CSTP 1: Engaging and

Supporting
All Students in Learning
1.1 Use knowledge of students to engage them in learning
Level of Development: Applying
At the beginning of the school year, I make personal phone calls to each of my students
to introduce myself. I keep a binder with pages for each student. During my phone call,
I do an interest survey to learn what the student’s interests are and keep notes about
personal information that I can use during the year to let them know I am invested in
their success and that I care about them. (informal data) I also use our TotalView
system to learn background information such as demographics, living situations, IEP’s,
EL information, etc. We will also conduct the BOY (beginning of year) STAR
assessments. With the data I get from the STAR testing I will be able to create
groupings for my students depending on their levels at that time. (formal data)
Date: August 2022
Evidence: I will be conducting the STAR Testing in the first few weeks of the school
year.

Level of Developing: Applying

I am in conference week now. I plan individual conferences where I meet face-to-face with my
student and the learning coach. At the end of the conference, I leave time for small talk to get to
know my students better. I ask guiding questions to get to know my students better. I also ask the
learning coaches to tell me something they’d like me to know about their students.
Date: October 2023
Evidence: Conference Notes in Total View Recorded

Level of Development: Integrating

During the school year, I am required to make an “Enduring Connection Call” to each
student once a month. This is a great way to show students that I care about them and
to keep our connection strong. This process gives me opportunities to be continually
learning about what is happening in their lives outside of school. It also gives me the
opportunity to learn if some things may be happening outside of the classroom that
could affect their learning.
Date: April 2024
Evidence:
This is taken from my school’s Sharepoint Site:

1.2 Connect learning to students’ prior knowledge, backgrounds, life experiences, and
interests
Level of Development: Integrating
At the beginning of the year, the students work in a class called “Online Learning.”
This class helps my student to learn to navigate our online platform. This is one of the
first assignments they will complete and will help me to learn about them. I will give
them the option to share with our class as a way to begin to build relationships in our
online setting.
Date: August 2022
Evidence: All About Me Slide template. Students will complete this slide as an
assignment.

Level of Development: Applying

In my ELA class I assign a memoir at the end of our memoir unit. This is an amazing way to get
to know my students. It’s been a very valuable tool for getting to know them.
Date: September 2023
Evidence: Student Memoirs

Level of Development: Integrating

This semester we had a Persuasive Essay Assignment. I left the subject they were to
persuade me about up to them to choose. I asked them to think of something that they
feel strongly about and could produce a strong argument about. This activity helped
me learn so much about them what things they feel strongly about.
Date: April 2024
Evidence:
1.3 Connect subject matter to meaningful, real-life contexts
Level of Development: Applying
I like to use YouTube videos to help my students make connections with the real world.
For example, when teaching Figurative Language, after introducing the lesson I will
show a video that gives specific examples of Figurative Language in movies. This helps
them see specific examples of Figurative Language and it really seems to work. Then
we go on to the lesson which includes formative assessments in the form of polls.
Date: June 2023
Evidence:
Here is the link to the YouTube Video: Figurative Language in Movies

Level of Development: Applying

In my ELA class we are reading The Diary of Anne Frank. My students are making the
connection to what is happening in Israel now. My team found a kid friendly news article to
share with students.
Date: October 2023
Evidence: Article on Events in Israel - student friendly version
ISTE 1.3. Knowledge Constructor build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and
problems, developing ideas and theories and pursuing answers and solutions.

Level of Development: Applying

This year I had several students of the Islamic Faith, this was new to me. During the
month they were celebrating Ramadan I invited the students to share information
about the holiday with the class. The students were excited to share everything about
the tradition including information about fasting and also that they couldn’t listen to
music. It was wonderful to see how supportive their classmates were during their
journey. It gave the students the ability to play teacher and educate their classmates. It
was very informative. I added a few videos about Ramadan to our Homeroom
meetings.

1.4 Use a variety of instructional strategies, resources, and technologies to meet

students’ diverse learning needs
Last year I began using a website called Classkick. I love this program because it
allows me to tailor each student’s slides to their abilities in writing. For one writing
assignment, I created slides for every step of the writing process. There are
scaffoldings in place for those who need it. For others who don’t need the extra help
(such as thesis development, introductory paragraphs etc.) or need a little challenge I
can omit those slides for them. Classkick is a wonderful tool especially in the virtual
setting because it allows me to go to their slides and work alongside them as if we were
in an actual classroom. I can make suggestions or ask leading questions to point them
in the right direction.
Level of Development: Exploring
Date: June 2023
Evidence: Here is a snip of a character analysis workbook I created on Classkick.

Level of Development: Exploring

During our character analysis assignment for Anne Frank, I tried using Jamboard for the first
time. I made slides with each character’s name on it and had the students add post-its to each
slide with the character traits of each of the residents of the annex. This provided a sort of
scaffolding for students who may have been struggling with understanding some of the
characters. It was a very successful brainstorming activity.
Date: October 2023
Evidence: Anne Frank Jamboard
ISTE 1.1. Empowered Learner Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing,
achieving and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning
sciences. Students: 1.1.b. build networks and customize their learning environments in ways that
support the learning process

Level of Development: Integrating

For our Persuasive Essay Assignment, I provided a graphic organizer to students who
needed it to assist with the writing assignment .
Date: April 2024
Evidence:

1.5 Promote critical thinking through inquiry, problem-solving, and reflection

Level of Development: Exploring
During lessons that require critical thinking while studying literature I ask leading
questions to help the students have discussions. To do this I use my Bloom’s Taxonomy
flip book of questions. This flip book is very useful to me during my lessons. I am able
to ask leveled questions to promote critical thinking.
Date: June 2023
Evidence: Here is a link to Bloom’s Taxonomy explained and questions: Bloom's
Taxonomy

Level of Development: Exploring

For the memoir assignment, I attached a rubric. I used the rubric to grade and the students are
able to see the graded rubric as well as my feedback for the assignment.
Date: September 2023
Evidence: Memoir Rubric
Level of Developing: Applying
During our Persuasive Essay Assignment students were challenged to develop a
counterargument. I gave students the opportunity to present their ideas and asked their
classmates to debate the opposite side of the argument.
Date: April 2024
Evidence: We had two class sessions during which the students debated both sides of the
issue presented.

1.6 Monitor student learning and adjusting instruction while teaching

During my lesson, I can use formative assessments to check in with my students
understanding. I build questions into my slides to stop and monitor progress during
the lesson. Students can answer using their microphone, in the chat box or we have
very handy polling tools that I use to check in with my students during the lesson. I
include slides like this throughout my lesson. I can determine if I need to cover this
concept in more depth depending on my student’s responses.

Level of Development: Applying

Date: June 2023
Evidence: Lesson on the Mending Wall which includes slides to check for
understanding during the lesson.

Level of Development: Applying

In a recent lesson, we were reviewing a writing assignment where the students would rewrite a
diary entry from Anne Frank as another resident of the annex. We had been working on it all
week and it was due the next day. When several students told me they were still unclear on the
concept, I stopped the lesson and changed course. I put up a whiteboard and with some input
from other students I modeled rewriting a passage. This was a success.
Date: October 2023
Evidence: Modeled a rewrite of an entry from the diary in class.

Level of Development: Integrating

During my virtual lessons, I have polling tools available to me. I frequently stop and give a
poll to check for understanding. If necessary I can spend more time on a particular
standard.
Date: April 2024
Evidence: Newrow Polling Tools