Allison Simons

CIL 621
I As A Learner- Part 2

My original “I As A Learner” goal was to develop a virtual binder of lesson plans, assessment
tools, and resources. I stated that lesson plans will be thorough and comply with the Common Core State
Standards. Assessment tools will be explained and reviewed. Resources used in creating lesson plans and
assessments will be cited and described.
I chose to create this virtual binder, because at the beginning of my second practicum, I realized
that although the CCSS are the same in the district, the curriculums vary per school and it is my
responsibility to research and prepare lesson plans for the grade that I will be teaching as well as having
assessment tools and resources for those lesson plans. A virtual binder will allow me to easily access
different materials that I have created or found useful during my practicum and while studying to become
a teacher. This virtual binder will also be beneficial because I can continue to add resources to it
throughout my teaching career.
To accomplish my goal of creating a virtual binder, I used the Wix.com. At the beginning of the
semester, I created the basic layout of my virtual binder and developed it as the semester progressed. I
uploaded lesson plans, assessments, reviews of assessments, teaching strategies and a variety of other
materials that I found useful thus far in my studies and blossoming teaching career. Some of the
documentation that I specifically uploaded for my IAAL goal were 5 lesson plans focused on literacy
standards as well as a review that I wrote of 3 assessments that I researched.
The lesson plans I created were all focused on literacy standards, varying from Reading
Foundational Skills to Writing. I chose to focus specifically on Literacy, because I felt that it was an area
of weakness for me. I had not seen any literacy lesson in my first practicum (due to a departmentalized
class). I felt that by focusing on literacy, I could strengthen this area of weakness and become more
familiar with the ELA Common Core standards. Each of these lesson plans can viewed on the ‘IAAL’
page of my website or for a more indepth view, on the 2nd grade > ELA page, where materials for each
lesson are included.
To accomplish my IAAL goal of creating 5 lesson plans, I created the following;
1. “Folk Tales” Lesson (Part 1): For this lesson I read the stories Lon Po Po by Ed Young
(1996) and the classic Little Red Riding Hood taken from the Classic Grimm’s Fairy
Tales by Louise Egan (1989). The main focus of this lesson was for student to be able to
recount a folktale and use that information to determine the central lesson. Students
engaged in an activity that had them use the information gained from the read aloud to
differentiate which story their handout belonged to and to place it in chronological order
on a poster. Each student received a handout with a different part from one of the stories,
their ability to correctly categorize it was their formative assessment. The Common Core
Allison Simons
CIL 621
I As A Learner- Part 2

State Standards for this lesson were CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.9 and CCSS.ELA-

LITERACY.RL.2.2
2. “Folktales” Lesson (Part 2): This was a continuation of the previous lesson, but was more
focused on comparing and contrasting the two stories. To begin the lesson we reviewed
what ‘key details’ of stories are and students had to identify them from each story.
Students used the ‘recounting’ poster that they had created from the previous lesson as a
resource to complete Venn Diagram. The Venn Diagram along with a worksheet that
incorporated questions about key details, recounting, comparing and contrasting and
using that information to form an opinion served as their formative assessment. The
Common Core Standards were CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.1, CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.RL.2.9 and CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1.
3. Pig the Star Lesson Plan: I read aloud Pig the Star by Aaron Blabey (2017) to the class.
While reading, I differentiated voices to show differences in the characters dialogue and
personalities. After reading the story aloud, I had a discussion with the students where I
asked them a variety of questions, but focused on explaining how each of the characters
actions helped to further the plot of the story. To further students recognition of
differentiation of characters, we played a matching game after the discussion. The
matching game had different characters illustrations from the stories that were to be
matched with either a trait or quote from the story that described the correct character.
Their formative assessment was a worksheet. This lesson fulfilled the Common Core
State Standards of CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.5 and CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.6.
4. ‘Thelma the Unicorn’ Lesson Plan- This lesson was focused on using illustrations to
better understand a story and it’s elements, such as the characters and plot. Students
would be read Thelma the Unicorn by Aaron Blabey (2015). Prior to reading they were to
go on a “Story Walk” and discuss how illustrations are important to stories for creating a
mood or supporting the readers understanding of the text. As a formative assessment,
students were to be given a formative assessment that they would use to describe how
different illustrations from the story made them feel or what they thought was happening
based on the illustration, then the teacher would review the text for that specific
illustration with them. This lesson fulfilled the CCSS of CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.7.
5. Word Sort Lesson Plan- I based this lesson plan on Dwyer’s (1991) ‘Word Sort’ lesson.
For this lesson the teachers compiles a list of 100 frequently used words and has students
organize the words into categories. I took the foundations of this lesson plan and decided
to expand upon it. I decided to place students in groups based upon various levels of
Allison Simons
CIL 621
I As A Learner- Part 2

literacy skills, so that students who were stronger readers could assist those who were
not. To create the groups with students who were at different levels of literacy, I would
use the Kagan “Team Forming” strategy (AbiSamra, 2001). To use this strategy the
teacher ranks the students in either High, high middle, low middle or low achieving. The
teacher then places one of each rank in each group (to the best of their abilities, class size
and rankings can make this difficult) As a part of the instructions, I incorporated a rule of
having students explain unknown words to their classmates before asking the teacher for
clarification. In many of my lessons, I used direct instruction and realized while planning
these lesson plans that I needed to incorporate other strategies to reach my IAAL goal
and to become a well rounded teacher. Lastly, I added in a presentation of categories and
each of the words within that category, so that the entire class could be exposed to each
of the words and its definition. This lesson plan would also let me view and hear an
explanation of how students relate words to other words and get a stronger cognitive
understanding of their mental processes.
I was able to teach the ‘Pig the Star’ and ‘Folk Tales Part 1 & 2’ in class at various times during
the semester.The teaching of these lessons allowed me to review how the lesson went and how to better
myself and my lesson plans in the future. After teaching the Folk Tales lesson plans, I realized that time
was such a crucial part of lesson planning and although I had planned out how long the lesson would be
and how long I thought each activity would take, I realized that when planning out time limits, I also
need to take into account my students attentions spans and prior levels of knowledge. For the Folk Tales
lesson plans I had overplanned. In hindsight, I should have used some of the activities as extension
activities. That would allow me to focus on what was a vital part of the lesson and making sure students
had a comprehensive understanding.
I based the ‘Word Sort’ and ‘Thelma the Unicorn’ lesson off of the results I had for the lessons I
taught in class. These lessons are shorter and focus on one standard, although they could apply to
multiple. When I was working with my AE (assessment experience) student, I realized that she had not
been exposed to man grade level words. I wanted to develop a lesson that would expose the entire class to
grade level words and their meanings. I also wanted to take a step back from using “Read Alouds” as my
main activity.
I feel that the ‘Word Sort’ activity was my best lesson plan and shows how I as a learner am
progressing. I incorporated new teaching strategies, instruction methods, activities into this lesson. Also,
I based this lesson on a skill that I noticed needed more development in a real classroom.
With each lesson plan, I incorporated a formative assessment. The various forms of formative
assessment that I used were graphic organizers (Folk Tales Part 2), worksheet/ written (Thelma the
Allison Simons
CIL 621
I As A Learner- Part 2

Unicorn lesson plan), or teacher evaluated through student presentation (Word Sort). At the beginning of
the semester, with the formations of my first lesson plans, I was using a lot of worksheets as assessments.
As the semester progressed, I realized that I needed to incorporate other assessments with my lesson
plans, which is what I did as I worked toward accomplishing my IAAL goal throughout the semester.
However, going forward as a teacher and continual learner, I would like to focus more on assessments
that take place during the lesson.
When I stated that I wanted to research and review three different assessments as a part of my
IAAL goal this semester, I originally had assessments, such as the literacy assessments used in this class
or assessments covering different subjects in mind. For my first IAAL checkin, I had said that I was using
Morris’ Informal Reading Inventory (2015) and Flynt & Cooter Teaching reading in the content areas:
Developing content literacy for all students (1996). I had conducted assessments that were not required
for this class and reviewed each. I also stated that I was planning on researching and reviewing Math
Mammoth (2018) assessment as the third assessment to complete my IAAL goal. I wrote reviews of the
assessments, except Math Mammoth , and uploaded each onto my virtual binder. I also began the process
of researching and using the Math Mammoth assessment. I briefly looked over the actual assessment
before giving it to the student and during the test she asked me, “What do I do here?”. I looked at the
question and realized that I had no idea what she was supposed to do and there were no instructions other
than the ones I had already read, so I had her stop taking the test and decided that I would need to find
another assessment to review.
Throughout both of my practicums, I had heard teachers talk about multiple required assessments,
such as aimsweb and SBAC and I realized I had no real knowledge of these tests or why they were used.
Although, I had already accomplished 2/ 3 of my goal for researching and evaluating assessments, I
decided that it would be beneficial for me to research the required testing that I had often heard teachers
and administrators talk about. I changed the subjects of my research and review of assessments to focus
on the SBAC, Aimsweb, and MAP growth.
Researching each of these assessments was very helpful. It allowed me to comprehend why the
test was created, what subjects are tested, how it is delivered, and how the results can be used by the
teacher. I found that these assessments aim towards the same goal for teachers- providing data on the
amount of knowledge students have gained on different subjects and giving them the opportunity to
differentiate instruction based on these findings.
However, these assessments are used at various times and for various subjects throughout the year.
Unfortunately, I did not see how students performed on these tests at the beginning and end of the year,
but I did get to listen to administrators speak on the results of aimsweb and what students would be
Allison Simons
CIL 621
I As A Learner- Part 2

receiving an RTI based upon the data. A greater comparison of these three assessments can be found on
the ‘IAAL’ page of my wix website, as well as on the ‘Assessments’ page.
I’m glad that I started over on this portion of my IAAL goal. When I start my career as a teacher
this fall, I will be familiar with the testing that is required of my students and I. I will also know how I can
use these assessments to change my teaching strategies and the subjects of my teaching to better serve my
students.
Overall, I feel that I exceeded my ‘I As A Learner’ goals. When setting the virtual binder as my
main goal, I had the idea of having all my resources, besides the five lesson plans and assessment review
that I stated I would create for this class, on this platform. Over the course of this semester, I have worked
towards making that visualization a reality. I have uploaded many documents from this and last semester
that I have created or found useful. If you browse through the website, you’ll see that I did not limit
myself to my goal, but really tried to make a digital binder spanning multiple grades and platforms. I’m
proud of my dedication to this project and know that it will pay off when I can easily access all of my
materials in future classrooms.

References:
Dwyer, K., & Thompson, L. D. (1999). The journey of a reader in the classroom. Portland, Or.:
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.

English Language Arts Standards » Reading: Foundational Skills » Grade 2. (n.d.). Retrieved
from http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RF/2/

AbiSamra, N. (2001). Team Formation. Retrieved from

http://www.nadasisland.com/team/teamformation.html

Morris, D. (2015). Morris informal reading inventory: Preprimer through grade 8. New York: The
Guilford Press.

Cooter, R. B., & Flynt, E. S. (1996). Teaching reading in the content areas: Developing content literacy
for all students. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.

Young, E. (1996). Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood story from China. New York: Penguin
Putnam Books for Young Readers.

English Language Arts Standards » Reading: Literature » Grade 2. (2018). Retrieved from
http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RL/2/
Allison Simons
CIL 621
I As A Learner- Part 2

Blabey, A. (2017). Pig the star. New York: Scholastic Press.

Egan, L. B. (1990). The Classic Grimm's Fairytales. Courage Books.

Miller, M. (2018). Math Mammoth placement tests for grades 1-7 (free math assessment). Retrieved from
https://www.mathmammoth.com/complete/placement_tests.php

The Regents of the University of California (2018). Assessments. Retrieved from

http://www.smarterbalanced.org/assessments/

Universal Benchmark Screening. (2018). Retrieved March 26, 2018, from

https://www.aimsweb.com/universal-benchmark-screening

MAP Growth: Precisely measure student growth and performance. (2018). Retrieved from
https://www.nwea.org/map-growth/