Dana Davis

Student Teaching
Spring 2016
Statement of Standard Two- Learning Differences
The teacher uses understanding of individual differences and diverse
cultures and communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that
enable each learner to meet high standards. (InTASC, 2011, pg. 11)
Name of Artifact: Ice Breaker
Date of Artifact: Spring 2016
Course: Student Teaching EDU 465
Rationale Statement:
For InTASC Standard Two Learning Differences, I created an Ice
Breaker activity. This activity can be used at the beginning of the school
year to give both the students and the teacher a chance to get to know each
other and create a sense of community in the classroom. This activity
relates directly to standard two because it speaks about creating a
community that has respect for individual and cultural differences. This
activity gives the students, as well as the teacher, an opportunity to learn
something about each other including both similarities and differences. Each
student learning how they are similar and different from each other
establishes a sense of community among them. This Ice Breaker activity
relates directly to the Danielson Framework for Teaching in Domain 1b:
Demonstrating Knowledge of Students. Although this domain infers the
teacher/student relationship, I feel strongly that it can also be applied to the
student/student relationship. All relationships must consist of a mutual
respect for each others strengths, weaknesses, and cultural/community
differences.
While creating this Ice Breaker activity, I learned that the three Rs
(Reading, Writing, & Arithmetic) are not the only thing that should be taught
in school. Social skills are also a necessary skill set to learn. Learning how to

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interact with your peers, teachers, parents, etc. is a very important aspect of
development. Its like the old saying, With knowledge comes wisdom, and
with wisdom comes understanding. When students are encouraged to
interact and learn about each others similarities and differences it
encourages them to become diversely respectful. This applies to the
teacher/student relationship as well. A teacher must learn about their
students differences, so that they may adjust their instruction to meet the
diverse needs of all students. While creating this activity, I had to keep in
mind the possibilities of my students diverse needs before I have even
gotten to know them. If I did not create an Ice Breaker activity that all
students can participate in, then I have missed the point of the activity.
There is a great deal of constant thinking and planning that a teacher must
do in order to be a successful teacher of a diverse group of learners.
I will absolutely use this Ice Breaker activity in my future classrooms. I
designed an activity which gives me an opportunity to learn something
personal about my students, as well as learn something about their physical
abilities/limitations and their prior knowledge of the content area I will be
teaching. The students will also learn things about their peers and become
familiar with the classroom itself. All in all, I believe it will be a great
introduction to science and to each other.
References
InTASC, CCSSOs Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support
Consortium. (April 2011) Model Core Teaching Standards: A Resource for
State Dialogue. Retrieved from
file:///C:/Users/Dana
%20Dwo/Downloads/intasc_model_core_teaching_standards_2011.pdf

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Make a Match
Age: 11-14 Grade: 6th - 8th

Subject: Science

Materials:
Two-piece puzzle cards
Index cards: one for each scientific term on the back of the puzzle
pieces
Directions:
As the students enter the room, have them draw a puzzle piece and sit
anywhere.
Once everyone has a puzzle piece, have the students find the other
person that has the matching piece.
Once they find their match and put the two pieces together, they will
find scrambled letters on the back of the complete puzzle. They must
unscramble these letters to reveal a word that corresponds to a
science-related item in the classroom.
When they have unscrambled the letters and figured out what the
word is, they must locate that item in the classroom. Somewhere on or
near the item will be an index card with directions for the next part.
The index card will ask the two students to work together to list two
things that their item might be used for. It will also ask them each to
list three traits that they believe they may have inherited from a family
member.
There is no prize for first place, so those who finish earlier may then
choose to help their peers.
Once all teams have found their items and completed the questions,
everyone can convene into a circle (science classes often have affixed
lab tables, so a circle may be difficult, but get creative, you want to
give the feeling that the whole class is a community). Go around the

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circle and give each student an opportunity to introduce themselves,

share their inherited traits and also discuss their item and its uses
along with their partner.
This activity, will give the students an opportunity to learn something
about each other and about the classroom contents and set-up. Oh,
and it should also be revealed at the end of the activity that their
match will be their lab partner for the marking period.

Source:
I created this activity on my own. Science is a very hands-on subject area,
so I wanted to develop an activity that would give the students a feel of how
they would be spending their time in my classroom. This activity gives them
an opportunity to be active and move around the room, interact with the
other students and help each other out with problem solving. By the end of
the activity, they will have acclimated themselves with the room, learned
what and where things are that they will be using throughout the year; they
will have learned something about each other, and received a little taste of
something they will learn about in the life science unit. Hopefully this
activity will give the students a strong sense of community amongst their
peers and myself.

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