Standard Two
Content Area & Pedagogical Knowledge
Item A: Cowboys and the Wild West Unit Plan
| The Cowboys and the Wild West unit that I created include projects, songs, role-play, and simulations that help students explore Texas and the old west. The topics range from helping others, where students read “The Little Red Hen” and create a red hen in pairs, to graphing and interpreting data with the cowboy/girl glyph. This unit is filled with experiments, hands-on activities, and interactive teachings that allow for the students to be a part of the topics they’re learning. This unit covers standards from the lower elementary level and is suggested for Kindergarten. It is a practical, fun, multidisciplinary and thematic unit that fits well within the specified curriculum. |
Standard II states that, “The competent teacher has in-depth understanding of content area knowledge that includes central concepts, methods of inquiry, structures of the disciplines, and content area literacy. The teacher creates meaningful learning experiences for each student based upon interactions among content area and pedagogical knowledge, and evidence-based practice.” The creation and teaching of this unit has given me the opportunity to portray my competency in this standard.
Item B: Discipline Specific Literacy Paper
| Dr Seuss said that, "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn the more places you'll go." In this paper I discuss the importance of our students reading in the field of special education and the importance of teacher modeling in reading. Reading is treated differently throughout all the disciplines and that doesn’t change in special education. Professional development, teacher modeling, IEP’s, modifications, accommodations, and the concentration of individuality in reading show the unique way of reading in the field of special education. Special education students and teachers approach reading so much differently than every other discipline. |
Performance indicator 2A states "Understands theories and philosophies of learning and human development as they relate to the range of students in the classroom." My Reading in the Content discipline specific paper shows literacy from the point of view and principles of a special educator. When you look at reading in the field of Special Education, especially as teachers, you have to remember that you are going to run into so many individuals that struggle with so many different things and are at so many different levels of reading. Through my research and professional interviews I was able to learn new theories and principles of teaching reading to the students' I will come across in the future.
