Miss Haley's Teaching Philosophy

In the society that we live in individuality and unique characteristics among people are incredibly valued. As a whole, our society praises individuals with unique skills and talents.  This value is important to remember when we discuss the aspects of a student’s school experience. In school, students must be encouraged to develop these distinctive individualities. Differentiation of instruction based on students’ individual needs and characteristics is necessary for each student to succeed. Ultimately, as teachers, the success of our students is the most important part of our jobs. The significance of the content taught in schools to students as individuals has to reflect the value of individuality in our society. 

The role of schools in society is educate citizens in a way that prepares them to be an intelligent, participative, functional, and productive members of society. Schools should educate students on an individual level. Differentiation is necessary for each student to succeed. Schools provide an education that results in intelligent citizens that should be able to function in society, participate rationally in decision-making in society and contribute to the well being of society.

To be educated means to have been formally taught and to retain important information so that one is knowledgeable on a particular subject or subjects. Subject’s range from basics including day-to-day existence to advanced subjects in particular fields.

What is worth knowing depends on the individual. For each individual it is important to know information prepares them to be an intelligent, participative, functional, and productive members of society. Information that is relevant to the individual is also worth knowing. Aside from those categories, information that is interesting to the individual is also worth knowing.

Learning is the process of obtaining and retaining knowledge. This process differs from one individual to the next. No individual’s process is exactly like another individual’s process.

Good teaching is the process of helping an individual or a group of individuals obtain knowledge that they will retain and use to become intelligent, participative, functional, and productive members of society. Good teaching includes differentiating instruction based on student needs.

Compare and Contrast Non-Fiction for First Grade

Grade Level: 1^st

Lesson Topic: Compare and contrast non-fiction          

Subject: Social Studies
Time: 20-30 min

Indiana Standards:

1.RN.1 Read and comprehend nonfiction that is grade-level appropriate.

1.RN.2.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

Objectives:

Using nonfiction text, students will distinguish between similarities and differences of real life people. (Analysis)

Materials:

·      Place to post objective

·      Pens/ Pencils

·      Venn Diagram circles cut out  

·      Note cards/ sticky notes

·      Important Americans

Motivation: Teacher has two circles cut out from poster board. Each student will get a chance to guess what the circles are for. (The circles will later be used to make the Venn diagram.)
Goal for Learners: Today, boys and girls, we are going to learn how to find things that are alike and different when reading a book about real people or events.
Procedure:

1.     Teacher explains nonfiction. Students listen.

2.     Teacher introduces text.

3.     Teacher describes compare and contrast.

4.     Teacher reads the book to students.

5.     Students look for different characteristics of the person in the text.

6.     Students and teacher organize the characteristics into a Venn diagram.

7.     Students tell the teacher what is similar and different about Rosa Parks and another person in the text.

8.     Teacher repeats the definitions of the vocab.

9.     Students move to next station.

New Information:
            Non-fiction books are books about subjects like people, animals, and events. The information in the books is facts about real things that have happened. I will show the students the non-fiction book. Comparing means to look for things that are similar. Contrasting means looking for things that are different. We are going to use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast to people in our book. A Venn diagram is made of two circles. On circle has facts about one person or event the other has facts about another person or event and where the cross has facts about both. So the differences are here and here and the things that are alike are in the middle.

Vocab: compare, contrast, non-fiction, Venn diagram

Modeling: Reading the book. Thinking critically out loud while reading. “I know this is a non-fiction book because…, Wow, Rosa Parks… that is very important.”
Guided Practice: Venn Diagram (Non-linguistic representation, advanced organizer)

·      Students give information about Rosa Parks. Teacher writes them on sticky notes/ note cards.

·      Students give information about Clara Barton. Teacher writes them on sticky notes/ note cards.

·      Students and teacher work together to place the note cards in the correct place on the Venn Diagram

Check for Understanding:

·      When comparing two things what are you looking for?

·      When contrasting two things what are you looking for?

·      How do you know if a book or story is nonfiction?

Practice/ Application: Same as Evaluation- Students will choose another person in the book and verbally (using picture clues and text) compare them to Rosa Parks.
Accommodations:

Low ability: information can all be given verbally for students who cannot read or cannot read well

High ability: students are able to work more independently

Closure: Today we learned about finding things that are alike and things that are different in non-fiction books. How would you describe a non-fiction book? We read the book, then we picked out important facts about each person. What did we do after that? (organized them into a Venn diagram). What are the parts of a Venn diagram? (one side for things that are about one person, one side for facts about another or differences and in the middle facts about both or things that are similar.) It is important for us to be able to compare and contrast because it helps us understand what we read.
Evaluation: Students will verbally (using picture clues and text) compare and contrast Benjamin Franklin to Rosa Parks. They will pick one similarity and one difference to share with the teacher.
Example:         Benjamin Franklin- man, new kind of glasses, live in 1700s, American
                        Rosa Parks- woman, sat in the front of the bus, lived in 1900s, American
Rubric: (Place checkmark next to all that apply to student’s response.)

Verbally states-	One similarity	One difference

Extension: Students will be paired together and create their own Venn diagram about what is alike and different between them.
Bibliography:

Informational resource:

Sanchez, C. (2008). Important Americans. Carson California: Lakeshore Learning Materials. 

Instructional resources: 

Rowland, L. A., (14 Oct. 2013). Compare and Contrast. Life in First Grade. Retrieved from: http://lifeinfirstgrade1.blogspot.com/2013/10/compare-and-contrast.html

(2014). Lesson One: Compare and contrast. Readworks.org. retrieved from: http://www.readworks.org/lessons/grade1/compare-and-contrast/lesson-1

Welcome!

It has come to my attention, as a preservice teacher, that there are many lesson plans out there that provide helpful and beneficial information for other teachers researching what to do for their own classroom. However; it is often difficult for me to find lessons that live up to the extremely high expectations my college has put in place. In an effort to help out other teachers, I have decided to post my lesson plans so that others may have more resources to help them plan meaningful experiences for their students.  Now lets go teach some kids!
Sincerely,
Miss Haley