Teacher Work Sample

Alicia Allyn BobcheckBelding Elementary, Room 204

Contextual Factors

Hiram H. Belding Elementary School is a public school located

at 4257 North Tripp Avenue in the Mayfair/Old Irving Park

neighborhood of Chicago. Last year it served 550 students in

grades pre-K to eight (Information on the current school year was

unavailable). Of those students, the majority (47.8%) are of

Latin-American descent, 36.2% are white, 8% are Asian, 7.6% are

Black, and 0.4% are of Native American descent. These

demographics are inconsistent with district and state

percentages-- Belding has a smaller percentage of Black and white

students and a higher percentage of Asian and Latino. Seventy-

three percent of the school population is designated low-income.

Almost 14% of the student body is composed of limited English

learners. Children with special needs make up 12.1% of the

student body.

Room 204 is a third grade classroom in which there are

twenty-five students-- ten boys and fifteen girls. Of these

children ten are classified as limited English learners: six

speak Spanish as their native language, two speak Arabic, and two

speak Vietnamese. The children range in age from eight to nine

years old. Of the twenty-five students fifteen receive a free or

reduced lunch. Two of the students reside at or receive support

from the group care home Lydia Home-- One of these students is

currently in foster care and the other has behavioral disorders

for which he has an IEP in place. Two students receive weekly

attention for speech disorders. One student has been retained

from last year.

The students standardized test scores and grades make up the

entire spectrum with students performing below average to above

average.

Unit: Comic Books

The unit uses the creation of comic books to explore

the literary elements: plot, character, setting, and theme.

During the course of the unit I felt it was also important to

address the idea of conflict in stories as many of the students

didn’t understand what conflict was in the context of

storytelling or wrote stories without a conflict and thus no

movement. The objective of the unit was for students to explore

these vital elements of a story through their own storytelling.

The unit started through daily journaling. Their interest in

comic books was evident in their writing and drawing since I

began observing them. Comics were also a popular choice during

independent reading periods, and many of the students would check

out comic books, manga, and graphic novels from the library.

While I wanted to explore comics more in depth with them, I

wasn’t sure at first how comics could be utilized to explore a

concept or skill. Then we began a study of folk tales with a

focus on the elements of a folk tale: plot, character, setting,

and theme. At the same time the students were also learning about

sequence and time order words. I immediately saw the connection--

Comic books, just like any other fictional work, require all of

these elements as well as rely heavily upon sequence. Since the

majority of the students already had experience reading comic

books, and all of them had at least been exposed to the genre I

figured that they were already close to understanding and

creating their own comics.

I began the unit by bringing in Mr. Lep, a friend of mine

who is an artist and self-published comic book creator, to talk

to the students. I told them in advance who would be joining us,

fielded any questions they had then had them write up a few

questions for him. Then, to narrow down the field of questions

and avoid questions that were too similar, I had them pair up to

decide on one question per group to submit. These questions

ranged from “What kind of paper do you use to make comics?” to

“Would you die for your comic books and art?” We compiled a list

which I sent off to Mr. Lep. When he came to visit he began by

giving the students a half an hour to look through a stack of

comic books and graphic novels that he had brought as well as

explore with the materials he uses. The next half hour or so he

dedicated to answering questions.

Before the students began work on their comic books we had a

whole group discussion about literary elements. They were already

familiar with the terms but my expectation was that through a

discussion they would build a better understanding. After our

discussion they broke up into partners, and wrote down their

definitions.

In the next few weeks this would be supplemented by journal

entries in which the students were asked to describe the setting,

characters, plot, and possible theme of their story or to use

setting or character in different ways. For example, for one

journal entry I asked them to write a biography of a real or

fictional person. Another journal entry required them to pick one

of three photographs of places and write a story set in that

place-- These pictures were chosen by me, and depicted a castle

on a lovely spring day, a cityscape in a thunderstorm, and a

black and white photo of a dilapidated urban setting.

Students were also given opportunities to work on their

comic books independently. During this time I would either visit

their desks to check in on their work, field questions, or

conference with them one on one. It was while I was conferencing

with them that I realized that some of the students did not

include some kind of conflict in their stories. As a result,

their stories had no ending and little movement. This extended

our discussions to include conflict as a necessary element to

their writing.

While the unit has not ended, and the students continue to

work on their comic books, they have been given their post-

assessment. It was necessary to conclude the lesson formally

before the unit actually finished because I wanted to judge the

students’ understanding of the literary elements before they

began their final draft.

The final stages of the unit will include designing their

comic books, finishing final drafts with the consultation of Mr.

Lep and myself, and printing the books to be auctioned as a

library of comics for the PTA fundraiser, Beldingpalooza. Final

topics of discussion will include deciding on what kinds and

amounts of materials to use, organization of their work, elements

of books, designing their work, and sharing and presenting their

work. Time permitting I’m also hoping for the opportunity to

discuss with the students as a group what they’ve learned about

the entire process.

Assessment Plan

The pre-assessment began with the discussion of literary

elements. My intention was to develop an understanding of what

information and understanding the students already had. I was

also curious to see if they would or could make any connections

to what others had said during the discussion. I allowed them to

work in partners to develop their definitions in the hopes that

two people, particularly in a classroom with such diverse needs

and English language abilities, would allow them to better

develop their definitions.

In the beginning of the unit, they were assigned to write

the plot and theme for their stories and describe their settings

and characters. This assignment allowed them not only to give

their examples of the elements but also gave them the opportunity

to organize the stories that were beginning to grow in their

minds. This assignment gave me the opportunity to assess how they

could use the concepts.

Formative assessment took the shape of one-on-one

conferences and interactions with the students, whole and small

group discussions about literary elements, and journal entries

related to the topic. These assessments were not planned at the

beginning but were developed by me not only as a way for students

to explore the concepts but also as a way for me to assess how

and to what extent they were using the ideas. Examples of these

assessments included asking students during Journal Sharing time

to describe characters from their story or a setting from their

story; questioning them during individual conferences about the

sequence and movement of their story; and reading different

journal assignments on character, plot, and setting.

Post-assessment was designed to be similar to the pre-

assessment. The most major difference being that the students

were to define the different literary elements individually. They

were given a piece of paper and asked to write definitions for

Setting, Theme, Character, Plot, and Conflict.

Pre-Assessment and Formative Assessment Data

What I found from the pre-assessment data was that the

students had only a very superficial understanding of the

different literary elements. The definitions they gave were

almost verbatim what they had read or heard previously.

This led me to assign more open-ended and creative

assignments that would allow them to explore the elements. The

second assignment in which the students were asked to describe

the settings, characters, plot, and theme of their stories was a

much better indicator of their understanding.

The findings from these two assignments also guided my

questions during conferences and one-on-one interactions with the

students as well as directed other assessments like journal

entries, journal sharing, and whole and small group discussions.

In an attempt to integrate their understanding I also used these

concepts to guide my questions and focus during other assignments

and projects not directly related to their comic books. For

instance, during Read Aloud’s I would often ask the students to

describe the plot or theme of the story.

I used journaling, discussions, and conferences as a means

of assessing because they necessitate differentiation. A student

can only talk or write to his ability. He or she is not asked to

solve a problem they don’t have the skills to solve or explain a

concept which they don’t understand. Instead, they are asked to

represent what they know and understand. Journaling allows them

to write without worry over grammatical or spelling errors as

well as to write to their interest. My students are also allowed

to draw or use other forms besides free writing to express

themselves. These may include poems, lists, outlines, timelines,

etc. The students can choose the visual, written, or combination

which best allows them to express themselves. Discussions and

conferences let students with underdeveloped writing skills to

display their knowledge. They also allow the students to learn

from each other, and build on their understanding. Conferences

especially give the opportunity for both the teacher and the

student to answer questions and question answers.

The students I chose to assess as being representative of

three different groups were P.T., A.B., and M.S.

P.T.P.T. is a non-native English speaker whose home language is

Spanish. P.T. consistently performs low on assessments for

reading. While her writing has improved and she’s gained

confidence as a writer she still makes many grammatical and

technical errors in her work and fails to write to the same level

of depth as her classmates.

The work she returned for her pre-assessment is typical of

her writing ability. Sentences are short and illogically

constructed, and her work was superficial at best and lacking in

any understanding at worst. Using this assessment I was unable to

tell if her inability to define the literary elements was due to

a lack of understanding of the concepts, an inability to express

her understanding, or a disinterest in the assignment.

It was the second assignment which gave me a better

indication of her understanding. Very often P.T. gives examples

in lieu of definitions when asked about a word or a concept. Her

entry on her story allowed her to use examples that she

understood well to demonstrate her grasp on the concept. For

example, in her entry on her main character, Rosalita, she

described the traits, preferences, and emotions of the character

through her writing and drawing.

A.B.A.B. performs in the middle range of students based on his

grades and test scores in reading. He usually produces better and

more in depth work on subjects that he likes while producing less

thoughtful work on subjects in which he has no interest.

A.B.’s work in the pre-assessment was grammatically neater

than P.B.’s but didn’t exceed the general level of understanding

displayed by the class.

The second assignment reflected a much better understanding

of the concepts which led me to believe that it was not in the

understanding where the deficit lay but rather in the inability

to connect the concepts with the use of the concepts. He, like

most of the class, was able to describe the parts of his stories

in detail but did not know how to define those parts or list the

necessities of those parts in an abstract, non-contextual way.

M.S.M.S. is one of the top performing students in the class in

reading. She has a very thorough understanding of genre and

literary devices compared to that of her peers. She is able to

write long, sustained, and well organized pieces. The majority of

the work she produces is usually thoughtful and creative. She

writes frequently and was among the first to fill up her journal.

M.S. did not produce work for the pre-assessment which was

on par with her other work. While her sentences were neat,

correct, and written in her own voice they did not display any

deeper level of understanding compared to her peers.

Her work on the second assignment was mostly consistent with

her usual work-- detailed, organized, and with a strong voice.

The exception is her description of characters and setting.

Instead of describing these aspects of her story she listed them

and drew small illustrations to accompany them. Her entries on

plot and theme were very well-developed. It’s difficult to

determine what exactly her understanding of character and setting

is because the work which she produced in both assignments is not

indicative of anything more than a superficial understanding.

A.B. Pre-assessment

M.S. Pre-assessment

P.T. Pre-assessment

Post-Assessment Data

The post-assessment data was actually pretty surprising. All

of the students seemed to have developed a more solid

understanding but only a few of them showed that they had gained

a greater insight into the concepts. The three students chosen to

represent different levels of reading competency were no

different.

P.T.P.T. produced work for the post-assessment that was on par

with most of her written work. Her work for the post-assessment

showed a mix of definition, which was what was assigned, and

example from her own work. (However, this may have been from a

misunderstanding as many of the students described their

characters instead of defining the different elements.)

From this assignment it is difficult to determine whether or

not her understanding of literary elements expanded, evolved, or

developed in any way. Her sentences are jumbled and almost

incoherent which is a far cry from the thoughtful sentences she

produced in the second assessment assignment.

I think that if this piece is indicative of anything it’s

her level of interest, or lack thereof.

A.B.A.B. produced the most thoughtful work of any of the

representative students. His definitions show a definite growth

in his understanding. They include the kinds of details that are

necessary for developing well-rounded stories. For instance, he

refined his idea of plot, including the concepts of sequence and

priority to his definition:

“The plot is the begging middle and end it’s what

happen in the begging middle and end and the

importent thing that happens.”

It is details like this that came up in our discussions and

interactions which he accommodated into his idea of the original

concept.

M.S.M.S.’s work is the neatest and most concise but displays

almost no growth. She was able to define Conflict which she had

not previously been able to do but her definition is just as one-

dimensional as the rest. For example, her definition of Plot is,

“A Plot is what the story is about.” Despite having discussed

plot, and successfully wrote the plot for her story she failed to

mention specifics in the final assessment. I would not be able to

determine whether M.S. learned anything from the unit based on

her work on the post-assessment.

A.B. Post-assessment

M.S. Post-assessment

P.T. Post-assessment

Reflection

If I could do anything differently I think it would be to

give my students more time, and to explain things more clearly.

While I think they have learned and are learning a lot about

writing I could’ve been clearer, explained things in greater

detail, and slowed down the pace of the unit so that they had

more time to reflect and discuss. I think I may have also been

too direct. It can be difficult with students who do not have all

of the necessary expressive abilities. One wants to give them the

words but it’s absolutely crucial to sometimes step back and let

them come to their own conclusions and develop their own methods

of expressing those understandings.

I would’ve also tried more and varied methods of assessing.

I’m not sure what exactly but I think I would’ve been more

experimental and open-ended had I not felt the constraints of

time.

I learned that my students are masters of concision. They

have been trained to answer questions, even ones whose answers

could be extended to the limits of their imagination or

understanding, in ways which come the closest to the “right”

answer. Despite having spent many weeks with them, and their

correct assumption that I will question their answers every time,

they still go for the neatest, most precise answer. What I took

from that was that I need to dig deeper still, and create

assessments which require my students to answer with the kind of

dimension I know they possess.

I think what worked best was the second assignment I gave

the students because it allowed them a freedom which the others

did not. What they wrote sprang from their own mind. What was

important was written down and conveyed to the audience. And, the

students liked it. It was the first opportunity they had to write

about their stories, and it directly connected the skill to their

work.