This is a lesson plan that I wrote to teach 2nd and 3rd grade students at Worth Elementary School. Prior to creating this lesson, my professor came in to observe me teach and he suggested that I involve one or more of the paraprofessionals in my future lessons, and because I loved this idea so much, I decided to have them be a part of my next lesson, the Rhyming CVC Words Game. First, we divided students into 2 groups: some worked with me and some worked with the paraprofessional. Then, we gave students certain words and asked them to think of as many words as they could that rhymed with them. We wrote each word down that they gave, and then did the same once the match game began. Each time a student flipped 2 cards over, they had to decide whether the words rhymed together, and after informing them if they were correct or not, we would mark their answers on a data chart. Lastly, we reviewed the words that we rhymed together during the match game and talked about why they rhyme together.
IPTS Standard 8 states that "the competent teacher builds and maintains collaborative relationships to foster cognitive, linguistic, physical, and social and emotional development. This teacher works as a team member with professional colleagues, students, parents or guardians, and community members". My Rhyming CVC Words Game meets Knowledge Indicator 8C. Knowledge Indicator 8C says that "the competent teacher collaborates with others in the use of data to design and implement effective school interventions that benefit all students". As teachers, it is important to regularly collect data on students' progress so that instruction can be modified, if necessary, and more importantly, to work together with your educational team to do so. My cooperating teacher informed me that her students were struggling with rhyming, and her observations mirrored that of mine in that regard. From that point on, I focused most of my lessons on rhyming and prioritized data collection so that I could see how my students were currently performing. By collecting data during this lesson, I was able to gain a clear picture of what my students understood about rhyming, as well as how well they understood rhyming, specifically with CVC words. Prior to teaching this lesson, I thought about which students would work best together, as well as whether they would work better with me or the paraprofessional during this lesson. I then met with my cooperating teacher to hear her feedback on my decision, and once we discussed that, our student groups were created. I also made sure to communicate with the paraprofessional before the lesson so that I could explain how the data chart worked that I made, and I made sure to clarify any misunderstandings about it. If teachers do not practice strong, positive communication with their team members, then the classroom atmosphere will be fraught with tension. However, if teachers do practice strong, positive communication with their team members, no tension will be felt in the classroom atmosphere; rather, harmony will.
I am so grateful to my professor for his suggestion to involve one or more paraprofessionals in my lesson. I used to wonder if I would be distracting them from their previously assigned tasks by asking them to be a part of my lesson, but I no longer have this thought after teaching this lesson. More often than not, educational team members want to be involved in the classroom and help in any way they can. They also deserve to be seen by the teacher(s) they work with, and not pushed to the side. By making the effort to reach out to them and communicate what you plan to do for your lessons, your team members will feel valued as a part of your classroom and know that they have a place there. They also might be able to provide you with insight about factors you might not have considered before, which could strengthen your overall teaching greatly.
This is the daily journal lesson that I conduct each morning for my placement at Elim Christian School. I did not originally create this lesson, but when I thought about the Collaborative Relationships standard for IPTS, this was the lesson that came into my mind first and I wanted to write about it because I enjoy it so much. Each day, students answer a question based on what national day it is that day. Their paraprofessionals, my cooperating teacher, and myself assist them with this, as well as ask at least 1 more question to give students an opportunity to expand upon their responses. Then, I ask each student to give their response and we place their picture on the survey board according to their answer. After students have responded, each paraprofessional, my cooperating teacher, and I answer the question. Then, we count how many votes each option received and we ask students which option is the winner and they mark it in their journal. We also will sometimes listen to a song that corresponds to the prompt or the winning option afterwards.
The daily journal lesson meets Performance Indicator 8J, which states that "the competent teacher works with all school personnel (e.g., support staff, teachers, paraprofessionals) to develop learning climates for the school that encourage unity, support a sense of shared purpose, show trust in one another, and value individuals". Instead of just having the students answer the day's journal prompt, my team and I share out our responses as well. Having everyone in the classroom give their answers promotes an inclusive and caring atmosphere where everyone feels seen, heard, and gets to know more about each other.
Journal time is one of my favorite parts of the day at Elim. This is because I get to learn new things about my students and my team each morning, and we all collaborate together to make this possible. We assist our students with communicating their answers first, and then we share our own responses to get to know each other and gain a more accurate vote count. Through teaching the daily journal lesson, I have learned that communication and collaboration with paraprofessionals doesn't always have to be related to academics; rather, communication and collaboration can take place by just simply taking time out each day to get to know each other. Making the effort to do this will help teachers to create a strong foundation for their team, and therefore create a positive learning environment for all.