Annotated List of Instructional Activities

In my classroom the lesson plans and activity are based on the Common Core State Standards
and involve a variety of activities in the classroom. Below I have included information about a
variety of activities I have in my classroom.
DO NOW: Everyday I begin the class with a Do Now. During this time the students complete an
activity that either connects to something we did the previous day or preps them for the current
class. During this time, I am able to check in with some students and get the class focused on
the task at hand. Below are a few different types of Do Nows the students have completed
throughout the year.

DO NOW
FINISH THE OPEN ENDED RESPONSE BASED ON THE SHORT STORY THE BUS
RIDE. PLEASE COMPLETETHIS ON THE BACK OFYOUR SHORT STORY.
In the short storyThe Bus Ride, how did the narrators observations and suspicions
play a role in her decisions in the story?

This was done before we started

reading the short story The
Necklace. The purpose was to get
the students thinking about what
they would do if they lost
something they borrowed from the
friend. Like in the story.

Word of the Week: Each week we

have a word that we focus on
throughout the week. On Tuesdays
they receive the word. They
complete activities including
finding synonyms and antonyms as
well as practicing applying the
word through activities. The words
connect to what we are doing in
class for the week.

As a class we read The Bus Ride

the previous day. Students were
asked to think about how the
characters suspicions played a
role in the novel. In class we were
going to talk about how characters
decisions impact the plot. This Do
Now connected the lesson from the
previous day to todays lesson.

WHOLE CLASS
INSTRUCTION: To introduce
or review concepts to my class, I utilize whole class instruction through Power Point
Presentations. I present information in a power point presentation and the students are given
notes to fill in during the presentation. Below I have included a sample power point slide and
student notes that connect.
Authors C raft Vocabulary
Authors craft is known as
tec hniques authors use to
make their writing unique
and refect their
personality.
These are items the
author uses purposely to
enhance their story.

This was a slide from the lesson about Authors Craft. I included part of the
student note page that connects to the slide. The students needed to fill in
what was underlined and in red throughout the lesson.

MODELING ACTIVITIES: After teaching a concept, I model to students analyzing the concepts I
presented in the class notes. I model through an anchor text that we have read as a class,
usually a picture book. This provides us with a common shorter text that we can refer to often
throughout a unit. In writing instruction, I provide students with a sample that I have written

myself. I refer to this sample throughout the writing unit as a model of what I am expecting in my
classroom. Below I have included a sample of how I model reading and writing concepts.

In order to model finding the

different elements of plot, I
used the fairy tale Cinderella.
Once we had gone over all the
different elements, I modeled
finding the different elements in
the fairy tale Cinderella.

This was a model essay I wrote for

students during the argumentative
unit. This was a topic different than the
students were writing their essay on.
This was the topic we practiced taking
notes and outlining an essay together
as a class.

PARTNER ACTIVITIES: After the instruction is completed students work in pairs to complete
practice activities based on the concept being taught in class today. Students are able to work
together to practice before they complete something on their own. Students may also complete
discussions in partners as well. The students are grouped together due to their ability to work
well with one another and their ability level.

Example of an activity they

completed in pairs.

Example of a Turn &

Talk where the
students discuss
quickly with their pairs.

GROUP ACTIVITIES: Students also work in groups to complete assignments and form reading
groups. During this time students work together to practice the strategies presented in class.
Students also are in groups to have a discussion on texts we have read in class. Students come
up with questions on their own as well as focus questions from me. Students are put in specific
groups for a variety of reasons: compatibility, strengths and weaknesses. I switch the groups

often so the students can work in a variety of situations. The students may also move around the
groups like centers to complete a variety of activities per lesson.

Students Working in
Groups

Example of Paper
Students Used During
Stations

CONFERENCES: I check in with students through individual conferences about their reading or
writing. Students come to the conference with specific questions they have about their writing. I
give them individual feedback on their writing, and I take notes on what information we
discussed. I keep a record of what we discussed so I will know where they are in the progress of
writing for their next conference. I use Google Forms to keep a record of the conferences.

Types of Forms I
Created

Sample Form

Results from one of

the Google Forms

ASSESSMENT: Throughout the class students complete a variety of assessments. At the

beginning of the unit, students take a pre-assessment to see what students already know in
order to guide my instruction. Throughout the lesson, students complete check in quizzes to
clarify if there are any concepts I need to revisit from the lesson before the students individually
complete assignments. At the end of the lesson students apply the knowledge they learned in
class individually. This shows me not only if the students can use the concept, but also apply the
concept. Below I have included examples of all these.

Pre-Assessment

Check
Exit
InTicket
Quiz