Lincoln Portfolio

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Pre-assessment

• Lesson Plans

• Post-assessment

• Final Reflection

PRE-ASSESSMENT

In this unit, the big idea is that students will be able to tell time and elapsed time. This is critical because
students will need to understand schedules in order to be on time and develop time management skills.
The Common Core standard associated with this unit is 3.MD.A.1., which addresses the ability to “Tell
and write time to the nearest minute and measure time intervals in minutes. Solve word problems
involving addition and subtraction of time intervals in minutes, e.g., by representing the problem on a
number line diagram.” Mathematical practices MP.3, MP.4, MP.5, and MP.6 guided my lesson plan for
day one, practices MP.1, MP.2, and MP.3 guided the lesson plan for day two, and MP.1, MP.2, MP.3, and
MP.4 guided the lesson plan for day three.

Reflection: For the pre-assessment I divided up the sections of the skills required in this unit and
provided approximately four questions per skill. I soon found through verbal and written assessments,
as well as demonstration and observations that the students had difficulty telling time on the hour. They
frequently confused the minute hand with the hour hand and did not demonstrate that they understood
that two digits are required in the minute section. When writing time, they wrote numbers like 1:7 or
12:3. They demonstrated no understanding of elapsed time on a number line, especially when asked to
show elapsed time in quarters. As soon as I realized that my pre-assessment was too difficult, I revised
my assessment questions on the spot and noted the changes. Instead of starting at a quarter and
jumping hours and quarters, I asked students to start out at whole numbers and jump to whole hours.
The results from the pre-assessment guided all three lesson plans as observations, interview, and testing
showed that the students I worked with did not identify time to the nearest hour. Additionally, each
child’s learning characteristics guided the design of the lesson plans.

LESSON PLANS
THE COMMON CORE STANDARD ASSOCIATED WITH THIS UNIT IS 3.MD.A.1.

Day one lesson plan, assessment data, and reflection:

Reflection: Instruction for the first day was based on pre-assessment results. The lesson focused on
telling time by the hour. By the end of instruction, students were able to correctly identify the minute
and hour hands, the hour, and write :00 afterwards in at least five out of six attempts. One of the
mistakes I made was that I did not plan enough activities for fast finishers. Reed finished early and I did
not have enough to keep him occupied, so he selected a book of his choice. I will need to provide more
activities for fast finishers. I also started instruction without making sure I had each student’s attention
first. Most students were attentive but a few were distracted by markers and I should have established
their focus from the beginning. Initially, Gabby and Rylen sat next to each other and they were
disappointed when I separated them. While they tried to talk to each other across the table, it was an
improvement from having them sit together; they were more on task. I had Reed sit next to me and his
engagement increased. Josh was proactive and voluntarily gathered scissors for the group; his active
nature proved beneficial to instruction. Austin did not verbally participate unless he was directly
addressed, however, he demonstrated understanding throughout his work. My goals for tomorrow are
to maintain the same seating arrangement, establish the students’ attention first, have activities for fast
finishers, and facilitate more participation from Austin.

Day two lesson plan, assessment data, and reflection:

Reflection: Instruction was difficult today. I added more activities than I initially put on my lesson plan,
but the children seemed less attentive. I had to separate Rylen and Gabby, take away Gabby‘s drawings,
and then she refused to play the game. Most of the children enjoyed the game and wanted to play
multiple rounds. This worked out for fast finishers. By the end, the children were partially able to tell
time to the nearest quarter. I made a mistake in lesson planning as I thought the class period went until
40 after, when it actually goes to 45 after. This left 5 minutes of unplanned time. Overall, Austin was
more engaged and participated more. Josh seemed very tired, he put his head on the desk. Rylen said
that his body hurt and wanted to show his scrapes and where he hurt. Reed’s level of engagement was
about the same, maybe a little less. He really wanted to read books. Gabby was less engaged because
she wanted her drawing back. I spent time trying to get certain children on task, and in the meantime I
lost other children’s attention. To help students refocus, I had a brief movement break where students
could get a drink and stretch, which helped. I think what I should’ve done is separate the children from
the beginning, take away all drawings and distractions at the beginning, and prepared alternative
activities for students who do not want to play a game. That way, students can choose between two
things and regardless, have something to do. Even though it was stressful, it was a good learning
experience.

Day three lesson plan, assessment data, and reflection:

Reflection: Instruction went much better today. Gabby had a drawing in hand when I went to get her
from her classroom. It took a minute, but she finally agreed to leave her drawing in the classroom. I had
to take away drawings from four students today at the beginning of class. For most students there were
no reoccurring problems. Gabby turned one of her worksheets into a drawing mid-lesson and I had to
take it away. Gabby expressed her dislike for learning how to tell time and said that she wanted to do
art instead. I am empathized with her, but told her how time would be a useful skill to know, and that
she would be working on this in class in a few weeks. I added more activities and games than I initially
put on my lesson plan to provide options for students. Gabby refused to participate in either of the two
activities I offered, so I told her that she could not sit there and do nothing, she would need to choose
between the two activities or return to her classroom. She tried one activity before choosing to play the
game with her peers. At the beginning, she really wanted to sit next to Rylen, but I was firm that they
should be separated. I made sure that I had everyone’s attention at the beginning of the lesson, as Josh
and Austin were distracted. Once I had everyone’s attention, I began and students were much more
engaged this time. I realized that I forgot to explicitly check student understanding over the last two
lessons, so I asked a couple of times today and the responses were helpful in providing additional
assistance to those who were confused. They did not demonstrate proficiency in adding time, so we did
not move onto subtracting time. Overall, I believe that they have a fair understanding of how to tell time
and how to add time by quarters.

POST-ASSESSMENT

Reflection: For the post-assessment, I divided up the sections of the skills required in this unit and
provided approximately four questions per skill. Through verbal and written assessments, as well as
demonstration and observations, I found that most students demonstrated significant progress. Gabby
demonstrated mastery of the content, while Austin demonstrated adequate proficiency. Rylen and Reed
both demonstrated an increase in understanding but would benefit from additional instruction. Josh
declined in progress and would benefit from reassessment and possibly remedial instruction. Elapsed
time proved the most difficult for nearly all of the students and would require the most additional
instruction. Reed and Josh did not complete the elapsed time assessment. Most of the students were
attentive throughout the post-assessment. Josh seemed very distracted and refused to remain seated,
he insisted on sharpening and re-sharpening his pencil. I attempted to return him to his seat multiple
times, however, when he was seated, he required constant redirection. As a result, much assessment
time for Josh was lost. I’d like to reassess to determine whether the results are accurate. However, on
average, students demonstrated a 246% increase in their progress. Student growth by percentage was
as follows: Rylen: 600%, Gabby: 325%, Reed: 250%, Austin: 86%, and Josh: -29%.

Pre- and post-assessment data per student:

Students' written pre- and post-assessments:

FINAL REFLECTION

The Lincoln Portfolio assignment consisted of designing pre- and post-assessments, designing lesson
plans, and teaching students. It also included collecting, interpreting, and representing assessment data
in a clear manner. My favorite portions of the assignment were teaching the students and interpreting
assessment data. It was wonderful to get to know the students over the week-long process and design
instruction to their individual needs. If I was to do this assignment over again, I would retain the multiple
methods of assessment. Rather than simply assessing through worksheets, I gathered formative and
summative data by asking students questions, asking them to demonstrate their response on individual
clocks, or administering written assessments. I would also provide additional activities to choose from,
as well as activities for fast-finishers, as noted in previous reflections. I learned that each student is
different, has different needs, and prefers to demonstrate understanding in different ways. Although
the tolerance of each student varied, each one required consistent and active engagement. I also
learned that classroom management is imperative to maximizing the amount of time students spend on-
task. Time spent redirecting student behavior is time taken away from instruction. I want to improve my
management skills so that my students can benefit more from instruction. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed
this experience and will take much of what I learned with me throughout my career.