Teacher Performance Assessment Lesson Title: Science

Central Focus of Lessons: What science is all about

State Standard(s) Addressed: 7th Grade on science, science methodology and famous scientists.

Lesson Objectives and Language Demands

• Content/Skill Objectives:

Students should state the definition of science

Students should discuss the various science methodologies

Students should name and discuss various prominent scientists

Students should be able to identify the application of science in day to day life

Language Demands: students are required to define and describe what science is. They should also be able to use this understanding of science to apply scientific knowledge.

Use scientific terms and language both in spoken and written presentations of scientific information.

• Key Vocabulary:

Science, scientists, famous scientists, scientific methods

Resources and Materials

• Resources: class text-books, handouts, charts etc.

• Materials: worksheets, games, projector, Smartboard, paper, pencils, art supplies, cards, post- its, etc.)

NOTE: Attach and/or embed any relevant handouts, activities, templates, PPT slides, etc. that are referenced and utilized in this lesson.

Prior Academic Learning and Prerequisite Skills

• Prior Academic Learning and Prerequisite Skills:

Misconceptions: Teacher distributes Assessment 1.1; this is an Inquiry-based research whose purpose is to pre-assess the background knowledge of the students. The assessment is in alignment with the learning targets and its main goal is to test existing knowledge. Assessment 1.1 comprises of both subjective and objective questions. However, every type of question has its own assessment criteria.

The questions in Assessment 1.1 are related to the demands of academic dialect. This includes definition of subject matter terms such as artifacts.

The students' performance in this assessment helps the teacher in making decisions on the next steps as well as structuring the next lessons.

Lesson Plan Details

Beginning the Lesson/Introduction:

What Teacher Will Do:

Assessment distribution; the teacher gives the students a research that is Inquiry-based with the aim of assessing their background knowledge. The assessment is in alignment with learning targets. Its primary focus is to test the student's existing knowledge. Both subjective and objective questions are included in the assessment. However, each question type has a unique assessment method.

The questions in Assessment 1.1 are related to the demands of academic dialect. This includes definition of subject matter terms such as artifacts.

The students' performance in this assessment helps the teacher in making decisions on the next steps as well as structuring the next lessons.

What Students Will Do:

Students are required to complete the Assessment. The results will help in the identification of those students who do not have a clear understanding of the topics ahead.

Questions related to academic language and the voice of the students are also included in this assessment.

Introducing New Content/Skills:

What Teacher Will Do:

The teacher begins the lesson by displaying the learning target on a board. The students are then invited to read it out loud to a nearby student.

The teacher then instructs the students to rate their knowledge and understanding of the target and its vocabulary using their fingers on a scale of 1-5. The teacher proceeds to show them a poster that shows scientific words, definitions and categories. The teacher informally assesses language demand by asking the students to identify familiar terms as well as those they have never heard before to a nearby partner. The students are then asked to verbally state their understanding of what they are going to learn in this lesson.

The teacher undertakes preparation of Instructional Material 1.1(presentation

) and distributes1.2 (guided note-taking).

Teacher takes the student through a discussion of presentation 1. Formative assessment is conducted and the definitions of academic vocabulary are questioned. The teacher creates a poster and writes important notes. The poster is placed at the front of the classroom, across presentation 1.

This poster displays the definitions, meaning and the images related to the terms.

As the students write the notes down, the teacher goes around helping them differentiate the process of taking notes.

The teacher instructs the students to share-pair and analyze how accurate their peers' notes are as the criteria of assessment for this stage of the lesson. The teacher notes down the areas that were difficult for the students to review during the instruction phase of lesson 2.

What Students Will Do:

Students are required to recite their partners the Lesson Target. They then use their fingers as a scale of familiarity where 1 finger means quite unfamiliar.

Students engage in discussion of the familiar and unfamiliar vocabulary. A few of the students verbally state their interpretations.

The students move to the front of the classroom for 10 minutes as they get introduced to the Instructional Material 1.1 (presentation) and discuss academic language.

Students go back to their sitting positions and write notes about Instructional Material 1.2(guided note-taking)

This will be used as support for the next stage of the lesson.
What Students Will Do:

Students differentiate and identify materials that are scientific from those that are non-scientific.

Students provide their own definitions of Science and a first to five check on CF and LT.

Students make analyze and compare each other's responses as a criterion of assessment.

Formative Assessment:

What Teacher Will Do:

From the front of the classroom, the teacher conducts formative assessment in order to monitor how the students are learning. This is done while asking the following questions;

1. What is science?

2. What are the characteristics of science?

3. State any available methodologies of science.

4. State a new concept you have learned about the Lesson Target.

The criteria of assessment of these questions, including alignment, depends on the verbal feedback given by the students. This is highly dependent on the level of strength or weakness in the response as well as the resources available for correction and management of misconceptions.

The teacher moves around the classroom while conducting formative assessment to monitor how the students are learning. As the students undertake guided practice in groups, the teachers try to identify misconceptions by asking the following questions:

1. Can you state and explain three characteristics of science to your partners?

2. State ways in which we can learn from science

3. State a number of prominent scientists

4. What have you learned about the learning target for today's lesson?

What Students Will Do:

Students raise their hands and respond to the questions.

Students undergo the identification of remediation resources as a way of to eliminate misconceptions from their answers.

Students are organized in groups where they identify the characteristics of science both verbally and in writing.

Students answer the teacher's questions after which they are instructed to discuss with their peers. Students analyze and summarize their peers' responses.

• Closing the Lesson Minutes

• Summative Assessment:

What Teacher Will Do:

The teacher instructs students to give their own interpretation of Lesson Target as well as the definition of the scientific language imbedded. The teacher asks the students to state where they would seek clarification in case of a misunderstanding.

The teacher asks the students to write down an Exit Slip (a tool for assessment of student learning on Lesson Target and the scientific language involved).

What Students Will Do:

Students provide their interpretations and answer the questions. They also share responses with their peers.

Students create an exit slip as outlined in the Instructional Material.

Extension

What Teacher Will Do:

The teacher listens to the responses from the students. The teacher makes changes to the support activities of the upcoming lesson while being keen on the students who were observed to have misconceptions during the lesson.

What Students Will Do:

Students give their responses to the teacher's adjustments

Accommodations/Differentiation

• Students with Special Needs or IEPs:

• The teacher pays attention to the students' differences and gives special attention to those displaying extreme cases such as autism. The teacher applies a different method to the special needs students such as engaging them to less demanding tasks, using a unique grading system for them as well avoiding grouping them with the normal students.

• English Learners: The teacher is aware that some of the students have difficulties with the English language and makes effort to include English lessons designed to familiarize them with the concepts.

Lesson Rationale/Justification

Principles of Research/Theory on Learning and Teaching:

The inquiry-based learning model is the teaching and learning method applied. The model's nature makes it possible to wholly gauge the intellectual capabilities of each student while improving the student's learning capacity. As a result, application of the inquiry-based learning is able to deepen the understanding of the student through: improving their ability to question, developing their researching and communication skills, improving collaboration outside the classroom setting, improving problem solution, tackle challenges in real life while creating strategies as well as creating and improving concepts and knowledge. (Pappas 2014). Therefore, integration of both content and process while designing learning activities creates the opportunity to increase the experience of the students in regard to authentic activities…