Artifacts
Here you will find artifacts from my student-teaching career that are made up of student work and teaching material. These are bits and pieces of my journey on becoming a teacher that have resonated with me. The artifacts also reflect my growth as a teacher and connect to the California Standards for the Teaching Profession and show cases my understanding, knowledge and commitment to teaching.
Standard 1: Engaging and Supporting All Students in Learning
Sun & Moon Science Lesson
Above is a sample science lesson that I created for my 3rd grade students. As a class we were curious about how the sun and the moon appear in the sky and wanted to know more about how they move. While out on an evening run I looked up to the sky and noticed the sun and the moon were out together against the backdrop of a pink and blue San Diego sunset. I stopped to take a picture because my students had discussed the previous day whether or not the sun and the moon could be seen together. We had ended the conversation with many unanswered questions and ideas. I then used this picture as a focal point for our science discussion the following day. I remember the excitement that the picture sparked amongst my students. This picture proved that some student ideas couldn't work but it also sparked amazing and deep conversations about how some ideas could work. During this particular student-teaching placement, I was very fortunate to have been under the mentorship of a wonderful Cooperating-Teacher who embodies inquiry based teaching. This lesson reflects my knowledge of building upon student questions and ideas as evidence from the moon and sun picture as well as connecting lessons to real world contexts. This lesson also inspired some of my students to make their own daily observations of the moon and sun - a simple but powerful scientific method.
Above is a sample science lesson that I created for my 3rd grade students. As a class we were curious about how the sun and the moon appear in the sky and wanted to know more about how they move. While out on an evening run I looked up to the sky and noticed the sun and the moon were out together against the backdrop of a pink and blue San Diego sunset. I stopped to take a picture because my students had discussed the previous day whether or not the sun and the moon could be seen together. We had ended the conversation with many unanswered questions and ideas. I then used this picture as a focal point for our science discussion the following day. I remember the excitement that the picture sparked amongst my students. This picture proved that some student ideas couldn't work but it also sparked amazing and deep conversations about how some ideas could work. During this particular student-teaching placement, I was very fortunate to have been under the mentorship of a wonderful Cooperating-Teacher who embodies inquiry based teaching. This lesson reflects my knowledge of building upon student questions and ideas as evidence from the moon and sun picture as well as connecting lessons to real world contexts. This lesson also inspired some of my students to make their own daily observations of the moon and sun - a simple but powerful scientific method.
Standard 2: Creating and Maintaing Effective Environments for Student Learning
3rd graders holding a Skype Meeting
This picture to the left is of my 3rd graders holding a Skype meeting with 8th grade geometry students at iMiddle. The purpose of the meeting was for the 3rd graders to convey their ideas about their garden boxes (e.g., dimensions, ideas, location) to the 8th graders who had experience in building garden boxes. The week before this meeting, the 3rd graders had worked hard exploring perimeter and area so that they could relay information to the 8th graders about what they wanted for their class garden box. As a class we also talked about how to hold a meeting and what it meant to have a meeting with someone who might not know about all the details that we've been working on. The 3rd grade students spend some time the day before the meeting make a class list of what we knew about our garden, and what we thought the 8th graders should know. We also talked about how to be professional during the meeting. It was a wonderful to watch the excitement unfold between both grade levels as they exchanged ideas with each other and to see the new ideas. This is an example of how I created a classroom environment that encouraged students to share ideas and thoughts through dialogue. It also speaks to a classroom community that values student interaction not only within the class but with other peers.
This picture to the left is of my 3rd graders holding a Skype meeting with 8th grade geometry students at iMiddle. The purpose of the meeting was for the 3rd graders to convey their ideas about their garden boxes (e.g., dimensions, ideas, location) to the 8th graders who had experience in building garden boxes. The week before this meeting, the 3rd graders had worked hard exploring perimeter and area so that they could relay information to the 8th graders about what they wanted for their class garden box. As a class we also talked about how to hold a meeting and what it meant to have a meeting with someone who might not know about all the details that we've been working on. The 3rd grade students spend some time the day before the meeting make a class list of what we knew about our garden, and what we thought the 8th graders should know. We also talked about how to be professional during the meeting. It was a wonderful to watch the excitement unfold between both grade levels as they exchanged ideas with each other and to see the new ideas. This is an example of how I created a classroom environment that encouraged students to share ideas and thoughts through dialogue. It also speaks to a classroom community that values student interaction not only within the class but with other peers.
Standard 3: Understanding and Organizing Subject Matter for Student Learning
This is a photo of an unit lesson on prepositions that I created for an English Language Development class. The students were learning about prepositions and how to use propositions to give directions. The lesson was create on Active Inspire, a software program that runs on Promethean boards. The lesson was interactive in that it allowed students to manipulate words with the Promethean board pen and place them in the blanks to create complete sentences. It also provided a way for me to show the action of each word through the programs animation features. For example, we created an animated picture where a bunny went through the garden. This gave students access to the meaning through visual cues. To create the lesson I combined materials from the ELD program material provided by King Chavez, the San Diego County Office of Language Acquisition and materials that I made on my own using Active Inspire. This photo reflects my understanding of language arts content and how to make it accessible for all student language proficiencies.
Standard 4: Planning Instruction and Designing Learning Experiences for All Students
The picture to the left is from a social studies unit that I taught to 3rd graders on Native American tribes in San Diego. The goal of this particular lesson was to learn about how location affected what the Kumeyaay Native Americans ate. As a class we talked about different foods and learned that many of things that they Kumeyaay gathered to eat are still eaten today by us. By providing my students with a picture vocabulary chart I was able to build upon their knoweldge of the different sources of food and also helped them make a deeper connection to the lesson. The following lesson we read an article on Kumeyaay food and how seasons affected what the tribe ate. It helped my students realize that the Kumeyaay tribe used many of the same resources in San Diego to live as they do today but that the Native Americans were affected by weather much more than we are today. This lesson reflects my knowledge of designing an sequencing learning experiences for my students. It also shows how I incorporate my students background knowledge into the lessons to help them build a deeper connection and ownership of their learning.
Standard 5: Assessing Students for Learning
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The pictures to the left are examples of student work from a 3rd grade geometry unit. The students used their knowledge of perimeter and area to map out the best ways to plant specific plants in their garden boxes. What was unique about this lesson was that the students were responsible for assessing their own learning. They had all the tools needed to solve the problem (i.e., experience with perimeter and are, creating models, knowledge of plant needs). The lesson also asked the students to relay their final design to classmates in a presentation. This asked each student to think about what they wanted their classmates to know and understand about their own thinking process. These pictures reflect my knowledge and use of different assessment tools as well as how I engage students in their own assessments.
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Standard 6: Developing as a Professional Educator
Above are pictures that capture the inspiring educational conferences that I attended this past year with classmates. The picture on the far left is of me and my co-presenter, Michael Salamanca, at the EDS/CREATE Common Core and NGSS conference. This was a wonderful learning experience for me in that I was able to meet seasoned teachers and to hear about the different ways that they are building curriculum in their classrooms to engage and inspire their students. I was also given the opportunity to present my own work in my student-teaching placement and receive feedback from peers and colleagues. The picture in the middle is of me and my classmate and friend, Stephanie Lance. This picture was originally a twitter feed with the hastag #UCSDEducate. It was a feature of the conference where we encouraged to take pictures of ourselves through the day at the conference and to share them with the world. It showed us that learning doesn't have to stop within the boundaries of a classroom and the wealth of knowledge that arises when you share your ideas with others. These photos reflect my professional goal of growing as a teacher by collaborating with colleagues and the boarder professional community to enhance student learning.
Examples of Student Work
Below you will find examples of student work on activities and projects that I implemented at my student-teaching placements. The projects reflect my philosophy of learning through discovery and the wonderful outcomes when students take ownership of their learning.
Geometry Garden Project - 3rd Grade, Fay Elementary
For this project, 3rd grade students collaborated with 8th grade students at a local middle school to build a school garden. The 3rd graders used their knowledge of perimeter and area to create the garden. They held weekly Skype meetings with the 8th grade students to exchange ideas and measurements for their garden box. The 8th grade students had knowledge of engineering and geometry practices to physically build the garden boxes for the 3rd graders. After the garden boxes were built and delivered by the middle schoolers, the 3rd graders used their knowledge of area and modeling to plant.
For this project, 3rd grade students collaborated with 8th grade students at a local middle school to build a school garden. The 3rd graders used their knowledge of perimeter and area to create the garden. They held weekly Skype meetings with the 8th grade students to exchange ideas and measurements for their garden box. The 8th grade students had knowledge of engineering and geometry practices to physically build the garden boxes for the 3rd graders. After the garden boxes were built and delivered by the middle schoolers, the 3rd graders used their knowledge of area and modeling to plant.
How does compost work? - 2nd Grade, South O. Elementary
The 2nd grade students were curious about what happens to food when it rots so as a class we created our own compost jars. Through observation and inquiry practices we observed the food scraps from lunch and home turn into nutrient rich soil.
The 2nd grade students were curious about what happens to food when it rots so as a class we created our own compost jars. Through observation and inquiry practices we observed the food scraps from lunch and home turn into nutrient rich soil.