Standard 1: Content
Teachers know the subjects they are teaching.
The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the disciplines she or he teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for pupils.
Artifact Reflection
Title of Artifact: Internship Social Studies Lessons
Date Completed: Fall 2013
Description: During my time as an intern for fourth grade at Darlington Elementary School, I prepared and presented many lesson plans for Social Studies. As an intern, I was in charge of Social Studies right away. These lesson plans were designed to be meaningful for the students, while still teaching them the required content.
Alignment Reflection
Wisconsin Teacher Standard Alignment
This artifact aligns with standard one of the Wisconsin Teacher Development and Licensure Standard. This standard states “The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the disciplines she or he teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for pupils.” These lessons align with standard one because in order to write each lesson, I had to understand the central concept that had to be taught. The curriculum for Social Studies in fourth grade is all about Wisconsin, but before the students could learn the history of Wisconsin, they had to learn where in the world they are living. This is my first artifact. The lesson was called “Where in the World Are We?” I used a PowerPoint activity up on the SmartBoard for this lesson. The SmartBoard is a great tool that gets students engaged as they are learning the content. This lesson was very meaningful to the students because it was all about where they are in the world, so they could relate to the lesson. The second artifact that reflects this standard is a lesson called “Create a World Map”. Once the students had learned where in the world they live, they needed to get a better feel for how the world is divided up. This was a hands-on lesson that allowed the students to physically create a model of the world using a piece of paper. This type of activity makes it meaningful for the students because they have a visual right in front of them. Teaching Social Studies is all about making it meaningful and relevant to the students. In order to do this, I had to understand the content, and then I had to connect it to the students.
UW-Platteville School of Education Knowledge, Skill, Disposition Statement Alignment
This artifact best aligns with KSD1.a. of the UWP School of Education, Knowledge, Skill, and Disposition statements which states, “The candidate displays extensive content knowledge of his/her subject areas and demonstrates a continuing search for new content knowledge, resources, and best instructional practices, while understanding student diversity and student misconceptions and misunderstandings as key to the teaching process.” For each Social Studies lesson I taught, I had to extensively know what the content was I needed to cover. After I knew and understood the content in depth, I was able to create a lesson that met the needs of my diverse class. Each lesson would be instructed differently for the different students in my class. I looked and continue to look for the best resources and instructional practices that fit the learning styles of my class. For example, rather than teaching where the students live in the world by reading out of the book, I created an engaging SmartBoard activity. This was great for my kinesthetic and visual learners. This lesson also addressed the misconception of where they lived in the world. At the beginning, many of the students labeled Darlington, WI in Canada on the world map. I was then able to address and fix this misconception. The teaching process is all about understanding the content that needs to be taught, then finding the best resources and instructional practices for your students.
Secondary Alignment
KSD1.b.
KSD3.c.
Personal Reflection
What I learned about teaching/learning from this experience:
I learned that in order for teachers to teach a meaningful lesson, they must know the content and their students. The only way a teacher can prepare a lesson is by knowing what they need to teach. After they know the content, they can create lessons that will engage the students and make it meaningful to them. I learned that teaching is about knowing what you are teaching, and then creating lessons that will make connections with your students.
What I learned about myself as a prospective educator as a result of this experience/artifact:
I learned about myself as a future educator that I need to teach or re-teach myself the content I will be teaching before I instruct the students. It’s essential that I know the content inside and out so that I can properly instruct the students and answer their questions about the concept. This takes time and effort, but in the end it will help my students, and they will understand the concept much better if I am confident in what I am teaching them. I learned that preparation as a teacher is the key to a successful lesson plan.
The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the disciplines she or he teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for pupils.
Artifact Reflection
Title of Artifact: Internship Social Studies Lessons
Date Completed: Fall 2013
Description: During my time as an intern for fourth grade at Darlington Elementary School, I prepared and presented many lesson plans for Social Studies. As an intern, I was in charge of Social Studies right away. These lesson plans were designed to be meaningful for the students, while still teaching them the required content.
Alignment Reflection
Wisconsin Teacher Standard Alignment
This artifact aligns with standard one of the Wisconsin Teacher Development and Licensure Standard. This standard states “The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the disciplines she or he teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for pupils.” These lessons align with standard one because in order to write each lesson, I had to understand the central concept that had to be taught. The curriculum for Social Studies in fourth grade is all about Wisconsin, but before the students could learn the history of Wisconsin, they had to learn where in the world they are living. This is my first artifact. The lesson was called “Where in the World Are We?” I used a PowerPoint activity up on the SmartBoard for this lesson. The SmartBoard is a great tool that gets students engaged as they are learning the content. This lesson was very meaningful to the students because it was all about where they are in the world, so they could relate to the lesson. The second artifact that reflects this standard is a lesson called “Create a World Map”. Once the students had learned where in the world they live, they needed to get a better feel for how the world is divided up. This was a hands-on lesson that allowed the students to physically create a model of the world using a piece of paper. This type of activity makes it meaningful for the students because they have a visual right in front of them. Teaching Social Studies is all about making it meaningful and relevant to the students. In order to do this, I had to understand the content, and then I had to connect it to the students.
UW-Platteville School of Education Knowledge, Skill, Disposition Statement Alignment
This artifact best aligns with KSD1.a. of the UWP School of Education, Knowledge, Skill, and Disposition statements which states, “The candidate displays extensive content knowledge of his/her subject areas and demonstrates a continuing search for new content knowledge, resources, and best instructional practices, while understanding student diversity and student misconceptions and misunderstandings as key to the teaching process.” For each Social Studies lesson I taught, I had to extensively know what the content was I needed to cover. After I knew and understood the content in depth, I was able to create a lesson that met the needs of my diverse class. Each lesson would be instructed differently for the different students in my class. I looked and continue to look for the best resources and instructional practices that fit the learning styles of my class. For example, rather than teaching where the students live in the world by reading out of the book, I created an engaging SmartBoard activity. This was great for my kinesthetic and visual learners. This lesson also addressed the misconception of where they lived in the world. At the beginning, many of the students labeled Darlington, WI in Canada on the world map. I was then able to address and fix this misconception. The teaching process is all about understanding the content that needs to be taught, then finding the best resources and instructional practices for your students.
Secondary Alignment
KSD1.b.
KSD3.c.
Personal Reflection
What I learned about teaching/learning from this experience:
I learned that in order for teachers to teach a meaningful lesson, they must know the content and their students. The only way a teacher can prepare a lesson is by knowing what they need to teach. After they know the content, they can create lessons that will engage the students and make it meaningful to them. I learned that teaching is about knowing what you are teaching, and then creating lessons that will make connections with your students.
What I learned about myself as a prospective educator as a result of this experience/artifact:
I learned about myself as a future educator that I need to teach or re-teach myself the content I will be teaching before I instruct the students. It’s essential that I know the content inside and out so that I can properly instruct the students and answer their questions about the concept. This takes time and effort, but in the end it will help my students, and they will understand the concept much better if I am confident in what I am teaching them. I learned that preparation as a teacher is the key to a successful lesson plan.
Where in the World Are We Leson | |
File Size: | 31 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Where in the World Are We PowerPoint | |
File Size: | 1165 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
Create a World Map Lesson | |
File Size: | 25 kb |
File Type: | docx |