The document presents an analysis of a lesson plan observed in a 4th-grade GATE class, focusing on the teaching practices of Mrs. Rodney. Key aspects include the review of the '11 icons of depth and complexity,' the implementation of student-centered strategies, and attention to social-emotional learning, while also noting the challenges faced by students with IEPs. The observation led to reflections on effective instructional decisions and the need for modifications in future teaching based on informal assessments and class engagement.

1. Signature Assignment:
Lesson Plan
Megan Waldeck
National University

2. Analyzing/Reflecting on &
Applying What I
Observed
● Teacher: Mrs. Rodney
● School: Circle View Elementary
● Grade: 4th Grade GATE

3. Overview of Observation
● Review of 11 “Icons of Depth and Complexity” that were learned throughout the
year and that will be on State Testing
● Opening of lesson has students answer questions on the board individually
○ Questions are from the class novel “end chapter questions” and addresses the Icons
○ Questions and answers are discussed as a class
● The review continues as Mrs. Rodney addresses the final assignment for the
novel, which has students once again address the Icons in relation to what
they read in the Out of My Mind novel
● As a class:
○ Instructions are read and expectations are discussed
○ Examples are given by both students and Mrs. Rodney (visual examples also provided)
● Mrs. Rodney allows students to begin working individually
○ walks around the class to answer questions
○ She plans on checking their rough drafts to ensure they are utilizing the Icons correctly

4. Analyzing / Reflecting / Applying
What information did I gain on the learners?
● No English Language Learners
● Many students with IEPs and BIPs
● More than half of the class consistently raises hands to share
● They do a good deal of class discussion and individual work, though the students themselves
often ask to work with a partner
● They sometimes need “move around time” to get refocused
● Diverse class of White, Hispanic and Asian-American students
What have I learned about Mrs. Rodney as teacher?
● Keeps high expectations for all students
● Dispositions: promotes positive view of self, empathetic, flexible
● Aims to give students choices in assignments

5. Analyzing / Reflecting / Applying
What understanding do I have about Mrs. Rodney’s teaching practices?
● She tends to use student-centered instructional strategies
● Has a focus on social-emotional learning for her students
● Uses a Behavioral Style approach to teaching. *Example seen when
Mrs. Rodney reinforces desired behavior by saying she “appreciates
those that are doing blank.”

6. Analyzing / Reflecting / Applying
How effective were Mrs. Rodney's practices?
● In the post interview she said that from “reading the room” it seemed effective (informal
assessment)
● Additional reasons that the lesson seemed effective:
- Quality of classroom discussion
- Amount of students raising hands to answer questions and overall answer
correctness
- Type of additional questions students are asking
● I did notice however, some of the students who have the IEPs/BIPs weren’t as engaged in the
lesson
*Also note no formal assessment had been completed while I was there
What will I keep, improve, discard?
● Keep: The Indirect Instructional Approach to teaching/Student-Centered Strategies
● Improve: Add additional elements of UDL

7. Stage: Planning
Grade: 4th Grade GATE
Content Area: 11 Icons of Depth and
Complexity
Standard
*The 11 Icons of Depth and Complexity are
connected to a number of different standards.
Below are examples:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem
from details in the text; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.6
Compare and contrast the point of view from
which different stories are narrated, including the
difference between first- and third-person
narrations.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.1
Refer to details and examples in a text when
explaining what the text says explicitly and when
drawing inferences from the text.

8. Target
Big Questions (Q’s to
frame student learning)
● When we are reading a
piece of literature, what
is the purpose of
thinking about Icons?
● How can the 11 Icons
help us have a deeper
understanding of what
we read?
Skills (What you will
explicitly teach)
● The concepts in the last
section have already
been explicitly taught over
the year, therefore this
lesson is more of a review
● Method:
○ Recall past learned
knowledge through:
class discussion,
game, and partner
work
Knowledge (Concepts to be
understood and applied)
● Students will be able to
demonstrate their
understanding of the 11
Icons’ literary definitions
● Students will understand
how the Icons are important
to having a deeper
understanding of literary
pieces
● Students will be able to read
a text and answer questions
about the Icons as they
relate to what they read

9. Student Goals
Student Learning Goal:
Students will be able to use their knowledge of
the 11 Icons of Depth and Complexity to answer
comprehension questions from literary pieces
they read.
Student Social-Emotional Goal:
Students will use cooperative learning strategies
and show patience and responsibility when they
work with partners to review the Icons.
Additionally, students will also show good
sportsmanship when the class plays the “Icons
game.”
Barriers To
Learning
● In this GATE class, all students have reached
a certain level of literacy and language
proficiency, though there are still differences
in ability.
● All students have been exposed to the Icons
before in this class, but not all students will
have retained the same amount of knowledge.
● Behavioral Problems: Some students in this
class have BIPs and may get frustrated with
the work and shutdown. Additionally, some
students have a hard time staying engaged
and on task.

10. Common Misconceptions
● The 11 icons are quite broad and are used to promote
higher order thinking. Therefore it is very likely that
some students will have confusion across some of the
elements.
● Student confusion may be compounded when, in State
Testing, they are asked to read a random literary piece
and apply what they know about the Icons to answer
questions.
● Due to cultural differences, misconceptions, etc.,
students may have a hard time choosing the “best”
answer in State Testing, especially when literature can
have multiple “right” answers.

11. Classroom Composite (Teacher & Learner)
(25 students: 13 boys; 12 girls) Mrs. Rodney's students are very gifted and most
love to interact and answers any questions she has. They are also a very enthusiastic
group that have a great deal of energy. When they are good or if she feels they need it,
the students get 2-3 minutes of movement time to walk around the class, talk to
friends, and get their built-up antsiness out. Additionally, the class culture seems very
strong. All students show a large amount of respect toward Mrs. Rodney, and she
works hard to make them feel included, safe, and good about themselves. A good
portion of the students have IEPs and/or BIPs for the GATE class, in Mrs. Rodney's
words, is similar to a special education class. Additionally, I noticed that the students
love to work on the computers when they have freetime. I do not know the class
average or any specific details on how students are doing in the subject area of
language arts.

12. Accommodations/Ada
ptation
Students with IEPs:
In the peer work part of the lesson, there
won’t be any predetermine
accommodations made. We are continuing
our review and because they will be
working with a partner, this assignment
should be doable for all students. Plenty of
time will be given, and I will be walking
around assessing and checking for
understanding.
Students with BIPs and certain
types of IEPs:
We will have a review game as a class to
help engage those students who normally
get frustrated with too much written or
individual work. This fun and more
interactive activity will also be helpful
and a good way to review for those
students who get off task easily and
have a hard time finishing written
work.

13. Multiple Means of Representation
Content presented in multiple ways:
The first day of review focused on class discussion and individual work (new project)
Day 2: Students will get into pairs (one team of three) to play a “Know Your Icons” game. I will ask
students to write down on individual whiteboards the answer to questions I ask. The questions will be on
the 11 Icons, with some questions relating to the Icons found in the Out of My Mind novel. Students have
the chance to utilize the Icon posters at the front of the class if they wish. I will records points and the top
team(s) will win a predetermine prize.
After the game students will stay in their pairs to read a short literary piece similar to something they
may find on State Testing. The piece will be read individually and then aloud by myself. Students will
work together to read and discuss the questions and then record their answers on the provided handout
(Cooperative Learning). Students will turn in one paper with both names on the paper. Finally, we will
have another class discussion and go over answers. I will be sure to let the students know that this is the
format they may see on testing (in regards to the Icons).

14. Multiple Means of Engagement
● The “Know Your Icons” game is aimed at engaging all students by using a competitive game
that is a bit different from the normal review
● The game is also aimed to motivate students to work cooperatively with others
● This fun and interactive activity will hopefully also reach those students who lose focus easily
with “busy work”
● The peer work is also aimed to provide an additional way that students can grow their
knowledge of the Icons of Depth and Complexity
● This activity will hopefully engage those that like to work with others and talk about what they
are learning

15. Multiple Means of Action/Expression & Assessment
The day 2 lesson allows students to show what they know about the 11 Icons when they provide the right
answers to the game and earn points. Additionally, the peer work part of the lesson gives students the
chance to discuss with one another before turning in written work.
Assessment:
● Informal: Students will be informally assessed when they provide answers during the game, when
I walk around and check for understanding during peer work, and when we discuss some answers
as a class
● Formal: Students will be assessed by the peer work activity on completeness and accuracy of the
work they turn.
The assessment(s) will be used to determine who of the class is where I would like them to be and
those that are not. I will use both informal and formal assessment to decide if more time needs to
be spent reviewing the 11 Icons and if what in the future should be kept, tweaked, or fully
discarded.

16. Managing The Classroom Environment
● Expectations for how students are to act during peer work and games have already been
established earlier in the year. Example: Students understand that inside voices are always
used.
● Students may need to have some reminders to keep their discussions focused on the topic and
to stay steady during the game.
○ Therefore I will remind them of classroom expectations, especially for how we treat one another in fun
game situations if needed.
● Both of the activities in this lesson rely on student
cooperation and self-management.
● Materials for the game will be distributed at the start of
the lesson and collected after the game is over.

17. Stage 2:
Teaching
What materials will you use?
● Individual whiteboards (12)
● Dry erase markers (12)
● Tissues to erase
● Game questions printout
● Peer work handout
● Literary piece for students to read
(handout)
Sequence For Day 2
*This will be placed on a 3x5 card to
keep me focused on what needs to be
done today
● Introduce and play the game (tell
students to switch who writes on the WB)
● Have students read piece individually
● I read it aloud (tell students how this may
be similar to State Testing)
● Have students discuss the questions
before they write their answers down
● Discuss some answers to the Q’s to get
a sense of how students did

18. Stage 3: Assessing
Student Learning What evidence of student learning
will be collected?
As noted before:
● Informal: class game answers, walking
around during peer work, and class
discussion
● Formal: students will be formally graded
on completeness and accuracy of the
peer work handout they turn in

19. Assessing Student Learning Questions
How will you analyze this evidence?
The informal assessment of the game allows me to see if students are understanding the ideals of the
Icons and the Icons in relation to our class book, Out of My Mind. If some peer teams didn’t do as well as others
on the game, it lets me know which student groups to walk over to when they are working together to finish the
handout. Although we did some review yesterday as well, the cooperative learning assignment (formal
assessment) does also let me know if students are recalling the past learned information and are able to apply it
to a new piece of literature (similar to what they will find on State Testing). All assessments throughout the day
will hopefully provide me a better understanding of where students are in comparison to each other, and who
many need additional support finishing their individual projects on Icons discussed on the day 1 observation.
What instructional decisions can be made as a result of this analysis of
evidence?
As this is a review and the school year is coming to a close, I don’t have much if any additional time to spend on
reviewing the 11 Icons of Depth and Complexity. However, I can still modify some aspects of the final individual
assignment (discussed in the day 1 observation) to help guide those students who need more clarity on the
Icons. Additionally, the analysis allows me to reflect on what I should kept, tweak, and fully discard next year in
order to 1.) teach the Icons throughout the year and 2.) review the Icons at the end of the year in a more effective
way.

20. Reflection on Feedback and Modifications
Feedback Suggestions From Peers:
● Double check spelling, grammar, and consistency of words used throughout the presentation.
● Double check formatting so the text doesn’t go off the slide.
● Possibly “break up the slides a little so there is not so much on one slide.”
Modification:
● Additional time was spent proofreading my work.
● Additional time was spent checking the formatting of my work so no
writing was blocked by photos or fell off the slide entirely.
● Instead of creating more slides, I decided to critically look at what I had
wrote and delete unnecessary pieces of information. I had already felt that
my presentation was on the long side, so that appeared to be the more
appropriate modification to making the presentation more readable.

21. Resources
Burden, P. (2016). Methods for Effective Teaching: Meeting the Needs of All Students
English Language Arts Standards. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/
Meyer, A., Rose, D. H., & Gordon, D. (2014). Universal design for learning: Theory and practice.
Wakefield, MA: CAST Professional Publ.