A-1: Teaching and Learning Context
Number of Students Enrolled:
65
Grade Levels in Class:
4th 
Age in Class (list all that apply):
9 and 10 years old
School and District Factors:
The school’s NCLB scores show that Middletown Elementary met 14 out of 16 standards and show large gains in all areas. One goal where the school falls short is with the African American population. The goals listed in the 2008-2009 School Improvement Plan give the teachers strategies to increase the number of students’ scoring proficient and distinguished in reading and math. This goal was revised to focus on the African American students. Middletown has many strategies for students to increase reading scores, such as Reading Master and ESS services. Math Success-maker was implemented to increase scores in grades 3-5. The teachers attend Professional Development and Embedded Professional Development to discuss, plan and implement new strategies for improving student achievement. 
Place an ‘X’ beside the phrase that best describes the classroom setting:
_____self-contained     _____lab   ______field    ___x___collaborative classroom
Describe the resources (equipment, technology and supplies) available to you for this class:
There is a projector that is attached to the computer and the document camera (ELMO). There are four computers for the students to use in the back of the room. There is also a closet full of math manipulatives and science material. The students have been using protractors, rulers, polygon shapes, and hands-on algebra pieces. The magnetism FOSS kit is available to the class. There is also a chalk board and chalk to use when needed. A television is located in a corner, but it usually only used for the morning announcements. There is a bookshelf of books the students can choose from to read and there are many books to go along with lessons.
Place an ‘X’ besides the phrase that describes the types of help available to you:
____ Instructional assistant ____ parent volunteer __X__peer (student) tutors
__X__ resource teacher  ___X__ classroom teacher  ____ Other
Indicate the number of student in each category below:
__0__ ESL/LEP/ELL   __4__ # with IEPs  __0__ # with 504 modifications   __0__ Title 1
__15 (Middletown is an AP school, so there is an AP class that has 35 students, 20 are considered ‘sit-in’ AP students)__ Gifted/GSP   ___4__ Other (SST students. This is leading to an IEP or a 504 modification pending action plans and meetings with a panel)
List types of differences:
Languages: 
4 students speak languages other than English at home, but every student speaks fluent English at school.
Cultures: 
The cultures in the class are White, Black, Hispanic, Asian/Indian
Achievement/Developmental Levels for this lesson:
There is an AP class of 35 students who are learning from the 5th grade Math book. They are at least one grade level above their current grade. The Comprehensive group has 6 students below grade level, 15 at or slightly below grade level and 9 above grade level. 
Number of students for each pattern of achievement:
__6___ Below grade level ___15___ At grade level   ___44__Above grade level
Describe other classroom conditions (if any) including student demographics that have implications for teaching and what might be observed in your classroom.
	Behavior has a major impact on the instruction of the classroom. 4 of the students are SST for their behavior issues. The behavior can become so extreme that the lesson has to be stopped and the students have to be removed from the room. Some of the behavior is less severe, but can be very distracting to other students and, at times, can be difficult to stop due to obvious defiance by the students. Constant fighting causes a volatile environment that can erupt into violence if it is not carefully monitored and diffused. 
Implications for instruction: List two or three ways the above factors influence planning and implementing instruction.
	The behavior issues affect planning and implementing instruction by making me aware of over-planning and keeping activities short. If the students are not given much ‘free time’ or transition time, then they cannot start fights as easily and they are always focused on their work instead of the people around the room. If they are given a chance to speak rudely to someone else then the situation gets out of control very quickly. When planning, I try to over-plan and fit in as many activities as possible to keep the instruction moving.
	Also, I listen to conversations between students to listen for any comments that may lead to a disagreement and separate those students or stop the conversation. Being aware of the students who cause the majority of the disagreements is key during instruction. It keeps the small behaviors from becoming a large inconvenience. 

Date: February 3, 2010	Age/Grade Level: 9/10  4th Grade	
Number of Students: 27	Number of Students with Special Needs: 4	
Number of Gifted Students: 0	Number of LEP Students: 0	
Lesson Length: 45 minutes	LessonSubject: Science	
Major Content: Magnetism	Broad Goals of Lesson: Begin exploration of magnetic forces	
	
Context: 
Explain how this lesson relates to the unit of study or your board goals for teaching about the topic.
•	This lesson will identify the prior knowledge of the students about magnetism. This lesson will introduce the unit on magnetism and electricity. The students will begin their exploration with magnetism and establish a base for the rest of the investigations in the unit. 
Describe the students’ prior knowledge or focus of the previous lesson.
•	This is the beginning lesson of this unit. They have not had any prior instruction on magnetism specifically. They do have experience with magnets from their real-world experiences and may have experienced them in other grades or at other points in the year, but never in much depth. 
Describe generally any critical student characteristics or attributes that will affect student learning (other than what you described in the Teaching and Learning Context):
•	Behavior of multiple students may make the exploring portion difficult. Constant patrolling of the groups will be necessary to make this lesson successful. Some students will not respect the equipment, which will make it difficult for the other group members to complete their task. These students will need to be monitored closely. 
Objectives:
Students will identify from a collection of items, which items are magnetic and which are not magnetic by using a magnet to test the items. 
Students will discover items in the room that are or are not magnetic by exploring with a magnet.
Connections:
Academic Expectations
2.3 	Students identify and analyze systems and the ways their components work together or affect each other
Core Content
SC-04-1.2.2
Students will infer causes and effects of pushes and pulls (forces) on objects based on representations or interpretations of straight-line movement/motion in charts, graphs and qualitative comparisons.

The position and motion of objects can be changed by pushing or pulling. The amount of change is related to the force (defined as the strength of the push or pull) and the mass of the object(s) used. The force with which a ball is hit illustrates this principle. Cause and effect relationships, along with predicted consequences related to the strength of pushes and pulls (force) on an object’s position and motion should be explored and qualitatively compared. 
DOK 3
Assessment Plan:
Objective Number	Type of Assessment	Description of Assessment	Depth of Knowledge	Adaptations and/or Accommodations	
1	Formative	Magnetic Observations Worksheet	1		
2	Formative	Antecedol Notes	1		

Materials:
•	That Magnetic Dog, by Bruce Whatley
•	65 copies of the worksheet Prior Knowledge Inventory
•	1 copy of the worksheet Magnetic Observations (students will write this in their science notebooks)
•	8 bags of items
•	At least 8 magnets
•	Document camera
•	Projector
Procedures:
Introduce/Engage:
•	Place the book, That Magnetic Dog  by Bruce Whatley, under the document camera so the entire class will be able to view it.
•	Read the story aloud to the class (literacy connection: Interactive Read Aloud)
•	Point out that the book contains another meaning of magnetic. It does not mean the dog is actually scientifically magnetic, but that he is so cute that food seems to find him. 
•	Inform the students that we will be starting our unit on magnetism. Give them the opportunity to fill out the worksheet labeled Prior Knowledge Inventory. 
•	Ask some of the students to share what they have written down with the other members at their tables. 
Activities/Explore/Explain:
•	Give the students a chance to test with their magnets. Let them try to see what their magnets will stick to around their seat. 
•	Explain that it is very IMPORTANT to not put the magnet near any technology. It will destroy computers, televisions and disks. 
•	After 1 or 2 minutes of exploration, collect the magnets and introduce the bag of items in their bowls. 
•	Explain that the magnets may or may not stick to the items and it is their job to guess which ones they will stick to and which ones they won’t. Model for the students how to make a T-chart in their notebooks like the one on the Magnetic Observations worksheet. Ask the students to record their predictions first. 
•	After they have recorded their predictions, hand the magnets out again and give the students a chance to explore which items are magnetic and which are not. 
•	Make sure the students record their findings in their notebooks, model using the Magnetic Observation worksheet as a guide to what should be written in their notebooks. 
•	Have the student return the materials to the bag and place the bag and the magnets back in their bowls. 
•	Ask the students if any of the items that stuck were surprising to them.
•	Ask them if any of the items in the stuck column have any properties in common. (They are made of metal)
•	Point out that there are metal items in both columns and ask the students why this happened? (The items that stuck must be made out of the same thing.) 
Elaborate:
•	Explain that magnets only stick to metal iron. Sometimes iron is mixed with other metals, which is why magnets will stick to other metals, but the attraction may be weaker. 
•	Explain that steel is a mixed metal that is made up of mostly iron, so it is magnetic. 
•	Magnets stick to objects that are iron or steel. 
•	Students may ask about the rock that is magnetic. Ask them why they think the rock is magnetic. (It contains iron.) It is a mineral that is called, magnetite and is very rich in iron. 
•	Ask the students how we can figure out if a metal contains iron or not. (We can see if the magnet sticks to it.)
Conclusion:
•	Give the students time to explore around the room and see what their magnet sticks to, but be sure to remind them about placing the magnets on technology. 
•	Bring them back as a class and discuss anything they found that surprised them. 
•	Ensure the students return all the magnets and items in the bags by telling them the next class needs to use the same materials and if things are missing, then they will not be able to complete their investigation. 

Magnetic Observations

My Prediction	
Items That Are Magnetic	Items That Are Not Magnetic	

My Results	
Items That Are Magnetic	Items That Are Not Magnetic	

Part C: Lesson Analysis and Reflection
Analyze and Evaluate your lesson
Standard 7 – Reflects on & Evaluates Teaching & Learning 
The students enjoyed the introduction to the lesson where I read the book That Magnetic Dog. Most of them thought it was funny and were fully engaged. I was able to see that some of the students were engaged because they laughed at the right parts during the story. 
The prior knowledge inventory was not successful. They did not want to complete the page and did not want to read the instructions to understand how to fill it out.  Some of the students just did not want to put the effort into working. Only about 5 students put effort into filling out the worksheet. I found out something they would like to know about magnets, so I wish the rest of the class had been motivated and filled out the form as well, so I could know what they would like to learn. I think this could be a very useful tool in the future as long as the students will fill it out.
During the investigation, the students were able to give logical reasons as to why they thought the items would or would not be magnetic. Some students told me they thought the items on their magnetic list belonged there because they were metal, shiny or they were made of metal that could not bend. They gave me many examples of what they predicted would be magnetic and what would not be magnetic and were able to give reasons for each one. 
While doing the investigation, several students got off task and needed to be redirected. After I got most of the students on task, they were able to make two piles of items that were the magnetic and not magnetic items. Not every student was engaged in this activity, but I was able to begin conversations that drew these students into the group conversation. I challenged the groups with questions, such as, why is the shiny nail magnetic, but not the dull nail, were you surprised that the aluminum foil was not magnetic and how come these metal items are magnetic, but the others are not? The students were able to give me some very intuitive answers. They told me that the shiny nail weighed more than the dull nail, so that must have something to do with the magnetism. I also heard that the aluminum foil was made up of a bunch of different materials, so it was not magnetic and that the metals in the magnetic groups must be made of different metals. Some of the students could not give me answers that made sense, but I could tell they were trying to think of a reason, which means they are trying to conquer some critical thinking skills. 
The students seemed interested to learn that magnets only stick to certain metals, such as iron and steel. One student was able to answer the question about how we could figure out if something was made of steel or iron. That was a big success to see they made that connection. The end of the lesson was an exploration time. The students walked around the room and tried to find things the magnets would stick to. They were supposed to record in their notebooks, but many of them forgot to do this so I just watched them walk around and explore.  They were able to identify at least two items that were magnetic and two that were not magnetic. Some of the students wrote it down, but most of them were so engaged in finding magnetic items that they forgot to write the items down. 

Explain how you determined the levels of student performance on your objective
Students will be placed in the exceeding standards category if they were able to correctly place all 9 items (there were two of each item in every bag, so there was a total of separate19 items) in the in two piles and record them in their notebooks according to their magnetism. They also will have need to have found at least 3 items around the room that were magnetic and 3 that were not magnetic.
Students will be placed in the meeting standard category if they were able to correctly place at least 8 items in two piles and record them in their notebooks according to their magnetism. They also will have need to have found 2 items around the room that were magnetic and 2 that were not magnetic.
Students will be placed in the below standard category if they were able to correctly place 7 or less items in two piles and record them in their notebook according to their magnetism. They also will have need to have found 1 item around the room that was magnetic and 1 that was not magnetic.

Attach rubric(s) and any final analyses.
Sort the students' performance (cite evidence) into three categories and determine what number of students met the criteria in each category:
27 students in the sample
 
Below criteria ___6__ # of students 
Meeting criteria __8___ # of students 
Exceeding criteria __13___ # of students 
For each category, describe the students' strengths and learning needs, if any
Standard 5.4  Describes, analyzes and evaluates student performance
Standard 1.5 Identifies and addresses students' misconceptions of content 

Below criteria 
These students have the ability to meet or exceed the standard, but the motivation to work is not present. These students needed to have one –on-one attention to complete their work and stay on task. These students lose focus during group work if an adult is not standing there giving them step-by-step instruction. These students had the knowledge to complete the task, but chose not to put forth the effort.
Meeting criteria
The students in this category also needed redirection, but not as much as those in the below criteria category. These students spent more time experimenting with the magnets on the items than they did placing them into groups and writing the items in the T-chart. They also had the knowledge and ability, but their focus was also an issue. 
Exceeding criteria 
The students in this category were able to fully complete the task. They were focused and hard working. They were able to identify all of the items correctly which means they did not play around with one item for too long. They knew how to explore with a purpose. 
For each category of students, how will you differentiate or adapt instruction to move them forward?
Below criteria 
For students in this category, I would have spent more time monitoring them and making sure they were on task. They were capable of doing the work, but could not stay on task. Some of them are still tired by this point in the day so that could have affected their work also. I could have put all the students with these issues into one group together and reduced the number of items they had to test or I could have gotten another adult to sit with them and help them organize all the items. 
Meeting criteria
To help these students move forward, I could have given the entire class time to explore with the items and magnets after they sorted and wrote down all the items onto their T-chart. This would have eliminated the time they spent playing with the magnetic items instead of sorting them. This would have bumped these students up into the exceeding criteria category. 
Exceeding criteria 
The students in this category were given the challenge to figure out why some of the metal objects were magnetic and others were not. They came up with some answers for this question. I could have provided these students with bar magnets and let them explore with the idea of north and south poles. This would be a lead into the next lesson where they explore the concepts of attract and repel. 
Based on your assessment data, reflect on the following:
Standard 7.3 Uses data to reflect on and identify areas for professional growth

 What does the analysis of your students' performance tell you about the effectiveness of your instruction in meeting your students' needs?
Most of the students were able to sort the magnetic and not magnetic materials meaning they understood the meaning of the concept of magnetism when using a magnet. This tells me that I explained the activity well and most of the students were able to complete the activity. The majority of the students were able to determine that the magnets were attracted to metal, but only a certain type of metal. This was the main goal of the lesson, so I effectively taught this to the students. 
 
How useful were the assessments in capturing useful evidence of student learning? Did they address the needs of your students' differences?
 My assessment was relatively useful in capturing the students learning. Many of the students got caught up in the activity and exploring with their magnets, so they would forget to record things. I tried to go around and remind everyone to write things down, but some still did not get everything written down.  The assessment did address the needs of the students. They were given sufficient time to record their findings and predictions, as well as objects found around the room. Due to the change in seating arrangements because of the projector being out of service, some students were more off task than usual. If the room seat up was the same as it usually is, I believe more students would have successfully completed the assessment and more accurately showcase their learning. 
What does this analysis of your students' performance tell you about the success of the instructional strategies used in the lesson? 
The students were able to grasp the concept of magnetism very easily. I did more group instruction throughout this lesson due to the learning level differences. Some of the students did not catch onto ideas as quickly as other groups, but by moving aroung the room and addressing tables of students, I was able to go over things again or introduce new ideas as the students needed. This strategy worked well because every student was able to finish the activity and were able to describe some of the things they observed. The students were also able to identify the properties of items when I did whole class instruction. This tells me that they were engaged by what I was saying and were using their critical thinking skills to solve the problems I proposed.
 
Describe any patterns or trends in the students' performance. How can these patterns or trends be used in planning and instruction?
 The one major pattern I saw during my lesson was that the students lost focus because they were having fun playing with the magnets. I would plan time for play before we started the lesson next time. I do this in math when a new manipulative is introduced so they can ‘get it out of their system’ so we can move on and learn. This would have been very effective for the science lesson. Also, collecting the magnets after the groups had tested every object would have been helpful. Some of the group members were able to write down objects and test at the same time, but other students got so distracted that they would not put the magnets down. I would also do this so that the magnets do not end up disappearing at the end of the lesson. 
Overall, the student performed well in the investigation of the magnets. They were able to make connections and begin their understanding of magnetism. 
 
What knowledge, skills and/or resources could help you increase your instructional effectiveness? 
Finding a way to keep students more on task during these types of discovery based lessons would help increase my instructional effectiveness. I enjoy exploration and discovery in learning. I believe students learn best in these types of situations, but classroom management is much more difficult. My mentor teacher is amazing with this and it also helps to have two teachers monitoring the groups. I am still trying to get my classroom management skills to a higher level. Once I accomplish this, my instructional effectiveness will be greater. 
Describe how you have reported or plan to communicate learning results to students and parents.
Standard 5.5 Communicating learning results to students and parents
This lesson was an introduction to the unit on magnetism and electricity. The parents will be able to view their students’ progress by looking in their science notebooks to observe what their child has recorded or by waiting until the end of the unit assessment is taken and given back. There will also be other times throughout the unit where the students will be graded on things and the parents will be able to see if the students grasped the concept from this lesson and carried it over into the next lessons.