Mini Teacher Work Sample

Standard I: Classroom Contextual Factors (DM1)- Narrative-suggested length (2

pages-typed-double-space).
You will need to use differentiation (modification/adaptations) in your lesson plans,
instructional strategies, and assessments that are based on student contextual factors. To
help you determine what types of accommodations are needed, identify the information
below.
1. Demographics: Identify the gender, ethnicity, language proficiency, exceptionalities,
and number of students.
a. Students: Total #__30__

Males: __5__

Females:__25___

b. Ethnicity: White: _28__

American:___1__
Asian: ______

Hispanic/Mexican: __1___

African

Native American:_______

Other: ______

3. Language Proficiency: Identify the number of English Language Learners and

languages in your classroom.
In this particular 8th grade English Language Arts Honors class, there are no students that
are English Language Learners.

4. Exceptionalities: Identify the number and type of exceptionalities in the class.

There is one student that sits in the back that has a problem with speaking out loud and
disrupting those around him. His behavior can hardly be controlled.

5. Social Economic Status (SES)

The students in this class were from average income families. Desert Hills Middle school
is located in a nicer location and there wasnt anybody that was struggling in their family
life, they had everything they were expected to have for class.
6. Academic Knowledge (If available): Describe the academic data results of the students
thus far (grades, attendance, discipline factors, core tests. etc.).

The 8th grade, 8th grade honors, and 9th grade students all took a pre-assessment test near
the beginning of the year. The class averages were low, but that helped us know what we
really needed to focus on. Grammar was a huge challenge for all three classes. Every
class got a zero on this portion of this test. This seemed quite shocking at first, but when I
found out that there was only 5 questions asked about this on the test it didnt seem as

bad. Grammar usage when reading and speaking is section 8.1 on the Utah Core
Standards.

7. English Language Learners: Describe ways you can incorporate tools of language
development and reading content into planning and instruction for these students.
Example: ELED- SIOP/ WIDA; SCED-reading content.
I have been in situations where ELL students have been in learning environments that I
have also been in. Even though there may not be any in this class, I have had many
opportunities where ELL students have been around me and I have had to help. The past
two summers I have been lucky enough to work at a summer camp down in Las Vegas.
These camps attract those from all over, which has given me a great opportunity to be
around kids with different backgrounds. Just this past summer we had a kid from Japan.
He spoke little English, but was also so involved. I learned that if you treat these kids just
like all the other ones they will feel more involved and more included. Yes, they might
take a little more effort and time, but it is so worth it in the end to see the smile on their
face when they accomplish something they never thought they would be able to. As
aspiring teachers I think we can all relate with each other when it comes down to this.

8. Multicultural Perspectives: Identify ways you can use culturally responsive curricula
and teaching that meets the needs of all students.
From experience I think that the best thing a teacher can be is relatable. If the students
feel like they have some things in common with their teacher it makes them feel a lot
more comfortable in the classroom. When you talk to people about something you both
like, it makes it a lot easier to remember their name and who they are. It may not seem
like something big, but when a teacher remembers a students name that student will feel a
lot more important in the classroom. Its important for the teacher to get to know their
students and where theyre from. If there are students in the classroom from different
countries this gives you a great teaching opportunity. You can incorporate facts about
these different countries into the lesson plan. This gives those students something they
can relate to and talk about.

9. Prior Knowledge: Elementary-Describe the criteria used to determine the reading and
mathematics prior knowledge and give a percentage of the number of students in these
different levels for reading and mathematics such as Below, Basic, or Advanced.
Secondary- Review the prior knowledge needed of students to be successful in learning

the content knowledge for the TWS unit and how you will implement content reading
into your unit (Ex. Common Core Strategies, etc.).
Being an English Language Arts teacher, this makes this pretty simple. As I have been
going to my practicum assignment every Tuesday, I have learned how to incorporate
reading into every class period. I will require my students to bring a book of their choice
with them to class everyday. For those that do not have their own books, I will have my
own little library in my class for them to choose from. With these books, they will have
10-15 minutes of silent reading at the beginning of every class period. This not only get
the students on track and in the right mind set for class, but it also allows them to get their
reading in for the day. Reading is important, it exercises the brain in more ways than
people think.

10. Exceptionalities: Describe student exceptionalities that are identified in the class
contextual factors. These exceptionalities can include; (a) development of physical,
social, and emotional needs; (b) special education; (c) ethnicity; (d) gifted/talented; (e)
ability differences, etc. Briefly describe ways to make modification/ differentiation for
planning, instruction, and assessments.
As mentioned above, there was only 1 student with behavioral issues in this class. His
work ethic was poor because of the way he handled himself in class. He seemed to only
care about being loud and being the class clown for everyone to laugh at. My mentor
teacher has had this student before so she knew how to handle him. She gives him
warnings at first and constantly checks to make sure hes on track with the rest of the
class. When I start teaching I will follow the example of my mentor teacher. He seemed
to respond positively to what she would say to him and he eventually quieted down and
worked along with his fellow classmates.

10. Identify sub-groups of students: Based on your contextual class factors- identify the
sub-groups you will need to address in differentiation/modifications for your instruction,
assessments, and analysis of student learning (e.g., gender, ELL, special education,
ethnicity, gifted/talented, ability differences, or other contextual factors listed above, etc.)
Subgroup data will be compared to each subgroup and the whole class.
Since there were no ELL students in this class I am going to have to make no
modifications to my lesson plan. Even though this is the case, I am prepared for anything
to happen in the classroom. I have had practice around ELL students and I know what is
effective and what is not. As for the student with behavioral issues, this could be
something that gets worked on all year long. But as long as I stay persistent with him and
remind him to respect me as a teacher and his other classmates, I feel that things will get
better and he wont feel the need to act out in class to get the attention he thinks he wants.

DIXIE STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

UNIT PLAN TEMPLATE
Teacher Candidate_____Calee Drew_____________________________________

Grade Level ____8th_Honors______ Content Area___English Language Arts___________

Step 1 DESIRED RESULTS

A. Contextual Factors

The diversity in this 8th grade honors language arts class is scarce:

30 students
5 males, 25 females
28 White, 1 Hispanic, 1 African American
There are no ELL students present in this class
Exceptionalities - There is one student that sits in the back that has a problem with
speaking out loud and disrupting those around him. His behavior can hardly be
controlled.
Academic knowledge - The 8th grade, 8th grade honors, and 9th grade students all
took a pre-assessment test near the beginning of the year. The class averages were
low, but that helped us know what we really needed to focus on. Grammar was a
huge challenge for all three classes. Every class got a zero on this portion of this test.
This seemed quite shocking at first, but when I found out that there was only 5
questions asked about this on the test it didnt seem as bad. Grammar usage when
reading and speaking is section 8.1 on the Utah Core Standards.
Multicultural Perspectives - From experience I think that the best thing a teacher
can be is relatable. If the students feel like they have some things in common with
their teacher it makes them feel a lot more comfortable in the classroom. When you
talk to people about something you both like, it makes it a lot easier to remember
their name and who they are. It may not seem like something big, but when a
teacher remembers a students name that student will feel a lot more important in
the classroom. Its important for the teacher to get to know their students and
where theyre from. If there are students in the classroom from different countries
this gives you a great teaching opportunity. You can incorporate facts about these
different countries into the lesson plan. This gives those students something they
can relate to and talk about.
Exceptionalities - As mentioned above, there was only 1 student with behavioral
issues in this class. His work ethic was poor because of the way he handled himself
in class. He seemed to only care about being loud and being the class clown for

everyone to laugh at. My mentor teacher has had this student before so she knew
how to handle him. She gives him warnings at first and constantly checks to make
sure hes on track with the rest of the class. When I start teaching I will follow the
example of my mentor teacher. He seemed to respond positively to what she would
say to him and he eventually quieted down and worked along with his fellow
classmates.
Identifying Subgroups of Students - Since there were no ELL students in this class I
am going to have to make no modifications to my lesson plan. Even though this is
the case, I am prepared for anything to happen in the classroom. I have had practice
around ELL students and I know what is effective and what is not. As for the student
with behavioral issues, this could be something that gets worked on all year long.
But as long as I stay persistent with him and remind him to respect me as a teacher
and his other classmates, I feel that things will get better and he wont feel the need
to act out in class to get the attention he thinks he wants.

B. Utah State Core or Common Core Curriculum Standard

Reading: Literature Standard 2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze
its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters,
setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.

RL.8.2/LARL.08.CC.02*Determine Theme/Central Idea

* Analyze literary elements and summarize
C. Enduring Understanding/Big Idea

Students will understand and be able to identify the theme of a story and be able to
summarize what they have read.

D. Essential Questions/Guiding Questions

In The Pigman how do the characters contribute to the main theme of the book?
What emotions are evoked when the setting is described?
Why is theme an important aspect of a book?
How does providing a summary of what you read benefit you in the classroom?

E. Concepts

Theme
Developing a theme
Summarizing
Theme and the relationship it develops with its characters and/or setting

F. Skills

Students will identify a theme in stories

Students will understand the importance of theme
Students will be able to summarize what they have read
Students will be able to understand how the theme relates to the characters in the
book

Step 2 ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE

1. Pre-Assessments
Bell Work 5-6 questions about the theme of the book theyre currently reading in class

2. Formative Assessments/Evidence
Students will be asked to write a summary after each chapter to make sure there is
clear understanding
Students will be asked to talk about how the theme is being developed through each
chapter
Students will be asked to describe the characters and how they play a vital role in
the theme

3. Summative Assessments/Evidence
Have students write a paper about the theme of the book and what they learned about it.
They will talk about the importance of the theme of the book and its importance. They will
talk about how the theme is related to the characters and how the characters were
developed through the theme.

Step 3 Lesson Objectives with Instructional Strategies

Lesson Plan 1

Students will be able to recognize the theme in a story

Students will be able to discuss the theme and the importance of it
Students will be able to summarize what they have read so they can gain a better
understanding

LESSON PLAN #1

DIXIE STATE COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE -SECONDARY
Teacher Candidate ___Calee Drew____________________
Grade Level __8th ______ Subject/Content: English Language Arts______
Title __The Lottery________________
CONTEXTUAL FACTORS (e.g. ethnicity, gender, exceptionalities, ELL, GATE, etc.) which need
differentiation in instruction and assessment.

The diversity in this 8th grade honors language arts class is scarce:

30 students
5 males, 25 females
28 White, 1 Hispanic, 1 African American
There are no ELL students present in this class
Exceptionalities - There is one student that sits in the back that has a problem with speaking out
loud and disrupting those around him. His behavior can hardly be controlled.

WALK-AWAY (what do I want students to know, understand, and be able to do?)

Content Walk-Away:

- Students will be able to understand how to predict the outcomes of a short story with the use of
foreshadowing.

- Students will be able to make predictions throughout the story.

Reading/Language Walk-Away:

Read as a class
Read out loud
Students will learn necessary vocabulary words for The Lottery.

ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE (formative/summative checks for

learning) (Match the Content Walk-Away)

Modifications/Accommodations

This lesson covers Utah Core Standard RI 8.4 / LARI.08.CC.04*

Context Clues The students will use context clues to predict what will
happen later on in the story.

For the kid that sits in the back and

seems to always disrupt the class
because of his talking, I will make
sure to incorporate him in the
discussion and give him an actual
reason to talk. This will create some
control and it will allow him to learn
what I am teaching because he will
be focused on the lesson.

Before starting this lesson I will have the students complete 5-6
questions of Bell Work that focuses on foreshadowing and why its
important in a story. This will introduce the topic of the day and get
them in the right mindset when starting to read The Lottery.

(ELL, IEP, GATE, etc.)

After the short story is finished, I will have the students write 1-2
paragraphs about what they thought the outcome of the story was
going to be and how foreshadowing changed their mind. They will also
write about how context clues helped them understand what The
Lottery was really about.

ACTIVE LEARNING PLAN

Modifications/
Accommodations
(ELL, IEP, GATE, etc.)

Activate Prior Knowledge/Experiences

Ask the students if they have ever had an experience of winning a prize, or in a
sense winning a lottery. Talk about the experiences and how it made them
feel.

- For the kids that dont like

reading in front of their
peers, I will keep this in
mind and try not to make
them feel pressure or
uncomfortable. But, I do
want to make my class feel
comfortable enough that
they wont be shy or afraid to
read out loud.

Focus Lesson (I do it)

- I will introduce the short story by having the students pick a piece of paper out
of a black box. Just like the black box used in the story. The students are told
not to unfold their paper and look inside until the end of the story. I tell them
that one piece of paper has a black dot on the inside, and the person that has
that paper has won the lottery, a special prize. This will get them excited and
engaged in the story.

Guided Instruction (We do it)

As a class we will read this short story out loud. We will discuss what is
happening and we will write down the phrases that are context clues
that foreshadow what might happen at the end of the story.
We will also go through vocabulary words that might be confusing and
need to be discussed.
To incorporate technology into this lesson, I will show images of the
setting of this story up on the SmartBoard. This will allow the students
to get a picture in their mind of what this place looks like. This
technique helps engage the students and helps them immerse in the
story. By putting these images on the SmartBoard, it will be easy for me
to stand up in front of the class and read along with the students and
tap the board to move on to the next picture.

Collaborative/Cooperative (You do it together)

After weve read a good portion of the story, I will allow the class to come up
with one prediction of what they think The Lottery really is. They will have to
talk to each other and go through their ideas. After they come up with one main
idea, they will tell me and I will write it up on the board.

- For the kids that do enjoy

talking (maybe a little too
much) I will make sure they
dont take over the lesson
and make sure they allow the
other students to participate.

Independent (You do it alone)

When we finish the short story the students will work alone. They will take out a
piece of paper and they will write down the class prediction and how it differed
from what really happened. They will also write about how the context clues
helped them figure out what was happening. They will also write about how
their previous knowledge of foreshadowing has changed.

Summarization/Closure

At the very end, I will have the students open up their piece of paper. At this
point they will no longer want to be the person with the black dot on their piece
of paper. This activity keeps the students engaged during the story and it will
also teach them that things arent always as they appear.

REFLECTION AFTER LESSON

How can I use the assessment data to reflect on & evaluate the outcomes of teaching and learning? How can I transfer
what I learned from teaching this lesson to future teaching? What was effective and not effective? What goals can I set
to improve my practice and student learning?

NOTES TO TEACHER
What do I need to remember to do?
I need to remember to involve everyone and get a really good discussion going. I also need to remember to
allow all the kids to read, and not just one.

Materials to have ready?

The black box with my little papers. One paper should have a black dot on it.

Approximate time needed for lesson?

1-2 class periods

I can use the assessment date to reflect on and evaluate the outcomes of the teaching and
learning going on in my classroom by looking at the results. I can see what questions were
missed the most and I can see if my lesson helped improve that specific idea. I can also see what
the students still need to work on even after the lesson and post test is done. The post test will
help me see what I should cover more in class so the student will be able to better understand
what I am teaching them.
I can transfer experiences from this lesson to future teaching. I can learn from my mistakes and
I can also learn from what worked well. I didnt know what would work well with the students
until I actually tried it out. Hands on learning seemed to be a big help from the beginning, it
instantly got the students engaged.
The most effective thing used during my lesson was the black box activity and the pictures that
were shown up on the SmartBoard. I learned that students like to actually see whats going on
instead of just sitting there reading like robots. Doing activities that involved the students
seemed to be really effective and seemed to excite them. Something that didnt seem to be very
effective was asking the students what certain vocabulary words meant. Most of the time the
students just sat in silence because they had no idea. I think that if I had supplied them with the
necessary materials needed in order to find the vocabulary words, the students would have been
able to look the word up and give me the answer.

Some goals that I can set for future teaching is to make sure that everyone is involved, have the
necessary materials available in the classroom, always include some sort of hands on activity
during the lesson to get the students involved, and make sure that everyone is on the same page
throughout the whole lesson. I wouldnt want to move on to something new if someone was
confused about something we had just gone over. Its important to ask if anybody has any
questions before moving on.

LESSON PLAN #2
LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE SET Program
Teacher Candidate ________Calee Drew_________________________________
Grade Level _8-9_______ Subject/Content:__English_________Title _The Yellow Wallpaper_____

CONTEXTUAL FACTORS (e.g. ethnicity, gender, exceptionalities, ELL, GATE, etc.) which need
differentiation in instruction and assessment.

30 students
5 males, 25 females
28 White, 1 Hispanic, 1 African American
There are no ELL students present in this class
Exceptionalities - There is one student that sits in the back that has a problem with speaking
out loud and disrupting those around him. His behavior can hardly be controlled.

WALK-AWAY (what do I want students to know, understand,

and be able to do?)
Include: Big Ideas/ Essential Questions
State Standard/Objectives

Big Ideas

Upon completing this lesson, students will gain an

understanding of the rapidly changing roles of American
women in the nineteenth and early twentieth century.
Students will understand how factors such as race, class,
nationality/immigration status, and marital status affected
a woman's place and role(s) at the turn-of-the-century
(1890s-1910s).
Students will characterize and explain resistance to
changing roles for women
Content Walk-Away: Unpacked Curriculum

Women roles and how theyve

changed throughout the years

Essential Questions

Students will understand womens roles and how theyve changed

How have womens roles changed?

Reading/Language Content Walk-Away:

How did race, class, and marital

status affect a womens place?

Reading The Yellow Wallpaper out loud as a class helps

students to pay attention more and get engaged.

What are your feelings towards these

changes?

Going over vocabulary before we read the story will help the
students understand the story better.

ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE (formative/summative checks for

learning) (Match the Content Walk-Away)

Formative Evidence (checking for understanding throughout the

lesson):

Stop readers throughout the story and ask questions get

discussions started.

Content Walk-Away Evidence (Summative):

Students will have a better understanding of womens roles and

how theyve changed.

Language Walk-Away Evidence (Summative):

Go through vocabulary that students might not know from the older
years make sure they have a clear understanding of what the
words means and especially make sure they understand it in the
context.

Modifications/Accommodations (ELL,

IEP, GATE, etc.)

Calee Drew 5

ACTIVE LEARNING PLAN

Modifications/
Accommodations
(ELL, IEP, GATE, etc.)

Activate Prior Knowledge/Experiences

Ask students their how they feel about womens roles today and ask
them how they think its changed throughout the years.

Focus Lesson (I do it)

Give students a paper that covers the history of womens roles. Have
a powerpoint ready and prepared that shows pictures and
advertisements that were used in past years.

Guided Instruction (We do it)

Read this short story out loud. Stop throughout the story and ask
questions that could lead into a discussion.

Collaborative/Cooperative (You do it together)

Have students discuss together how advertisements on women have

changed throughout the years and have them decide what the biggest
change has been.

Independent (You do it alone)

Journal Entry: Based on research and scholarship, students might

write a creative journal entry or an essay in the voice of a person
during this time period. What rhetorical perspective might the
person take? What are they advocating for, and why? How do those

Since there are no ELL, IEP, or

GATE students in this class, no
changes or modifications need to be
made. But, for the kid with
exceptionalities that sits in the back
I will continually have to make sure
he stays on track and make sure he
is understanding what is going on.

Calee Drew 6
in their homes or communities react to their viewpoints? Emphasize
to students that the creative exercise should reveal the students'
knowledge of the time period and the competing voices in the midst
of change.

Summarization/Closure

Close by talking about how important womens roles are and how
even though theyve changed, we should still educate ourselves with
how things change and how theyve had an impact in our world.

Revisit Essential Questions

How have womens roles changed?

How did race, class, and marital status affect a womens place?

What are your feelings towards these changes?

NOTES TO TEACHER
What do I need to remember to do?
Read over the story and have the lesson prepared, read short history on women roles
Materials to have ready?
Powerpoint that shows women and their roles from years ago until present
Approximate time needed for lesson?
1 class period

Calee Drew 7
Analysis of Data

Red Lines - Pre Test

Green Lines Post Test
* The test was composed of 10 multiple choice questions

Student

Pre Test

Post Test

#1

10

#2

10

#3

10

#4

10

#5

10

#6

10

#7

10

#8

10

#9

10

#10

#11

10

#12

10

Calee Drew 8
#13

#14

10

#15

#16

#17

10

#18

10

#19

10

#20

10

#21

#22

10

#23

10

#24

#25

10

#26

10

#27

10

#28

10

#29

10

#30

10

Student #16 This is the student that sits in the back and usually has no desire to do anything. He
disrupts the class frequently and loves to talk out all the time. During my lesson, he did well. There
were moments when he would talk out loud and try to make jokes, but overall he sat and listened. I
was pleased to see the improvement he made on his post test.

Calee Drew 9

Reflection
DM6: Reflection Self Evaluation
My e-portfolio contains several items based on the DSU Department of Education DESERT
model standards. My growth and experiences during my time in the education program are
documented in my e-portfolio by benchmark assessments and appendix items that provide
evidence of meeting the claim of becoming a competent, caring, and qualified educator.
I believe I am a competent educator as demonstrated by this English lesson plan I created
for my SCED 4100 class. While reading through the lesson plan I give accommodations to those
with exceptionalities (DM 1) in my class. I know class can sometimes be challenging when students
try to test you, but when you can work with them and respect them things end up being successful.
This lesson plan shows the contextual factors in the classroom and shows how diverse a classroom
can be. Making modifications to the lesson plan to get these students more involved is something
that is fun. I can have my students read literature about different ethnicities and countries. This not
only involves the students from that country, but it informs the rest of the students of that their
country is like. I am also a competent educator because I believe if you can make a lesson intriguing
and exciting, you will get a lot more participation in the classroom. Technology has become such a
huge thing for adolescents. By including technology in the lesson, it catches their attention and gets
them involved.
I am a caring educator because I know I need to get to know each and every one of my
students. I realize that each student comes from a different background, and in some cases Im the
only person that truly cares about them. I never want my students to feel neglected or uncared for.
When students walk into my classroom they will feel safe in the environment I create. I will teach
students in a way where they will want to come to class and learn everyday. When a teacher shows

Calee Drew 10
they care, it changes the perspective of the student. Knowing that they are cared about can truly
change their day. I believe it is so important to care about the education of the students that I will
have.
I believe that I am a qualified teacher because of all the classes I have taken to prepare
myself for this moment. I have spent many years studying my subject matter and preparing myself
to be the best I can be. I have had experience with young adults for many years of my life. I have
been a camp counselor in past summers, and I have always enjoyed being around those kids and
making their days a little better. I have been in the classroom and taught 8th and 9th graders. Though
there were some challenges, Im grateful for them because they help me grow and learn myself. I
believe that a good teacher learns everyday along with her students. I know that I am capable of
teaching and cannot wait to fully immerse myself in this profession.
Being a competent, caring, and qualified teacher is important in the classroom environment.
We need to believe and know that we are good enough to teach the students that come into out
classroom. I know I am prepared to take on the role of an educator. I also know that I will grow and
learn everyday that I am in the classroom. The e-portfolio that I have created shows how qualified I
am and shows how passionate I am about my subject matter.