Artifact One:

Medaille College Department of Education

Lesson Plan

Teacher Candidate’s Name: Andrew Kaszuba Date: 2/15/2021

Context for Learning (edTPA)

Where is the school where you are teaching located? City: _______ Suburb: _______ Town:__Wilson_____ Rural: ____X__

Grade level: ____1___ Number of students in the class: ____20____

Students with IEPs/504 Plans

Complete the charts below to summarize required or needed supports, accommodations, or modifications for your students that will affect your
instruction in this learning segment.

IEPs/504 Plans: Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications, Pertinent

Students IEP Goals
Classifications/Needs

1 student has a 504 plan 2 *The student with the 504 plan will require extended time to
complete the assignment, and be provided with nonverbal and
1 Student has an IEP verbal cues in redirecting attention to the task at hand

*The student with the IEP requires visual prompts and models
during direct instruction for assignment requirements.

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 Students with Specific Language Needs

Language Needs Number of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications

Students

0 One of the students is from a different country and has trouble

understanding certain problems.
1 student

Students with Other Learning Needs

Other Learning Needs Numbers of Supports, Accommodations, Modifications

Students

1 student 0 One of the students has ADHD and had trouble paying
attention in class.

Lesson ______ of a ______ Day Learning Segment

Subject and Lesson Topic: Math: Measuring circles and angles

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Grade Level: Fourth Grade Lesson Duration: 30-40 minutes

Central Focus of the Learning Segment

The central focus is an understanding that you want your students to develop. It is a description of the important identifiable theme, essential question, or topic within
the curriculum that is the purpose of the instruction of the learning segment (Making Good Choices, 2016).

The central focus of this lesson is for the students to comprehend the different types of angles and how to measure them

Knowing Your Learners

Using Prior Knowledge

What do you know about your students’ prior academic learning as it relates to the central focus? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 2a)

1. Students who are average at the certain subject and need a little extra time or assistance.

2. Excel Math Students

a. student will be able to measure the right angel and know how many degrees each one has

b. student will recognize all different angles through work sheets and hands on activities

3. Associated text

a. student uses information from the books as added information while trying to solve the problems

b. student recognizes repeated patterns and angles

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How will you use this knowledge to inform your instruction? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 3a)

In knowing that there are different abilities within the group, I will provide differentiated instruction to assist them in reaching success
throughout the lesson. During the first math lesson, I will ensure that the struggling students are given extra time to view and process
the questions and problems, to assist them in understanding the answers. For the excel math students, I will point out the create more
challenging problems, so they can enhance their abilities.

Using Student Assets

What do you know about your students’ personal, cultural, and/or community assets as they relate to the central focus? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 2b)

In this chapter, measuring circles and Angles, the audience is taken through a series of problems that have to do with the types
of angles and measurements the students will be seeing. store that opened up.

How will you use this knowledge to inform your instruction? (edTPA Handbook, Task 1, Prompt 3a)

I will use this knowledge to help with my anticipatory set, in making text to self-connections with the students. This will help
correlate a motivation of understanding the concepts or measuring circles and angles, and enthusiasm for the lesson itself.

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Curriculum Standards

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.MD.C.7
Recognize angle measure as additive. When an angle is decomposed into non-overlapping parts, the angle measure of the whole is the sum of
the angle measures of the parts. Solve addition and subtraction problems to find unknown angles on a diagram in real world and
mathematical problems, e.g., by using an equation with a symbol for the unknown angle measure

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.MD.C.5.B
An angle that turns through n one-degree angles is said to have an angle measure of n degrees.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.MD.C.6
Measure angles in whole-number degrees using a protractor. Sketch angles of specified measure.

Objectives Assessment Modifications to Assessments

Using Bloom’s Taxonomy, include statements that
identify what students will be able to do by the end of
the lesson and are aligned to the standards identified
above.
Using formal and/or informal assessment tools, how If applicable, explain how you will adapt
will you evaluate and document your students’ assessments to allow students with specific needs
progress on each of the objectives? to demonstrate their learning.
(edTPA Task 1, Prompt 5b)

The students will be able to understand how
to measure angles and recognize what they
are composed of.
The students will complete the worksheet
of measuring circles and angels with 80%
accuracy.
The student with the IEP, will be given a
visual model, to refer back to for the rest
of the assessment.

The student with the 504, extra time, as

well as verbal and nonverbal cues will be
given to ensure they complete the
assessment.

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 Academic Language Demands
(edTPA Task 1, Prompt 4c)
Function
Looking at your standards and objectives,
choose the one Bloom’s word that best
describes the active learning essential for
students to develop understanding of
concepts within your lesson.
Vocabulary
Key words and phrases students need to be
able to understand and use
Syntax
Describe ways in which students will
organize language (symbols, words,
phrases) to convey meaning.
Discourse
How members of a discipline talk, write,
and participate in knowledge construction
and communicate their understanding of
Identify/Extend the problem
Understand the words in the
questions that are given
Chart, organized with different
pictures of angles and metrics.
Instructional Supports
Strategies teachers provide to help learners understand, use, and practice the
concepts (edTPA Task 1, Prompt 4d)
I will guide students as they work toward identifying the
measurements and angles within the chapter. There will be certain
worksheets that will help them differentiate the amounts of angles
there are in the book. This will help them notice when the worksheet
and assessment come up.
I will have the students engage in the “I do, we do, you do,” technique,
by teaching the problems on the board. I will also do examples on the
smartboard for them to see. I will then have the students do
problems on their own. If they need help I will assist them, but I want
them to try for about 10-15 minutes.
Throughout the lesson, I will emphasize the many angles and and
measurements that occur after solving the different parts of them. I
will model how I want it measured.
I will be sure to walk around and watch carefully to the students
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the concepts Think-Pair-Share working on the sheets, to ensure they are on the right track of
understanding the work that is being given.
1. What are some other of
your findings that
happened after you solved
the problem.

2. What are some different

ways you can solve them.

Instructional Process Accommodations and/or Modifications

and/or Supports

Anticipatory Set/Motivator

To begin the lesson the students will be sitting at their desks in front of me. Next to me on a table, I
will have a 3-D pictures of circles, right angles, a glass of water, and a water balloon. I will then pose
the question to the students, “What do you think would happen, if I threw this ball at the window?”
The students will respond with, “It would break!” I would then say, “You’re right, BECAUSE I threw
the ball at the window, it would break the glass. I would then ask “At what degree would I have to
throw this ball at the window for it to break”? This will be showing the students that anything can be
measured in life and in math. They would have to figure out what degree I would have to throw the
ball to break the window. If I just throw it with my arm out straight it would not go very far or be
very effective. At what degree would my arm have to be for the window to effectively break?

Instructional Procedures For the student with an IEP, directions for

the task will be written on the board as I
continue to verbally say them throughout
After introducing the first lesson or problems, I will take the students through some tougher ones, to the lesson.
give them an opportunity to see the what each chapter would look like.

For the student with an IEP, extended time

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After problems, We will do some on draw erase boards, stopping at multiple times to ask questions, will be granted to further assist in using a
point out our times that students get stuck and give the students time to examine the problems protractor with me at a later time.
critically.

After the lesson, I will explain how we will use a protractor, to identify the angles and circles.

The students will return back to their seats, and I will have a flow chart organizer on paper for them,
as well as projected on my front board.

I will model the first problem on the board, and how it takes time to get measure and find the specific
degree.

After modeling with the students, the flow chart, I will give them time to complete the rest of the
chart with a partner.

During this time, I will monitor the groups, and assist those who are struggling to solve the problems

time is given, I will pull the groups back together to a whole class setting.

Closure

After completing the protractor worksheet, I will then explain that we can find degrees in many
different objects all around us. The students will practice identifying different angels.

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List all materials and/or technology tools required for the lesson.

Key instructional materials must be attached. These materials might include such items as class handouts, assignments, slides, and interactive white-
board images.

- Circles and angles packet

- Baseball

- Flowchart organizer

- Worksheets for independent work

- Front board Projection

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Artifact Two:

Children’s Literature Portfolio Project

By Andy Kaszuba

Activity 1 -Read three different children’s book: list the title, author, and guided reading level. Write a brief paragraph giving a

synopsis of the book and explaining what comprehension strategy could be taught using the book.

Book: If You Give A Mouse A Brownie

Author: Laura Numeroff

Guided Reading Level: J

Book Synopsis: This book is about a mouse who comes into a little boy’s house and the boy gives the mouse a cookie. Then the

mouse continues to ask for certain things like ice cream, and a spoon and a, can you guess? Read the book to find out!

Comprehension Strategy: The comprehension strategy that I would use while teaching this book is sequencing of events. This will

help the students make connections and draw conclusions about the text on what will happen next. The students will also be able to

learn the skill of recalling information, and using that to draw conclusions as to what the mouse will ask for on the following page.

When the students read this, they will be able to make a connection about what is going to happen and see the order in which the

events take place. This will also help them to understand the idea that events following an order, and must be put within the right

sequencing.

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Book: No, David

Author: David Shannon

Guided Reading Level: D

Book Synopsis: This book is about when the author, David Shannon was five years old, he wrote and illustrated his first book. On

every page were these words: “NO, DAVID!” As well as a picture of David doing things he was not supposed to do, like drawing on

the walls with crayon, pushing over his mom’s favorite vase, or playing in the bathtub and making a rather large mess. Throughout the

book, you will see David doing terrible things and not following directions.

Comprehension Strategy: The comprehension strategy that I would use for this book is visualization. Throughout this book the

character David goes through and makes bad decisions when he is at home. For young students, it will be ideal for them to focus on

what is right and wrong. Having the reader use the method of visualization will help the reader make mental images of the text as a

way to understand processes or events they hear during the reading. When the reader goes through the book they will see David

drawing with crayon on the wall on the very first page. The text reads “NO, David!” If the reader can visualize as they read, they are

better able to recall what they read. Therefore, the reader or student should be able to remember that drawing on the wall as a bad

decision and they should not do that particular action.

Book: The Mitten

Author: Jan Brett

Guided Reading Level: M

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Book Synopsis: When Nicki drops his white mitten in the snow, he makes it all the way home without knowing that it is gone. During

this time that it is gone, the woodland animals find the mitten, which they begin to crawl into one by one. First a curious mole, then a

rabbit, a badger and others, each one larger than the last. Finally, a big brown bear is followed in by a tiny brown mouse, and what

happens next makes a wonderfully funny climax. I believe that Jan Brett really brings each, and everyone of these characters to life

with her details and great storytelling.

Comprehension Strategy: The comprehension strategy that I would use for this book is predicting. This strategy involves the ability

of the readers to use the illustrations that Jan Brett is notorious for using on the side of the pages, and formulate an idea of what could

happen next. By making these inferences to form predictions, the reader is demonstrating comprehension of the events prior in the

story, and the anticipation of the events the author will create on the future pages. For example, if the reader sees the pictures of the

mittens on the side of the page, they will notice a new animal is in the mitten each time. If they see this, they should be able to predict

what will happen next. Good readers use predicting as a way to connect their existing knowledge to new information from a text to get

meaning from what they read. Before reading, they may use what they know about an author to predict what a text will be about.

When the reader looks at the title of the book, this might trigger memories of texts with similar content, allowing them to predict the

content of the new text.

Activity 5- Review the types of poetry listed on page 316 in your textbook. Choose 1 type of poetry and write your own poem

following your chosen form.

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Type of Poetry: List Poem

Name if Poem: Andy’s Favorite Sport

Sunday

Football

Game time

Josh Allen

Quarterback

Pass

Stefon Diggs

Touchdown

Shout Song

Activity 9: Using the non-fiction book you read for either primary level students (#4) or the non-fiction book you read for

junior/intermediate level students (#7), create an Anticipation Guide for a chapter or section of the book using the information on pp.

436-437 in your textbook as a model.

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 Artifact Three: Theorist Paper: Charles Sanders Peirce

Charles Sanders Peirce was born on September 10, 1839 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and he died on April 19, 1914 in

Milford, Pennsylvania. Originally settled as New Towne in 1630 by the Massachusetts Bay Company, Charles lived in an organized

town in 1636 when it became the site of Harvard College (now an undergraduate school of Harvard University, which Charles would

eventually graduate from). The town was renamed for Cambridge, England, in 1638 and became a county seat in 1643. His writings

extend from about 1857 until near his death, a period of approximately 57 years. Charles Sanders Peirce received most of the

substance of his early education as well as a good deal of intellectual encouragement and stimulation. Benjamin's didactic technique

mostly took the form of setting interesting problems for his son and checking Charles's solutions to them. In this challenging

instructional atmosphere Charles acquired his lifelong habit of thinking through philosophical and scientific problems entirely on his

own when he was a child. It was not easy for Charles to follow in his father’s footsteps. Peirce graduated from Harvard University in

Boston Massachusetts. Charles graduated from there in 1859 receiving a Bachelor’s of science in chemistry. Peirce was known for his

remarkable marks in chemistry but, in the classroom, Peirce was a poor student, typically in the bottom third of his class. Obviously,

the standard curriculum bored him, so that he mostly avoided doing seriously its required work. Some of this work Peirce undertook

simply to finance his diurnal existence. From 1879 until 1884, Charles maintained a second job teaching logic in the Department of

Mathematics at Johns Hopkins University. During that period the Department of Mathematics was headed by the famous

mathematician J. J. Sylvester, whom Peirce had met earlier through his father Benjamin.

Heading 2: Scholarly Achievements/Works

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Charles Sanders was a very smart student when coming out of Harvard University. On the contrary to belief was not the most hard-

working student in his class during his time at the school. Sanders had been working on something pretty big when he was done with

school and Sanders as well as two other philosophers came up with American Pragmatism. Pragmatism is a philosophical movement

that includes those who claim that an ideology or proposition is true if it works satisfactorily, that the meaning of a proposition is to be

found in the practical consequences of accepting it, and that unpractical ideas are to be rejected. In the course of his polymathic

researches, he wrote voluminously on an exceedingly wide range of topics, ranging from mathematics, mathematical logic, physics,

geodesy, spectroscopy, and astronomy, on the one hand (that of mathematics and the physical sciences), to psychology, anthropology,

history, and economics. Peirce held that science suggests that the universe has evolved from a condition of maximum freedom and

spontaneity into its present condition, in which it has taken on a number of habits, sometimes more entrenched habits and sometimes

less entrenched ones. Given Peirce's tychism and his view that statistical information is often the best information we can have about

phenomena, it should not be surprising that Peirce devoted close attention to the analysis of situations in which perfect exactness and

perfect certitude were unattainable. Currently, considerable interest is being taken in Peirce's ideas by researchers wholly outside the

arena of academic philosophy. The interest comes from industry, business, technology, intelligence organizations, and the military;

and it has resulted in the existence of a substantial number of agencies, institutes, businesses, and laboratories in which ongoing

research into and development of Peircean concepts are being vigorously undertaken.

Heading 3: Magnitude of Influence

During Pierce's lifetime, his philosophy influenced, and took influence from the work of William James. They were very close friends

and exchanged ideas for most of their adult lives. However, despite similarities and mutual influence, they strove hard to distinguish

their own brand of pragmatism from each other’s. This is particularly so after James’ California Union Address where his major

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discovery of the doctrine to Peirce and identified the early papers, “The Fixation of Belief” and “How to Make our Ideas Clear,” as the

source of pragmatism. Peirce’s greatest passion, he also had some influence in his own life, which helped him become the philosopher

he is or was. Peirce’s development of Boolean algebra influenced the logician and mathematician Ernst Schröder, with whom Peirce

exchanged correspondence and mutual admiration. The outcome of this influence is an interesting and often unacknowledged effect

upon the development of modern logic: it is Peirce’s account of quantification and logical syntax that leads to twentieth century logic,

not Frege’s.

Charles Sanders Pierce once said, “It is not knowing, but the love of learning, that characterizes the scientific man.” If you are

someone who loves to learn and is always willing to try new things, then you will go far in whatever you do. We need to be able to

have that passion and fire for learning in out jobs, life, and especially in education. If we as educators have that fire inside of us to

learn, then it will rub off on the students we teach in the classroom. This would also translate into their own lives as we, which will

make them prepared for whatever the future holds.

Artifact Three:

Classroom Management Plan

In todays education world you have to have a classroom that is managed well and under your control. Teachers have their certain

idea or in other words “culture”, that the they build in the classroom to keep it organized and running smoothly. To create a classroom

that is conducive to a positive learning environment, I have created the 3 following steps I can use to ensure it will be a positive

environment. For example:

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 1. Address the student needs: Students like adults, have not only physical needs but they also have very important

psychological needs for security and order, love and belonging, personal power and competence, freedom and novelty, and

fun. When teachers address these needs, the students naturally want to be in the class and are more engaged.

2. Create a Sense of Order: All students need structure and want to know that their teacher not only knows his content area,

but also knows how to manage his classroom. It is the teacher’s responsibility to provide clear behavioral and academic

expectations right from the beginning—students should know what is expected of them all the time.

3. Let Students Get to Know You: In many cases the students will come into the classroom with preconceived perceptions

of teachers. Most of the time it’s good, but more often than not it can be an obstacle. I wanted my students to perceive me

as a trustworthy, three-dimensional human being rather than as the two-dimensional perception of an “English teacher” that

they may already have seen in movies or maybe in video games.

Every classroom has a list of rules that they will have the students follow throughout the year. This is my list I would have to keep my

class managed and run smoothly.

1. Raise your hand if you have a question.

2. If a teacher or adult is talking:

a. Look

b. Listen

3. Treat others the way you want to be treated

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 4. Learn and Have fun!

Artifact Four:

Intersections of Gender

A big problem in today’s world is that so many people criticize everyone based on gender or ethnicity. There are jobs that

women apply for but cannot get because they are a woman. However, that is not saying they cannot do the job, but it is showing the

employer is judging a book by its cover. When it comes to factory jobs that involve heavy lifting and or operating heavy machinery,

they get turned down for someone else. The jobs that you typically see women in are secretary’s, office workers, and teachers. There

are stats saying that more women get hired as secretary’s and 94.6% are in that job profession, which just shows that men do not get

hired for that type of job. This problem would not be a big issue if we did not live in the type of world we live in, which is people hate

on each other and profile people before they even really get to know someone. In time this will all become part of our history and we

will eventually treat everyone equally and if someone wants to do a job we cannot discriminate based on what they look like or what

type of gender they are.

Decoding Race

The world we live in today is a mean and nasty place and will beat us to our knees if we let it. People always discriminate on

others gender, race, or ethnicity. In this case gender is one of the top points that most people get judged for all the time. The workforce

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 is one of the biggest areas that employers or employees discriminate based on someone’s gender. If a woman goes and applies for a

job at a factory or a construction company there is a chance that they will be passed on by the employer for a man because statistically

there are more men in construction positions that involve heavy lifting and other physical activity. These were all the concepts that I

was taught in my school before I attended grad school at Medaille. Recently I watched a documentary that had four different people

come in and they were all different gender and or ethnicity. These four guest speakers gave their perspective on gender discrimination

either I the workplace or the real world. The best part is everyone had their own experience with gender discrimination, which gave a

huge perspective of what it is actually like for someone who goes through that. That was only four people who gave those stories and,

in this world, has billions every day. One of the guest speakers was Dr Kim Crenshaw and she stated that “There is no such thing as a

single-issue struggle” (Crenshaw). This quote is saying that someone who is African American and they live in a pre-dominate white

community, well they could have more issues than just being African American. In their minds they want to create an environment

that makes them feel welcome and wanted. Everyday there are more people who are discriminated against based on their gender and

they just want a chance to prove themselves in certain aspects of life. With all that is going on we cannot judge a book by its cover,

but really get to know a person. Just because someone comes from the projects or ghetto, we cannot think they are a bad person.

Judging by The Cover

When we meet someone in today’s world we are quick to judge them by what they look like, how they dress, and how they

talk. In some cases, people will automatically say they do not like that someone based on those three aspects of an individual. Well

those are only three aspects of a person, which yes can be the important ones, but what we really need to ask ourselves are these

questions. How much are they willing to work? Are they the kind of person who can work well in a team atmosphere? Is this someone

we can depend on day in and day out? These are some basic questions that I believe need to be asked before we say we really know

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someone. Women, African American and people who are homosexual get discriminated all the time for the way they dress, look, and

talk. As a male I do not know what it is like to walk in their shoes and go through the things that women, African American people

endure on a daily basis. What I do know is what I learned from the article is we cannot judge a book by its cover. If we cannot accept

someone for who they really are as a person, then we should not be friends with them or hire them to do a job at your school or

company. No one is ever perfect in the world we live in today and will never be, but we need to start accepting people for who they

really are. There are ways fight this in a non-violent manner, which some take on the violent part and it makes things worse than what

they need to be. Although judgement and discrimination are a natural instinct, try and catch yourself before you speak or be quick to

think. You can never take back words you say or actions that you do. So, we need to understand where the person is coming from and

how they got to be where they are today.

Effects of Discrimination

The documentary was great and super insightful on different perspectives that each person had on gender discrimination. What

I found fascinating was the article that we also read about The Impact of Sexual Orientation and Gender Expression Bias on African

American Students. Discrimination is not only against women in the world, but against African American people who live in todays

society. Men and women of the African American decent are the major focal point of what is going on today with all the protests, riots

and Black Lives Matter deal. I do support all the black community and people of it but I do not like the violence and rioting that takes

place in the cities that we live in. There are better ways to do all of this but when someone gets their minds set on one thing that

person can bring others with them and teach them to follow rather than think for themselves. The article and the documentary are

similar in their topics but talk from different perspectives. For example, “Black female students' preoccupation with their appearance

and sexual attractiveness more than their academic achievement also highlights the agency of sexism in perceived gender appropriate

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roles and behavior” (Majied). This goes back into what I was saying before which was, that there is no such thing as a single-issue

struggle. They can be discriminated on there color and their gender, which also can snowball into sexism and the will be judged on

that aspect of their lives. It is remarkable how much one thing can go off another and create more problems as it goes along and the

more we see what is actually happening.

A big problem in today’s world is that so many people criticize everyone based on gender or ethnicity. African American

people get the brunt of it all because of history and what they look like. Not everyone is the same person and of we just got to know

who they actually are and talk to them on a personal level then everything might be as smooth as we want it to go.

Artifact Five:

Technology in Education

In today’s world there are a lot of aspects that can change before our eyes. As the saying goes, “it’s crazy how fast things can

change.” Within the last few months there has been a world pandemic that has affected the entire globe. However, one of the biggest

sectors of the world that has taken a large hit, due to this virus, is the education field. Many school districts, teachers, administrators

and students alike, where thrown into a never-before-seen learning environment, a new environment in which only todays age would

be able to navigate through, or so we assumed. On March 17 th, 2020, the education world converted from in person learning, that has

occurred for centuries, to a new realm, the realm of digital and distance learning.

This past week I was able to interview my fiancé and my Aunt who are both fifth grade teachers for the Wilson Central School

District. During the interview, I was able to get an inside perspective on this new way of teaching and learning. One of the most

challenging aspect of this new teaching, was engaging students in order to keep them online during the duration of the lesson. Students

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in fifth grade are young, and have difficulties paying attention for longer strides of time. This can be extremely difficult to keep them

focused while in the comforts of their home, especially when they have games, TV, and other electronics at their disposal. Some kids

may not have the strongest internet connection, which can cause some of them not to be able to attend that certain session you have

scheduled, or stay connected during the entire lesson. They can also be missing classes because they are unbale to get their computer

to work for that certain time and they can miss some very important details. In other words, the traditional method of classroom

management, does not exist. The students are not physically in front of you, and cannot respond to your silent ques, your methods of

grasping a whole group attention, and it’s certainly even more difficult by entrusting the students to keep their cameras, the

microphones, and all aspects of video learning open to the teachers control. My Aunt commented how many of her students would be

spinning in their chair, on their phone, talking to their siblings who can also be distracting at those times, and other factors that

increased the difficulties of classroom management. I then asked how they felt about the online learning going into the whole

situation. They both gave me the same answer, which was to be expected and that answer was “We did not know what to expect, it’s

never really been done before.” As educators we need to learn how to adapt to every situation, which is what these two educators did,

and to be able to do that is the sign of true dedication, and enthusiasm for the profession. The next question I inquired them about was,

“what exactly did the kids take away from this experience?” They proceeded to tell me, that the kids missed that socialism with their

friends and their teachers. When they had their class online they did not want to leave when it came time to go because they missed

that social interaction with their peers. Furthermore, it seemed to come out from the kids, who are living in a world of endless

technology developments, that maybe technology is not the only answer for everything we do. Given the opportunity, where

technology was the only available contact for learning, the students didn’t care for it. All they could talk about was coming back into

school, sitting at their desks, talking with friends, playing on the playground, and even reading books. This was eye opening,

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especially because we have assumed that this generation, who has so much technological advancements at their fingertips, would

really enjoy and even thrive in this new realm of teaching. Rather, it appeared that we have learned that as human beings, we crave the

interaction of each other, of being with other people, and physically being in person to learn new things. It also became quite evident

to teachers, that should this learning continue, the divide amongst social classes will become even more evident in our societies. The

children who live in a home where the parents are educated, have a steady income, and are able to provide a safe environment for their

children, will succeed. The value of education has been enforced in these homes. However, if the child comes from a home that is

struggling economically, the value of the education may not be supported, due to the underlying stress of trying to survive these times.

I thoroughly enjoyed this assignment because it gave us the freedom to create a lesson and a Google Classroom, to prepare us

for our future classrooms. Having this type of experience and introducing us to what it will be like, will really help me and other

students going for education in the future. Google classroom is great because it is free for anyone who makes a Gmail account, which

is beneficial for students who come from a low-income family. It keeps the class organized and lets the kids know when everything is

due, so that they do not miss an assignment. The parents can also keep updated on the announcements and important dates in the

upcoming academic year. This will also help the students to keep a structured schedule, and to also help parental involvement, by

allowing them to see through a program that can be easily downloaded as an app or a phone, the assignments and schedules their child

should be following. By creating this easily accessible program to the students and parents alike, we will be able to form a working

line of communication between all parties involved, to help each child succeed.

Artifact Six:

Virtual Classrooms: Why It will not Work

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 Since March, a major pandemic has swept the whole world.  This pandemic has affected the structure of how we live our lives.

I believe the biggest impact of the pandemic is on the education world.  It’s been flipped upside down, to a new era of teaching.

Students have been given the option of being able learn remotely, which means learning from home or another isolated place.  As a

way of educating students who are no longer in the classroom, teachers have set up, Google classrooms. It sounds like it’s an easy fix

to having kids mingle, but online learning is creating huge challenges for teachers during this pandemic. Technology can be extremely

strenuous and challenging to get everyone online, though non-educators will say it’s the new way of learning.  Schools are being

thrown through a loop with having to keep up with keeping kids on track, handing in the work that is assigned, or most importantly

retaining the information that the teachers are giving the kids.

I recently read an article about remote learning entitled What We’re Learning About Online Learning,  by Benedict Carey. The

article was really informative and reinforced my own beliefs about educating online. Carey wrote how districts are having challenges

with the students not being able to keep up with the work and some are falling behind, which will hurt grade promotion.  Carey stated

in his article “Recent research finds that most students fell months behind during the last term of the year, with the heaviest impact on

low-income students” (Carey). For example, a student who is in the lower socioeconomic class, will fall behind his classmates

simply because he or she cannot be a part of the classroom on a regular basis, if at all.  Without internet at home, he has to find a place

to get connection. Without a regular attendance on online learning, it will cause the student to fall behind in the specific grade level he

or she is in.  A perfect example is Allegany County, NY.  The online learning required for all students isn’t available for many

students in Allegany County. In Allegany County, only 23.6% of the community has high speed internet. In Cuba, NY, Microsoft

generously donated broad band connection to the local library. Sounds like a perfect solution, right?  However, to get

that connection students have been sitting in the library parking lot to get their classroom lessons. This is hardly quality education.  It’s

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got to be really hard to listen to the lecture in a car with the distractions outside the car, let alone have to take notes in a car seat.  I do

not believe the people who insisted this process will work, ever thought of these less-advantaged kids. From a personal teaching

experience, Carey’s article applied to me.   Online students with IEP, 504 need the teacher attention to stay on task. One of my first-

grade students, named ‘Kyle' is doing online education and he’s not wanting to do the work the teacher assigns, and the parents are not

really pushing him to do it. If Kyle was in school then he would be the under my supervision and I could help him focus on the task.  

Carey also stated that there will be educational gaps between the students who chose to go remote and the students who are in

the classroom. Being in a classroom environment helps provide relevant content, clear learning goals, feedback, socials skills with

other students, and strategies to help students succeed. Being in a classroom environment will enhance the students critical thinking

skills. It gives the students the opportunity to engage in live discussions in which they are forced to use critical thinking. They will use

these skills to formulate opinions or arguments with their classmates.

The other aspect of online learning is social interaction.  The students whose parents have decided to keep the student at home

and do the remote learning are losing a lot of skills that you would get in a classroom. The social aspect of talking with other students

and meeting new people will not be there. The student who is remote is sitting at home is only in the classroom for a specific time, not

the entire time. Those students will be missing out on certain activities and thus will not gain social skills.

Non-educators had the perfect solution of educating during the pandemic.   That was, give each kid a computer, and educate

remotely.  All the worries of the contracting the disease would be reduced significantly.  Well, perhaps they had the solution for not

spreading the disease, but little did they know the role of a classroom teacher is much more imparting information.  It’s coaching to

keep the kids focused on learning, it’s keeping the kids safe from dangerous people.  …and mostly, it’s to make sure all kids,

regardless of rich or poor, get the opportunity at the same quality education.   Teachers cannot depend on outside forces to tell us what

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 will and will not work in the classroom. We are the professionals, who make sure the kids learn.  It is said, when we decide to become

an educator, we take on the responsibility of molding the young minds of future generations.  I do not believe online learning allows

teachers to mold kids the way they need to be successful. To quote one of my favorite authors F. Scott Fitzgerald “So we beat

on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”.

Artifact Seven:

Website Review

Name & Address of the School District/Board: Wilson Central School District 430 Young Street, Wilson NY, 14172

URL Address: https://www.wilsoncsd.org/domain/15

Name & Address of the High School: Wilson High School.

430 Young Street, Wilson NY 14172

Topic Area Summary of Importance Specific URL Link

District Information
District Demographics  Wilson central school continues to https://www.wilsoncsd.org/domain/13

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 be a highly regarded school in the https://www.wilsoncsd.org/domain/9
district
 99% of our eligible June 2018
graduates earned a Regents
Diploma while also receiving
scholarship and grant offers in
excess of $5,200,00.00.
 Wilson is a centralized public-
school system with a total student
population of approximately
1,287. The system is composed of
Wilson Elementary School, Wilson
Central Middle School, and Wilson
Central High School.
District Mission Wilson County Schools ensures an https://www.wcschools.com/domain/6
Statement environment in which every student
develops high personal expectations,
knowledge, and skills necessary to be
successful today and in the future
District Philosophy Be an excellent School District where all https://www.wilsoncsd.org/domain/9
Statement students master the standards set by New
York State and Wilson Central School.
Cultural Diversity Minority enrollment is 8% of the student https://www.publicschoolreview.com/new-york/wilson-central-school-
Statement body (majority Hispanic), which is less than district/3631560-school-district
the New York public school average of 57%
(majority Hispanic and Black).
Community The Wilson community is involved in and has a https://wilsoncommunityfoodpantry.com/about-us
Involvement community food pantry in the town of Wilson.
 The Wilson Community Food
Pantry is a not-for-profit
organization serving the Town and
Village of Wilson, New York and
the Wilson Central School District
 Our pantry is an ecumenical
effort, not affiliated with any one
church. Physical space and utilities
for operation are donated by St

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 Brendan on the Lake Catholic
Church.
Additional Item 1 Public school in Wilson Central School https://www.publicschoolreview.com/new-york/wilson-central-school-
District have an average math district/3631560-school-district
proficiency score of 64% (versus the New
York public school average of 52%),
and reading proficiency score of 55%
(versus the 50% statewide average). This
district's average school ranking is in the top
50% of public schools in New York.
Additional Item 2 The top ranked public schools in Wilson https://www.publicschoolreview.com/new-york/wilson-central-school-
Central School District are Wilson High district/3631560-school-district
School and Wilson Elementary
School. Overall school rank is based on a
school's combined math and reading
proficiency test score ranking.
Additional Item 3 SLOs are the required student performance http://usny.nysed.gov/rttt/teachers-leaders/plans/docs/wilson/wilson-appr-plan-
measure for teachers who do not receive a 083116.pdf
State-provided growth score. (Please note
that for teachers with more than one grade
and subject, SLOs must cover the courses
taught with the largest number of students,
combining sections with common
assessments, until a majority of students are
covered.)
Specific High School Information
School Demographics  Wilson central school has one of https://www.wilsoncsd.org/domain/29
the highest graduation rates
 Athletic teams compete with the
finest teams in Western New York
with several of our teams
qualifying for sectional and/or
state competitions each year.
 58% of the Wilson students
participate in school sports
 Wilson student-athletes averages
are about 10 points higher than

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 those not involved in athletics
 Wilson High School's top 25
seniors in 2019-2020, 21 played a
sport last year
School Mission Wilson Mission is each student will have the https://www.wilsoncsd.org/Page/1
Statement educational opportunity to reach his or her
maximum potential by challenging all
students to higher levels of achievement.
We will provide the environment,
encouragement and instruction to meet this
goal, while developing the whole child
physically, socially, emotionally, and
culturally.
School Philosophy The Schools Moto is and always has been No Link. It has been a quote and moto for 30 years. Dan Johnson was a former
Statement “Do what you are supposed to do. When principal and came up with that.
your supposed to do it. To the best of your
ability. Were going to do it that way every
single time”.
Opportunities for Parent There are plenty of opportunities for parents to https://www.wilsoncsd.org/
Involvement get involved
 The parents can be apart of the
school board and attend annual
meetings.
 Parents can be hired as coaches
for the school teams.
 There are times where they can
volunteer for sporting events and
be a supervisor during these
times.
 The parents may come in to school
and help a teacher in the lower
grades for a day of there child is in
the class.
Assessment Academically, Wilson High offers a full line https://www.wilsoncsd.org/domain/13
Procedures/Programs of credits including courses in
Used  Media Arts, Computer Graphics
and Video as well as college level

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 classes in
 Math,
 Science,
 English,
 Social Studies,
 French,
 Music and Compute Aided Design.
 Our students receive a well-
rounded education that helps
prepare them for the challenges
they will face in the real world.

Students with Wilson ensures the following about SWD https://www.wilsoncsd.org/Domain/338

Disabilities (SWD)  If you needed extra help then
Wilson provided you with a 504
plan
 This allows you to be able to go
one on one with a teacher and
receive extended time on an
assignment.

Program Enrichment In Wilson there is always room to grow and for https://www.wilsoncsd.org/domain/29
Opportunities this type of education program the students will
be able to in many ways.
 Wilson offer a various about of EC
activities like
1. Sports
2. Band
3. Musical
4. Student council.
 The students can
 Wilson CSD had 47 student-
athletes recognized as All-WNY
Scholar Athletes
 Every fall & winter team qualified
as a NYS Scholar-Athlete team
 58 Fall athletes had perfect school

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 attendance this season
 Varsity Boys Basketball (4th year
in a row), and Varsity Boys Cross
Country were selected as the
League's top Sportsmanship
teams
Technology  Wilson Elementary has the https://www.wilsoncsd.org/domain/272
opportunity for students to access
eBooks, library resources, and
student portals for accessing
assignments.

Additional Item 1 Interest Rev- I am expecting very little https://drive.google.com/file/d/10xJIegxoTzxZVRlGVEK_nC4VMLB3KFQt/view
interest income for next year as the
economy recovers, so changed from
$90,000 to $7,000. $7,000 is what we
received in 16-17, 17-18 when interest rates
were close to 0.
Additional Item 2 Almost all the students in Wilson central school https://www.wilsoncsd.org/
district has a average above 90 percent. This is
because they have the students strive for 90 or
higher. Nothing less than that average.
Additional Item 3 The school of Wilson is involved in the https://www.wilsoncsd.org/
community by donating money to scholarship
funds for students who want to pursue a certain
career.
Evaluation procedure The evaluation process for the teachers of the https://www.wilsoncsd.org/cms/lib/NY01914054/Centricity/Domain/184/Code%20of%20Conduct
%202018.pdf
for Teachers school is actually quit a simple one. During the
school year the Principal of the school brings a
teacher from each grade and they schedule a
time for him to come into their class and
evaluate their performance. It did not state what
method they used in the classroom.

There are many different school districts in the state of New York that people want to work for or already work for. The one

that I chose for this project is Wilson Central School and I wanted to work in the High School. In the district there are many different

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policies and procedures that help teachers improve throughout their careers. Policies are important because they help a school

establish rules and procedures and create standards of quality for learning and, as well as expectations and accountability. If the

schools did not have their certain policies and procedures, then schools would lack the structure and function necessary to provide the

educational needs of students. In today’s world there are a lot of kids who come from families that don’t pay any attention to them

what so ever. Those kids end up becoming angry at the world and think that no on cares for them and when they get to school they

start to act out for attention. The will break the rules that were set by the teacher in the classroom, or the certain kid would be sent

down to the principal’s office every day or a couple of times a week. A school needs that structure and sense of safety in the halls. If

the school had no regulations or policies then anyone would be able to do whatever they wanted.

The assessment procedures that WCSD has have been improving learning for as along as I can remember. Wilson assessments

are best suited to guide improvements in student learning. The way that WSCD does this is trough quizzes, tests, writing assignments,

and other assessments that the teacher gives out to the students. The teachers need to trust the results that they receive back from the

students taking the assignments because the tests questions are coming from the classroom instruction. Despite the importance of

assessments in education, few teachers receive much formal training in assessment design or analysis. There was a recent survey that

showed fewer than half the states require competence in assessment for licensure as a teacher.

In the districts there are some students who have special needs and they need extra help in the classroom so that they get a fair

education like everyone else. Having a full-time job as a teacher aide in Wilson, I have learned that Wilson does do these following

things for students who have special needs. Those two things are, teachers are required to have a place for everything that is clearly

labeled (use words or colors, for instance). They need to consider using checklists and help students keep their notebooks organized;

teach them how to do so on their own, but also check at the end of each day and offer suggestions for keeping it more organized. The

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second thing is teachers who have the children with learning disabilities in their classroom often feel like they do not succeed in

certain areas, but making lessons that lead to successful results is a great way to stay motivated. Provide immediate reinforcement for

accomplishments, be consistent with rules and discipline, correct errors and reward students when they make these corrections

themselves, explain behavioral expectations, and teach and demonstrate appropriate behaviors rather than just expecting students with

special needs to pick them up.

The teachers in WCSD are evaluated in their classrooms by the principal of the school. For example, a teacher evaluation

which is, in general, teacher evaluation refers to the formal process a school uses to review and rate teachers' performance and

effectiveness in the classroom. Ideally, the findings from these evaluations are used to provide feedback to teachers and guide their

professional development. The whole district has a policy that the teachers have to be evaluated in their classroom to make sure that

they are up to the standards and expectation’s that they were held to when they were hired. Not only that, but the administrators want

to make sure the students are getting the right education to help them learn and grow as students, which helps their brains grow. The

teachers are evaluated by Danielson Framework for teaching. Which the rubric for this a four pint scale meaning, 4 being the master

teacher and 1 being the lowest and really needs improvement.

The information I have learned about Wilson central school district is incredible. These are the reasons why. The school is one that has

amazing kids who come to the school that are hardworking, trustworthy, and they want to learn every day. The staff is another thing

that is amazing because everyone cares so much about their job and will do anything it takes to ensure that students will get the

highest quality of education from us. Not only are the students and staff hardworking and care about the school, but the community is

as well. The community if Wilson steps up and helps fundraise for student athletes, a club like student council or the musical. I was

hired in Wilson as a teacher aide back in December of 2019. I had to research on the school website and other parts of WSCD to really

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get to know more about the district, so it would help me in the interview. I was able to research how many kids graduated from school

each year, how many student athletes were on the high honor role, and what their mission statement was so I could know what they

were expecting from me. I not only talked about the school but I talked about the community involvement and how they can impact a

school district. Learning about Wilson has been amazing and I have learned more than I did before my interview. WCSD is a great

school district and would be an incredible one to work for

Artifact Eight:

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