Destrehan High School, World Geography Grade 9

UNOCoakley

Teacher Work Sample

Destrehan High School, World Geography Grade 9

Table of Contents

I. Contextual Factors: page 3

II. Learning Coals: page 9

III. Assessment Plan: page 14

Assessment Plan Table: page 17

IV. Design for Instruction: page 18

Unit Overview: page 21

V. Instructional Decision Making: page 27

VI. Analysis of Student Learning: page 31

Whole Class Analysis: page 34

Subgroup Analysis: page 37

Individual Analysis: page 40

VII. Reflection and Self-Evaluation: 42

Contextual Factors

I. Community, district and schools factors

Destrehan high school is located in Destrehan, Louisiana, within St. Charles parish. The population of Destrehan is approximately 12,000 people, 79% of whom are Caucasian, about 13% African American, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino and about 1% Asian. As of the 2010 census, there were 3,629 households, and about 52% of those households had children aged 18 or under living with them. Approximately 72% of those households were married couples, and about 9% of the households had a single female householder. The community can be described as lower to middle income; the income per capita in Destrehan is about $33,000, while the median income for a family in Destrehan was about $77,000. Where education is concerned, 90% of the people in Destrehan aged 25 or older have graduated from high school, while 30% have a bachelor’s degree or higher. As of 2012, 7% of the population was considered to be below the poverty level. Overall, St. Charles parish is a stable community with a relatively strong focus on education; this includes support from local businesses, such as the chemical and industrial plants that the parish is known for, where many parents of Destrehan’s students work.

Destrehan high school’s website states that, “Our mission at Destrehan High School is to provide a nurturing community of teaching and learning in which all students will continuously improve to become responsible contributing members of society.” The educational goals and focus on accountability and improvement demonstrate this mission. Destrehan high school currently has a school performance score of A, which is based on students’ achievement on state standardized tests, credit accumulation, completion of rigorous courses, and graduation. This “A” school performance score demonstrates Destrehan’s focus on educational quality and accountability. In the 2011-2012 school year, Destrehan High School was recognized as a Top Gains school, indicating that Destrehan enhanced its School Performance Score beyond a predetermined improvement goal. The other high schools and middle schools in the parish earned this designation as well. Another indicator of academic integrity is the number of core academic classes that are taught by highly qualified educators, which was rated at 97.6% for the 2012-2013 school year. The administration has also set a goal that the overall course-passing rate will either reach or exceed 92%.

II. Classroom Factors

Destrehan high school has the benefit of a large campus that can easily incorporate all of its 1400 students. The high school is currently building an additional wing that will be dedicated to technology as well as the arts. The campus is set up in a way that each grade level has its own wing or building, allowing students to be with their peers throughout the school day. The honors classes also have their own wing of the school located in the main building. Technology is easily accessible at Destrehan high school; each teacher has a computer and an overhead, and a majority of teachers have a Smart Board in their classrooms. There are a number of different computer labs that teachers are able to book if they would like their students to use technology for a particular classroom activity. Additional computer labs will be available with the completion of the new wing of the school, making technology even more accessible in the future. Teachers have easy access to resources including textbooks, Internet access, and school supplies for their classrooms. Destrehan’s class schedule is broke into a 4-block schedule, where students have four classes the first semester, and four new classes second semester; each semester of a class includes an entire year of material. Students attend each class for 90 minutes, five days per week. This allows for teachers to go more in-depth with particular topics because of large amount of time they spend with each class during the day. Students are generally grouped by age, and sometimes by ability level if they are in the honors program.

My ninth grade world geography classroom is spacious and very conducive to learning in a variety of formats, including both visual and auditory learning as well as allowing for students to work in cooperative learning groups. The classroom has desks for thirty students, and the maximum number of students in any of my classes is 27. The classroom has two white boards, an overhead projector, one computer, a DVD player and television, and several large maps. With the 90-minute block schedule there is ample time each class period to devote to instruction, guided practice, and independent practice; at least 30 minutes of class each day is devoted to either group work or student discussion.

III. Student Characteristics

The ethnic background of the student population at Destrehan High School reflects that of the larger community, with the student body consisting of 35% black students, 58% white students, and 8% identifying as other. About 40% of DHS students qualify for either free or reduced lunch, indicating a lower socioeconomic status. My 4th period world geography class consists of 25 students, eleven girls and fourteen boys. Eight students are African American and two students are Hispanic. Two students, one male and one female, have IEP’s for special accommodations. These students both require preferential seating, increased time allowed for assignments and tests, breaks during work periods and between tasks, and small group instruction. This class also has one ADHD student who also requires increased time on tests and assignments, as well as preferential seating. In this freshman class, most students are 14 or 15 years old, with one 16-year-old female student, and one female student who is still in the 8th grade. The female students in this class grouping tend to be higher achieving than the male students, although there are a few high achieving male students as well. The lower students academically are a mix of males and females. Generally the class as a whole prefers collaborative learning activities and as a result I plan for at least 30 minutes of each class period devoted to group or discussion-based work. We also provide the content in a PowerPoint based format so that students are able to hear the information and also see it visually. The students are provided with guided notes handouts for each unit of study. Through presenting the content in these different ways, it helps to ensure that each student’s learning styles or modalities are addressed.

My 4th period class is generally higher achieving than the other two periods, and as a result I expect them to achieve the learning goals that I have set forth for this unit. The students have previously studied different parts of the world, so they know what to expect when learning about a new region. Likewise, the students have looked at satellite images and political cartoons in previous units, so these activities should not be beyond their level of development or their capabilities. However, because there is a range of high and low achieving students in this class, I must be sure to plan extension activities for those high achieving students that will complete assignments more quickly. I must also be sure to build in extra time in my lessons to help students who require more in-depth explanations.

IV. Instructional Implications

The contextual factors of the community, classroom, and students have implications for instructional planning as well as assessment. A community characteristic is strong community support for education, and a great degree of parental involvement. As a result, I must be sure to keep parents informed in their students’ learning, which requires me to email or call when a student is doing poorly, or if that student is showing improvement in an area of study. Due to high parent involvement, I must also plan to archive all important projects, tests, and quizzes to show parents when they come to school on back to school night, or for parent-teacher conferences.

A contextual factor of the school that has direct implications on instructional planning is the 90-minute block schedule. With 90 minutes each class period, it is imperative that I plan adequately, and also create an assignment daily or weekly for “early finishers” to work on. With nearly 30 students in each class there will be students who finish an assignment in 15 minutes, while other students may take nearly 35 minutes to complete the same task. Planning for this difference is important and requires me to “over plan” each day to ensure that each student is engaged and learning during the entire 90-minute block.

A contextual factor of the classroom that has implications on instructional planning is the way in which students are grouped during class time. The desks in my room are arranged in rows, with two rows directly next to each other. In this format, each student has a “partner” that is right next to him or her, and there is another partner pair behind them. This desk arrangement has an impact on instructional planning because it makes it easier for me to build discussion activities into my planning. Even when I am giving a short lecture, I can easily build “turn and talk” breaks into my lecture. This engages students, gets them talking and thinking about the material, and gives them a “brain break” from focusing on the lecture.

The student characteristics also have an impact on instructional planning due to their individual learning styles and multiple intelligences. Some students need to visually see something and take notes on a lecture in order to understand it, while other students prefer to discuss content with their classmates and come to an understanding that way. As a result, my instructional preparation requires that I plan multiple types of learning activities for each classroom that target different types of learning styles and student intelligences. My students’ individual characteristics also have implications in terms of assessment. My students with 504 or IEP plans require that I allow them extra time during tests and quizzes, or that if I am quizzing students using the overhead, I also have printed versions of the quiz for these students. The community, school, classroom and student characteristics have an impact on instructional planning, and as a result it is important that I plan my lessons with these implications in mind.

Learning Goals

The three learning goals listed below focus on critical areas in the study of Russian history and geography and guide both what students will know and what they will be able to do at the end of the unit. These goals reflect content and skills, as well as a broader understanding of how studying different countries worldwide impacts students’ knowledge of their own country. All three learning goals are consistent with either Louisiana Grade Level Expectations or Common Core State Standards for reading, writing, and speaking.

1. Students will know and understand the main components of Russian history and geography.

2. Students will analyze the relationship between Russian and United States history and understand the role that fear and power play in the decisions of these two world superpowers.

3. Students will gain an appreciation for Russian history and insight into a different culture and way of life.

Learning Goal 1: Knowledge Level

Students will know and understand the main components of Russian history and geography.

The first learning goal requires that students know and understand the main components of Russian history and geography. This goal will focus on basic facts about Russia, as well as a general understanding of Russian geography (climate, topography) and history (religions, government, people). Instructional planning will first activate students’ prior knowledge and require them to find “key concept” information on their own through text-dependent questions. The students will also gain an understanding of this content through PowerPoint lecture with guided notes, discussion questions, and a gallery walk to compete a political cartoon analysis. This learning goal is appropriate in terms of development because it activates prior knowledge first, before moving on to instruction. It also requires students to find the information themselves first before obtaining guided notes through a PowerPoint. This added element of rigor is appropriate for 9th grade students.

This learning goal aligns with the following Louisiana Grade Level Expectations:

W.G. 4.1: Determine the physical and human characteristics that comprise the identity of a given place.

W.G. 4.2: Analyze the distinguishing physical characteristics of a given place to determine their impact on human activities.

Learning Goal 2: Analysis Level

2. Students will analyze the relationship between Russian and United States history and understand the role that fear and power play in the decisions of these two world superpowers.

The second learning goal builds on students’ initial understanding of Russian geography and history to incorporate an analysis of international relations between Russia and the United States. Students previously studied the United States’ alliance with the Soviet Union during World War Two, and they will now focus on the sources of conflict between the two nations during the rise of the Cold War, specifically in terms of the roles that fear and power played in the relationship between the two superpowers. Students will learn about events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the arms and space race, and discuss the power struggle that resulted between the United States and the Soviet Union. Instruction related to this learning goal will also focus on student discussion and an analysis of Cold War political cartoons. This learning goal is appropriate in terms of development and pre-requisite knowledge because the students have previously learned about the United States’ relationship with the Soviet Union during their unit on Europe. Likewise, this will be the third time that the students are looking at and analyzing political cartoons. At this point in the semester they are familiar with the concept of political cartoons and what they should be looking for in terms of the point of view and the message of the cartoon.

This learning goal aligns with the following Louisiana Grade Level Expectations and Common Core State Standards:

W.G. 4.3: Identify and analyze distinguishing human characteristics of a given place to determine their influence on human activities.

W.G. 4.4: Evaluate the impact of historical events on culture and relationships among groups.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.9: Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.

Learning Goal 3: Analysis Level

Students will gain an appreciation for Russian history and insight into a different culture and way of life.

The third learning goal focuses on the enduring understandings that students will gain as a result of their study of Russia. Prior to this unit, most students will have only a shallow understanding of Russian history, geography and culture. At the conclusion of this unit of study, the students will have a more in-depth knowledge of Russia’s geography and the impact it has on the people who live there. The students will also understand aspects of Russian history, and the historical relationship between Russia and the United States in particular. The students will also gain an appreciation for Russian culture, and hopefully this unit will spark their interest in learning about different parts of the world outside of the United States. Instruction on this learning goal will focus on reading articles pertaining to Russian history and current events, showing students pictures of Russia and the people who live there, and prompting student discussion about what they are learning. The primary goal of this unit is for students to broaden their understandings of the world and of different people and places; through this unit, students will learn about places outside of Louisiana or the United States and broaden their knowledge horizon.

This learning goal aligns with the following Louisiana Grade Level Expectations and Common Core State Standards:

W.G. 4.3: Identify and analyze distinguishing human characteristics of a given place to determine their influence on human activities.

W.G. 4.4: Evaluate the impact of historical events on culture and relationships among groups.

W.G. 4.5: Examine the relationship between social, economic, and government systems and describe how each system has changed a given place over time.