TEMPLATE FOR RAPS

EDU 250
NAME: Cheyenne Godding

1. STANDARD # 7 Planning for Instruction
2:7 A Real In-Service Program (p. 205)

2. Choose the ones that best fit the activity you are completing. Choose at least three but no
more than five.

-Performances 7(a): The teacher individually and collaboratively selects and creates
learning experiences that are appropriate for curriculum goals, and content standards, and
are relevant to learners.

-Performances 7(e): The teacher plans collaboratively with professionals who have
specialized expertise (e.g., special educators, related service providers, language learning
specialists, librarians, media specialists) to design and jointly deliver as appropriate
learning experiences to meet unique learning needs.

-Essential knowledge 7(m): The teacher knows when and how to access resources and
collaborate with others to support student learning (e.g., special educators, related service
providers, language learning specialists, librarians, media specialists, community
organizations).

-Critical Dispositions 7(o): The teacher values planning as a collegial activity that takes into
consideration the input of learners, colleagues, families, and the larger community.

3. EXPLANATION OF THE ACTIVITY:
The purpose of this activity is to prepare me as a future educator on how to implement
service learning within my classroom and within the community, while accessing outside
resources and working collaboratively with others. Many states require students to
volunteer or be engaged in some sort of community-service program for a certain number
of hours before they can even graduate. This lesson will help me to recognize opportunities
within the curriculum and within the standards, to where I can incorporate and integrate
community service skills. It is important that students are aware of their greater role in
society, and that we all need to do our share when and where we can. We need to be a
caring community and learn how to honor one another. This activity allows me to create a
plan that not only addresses a standard within the direct curriculum, but it should teach me
how to tie it in with a service-learning component.

4. ARTIFACT:
I would be teaching a lesson on self-awareness and self-esteem, covering feelings,
emotions, our bodies, and things that we can do to make ourselves feel good. In order to
accomplish this, we would read a lot of books about self and about feelings. I would want
the books to touch on things that the children could relate to, such as missing a loved one,
being afraid to try new things, how it feels when someone hurts our feelings, how it feels
when we help someone, and a lot about our bodies. I would incorporate a service project
with this lesson, by asking the students to each volunteer in the special education room,
either reading to the other children, or helping them do a project that they might be
working on.

5. REFLECTION: Make sure you address all the questions in the reflection section.

When I look into the future and actually picture myself teaching this lesson, I feel really
good about it. I think its really important to help children learn about themselves. I think
children, especially young ones, need help validating what they are feeling and they need
help sometimes even knowing what they are feeling. Helping children to be aware of their
bodies will only further their understanding of who they are and how they work. I had and
still have really low self-esteem sometimes and I really want to help children to not feel
that way, and to do things regularly that build confidence and a high sense of self. I picture
this unit to be broken down into many sections, and to be done over a significant course of
time. Maybe taking 20 minutes a day to read something, or draw something, or write
something that has to do with the self. I would then incorporate some service learning by
asking the children to lend a helping hand in the special education room. This is also very
important to me. I have a son with special needs, and I want people to be understanding
and accepting of my sons differences. I feel that when we volunteer our time to helping
others, it really builds a sense of self and a sense of worthiness, no matter how big or small
the task. I think that volunteering our time, teaches us a whole lot about who we are and
how we feel about things. We learn to appreciate things maybe we didnt before. We learn
to respect others and their differences. We feel things that maybe we had no idea we could
feel, and these are all of the goals that I want to accomplish by doing a project like this. I
want my students to discuss with the class, or draw a picture of how helping the younger
kids with special needs made them feel, and I want to know what THEY learned about
themselves, as a result. I would hope that after this until was taught, that my students
would take their own initiative to help others, or to even just be kind to one another. Maybe
they would sit next to one of the kids with special needs at lunch, or just say Hi to them
and give a high five in the hallway. It might not even go that far, but maybe some of the
children will learn that they dont have to be afraid of a child who is different from them,
and that right there is a big step towards acceptance and understanding.

6. EXPLANATION OF HOW THIS ACTIVITY MET THE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS,
CRITICAL DISPOSITIONS, AND/OR ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE OF THIS STANDARD:

This activity met essential knowledge standard 7(a) because it incorporates reading,
writing, art, service learning, and social/emotional skills all into one unit. Children will read
books, and draw pictures. Children will volunteer and help one another all while discussing
and discovering more about who they are and how and what they feel.

Performance standard 7(e) is met by the fact that I would have to work with the special
educators to find the appropriate timing for my students to be in their classroom. I would
also need to work with them to figure out which students would be receptive to working
with my students. Some of my students may not be ready to go into the special education
area, but I would be able to accommodate those needs on an individual basis. I would need
to work with librarians and possible media specialists to make sure that the children were
reading and watching appropriate materials that were not only developmentally
appropriate but of a high quality as well. Using different sources would be important. We
could read books, watch videos, even play games related to self on the computer in the lab
at times, making sure that all learning needs and levels would be met.

Essential knowledge standard 7(m) is met for the same reason as just described. I would
need to work closely with colleagues, to make sure that the lesson plan was taught
effectively and that the children got the most out of the service learning experience.

And the critical disposition standard 7(o) is met by this plan because I am providing
learning experiences for everyone involved. I am going to certainly learn a lot about my
students through this project! My colleagues and I will work together closely to make this
learning experience as positive and as successful as possible for the all of the students. My
students will learn so much about themselves and about their peers, both typically
developing and atypical, giving them a head start on acceptance and tolerance, while
teaching them irreplaceable skills they will use for the rest of their lives. And I think my
lesson offers hope for the larger community by instilling these young learners with a sense
of pride in helping others. Its teaching them at a young age to be caring, accepting, and
empathetic. It is teaching them to recognize feelings and how to build themselves up with a
healthy level of confidence in knowing that they are unique individuals, who feel things
that are totally different from anyone else, yet they are just like everyone else in the sense
that they are people with feelings. This lesson gives them the tools to start to practice the
skills they need to have a decent level of self-esteem. It is something that everyone can be a
part of and it is absolutely something that everyone can be proud of!