6. Reading, Writing, & Oral Communication

Rationale:

The lesson plan above is an activity that was done weekly in my senior level government and politics course. Every week students would have a choice of article relating to the weekly essential question, and usually involving current events. 

This lesson also shows my ability to include "reading, writing, and oral communication to engage student in content learning" (6Q). This lesson plan requires that students read an article, document their opinion in writing on a notecard, and then discuss what the readings with their peers. It also connects to the content area in that student looked at current connections to Preamble.

This particular artifact shows the importance of discussion and civil discourse. This lesson teaches students how to speak with one another in a respectful manner, as well as how to use evidence from the text to justify their view. It is also an excellent way to incorporate current events, something that I find essential in any social studies classroom as it shows how the Constitution works in our society.

This lesson plan was designed for a 7th grade ELA course, where students were just beginning their nonfiction unit. This lesson began with their daily vocabulary work, was followed by an introduction to reading nonfiction texts, and ended with students listening to an audio version of the book while working on their reading guide.

By teaching this lesson, I showed that I am able to use "appropriate and varied instructional approaches used before, during, and after reading, including those that develop word knowledge, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, and strategy use in the content areas" (6A). During this lesson, the students worked on using new vocabulary, were introduced to different elements of non-fiction, and learned how navigate a non-fiction text by using a glossary, index, etc.

This lesson made me more aware of the importance of analyzing every aspect of the material with students. Looking at a glossary or an index is something is an important skill that students need to be taught. In some of my college courses, we discussed the importance of not penalizing students for things they don't know how do. Learning this skill now may take extra time, but it sets students up for future success.