CSTP 1

Engaging and Supporting all Students in Learning

Year 1- Fall and Spring 2020-2021

Garfield Elementary- SDC mild/moderate 2nd-4th grade

CSTP 1.1- Using Knowledge of students to engage them in learning.

The emotion chart was used as an "attention-getter" to engage them in the writing lesson. Students reflected on a time when they felt either disappointed, jealous, frustrated, or surprised. In the beginning, I shared different feelings that people have such as excitement and I told them about a time I felt excited. Using my chosen feeling I modeled writing a small narrative about this feeling. I then displayed the emotions chart to my students with labeled pictures of emotions. We then created a word bank. Next, I instructed my students to orally discuss their ideas with a partner in break-out rooms. Before they began to write I also told my students to count the number of words in their sentences to help them expand their thoughts.

CSTP 1.2- Connecting learning to students; prior knowledge, backgrounds, life experiences, and interest.

This is a picture of my son that I used along with a personal home video. In the video my son tied one end of dental floss to his tooth and the other end to a door. In the video, my husband closes the door and my son's tooth falls off. I used this picture and video as an attention grabber before our writing lesson about a time when they have lost a tooth. This video got my students very excited and engaged in the lesson. All of my students were eager to orally share their experiences of losing teeth.

CSTP 1.4- Using a variety of instructional strategies, resources, and technologies to meet students' diverse learning needs.

This is a student's writing example using the writing worksheet that I gave my students to write out a time that they experienced losing a tooth. First, we orally discuss an experience of losing a tooth. Then create a word bank so that students can utilize this word bank to write complete sentences about their experiences. Next, created sentence starters for the prompt using the worksheet. Finally, they independently completed the worksheet.

Year 1 Reflection

CSTP Standard 1 states that teachers should use strategies that focus on engaging and supporting all students in learning.

The application of CSTP 1 in my teaching practice is to engage and facilitate students’ understanding of the subject matter by linking their life experiences to the skills and concepts they are learning in class. The best way to engage student learning is by starting a lesson with real-life experiences and by engaging students in a fun way. Students learn best when they can relate to the content. Therefore, as a teacher, I have to research the community which I serve to learn about the social and culture of the school community. I grew up in Montebello and I attended elementary, middle, and high school in the Montebello District. I also relate to my students because as a Latina I know the Latino culture which is the majority of my student's home culture. Students feel very comfortable sharing with me their home life and they know that I speak Spanish and often when speaking to me about a non-academic matter they interchange English and Spanish.

This school year, every day I was going into their home as we were in distance learning. Although I preferred my students to have their cameras on at all times, I respected if they occasionally wanted to have their cameras off. I did suggest that they could have their computer set up near a wall so that if they wanted privacy I would not be exposed to the entire home situation. During distance learning, I did get to learn firsthand about my student's home life. Some students felt proud sharing their homes and home life with me. For example, on EL Dia de Los Muertos some of my students shared their Day of the Dead altars and during Christmas, many students shared their decorations. Later, when they needed to write about these topics it made it easier for my students to tap into their prior knowledge of the holidays to be able to write about it.

I also incorporated instructional strategies, resources, and technology to meet students’ diverse learning needs. I use images, videos, songs, and chants to help with engagement. I supported my students learning through brainstorming, graphic organizers, graphic organizer, and word banks. When teaching my students I like using Latino names for characters or for mathematical word problems. I always make examples using related words and phrases so that they know that I know their culture. For example, when graphing their favorite food I include pizza, hamburgers, tacos, and tamales to make it culturally relevant. I learned that my students respond well when I use pictures and videos to engage them. Pictures and videos help my students visualize and tap into their prior knowledge, life experiences, and interest.

The impact on student learning was it helped discover and produce interest to maximize their learning and productivity. It also helped my students to participate and work on turn-taking, listening, and building connections with their classmates. Especially, during distance learning, it is important for students to get the chance to interact with each other for their emotional needs as well.

Year 2- Fall and Spring 2021-2022

CSTP 1.1- Using knowledge of students to engage them in learning.

This is a picture of a chant I taught my students when learning how to draw tally mark during math. Implementing chants and songs are fun ways to engage students in their learning. It provides student with another method to recall information that is being taught. The tune of chants or songs help students remember the lyrics and information being said.

CSTP 1.3 Connecting subject matter to meaningful, real-life context

In the beginning of the school year I conducted a student interest survey for all my students. My students were to reflect and fill out the information regarding their interest, learning preferences, learning style, strengths, and weakness. Given this information I was able to use these interest to differentiate my instruction. For example, many of my students prefer working in small groups and enjoy art so I use this information to implement small group rotations through our instructional day with a center that includes art.

CSTP 1.mp4

CSTP 1.5 Promoting critical thinking through inquiry, problem solving, and reflection

In this video clip my students are engaging in a think pair share activity. This is a fun and engaging activity that allows students to engage in the lesson in a different way. When students take turns and build on each other ideas it empowers them to think, discuss, and evaluate content. Through the think-pair-share strategy students can tap into their prior knowledge to brainstorm and share their reasoning behind their thought process.

Year 2 Reflection

The application of CSTP 1 in my teaching practice is evident in how I engage and facilitate students’ understanding of the subject matter by linking their life experiences. I also incorporate small group instructional strategies, resources, and technologies to meet students’ diverse learning needs. My students have various learning needs and many of them have difficulty staying engaged for long periods of time. When I am teaching the whole group I make sure to include songs, chants, visuals, call on students, and check for understanding using hand signals. I also have found working in center rotations effective for my students. Students get to work rigorously for about twenty minutes and then rotate to a fun hands-on activity center such as art, play dough, puzzles, or blocks.

When teaching a new skill or concept I often start by sharing my own experiences and my students really enjoy listening to me start a lesson with, "When I was a little girl..." they really focus on what I will say, and they are engaged on the topic. I often use my children as examples for a lesson and my student really enjoy listening to what my children did on a particular topic. Making connections with my students and building positive relationships helps students learn and assist in tapping into their prior knowledge.

The use of technology in the classroom has really helped in engaging student learning. As much as I have resisted using technology in my daily life I have to admit that I have to use it in the classroom. Children are growing up in a different world than I grew up in and technology is a part of our daily life. I use technology as a way to grab my students' attention to a topic by starting with a short video clip. Sometimes, I read a book to my students, and then I have them listen to a read-aloud of the same book on YouTube and they really enjoy it. Technology has been a good way to interact and engage student learning in the classroom.

I learned that my students respond well to activities that include videos, songs, and peer interaction. I think that these types of lessons are exciting for them therefore I see more participation and engagement. I will continue to work on implementing more songs and or videos when introducing my students to a new topic. I also sometimes implement attention grabbers that get students moving and actively participating. I think this is beneficial to my students because many of my students have trouble concentrating for a long period of time and this also double acts as a brain break. These types of attention grabbers provided visuals that help students reflect on their life experiences.

The impact on student learning was students become more productive and cheerful. Positive interactions through engagement will help students develop a positive classroom environment in which they will feel that their ideas are heard and validated. They will learn to take turns and practice constructive interactions.

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