Running Head: CONTENT KNOWLEDGE COMPETENCY 1

Content Knowledge Competency

Christina Lewis

Regent University
CONTENT KNOWLEDGE COMPETENCY 2

Introduction

Knowledge of the material is critical to being an effective teacher. Without it, the most

perfectly lesson can fall apart the moment a student asks an abstract question. A teacher must

have a wide foundational knowledge to be successful, but a dynamic delivery is often what

makes or breaks a student’s interest or degree of learning. Both work in tandem to engage

students and achieve learning goals.

Rationale for Artifacts

The first artifact for content knowledge is a document created at a PLC meeting for the

planning of Unit Four in seventh grade English. The focus of the unit is reading and this

document shows the seventh grade English SOLs that address reading content knowledge

followed by a rough plan for their application in the classroom. Fink (2018) writes that “A PLC

is most effective when educators are teaching their students the same standards. Identifying these

common standards, and then developing common formative assessments” (p.45). This particular

meeting focused on the imperative standards that students must meet and outlines the path that

will best help students achieve those learning goals. Since English is the only content I am

teaching in the school, this artifact shows my in-depth understanding of this specialized subject.

The SOLs listed are the ones most relevant to the reading focus of the unit. It aligns with the

district requirements and Unit tests and gives the teachers of the PLC an outline for the material

to cover with the next nine weeks. Furthermore, it identifies a summative assessment that will be

used to measure the success of the unit.

The second artifact is a lesson plan demonstrating my knowledge of poetic devices, how

they are used, and how historical context can create meaning and add depth to the figurative

language of a text. This lesson plan focuses on distinguishing figurative language and how it can
CONTENT KNOWLEDGE COMPETENCY 3

be used differently by different authors. Additionally, students will learn that different historical

contexts impact how the meaning is derived. This was demonstrated through the poem “Oh,

Captain, My Captain” by Walt Whitman. The students had no context to understand the

figurative language used in this poem without knowing the time period that it was written. Once

the students knew the historical events surrounding the poem, which was Abraham Lincoln’s

death, they could easily grasp the full impact of the figurative language and determine the full

effect of the metaphor Whitman chose. This lesson connected the concepts from English, like

close reading and figurative language, to the historical time period that a text was written in. In

alignment with History SOLs, this poem looks at the impact that Abraham Lincoln had on

America, specifically addressUSII.3.c, describing the legacy of Abraham Lincoln.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

One huge realization as I gain more hands on practice in the classroom is that content

knowledge and curriculum are different. Sinks (2017) says “an educator should reevaluate and

rework the curriculum on an almost constant basis” (qtd in Sacks, 2017, p. 44). The amount of

knowledge a teacher should have remains fairly stationary. Curriculum, on the other hand, is in

constant flux. This is because the way that students absorb and respond to the material can

change. Finding the best ways to communicate knowledge is the great challenge for teachers.

This is partially why Professional Learning Committees, or PLCs, have become so prevalent in

the education world (Fink, 2018, p. 44). Teachers need to find innovative ideas. Even if the

knowledge is already there, they can also discover different ways to teach it. This is most critical

for new and novice teachers who do not have years of experiences, successes, and failures to

inform their teaching decisions about the content.

CONTENT KNOWLEDGE COMPETENCY 4

The way that content-areas are connected for secondary education is unique. Instead of

teachers having a basic knowing all the subjects, they have the chance to become more

specialized. However, this does not mean that they cannot utilize aspects of other content-areas.

Perhaps more than any other two subjects, History and English are closely linked. In a recent

lesson, the historical context of a poem was critical for the students to understand the poetic

device I was attempting to teach. This poem correlates to History SOL USII.3.c, and it shows

that the two subjects often depend on one another. Historical event are transcribed or described

by English writers and conversely, history greatly influences literature, writing, and other skills

that are taught in the English classroom. Brown (2013) uses the example of Martin Luther King

Jr.’s famous speech, “I Have a Dream.” This speech could be approached from a History or

English teacher. A history teacher may begin by focusing on the time period and the students’

perspective on discrimination (Brown, 2013, p.5). An English teacher, on the other hand, might

use the speech to demonstrate imagery and figurative language and how the vivid details within

his speech contribute to his message.

CONTENT KNOWLEDGE COMPETENCY 5

References

Brown, E. S. (2013). Reading closely and discussing the “I Have a Dream” speech. Social

Studies & the Young Learner, 26(2), 5–8. Retrieved from

http://eres.regent.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true

&db=ehh&AN=92506966&site=ehost-live

Fink, J. L. W. (2018). The ABCs of PLCs. Scholastic Teacher, 128(2), 43–45. Retrieved from

http://eres.regent.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true

&db=ehh&AN=132529237&site=ehost-live.

Sacks, A. (2017). Empowering teachers to respond to change: With high levels of change

expected, schools must set up structures that help teachers share their best thinking and

manage change effectively. Educational Leadership, 74(9), 40–45. Retrieved from

http://eres.regent.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true

&db=ehh&AN=124800969&site=ehost-live