Lisa DiPierro

lad526@aol.com

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The

superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”

William Arthur Ward

My name is Lisa DiPierro.

I am an Early Childhood Education major.

I did my candidate teaching at Boston Elementary School.

I was in Jill McNally’s 3rd grade class and taught all subjects.

105 OTHELLO DRIVE WOODSTOCK, GA 30189

770.924.6260

Kleven Boston Elementary School is located in Cherokee County, Georgia.

Boston Elementary, as it is commonly called, opened October 3, 1988.

The school colors are blue and white with yellow accents.

The mascot is the “Bear.”

Boston Elementary was named in honor of Mr. Kleven Boston, a former principal and superintendent of the Cherokee County School System.

The demographics of Boston’s student population have changed steadily since 2001 when 21% of students qualified for free or reduced lunch until this year when 56% of students qualify.

As of September 2009, Boston’s enrollment was 844 children. The student population is predominantly white (57%). Approximately 43% of the children are from minority groups, with Hispanic children constituting the largest minority (28%) and African-American children (7%) the second largest minority group.

Boston’s district includes six mobile home parks and one subsidized housing complex.

As student enrollment has increased, lack of space has become a significant factor.

Boston now has five portable units (10 classrooms).

Boston currently has nine kindergarten classes, eight first grade, nine second grade, ten third grade, six fourth grade, two self-contained special education classes, and two computer labs.

This class consists of 20 students.

10 boys & 10 girls. 5 Hispanic

children. 7 African-

American children. 7 White children. 1 Indian child.

School hours are 8:45- 3:15 8:30 -9:00 Homeroom (morning

work) 9:00 – 9:50 Math 10:00 – 10:40 Reading 10:40 – 11:20 Language Arts 11:23 – 11:53 Lunch 12:00 -12:20 Recess 12:30 – 1:20 Grammar 1:20 – 2:10 Specials 2:10 -3:00 SS/Sci 3:00 Dismissal

So many thoughts went through my head. Although I had waited for this moment for nearly 5 years, (and many times I thought it may never come), my nerves began to get the best of me. I had never been to Boston Elementary School before so when I was not familiar with the layout of the school. I worried about how well I would get along with my collaborating teacher and if she would allow me to come into her classroom and in just a few weeks take over. Although I had many fears and worries when I began, I was also very excited. I worked hard to get to this point and now I was ready to put everything I learned to good use.

Domain I:

Math Lesson Plan – Subtraction with Regrouping

C:\Users\Lisa\Desktop\ct_summit_presentation\LESSON PLA1.htm

Social Studies Lesson – The Branches of Government & Separation of Power C:\Users\Lisa\Desktop\ct_summit_presentation\LESSON PLA2.htm

Reading Lesson Plan – Guided Reading “One Chili Pepper”

C:\Users\Lisa\Desktop\ct_summit_presentation\LESSON PLA3.htm

Word Splash

KWL

Domain II: Providing Differentiated Instruction & Assessment

Ticket out the door:For a ticket out the door I gave each student an index

card and asked them to name the layers of the earth and tell me which layer we live on.

Venn diagram:

Interactive Bulletin Boards:This one we did together as a class. Each leaf had a

fact or duty of the 3 braches of government and the students had to decide where each leaf should go.

This bulletin board the students had to complete themselves by placing each dog bone in the baggie under the correct rock type.

Worksheets:Sort facts into correct category Tri-fold book to summarize

what.

they learned.

KWL

http://fi.edu/fellows/fellow1/rocks/create/igneous.htm

C:\Users\Lisa\Desktop\ct_summit_presentation\Rocks.htm

Charlotte’s Web Story Map

Election Day Campaign Poster

Language Arts/ Adjectives

http://www.brainpop.com/

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html

  http://www.multiplication.com

http://libertyskids.com/

http://www.funbrain.com

Each child receives a behavior chart in his/her agenda. The behavior chart is given at the beginning of each week and is stapled inside the child’s agenda. The behavior chart must be signed each night by a parent.

If a child breaks one of the rules listed or does not complete his/her work, he/she will receive an X for the time the behavior occurred. The X is referred to as an infraction.

Consequences:

1st infraction – warning

2nd infraction – reflection page completed and signed by parent

3rd infraction – lunch detention

4th infraction – child will call home and parent conference will be scheduled

5th infraction – office referral

Behavior Chart Behavior Reflection

DOMAIN III: Impacting Student Learning

Rubric

Completed Assessment ToolsRUBRIC

Analyses of Student Learning

F:\ct_summit_presentation\Analysis of Student Learning.htm

Checklist

Assessment result to adjust instruction

F:\ct_summit_presentation\Lesson adjustment.htm

C:\Users\Lisa\Desktop\ct_summit_presentation\assessment graph.htm

I have always believed that a teacher wears many hats. A teacher is much more than just a conveyor of information. My candidate teaching experience reinforced that belief.

At the conclusion of my candidate teaching, I have realized that the ultimate goal of teaching is to foster learning. Learning takes place in many different circumstances and contexts. It is my job, as an instructor, to create an atmosphere that fosters learning.

One of the best ways to foster learning is to demonstrate those feelings to my students. My goal as a teacher is to encourage learning by creating a relaxed environment for students, stimulating conversation about concepts being presented and organizing material in a way that makes it easiest to understand.

Training:

Aspen (new grading system)

Math (computer program)

Faculty Meetings:

September 7

October 12

November 2

IEP Meeting:

November 15

Parent/Teacher Conferences:

September 14

September 16

October 12

November 13

November 17

Other:Curriculum Night August 26

PTA Meeting/3rd grade performance October 14

Team Meeting September 23

As a professional educator, I plan to improve and broaden my knowledge and skills and to develop by being professional and continuously seeking to improve. I hope to learn from my co-workers as well as my students.

I believe that teachers continuously learn from each new experience and group of students they encounter. No two classes will be the same and new situations and experiences will help us learn and grow.

I would eventually like to achieve a master’s degree to further my education.

Finding enough time to plan and teach lessons, provide feedback to students, and evaluate your program will be one of the biggest challenges a teacher will face.

Keeping up with students; updating lesson plans; grading papers; writing tests and quizzes; creating activities; and communicating with parents, teachers, and other community members involved in the program take more time than the actual instruction.

As I was candidate teaching, I realized that completing all that is expected in one school day was nearly impossible.

My advice to future candidate teachers is to approach candidate teaching with an open-mind. You are there to learn from your collaborating teacher but you will also learn from the many other teachers that make up the team.

You will see things you will think are great but you will also experience teaching techniques you may not like. Learn from those experiences as well.

You will learn the most from the students. They are the ones who will let you know, in one way or another, just what is working and what is not.