementary Portfolio

Project, the Teacher Candidate Background Experience, the Teacher Candidate Artifacts, the

Alignment to Curriculum and Professional Standards section, the Reflection, and the Teacher

Candidate Interview Video.

The first section of this Project, the Teacher Candidate Introduction to the Elementary

Portfolio, will introduce the project as a whole and will provide clarity about what made me

pursue the teaching profession. It will also highlight educational theories, theorists and experts in

the field of education that have inspired me as I formulate my strategies for effective teaching.

In the second section, Teacher Candidate Background Experiences, I will outline my

various educational and work-related experiences, my philosophy of education and my resume.

This section will provide a more detailed look into my journey to becoming an educator and will

tie in the many ways I have acted in this capacity in the past.

Section three of the portfolio is called Teacher Candidate Artifacts. In this section I will

provide tangible evidence, demonstrating the skills and knowledge I have learned in my pursuit

of becoming an educator. These artifacts are as follows: Artifact One: Dignity for All Students

Training Certificate; Artifact Two: Pecha Kucha Presentation; Artifact Three:

Educational Survey; Artifact Four: Learning Segment; Artifact Five: Individualized

Education Program (IEP) Analysis; Artifact Six: Weebly Teacher Website; Artifact Seven:

Math Lesson Plan; and Artifact Eight: Science Lesson Plan.

The fourth section entitled, Alignment to Curriculum and Professional Standards, will

provide connection from the professional and curriculum standards for both New York and

Ontario to the artifacts that I have included in the previous section. The specific standards my

artifacts will connect to are as follows: the INTASC Standards, NYS Code of Ethics Standards

for Educators, the Ontario Ethical Teacher Standards, NYS P-12 Common Core Learning

Standards, NYS Learning Standards, TEAC, ISTE Standards for Teachers and/or Students, the

CEC Standards, and to the Ontario Curriculum Standards.

Section five of the portfolio, the Teacher Candidates Reflection, will provide a reflective

accounting of the vocational and educational experiences I have had, viewed through the lens of

how they have contributed to my philosophy of education, my teaching style. This section will

also detail the learnings I have made during my Master of Education program at Medaille and the

development of this portfolio project. Reflecting on my past experiences and new learnings has

become an integral part of my professional development and has enabled me to continuously

improve my understanding and teaching abilities.

 Section Six, the Teacher Candidate Teacher Interview Video, contains a simulated

teaching interview video. This video will provide an opportunity for you to learn more about me

and about my abilities as a teacher. You will also gain insight in to my public speaking abilities

as I answer the questions.

Theories, Theorists and Experts in the Field of Education

There are many experts and theorists in the field of education that have inspired me to

learn how to create effective learning environments and effectively engage and motivate all types

of learners. A few that I would consider to be the most impactful, are: Abraham Maslow, Harry

Wong, Lev Vygotsky and Harry Wong.

Creating an effective learning environment is the necessary starting point for learning and

this requires students to feel safe. This concept was introduced through Abraham Maslow’s

theories about human needs and behaviour. According to Maslow, there are five levels of need

and we cannot move on to higher order needs unless we have satisfied more basic levels of need.

Therefore, in order to optimize student learning and engagement, students must feel safe and

secure in their environment.

Another contributor to allowing students to feel safe and comfortable is their environment

is by establishing reliable, consistent and easily understood policies and procedures. Harry

Wong’s theory of classroom management centres around the concept that teachers who

effectively manage the environment will spend less time engaged in disciplinary measures(Wong

and Wong, 1998). Establishing consistency and routine will also contribute to a sense of

calmness which students will crave and thrive in. This method requires rehearsal of new routines

with the students and that teachers reinforce desired behaviours. Wong also believed in teachers

always having positive expectations towards their students and that by setting high standards for
achievement, the students will rise to the expectations. Likewise, by setting low expectations, the

effort of students will lessen to meet that expectation as well. will motivate some students with

intrinsic motivations and effectively communicating to students that require extrinsic motivation

that you will provide scaffolded support to assist them in achieving their best results will help to

establish the framework for a classroom environment with high academic achievement and

reduced problem behaviours. Another aspect of creating well-run classrooms is to effectively

manage the activity of class time by being properly prepared, having work ready for students for

when they enter the class and ensure that the room is set up appropriately for learning. I have

really enjoyed learning more about Wong’s techniques and I have spent a lot of time putting

them into practice when possible.

Lev Vygotsky’s theory of Social Development (1962) has had the most impact on my

philosophy of teaching. Vygotsky created the term, “Zone of Proximal Development” or ZPD,

and explains this to be “the distance between the actual development level as determined by

independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through

problem solving under adult guidance with peer collaboration with more capable peers”

(Vygotsky, 1978). What this means is that ZPD refers to the level of ability just beyond that

which a student can do on their own, but with guidance, either being assisted by a capable fellow

student or by a teacher. The additional support needed by a student to be able to complete work

beyond their own ability is referred to as scaffolding. Vygotsky believed that as a best practice,

teachers should always adjust the amount of support provided to a student to fit that students’

performance level so that they would stay in their respective ZPD. As a student gains in their

aptitude, the teacher should gradually reduce the supports provided so that the student would

remain in their ZPD.

Conclusion

There are many aspects that contribute to becoming an effective teacher and that is one of

the most exciting aspects of the vocation. Being a good teacher requires you to be able to be a

strong relationship builder, a kind and caring motivator, a skilled facilitator and have the

creativity, knowledge and flexibility needed to construct effective learning activities. Great

teachers need to understand the motivations of their students, their interests and how they learn

best. As a great teacher, it is necessary to effectively assess the skills and abilities of each

students and take great care to support and accommodate a wide spectrum of abilities through

differentiated instruction. Each student is unique and the strategies used to reach each student

and facilitate their achievement will be different as well. To be a great teacher you must be

willing to reflect on successes and failures and always find learning opportunities where you can

improve. These are all qualities that I believe I have demonstrated and will continue to display

both in the artifacts contained within this project and in those that I will develop in the future.
 Section Two: Teacher Candidate Background Experiences

Introduction

My journey to become an educator began during high school and was initially dismissed due to

the poor employment prospects of graduating educators during that time. Instead, I pursued economics

and political science as my areas of study in postsecondary. While I am fairly proficient in working with

numbers, my area of interest centred more on relationships, particularly, why businesses from certain

countries worked better together than others. Studying the similarities and differences in the cultural and

political environments provided helpful context to understand why German businesses were able to work

in greater alignment with Canadian companies than American ones. The labour laws and standards were

more similar between Canadian and German societies and there was also more value placed on corporate

contribution to local communities. Better understanding the cultural perspectives offered insight into why

a more harmonious collaboration would result. Reflecting on these learnings now from an education and

instruction perspective, I can see that I was always interested in setting up the right conditions for people

to work better together and more specifically, the importance of Culturally Responsive Teaching, which I

will refer to in more detail later on in this portfolio.

While I did not immediately pursue a degree in teaching following high school, as I reflect back

on the employment and volunteer experiences I engaged in over the many years since, it became

abundantly clear that my most rewarding experiences occurred during opportunities to assist others and

share my knowledge and skills to enhance their abilities and performance.

In section two of this M.S. Ed. Portfolio, I will provide a more fulsome view of my educational

background, work experiences, philosophy of education, graduate school observations, classroom

applications, my personal resume and ending with a conclusion, bringing together how my journey

towards becoming an educator will enable me to become an exceptional teacher.

Teacher Candidate Educational Background and Work Experiences

Educational Experiences:

One of the most lasting and positive school experiences that I had, that motivates me to want to

become a teacher was taking a Canadian History course in grade ten. My teacher always seemed to make

class interesting and relatable. He breathed life into content that could be viewed as being dry and

effectively engaged the students in learning about eras in history that would otherwise be quite stale for a

teenage audience. One of the techniques he used was to use investing as an educational opportunity.

Students would all have to pick stocks at the beginning of the course. During the year, he would bounce

around the timeline to points in Canadian history and our stocks would be affected by what was going on.

For example, I had invested in an auto manufacturer and then I came into class one day and the new unit

was the Great Depression. We would talk about what was going on at the time and how it would impact

our stocks that we had. In this case, due to job losses and a lack of discretionary income, relatively few

people would be able to afford a car. I remember how frustrated I was initially because my investment

had decreased, but it was a really effective way to get student buy-in and to be able to relate to what other

people were experiencing during this time.

Employment Experiences:

If I had to use one term to describe my work experiences, it would be diverse. Starting off in the

private sector, my focus was on earning a high income. Some of my family members were in the

insurance and investment industry and I thought that this would be a great vocation to pursue. The best

aspects of the position were learning about financial concepts and instruments that could be used to help

people reduce debt, grow their wealth and protect their families should unexpected challenges come their

way. Unfortunately, I learned that my credibility as a very young looking university graduate was quite

low and that I was not nearly as aggressive a salesperson as I needed to be to succeed. Despite

encountering setbacks in creating a financially sustainable practice, I learned more about what I enjoyed

doing and what I was passionate about. What I was good at was synthesizing the knowledge I learned
about the financial products and services and relating them to the situations people could encounter over

their lifetime. I enjoyed working one-on-one with people to create budgets and make sense of where they

were in their financial journey and understand which products and services they could use to solve their

challenges.

One of the most challenging work experiences that I have had was in purchasing and operating a

home healthcare company. This business not only involved running all of the day to day operations,

managing staff, administration, marketing and growing the client base, it also required an educational

component, called the Certified Professional Consultant on Aging. This designation required me to

complete coursework and engage in educational activities in order to demonstrate that I had a strong

understanding of the health, social and financial aspects of aging populations.

By far the most relevant educational and employment-related experience that I have had that

crystalized my desire to become a teacher was when I became a Temporary Classroom Support Personnel

for the London and District Catholic School Board in late 2018. Due to a persistent level of unfilled

teaching coverages by licensed and accredited teachers, the Board decided to hire individuals from the

general public that had background experiences in education and experiences working with children. In

this role, I would essentially work in a different school and classroom each day that I was needed, from

kindergarten to grade 12. While I was instructed to not teach new content, I would facilitate topical

discussions, implement activities from lesson plans and manage the classroom like a regular teacher.

While this new opportunity was extremely stressful at first as I was unsure how I would resonate with

students of all ages, I quickly grew to love being in classrooms. To help prepare myself I started each day

with the focus on “who can I help make a positive impact on today”. To this point, I have worked in over

30 schools within a one-hour trip from my home. I have worked in rural schools with twelve people in the

class and in very low-income, urban schools, where only five students in my class did not have an IEP or

were considered English Language Learners. In one such class, I had a student that was being quite

disruptive during math class. When I checked in with them, they laughed about their lack of work being

done and commented that they are stupid in math. I said, “no you’re not, you just haven’t figured it out
yet”. I clarified a few things that the student didn’t understand, and I set a basic ask that they would do

two of the ten assigned questions. Over the forty-minute period, I would check in with them from time to

time, trying a variety of ways to get them back on task, offering encouragement and praising them for any

completed work. At the end of class, the student stayed back slowly putting their materials in their

backpack while the class emptied. He said to me that he doesn’t ever say this but that I was the best

supply teacher he’s ever had. That I took the time to help him and didn’t stop even when he was trying to

avoid working. While feedback from students like this validate my efforts, they also inspire me to reach

all students, not just the easy and friendly ones, but to try to find a connection with students that challenge

me.

When I first began in my role as a TCSP, not only was I unsure about whether I could do a good

job in a classroom, but was under the impression that the only way I could become a teacher was by

attending a two-year Teacher’s College program in Ontario. This was not a realistic option for me as I

would have to work full-time as well in order to support my family. When I learned of the possibility that

I could earn a teaching degree by going to school in Buffalo on weekends, that was when my path became

clearer and I grew hopeful of the opportunity to make this my career.

School Observations and Classroom Application

The observational opportunities that have been present through my Field Experience Courses at

Medaille College have been very rewarding. The great majority of my educational experiences in

elementary and secondary school were in areas with very minimal racial diversity. This

contrasted greatly with the experiences I had engaging with students at the Saturday Academies.

The opportunity to engage with students and their families of largely racialized backgrounds

enabled me to gain more experience working with these populations and to research local history

and leaders in the community so that the activities I was developing would be culturally relevant.
 One of the great benefits of attending and participating in the Saturday Academies was

that it provided an excellent opportunity to see how the organizers could connect and mobilize

community resources to support the families of students that attend the school. These academies

were present in some of the more low-income and high needs communities and they provided an

opportunity for the school to build connections with the students and their families for some

learning, fun and social engagement. During some Saturdays, health and wellness resources

would be brought in, providing proactive opportunities for families to engage that may not

otherwise have ready access to physicians or dentists. Breakfast and lunch were provided free of

charge to all who attended, ensuring that students and their family members would have access

to meals.

As student teachers we greeted everyone with a welcoming smile and salutation and

encouraged them to participate in our activities. Because we were never certain about the ages or

the abilities of the students that we were planning for, this forced me to prepare activities that

could be modified and adapted for use with participants of various levels of ability. Reflecting on

this point highlights the role Lev Vygotsky’s theory of the Zone of Proximal Development

(ZPD) has had on my learning and the development of my philosophy of education.

One of my favourite experiences was developing a math-related game out of Twister. We

were initially planning to work with students between the ages of six to nine, so in our game, we

would have students add numbers together in order to move their hands and feet to the positions

on the game board. The younger students were having a great time with it and we were able to

modify the difficulty of the addition questions based on the students that were participating.

During a short break, the younger students left and some eighth graders came into the room. I

encouraged them to try out the activity and instead of using addition, I changed the math

questions to be multiplication based, which was more appropriate for the abilities of the older
students. The students were a little hesitant, but we started with lower difficulty numbers and I

provided a lot of positive reinforcement for their efforts. This kept the students engaged and

motivated them to try more difficult calculations. The activity was successful for both sets of

students and it reaffirmed for me the importance of creating flexibility and differentiation within

a lesson or activity in order to engage all students.

For one of our observational experiences, we attended a symposium that was

enlightening as I learned about the education bargain between government, teachers, parents and

students. Learning about the variety of funding programs for food provision and other academic

supports was interesting. In my school district we have schools that have snack programs and

some even have lunches available if students don’t have one, but we certainly don’t have three

meal per day programs. Perhaps this speaks to the greater need of the schools in Buffalo or

perhaps there are different community programs in my area that provide similar services outside

of school. This is an area I will investigate further.

Philosophy of Education

The School

The school plays a central role in a student’s growth in their educational journey. For

many students, this will be the first time they will encounter structured, educational activities that

are led by someone other than a family member and for some it is their first exposure to

structured educational activities period. It is imperative that the administrative leadership sets the

tone for a safe and welcoming environment for all students and their families. Without these

elements, optimal learning and growth will not take place. Beyond the school as a centre for

curricular learning, it also acts as a primary centre for learning appropriate social engagement,

responsibility, and other skills necessary to becoming a good citizen. Schools should be a place
of equity and inclusivity that supports students with appropriate levels of resources to ensure that

each student can fully participate without stigma.

The Curriculum

New York State and the Province of Ontario have developed an appropriate curriculum

that is to be taught in the schools in their jurisdiction. The curriculum is laid out in a fashion that

provides benchmarks and objectives for each subject and grade level to ensure that all students

are meeting the learning outcomes. When students are not able to meet the objectives of the

curriculum, teachers should use this opportunity to reflect on the particular challenges the student

is having in meeting the objectives. The insights gained are essential to determine whether

different instructional strategies need to be used or that perhaps additional testing needs to occur

to determine whether a student has an exceptionality that has not been identified to this point.

While the curriculum lays out the expectations and outcomes students should reach by the end of

the school year, it is up to the teacher to determine the methods and activities utilized in order to

facilitate the meeting of those desired results.

The term “hidden curriculum” is becoming more commonly used, especially with

students that have exceptionalities. This term typically refers to the unspoken social rules that we

expect students to engage in. If we expect that students should act in a certain way or to respond

in a certain fashion, we do them a disservice if we do not articulate our expectations. Lack of

understanding and uncertainty creates stress, anxiety and feelings of inadequacy. As teachers, we

should carefully outline our expectations of students and err on the side of providing detail where

there could be misunderstanding and misinterpretation.

Learning

As I have referenced before, I am a strong believer in the work of Lev Vygotsky.

Structuring expected work with appropriate levels of scaffolding so that students can operate in

their respective zones of proximal development is of paramount importance to me. We want

students to be challenged and struggle, engaging in work beyond that they are comfortable doing

on their own, however, we don’t want them to struggle enough that they give up and cannot

complete the activities. Instead, we must ensure that we provide the level of support that they

need to tackle difficult tasks and then we gradually reduce the level of support as they gain

mastery in the area of focus.

The work of B.F. Skinner (please cite his work and also add to the references – thank

you) is also extremely valuable in its applicability to educators. His behaviourist theory preaches

providing positive reinforcement as a reward for students properly performing activities in the

desired way. This methodology will increase the likelihood that the students will repeat the

desired behaviour. As I mentioned above with the Twister activity, I positively rewarded the

desired behaviour of the students, their attempts to perform mental calculations. Whether they

were correct or incorrect, I celebrated their attempt in a positive way. Because of this positive

reinforcement, the students realized that it was ok to be incorrect and that they weren’t going to

be made to feel bad. This resulted in continued attempts in playing the game and even drew in

other students that were initially hesitant.

Technology is an essential component of the educational environment today.

Technological solutions enable students with physical and cognitive challenges to participate to

the best of their abilities in classes of their peers, when in the past they may have been

segregated or unsupported in their academic pursuits. Technology can also be used as a gateway
to instruct students in challenging concepts through visual and auditory methods instead of

through reading textual descriptions. By engaging a multisensory approach, students will retain

more information. (Gardner, 1983, Bodily-Kinesthetic Learning, etc…….)

The Learner

Because of my employment experience working in classrooms of all grade levels, I have

had the opportunity to engage with students in these grades and to get a feel for the types of

learners I can support the most while having fun doing so. If I had to choose, I would prefer to

work with students in grades three and four. Students in this period of development are largely

moving beyond early levels of literacy and are beginning to structure written work independently

and with more detail. They are still very curious about the world around them and I would love

to tie in outdoor educational opportunities to the curriculum so that they can investigate. I have

also found students in this age group to be very active learners and I enjoy constructing creative

hands-on tasks to enhance learning.

Assessment

Teachers need to engage in constant assessment. This does not necessarily mean testing.

Performing formative assessments are essential to uncover the level of understanding that your

students have about a topic or strategy and will help drive further instruction. It is essential that

teachers utilize a variety of assessments to accurately assess the skills and abilities of their

students and determine their mastery of the subject matter. It is becoming more common for

teachers to provide students with choice in how to display their mastery of a subject area. Some

students prefer writing, others prefer making an artistic representation and others are more

skilled at oration. If the end goal is to determine a student’s level of understanding and mastery
of the topic, it is also important not to mix skill requirements when testing and to recognize that

students all have strengths and weaknesses in how they can display their level of mastery. The

teacher must become proficient in adapting their learning goals to multiple methods of

production. This will not only benefit the students, but will lead to a better understanding of how

to differentiate instruction for the teacher.

Classroom Management

Effective classroom management is what determines the success of the student and

teacher interactions and has a strong impact on the educational success of the students. As an

emergency supply teacher, I have been in many classrooms and it is almost immediately

apparent whether or not the teacher I am covering for has effective classroom management. As

mentioned in my Section One, the theorist I align myself with the most is Harry Wong. Setting

up an effective learning environment, being prepared, constructing effective leading activities to

engage students immediately upon arrival to class, establishing well-rehearsed and understood

policies and procedures and setting high expectations are critical foundations for reducing

inappropriate behaviours and enabling students to maximize their learning potential. Students

crave structure and reliability so that they know what is expected of them. With certainty comes

comfort and reduced stress. I am a person that loves to incorporate fun and humour into the

classroom. By establishing effective classroom management strategies, it will enable me to bring

in more of the fun, but in a structured way with a reduced likelihood that the students will engage

in problematic behaviour.

The Teacher

As a basic requirement, teachers in Ontario and New York State are required to complete

an undergraduate degree as well as complete a degree that provides foundational learnings for
instructing students. A teacher should be able to create a safe and welcoming space for students

and be able to build strong and respectful relationships with students and the other teachers and

support staff in the school. It is also important for teachers to be driven to connect with their

students and to be able to meet them where they are at. Not every student is going to be easy and

it is often the most difficult ones that need a great teacher the most. A great teacher must be

reliable and open to new methods of instruction, solely focused on providing the best learning

environment and experience possible for their students. Teaching is about making a positive

difference in a child’s life, stimulating an interest in the world around them and breathing life

into the material.

Resume

Introduction

In the section below you will find my resume provided. This document highlights my
relevant education, employment and volunteer experiences as well as identifies my skills and
attributes that will enable me to become an exceptional teacher.

CHRIS CURRY
17 Lonsdale Drive, London, Ontario N6G 1T4 519-902-5091 cscurry@gmail.com

Enthusiastic and dynamic educator (Temporary Classroom Support Personnel), with over ten years of
facilitation and workshop training experience and ten years in community outreach and marketing.
Strong communication skills with the ability to influence others through collaboration and a
commitment to learning.

⬧ Facilitation / Training ⬧ Community Engagement

⬧ Communication Skills ⬧ Problem Solving

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

Training and Facilitation: Public relations; curriculum delivery; ability to create an engaging
learning environment

● Facilitated curriculum-focused classroom discussions for grades K-8; provided one-to-one support
to students as necessary while maintaining an effective learning environment
● Organized and presented to students and the general public about labour market conditions,
educational opportunities and preferences of employers with regards to apprenticeable trades
● Delivered 15 comprehensive Parkinson Education Program training workshops for up to 50 health
care professionals per session and 150 community participants as part of a certification course in
effective service delivery, utilizing facilitation skills to engage and inspire participants to provide
real-life experiences that enhanced the training and meet their learning objectives
● Organized and facilitated care conferences with clients, primary healthcare providers and social
workers in hospitals, long term care facilities and private homes to ensure optimal care provision
would be established during and after client transfer from hospital to home
● Facilitated community building events as Master of Ceremony for an annual seniors-focused
conference with over 300 guests and vendors, as well as with large groups of business leaders at
Chamber of Commerce gatherings
● Facilitated sales management workshops for managers, salespeople and customer care associates
according to strict program standards to increase the selling skills of participants

Client Support Management: Client consultation; skills and compatibility assessment;

community outreach and development; research

● Demonstrated excellent communication skills by chairing the Health Committee and co-authoring
the Navigating the Hospital brochure for the Council for London Seniors that was translated into
Farsi, Spanish and French and distributed to retirement and long-term care homes as well as over
20 London agencies
● Utilized strong analytical skills and superior judgment capabilities to mediate disputes between
employers and apprentices, which resulted in positive and effective resolutions
● Led the care management process and co-developed individualized care plans for a premium home
care company that specialized in assisting seniors and individuals with special needs
● Effectively screened, interviewed and oriented all Nurse Case Managers, personal support workers
and external community partners regarding their role in meeting the clients’ needs
● Successfully built strategic partnerships with social and health care service networks and
community resources that led to rapid and effective health care service coordination for clients
● As primary contact in a 24/7 environment, utilized tact and problem-solving skills to resolve staff,
client, family member or service provider issues by focusing on client-first care and ensuring
detailed adherence to care plans by support staff

Administration and Marketing: Records management; document creation and curating;

program administration; strategic planning

● Coordinated presentation schedules for hiring meetings, training workshops and board
meetings. Prepared instruction materials and participation materials, and ensured facilities
were clean and organized
● Created comprehensive financial monitoring and reporting tools to improve data collection and
accurately demonstrate effective provision of quality service within the London region
● Identified existing gaps in communication systems and processes and developed new reporting
tools, significantly increasing efficiency and effective collaboration between Council
administration and student leaders
● Authored comprehensive Report Card on Homelessness, documenting the positive impact of
programs and services that assisted individuals experiencing challenges with mental health,
addictions and homelessness
● Performed benefit calculations in accordance with established Ministry (Provincial) policies and
procedures; investigated fiscal discrepancies in order to ensure financial accountability
● Effectively set up and maintained accurate client files from the start to the end of service provision,
including archiving former client files using word processing, spreadsheet and database systems

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Emergency Instructor (Uncertified) London District Catholic School Board 2018-2020

● Facilitation; classroom management; assisting students with special needs; learning strategies
Marketing Consultant Lead Wheel Marketing, London 2018-2019
● Client management; marketing; client education; website and program management

Coordinator, Board of Directors University Students’ Council, London 2016-2017

● Communication systems management and improvement; consultation; liaison; administrative
Owner, Managing Director Retire-at-Home Services, London 2011-2016
● Operations, human resource and financial management; customer service; staff training
Employment/Training Consultant Ministry of Advanced Education, London 2009-2011
● Mediation between apprentices and employers; funding management; policy regulation
Manager, Community Partnerships & Funding City of London 2007-2008
● Project management; creation of financial monitoring and reporting tools; marketing
Community Developer London Homeless Coalition, London 2005-2007
● Coordination; research; report writing; public presentations; strategic planning; marketing
Consultant Townson and Alexander, London/Toronto 2003-2005
● Sales Management Facilitator; research consulting; marketing
Financial Advisor Freedom 55 Financial, London 2001-2003
● Life Insurance; mutual funds; business development; business planning; facilitation

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Bachelor of Arts Degree: Economics University of Western Ontario, London 2001

Certified Professional Consultant on Aging CPCA Canada 2011

COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERISM
Head Coach Oakridge Baseball Association 2019
Assistant Coach Red Circle Hockey Association (London) 2017 - 2019
Assistant Coach North London/Oakridge Baseball Associations 2016 - 2018
Board Member Parkinson Society Southwestern Ontario 2014 - 2020
Certified Trainer Parkinson Education Program (PEP) 2012 – 2017
Can you talk more about this program? It sounds very intersting
Board Member Council for London Seniors 2012 - 2015
Facilitator Strathroy Parkinson Support Group 2012 - 2014
Committee Member Age Friendly London Development Committee 2012 - 2014
Committee Member Planning, Innovation Works, London 2008 - 2011
Board Member London Community Resource Centre 2007 - 2008
Board Member London Anti-Bullying Coalition 2004 - 2007
Youth Music Leader Riverside United Church 2002 – 2005
Conclusion

The Section Two component of my portfolio provided insight to my background

experiences in education and my previous careers. In addition, this section provided insight into

my philosophy of education and the learning environments the reader would expect to find upon

entering my classroom.

[Back to Table of Contents]

 Section Three: Teacher Candidate Artifacts

Introduction:

This section of my portfolio will provide a collection of artifacts that I have assembled to

highlight my knowledge, skills and commitment to growth and excellence as an educator. These

artifacts will demonstrate my professional development, instructional abilities, plans for

assessment, math lesson development, ability to incorporate technology in the classroom and

utilize my appreciation and understanding of the cognitive and functional abilities of students to

create an inclusive, supportive and challenging classroom environment. For each artifact, I will

connect the relevant theories and professional standards as set out by the Council for the

Accreditation of Educator Preparation Standards, the New York State Teaching Standards and

Engage New York P-12 Common Core Standards Connections, the New York State Code of

Ethics for Teachers, Ontario Teacher Ethical Standards, Ontario Ministry of Education

Elementary Standards, the Ontario Teachers Code of Conduct, the Ontario College of Teachers,

the International Society for Teacher Education, International Literacy Association Professional

Standards, and the Council for Exceptional Children Standards. These artifacts will demonstrate

my teaching skills and abilities while highlighting my ability to plan, instruct and assess my

students’ ability to learn and demonstrate mastery.

Artifacts & Rationales

Artifact One: Dignity for All Students Training Certificate

My first artifact is a selection of professional development training and workshop

certificates. The first of these certificates, is my training for the Dignity for All Students Act. The

focus of this training was on harassment, bullying, discrimination prevention and intervention.

The training is intended to build an awareness of what discrimination and harassment in

educational institutions can look like and to develop prevention and response skills for educators

so that they can ensure their classroom is a safe environment for all. This professional

development training aligns with the following standards: InTASC Standards no. 2, 4, 7 and

especially 9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice. The teacher engages in ongoing

professional learning and uses evidence to continually evaluate his/her practice, particularly the

effects of his/her choices and actions on others (learners, families, other professionals, and the

community), and adapts practice to meet the needs of each learner; the NYS Code of Ethics for

Educators Principle #5: Educators collaborate with parents and community, building trust and

respecting confidentiality. Principles #1,3,4 and 6 are also relevant; the DOE Claims & CAEP

Standards Claim #1, 2 and especially 3: Medaille College graduates are caring educators; to the

International Society for Technology Education for Teachers and Students (ISTE)

standard Designer: 5a Use technology to create, adapt and personalize learning experiences that

foster independent learning and accommodate learner differences and needs. Standards 2, 3 and

7 are also relevant; to the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Initial Preparation Standard

1: Learner Development and Individual Learning Differences. Standards 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are also

relevant; and to the Ontario Teaching Ethical Standards for the Teaching Profession: Respect,

Care, Trust, and Integrity are equally reflected in this artifact.

[Back to Table of Contents]
Artifact Two: Pecha Kucha Presentation

The Pecha Kucha presentation is a fast-paced style of presentation where twenty images

are displayed for twenty seconds each. The goal of this style of presentation is to provide a time-

effective method to inform an audience about a given topic. The topic that I selected for my

Pecha Kucha presentation was Traumatic Brain Injury or TBI. This artifact outlined what a TBI

is, the spectrum of impacts that can occur as a result of a TBI, including the physical, cognitive,

and emotional impairments that may result. Providing the reviewer an overview of these

impairments is necessary to appreciate the variety of challenges a student with a TBI may have

and the accommodations and modifications that will be necessary to establish an effective

learning environment. This artifact highlights the many areas within teacher competencies that

will be affected, including all areas of planning, instruction, and classroom management.

The curriculum and professional standards associated with this artifact are as follows:

InTASC Standard #1: Learner Development. The teacher understands how learners grow and

develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and

across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and

implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences. Standards #2-8

also apply; NYS Code of Ethics for Educators, Principle 1: Educators nurture the intellectual,

physical, emotional, social, and civic potential of each student. Principles 2, 3 and 6 are also

relevant; DOE Claims & CAEP Standards Claim #3: Medaille College graduates are caring

educators. DOE Claims #1 and 2 as well as CAEP Standards 1.1 and 1.3; International Society

for Technology Education for Teachers and Students (ISTE) standard Designer: 5a Use

technology to create, adapt and personalize learning experiences that foster independent learning
and accommodate learner differences and needs. Standards #1, 2, 3, 4 and #6; ILA Professional

Standards #2, 5, 6 and especially #4, Diversity and Equity: Candidates demonstrate

knowledge of research, relevant theories, pedagogies, essential concepts of diversity and equity;

Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Standards # 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and especially Initial

Preparation Standard #1: Learner Development and Individual Learning; The Ontario

Ethical Teacher Standards, Respect, Trust, Integrity and especially Care - The ethical

standard of Care includes compassion, acceptance, interest and insight for developing students'

potential, apply to this artifact..

Slide 1 and 2

Slide 3 and 4

Slide 5 and 6

Slide 7 and 8
Slide 9 and 10

Slide 11 and 12

Slide 13 and 14

Slide 15 and 16
Slide 17 and 18

Slide 19 and 20
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Slide 1:

Hello, this presentation is about Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI and it is being presented by Chris Curry.
During this presentation, we will learn about what TBI is, its impact on students and what teachers can
do to improve the learning environment and outcomes.

Slide 2:

A Traumatic Brain Injury is an injury that disrupts the brain and its activity. It can result from a blow to
the head, a jolt of the brain, or from an object that goes through the skull and is a leading cause of death
and disability in children and young adults

Slide 3:

The impact of Brain injuries will depend on their severity and even brain injuries that are mild, such as a
concussion, can seriously affect daily activities. One of the main challenges for students with brain
injuries and their teachers is the wide variety of possible impairments

Slide 4:

Physical impairments can include problems with speech, vision, hearing and headaches. Motor
coordination may also be affected, which can negatively impact walking and/or writing.

Slide 5:

Cognitive impairments can negatively impact: short term memory, concentration, attention span, and
communication skills

Emotional Impairments that can also present challenges in educational settings include: mood swings,
self-centredness, anxiety, depression and lowered self-esteem.

Slide 6:

Considering the wide range of potential impacts due to TBI, successfully integrating them into the
classroom, requires carefully assessing their unique needs and abilities. Effective communication
between medical professionals, therapists, family and the support team within the school is essential.

Slide 7:

Because children’s brains are still developing, some impairments may not be immediately obvious but
may emerge as the child gets older. Therefore, it is important to review the effectiveness of the teaching
strategies and supports for students with TBI’s on a regular basis as the impacts and needs may change
over time.

Slide 8:

Integrating students into educational environments may need to involve putting a process together for
students being specifically taught and allowed to rehearse the routines of the learning environment,
including building orientation and room design.

[Back to Table of Contents]

 Artifact Three: Educational Survey

The third artifact I am including is an Educational Survey that will highlight my focus on

continued growth in teaching excellence by regularly performing action research as a way to

utilize evaluation and reflective practice with the goals of informing effective instruction and

building classroom, family and community relationships. The focus of this research was to

determine the level of satisfaction parents have with the math curriculum, how their child is

learning math and of the supports and resources available at their school for both students and

parents. In the past few years there has been a lot of controversy about elementary mathematics

instruction practices in Ontario. A year ago I had attended an event for parents at my local

school, that helped to demystify the instructional strategies of how math was being taught. Given

my positive experience in attending the event, I wondered about the experiences of other families

in my city. In the survey, both qualitative and quantitative data was collected and a Likert Scale

was used in order to rank user feedback and to assist with analyzing the results.

This artifact meets the following standards: The InTASC Standards #3, 9 and 10:

Leadership and Collaboration. The teacher seeks appropriate leadership roles and opportunities

to take responsibility for student learning, to collaborate with learners, families, colleagues, other

school professionals, and community members to ensure learner growth, and to advance the

profession; New York State Code of Ethics for Educators Principles 2, 3 and 5: Educators

collaborate with parents and community, building trust and respecting confidentiality; DOE

Claims 3 and 2: Medaille College graduates meet the needs of diverse learners through effective

pedagogy and best teaching practices; International Society for Technology Education for

Teachers and Students (ISTE) standards 1, 2, 4, and 7: Analyst: Educators understand and use

data to drive their instruction and support students in achieving their learning goals; ILA

Professional Standards #4 and especially #6, Professional Learning and Leadership:

Candidates recognize the importance of, participate in, and facilitate ongoing professional

learning as part of career-long leadership roles and responsibilities; Council for Exceptional

Children (CEC) Standards # 4 and 7: Collaboration: Beginning special education

professionals collaborate with families, other educators, related service providers, individuals

with exceptionalities, and personnel from community agencies in culturally responsive ways to

address the needs of individuals with exceptionalities across a range of learning experiences;

Ontario Teacher Ethical Standards Care, Respect, Integrity and Trust - The ethical standard of

Trust embodies fairness, openness and honesty. Members' professional relationships with

students, colleagues, parents, guardians and the public are based on trust.

Slide 1 Slide 2

Slide 3 Slide 4
 Slide 5 Slide 6

Slide 7 Slide 8

Slide 9 Slide 10

[Back to Table of Contents]

 Artifact Four: Learning Segment

This artifact best illustrates my ability to think ahead to a learning objective and level of mastery

that I would like my students to achieve. It displays my ability to plan and construct a series of

lessons that build upon each other, taking into consideration scaffolding, accommodations,

differentiation in learner aptitude and learning styles, the use of formative assessments to gauge

current levels of understanding and inform further instruction, while predicting areas of

confusion and misconceptions. In addition, the planning process also reflects my philosophy of

education, that insists on the use of instructional techniques that provide for a gradual release of

responsibility to the learner in being able to demonstrate their mastery of the subject matter.

Furthermore, this artifact demonstrates my belief in recognizing the varied skills and abilities of

students by providing options for students to demonstrate their mastery of the subject matter in a

summative assessment. Finally, this artifact demonstrates my focus on culturally responsive

teaching by connecting relevant cultural references throughout the learning process.

The respective standards that align with this artifact are: InTASC Standards #2,

3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and especially #1: Learner Development: The teacher understands how learners

grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually

within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and

implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences; New York State

Code of Ethics for Educators Principles 1 and 2: Educators create, support, and maintain

challenging learning environments for all; New York State NextGen Learning Standards 3R1:

Develop and answer questions to locate relevant and specific details in a text to support an

answer or inference; DOE Claims 1, 3 and 2: Medaille College graduates meet the needs of

diverse learners through effective pedagogy and best teaching practices; International Society

for Technology Education for Teachers and Students (ITSE) Standards 6 and 5b Design
authentic learning activities that align with content area standards and use digital tools and

resources to maximize active, deep learning; International Literacy Association (ILA)

Standards #3, 4, 5 and 2: Curriculum and Instruction: Candidates use foundational knowledge to

critique and implement literacy curricula to meet the needs of all learners and to design,

implement, and evaluate evidence-based literacy instruction for all learners; Council for

Exceptional Children (CEC) Initial Preparation Standards 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 1: Learner

Development and Individual Learning Differences; Ontario Curriculum Standards ELA:

Grade 3 - 1.3 identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately

before, during, and after reading to understand texts; Ontario Ethical Teacher Standards

Respect, Trust Integrity and Care - The ethical standard of Care includes compassion,

acceptance, interest and insight for developing students' potential. Members express their

commitment to students' well-being and learning through positive influence, professional

judgement and empathy in practice.

 Medaille College Department of Education
Learning Segment Prompts

Teacher Candidate’s Name: Christopher Curry Date: April 5, 2020

Subject/ Grade Level: 3 Learning Segment Topic: Making

Predictions

State your central focus and explain how your plans build on each other to help students make connections
throughout the learning segment. (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 1)
The central focus of this learning segment is for students to make predictions using their schema and text evidence as support.

Create an assessment plan that will describe how you will use multiple forms of assessments that will provide
direct evidence to monitor your students’ progress toward meeting the central focus of the learning segment. (edTPA
Task 1, Prompt 5a)
Lesson One:
• During the anticipatory set I will observe the student responses to the questions I will ask about what happens to the leaves
in the fall.
• During the instructional process I will note how the students are making predictions for what we as a class will be doing
next based on my drama vignettes.
• During the lesson I will ask students about their predictions for what will happen next in the examples. I will also ask for
textual evidence(clues) or ideas from their schema, that support their prediction.
• When the students turn and talk to their partners, discussing what they think will happen next in the worksheet questions, I
will walk around the room to listen in and record if each student has been able to identify textual clues to make relevant
predictions

Lesson Two:
• During the anticipatory set I will ask students to identify where they can find clues to make predictions.
• During the lesson students will use textual evidence(clues) or ideas from their schema, to match situations and event
predictions and organize them on a T chart. During this time, I will walk around the room to listen in and record if each
student has been able to identify textual clues to match with relevant predictions.
 • When the work in groups, using sentence stems to identify evidence for how they matched the situations and predicted
events, I will walk around the room to record which students seem to be struggling with making the connections.
• Representatives from each group will identify a matched pairing of situation and predicted event and using the sentence
stems, will identify evidence for how they matched the pairs. I will note groups that were successful as well as those that
struggled.

Lesson Three:
• At the beginning of the lesson I will ask students about their predictions for what will happen next in the first example. I
will also ask for textual evidence(clues) or ideas from their schema, that support their prediction.
• I will assess the ability of students to use their schema and textual clues to make predictions and provide evidence in
the completion of the Making Predictions #2 worksheet.
• The ELL student as those students that struggle with the written component of the worksheet will be allowed to provide
oral responses to the worksheet questions.
• Also, the ELL student will be allowed to complete a reduced number of questions from the Making Predictions #2
Worksheet.

Explain how the design or adaptation of your planned assessments allows students with specific needs to
demonstrate their learning. Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different
strategies/support (e.g. students with IEPs or 504 plans, English language learners, struggling or underperforming
students or those with gaps in knowledge, and/or gifted students). (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 5b)
The third lesson includes a culminating assignment, the Making Predictions #2 worksheet, where the students make predictions
using their schema and textual clues. Students will write their predictions and evidence to support the prediction. The ELL student
and visually impaired student will be allowed to provide oral responses to the worksheet questions. Students that struggle with the
written component of the worksheet will also be allowed to provide oral responses to the worksheet questions.
Also, ELL student as well as struggling students will be allowed to complete a reduced number of questions from the Making
Predictions #2 Worksheet.

Describe and justify why your instructional strategies and planned supports are appropriate for the whole class,
individuals, and/or groups of students with specific learning needs. (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 3b)
For my visually impaired student:
• I will seat the student near to the screen and provide all worksheet documents in large font. I will also project text from the
worksheets onto the smartboard screen when we discuss the worksheet examples. These accommodations will assist the
individual with visual impairment to better view the text that we are reading and discussing.
For my ELL student:
• I will provide several supports to accommodate their language, including a translator dictionary and pairing them with another
student that speaks the same native language. I will also clarify vocabulary and language concepts in their first language during
lesson or prior to the lesson when possible. This previewing of the vocabulary necessary for the lesson with my English
Language Learner will assist them to fully understand the concepts before the lesson. I will also check in frequently to repeat
instructional details, ensuring they understand the instructions.
For the whole class:

I have planned a variety of instructional strategies to assist the whole class. In the beginning of the learning segment I will use a lot
of reflective and open-ended questions to engage the students with their background knowledge. I will also use visual examples
through my performance during the anticipatory set of the first lesson to activate their background knowledge and to use it to make
predictions. I will use think-alouds and guided practice to demonstrate how to identify textual clues to make predictions. I will also
use open-ended questions, such as “Does anyone have any ideas about what might happen next in this situation?”, “How do you
know?”, and “What makes you think that?” to elicit predictions from students in the example scenarios. This type of questioning will
be used as formative assessments so that I can determine which lesson component I need to review in more detail to support their
learning. Challenging academic language will be discussed, using examples to elaborate, so my students will understand the
meaning and definition of each word. I will post this information on an anchor chart as a visual for the students. Anchor charts for
other critical information will also be posted so that they can use them as a reference throughout the learning segment. Students
will be provided with graphic organizers, T-charts and sentence stems to assist them in organizing their information and to guide
their responses using appropriate language. Students will also be supported in their learning by sharing their learnings in pairs and
small groups so that they can verify what they understand and to enhance their ability to identify textual and schematic evidence in
order to make predictions.

Support your instructional strategies through theory and/or research. (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 3)
Because I know that the students are familiar with making predictions based on fictional text, I will seek to extend their
understanding of making predictions to non-fictional situations in each of the three lessons. Last winter the students enjoyed
exploring the forest areas and talking about trees. Because of their interest in nature and understanding how changes in
temperature and season affect the environment around them, I will start the anticipatory set of the first lesson, by talking about
predictions we can make for changes we will see in the fall. In addition, we will play a game that involves having the students make
predictions about what they will be doing next based on my preparations and one of the examples will be about getting ready to
play a game of soccer outside.
Because I know that the students are becoming more familiar with using their schema and textual clues to make predictions, I will
seek to extend their understanding by having them match a series of situations and predicted events in the second lesson. I will
also seek to reengage their background knowledge by referring to the making predictions game we played during the anticipatory
set from the first lesson.
In the two previous lessons on making predictions, the students learned from instruction, guided practice well as performing pair
and group activities that focused on making predictions. Because the students have had these experiences, for the third lesson I
will provide them with an opportunity to use what they have learned and use their schema and textual clues to make predictions
independently.
Describe anticipated common misconceptions students might have within your central focus and how you will
address them. (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 3c)
Students may believe that predictions are what will in fact happen, not realizing that predictions are merely educated guesses
based on their background knowledge as well as textual clues. To address this misconception, I plan to explicitly teach the
prediction strategy by going over a Making Predictions anchor chart with the students and modelling some examples. I will leave
this chart up to be later used as a reference by students.

Medaille College Department of Education

Lesson Plan

Teacher Candidate’s Name: Christopher Curry Date: March 30, 2020

Context for Learning (edTPA)

Where is the school where you are teaching located? City: _______ Suburb: ____x___ Town:_______ Rural: ______

Grade level: ___3_____ Number of students in the class: __22______

Students with IEPs/504 Plans

Complete the charts below to summarize required or needed supports, accommodations, or modifications for your students that will affect
your instruction in this learning segment.
IEPs/504 Plans: Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications,
Classifications/Needs Students Pertinent IEP Goals
Visual Impairment 1 • Seat the student near to the screen
• Provide large font examples that will be projected
onto the screen

Students with Specific Language Needs

Language Needs Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications
Students
English Language Learner 1 • Translator dictionary
• Pair student with another student that speaks the
same native language
• Clarify vocabulary and language concepts in first
language when possible
 Students with Other Learning Needs
Other Learning Needs Numbers of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications
Students

Lesson __1____ of a __3____ Day Learning Segment

Subject and Lesson Topic:

Grade Level: 3rd Lesson Duration: 20 minutes

Central Focus of the Learning Segment

The central focus is an understanding that you want your students to develop. It is a description of the important identifiable theme, essential question, or
topic within the curriculum that is the purpose of the instruction of the learning segment (Making Good Choices, 2016).

The central focus of this learning segment is for students to make predictions using their schema and text evidence as
support.

Knowing Your Learners

Using Prior Knowledge
What do you know about your students’ prior academic learning as it relates to the central focus? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 2a)

Last year in grade 2, my students covered the standard, NY.NGLS.2R1 so they are familiar with using textual examples to
answer questions. I also know that they read the picture book, Duck on a Bike to learn about making predictions in fictional
text using illustrative and textual clues.
How will you use this knowledge to inform your instruction? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 3a)
Because I know that the students are familiar with making predictions based on fictional text, I will seek to extend their
understanding of making predictions to non-fictional situations.

Using Student Assets

What do you know about your students’ personal, cultural, and/or community assets as they relate to the central focus? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1,
Prompt 2b)

The students in my class are very active and like to play group sporting activities during gym and at recess, including soccer
and gaga ball. This group of students also likes to explore the nearby forest and we often use the surrounding areas to go on
scavenger hunts that lead to talking about ecosystems and food webs.
How will you use this knowledge to inform your instruction? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 3a)

Because I know the students enjoy exploring the forest areas and talking about trees, I will start the anticipatory set by
talking about predictions we can make for changes we will see in the fall. In addition, we will play a game that involves
having the students make predictions about what they will be doing next based on my preparations and one of the examples
will be about getting ready to play a game of soccer outside.

Curriculum Standards
NY.NGLS.3R1: Develop and answer questions to locate relevant and specific details in a text to support an answer or
inference.

Ontario Curriculum Standards ELA: Grade 3 - 1.3 identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them
appropriately before, during, and after reading to understand texts
Objectives Assessment Modifications to Assessments
Using Bloom’s Taxonomy, include statements that Using formal and/or informal assessment tools, If applicable, explain how you will adapt
identify what students will be able to do by the how will you evaluate and document your assessments to allow students with specific
end of the lesson and are aligned to the standards students’ progress on each of the objectives? needs to demonstrate their learning.
identified above. (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 5b)
Students will be able to use their schema • During the anticipatory set I will • Prior to the lesson, I will preview
to make predictions about what we as a observe the student responses to the vocabulary necessary for the
class will be doing next, based on the questions I will ask about lesson with my English Language
discussions of my physical actions what happens to the leaves in the Learner so that they fully
during the anticipatory set. fall. understand the concepts before
• During the instructional process I the lesson.
will note how the students are
making predictions for what we
 as a class will be doing next based
on my drama vignettes.

Students will be able to use textual clues • During the lesson I will ask
as well as their schema to make students about their predictions
predictions and answer the questions for what will happen next in the
from the Learning to Make Predictions examples. I will also ask for
worksheet. textual evidence(clues) or ideas
from their schema, that support
their prediction.
• When the students turn and talk
to their partners, discussing what
they think will happen next in the
worksheet questions, I will walk
around the room to listen in and
record if each student has been
able to identify textual clues to
make relevant predictions

Academic Language Demands Instructional Supports

(edTPA Task 1, Prompt 4c) Strategies teachers provide to help learners understand, use, and
practice the concepts (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 4d)
Function Predict I will support my students to use the language function
Looking at your standards and through thinking aloud about what I have noticed in the
objectives, choose the one Bloom’s text of the first example of the worksheet. I will also use
word that best describes the active
learning essential for students to
open ended questions, such as “Does anyone have any
develop understanding of concepts ideas about what might happen next in this situation?”,
within your lesson. “How do you know?”, and “What makes you think that?”
to elicit predictions from students in the example
scenarios.
I will support my students by thinking aloud about which
textual clues I identified in the worksheet example in
order to make a prediction. I will use open ended
 questions to solicit feedback from the students, such as
“What do you think is going to happen next?”, “What
makes you think that will happen”?, and “What key words
or sentences made you think that would happen”? to
encourage the students to identify the textual clues that
help them make predictions.

Vocabulary
Key words and phrases students need prediction I will support my students to understand vocabulary by
to be able to understand and use schema discussing the meaning and definition of each word, using
clues examples to elaborate. I will post this information on an
anchor chart as a visual for the students.

Syntax
Describe ways in which students will My students will state their I will support my students by providing them with the
organize language (symbols, words, prediction followed by the sentence starter, “I predict that ____________________because
phrases) to convey meaning.
evidence. _____________” and by modelling the possible responses to
the example scenarios from the worksheet.
Discourse
How members of a discipline talk, My students will verbalize I will support my students by modelling possible
write, and participate in knowledge their ideas and thoughts predictions and identifying textual clues. Students will
construction and communicate their
understanding of the concepts
about their predictions and orally participate in a Think/Pair/Share with a partner.
textual details of the Students will also provide verbal responses to questions
worksheet scenarios to their posed by the teacher.
partner and the class during
the Think/Pair/Share.
Instructional Process Accommodations and/or
Modifications and/or Supports
Anticipatory Set/Motivator
I will post the Schema anchor chart
• While the students are sitting at their desks, I will ask the students “who and point to the anchor chart when I
likes playing detective?” “Can anyone tell me about a time when we played introduce the anticipatory set.
detective outside?” “That’s right, we used our detective skills to go on
scavenger hunts in the forest”. We also know that when the weather changes I will post an anchor chart for Making
and gets colder in the fall, we can predict that we will see some changes. Predictions
“What types of changes might we predict we see in the fall?” The students
may say we will see the leaves changing colours. At this point I will point to I will provide a translation of
the schema anchor chart and say “excellent prediction, you used your challenging words as necessary to my
schema, your background knowledge about the leaves changing colour in the ELL student
fall to make the prediction.

• I will say that we will be using our detective skill to play a game making
predictions.

Instructional Procedures
I will provide the student with visual
• I will explain that in our game, I will exit the room and then I will come back impairment large printouts of each
in and I won’t say anything, but I will provide clues based on my actions as to scenario for the “Learning to Make
what we are going to do next. I will tell the students that they are to make a Predictions” sheet.
prediction about what will happen next.
I will pair the ELL student with
• First, I will re-enter the classroom and go directly to pick up the read-aloud another student in the class that also
book that we are currently reading, and I will sit on the stool at the front of speaks the native tongue of the ELL
the class by the reading carpet. I will open up the book as if preparing to read student.
and then I will look up to the class and ask, “what do you think we will be
doing next?” I will pick a student to answer. I will confirm with the class by I will provide check in with the ELL
asking them to give me a thumbs up if they agree. If not, I will address student to repeat instructions as
alternative suggestions. I will ask the students what made them think that necessary and check for
we were going to continue reading our read-aloud book. I will ask the understanding.
students for the clues that they noticed that helped them make the
prediction. For example, I sat on the stool and I opened up our read-aloud
book. I will congratulate them for making excellent observations and confirm
that their prediction was correct. I will explain that I will be performing
another example.
• Next, I will walk over to my desk and get out my whistle and put the whistle
lanyard around my neck. I will then walk to the clothes hook and put on my
coat. Finally, I will get two soccer balls from the toy bin and stand by the
door of the classroom. I will look up to the class and ask, “what do you think
we will be doing next?” I will pick a student to answer. I will confirm with the
class by asking them to give me a thumbs up if they agree. If not, I will
address alternative suggestions. I will ask the students what made them
think that we were going to go out to play soccer. I will ask the students for
the clues that they noticed that helped them make their prediction. For
example, I got out my whistle and put it on, I put on my coat, I picked up the
soccer balls and went to stand by the door. I will congratulate them for
making excellent observations and confirm that their prediction was correct.

• I will remind the students about how last year they read the book Duck on a
Bike and talked about making predictions using clues from the pictures and
text.

• I will explain that when we read, we can use clues to predict what is going to
happen in the story. I will tell them that it doesn’t really matter whether your
prediction is correct or not, what’s important is that they are paying
attention to the clues and thinking about what might happen next. I will say
that by thinking about the clues they read and thinking about what will come
next, will help them understand the story and get more enjoyment out of
reading.
• I will tell the students that in this lesson, they will practice using clues to
make predictions.

• Using a smart board, I will project the first example of the worksheet
Learning to Make Predictions onto the screen at the front of the class

• I will tell the class that I will read the first example and explain to them how I
would use my schema and textual clues to make a prediction about what will
happen next.

• First, I will define the word conscientious and explain how that relates to
Mariah’s character. After I read the example, I will say “when I read that
Mariah is a very conscientious girl and that she failed a quiz, it makes me
 think that she would feel sad. Then it says that two of her friends left her out
at recess. When I think of how I have felt when my friends have left me out of
playing, it made me feel upset, so maybe it makes Mariah upset as well. Then
it says that when she got home….” “When I think about making a prediction, I
think about how Mariah must have been feeling at the end of the day and put
it together with grabbing a box of tissues and going to her room, it makes me
think that she might start to cry.” On the lines underneath “My prediction:”, I
will write: I predict that Mariah will cry in her room. Under “Evidence:”, I will
write out the textual evidence I considered: (i)Mariah failed a quiz; (ii) she
was left out by her friends at recess; and (iii) she grabbed a box of tissues
and went to her room.

• For example #2, I will read it out to the class and then ask for students to tell
me what they think of the teacher after reading the first two sentences,
expecting to hear something like “he wants his students to do well at school.”
Next I will reread the next sentence and ask for a student to tell me what is
going on in that sentence. I will do the same for the last sentence. Then I will
review the three elements of the text so far and I will ask the students to turn
and talk to a neighbour about what they predict will happen next and the
clues from the text that helped them make the prediction.

• During the turn and talk I will walk around the room, documenting the
students who are making relevant predictions and identifying textual
evidence as well as those that are struggling. I will check in specifically with
the ELL student to ensure that they understand the purpose for the
discussion. I will then ask the students to provide answers for the
prediction(s) and evidence. I will write their down their answers on the
smart board.

• For example #3 I will have the students read the example out loud with me. I
will then re-read each sentence more slowly. I will ask the students to turn
and talk with their neighbour and discuss their predictions and the clues
they used as evidence.

• During the turn and talk I will walk around the room, documenting the
students who are making relevant predictions and identifying textual
evidence as well as those that are struggling. I will check in specifically with
the ELL student to ensure that they understand the purpose for the
 discussion. I will then ask the students to provide answers for the
prediction(s) and evidence. I will write their down their answers on the
smart board.

• For example #4 I will have the students read the example out loud with me. I
will then re-read each sentence more slowly. I will ask the students to turn
and talk with their neighbour and discuss their predictions and the clues
they used as evidence.

• I will then ask the students to provide answers for the prediction(s) and
evidence. I will write their down their answers on the smart board.

Closure

I will summarize what the students learned today, saying “So to review what we’ve
talked about today, we learned about using our schema and using clues from the
text to make predictions. “Where can we get clues to make predictions again?”
I will quickly review a couple of the examples from the Learning to Make
Predictions worksheet, highlighting the predictions and textual evidence.
I will review the Making Predictions anchor chart, as outlined in the Instructional
Procedure.
I will say to students, “Tomorrow, we work in groups to make more predictions”.

List all materials and/or technology tools required for the lesson.
Key instructional materials must be attached. These materials might include such items as class handouts, assignments, slides,
and interactive white-board images.

Learning to Make Predictions worksheet – below: based on the worksheet found here: https://www.education.com/lesson-
plan/making-predictions-lesson/
Schema anchor chart, such as one found here - https://theanimatedteacher.com/2019/04/03/anchor-charts-powerful-learning-
tools/
Making Predictions anchor chart, such as this one: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/529173024940750241/
 Medaille College Department of Education
Lesson Plan

Teacher Candidate’s Name: Christopher Curry Date: March 30,

2020

Context for Learning (edTPA)

Where is the school where you are teaching located? City: _______ Suburb: ____x___ Town:_______ Rural: ______

Grade level: ___3_____ Number of students in the class: __22______

Students with IEPs/504 Plans

Complete the charts below to summarize required or needed supports, accommodations, or modifications for your students that will affect
your instruction in this learning segment.
IEPs/504 Plans: Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications,
Classifications/Needs Students Pertinent IEP Goals
Visual Impairment 1 • Seat the student near to the screen
• Provide large font examples that will be projected
onto the screen

Students with Specific Language Needs

Language Needs Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications
Students
English Language Learner 1 • Translator dictionary
• Pair student with another student that speaks the
same native language
• Clarify vocabulary and language concepts in first
language when possible

Students with Other Learning Needs

Other Learning Needs Numbers of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications
Students
 Lesson __2____ of a __3____ Day Learning Segment

Subject and Lesson Topic:

Grade Level: 3rd Lesson Duration: 30 minutes

Central Focus of the Learning Segment

The central focus is an understanding that you want your students to develop. It is a description of the important identifiable theme, essential question, or
topic within the curriculum that is the purpose of the instruction of the learning segment (Making Good Choices, 2016).

The central focus of this learning segment is for students to make predictions using their schema and text evidence as support.

Knowing Your Learners

Using Prior Knowledge
What do you know about your students’ prior academic learning as it relates to the central focus? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 2a)

Last year in grade 2, my students covered the standard, NY.NGLS.2R1 so they are familiar with using textual examples to answer
questions. I also know that they read the picture book, Duck on a Bike to learn about making predictions in fictional text using
illustrative and textual clues. In addition, last class we discussed making predictions from using their schema and by using clues from
narrative text.

How will you use this knowledge to inform your instruction? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 3a)

Because I know that the students are becoming more familiar with using their schema and textual clues to make predictions, I will seek
to extend their understanding by having them match a series of situations and predicted events.

Using Student Assets

What do you know about your students’ personal, cultural, and/or community assets as they relate to the central focus? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1,
Prompt 2b)

The students in my class are very active and like to play group sporting activities during gym and at recess, including soccer and gaga
ball. This group of students also likes to explore the nearby forest and we often use the surrounding areas to go on scavenger hunts that
lead to talking about ecosystems and food webs.
How will you use this knowledge to inform your instruction? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 3a)

Because I know the students enjoy playing sporting games together, I will refer to the making predictions game we played during the
anticipatory set from last class as a way to engage their schema.

Curriculum Standards
NY.NGLS.3R1: Develop and answer questions to locate relevant and specific details in a text to support an answer or inference.

Ontario Curriculum Standards ELA:

Grade 3 - 1.3 identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before, during, and after reading to
understand texts (e.g., activate prior knowledge through brainstorming and/or developing mind maps; ask questions to focus
reading and clarify understanding; use visualization to clarify details about such things as homes and clothing of early settlers;
use pictures to confirm
understanding of printed text).

Objectives Assessment Modifications to Assessments

Using Bloom’s Taxonomy, include statements that Using formal and/or informal assessment tools, If applicable, explain how you will adapt
identify what students will be able to do by the how will you evaluate and document your assessments to allow students with specific
end of the lesson and are aligned to the standards students’ progress on each of the objectives? needs to demonstrate their learning.
identified above. (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 5b)
Students will identify sources information • During the anticipatory set I will ask • Prior to the lesson, I will preview the
useful in making predictions. students to identify where they can vocabulary necessary for the lesson
find clues to make predictions. with my English Language Learner so
that they fully understand the
concepts before the lesson.

Students will use textual clues as well as • During the lesson students will use
their schema to match situations with textual evidence(clues) or ideas from
predictions from the Matching Predictions their schema, to match situations and
worksheet. event predictions and organize them
Students will utilize the sentence stems to on a T chart. During this time, I will
provide structure to their responses walk around the room to listen in
and record if each student has been
able to identify textual clues to match
with relevant predictions.
• When the work in groups, using
sentence stems to identify evidence
for how they matched the situations
and predicted events, I will walk
 around the room to record which
students seem to be struggling with
making the connections.
• Representatives from each group will
identify a matched pairing of
situation and predicted event and
using the sentence stems, will
identify evidence for how they
matched the pairs. I will note groups
that were successful as well as those
that struggled.

Academic Language Demands Instructional Supports

(edTPA Task 1, Prompt 4c) Strategies teachers provide to help learners understand, use, and
practice the concepts (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 4d)
Function Predict I will support my students to use the language function
Looking at your standards and through thinking aloud about what I have noticed in the text of
objectives, choose the one Bloom’s the first example on the left side of the Matching Predictions
word that best describes the active worksheet. I will also use open ended questions, such as “Does
learning essential for students to anyone have any ideas about what might happen next in this
develop understanding of concepts
situation?”, “How do you know?”, and “What makes you think
within your lesson.
that?” to elicit predictions from students in the example
scenarios.
I will support my students by encouraging the students to
utilize the sentence stems to identify which textual clues they
identified in the worksheets in order to make their predictions.

Vocabulary
Key words and phrases students need to situation I will support my students to understand vocabulary by
be able to understand and use schema discussing the meaning and definition of each word, using
clues examples to elaborate. I will post this information on an
event anchor chart as a visual for the students.

Syntax
I will support my students by providing them with the
sentence stems, “I think this is the correct prediction
Describe ways in which students will My students will utilize the T because____” and “This situation matches this prediction
organize language (symbols, words, chart provided to match the because ____”.
phrases) to convey meaning. situation and predictions
My students will justify their
matched pairs using verbiage
from the sentence stems
provided.

Discourse
How members of a discipline talk, write, My students will verbalize their I will support my students by modelling possible predictions
and participate in knowledge ideas and thoughts about their and identifying textual clues. Students will orally participate
construction and communicate their predictions and textual details in a Think/Pair/Share with a partner.
understanding of the concepts of the worksheet scenarios to Students will also provide verbal responses to questions posed
their partner and group by the teacher.
members during the Matching
Predictions work.

Instructional Process Accommodations and/or

Modifications and/or Supports
Anticipatory Set/Motivator
I will post the Schema anchor chart and
• While the students are sitting at their desks, I will tell the students we are going to point to the anchor chart when I
be doing some more work on predictions. To get them prepared, I will ask them to introduce the anticipatory set.
turn and talk to their elbow partner about where they can find clues so that they can
make predictions. I will give them 30 seconds to discuss. I will post an anchor chart for Making
Predictions
• I will ask the students to raise their hand to give me an example of where they can
find clues to make predictions. I will pick examples from students until I get the I will provide a translation of challenging
desired answers: text and illustrative clues from the text and their background words as necessary to my ELL student
knowledge or schema. I will also quickly review the Making Predictions anchor
chart.

• If students struggle to come up with the response about using their background
knowledge, I will remind them about the game that we played at the beginning of
the first lesson. I will ask them what they used when they made the prediction about
going outside to play soccer.

• Refer to the schema anchor chart and Making Predictions anchor chart for
reference.
 • I will tell the students that we will be doing some more exercises on making
predictions but today we will be working together in pairs and small groups.

Instructional Procedures
I will provide the student with visual
• I will ask two students to distribute the Matching Predictions worksheet. While the impairment large font printouts of the
sheets are being handed out, I will post the Matching Predictions worksheet on the “Matching Predictions” sheet.
smart board.
I will pair the ELL student with another
• At this point I will organize the pairings of students, adjusting for accommodations student in the class that also speaks the
stated in the right column of this section native tongue of the ELL student.

• I will then explain the instructions for the worksheet. I will provide check in with the ELL
student to repeat instructions as
• I will ask for a student to show me the left side/column of the sheet. I will then point necessary and check for understanding.
to the screen to confirm for the rest of the class, the left side/column of the
worksheet. After confirming the left side/column of the sheet, I will state that the I will provide a T chart graphic organizer
left-hand column outlines a situation that has happened, and I will ask for a student for the students to reorganize the
to read it out loud. I will then reread the situation to confirm. situations and events from the Making
Predictions sheet
• I will then point to the right column and explain that the right column lists a set of
events that we can choose from to match with the situation from the left column. I
will ask for a student to read out the first statement on the right column. I will
restate the first statement.

• Next, I will ask reread the first situation at the top of the left column saying “ok,
Martin was feeling bad about his grade on the math test, now”, pointing to the first
statement on the right column, “one possible prediction could be that Joelle offered
to help Martin study for the next math test”. I will ask the class to show me thumbs
up/thumbs down whether this prediction makes sense. With the following question,
I am looking for evidence statements, either textual clues or clues from their
schema. I will ask one of the students who showed a thumbs up, “what was it about
 either statement that made you agree that the prediction made sense”? I will restate
their response for the class so that everyone can hear. I will ask if there is anyone
who disagrees that the prediction makes sense. If so, I will ask them why it did not
make sense. Depending on the responses from the students, I will ask for reference
to textual clues from the situation on the left column as well as referring to their
schema about how they might feel if they had received a bad grade on a test. Then I
will ask for textual or background knowledge clues regarding the prediction on the
right-hand column as a way to reflect on whether that pairing made sense.

• I will then explain that the students will be cutting out the cards to manipulate them
while determining a match.

• The students will sort the cards into a T-chart with columns labeled "Situation" and
"Prediction- What will happen next?"

• I will have two students hand out the T-charts

• I will check in with IEP students to confirm instructions and ask if there are any
questions.

• The students will complete this exercise in pairs. I will post the T chart on the smart
board.

• When they are finished the pair work, I will have students review their work
together in four groups of four and one group of six. Encourage students to share
why they selected their predictions.

• I will provide the following sentence stems for group discussions: “I think this is the
correct prediction because____”. “This situation matches this prediction because
____”.

• I will take up as a class, giving each group a chance to identify a matched pair. I will
ask the group representative to explain their pair using the sentence stem format. I
will provide classmates the opportunity to agree or disagree using thumbs
up/down.

• As each group identifies their matched pair and obtains agreement from the class, I
will use the smart board to match the situations and events.
Closure

I will summarize what the students learned today, saying “So to review what we’ve talked
about today, we used our schema and text clues from the situations to match the
predictions.
I will quickly review a couple of the matched pairs from the T charts that they worked in
groups, highlighting schematic and textual evidence.
I will say to students, “Tomorrow, we making more predictions using our reading books”.

List all materials and/or technology tools required for the lesson.
Key instructional materials must be attached. These materials might include such items as class handouts, assignments, slides, and
interactive white-board images.

Matching Predictions worksheet found here: https://www.education.com/lesson-plan/making-predictions-lesson/

Schema anchor chart, such as one found here - https://theanimatedteacher.com/2019/04/03/anchor-charts-powerful-learning-tools/
Making Predictions anchor chart, such as this one: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/529173024940750241/
T-Chart with the title: Matching Predictions with one column titled, “Situation” and the other, "Prediction- What will happen next?"
 Medaille College Department of Education
Lesson Plan

Teacher Candidate’s Name: Christopher Curry Date: March 30, 2020

Context for Learning (edTPA)

Where is the school where you are teaching located? City: _______ Suburb: ____x___ Town:_______ Rural: ______

Grade level: ___3_____ Number of students in the class: __22______

Students with IEPs/504 Plans

Complete the charts below to summarize required or needed supports, accommodations, or modifications for your students that will affect
your instruction in this learning segment.
IEPs/504 Plans: Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications,
Classifications/Needs Students Pertinent IEP Goals
Visual Impairment 1 • Seat the student near to the screen
• Provide large font examples that will be projected
onto the screen

Students with Specific Language Needs

Language Needs Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications
Students
English Language Learner 1 • Translator dictionary
• Pair student with another student that speaks the
same native language
• Clarify vocabulary and language concepts in first
language when possible

Students with Other Learning Needs

Other Learning Needs Numbers of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications
Students
 Lesson __2____ of a __3____ Day Learning Segment

Subject and Lesson Topic:

Grade Level: 3rd Lesson Duration: 30 minutes

Central Focus of the Learning Segment

The central focus is an understanding that you want your students to develop. It is a description of the important identifiable theme, essential question, or
topic within the curriculum that is the purpose of the instruction of the learning segment (Making Good Choices, 2016).

The central focus of this learning segment is for students to make predictions using their schema and text evidence as
support.

Knowing Your Learners

Using Prior Knowledge
What do you know about your students’ prior academic learning as it relates to the central focus? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 2a)

Last year in grade 2, my students covered the standard, NY.NGLS.2R1 so they are familiar with using textual examples to
answer questions. I also know that they read the picture book, Duck on a Bike to learn about making predictions in fictional
text using illustrative and textual clues. In addition, last class we discussed making predictions from using their schema and
by using clues from narrative text.
How will you use this knowledge to inform your instruction? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 3a)

Because I know that the students are becoming more familiar with using their schema and textual clues to make predictions,
I will seek to extend their understanding by having them match a series of situations and predicted events.

Using Student Assets

What do you know about your students’ personal, cultural, and/or community assets as they relate to the central focus? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1,
Prompt 2b)
The students in my class are very active and like to play group sporting activities during gym and at recess, including soccer
and gaga ball. This group of students also likes to explore the nearby forest and we often use the surrounding areas to go on
scavenger hunts that lead to talking about ecosystems and food webs.
How will you use this knowledge to inform your instruction? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 3a)

Because I know the students enjoy playing sporting games together, I will refer to the making predictions game we played
during the anticipatory set from last class as a way to engage their schema.

Curriculum Standards
NY.NGLS.3R1: Develop and answer questions to locate relevant and specific details in a text to support an answer or
inference.

Ontario Curriculum Standards ELA:

Grade 3 - 1.3 identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before, during, and after
reading to understand texts (e.g., activate prior knowledge through brainstorming and/or developing mind maps; ask
questions to focus reading and clarify understanding; use visualization to clarify details about such things as homes
and clothing of early settlers; use pictures to confirm
understanding of printed text).

Objectives Assessment Modifications to Assessments

Using Bloom’s Taxonomy, include statements that Using formal and/or informal assessment tools, If applicable, explain how you will adapt
identify what students will be able to do by the how will you evaluate and document your assessments to allow students with specific
end of the lesson and are aligned to the standards students’ progress on each of the objectives? needs to demonstrate their learning.
identified above. (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 5b)
Students will identify sources • During the anticipatory set I will • Prior to the lesson, I will preview
information useful in making ask students to identify where the vocabulary necessary for the
predictions. they can find clues to make lesson with my English Language
predictions. Learner so that they fully
understand the concepts before
the lesson.

Students will use textual clues as well as • During the lesson students will
their schema to match situations with use textual evidence(clues) or
predictions from the Matching ideas from their schema, to match
Predictions worksheet. situations and event predictions
and organize them on a T chart.
Students will utilize the sentence stems During this time, I will walk
to provide structure to their responses around the room to listen in and
record if each student has been
able to identify textual clues to
match with relevant predictions.
• When the work in groups, using
sentence stems to identify
evidence for how they matched
the situations and predicted
events, I will walk around the
room to record which students
seem to be struggling with making
the connections.
• Representatives from each group
will identify a matched pairing of
situation and predicted event and
using the sentence stems, will
identify evidence for how they
matched the pairs. I will note
groups that were successful as
well as those that struggled.

Academic Language Demands Instructional Supports

(edTPA Task 1, Prompt 4c) Strategies teachers provide to help learners understand, use, and
practice the concepts (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 4d)
Function Predict I will support my students to use the language function
Looking at your standards and through thinking aloud about what I have noticed in the
objectives, choose the one Bloom’s text of the first example on the left side of the Matching
word that best describes the active
learning essential for students to
Predictions worksheet. I will also use open ended
develop understanding of concepts questions, such as “Does anyone have any ideas about
within your lesson. what might happen next in this situation?”, “How do you
know?”, and “What makes you think that?” to elicit
predictions from students in the example scenarios.
 I will support my students by encouraging the students to
utilize the sentence stems to identify which textual clues
they identified in the worksheets in order to make their
predictions.

Vocabulary
Key words and phrases students need to situation I will support my students to understand vocabulary by
be able to understand and use schema discussing the meaning and definition of each word, using
clues examples to elaborate. I will post this information on an
event anchor chart as a visual for the students.

Syntax
Describe ways in which students will My students will utilize the T I will support my students by providing them with the
organize language (symbols, words, chart provided to match the sentence stems, “I think this is the correct prediction
phrases) to convey meaning.
situation and predictions because____” and “This situation matches this prediction
My students will justify their because ____”.
matched pairs using verbiage
from the sentence stems
provided.

Discourse
How members of a discipline talk, write, My students will verbalize I will support my students by modelling possible
and participate in knowledge their ideas and thoughts predictions and identifying textual clues. Students will
construction and communicate their
understanding of the concepts
about their predictions and orally participate in a Think/Pair/Share with a partner.
textual details of the Students will also provide verbal responses to questions
worksheet scenarios to their posed by the teacher.
partner and group members
during the Matching
Predictions work.

Instructional Process Accommodations and/or

Modifications and/or Supports
Anticipatory Set/Motivator
I will post the Schema anchor chart
• While the students are sitting at their desks, I will tell the students we are and point to the anchor chart when I
going to be doing some more work on predictions. To get them prepared, I introduce the anticipatory set.
will ask them to turn and talk to their elbow partner about where they can
find clues so that they can make predictions. I will give them 30 seconds to I will post an anchor chart for Making
discuss. Predictions

• I will ask the students to raise their hand to give me an example of where I will provide a translation of
they can find clues to make predictions. I will pick examples from students challenging words as necessary to my
until I get the desired answers: text and illustrative clues from the text and ELL student
their background knowledge or schema. I will also quickly review the Making
Predictions anchor chart.

• If students struggle to come up with the response about using their

background knowledge, I will remind them about the game that we played at
the beginning of the first lesson. I will ask them what they used when they
made the prediction about going outside to play soccer.

• Refer to the schema anchor chart and Making Predictions anchor chart for
reference.

• I will tell the students that we will be doing some more exercises on making
predictions but today we will be working together in pairs and small groups.

Instructional Procedures
I will provide the student with visual
• I will ask two students to distribute the Matching Predictions worksheet. impairment large font printouts of
While the sheets are being handed out, I will post the Matching Predictions the “Matching Predictions” sheet.
worksheet on the smart board.
I will pair the ELL student with
• At this point I will organize the pairings of students, adjusting for another student in the class that also
accommodations stated in the right column of this section speaks the native tongue of the ELL
student.
• I will then explain the instructions for the worksheet.
I will provide check in with the ELL
student to repeat instructions as
• I will ask for a student to show me the left side/column of the sheet. I will necessary and check for
then point to the screen to confirm for the rest of the class, the left understanding.
side/column of the worksheet. After confirming the left side/column of the
sheet, I will state that the left-hand column outlines a situation that has I will provide a T chart graphic
happened, and I will ask for a student to read it out loud. I will then reread organizer for the students to
the situation to confirm. reorganize the situations and events
from the Making Predictions sheet
• I will then point to the right column and explain that the right column lists a
set of events that we can choose from to match with the situation from the
left column. I will ask for a student to read out the first statement on the right
column. I will restate the first statement.

• Next, I will ask reread the first situation at the top of the left column saying
“ok, Martin was feeling bad about his grade on the math test, now”, pointing
to the first statement on the right column, “one possible prediction could be
that Joelle offered to help Martin study for the next math test”. I will ask the
class to show me thumbs up/thumbs down whether this prediction makes
sense. With the following question, I am looking for evidence statements,
either textual clues or clues from their schema. I will ask one of the students
who showed a thumbs up, “what was it about either statement that made you
agree that the prediction made sense”? I will restate their response for the
class so that everyone can hear. I will ask if there is anyone who disagrees
that the prediction makes sense. If so, I will ask them why it did not make
sense. Depending on the responses from the students, I will ask for reference
to textual clues from the situation on the left column as well as referring to
their schema about how they might feel if they had received a bad grade on a
test. Then I will ask for textual or background knowledge clues regarding the
prediction on the right-hand column as a way to reflect on whether that
pairing made sense.

• I will then explain that the students will be cutting out the cards to
manipulate them while determining a match.

• The students will sort the cards into a T-chart with columns labeled
"Situation" and "Prediction- What will happen next?"

• I will have two students hand out the T-charts

 • I will check in with IEP students to confirm instructions and ask if there are
any questions.

• The students will complete this exercise in pairs. I will post the T chart on the
smart board.

• When they are finished the pair work, I will have students review their work
together in four groups of four and one group of six. Encourage students to
share why they selected their predictions.

• I will provide the following sentence stems for group discussions: “I think
this is the correct prediction because____”. “This situation matches this
prediction because ____”.

• I will take up as a class, giving each group a chance to identify a matched pair.
I will ask the group representative to explain their pair using the sentence
stem format. I will provide classmates the opportunity to agree or disagree
using thumbs up/down.

• As each group identifies their matched pair and obtains agreement from the
class, I will use the smart board to match the situations and events.

Closure

I will summarize what the students learned today, saying “So to review what we’ve
talked about today, we used our schema and text clues from the situations to match
the predictions.
I will quickly review a couple of the matched pairs from the T charts that they
worked in groups, highlighting schematic and textual evidence.
I will say to students, “Tomorrow, we making more predictions using our reading
books”.
List all materials and/or technology tools required for the lesson.
Key instructional materials must be attached. These materials might include such items as class handouts, assignments, slides,
and interactive white-board images.

Matching Predictions worksheet found here: https://www.education.com/lesson-plan/making-predictions-lesson/

Schema anchor chart, such as one found here - https://theanimatedteacher.com/2019/04/03/anchor-charts-powerful-learning-
tools/
Making Predictions anchor chart, such as this one: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/529173024940750241/
T-Chart with the title: Matching Predictions with one column titled, “Situation” and the other, "Prediction- What will happen
next?"
 Medaille College Department of Education
Lesson Plan

Teacher Candidate’s Name: Christopher Curry Date:

April 22, 2020

Context for Learning (edTPA)

Where is the school where you are teaching located? City: _______ Suburb: ____x___ Town:_______ Rural: ______

Grade level: ___3_____ Number of students in the class: __22______

Students with IEPs/504 Plans

Complete the charts below to summarize required or needed supports, accommodations, or modifications for your students that will affect
your instruction in this learning segment.
IEPs/504 Plans: Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications,
Classifications/Needs Students Pertinent IEP Goals
Visual Impairment 1 • Seat the student near to the screen
• Provide large font examples that will be projected
onto the screen

Students with Specific Language Needs

Language Needs Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications
Students
English Language Learner 1 • Translator dictionary
• Pair student with another student that speaks the
same native language
• Clarify vocabulary and language concepts in first
language when possible
 Students with Other Learning Needs
Other Learning Needs Numbers of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications
Students

Lesson __3____ of a __3____ Day Learning Segment

Subject and Lesson Topic:

Grade Level: 3rd Lesson Duration: 20 minutes

Central Focus of the Learning Segment

The central focus is an understanding that you want your students to develop. It is a description of the important identifiable theme, essential question, or
topic within the curriculum that is the purpose of the instruction of the learning segment (Making Good Choices, 2016).

The central focus of this learning segment is for students to make predictions using their schema and text evidence as
support.

Knowing Your Learners

Using Prior Knowledge
What do you know about your students’ prior academic learning as it relates to the central focus? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 2a)

Last year in grade 2, my students covered the standard, NY.NGLS.2R1 so they are familiar with using textual examples to
answer questions. I also know that they read the picture book, Duck on a Bike to learn about making predictions in fictional
text using illustrative and textual clues. We have had two lessons where the students have explored using their schema and
textual clues to make predictions in non-fictional situations.
How will you use this knowledge to inform your instruction? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 3a)

In the two previous lessons on making predictions, the students learned from instruction, guided practice well as
performing pair and group activities that focused on making predictions. Because the students have had these experiences, I
will provide them with an opportunity to use what they have learned and use their schema and textual clues to make
predictions independently.

Using Student Assets

What do you know about your students’ personal, cultural, and/or community assets as they relate to the central focus? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1,
Prompt 2b)

The students in my class are very active and like to play group sporting activities during gym and at recess, including soccer
and gaga ball. This group of students also likes to explore the nearby forest and we often use the surrounding areas to go on
scavenger hunts that lead to talking about ecosystems and food webs.
How will you use this knowledge to inform your instruction? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 3a)

Because I know the students enjoy exploring the forest areas and talking about trees, I will start the anticipatory set by
reminding the students about lesson one where we talked about predictions we can make for changes we will see in the fall.
In addition, I will remind them about to the making predictions game we played during the anticipatory set from the first
lesson to engage their schema.

Curriculum Standards
NY.NGLS.3R1: Develop and answer questions to locate relevant and specific details in a text to support an answer or
inference.

Ontario Curriculum Standards ELA:

Grade 3 - 1.3 identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before, during, and after
reading to understand texts (e.g., activate prior knowledge through brainstorming and/or developing mind maps; ask
questions to focus reading and clarify understanding; use visualization to clarify details about such things as homes
and clothing of early settlers; use pictures to confirm
understanding of printed text).
Objectives Assessment Modifications to Assessments
Using Bloom’s Taxonomy, include statements that Using formal and/or informal assessment tools, If applicable, explain how you will adapt
identify what students will be able to do by the how will you evaluate and document your assessments to allow students with specific
end of the lesson and are aligned to the standards students’ progress on each of the objectives? needs to demonstrate their learning.
identified above. (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 5b)
Students will use textual clues as well as • At the beginning of the lesson I • Prior to the lesson, I will preview
their schema to make predictions and will ask students about their the vocabulary necessary for the
answer the questions from the Making predictions for what will happen lesson with my English Language
Predictions #2 worksheet. next in the first example. I will Learner so that they fully
also ask for textual understand the concepts before
evidence(clues) or ideas from the lesson.
their schema, that support their • The ELL student, as those students
prediction. that struggle with the written
• I will assess the ability of students component of the worksheet, will
to use their schema and textual be allowed to provide oral
clues to make predictions and responses to the worksheet
provide evidence in the questions
completion of the Making • The ELL student, as well as
Predictions #2 worksheet. struggling students, will be
allowed to complete a reduced
number of questions from the
Making Predictions #2 Worksheet

Academic Language Demands Instructional Supports

(edTPA Task 1, Prompt 4c) Strategies teachers provide to help learners understand, use, and
practice the concepts (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 4d)
Function Predict I will support my students to use the language function
Looking at your standards and through reviewing the procedures we use to make
objectives, choose the one Bloom’s predictions by going over the processes in the Making
word that best describes the active
learning essential for students to Predictions anchor chart. I will also solicit student
develop understanding of concepts responses when we review the worksheet example from
within your lesson.
lesson one. I will ask questions such as “Does anyone
have any ideas about what might happen next in this
situation?”, “How do you know?”, and “What makes you
think that?” to elicit predictions from students in the
example situation.
I will allow students to provide either written or oral
responses in the worksheet for the lesson.

Vocabulary
Key words and phrases students need to prediction I will support my students to understand vocabulary by
be able to understand and use schema reviewing the meaning and definition of each word, using
clues examples to elaborate. I will post this information on an
anchor chart as a visual for the students.

Syntax
Describe ways in which students will My students will state their I will support my students by providing them with the
organize language (symbols, words, prediction followed by the sentence starter, “I predict that ____________________” and by
phrases) to convey meaning.
evidence. modelling a response to the example scenario from the
worksheet from lesson one.
Discourse
How members of a discipline talk, write, My students will verbalize I will support my students by modelling possible
and participate in knowledge their ideas and thoughts predictions and identifying textual clues. Students will
construction and communicate their
understanding of the concepts
about their predictions and orally participate in a Think/Pair/Share with a partner.
textual details of the Students will also provide verbal responses to questions
worksheet scenarios to their posed by the teacher.
partner and the class during
the Think/Pair/Share.
Instructional Process Accommodations and/or
Modifications and/or Supports
Anticipatory Set/Motivator
I will post the Schema anchor chart
• While the students are sitting at their desks, I will tell the students we are and point to the anchor chart when I
going to be doing some more work on predictions. To get them prepared, I introduce the anticipatory set.
will ask them to turn and talk to their elbow partner about where they can
find clues so that they can make predictions. I will give them 30 seconds to I will post an anchor chart for Making
discuss. Predictions

• I will ask the students to raise their hand to give me an example of where I will provide a translation of
they can find clues to make predictions. I will pick examples from students challenging words as necessary to my
until I get the desired answers: text and illustrative clues from the text and ELL student
their background knowledge or schema. I will also quickly review the Making
Predictions anchor chart.

• If students struggle to come up with the response about using their

background knowledge, I will remind them about the game that we played at
the beginning of the first lesson. I will ask them what they used when they
made the prediction about going outside to play soccer.

• I will also remind them about the lesson one where we talked about weather
changes in the fall and ask for examples of predictions that we can make.

• Refer to the schema anchor chart and Making Predictions anchor chart for
reference.

• I will tell the students that we will be doing an exercise about making predictions like we did
in the first lesson, but today they will be working on their own.

Instructional Procedures
I will provide the student with visual
• I will remind the students about how in the first lesson, we talked about impairment large printouts of each
making predictions using clues from our schema as well as clues from text. scenario for the “Making Predictions
#2” worksheet.
• I will also remind them that by thinking about the clues they read and
thinking about what will come next, will help them understand the story and I will sit the ELL student with another
get more enjoyment out of reading. student in the class that also speaks
the native tongue of the ELL student.
• Using a smart board, I will project the first example of the worksheet, Making
Predictions (that we completed in lesson 1) onto the screen at the front of the I will provide check in with the ELL
class. I will ask the students to turn and talk to their neighbour and come up student to repeat instructions as
with a prediction as well as evidence to support the prediction. necessary and check for
understanding.
• Next, I will explain that we will be completing a new worksheet with
examples that are very similar to the one on the smart board, the ones we As stated in the Modification to
completed during lesson one. I will state that the students will be completing Assessment section, ELL student as
the questions on their own, providing a prediction as well as evidence to those students that struggle with the
support it. At this time, I will again review the example on the smart board as written component of the worksheet
well as the prediction made, and the evidence provided. will be allowed to provide oral
responses to the worksheet
• I will have 2 students hand out the new worksheet. While they are handing questions.
out the sheets, I will explain that some students will be providing the Also, ELL student as well as
answers orally and I will designate a space in the classroom for this to struggling students will be allowed to
happen. complete a reduced number of
questions from the Making
• I will check in with the ELL student as well the struggling learners to advise Predictions #2 Worksheet.
them of the opportunity to provide their answers orally as well as to inform
them that they will only be required to complete a “reduced number” of the
questions.

• After I check in with the ELL student and the identified struggling learners, I
will ask if anyone else would like to provide their responses orally as well. I
will make that allowance on a case-by-case basis.
Closure

To close, I will summarize the work that the students completed today, saying “so to
review what we’ve worked on today, we used what we have learned about making
predictions based on our schema and textual evidence”.
I will ask, “where can we get clues to make predictions again?”
I will collect the completed worksheets for assessment.
I will congratulate the class on doing excellent work.
I will say to students, “Tomorrow, we will be starting a new unit on hamburgers”.

List all materials and/or technology tools required for the lesson.
Key instructional materials must be attached. These materials might include such items as class handouts, assignments, slides,
and interactive white-board images.

Learning to Make Predictions worksheet based on the worksheet found here: https://www.education.com/lesson-plan/making-
predictions-lesson/
Schema anchor chart, such as one found here - https://theanimatedteacher.com/2019/04/03/anchor-charts-powerful-learning-
tools/
Making Predictions anchor chart, such as this one: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/529173024940750241/
Making Predictions #2 worksheet, below:
[Back to Table of Contents]
 Artifact Five: Individualized Education Program (IEP) Analysis

Including this artifact in my portfolio provided me with an opportunity to highlight my

previous experience working with IEP’s and my ability to make fluent connections to relevant

accommodations regarding classroom environment, academic and social needs as well. As a

parent of a teenager diagnosed high-functioning autism and ADHD, I have been involved with

advocating for testing, supports and I have contributed to building effective IEP’s for the last

eleven years. I have a strong appreciation for educators that educate themselves about the

challenges their students are experiencing and utilize the IEP effectively and as a living

document, facilitating constructive conversations with the student’s family and experts within the

school board. This artifact demonstrates my ability to synthesize the current IEP for a student

and identify areas where the IEP needs to be reworked in order to appropriately support learning

opportunities and the assessment of the student.

The relevant professional standards for this artifact are: InTASC Standard #2, 3, 4, 5, 6,

7, 8, 9, 10 and #1: Learner Development: The teacher understands how learners grow and

develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and

across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and

implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences; NYS Code of

Ethics for Educators, Principles #2, 3, 4, 5 and #1: Educators nurture the intellectual, physical,

emotional, social, and civic potential of each student; DOE Claims & CAEP Standards Claims 1,

2 and 3: Medaille College graduates are caring educators; International Society for Technology

Education for Teachers and Students (ISTE) standards 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 and 5a: Educators use

technology to create, adapt and personalize learning experiences that foster independent learning

and accommodate learner differences and needs; International Literacy Association (ILA)
Standards #2, 3, 4, 5 and 6: Professional Learning and Leadership: Candidates recognize the

importance of, participate in, and facilitate ongoing professional learning as part of career-long

leadership roles and responsibilities; Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Standards 1, 2, 3,

4, 5, 6 and 7: Initial Preparation Standard 7: Collaboration; The Ontario Ethical Teacher

Standards Respect, Trust, Integrity and Care - The ethical standard of Care includes compassion,

acceptance, interest and insight for developing students' potential. Members express their

commitment to students' well-being and learning through positive influence, professional

judgement and empathy in practice.

ESP 600: IEP Analysis: Cai Davis

Christopher Curry
Student Introduction:

Reviewing the Individualized Education Plan(IEP) for Cai Davis provided me with an excellent

learning opportunity. This document included a holistic view for understanding the educational

experience for a student and their interactions with the support systems available to them. Cai Davis is

noted as being an eight-year-old, Grade Three student in New York state. He is classified as having a

learning disability and the teacher has appropriately provided a lot of background information based on

her observations in the classroom as well as his scoring on State exams. This analysis will review his

current strengths, challenges and supports in place as well and may suggest recommendations to

further support the student.

Cai’s Strengths:

Cai is noted to be strong in reading, math and in his socialization with other students. The

document notes that he enjoys reading and discussing stories in the classroom with his teacher and

classmates. His comprehension of the materials is scored as being at 95% accuracy. Cai is also noted as

being very proficient at mathematics, as he scored very high, 380 (range of scale score 137-397) on a

recent math assessment. Cai is also noted for his positive behaviour, positive relationships with

classmates, teachers and his family and for his consistent attention to his schoolwork. He has

demonstrated strong abilities to help out other students and performs well in small and large group

activities. Cai is described as being healthy and performing at grade level for physical expections and it is

noted that he is on the school soccer teams and participates appropriately in physical education class.

Cai’s Challenges:

The primary issue that Cai struggles with is his writing. It is noted as being below grade level and

to quantify that, he scored below grade level on 3 separate tests from the CORE Assessing Reading
Multiple measures for K-8 (CORE). The delays are noted for spelling, phonemic, orthographic and

morphological awareness.

Review of Current Classroom Programs/Modifications/Accommodations:

The current modifications, accommodations and programs that have been put in place do align

with the student’s needs, however, there are areas where additional resources should be considered.

He has been provided an electronic speller to use as needed and especially for his writing assignments.

Cai is in his regular class and that has been encouraged as it is the least disruptive environment. Cai is

also receiving daily spelling and writing instruction to assist him with his independent assignments and

group work. The recommendations noted in the IEP for Cai to receive integrated co-teaching services for

ELA, Social Studies, Math and Science periods are appropriate. Additionally, it is recommended that Cai

receive support with his teacher, checking in with him to make sure he understands what is being asked

of him and highlighting misspelled words.

Absent from his IEP are any testing accommodations. I find this to be highly inappropriate, given his

moderate learning disability and noted challenges with spelling and producing written work. This

student will certainly have a difficult time producing coherent and correctly spelled written responses to

questions on a test. If he were to be graded using the same rubric that his classmates would be, without

an accommodation, this would certainly put him at a disadvantage. His graded responses would only

lead to highlight his disability instead of more accurately reflecting his comprehension, analysis and

ability to interact with the content being tested. In addition, in situations where the teacher is more

concerned with Cai’s comprehension, he should be provided with the electronic speller as well as

increased amounts of time to complete the test. Another possibility would be for oral dictation to be

used instead of written responses.

Review of Goals:
 The IEP notes measurable goals for reading and writing with the timeframe to achieve these

goals noted as being five weeks. The goal for reading is that Cai would correctly decode 10 words from

reading narratives or specific informational text from Cai's content area subjects on the Third grade

level, 90% of the time, 4 out of 5 trials over the 5 weeks. Cai’s first goal for writing is that he would spell

90% of 10 words selected by the teacher from his reading literature and content area subjects, upon

request. His second writing goal is that he would spell 90% of 10 words selected by the teacher from his

reading literature and content area subjects, correctly in written assignments. The third writing goal is

that Cai will use the writing processes of revising and editing to strengthen writing utilizing a writing

rubric to evaluate and quantify the revision and editing process when he has been given a writing

assignment, 90% of the time. These goals appear reasonable, and with the additional support that he

will be receiving, reflect consideration to make sure Cai is being led to perform just outside of his ability

but with support, as per Vygotsky’s theory of the zone of proximal development.

Review of Educational Strategies:

The strategies of identifying the specific challenges Cai has with his academic performance and

breaking them down into smaller, measurable goals, is appropriate for supporting this student’s

academic performance. There were no behavioural concerns noted, so the absence of strategies

provided to assist in those areas is also appropriate.

Reflection:

My goal for this IEP analysis was to review the IEP, learn from the teaching and goal-setting

strategies noted by the contributors and identify areas of enhancement to both support the learning

opportunities for the student and the strategies being utilized by the teacher for assessing Cai’s skills.

Cai’s IEP identified a number of teaching strategies to assist him: providing check-in’s to confirm

understanding, providing co-teaching resources to assist with spelling during relevant teaching periods
and providing the service of the electronic speller when necessary. The suggestions I have made

regarding accommodations during testing periods should be considered as I believe they will ensure that

the assessments for higher-order thinking will more accurately assess his skills and not his spelling

ability.

[Back to Table of Contents]

 Artifact Six: Weebly Teacher Website

This artifact highlights my skill in adapting technological tools for educational purposes.

The website will be used as a resource for the classroom, students’ families and as an

organizational tool for me as an educator. I will use this website as an extension of my inquiry-

based learning and it will be customized for learners of varying levels of aptitude and learning

styles. The site will provide links, tools and resources that students can refer to in the classroom

and for asynchronous learning on their own. Additional supports will also be hosted, complete

with reference materials, worksheets, images from anchor charts and other in-class materials.

Students will be encouraged to contribute resources that they are interested in and find on their

own that could be of interest for the rest of the class. The website will also serve as a connection

point for families. They will be welcome to follow along with what their children are learning

and stay abreast of assignment due dates.

The respective standards that align with this artifact are: InTASC Standards #1, 2 3, 7, 8

and 10: Leadership and Collaboration. The teacher seeks appropriate leadership roles and

opportunities to take responsibility for student learning, to collaborate with learners, families,

colleagues, other school professionals, and community members to ensure learner growth, and to

advance the profession; New York State Code of Ethics for Educators Principles 4, 5 and 2:

Educators create, support, and maintain challenging learning environments for all; DOE Claims

1, 3 and 2: Medaille College graduates meet the needs of diverse learners through effective

pedagogy and best teaching practices; CAEP Standards 1.1, 1.3 & 1.4; International Society for

Technology Education for Teachers and Students (ITSE) Standards 2, 3, 6 and 5b Design

authentic learning activities that align with content area standards and use digital tools and

resources to maximize active, deep learning; International Literacy Association (ILA)

Standards #2 and 5 Learners and the Literacy Environment; Council for Exceptional Children

(CEC) Initial Preparation Standards #2, 5 and 1: Learner Development and Individual Learning

Differences; and the Ontario Ethical Teacher Standards Care - The ethical standard of Care

includes compassion, acceptance, interest and insight for developing students' potential.

Members express their commitment to students' well-being and learning through positive

influence, professional judgement and empathy in practice.

https://ccurryteach.weebly.com/portfolio.html

[Back to Table of Contents]

 Artifact Seven: Math Lesson Plan

This artifact will provide a strong example of my content and pedagogical skill in the

area of mathematics. Due to the current environment requiring a purely online environment, this

lesson will illustrate how an educator can engage effectively with students in a remote situation.

This artifact will demonstrate my strong preparation, organizational and technological skills. I

will also demonstrate my creative capacity in order to make the lesson fun and engaging.

This artifact will connect to the following professional standards: InTASC Standards #3,

4, 7, 8 and 1: Learner Development. The teacher understands how learners grow and develop,

recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the

cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements

developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences; New York State Code of

Ethics for Educators Principles #1, 3 and 2: Educators create, support, and maintain challenging

learning environments for all; DOE Claims 1, 3 and 2: Medaille College graduates meet the

needs of diverse learners through effective pedagogy and best teaching practices; International

Society for Technology Education for Teachers and Students (ITSE) Standards #3, 6 and 5b

Design authentic learning activities that align with content area standards and use digital tools

and resources to maximize active, deep learning; International Literacy Association (ILA)

Standard #5 Learners and the Literacy Environment; Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)

Initial Preparation Standards #2, 3, 4, 5 and 1: Learner Development and Individual Learning

Differences; and the Ontario Ethical Teacher Standards Care - The ethical standard of Care

includes compassion, acceptance, interest and insight for developing students' potential.

Members express their commitment to students' well-being and learning through positive

influence, professional judgement and empathy in practice.

 Medaille College Department of Education
Lesson Plan

Teacher Candidate’s Name: Christopher Curry Date: July 7, 2020

Context for Learning (edTPA)

Where is the school where you are teaching located? City: _______ Suburb: ____x___ Town:_______ Rural: ______

Grade level: ___2_____ Number of students in the class: __22______

Students with IEPs/504 Plans

Complete the charts below to summarize required or needed supports, accommodations, or modifications for your students that will affect your
instruction in this learning segment.
IEPs/504 Plans: Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications, Pertinent
Classifications/Needs Students IEP Goals
Visual Impairment 1 • Seat the student near to the screen
• Provide large font examples that will be projected onto the
screen or on a sheet that they can have at their desk

Students with Specific Language Needs

Language Needs Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications
Students
English Language Learner 1 • Translator dictionary
• Pair student with another student that speaks the same
native language
• Clarify vocabulary and language concepts in first language
when possible
• Provide vocabulary cards
 Students with Other Learning Needs
Other Learning Needs Numbers of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications
Students

Lesson __1____ of a __3____ Day Learning Segment

Subject and Lesson Topic:

Grade Level: 2nd Lesson Duration: 20 minutes

Central Focus of the Learning Segment

The central focus is an understanding that you want your students to develop. It is a description of the important identifiable theme, essential question, or topic within
the curriculum that is the purpose of the instruction of the learning segment (Making Good Choices, 2016).

• The central focus of this learning segment is for students to be able to make a bar graph to represent data.

Knowing Your Learners

Using Prior Knowledge
What do you know about your students’ prior academic learning as it relates to the central focus? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 2a)

Last year in grade 1, my students covered the standard, CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.MD.RI.4, so they are familiar with organizing, representing, and
interpret data with up to three categories. They learned about asking and answering questions about the total number of data points, how many in
each category, and how many more or less are in one category than in another. The students are also interested in nature and we recently had a unit
on animal habitats. We have recently talked about food that we like to eat in our science unit.

How will you use this knowledge to inform your instruction? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 3a)
Because I know that the students are familiar with organizing data points and recognizing “more than” and “less than” comparisons, I will seek to
extend their knowledge and skill to creating visual representations in terms of a bar graph. Because I know the students love to talk about eating
their favourite foods, I will refer to favourite food types during the anticipatory set. Because I know the students enjoy talking about animals, I will
make a connection to animals for doing a “Nature Hike” activity.

Using Student Assets

What do you know about your students’ personal, cultural, and/or community assets as they relate to the central focus? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 2b)

The students in my class are very active and like to ask each other questions. I regularly have them survey each other to get to know more about
each other and find common interests for lesson and activity development. The students particularly enjoy doing these surveys accompanied by
music on “Funky Fridays”.

How will you use this knowledge to inform your instruction? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 3a)

Because I know the students enjoy performing surveys with each other I know that they will be comfortable speaking up and providing their
opinions.

Curriculum Standards
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.MD.D.10: Draw a picture graph and a bar graph (with single-unit scale) to represent a data set with up to four categories.
Solve simple put-together, take-apart, and compare problems using information presented in a bar graph

Ontario Curriculum Standards: Math D1.3: display sets of data, using one-to-one correspondence, in concrete graphs, pictographs, line plots, and bar
graphs with proper sources, titles, and labels
Objectives Assessment Modifications to Assessments
Using Bloom’s Taxonomy, include statements that Using formal and/or informal assessment tools, how If applicable, explain how you will adapt
identify what students will be able to do by the end of will you evaluate and document your students’ assessments to allow students with specific needs to
the lesson and are aligned to the standards identified progress on each of the objectives? demonstrate their learning.
above. (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 5b)
Students will be able to identify why we write • During the anticipatory set I will ask the • Prior to the lesson, I will preview the
down polling information for data management. students what we can do so that we can vocabulary necessary for the lesson with
remember the information from my English Language Learner so that they
Students will be able to identify key elements of a polls/surveys fully understand the concepts before the
bar graph • During the closure process I will ask lesson.
students to turn and talk and provide
 answers to the key elements of a bar
graph
Students will be able to use textual clues as well • During the lesson I will ask students
as their schema to make predictions and answer about their predictions for what will
the questions from the Learning to Make happen next in the examples. I will also
Predictions worksheet. ask for textual evidence(clues) or ideas
from their schema, that support their
prediction.
• When the students turn and talk to their
partners, discussing what they think will
happen next in the worksheet questions,
I will walk around the room to listen in
and record if each student has been able
to identify textual clues to make relevant
predictions

Academic Language Demands Instructional Supports

(edTPA Task 1, Prompt 4c) Strategies teachers provide to help learners understand, use, and practice the
concepts (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 4d)
Function Identify I will support my students to use the language function through
Looking at your standards and objectives, thinking aloud about what I need to do so that I can remember the
choose the one Bloom’s word that best data that has been collected.
describes the active learning essential for I will also use open ended questions, such as “Does anyone have any
students to develop understanding of ideas about what we can do so that we can remember?”, “How do you
concepts within your lesson.
know?”, and “What makes you think that?” to get students to identify
the importance of writing down data.
I will support my students by identifying key features that are
necessary for completing a bar graph

Vocabulary
Key words and phrases students need to be data I will support my students to understand vocabulary by discussing
able to understand and use scale the meaning and definition of each word, using examples to
 categories elaborate. I will post this information on an anchor chart as a visual
column for the students.

Syntax
Describe ways in which students will
organize language (symbols, words,
phrases) to convey meaning.

Discourse
How members of a discipline talk, write, My students will verbalize their I will support my students by modelling how to use data to complete
and participate in knowledge construction ideas and thoughts about their a bar graph. Students will orally participate in a Think/Pair/Share
and communicate their understanding of how we can show information with a partner.
the concepts visually to their partner and the Students will also provide verbal responses to questions posed by the
class during the Think/Pair/Share. teacher.

Instructional Process Accommodations and/or Modifications

and/or Supports
Anticipatory Set/Motivator
I will provide a translation of challenging
• While the students are sitting at their desks, I will ask the students to raise their hand if they words as necessary to my ELL student
like pizza. Then I will count their raised hands to see how many students liked pizza. I will say
the number but not write it down.
• Then I will ask the students to raise their hand if they like to eat French fries. I will say the
number but not write it down.
• I will then think aloud saying “hmmm, I know that I asked about how many people liked pizza
and French fries but I can’t remember how many people liked which food…Does anybody
have any ideas about what can we do so that we can remember?”
• I will thank them for their responses and make note of important aspects of writing down
information. When a student says something about writing down information so that we can
remember it. I will confirm that “yes, we write down information from polling/surveys so
that we can remember how people responded”.
• I will then ask “once we have written down the number of people that liked something, what
is a way that we can show that information visually, so that we can understand the
information more easily?”
 • “Turn and talk to your elbow buddy about ways that we can show information visually.”
• After 30 seconds, I will get their attention and then restate the question and work through
their responses until I get answers similar to a chart/graph or something similar to that
wording.
• I will then respond, “excellent, that is correct. We can write down the number of people that
like something and then use a chart or a graph to show the information visually. Today we
are going to be using information, called, data, to make bar graphs”. I will explain to the
students that data are facts or statistics that are collected to help us learn more about
something.
• I will also explain that a bar graph is a visual display of bars that compares quantities or
numbers.

Instructional Procedures
I will provide the student with visual
• I will call up the student of the day to help with scribing information on the impairment large visual representations of
board/SMARTboard. each term to be used in drawing bar graphs.
• I will take a poll of the students and have the student of the day record their answers using
tally marks on the board. I will pair the ELL student with another
• I will begin by asking students what their favourite food is by providing four options. I will student in the class that also speaks the
identify the four food choices: pizza, french fries, chicken nuggets and pasta. I will confirm native tongue of the ELL student.
that the students can only choose one type of food.
• I will read out the colour choices one by one and the student will write down the answers I will provide the ELL student with
from their classmate as well as their own favourite food. definitions and visual representations of
• We will count out the number of tally marks and compare with the total number of students each term to be used in drawing bar graphs.
present in the class to make sure that there are the correct number of tally marks
• I will use the data from the tally marks on the board about favourite food to make a bar I will check in with the ELL student to repeat
graph. instructions as necessary and check for
• I will use the “Bar Graph” file attached to place on the SMARTboard or if not available, I will understanding.
draw the bars on the chart paper to represent student answers.
• I will write the title "Favorite Food" at the top of the graph, and explain to students that bar I will provide an anchor chart with key
graphs should include a title. vocabulary
• I will then provide an anchor chart, explaining to students that bar graphs also need a scale,
Visual representations for key information
categories, and category label.
will also be provided to students as needed
 • I will continue completing the bar graph by adding the rest of the labels, shading in the
appropriate number of squares to represent the data for each food and I will discuss each
part of the graph with the students.
• Once we have covered all of the elements of the bar graph, I will move on to the review of
what we learned.

Closure

I will summarize what the students learned today, saying “So to review what we’ve talked about
today, we learned about collecting data and about what we need to include in a bar graph. I will show
a bar graph with blanks where the “title”, “labels” and “scale” information would be written.
I would say to the students, “turn and talk to your neighbour about what words we are missing so
that we can fill in the blanks”.
I will review the Parts of a Bar Graph anchor chart, as outlined in the Instructional Procedure.
I will say to students, “Tomorrow, we will work together to make some more bar graphs”.

List all materials and/or technology tools required for the lesson.
Key instructional materials must be attached. These materials might include such items as class handouts, assignments, slides, and interactive white-
board images.

Key Terms Anchor Chart, such as found below.

Parts of a graph anchor chart, such as one found below.
Vocabulary Cards below: based on the sheet found here: https://www.education.com/download/lesson-plan/el-support-lesson-lets-collect-
data/attachments/file_2101753.pdf

Word Definition
Bar graph A graph using bars that compares
quantities or numbers
Data Facts or statistics that are collected
to learn more about something
Category Data grouped by labels
Scale Tells the amount of data
[Back to Table of Contents]
 Artifact Eight: Math Professional Development Presentation

This artifact will demonstrate my strong understanding of the mathematics curriculum

and my ability to communicate effective pedagogical content knowledge to peer teachers so that

they can instruct their students in a specific element of the curriculum. In this presentation, I

provided a methodology for other teachers to effectively instruct students using the Think Aloud

strategy. Correctly illustrating this strategy will provide students with a process of how they will

be able to think their way through solving a problem. This artifact is included in my portfolio as

it demonstrates my ability to plan and communicate professional development activities for my

peers in the spirit of collaboration and increasing their pedagogical content knowledge. It will

also highlight my ability to make culturally relevant connections from the background

knowledge of my students to the lesson the students will engage in.

This artifact will connect to the following professional standards: InTASC Standards #3,

4, 7, 8 and 1: Learner Development. The teacher understands how learners grow and develop,

recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the

cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements

developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences; New York State Code of

Ethics for Educators Principles #1, 3 and 2: Educators create, support, and maintain challenging

learning environments for all; DOE Claims 1, 3 and 2: Medaille College graduates meet the

needs of diverse learners through effective pedagogy and best teaching practices; International

Society for Technology Education for Teachers and Students (ITSE) Standards #3, 6 and 5b

Design authentic learning activities that align with content area standards and use digital tools

and resources to maximize active, deep learning; International Literacy Association (ILA)

Standard #5 Learners and the Literacy Environment; Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)
Initial Preparation Standards #2, 3, 4, 5 and 1: Learner Development and Individual Learning

Differences; and the Ontario Ethical Teacher Standards Care - The ethical standard of Care

includes compassion, acceptance, interest and insight for developing students' potential.

Members express their commitment to students' well-being and learning through positive

influence, professional judgement and empathy in practice.

https://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cYiT1fExoS

[Back to Table of Contents]

Conclusion

These artifacts have demonstrated that I am a well-rounded teacher candidate that is fully

capable to fulfill the role of a professional teacher. They demonstrate my creativity, pedagogical

content knowledge as well as my capability to utilize technology to support student learning. My

lesson planning capabilities have been demonstrated across disciplines and my ability to plan and

implement resources to support scaffolding and accommodations demonstrate my keen

understanding of the diverse needs of students. The relevant standards that apply to my artifacts

have been referenced within their descriptions and I have also consolidated them into a standards

chart below for your perusal.

[Back to Table of Contents]

 Section Four: Alignment to Curriculum & Professional Standards
(Approximately 4-6 pages, not including the standards chart)
See the EDU 693 MSED Portfolio Project Handbook Section Three requirements for details.

Introduction

Curriculum & Professional Educational Standards

Special Note: There follow all capital letters in the title because they are propped nouns.

INTASC Standards.

NYS Code of Ethics for Educators.

Ontario Teacher Ethical Standards.

P-12 NYS Common Core Learning Standards (ELA, Math and Social Studies).

NYS Learning Standards.

Ontario Ministry of Education Curriculum Expectation.

DOE Claims & CAEP Standards.

International Society for Technology Education for Teachers and Students (ISTE).

International Literacy Association (ILA) Professional Standards.

Council for Exceptional Children (ECE).

Curriculum and Professional Standards Chart

Conclusion
(Provide brief summary and conclusion of the section by highlighting key components of the
section. See the EDU 693 MSED Portfolio Project Handbook Section Five requirements for
details.)

APA Rules and Writing Style: APA rules are addressed, well written; with minor grammatical and/or
APA errors (repeated errors count as one). Add new resources to your formal Reference page, after
Section 06.

[Back to Table of Contents]

 5
MSED ELEMENTARY
Section Four: Alignment to Curriculum & Professional Standards Chart

Directions: List each artifact that you have included in Section Three: Teacher Candidate
Artifacts of your portfolio project. Include the standard title, number, and key words
needed to identify the standard accurately and provide meaningful context. This chart
should align with the curriculum and professional standard information that you have
included in your rationale for each artifact in Section Three.

Section Four: Alignment to Curriculum & Professional Standards Chart

Example

Directions: List each artifact that you have included in Section Three: Teacher Candidate
Artifacts of your portfolio project. Include the standard title, number, and key words
needed to identify the standard accurately and provide meaningful context. This chart
should align with the curriculum and professional standard information that you have
included in your rationale for each artifact in Section Three.
 6
MSED ELEMENTARY

Artifact Title INTASC NYS Code of NYS NYS DOE ISTE ILA C
Standards Ethics P-12 Common Learning Claims & Standards International Stan
Standards Core Learning Standards CAEP for Literacy
for Standards Standards Teachers Association
Educators and/or Professional
Students Standards
Artifact #1: Learner & Principle 1: Claims 1: Standard 2: Standard 1: Stan
Learning: Nurture full Subject Leader Foundational Lear
Dignity for Standard #2: potential of matter Knowledge Deve
All Students Learning every student Standard 3: nt an
Training Differences Claim 2: Citizen Standard 2: Indiv
Principle 3: Pedagogy Curriculum Lear
Certificate
Content: Commitment & Best Standard 5: Instruction Diffe
Standard 4: to Teaching Designer
Content professional Practices Standard 3: Stan
Knowledge learning Standard 7: Assessment & Lear
Claim 3: Analyst Evaluation Envi
Instructional Principle 4: Caring nts
Practices: Collaboration Educators Standard 4:
Standard #7 Diversity and Stan
Planning for Principle 5: Content Equity Curr
Instruction Community and Cont
relationships Pedagogica Standard 5: Kno
Professional l Literate
Responsibili Principle 6: Knowledge Environment Stan
ty: advancement CAEP Asse
Standard #9: of learning Standards Standard 6:
Professional community 1.1, 1.3 & Professional Stan
Learning 1.4 Learning and Plan
and Ethical Leadership
Practice Stan
Standard 7: Prof
Practicum/ l Lea
Clinical Stan
Experiences Coll
(for specialists on
only)
Artifact Title INTASC NYS Code of NYS NYS DOE ISTE ILA C
Standards Ethics P-12 Common Learning Claims & Standards International Stan
Standards Core Learning Standards CAEP for Literacy
for Standards Standards Teachers Association
Educators and/or Professional
Students Standards
Artifact #2: Standard #1: Principle 1: DOE Standard 1: Standard 2: Stand
Learner Nurture full Learner Curriculum Learn
Developmen potential of Claim 1: Instruction Deve
Pecha Subject Standard 2: t and
Kucha t every student
matter Leader Indiv
Presentation
Principle 2:
 7
MSED ELEMENTARY
Standard #2: Promote Claim 2: Standard 3: Standard 4: Learn
Learning Student Pedagogy & Citizen Diversity and Diffe
Differences Learning Best Equity
Teaching Standard 4: Stand
Practices Collaborator Standard 5: Learn
Standard #3: Principle 3:
Literate Envi
Learning Commitment Claim 3: Standard 5: Environment ts
Environmen to Caring Designer
ts professional Educators Standard 6: Stand
learning Standard 6: Professional Curri
Standard #4: Content and Facilitator Learning and Cont
Content Principle 6: Pedagogical Leadership Know
Knowledge advancement Knowledge
of learning CAEP Stand
Standard #5: community Standards Plann
1.1, 1.3
Application
Stand
of Content Profe
Learn
Standard #7:
Planning for Stand
Instruction Colla
n
Standard #8
Instructional
Strategies
Artifact Title INTASC NYS Code of NYS NYS DOE ISTE ILA C
Standards Ethics P-12 Common Learning Claims & Standards International Stan
Standards Core Learning Standards CAEP for Literacy
for Standards Standards Teachers Association
Educators and/or Professional
Students Standards
Artifact #3: Standard #1: Principle 3: Claim 1: Standard 1: Standard 4: Stand
Learner & Commitment Subject Learner Diversity and Asse
Learning to matter Equity
Educational Standard 2: Stand
Survey professional
Claim 2: Leader Standard 6: Colla
Standard #3: learning
Pedagogy & Professional n
Learning Principle Best Standard 4: Learning and
Environmen Teaching Collaborator Leadership
ts Principle 5: Practices
Community Claim 3: Standard 7:
Standard #9: relationships Caring Analyst
Professional Educators
Learning Principle 6:
and Ethical advancement
Practice of learning
community
#10:
Leadership
and
Collaboratio
n
Artifact Title INTASC NYS Code of NYS NYS DOE ISTE ILA C
Standards Ethics P-12 Common Learning Claims & Standards International Stan
Standards Standards for Literacy
 8
MSED ELEMENTARY
for Core Learning CAEP Teachers Association
Educators Standards Standards and/or Professional
Students Standards
Artifact #4: Standard #1: Principle 1: NYSNG Claim 1: Standard 5: Standard 2: Stand
Learner Nurture full 3R1 Subject Designer Curriculum Learn
Developmen potential of matter Instruction Deve
Learning Standard 6: t and
Segment t every student
Claim 2: Facilitator Standard 3: Indiv
Pedagogy & Assessment & Learn
Standard #2: Principle 2: Best Evaluation Diffe
Learning Promote Teaching
Differences Student Practices Standard 4: Stand
Learning Diversity and Learn
Standard #3: Claim 3: Equity Envi
Learning Caring ts
Environmen Educators Standard 5:
ts Literate Stand
Environment Curri
Cont
Standard #4:
Know
Content
Knowledge Stand
Asse
Standard #5:
Application Stand
of Content Plann

Standard #6: Stand

Assessment Profe
Learn
Standard #7
Planning for
Instruction

Standard #8:
Instructional
Strategies
Artifact Title INTASC NYS Code of NYS NYS DOE ISTE ILA C
Standards Ethics P-12 Common Learning Claims & Standards International Stan
Standards Core Learning Standards CAEP for Literacy
for Standards Standards Teachers Association
Educators and/or Professional
Students Standards
Artifact #5: Standard #1: Principle 1: Claim 1: Standard 1: Standard 2: Stand
Learner Nurture full Subject Learner Curriculum Learn
Developmen potential of matter Instruction Deve
Individualiz Standard 2: t and
ed t every student
Claim 2: Leader Standard 3: Indiv
Education Pedagogy & Assessment & Learn
Standard #2: Principle 2: Best Standard 4: Evaluation Diffe
Program(IE Learning Promote Teaching Collaborator
P) Analysis Differences Student Practices Standard 4: Stand
Learning Standard 5: Diversity and Learn
Standard #3: Claim 3: Designer Equity Envi
Learning Principle 3: Caring ts
Commitment Educators
 9
MSED ELEMENTARY
Environmen to Standard 6: Standard 5: Stand
ts professional Facilitator Literate Curri
learning Environment Cont
Standard #4: Standard 7: Know
Analyst Standard 6:
Content Principle 4:
Professional Stand
Knowledge Collaboration Learning and Asse
Leadership
Standard #5: Principle 5: Stand
Application Community Plann
of Content relationships
Stand
Standard #6: Profe
Assessment Learn

Stand
Standard #7
Colla
Planning for n
Instruction

Standard #8:
Instructional
Strategies

Standard #9:
Professional
Learning
and Ethical
Practice

Standard
#10:
Leadership
and
Collaboratio
n
Artifact Title INTASC NYS Code of NYS NYS DOE ISTE ILA C
Standards Ethics P-12 Common Learning Claims & Standards International Stan
Standards Core Learning Standards CAEP for Literacy
for Standards Standards Teachers Association
Educators and/or Professional
Students Standards
 10
MSED ELEMENTARY
Standard #3: Learning Environments

Artifact #6: Standard #1: Principle 2: Claim 1: Standard 2: Standard 2: Stand

Learner Promote Subject Leader Curriculum Learn
Developmen Student matter Instruction Deve
Weebly Standard 3: t and
Teacher t Learning
Claim 2: Citizen Standard 5: Indiv
Website Pedagogy & Literate Learn
Standard #2: Principle 4: Best Standard 5: Environment Diffe
Learning Collaboration Teaching Designer
Differences Practices Stand
Principle 5: Standard 6: Learn
Standard #3: Community Claim 3: Facilitator Envi
Learning relationships Caring ts
Environmen Educators
ts Stand
Content and Plann
Pedagogical
Standard #7
Knowledge
Planning for CAEP
Instruction Standards
1.1, 1.3 &
Instructional 1.4
Practices:
Standard #8
Instructional
Strategies

Professional
Responsibili
ty:
Standard
#10:
Leadership
and
Collaboratio
n
Artifact Title INTASC NYS Code of NYS NYS DOE ISTE ILA C
Standards Ethics P-12 Common Learning Claims & Standards International Stan
Standards Core Learning Standards CAEP for Literacy
for Standards Standards Teachers Association
Educators and/or Professional
Students Standards
Artifact #7: Standard #1: Principle 1: TBA TBA Claim 1: Standard 3: Standard 5: Stand
Learner Nurture full Subject Citizen Literate Learn
Developmen potential of matter Environment Deve
Math Standard 5: t and
Lesson Plan t every student
Claim 2: Designer Indiv
Pedagogy & Learn
Standard #3: Principle 2: Best Standard 6: Diffe
Learning Facilitator
 11
MSED ELEMENTARY
Environmen Promote Teaching Stand
ts Student Practices Learn
Learning Envi
Standard #4: Claim 3: ts
Caring
Content Principle 3:
Educators Stand
Knowledge Commitment Curri
to Cont
Standard #7 professional Know
Planning for learning
Instruction Stand
Asse
Standard #8:
Instructional Stand
Strategies Plann

Artifact Title INTASC NYS Code of NYS NYS DOE ISTE ILA C
Standards Ethics P-12 Common Learning Claims & Standards International Stan
Standards Core Learning Standards CAEP for Literacy
for Standards Standards Teachers Association
Educators and/or Professional
Students Standards
Artifact #8: Standard #1: Principle 1: TBA TBA Claim 1: Standard 3: Standard 5: Stand
Learner Nurture full Subject Citizen Literate Learn
Developmen potential of matter Environment Deve
Science Standard 5: t and
Lesson Plan t every student
Claim 2: Designer Indiv
Pedagogy & Learn
Standard #3: Principle 2: Best Standard 6: Diffe
Learning Promote Teaching Facilitator
Environmen Student Practices Stand
ts Learning Learn
Claim 3: Envi
Standard #4: Principle 3: Caring ts
Content Commitment Educators
Knowledge to Stand
professional Curri
Cont
Standard #7 learning
Know
Planning for
Instruction Stand
Asse
Standard #8:
Instructional Stand
Strategies Plann

[Back to Table of Contents]

 12
MSED ELEMENTARY
Section Five: Teacher Candidate Reflection Guidelines

Introduction

Reflection is an essential component of modern teaching practices. This practice enables

teachers to look back on all types of situations and decisions as opportunities for learning and

growth. Failing to reflect on mistakes and situations that did not go as well as intended, offers the

individual a chance to ask the question, “why did that happen?” Contextual information can be

introduced that may not have been present at the time when decisions were made, and it is an

opportunity for the individual to take a fresh look at the circumstances and learn from what

happened. At the same time, it is also essential to reflect on successful outcomes as well. This is

also an opportunity to add in contextual information that was not present and determine what key

factors led to success. An especially astute person may also take the opportunity to note whether

a successful outcome was as the result of the decisions they made or perhaps it occurred despite

some poor decisions that were made at the time. It is important to note the difference as this type

of reflection can also be an effective learning opportunity.

In this section I will review for the reader, the areas in which I have displayed

improvement in my understanding and competency during my instructional experiences leading

up to selecting Medaille, throughout the teacher education program itself and during the

formation of the portfolio project. To assist the reader in having a solid understanding of my

learning process and growth to becoming an exceptional teacher candidate, in this next section, I

will provide connections from my learnings to the relevant teaching standards.

Portfolio Project/Teacher Education Learning Experiences

The development of this portfolio and selection of the artifacts presented an opportunity

to reflect on and demonstrate my growth as a teacher candidate. Combing through the wide
 13
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variety of projects and reflection on my experiences preparing for and instructing students has

afforded me the opportunity to highlight those artifacts and learnings that best demonstrate my

capability as an educator who meets the TEAC claim standard 2: Pedagogy, Best Teaching

Practices for Diverse Learners. In the pursuit of meeting that standard, the reader will also be

presented with many situations demonstrating that I have developed relevant knowledge

satisfying TEAC Claims 1: Subject Matter and of my natural proclivity of supporting all students

as a TEAC Claim 3: Caring Educator.

Throughout my time working in classrooms an unlicensed supply teacher, I would often

reflect on both successful experiences and situations that resulted in unfavourable outcomes.

Treating all outcomes as opportunities for reflective practice has enabled me to move on from

erroneous beliefs, turn self-criticism into focusing on more effective methods to instruct, handle

challenging situations and to seek best practices from research and teacher mentors. This process

would also allow me to appreciate that it is possible to have successful outcomes despite making

imperfect instructional decisions.

When I began this program, I knew that while I was a caring educator and that my desire to assist

students was strong, however, I did not have a solid understanding of the theories involved with

learning, instruction, assessment and classroom management.

During my first semester at Medaille, I was exposed to the educational theorists and their

theories in the Early Field Experience/Seminar, Family/Consumer Services course. At this time,

I would begin to develop my philosophy of education by learning to make connections between

their theories and my previous classroom experiences. In this class I would learn practical tools

and strategies for building positive relationships with students and parents. (TEAC Claim 1:

Caring Educator). The instructor was excellent, and her storytelling and impeccable level of
 14
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preparation ensured that we as students would get the most out of each class. Observing these

aspects of the instructor provided me with a model for how to run a successful class. (TEAC

Claim 2: Pedagogy, Best Teaching Practices for Diverse Learners).

The Research in Education course provided new insight into how teachers can research

best practices from other teaching professionals as well as learning how to use Action Research

to enhance student success and instructional efficacy. Before taking this course, I was unaware of

the breadth of research available from both academic sources and teacher-focused journals.

Combining the understanding of how to utilize the wide variety of materials with the pedagogical

understanding that I have gained from my other coursework will enhance my effectiveness as an

educator and enable me to comfortably utilize Action Research with my own classes. (Claim 2:

Pedagogy, Best Teaching Practices for Diverse Learners).

The first fieldwork placement introduced me to a very different style of connection

between a school, families and community supports. That experience connected with me in a

similar way that Dr. Gardner’s “Theory of Multiple Intelligences,” did. Just as we need to

consider the multitude of skills and “intelligences” that each student may utilize in a classroom,

we need to consider that their ability to function effectively in the classroom is dependent on a

multitude of factors, including their family situation at home, the ability of the teacher and

school to build a positive relationship with their parents, their relative level of health and whether

they have received proper nourishment. The community school Saturday program demonstrated

a way to enhance those external components to build a strong foundation for learning when the

students return to their regular classroom program. Prior to each session, I developed ELA or

mathematical activities that connected with the theme of the day. This preparation demonstrated

my strong organizational skills and ability to master subject matter in order to facilitate learning
 15
MSED ELEMENTARY
activities with students of varying skills and abilities. (TEAC Claim 1: Subject Matter; Claim 2:

Pedagogy, Best Teaching Practices for Diverse Learners; Claim 3: Caring Educator).

The Core of Education was a challenging class, as this was the first exposure to

developing lesson plans. The style in which it was taught, by focusing on how the rubrics were

graded, without being exposed to how to construct a lesson plan section by section, was a

challenging experience but it provided vital a learning opportunity. I found this method for

instruction confusing and ineffective and it helped me better understand what I need from an

instructor to learn most efficiently as a student. This frustrating experience also reaffirmed that I

need to consider the various learning styles of my students to help them succeed. (TEAC Claim

2: Pedagogy, Best Teaching Practices for Diverse Learners, Claim 3: Caring Educators). The

most helpful aspects of this course was the opportunity to develop a lesson plan, present it and

then receive feedback as well as an opportunity to reflect on all aspects of the process and

delivery.

The Assessment and Evaluation of Literacy course broadened my understanding of

assessment and built upon my learnings from the Early Literacy course in the first semester. The

instructor was particularly adept at demonstrating how technology could be used to assess

student mastery of a particular skill or higher-order ability. I was provided the opportunity to

engage with a multitude of assessment tools that will be useful in ensuring that students of all

learning styles and abilities are provided with the opportunity to demonstrate mastery. (TEAC

Claim 1: Subject Matter; Claim 2: Pedagogy, Best Teaching Practices for Diverse Learners;

Claim 3: Caring Educator).

The Culturally Responsive Pedagogy course reaffirmed the learnings and awareness I had

developed about the importance of focusing on the student’s cultural strengths and making
 16
MSED ELEMENTARY
content connections that are relatable to the students that you instruct. The CRT approach

promotes feelings of comfort and normalcy among students and is intended to build their esteem

and level of achievement. (TEAC Claim 1: Subject Matter; Claim 2: Pedagogy, Best Teaching

Practices for Diverse Learners; Claim 3: Caring Educator). Foundations of Special Education

The course where I really solidified my appreciation for the Medaille lesson planning

process was Educational Methods of Teaching. The instructor provided an extremely thorough

process for constructing lesson plans, demystified the purpose for each of the plan’s sections and

ensured that the plans I developed were of high quality. This course further improved my

understanding about how to incorporated a variety of strategies and active learning opportunities

for the social sciences. (TEAC Claim 2: Pedagogy, Best Teaching Practices for Diverse

Learners)

Fieldwork 512 demonstrating my TEAC Claim 2: Pedagogy, Best Teaching Practices for

Diverse Learners). Our lesson planning required the ability to plan lessons for a learners at a

variety of levels in order to maximize the ability to accommodate a wide variety of students. This

course built upon the experiences of the first Fieldwork course by increasing the lesson planning

requirements and provided greater opportunity to demonstrate my ability to plan activities that

could be modified to work with students of greater variance in skills and abilities.

Readiness to Become a Teacher

It has been a long road from when I first began as an unlicensed emergency supply

teacher to considering pursuing teachers college, to being accepted to the Elementary Education

program at Medaille, to today where I am nearing the end of the in-class curriculum. I have

enjoyed the journey and I have learned a lot about why I love to be in the classroom and why it is

so important to me that I build my base of knowledge, skills and tools so that I can best serve the
 17
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students I teach and help them on their journey’s of educational excellence. The skills and

experience I gained from my work in elementary school classrooms, combined with the learnings

from my Medaille coursework and the fieldwork experiences at Saturday academies in Buffalo

have provided me with a solid foundation and the tools to be an effective educator.

One of the unique circumstances that has allowed me to develop rapidly into an effective

educator, was my ability to immediately apply my teachers college learnings into the classrooms

where I worked as an unlicensed supply teacher for the London District Catholic School Board.

During that time, I learned that I cared deeply for the students that I met and that I was able to

make an impact. Returning to school’s months after my last shift as a supply teacher, I was often

greeted warmly by students and staff alike (TEAC Claim 3: Caring Educator). This opportunity

would allow me to put into practice improved classroom management strategies, apply culturally

responsive teaching to better engage students in classroom discussions and be able to evaluate

and improve the lesson plans provided by homeroom teachers. (TEAC/CAEP Claim 2:

Pedagogy, Best Teaching Practices for Diverse Learners). One of the additional benefits of being

a supply teacher was the opportunity of receiving immediate feedback from teachers that

remained in their classroom while I provided coverage during one of their preparatory periods.

During one such occurrence I struck up a conversation with teacher while overseeing their

classroom and I learned that this teacher had been a mentor for teacher candidates for fifteen

years but had decided three years ago to stop providing this mentoring opportunity. Every once

in a while, I would check in with this teacher to ask them a particular question about a student or

about the lesson plan for the period. They were very forthcoming with insights and in providing

background about their strategy for the class. At the end of the day, this teacher sought me out as

I was preparing paperwork and praised my ability to handle their challenging class as well as the
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way I adapted my assistance to particular students based on their needs. (TEAC Claim 2:

Pedagogy, Best Teaching Practices for Diverse Learners; Claim 3: Caring Educator). In addition

to providing this positive feedback, the teacher then offered to be my mentor for the upcoming

student placement component of my training process.

As a father with a teenaged child with Autism, I am acutely aware that many students

have both visible and invisible factors that can present challenges within a classroom. This

understanding has provided me with a particular sensitivity in a classroom setting as I am able to

identify environments and situations that could present a challenge or difficulty for some

students. This awareness builds confidence from administrators and support staff that I will be

better able to manage a classroom that has students with special needs than someone without this

awareness and sensitivity (TEAC Claim 2: Pedagogy, Best Teaching Practices for Diverse

Learners; Claim 3: Caring Educator). During my course work at Medaille, I learned more about

the principles of Universal Design for Learning. Combining my pre-existing capabilities with

this new knowledge has given me the ability to construct more effective learning environments

for all students to benefit (TEAC Claim 1: Subject Matter; Claim 2: Pedagogy, Best Teaching

Practices for Diverse Learners; Claim 3: Caring Educator).

The artifacts that I have assembled from a variety of courses at Medaille College will

have demonstrated my readiness to become a teacher. The DASA Certification was included to

demonstrate my strong understanding of the multifaceted needs and challenges that students

encounter in educational environments(TEAC Claim 2: Pedagogy, Best Teaching Practices for

Diverse Learners; Claim 3: Caring Educator).. The Pecha Kucha presentation and lesson plans,

including the Unit Plan, will illustrate my sound planning ability, instructional and assessment

considerations and especially my ability to reteach students where appropriate. Having

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opportunities to work through lesson instruction with my classmates has built upon my previous

classroom experience and grown my classroom management skills (TEAC Claim 1: Subject

Matter; Claim 2: Pedagogy, Best Teaching Practices for Diverse Learners). The Educational

survey highlights my ability to connect with parents to build positive relationships as well as to

undertake research opportunities that will strengthen my ability to provide relevant instruction

for my students(TEAC Claim 1: Subject Matter; Claim 2: Pedagogy, Best Teaching Practices

for Diverse Learners; Claim 3: Caring Educator).. I demonstrated my strong ability to review and

evaluate an IEP plan and my skill in this area has been forged through my learnings at Medaille

as well as through my experience working through IEP’s on a regular basis as a parent of a child

with special needs over a decade (TEAC Claim 1: Subject Matter; Claim 2: Pedagogy, Best

Teaching Practices for Diverse Learners; Claim 3: Caring Educator). Finally, the Weebly

teacher’s website has will demonstrate my ability to utilize technology to increase educational

opportunities for students and their families, provide engagement in a variety of methods and to

improve communication opportunities(TEAC Claim 1: Subject Matter; Claim 2: Pedagogy, Best

Teaching Practices for Diverse Learners; Claim 3: Caring Educator).

Conclusion

The MSED elementary education program at Medaille College has provided a wealth of

experiences and learnings that have prepared me for my future as an educator. The course

materials covered every possible aspect of what it means to be a teacher. From developing a

better understanding of student backgrounds, their unique skills and abilities, cognitive

development and the role this plays in planning, instruction and assessment to communication

and classroom management strategies. Each class built on each other to provide a holistic
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learning experience and helped me grow my content knowledge as well as my pedagogical

content knowledge.

The artifacts that I have included in my portfolio provide a thorough representation of my

knowledge and ability to, apply educational standards, incorporate best teaching practices, work

with a diverse population of students, utilize effective classroom management skills and

strategies and my ability to build positive relationships with students, parent and educational

staff.

The coursework and training that I have received at Medaille College as well as my

experience working in classrooms has clearly prepared me to become an effective teacher and

the Teacher Candidate Video in the next section will provide the reader with a condensed version

of what makes me uniquely suited to be an educator.

(Provide brief summary and conclusion of the section by highlighting key components of the
section. See the EDU 693 MSED Portfolio Project Handbook Section Five requirements for
details.)

APA Rules and Writing Style: APA rules are addressed, well written; with minor grammatical
and/or APA errors (repeated errors count a one). Add new resources to your formal Reference
page, after Section 06.

[Back to Table of Contents]

Section 6: Teacher Candidate Teacher Interview Video

(Approximately 1-2 pages)
See the EDU 693 MSED Portfolio Project Handbook Section Three requirements for details.

Teacher Candidate Interview Video

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Teacher Candidate Interview Questions & Responses

Conclusion
(Provide brief summary of the section, highlighting key components of the section. See the EDU
693 MSED Portfolio Project Handbook Section Six requirements for details.)

APA Rules and Writing Style: APA rules are addressed, well written; with minor grammatical
and/or APA errors (repeated errors count as one). Add new resources to your formal Reference
page, after Section 06

Important Section Notes:

• The teacher candidate creates a 5-10 minute professional video answering the teacher interview
questions posed. Connections to the portfolio artifacts, standards, teacher skills, strategies, and
professional dispositions are made.

• The teacher candidate uses the Weebly Website created in EDU 571: Technology for the
Elementary Classroom as a basis for navigation of the portfolio artifacts.

• The video is posted on the discussion forum and 2 replies are made to assigned class members.

• A copy of the MP4 video is made to the Disk or Flash Drive for final submission of the project.

• Copies of the Final Paper project and the MP4 are uploaded to the Blackboard assignment link,
LiveText assignment link and burned to 2 disks or flash drives and labeled as directed in the
course handbook.

[Back to Table of Contents]

References

APA Format Rules Apply. Include ALL standard sets from Sections 3-4 as formal references.
See handbook pp. 14-20 and the online tutorial at www.apastyle.org
(http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-tutorial.aspx) for details and examples.
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Vygotsky, L.S. (1962). Thought and language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Wong, H., & Wong, R. (1998). The first days of school: How to Be an Effective Teacher (Second
ed.). Mountainview, California: Harry K. Wong Publications.

Mr. Curry,

Are these the only two philosophers (Vygotsky; Wong & Wong) who have informed and/or
influenced your practice? Please make further connections to your philosophy, as you
progress through your Philosophy course, to your strategies, methods and best practices
for the classroom.

As you are a skilled and expert communicator, I definitely thought that you might be
interested in Gardner’s (1983) Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Intelligences, or Aristotle,
Osgood or Lasswell’s theories. I am including a website link here for your research and
application to your philosophy. https://www.ukessays.com/essays/education/theories-
communication-education-3147.php

Respectfully, Dr. Dunkle

Mr. Curry

Please find notes at the beginning and throughout. You are still in need of artifacts.

Please let me know any questions.

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Respectfully,
Dr. Dunkle

Minimum 8-10 Artifact Components MUST Address:

• Planning
• Instruction
• Assessment
• Engagement
• ENL/ELL, SWD, SES, Ethnicity, Religion, Sexuality, etc.
• Literacy
• Math/Science
• Professional Development
• Technology
• Dispositions

A. INTASC Standards

✓ Standard #1: Learner Development:

✓ Standard #2: Learning Differences:
✓ Standard #3: Learning Environments:
✓ Standard #4: Content Knowledge:
✓ Standard #5: Application of Content:
✓ Standard #6: Assessment:
✓ Standard #7: Planning for Instruction:
✓ Standard #8: Instructional Strategies:
✓ Standard #9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice
✓ Standard #10: Leadership and Collaboration:

B. NYS Code of Ethics for Educators: can be found by visiting

Principle 1: Educators nurture the intellectual, physical, emotional, social and civic
potential of every student.
Principle 2: Educators create support and maintain challenging learning environment
for all.
Principle 3: Educators commit to their own learning in order to develop their practice.
Principle 4: Educators collaborate with colleagues and other professionals in the
interest of their students leaning.
Principle 5: Educators collaborate with parents and community, building trust and
confidentiality.
Principle 6: Educators advance an intellectual and ethical foundation of the learning
community.

C. The Ontario Ethical Teacher Standards – CARE, RESPECT, TRUST, INTEGRITY

D. P-12 NYS Common Core Learning Standards for ELA, Math and Social
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E. NYS Leaning Standards
F. Ontario Ministry of Education

G. DOE Claims & CAEP Standards:

Claim 1: Medaille College graduates know the subject matter in their certification
area(s)
Claim 2: Medaille College graduates meet the needs of diverse learners through
effective pedagogy and best teaching practices.
Claim 3: Medaille College graduates are caring educators.

CAEP Standard 1. Content and Pedagogical Knowledge :

1.1 Candidates demonstrate an understanding of the 10 InTASC standards at the
appropriate progression level(s) in the following categories: the learner and
learning; content; instructional practice; and professional responsibility.
1.3 Providers ensure that candidates apply content and pedagogical knowledge as
reflected in outcome assessments in response to standards of Specialized
Professional Associations (SPA), the National Board for Professional Teaching
Standards (NBPTS), states, or other accrediting bodies (ed., National Association of
Schools of Music – NASM).
1.4 Providers ensure that candidates demonstrate skills and commitment that
afford all P-12 students access to rigorous college- and career-ready standards (e.g.,
Next Generation Science Standards, National Career Readiness Certificate, Common
Core State Standards.

H. International Society for Technology Education for Teachers and Students (ISTE)
I. International Literacy Association Professional Standards
J. Council for Exceptional Children (ECE)

Thank you for your work.

Respectfully,
Dr. Dunkle