Standard #: 2.

Artifact #: 2.3

Artifact Name/Title/Description: Food Words (Restaurant)

I have included the Restaurant Food Words activity to demonstrate my awareness on

educating individuals with exceptionalities on the common food words through authentic
learning. This artifact taught me how to deliver a lesson on vocabulary words to a group of ten
students in a moderate self-contained classroom. I learned how to apply the teaching strategies
from my college courses to the classroom, including modeling, guided practice, and independent
practice. First, the articulation of each word was demonstrated for the students so that they could
grasp a clear understanding of how to say each word. Then, we worked together as a class to
complete a worksheet by matching words to pictures and circling all of the same words, such as
hot dog, French fries, or hamburger. At the end of the lesson, the students were instructed
to identify each of the new vocabulary words without any assistance. Furthermore, the Learning
Environments standard entails that special education professionals use motivational and
instructional interventions to teach individuals with exceptionalities how to adapt to different
environments. In the beginning of this lesson, prior knowledge was activated; the students were
asked Where do you like to eat when you go out with your families? and What do you like to
order on the menu? These questions made the students excited about their favorite restaurants
and types of meals, so it gave them motivation to learn more about the material. The standard
also states that beginning special educators structure environments to encourage the
independence, self-direction, and personal empowerment of individuals with exceptionalities.
This particular activity is crucial because it helps students learn how to order items on the menu
so that they are able to be self-reliable independent members of society.
As a teacher in training, my growing competence is increasing throughout my experience
of student teaching. Student teaching is a way of preparing an individual in the field of education
to learn effective strategies for lesson planning. Regardless of the lesson, there is always
tweaking that can be done. This lesson turned out to be successful and enjoyable for the students;
however, I do believe that I can create even more resources for the students to fully comprehend
the material. This particular group of students may benefit from flashcards. The flashcards may
be used as a tool for the students to review on a daily basis. Once the words and pictures are
frequently integrated to the students minds, they will be able to apply the new terms to situations
outside of school. The skills and insights Ive gained may be applied to new experiences in my
teaching career. The packets that the students completed are valuable resources to refer to while
starting out as a beginning teacher. The strategies used for activating prior knowledge and
grabbing attention may also be implemented in the future. When I have to plan a lesson in the
future, I may get stuck when deciding on an appropriate and interesting way to initiate the lesson.
It will be beneficial to ponder on past experiences, by thinking about which strategies worked
and which strategies did not work. For example, the same words activity seemed to be difficult
for the students because they needed more time to learn the new vocabulary terms in order to
recognize the correct words. The matching activity with the pictures was an easier task for the
students because the visual facilitated the material and the pictures were familiar to what they
had previously learned.