InTASC Model Core Teaching Standard #4: Content Knowledge
The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and creates learning experiences that make the discipline accessible and meaningful for learners to assure mastery of the content.
June 2016
The lesson plan, Phonemic Awareness, Rhyming, and Group Writing, is an ELA and Reading Foundational skills kindergarten lesson I created for EDU 351 Teaching Reading in Elementary School. In this lesson I read a classic Dr. Seuss book, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and focus on all of the rhyming and phonemes we hear in the language of the book. Students will learn central concepts to early reading skills such breaking down spoken word into syllables and saying their sounds. Students will also work on single-syllable words, changing the onset or rime of the word to another word that rhymes and has the same phonemes. The teacher records everything on the board so that students can see what the words they are saying look like, they can begin to piece together the essential skill of making the connection between sound and written word. Students will begin to write down the words that they come up together to begin creating their own list of rhyming words.
The lesson plan, Phonemic Awareness, Rhyming, and Group Writing, is an ELA and Reading Foundational skills kindergarten lesson I created for EDU 351 Teaching Reading in Elementary School. In this lesson I read a classic Dr. Seuss book, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and focus on all of the rhyming and phonemes we hear in the language of the book. Students will learn central concepts to early reading skills such breaking down spoken word into syllables and saying their sounds. Students will also work on single-syllable words, changing the onset or rime of the word to another word that rhymes and has the same phonemes. The teacher records everything on the board so that students can see what the words they are saying look like, they can begin to piece together the essential skill of making the connection between sound and written word. Students will begin to write down the words that they come up together to begin creating their own list of rhyming words.
Fall 2013
The following is the third part of four RAPS assignments (Reflective Activities and Your Portfolio) for EDU 250 Foundations of Education. The assignment was to create a venn diagram comparing the National Standards to a state of our choosing. I chose Washington vs. the National Standard.
Artifact
Math – Kindergarten – Whole numbers (Washington State, OSPI) vs. Counting and Cardinality (National Standard, CCSSI)
Standard #4 Content Knowledge - Performance:
“4a) The teacher effectively uses multiple representations and explanations that capture key ideas in the discipline, guide learners through learning progressions, and promote each learner’s achievement of content standards” (InTASC, 13).
“The student takes numeral cards (1 to 10) that have been shuffled and puts them in correct ascending order” (OSPI, 3-4). I would then want to have the students help each other out in placing the numbers in the correct order. Correct answers would be rewarded. All students would be equally praised for such achievements.
“4(d) The teacher stimulates learner reflection on prior content knowledge, links new concepts to familiar concepts, and makes connections to learners’ experiences” (InTASC, 13).
“Count to answer ‘how many?’ questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1–20, count out that many objects” (CCSSI, 1). They would feel confident being able to recognize the shape the objects are in and also be able to visually see the objects to count. This would allow them to see how many they have when they have some objects taken away.
Math – Kindergarten – Patterns and Operations (OSPI) vs. Operations and Algebraic Thinking (CCSSI)
Standard #4 Content Knowledge – Performance:
“4e) The teacher recognizes learner misconceptions in a discipline that interfere with learning, and creates experiences to build accurate conceptual understanding” (InTASC, 13).
I believe that something that students need to fully understand subjects without misconceptions is to use common and familiar objects for examples. “Describe a situation that involves the actions of joining (addition) or separating (subtraction) using words, pictures, objects, or numbers” (OSPI, 5).
“4f) The teacher evaluates and modifies instructional resources and curriculum materials for their comprehensiveness, accuracy for representing particular concepts in the discipline, and appropriateness for his/ her learners.” (InTASC, 13).
“Represent addition and subtraction with objects, fingers, mental images, drawings1, sounds (e.g., claps), acting out situations, verbal explanations, expressions, or equations” (CSSI, 1). I believe that learning should always be fun, no matter the subject or grade level. The teachers responsibility is to make sure that the learners are learning at the correct pace and level they can handle.
Math – Kindergarten – Objects and Location (OSPI) vs. Geometry (CCSSI)
Standard #4 Content Knowledge – Performance
“4h) The teacher creates opportunities for students to learn, practice, and master academic language in their content” (InTASC, 13).
“4i) The teacher accesses school and/or district-based resources to evaluate the learner’s content knowledge in their primary language” (InTASC, 13).
“Describe objects in the environment using names of shapes, and describe the relative positions of these objects using terms such as above, below, beside, in front of, behind, and next to” (CCSSI, 1).
A great lesson for the learners would be to place different common shapes and numbers around the classroom. Then have the students fill in the blanks, the number four was found ________ the table. I definitely want the learners to be as vocal as possible and never let one student remain shy.
Works Cited
Council of Chief State School Officers. (2011, April). Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) Model Core Teaching Standards: A Resource for State Dialogue. Washington, DC: Author.
"Mathematics » Kindergarten » Counting & Cardinality." Common Core State Standards Initiative. CCSSI, 2012. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
"Mathematics K-12 Learning Standards." Mathematics K-12 Learning Standards. OSPI, July 2008. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.