Charity Williams EPortfolio

1
Charity Williams E-Portfolio

• Welcome to my electronic Portfolio which will
  offer you a peek of my personality and classroom.
  I am entering into my sixth year of teaching in
  Princeton, Maine, a small Downeast school where I
  am the fourth grade teacher. I really enjoy the
  opportunity to teach my students a variety of
  subjects including the arts and music. Besides
  teaching fourth grade I also Coach the elementary
  and Junior High Cross Country team and High
  School Tennis team. I am the advisor for the
  Princeton Student Council and math club coach.
  In my spare time I like to run, travel, hike, and
  explore the world.

2
Table of Contents

• Resume
• Mission Statement
• Artifact 1
• Artifact 2
• Artifact 3
• Artifact 4
• Artifact 5
• Final Reflection
• Summative Reflection

3
Resume

• Objective
• To serve the students and parents of Princeton
  Elementary School as a fourth grade teacher.
• Education
• University of New England (UNE), Biddeford, Maine
• Masters in Childrens Literacy (K-8
  certification) May 2008.
• 3.96 GPA (Will graduate cum laude), Deans List.
• University of Maine at Farmington (UMF),
  Farmington, Maine
• B.S. Elementary Education (K-8 certification)
  with a concentration in literature and a middle
  school endorsement in Social Science May 2003.
• 3.69 GPA (cum laude), Deans List.
• Calais High School, Calais, Maine
• Diploma, June 1999. Graduated third in class,
  elected to National Honor Society, and president
  of the band.

4
Teaching Experience

• Teaching Experience
• Forth Grade Teacher, Princeton Elementary School,
  Princeton, Maine, Sept. 2003-Present.
• Created lesson plans and units addressing school
  curriculum and State of Maine Standards.
• Integrated Service learning activities in
  teaching literacy lessons on war.
• Implemented hands on science activities through a
  school garden and compost project.
• Integrated technology into my lessons through use
  of a document cam, smart board, LCD projector,
  and laptops.
• Integrated technology into lessons through use of
  online resources including, encyclopedias,
  dictionaries, games, web searches, portaportal,
  Internet based research, and blogs.
• Taught students to create Appleworks
  presentations for Science, Social Studies, and
  Reading.
• Assisted in choosing a math program (K-5).
• Worked with one on one aid to create lessons for
  a student in a specialized program.
• Implemented the Six Traits Writing framework in
  my classroom.
• Modified lesson plans for a student with Autism.

5
Related Experiences

• Human Development Experience
• Life Guard Supervisor, Calais, Maine, June-Aug
  1999-2008 and Life Guard/ Water Safety
  Instructor/Water Aerobics Instructor, Farmington,
  Maine, Sept.-May 1999-2003
• Taught swim lessons to classes of 10 children.
• Taught swim lessons to children with various
  disabilities, including ADHD, autism, and
  paralysis.
• Created and implemented pool safety rules and
  regulations.
• Supervised four lifeguards and up to 150 patrons.
• Taught Heart Time water aerobics class to up to
  20 older adults
• Skills and Certifications
• Red Cross First Aid and CPR for the Professional
  Rescuer.
• Red Cross AED (Automated External Defibrillator)
  training.
• Extracurricular Activities
• Created a Math Club for students in 3rd and 4th
  grades (2004-2008).
• Student Council advisor of Princeton Elementary
  School (2006-2008).
• Cross Country Coach for Elementary and Junior
  High students at Princeton Elementary
  (2004-2008).
• Woodland High School Tennis Coach (2008).

6
Mission Statement

• Henry B Adams once said, "A teacher affects
  eternity, he can never tell where his influence
  stops." Adams' words describe how I view
  education, we as educators should not be focused
  on filling student's minds with facts but instead
  encouraging students to find their passions. As
  an educator, you rarely ever see the result of
  ones work, but many times the seeds we plant in
  kids will develop into something much greater
  than we ever thought possible. In order to reach
  students, I believe teachers need to help
  students become global citizens, lifelong
  learners, and cooperative learners.
• As an educator, my focus is my students and
  their growth through my guidance, during fourth
  grade. I want my students to become global
  citizens, people who realize there is more to the
  world than only their town. I want them to care
  about what happens to people in other cities,
  states, and countries. As a result of being in
  my classroom students will become more involved
  in their world and realize they can make a
  change, no matter how small.
• I will help to foster a love of learning in my
  students to create lifelong learners. Through
  read alouds, self chosen projects, science labs,
  and free writing, I will help students see the
  potential they have and instill in each one of
  them the confidence to try new things. I want
  each child in my classroom to feel like an
  author, artist, scientist, and mathematician. I
  want them to view learning as a positive
  experience, which they carry with them their
  entire lives.
• My final goal for students, is to teach them
  the skills to work cooperatively. Students need
  to be able to work together in order to be
  successful adults. As a fourth grader I will
  teach them how to work together and to support
  each other in order to complete a task.
  Cooperative learning is important for two
  reasons, it puts learning into the hands of my
  students and it helps them learn to work with
  others successfully.
• Through teaching my students to respect other
  people and have compassion, helping students to
  become lifelong learners, and coaching them to
  work cooperatively I feel I am teaching students
  skills, which will guide them through life. I
  may never see what develops from my influence in
  students' lives but I am sure I am making an
  impact. Teaching is sowing the seeds of
  education, some seeds take longer to sprout than
  others but eventually each seed I sow will
  develop into something beautiful.

7
NBTS 5 Core Propositions

• Accomplished teachers are committed to students
  and their learning.
• Accomplished teachers know the subjects they
  teach and how to teach those subjects.
• 3. Accomplished teachers are responsible for
  managing and monitoring student learning.
• Accomplished teachers think systemically about
  their practice and learn from experience.
• 5. Accomplished teachers are members of learning
  communities.

8
Accomplished teachers are committed to students
and their learning.

• Artifact 1 Student and Parent Reading
  Questionnaire
• Rational
• I chose to demonstrate my commitment to
  students and their learning by including my
  students first reading assignment in fourth
  grade. Being committed to my students and their
  learning requires the teacher to know his/her
  students, their interests, abilities, and
  personalities. In order to reach my students I
  feel it is important to get to know each student.
  The first artifact I included is a student
  survey which my students complete in the
  classroom on the first day of school. The second
  artifact is an interview assignment each student
  must complete as homework on the first day of
  school.

9
Beginning of the year Student Interview

• Name _____________________________________________
  _______
• Date_________________________
• Voice Your Opinion
• It is the beginning of fourth grade and I want to
  know about YOU! Please answer the questions
  below and I will use your answers in order to
  purchase books for our classroom library and
  while planning our year. Thank You!
• 1. What is your favorite book ever?
  __________________________________________________
  ____
• 2. What was the last book you read?
• __________________________________________________
  _________________________________
• 3. Do you read magazines? _______________________
  __________
• 4. If you answered yes on question 3 which
  magazines do you read?
• __________________________________________________
  _____________________________________
• __________________________________________________
  _____________________________________

10
Favorite Book InterviewNow it is time for
you to do the interviewing. Your job tonight is
to interview at least 5 adults, to find out what
their favorite book was as a kid and why they
liked it. Be ready to share your findings with
the class.
11
Reflection

• One of my main goals as a reading teacher is to
  encourage students to become life long learners.
  In my classroom I try to foster a community of
  students who will eventually become adults who
  enjoy reading both for pleasure and information.
  One way I work to create a classroom which
  supports reading is to get to know my students,
  their reading patterns, favorite books, and
  opinion of reading on the first day of school.
  In todays society, literature is not always the
  topic of conversation. Many students have never
  heard their parents discuss a book with another
  adult. Having a book share or even sharing the
  title of your favorite book and why it is your
  favorite book is a challenge for some students.
• I use the information collected in the student
  survey throughout the year. In the beginning of
  the year I create my own goals for individual
  students based on their responses to the survey.
  Information from the student survey, including
  favorite genre, authors, and topics are
  considered when I purchase books for our
  classroom library. When choosing books for
  students to select from for literature circles, I
  also consider my students interests, abilities,
  and attitudes towards reading.
• I believe many times students inherit their
  reading attitudes from their parents. By asking
  students to interview adults in their lives
  regarding their favorite book I am encouraging
  students to begin a book talk. Previous to this
  exercise many of my students did not know their
  parents favorite childrens book. Students were
  excited to share their findings with the class
  and many students request books, adults
  suggested, to be included in our classroom
  library. Through meeting my students where they
  are in reading and getting to know them I am
  showing my students I am interested in them and
  am committed to their learning. Encouraging
  students to discuss literature with adults and
  other students is an important skill I hope to
  teach my students. Becoming a lifelong learner
  requires a student to have a thirst for knowledge
  which I believe must be quenched with some form
  of literature. The student survey and adult
  interview are the first two activities I use to
  show students I am committed to them and their
  learning.

12
Accomplished teachers know the subjects they
teach and how to teach those subjects.

• Artifact Underground Railroad Unit
• 2 Rational
• I chose to include a lesson from my Underground
  Railroad unit because it demonstrates my ability
  to use several different teaching methods and the
  lesson incorporates technology. As a teacher, it
  is very important to understand the topics one
  teaches and how to educate students in an effort
  to have all students meet the standards required.
  Through combining reading block and social
  studies I feel I am able to have students connect
  with the text and understand the topics covered
  in a deeper manner. Student understanding of the
  lesson is displayed through their KWL responses
  and journal entries.
• In this lesson, I utilize the Twin Text Pairing
  instructional strategy in order to help my
  students understand the plight of a runaway
  slave. Students must complete a KWL at several
  points during the lesson. After reading both
  selections students are asked to write a journal
  entry from the point of view of a runaway slave
  using RAFT (Role, Audience, format, and Topic) as
  a guide. Technology is included in the final
  piece of this lesson when students are asked to
  view websites on my portaportal to look for
  answers to our questions asked on the class KWL
  about the Underground Railroad

13
Underground Railroad Lesson

• Twin Text pairing plan
• Title of fiction text Follow the Drinking Gourd
  by Jeanette Winton
• Title of Non-fiction text Wanted Dead or Alive
  the True Story of Harriet Tubman by Ann McGovern
• Common Theme The Underground Railroad
• Standards English Language Arts B. Literature
  and Culture Grade 3-4
• English Language Arts D. Informational Texts
  Grades 3-4
• Procedure
• Pre-reading Strategies- Activities to use before
  reading Wanted Dead or Alive and Follow the
  Drinking Gourd
• Students will complete the K part of their KWL
  on their own, recording what they Know about
  slavery already.
• As a class, prior to reading the non-fiction
  text, the teacher will prep students to read the
  first selection by previewing the cover and title
  of Wanted Dead or Alive. Students will share
  what they think the book will be about.

14
Procedure Continued

• KWL- We will use the KWL strategy during the
  non-fiction and fiction text reading.
• Before reading Wanted Dead or Alive,
• Students will record what they already know about
  Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad.
• Students will record what they know on a KWL
  graphic organizer.
• After students have had time to fill in what they
  know, the teacher will have students share their
  knowledge with the class and create a class KWL.
  
• Then, students will answer the, what we want to
  learn, section of their graphic organizer.
  After, they have had time to record their
  questions the teacher will have students share
  their questions with the class as they create a
  compilation of class questions.
• Next, the teacher reads the book Wanted Dead or
  Alive to the class.
• Students will record what they learned on their
  graphic organizers.
• Students will then share with the class what they
  learned to create a class KWL chart. Before
  reading the book Follow the Drinking Gourd,
  students will have time to record questions in
  the, What we want to learn section of the class
  KWL while previewing the title and cover.
• Students will also have the opportunity to record
  questions about the Underground Railroad after
  the teacher is done reading the text.
• Students will place these questions under the W
  section on their graphic organizers. After
  reading the story Follow the Drinking Gourd,
  students will record what they learned on their
  graphic organizer.
• Students will share what they learned about the
  Underground Railroad with the class to be placed
  on the class KWL chart.
• Students and teacher will review the questions
  students would still like answered and what the
  class has learned so far about the Underground
  Railroad.

15
Procedure Continued

• Writing Activity Journal Entry using the
  R.A.F.T. strategy
• After reading Follow the Drinking Gourd students
  will write in their journal taking on the role
  the teacher assigns them.
• Role- A slave boy or girl who is traveling north
  with their mother following Peg Legs trail
• Audience-Whoever finds your journal
• Format- A journal entry
• Topic- You are a slave who has just escaped you
  need to tell about your first day traveling North
  to freedom.
• Students will have time to create a well
  developed journal entry
• After finishing students will have the option to
  share their entry with the class.
• Extension Activity
• Prior to lesson Teacher will type students
  questions they have asked under the what we want
  to know section of the class KWL chart. Teacher
  will put appropriate encyclopedia and
  informational sites on her Portaportal for
  students to visit in order to find information.
  Teacher will review websites to make sure all the
  questions can be answered using the chosen sites.
  
• During Lesson
• Teacher will hand out the What we want to know
  sheets to students.
• Students will visit the sites marked by the
  teacher to answer the classes questions.
• After half an hour students will share their
  answers with the class.
• The class will compare and contrast answers.

16
Student Work Samples

• Class KWL showing students knowledge of the
  Underground Railroad and Harriet Tubman
• K-Harriet Tubman made the united states
  flag-Harriet Tubman was a slave.-It has something
  to do with slaves.-It was a railroad for black
  people and it was underground-The Drinking
  Gourd is a gourd full of water like a water
  bottle-The Drinking Gourd are stars in the sky
• W-Who is Harriet Tubman and why is she
  important?-Why did the railroad have to run
  underground?-Were only black people allowed on
  the underground railroad?-Is the underground
  railroad still being used?-Are there still slaves
  today?-Where did the underground railroad go?-Was
  Harriet Tubman a slave?-Why did slaves want to go
  North?-What is the Drinking Gourd?-Why would I
  want to follow the Drinking Gourd?-Wouldnt
  following the Drinking Gourd lead you in
  circles?
• L-Harriet Tubman was a conductor on the
  Underground Railroad.-Harriet Tubman led slaves
  to Freedom-Harriet Tubman was a slave who
  escaped-Harriet Tubman was from Maryland-Harriet
  Tubman brought more than 300 slaves North to
  freedom-The Slaves wanted to go North where
  slavery wasnt allowed-The underground railroad
  did not have a train-The underground railroad
  were houses slaves could stop at to rest when
  they were running away-People tried to catch the
  slaves to get the reward-Some slaves had to cross
  the Ohio river to escape-The Drinking Gourd is
  really the big Dipper-The Drinking Gourd showed
  slaves the way North

17
Student Work Samples

• Journal Entries
• Role- A slave boy or girl who is traveling north
  with their mother following Peg Legs trail
• Audience-Whoever finds your journal
• Format- A journal entry
• Topic- You are a slave who has just escaped you
  need to tell about your first day traveling North
  to freedom.
• Student 1
• Dear Diary. Today my mom and I ran away from
  home. It was really scary. We heard the man
  making a bird call last night so we got some food
  and ran out to meet our conductor. We walked all
  night. Sometimes I heard dogs barking. We did
  not know if they were following us or not. Mom
  kept telling me to be quiet. I guess I was
  walking to loudly. I wasnt talking. I am too
  afraid to talk. Right now we are at some white
  persons house. We are actually in the barn. It
  is daylight and I cant sleep. Mom keeps telling
  me to sleep but my stomach is hungry and I am
  really scared. I hope we make it north.
• Student 2
• Today we escaped from our masters house. This
  morning my mom told me to be ready to leave
  tonight we were going to escape. I was nervous
  but my mom told me not to tell anyone, not even
  my best friend. I did not want to leave Rosie
  but my mom said we had to. I wonder if she knows
  I am gone yet. Anyway we met Peg Leg and he told
  us to follow his prints. He said he would go
  ahead of us to make sure it was safe. It was
  kind of exciting when we started off but it is
  not fun anymore. I could hear dogs barking
  behind us. My momma said if they catch our scent
  they will be able to find us and we will have to
  go back to our master. I dont want to go back.
  He will be so mad he might sell us to someone who
  is even meaner than him. I am so tired and
  hungry but we have to keep walking. During the
  day we sleep but I cant sleep. I am so scared.
  Well I will write next time I get some time.

18
Reflection

• I felt the lessons were a success as
  illustrated by my students KWLs and their
  journal entries. When working on their
  individual KWL my students were engaged and
  interested. They had a difficult time answering
  the Know part of the KWL because they did not
  have much prior knowledge of Harriet Tubman or
  the Underground Railroad. This led them to have
  many questions pertaining to the two topics in
  the, What I wonder about section of their KWL.
  While reading the texts I allowed students to add
  more questions they had or new information they
  learned onto their KWL. My students were engaged
  in the texts because they were searching for
  answers to their questions. They were also very
  intrigued by new information and facts they
  learned about the Underground Railroad which was
  shown by their focus while reading and the What I
  Learned section of their KWLs.
• While reading students journal entries, I was
  amazed at how well they took on the voice of a
  runaway slave. I instructed my students to write
  a journal entry as a slave who is ten years old
  and running away on the Underground Railroad.
  They needed to write their entry as the slave and
  describe what their first day running away was
  like. My students were focused and thoughtful
  while writing these entries. Their entries
  showed they had an understanding of the reading
  and it allowed them to connect to the texts. All
  of my students took ideas from the stories we had
  read and incorporated them into their journals.
  My students focus and ability to connect with the
  literature on a deeper level shows this part of
  the lesson was successful.
• As a final activity I had my students visit
  pre-selected web sites on the Underground
  Railroad. They were instructed to add more
  information onto the Learned section of their
  KWL. They were also searching for answers to the
  Questions they had formulated while reading the
  two texts. Each of my students has their own
  computer with wireless internet so they were able
  to work individually but I allowed them to
  discuss the information they found with a
  partner. My students were excited and focused
  during this activity. All of my students were on
  task as they searched for the answers to their
  questions. They were excited to be able to
  explore websites and search for answers to their
  individual questions. I felt this activity
  empowered my students and taught them how to
  search out information to their questions on
  their own. I feel this is an important tool for
  students to possess in order to become life long
  learners.

19
Accomplished teachers are responsible for
managing and monitoring student learning.

• Artifact 3 Tired Wax Museum Lesson
• Rational
• I selected this lesson plan to demonstrate my
  ability to differentiate my lessons in order to
  accommodate all students. The tiered lesson plan
  format allowed me to create a lesson which was
  tailored to three different ability levels. This
  enabled all students to be successful writing a
  script and performing in the Maine Wax Museum.
  Having students create a Wax Museum shows
  diversity in regards to assessing my students.
  Students were asked to writer their script but
  their performance is what was assessed. I think
  it is important for students to be assessed in
  several different ways and this lesson displays
  one way I assess student.

20
Maine Wax Museum Tired Lesson Plan

• People of Maine Wax Museum Tiered Lesson Plan
• Identify Outcomes- Students will be able to
  research and write a report about a major person
  in Maine history. Students will present their
  report to parents and classmates
• Think about your students-
• Pre-assessment of students research abilities in
  other tasks this year
• Pre-assessment of students writing ability
• students who need extra help will receive it
• Students will have a choice of who they research
• Initiating Activities
• Teacher will visit Madam Tousoss wax museum site
  with students using smartboard to introduce idea
  of wax museum (Students have previously had an
  overview of Famous Mainers) Teacher will perform
  a short monologue about E.B.White for the
  students (prepared by teacher)
• Students will use their laptops to research
  using the State of Maine Kids Site to choose a
  Maine person Teacher will meet with specific
  groups to review rubric, objectives, and
  expectations for their project. Students choose
  Famous Mainer for their project
• Group 1-Students will use one source
  (www.stateofmainesiteforkids.org)
• Students must provide information about the
  person including 3 interesting facts-Students
  reports will be one minute long-Students will be
  allowed to use note cards while
  presenting-Students will wear a costume to look
  like their person
• Group 2-Students will use two sources and must
  site their sources in report-Students must
  provide information about the person including 4
  interesting facts- Students reports will be one
  and- half- minutes long.-Students will be
  permitted one note card specifically for notes
  during presentation-Students will wear a costume
  to look like their person
• Group 3-Students will use three sources and must
  site their sources in the report (text and
  Non-text sources)-Students must provide
  information about the person including 5
  interesting facts-Students reports will be two
  minutes long-Students must memorize their
  report-Students will wear a costume to look like
  their Maine person

21
Tiered Lesson Continued
22
Student Work Samples

• Leon Leonwood Bean
• I am Leon Leonwood Bean. My job title is the
  owner of L.L. Bean. I was born in 1873 and died
  in 1967. I was born in Greenwood Maine. I lived
  in Freeport Maine. I invented waterproof boots
  and I opened up a store named L.L.Bean. My
  golden rule is sell good merchandise at a
  reasonable profit, treat your customers like
  human beings and theyll come back for more. I
  also made ninety pairs of waterproof boots in
  five weeks. Now you know all about me.
• -Grade four (Tier 2) student in Miss Williams
  Class
• Cindy Blodgett
• I am Cindy Blodgett and I am from Clinton,
  Maine. I now live in Sacramento, California. I
  was born in 1975, December 23, two days before
  Christmas. I am known for being one of the top
  women basketball players in the WNBA. I am a
  very athletic person. Talking about that, I also
  ran the second fastest in the Boston Marathon.
  My stats are five foot nine and I weigh one
  hundred thirty pounds. One of my hobbies is
  cleaning my car. I hope to become a college
  coach and I am going to study for a masters
  degree in the future.
• - Grade 4 (Tier 3) Student in Miss Williams
  class
• Edna St. Vincent Millay
• I am Edna St. Vincent Millay. I was born in
  1892 and died in 1950. I became famous because
• I was one of the renowned poets in the 20th
  century. I lived in Rockland, Maine.
• Then I moved to Newburyport Massachusetts. Here
  are my four interesting facts.
• I went to a public high school. I wrote a book
  called The Lyric Year in 1912.
• I got a scholarship to Vassar College for my
  poetry. I took preparatory courses for
• one semester in Banard College, then entered
  Vassar. After that I got married to another
• poet named Arthur Davidson Picke.
• -Grade 4 (Tier 2) student in Miss Williams Class

23
Reflection

• Overall the Maine Wax Museum lesson I created
  worked well. Setting clear expectations at
  levels students were able to achieve
  independently was successful with my students.
  Having students research their Maine person
  online was a great resource and met many of the
  Maine Learning Results standards. I designed
  three separate rubrics which clearly stated the
  expectations of each tier this allowed students
  to see what they were being graded on and what my
  expectations were. Each rubric had a go beyond
  option were students were able to earn additional
  points for finding additional information. Many
  students chose to include the go beyond piece
  in their final paper. Having parents attending
  the curriculum fair watch students presentations
  was successful. The students were great actors
  and the parents were impressed with how
  professionally my students performed their
  monologues.
• In any lesson a teacher creates, there is always
  room for improvement and growth. Areas of my
  Maine Wax Museum I could work on would be time
  allotment and a re-evaluation of the tiers and
  their requirements. This lesson lasted eleven
  days, which, with this class was a little too
  long. I would still have students collect
  information at school using our classroom laptops
  but next year I will have students complete their
  paragraphs at home. I believe next year I will
  shorten this lesson to nine days. I will also
  review the tiers I created and look at the
  different expectations at each tier. To make
  this lesson more successful, I will look at
  students ability to meet the set expectations
  and if the expectations I created were reflective
  of students abilities. I will review the
  success of the tiers by reviewing students
  ability to research, produce a product, and
  present their individual monologue.
• As an educator, it is important to
  review ones lessons in order to create a more
  meaningful learning experience for students. All
  of my students were successful in learning about
  the Maine person they chose to research. I was
  amazed by my students enthusiasm to learn about
  their Maine person. All of my students were able
  to conduct research, write a report, and memorize
  their information. Many of my students became
  experts on their Maine person even conducting
  further research during their weekly laptop
  instruction time. In order to stay true to their
  character many of my students also tried to match
  the outfits they wore during the curriculum fair
  to the time period, which the person lived. All
  students either met or exceeded the expectations
  I set for them. I wanted students to be able to
  research a Maine person, write a coherent
  paragraph in first person about their person, and
  present their report. All students were able to
  at least meet these standards. Since all
  students met the standard I set for them I
  believe they were all successful in learning the
  essential knowledge.

24
Accomplished teachers think systemically about
their practice and learn from experience.

• Artifact 4 Japanese Folk Tale Readers theater
• Rational
• I chose to include the readers
  theater lesson I created on Japanese Folk tales
  to show I think systematically about their
  practice and learns from previous experience.
  Selecting a lesson which shows growth and change
  over time is difficult but I chose to show this
  through the lesson I chose and my lesson
  reflection. During the process of creating this
  lesson I worked and re-worked the lesson. I had
  to thoughtfully select the texts, create a
  rubric, create mini lessons, choose student
  groups, and decide how many days to allot
  students to work on their scripts. When looking
  at the lesson many people will not consider the
  different revisions which have taken place but
  every year I refine lessons and adjust them to
  fit the class I am working with.
• This lesson was powerful because it
  is the first lesson where two of my students felt
  comfortable reading and performing in front of
  the class. I created this lesson to help two
  students build fluency. Through working with
  their peers my students were able to have a
  successful reading experience. During the week
  these students began to feel more comfortable
  with reading and their confidence began to grow.
  Readers theater was an opportunity for all my
  students to be successful in reading but it
  especially affected the two students in my class
  who avoid reading.

25
Japanese Folk Tale Readers Theater

• Fluency Readers Theatre
• Title Japanese folk tale readers theatre
• Literacy Standard English Language arts
• B. Literature and culture 3-4 1. 2. 5.
  8. 9.
• E. Process of writing and speaking 3-4 3.
• F. Standard English Conventions 3-4 1. 2.
• G. Stylistic and Rhetorical Aspects of Writing
  and Speaking 3-4 2. 4.
• Literacy Objective
• Students will be able to recognize the setting,
  characters, plot and important events within the
  folktale.
• Students will be able to write a script based on
  the Japanese folk tale their group chose.
• Students will be able to perform the play for
  their parents and peers.
• Materials and Resources
• Japanese folk tales
• The Bamboo Cutter and the Moon Maiden by Teresa
  Pierce Willston
• Stonecutter by Gerald McDermott
• Kwaidan by Lafcadio Hearn
• Little Fingerling by Monica Hughes
• The Paper Crane by Molly Bang

26
Procedure

• Day 1
• Teacher will introduce the readers theatre
  activity by telling students some background
  information about Japanese folk tales and
  connecting this activity to the book Sadako and
  the Thousand Paper Cranes
• Teacher will tell students the expectations of
  the lesson (Objectives) and share the rubric with
  students.
• Teacher will do a book talk on each of the
  Japanese Folk tales students will be able to
  choose from.
• The Bamboo Cutter and the Moon Maiden by Teresa
  Pierce Willston
• Stonecutter by Gerald McDermott
• Kwaidan by Lafcadio Hearn
• Little Fingerling by Monica Hughes
• The Paper Crane by Molly Bang
• After listening to the book talk students will
  write their first, second, and third choice books
  on a post-it and stick it on the teachers desk.
• Teacher will assign groups trying to stay within
  students wishes
• Day 2
• Students will work with their group first reading
  the folk tale through
• Students will recognize and record the story
  elements in their folk tale
• Plot
• Characters
• Main Events
• Setting

27
Procedure Continued

• Day 4
• Another work day on scripts
• Teacher will review scripts and provide feedback
  as well as supervise and support the groups.
• Day 5, 6 and 7
• Teacher will do a mini lesson on fluency and
  intonation while performing in a play
• Students will practice their plays with their
  groups making sure to coach and support each
  other
• Teacher will be available for feedback and
  support for the groups. Teacher will also
  supervise the classroom activity.
• Day 8
• Students will perform their plays for their peers
  only.
• The class will give comments, complements, or
  questions at the end of each performance.
• Groups will work on their plays according to
  their peers appropriate suggestions
• Day 9
• Students will perform their original readers
  theatre pieces to the younger students in grades
  pre-k to third grade

28
Reflection

• Since my students learned about Japan and
  Japanese culture while reading Sadako and the
  Thousand Paper Cranes I felt studying Japanese
  folk tales complemented this learning. Earlier
  in the year, we studied Folk tales from China,
  America, and European countries but we did not
  delve into Japanese folk tales. Through this
  lesson students were able to study and explore
  some Japanese literature.
• Two of my lower readers were able to feel
  empowered through performing a readers theatre .
  They loved to read and to perform but their
  fluency needed to be improved. I felt my entire
  classes reading fluency and intonation improved
  during this activity but I believe it really
  helped those two students to feel accomplished in
  reading. With practice and the other students
  support these students were able to experience
  success in reading.
• Having students choose from a variety of books
  I provided worked particularly well. I was able
  to give all students their first choice.
  Requiring students to write their own scripts was
  tedious but it worked well. Students learned a
  lot about writing scripts during the process.
  Having students focus on reading and using their
  voices to express the text was very successful.
  Before this activity my students were always
  focused on props, costumes, and scenery. Through
  the readers theatre they could not rely on props.
  Instead my students only had themselves to
  convey the story to their audience, which they
  did superbly.
• One of the things I felt could be adjusted was
  Time. Cant time always be adjusted? The time
  frame for this lesson was nine days which was a
  long time. Each day I allotted around thirty
  minutes for the lesson but I believe it could be
  shortened a day or two by having students
  practice more at home. I am also on the fence
  about having students write their own scripts. I
  teach fourth grade and feel they need a challenge
  but it was quite a task for some groups. I think
  I will continue to have students create their own
  original script but will keep in mind the class
  and their ability levels in the future.

29
5. Accomplished teachers are members of learning
communities.

• Artifact 5 CAR project on students abilities
  to set and achieve writing goals
• The last artifact I am including is my
  Collaborative Action Research project entitled,
  Setting and Achieving Self-Selected Goals in
  Writing. As an educator each year I am faced with
  the same problems when teaching writing, students
  who are unmotivated. I realized many times
  writing is taught to the whole class without
  regard to various student ability in writing.
  Many students were either feeling completely lost
  during writing lessons or where feeling
  unchallenged and stifled. When reviewing
  students writing rubrics I discovered the same
  students were not meeting the standard in the
  same writing skills on each assignment. Through
  my research I was able to work with students
  individually to help them meet the standard on
  the writing skills they were lacking. Throughout
  the year I work with my students on goal setting.
  Students are asked to set a goal at the
  beginning of each quarter. Every year my class
  works on running a mile which is a class goal.
  I decided to explore if fourth grade students
  could set individual writing goals and work to
  achieve those goals with teacher support. Other
  teachers were interested in my research and are
  also considering creating a more personalized
  writing program.

30
Setting and Achieving Self-Selected Goals in
Writing

• A Collaborative Action Research Report
• University of New England
• Masters of Science in Education
• Research conducted by Charity Williams
• August 9, 2008
• Please left click to view CAR Project

31
Reflection

• As an educator, I am constantly
  conducting research in my classroom in order to
  solve problems or address concerns I may have.
  Since I am the lone fourth grade teacher many
  times I lack a partner to bounce ideas off of who
  understands the perils of teaching fourth
  graders. During my research I was able to work
  with other teachers to develop a research topic.
  While meeting with other professionals and
  brainstorming possible research topics I realized
  there are many commonalities across the grade
  levels. When brainstorming with my partner we
  kept coming back to the lack of student
  motivation and parental support we notice in our
  classrooms. These are problems teachers are
  noticing from first grade throughout the grade
  levels.
• I decided to study student motivation in
  writing because writing seems to be a subject my
  students always struggle in. Some students are
  able to sail through writing assignments while
  other students struggle to even write one
  sentence. Grading spring and fall writing
  prompts each year is usually a painful experience
  when one realizes all of the writing lessons
  conducted were only absorbed by a few students.
  I wanted to tackle the problem of motivating
  students during writing class. I decided to
  approach the problem by having my students create
  personal writing goals and work to reach those
  goals during writing class.
• During my research my writing class was
  completely altered. It took on a new form.
  There was no longer a whole class lesson and then
  a writing prompt but instead individualized
  lessons and assignments based on the students
  writing needs. I no longer taught to the masses
  but instead to each individual student. Students
  were motivated because the lessons were tailored
  to their needs. The students who were able to
  speed through writing assignments before were
  offered more of a challenge while students who
  struggled with writing were offered assignments
  more geared toward their writing ability. My
  students who struggle in writing no longer
  avoided writing they no longer felt overwhelmed
  during writing class. Instead many of my
  struggling writers were excited about writing
  class. Students were able to chose the writing
  skill they wanted to improve which offered
  students a since of control. Students who
  struggle with writing no longer had to focus on
  all of the pieces to writing but instead they
  worked on the one skill they felt needed
  improvement. Students who excelled in writing
  class were no longer bored during writing class
  and appreciated being challenged. Working with
  my students and assisting them on reaching their
  writing goals was very rewarding. My students
  began to take pride in their writing assignments
  and were noticing the specific pieces of their
  writing which needed improvement. This approach
  to teaching writing worked very well with the
  group of students I had. I am considering
  reshaping this approach for the class I will have
  in the fall and look forward to seeing if it has
  the same results.
• When first presented the task of conducting
  Collaborative Action Research I was overwhelmed
  with the entire process. It seemed like a
  daunting task. After going through the process I
  now realize how valuable and empowering action
  research can be. The information gained through
  Collaborative Action Research is not only
  important for the classroom it is conducted in
  but to other teachers as well. Collaborative
  Action Research creates a community of
  professionals all working with each other to
  solve problems which impact classrooms. Many
  times educational research is conducted by
  researchers who are not in a classroom every day.
  Collaborative Action Research empowers teachers
  to find solutions to problems in their own
  classroom and share their results with other
  educators. I am excited to continue to work with
  my colleagues and work to improve myself as an
  educator.

32
Final Reflective Paper

• As an educator everyday in a classroom yields
  both challenges and opportunities for joy. In
  the past ten years education in America has
  changed. There are new challenges facing
  teachers including a lack of parental support,
  student motivation to learn, and a generation who
  is used to constant entertainment from digital
  media. Students no longer come to class prepared
  to learn and eager to listen. Teachers can no
  longer review chapter eight in their ten year old
  science book but instead need to update their
  teaching strategies to prepare students for the
  future. The new brand of student requires a
  different method towards teaching. Teachers need
  to motivate students, look for innovative
  teaching strategies, and new classroom management
  techniques.
• Each student enters our classroom with their
  own personal needs, aspirations, and abilities.
  As an educator it is our job to get to know each
  student on an individual basis. Instead of
  viewing a class as a group of students teachers
  need to reach out to each individual student.
  When students realize a teacher is making an
  effort to get to know them their respect is
  usually earned and students will be more
  motivated to learn. Also the teacher can work on
  goal setting as a motivational strategy. Many
  students are motivated by extrinsic motivation.
  They are used to getting things when they reach a
  goal. By working on goal setting in the
  classroom and modeling to students that sometimes
  when goals are achieved all one gets is a feeling
  of accomplishment, students will begin to work
  towards their own goals. Goal setting is a very
  powerful strategy to help students to become
  motivated learners. Finally when a teacher is
  excited about learning students will follow.
  Teachers who are energized and excited about the
  lessons they teach in turn have students who are
  motivated and excited to learn.
• Teachers can no longer teach from a text book
  and have students quietly follow along at their
  desks. Teaching methods have changed in an
  effort to reach each student who enters our
  classroom. Teachers need to create lessons which
  keep in mind students learning styles, integrate
  technology and include opportunities for
  cooperative learning. Students learn in a
  variety of ways and teachers need to create
  lessons with Howard Gardners Eight Intelligences
  in mind. Teachers need to create lessons which
  make sure each students intelligence is tapped.
  We live in a world where everything is becoming
  digital. In order for students to compete and
  learn in todays society teachers need to be
  incorporating technology into their lessons.
  Whether it is reading the news together, writing
  a report, conducting research, or completing a
  webquest students need to be using technology.
  Finally, teachers also need to include
  cooperative learning into their lessons.
  Cooperative learning offers students the
  opportunity to learn from each other as they work
  as a group. The teacher becomes more of a
  facilitator as students with varying capabilities
  work together to complete a task. Todays
  educator needs to be prepared to include new
  teaching methods in our bag of tricks to pull out
  as students needs continue to change.

33
Reflective Paper Continued

• Classroom management techniques vary according
  to the class and the teachers individual style.
  Over the years I have begun to develop my own
  classroom management style. In my classroom I
  focus on positive behaviors as a classroom
  management technique. Students are rewarded for
  good behaviors in an effort to draw attention
  away from bad behavior. Students want attention
  from the teacher and their classmates which is
  why students sometimes misbehave. Students in my
  classroom get their name on the board for good
  behavior. They are my star students and can earn
  time in the gym to help the pre-kindergarteners.
  The entire class can earn P.A.T. (preferred
  activity time) when everyone in the class is on
  task or makes a good transition. This time is
  accumulated during the week and used on Friday as
  a class recess. When transitioning I look for
  students who are making good transitions and draw
  attention to the good behavior by saying I like
  the way These are all examples of positive
  classroom management techniques I have used
  successfully in my classroom. I have found they
  eliminate most negative behaviors and change the
  atmosphere of the classroom.
• As the world changes our teaching methods will
  continue to evolve. Teachers need to constantly
  update their teaching methods and classroom
  management techniques as a way to reach students
  and keep them motivated. Teaching is not a
  stagnant profession, it is one which is
  constantly changing, and can be highly rewarding.
  

34
Reflective summary

• Throughout the course of my work in the MSED
  program I have been challenged to become a more
  purposeful and reflective educator. When I began
  the graduate program I had been teaching for only
  three years. I had created lessons and was
  following the curriculum but I was not reaching
  every student in my classroom. I created lessons
  aimed at the average student but did not quite
  know how to reach the students working below or
  above grade level. I realized I need to not
  simply teach to the masses but reach each student
  individually. I have developed in my ability to
  create lessons with every student in mind.
• In todays busy world people rarely take the
  time for reflection. Many times teachers are
  leaping from one lesson to the next without
  stopping to consider how successful the previous
  lesson was. The MSED program required me to stop
  and take time to reflect. Through reflecting on
  the lessons I created I was able to refine them
  and create lessons which were much more effective
  in reaching students. While working on my degree
  I realized the power of reflecting on ones work
  and began to incorporate this into my lessons.
  When students know they will be required to
  reflect on a piece of writing or project they
  have completed they usually put more effort into
  their work. Reflecting on ones work is a
  powerful skill I will continue to develop even
  after I have finished the MSED program.
• As one grows and evolves as an educator so to
  does his/her mission statement. I believe my job
  as an educator is to create students who are
  life-long learners, who are global citizens, and
  are able to work cooperatively. An educators
  job is no longer to fill students minds with
  facts but instead to teach students how to think.
  Students need to know how to use their knowledge
  in real life situations. My overall goal now is
  to guide students to become life-long learners.
  I want to create a love of learning within my
  students. It is easy to say one wants to
  encourage students to become life-long learners
  but the challenge is in finding ways to fulfill
  this statement.

35
Reflective Summary Continued

• Through the MSED program I have developed new
  ways of reaching students including new teaching
  strategies and classroom management techniques
  which are helping me to create a classroom
  environment which supports learning. I feel
  through creating a classroom which is excited
  about and supportive of learning I will in turn
  create students who will become life-long
  learners. Many aspects of my mission statement
  have not changed but through the MSED program I
  have changed the ways in which I accomplish my
  goals as an educator.
• One part of the MSED program I feel changed my
  views of myself as an educator and learner was
  Collaborative Action Research. Before I began my
  Collaborative Action Research I believed
  classroom research should be conducted by people
  outside of the classroom. I felt too overwhelmed
  with the requirements I had to meet as a teacher
  and believed I had no time to conduct and publish
  research. While conducting research in my
  classroom I realized how valuable research
  performed by teachers can be. Working with
  colleagues to conduct research based on problems
  found in ones own classroom is a very empowering
  experience. I look forward to continuing to
  conduct Collaborative Action Research in my
  classroom as a way to foster my own life-long
  learning.
• Prior to beginning the MSED program I was
  getting comfortable with the way I was educating
  my students. I was settling into a pattern of
  teaching the same lesson year after year. The
  MSED program challenged me to rethink the
  teaching methods I was using. I became
  reenergized as an educator. I now feel confident
  in my ability to reach all students and excited
  about the prospect of becoming a leader among my
  colleagues.