Shelby Foster

Teacher Work Sample

Mrs. Sutos MYP Chemistry Classroom
The Narrative:
The School Community:
According to the Poudre High School website, the mission is educate every child every
day with rigor, relevancy and relationships. The demographics of the school, according to
greaterschools.org, are 70% white, 22% Hispanic, 4% Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander, 2% two or
more races and 1% of both African American and American Indian/Alaska Native. The array of
student backgrounds affects the climate and culture. At Poudre High School all students succeed
to their greatest potential with the guidance of the teachers and school administration. The
classroom-learning environment is enhanced through the three Rs present in Poudres mission
statement. The three Rs are relevancy, rigor and relationships. To help students succeed there are
many learning labs available to students. These learning labs are a space for students to go and
get help from either teachers or student tutors. The labs help students form relationships and
know that they have the support they need in order to succeed. If a student misbehaves in a way
that the teacher feels like he or she cannot control the teacher contacts the Dean of Students. The
Dean of Students will then speak to the student and figure out why exactly the student behaved
in that particular way and assign the appropriate punishment.
There are many great opportunities for the students of Poudre High School. The first
program available to students is a mandatory freshman/sophomore seminar class. This class
helps students gather the tools they need to succeed in the high school setting. There are many
rigorous academic programs offered to the students of Poudre High School. Some of these
programs offered to the students are the International Baccalaureate Program (IB), The Advanced

Placement Program (AP), the Middle Years Program (MYP) and the Capstone Experience. The
IB program is a program designed for highly motivated students that is a four-year accelerated,
honors curriculum. The MYP is a program designed for students aged 11-16 to help prepare
them for the IB program. The Capstone Experience is a program that is available to any student
that wants to create a community-based and career-orientated independent research project.
Another program offered to students is the Newcomer Academy. This academy is designed to
give extensive support to English Language Learners. The final program offered to help students
succeed at Poudre is AVID tutoring program. This program helps students be able to succeed in a
rigorous curriculum and make plans for the future. Those are just some of the programs that are
offered to the students.
There are numerous extracurricular activities offered to the students. Some of these
activities include a wide variety of athletics such as football, cheerleading, basketball, cross
country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, volleyball, wrestling and dance team. Unified
flag football is also offered to students. This sport allows Special Olympians and their school
peers to play football against other teams of a similar capacity. There are several other activities
offered to students that arent athletics, however. These activities include Ambassadors, Future
Business Leaders of America, newspaper, drama, theatre, debate, band, choir, student council,
yearbook, Robotics, Science Olympiad, Science Bowl and National Honor Society. The students
have many opportunities within the school to be involved and so do the parents. Some of the
ways they are involved are through the sports teams their student plays on, the prom committee,
the IB parent advisory board, Parents of Poudre Students, Moms-in-Touch, and the alumni and
parent board with the PSD Foundation. Overall the parents, staff and students play a vital role in
making the atmosphere of Poudre High School what it is.

Students and Classroom:

Mrs. Sutos second hour class is sophomore level MYP chemistry. Within the ninetyminute block period Mrs. Suto, only lectures her students for approximately 15-20 minutes.
After she is done lecturing, the students either do a lab pertaining to what they just learned or do
a worksheet that also reinforces what they just learned. The students understand that they are to
turn in their homework before the start of class and if they turn their homework in at the end of
the class period it will be marked late. Mrs. Suto and her students have an open classroom style
where they talk about topics and events that are pertinent to their lives outside of school. She
then takes those experiences and puts them in the context of chemistry to help students see that
chemistry is relevant to their personal lives. Mrs. Suto is always checking in with her students to
gauge their progress within school but also making sure they are doing well outside of school
with sports or any other extra curricular activity they may be involved in. Mrs. Suto recognizes
that students have lives outside of school and is always taking that into consideration when
planning her lessons and establishing the culture of the classroom. When the students were going
through a hard time at the beginning of the semster when their classmate attempted suicide she
made sure they knew they could come talk to her. Additionally, she make it possible for students
who were struggling with the incident to take an exam on Monday as opposed to when it was
scheduled on Friday, if that would make things easier on them. Mrs. Suto and her students have a
wonderful relationship with each other, which allows the classroom to run smoothly.
There is a wide range of students in this class with varying backgrounds. There are 26
students in this class. There are 15 girls and 11 boys. The majority of the students in this class are
white. Phoebe is an exchange student in the class. Many of the students in this class are involved

in sport teams. Many of the students are on the cross-country team. Some of these students are
Luna, Abby, Hunter, Emma and Owen. There are two girls who are also on the softball team.
These girls are Bailey, Taylor and Rebecca. With in the last week or so a new student named
Evan joined the class. Evan was previously placed in a Physics class without previously taking
chemistry. While observing Evans transition into Mrs. Sutos class I noticed that he was
struggling to understand what the class has already covered as the class was approaching the end
of a unit. There are many students who like to participate and there are many students who are
on the quieter side. The students who like to participate are Zoe, Bailey, Chloe, Emma, Terri,
Rosie, Luna and Hunter. The students who are quiet are the students who Mrs. Suto calls on to
make sure that they are with the whole class and that they are understanding the material being
presented to them. There is one student, Simon, who has not been in class in the three weeks that
I have been involved with this class. One of my favorite things in Mrs. Sutos classroom is that
all around the room she has drawing that her previous students have done that involves different
science topics. This is what Mrs. Sutos second hour MYP chemistry classroom looks like.
Topic and Rationale:
I am teaching Atomic Structure and Isotopes. This topic is being taught now because this
is the next unit the students will be studying in class. This lesson will be taught as an
introductory lesson, meaning students have not already encountered this information. The lesson
will cover atomic structure notation such as protons, neutrons and electrons. Students will be
able to determine the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons, as well as atomic mass, atomic
number, and the overall charge when given an element located on the periodic table. Students
will also be able to determine how to solve for percent abundance when given different isotopes
of a particular element. The students might only know some of the basics about atomic structure,

from perhaps a middle school science class they have taken but I am expecting the students to
know very minimal, if any, information about atomic structure. I expect that the concepts of both
isotopes and percent abundance will be two completely new concepts introduced to the students
in my lesson.
I will be using two instructional strategies in this lesson. The first instructional strategy is
inquiry and it will be used by having the students fill out a worksheet that asks them to find the
proton, neutrons and electrons of a given atom. The only direction given to them will be by
walking them through how to solve for the number of protons, neutrons and electrons. Students
will fill out this worksheet before a full lecture is given on how to solve for protons, neutrons and
electrons. This process allows for the students, with little guidance, to figure out on their own, in
a sense, the atomic structure of a given element. There are also four more questions on the
worksheet that ask students to determine how scientist come up with the atomic mass and atomic
number located on a periodic table. I chose to use this specific strategy because I think that it
allows for the students to start actively thinking about the topics that are going to be covered in
the lesson before the actual lesson is delivered. I believe that this is also a quick way to gauge
how much information your students already know about the topic you plan to lecture.
The second instructional strategy I will be using in my lesson is skills/demonstration. The
way this method will be used is by showing students how to determine the atomic structure,
isotopes and percent abundance of an element. First a lecture will be given to students where
there were examples of an isotope and the steps needed in order to solve for percent abundance.
After lecturing I will walk the students through an example of atomic structure and have them
remind me the way that protons, neutrons, electrons, atomic mass, atomic number and overall
charge are determined from the given information. After this the students will be allowed time to

start the worksheet that has examples of all three of the topics covered today. I chose to use this
instructional method, in addition to inquiry, because I believe that in science in order to learn a
specific topic, repetition is key and the skill instructional strategy allows for that. This strategy
allows me to show my students how I expect them to solve a problem, then I can walk them
through an example (guided practice) and finally I can have them complete problems on their
own.

In my lesson, inquiry and skills instructional strategies form the backbone to my

instructional strategies.

Learning Goals, Objectives and Standards:

For this lesson I want students to understand and learn what makes up an element. I want
students to be able to accurately define a proton, neutron and electron. I also want students to be
able to identify the protons, neutrons, electrons, atomic number, atomic mass and the overall
charge of a particular element. Another component that I want the students to understand would
be what an isotope is. I want students to know that isotopes make up the weighted average of the
elements on the periodic table. I also want students to know that elements and isotopes vary in
their atomic mass and how many neutrons are present in each. The final thing I would like
students to learn from this lesson would be how to calculate percent abundance of each isotope
that makes up the element on the periodic table.
Standards:

Apply an understanding of atomic and molecular structure to explain the

properties of matter, and predict outcomes of chemical and nuclear
reactions.
1) Develop, communicate, and justify an evidence-based scientific
explanation supporting the current model of an atom (DOK 1-3).

Learning Targets:
1. I can: identify the atomic structure of the elements on the periodic table.
This means: I can accurately answer the worksheet on atomic structure.
2. I can: identify an isotope.
This means: I can accurately write the description of an isotope.
Pre/Post Assessment:

Pre-Test:
1) In your own words, what is atomic structure? (Objective 1)

2) In your own words, what is an isotope? (Objective 2)

Post-Test:
1) What is atomic structure? (Objective 1)

2) Complete the following chart for Bismuth using your periodic table. (Objective 1)
p+
en0
A
Z
Overall
Charge
83
Bismuth

3) What is an isotope? (Objective 2)

4) Complete the following table for the isotope U-235. (Objective 2)

p+
en0
A
U-235

For the Pre-Test I chose to use a written form of assessment because I wanted the
students to activate any prior knowledge they may have had concerning isotopes and atomic
structure. When grading the Pre-Test I was more concerned with conceptual knowledge as
opposed to actually giving me the correct answer. I administered the Pre-Test the day I taught the
lesson due to a time constrain in the class, however if I was actually teaching this lesson again I
would be sure to administer the Pre-Test the day before. Students had five minutes to complete
the Pre-Test and were not allowed to ask their peers for any help. I scored the Pre-Test out of two
points.
For the Post-Test I chose to use a written form of assessment so it would be similar to the
Pre-Test that I gave to the students. I asked the same two questions that I did on the Pre-Test on
the Post-Test. I also asked two extra questions that I did not grade but that I wanted the students
to answer to see for myself if they understood the lesson. For the two questions that were
identical to the Pre-Test I graded those questions based on conceptual understanding. For
question 1 I was looking for students to either say atoms are made up of protons, neutrons and
electrons or for them to say what makes up an atom. For question 3 I was looking for students to
say that an isotope is an element that has a different number of neutrons and a different atomic
mass or to say that the isotope is what is used to calculate the average mass of the element found
on the periodic table. These definitions are not the definitions you would find in the textbook but
they allow me as the teacher to see that my students understood the lesson. The Post-Test was
scored out of two points as well in order to keep it consistent with the Pre-Test. The Post-Test
was administered to the students the next day due to the fact that I did not have enough time to
finish covering all the materials. As soon as I was done covering the materials I gave the students
the Post-Test and gave them ten minutes to complete it without speaking to their classmates.

The Pre-Test and Post-Test asked the same exact questions which allowed me to see
whether or not the students learned the material I was teaching them. This showed that my PreTest and Post-Test were valid. The assessments were valid not only in the sense that they asked
the same questions which allowed me to accurately assess student growth but that they both
assessed the two learning targets for this lesson. These assessments were also reliable. The
questions given to the students were questions that they would have been asked on other
assessments, such as a worksheet given to them. The only obstacle that came into play with
reliability would be that these assessments did not affect the students grades so most of the
students did not put their full effort into the assessments. This would be a problem in the sense
that it does not allow me to accurately assess the student growth that occurred in the classroom
from my lesson.
Preparations, Materials and Resources:
Before I taught this lesson Mrs. Suto and I reviewed Atomic Structure and the
PowerPoint and worksheets she was going to utilize in her other classes. I used the same
PowerPoint and worksheets that were being used in the other classes so the material that was
being taught would be the exact same across all of the classes. The things that I created for this
lesson were the Pre and Post- Tests for this particular lesson. I based both of the assessments off
the worksheets the students were to complete during class time and the learning targets this
lesson had. The materials I used for this lesson was the Smart Board, PowerPoint, copies of the
two worksheets and copies of the Pre and Post- Tests. While teaching this lesson I felt as though
the arrangement of the room was perfect for group work that would be utilized while completing
the two worksheets I assigned to the students.

Procedures:
Below is the lesson plan, worksheets and PowerPoint I used for this particular lesson.
Lesson:
Teacher: Shelby Foster
School:
Poudre High School

Date: 10/27/15
Grade Level: 10th

Title: What are elements made up of?

Content Area: MYP Chemistry

Lesson #:N/A__ of N/A__

Content Standard(s) addressed by this lesson:

(Write Content Standards directly from the
standard)
Apply an understanding of atomic and molecular structure to explain the properties of matter,
and predict outcomes of chemical and nuclear reactions.
1) Develop, communicate, and justify an evidence-based scientific explanation
supporting the current model of an atom (DOK 1-3).

Understandings: (Big Ideas)

I want students to understand that the structure of atoms determines an elements properties. I
also want students to understand that all elements have isotopes.
Inquiry Questions: (Essential questions relating knowledge at end of the unit of instruction,
select applicable questions from standard)
1) What are the particles that make up an atom?
2) What causes an element to be an isotope?
Evidence Outcomes: (Learning Targets/Objectives)
Every student will be able to: (Create your own lesson objectives from the standard, follow the
ABCD format, using student voice)
I can: identify the atomic structure of the elements on the periodic table.
This means: I can accurately answer the worksheet on atomic structure.
I can: identify an isotope
This means: I can accurately write the description of an isotope
List of Assessments: (Write the number of the learning target associated with each assessment)
Learning Target 1: Exit ticket and worksheet. For the exit ticket students will be asked to
provide a definition of atomic structure. Students will also be asked to fill out a chart for atomic
structure (protons, neutrons, electrons, atomic mass, atomic number and overall charge).
Students WILL NOT be allowed to use their notes, cell phones or laptops to answer the exit
ticket. The worksheet will further reinforce if students can solve problems given various

components to the atomic structure of various elements sometimes they will be provided with the
element but missing other components such as the protons, neutrons or atomic number. They will
also be provided with the protons neutrons and atomic mass but missing the element those
components belong to. Providing the correct definition of atomic structure, answering the
problem as well as answering the worksheet correctly will help me to see if the students
understood the lecture and the material being presented to them.
Learning Target 2: Exit ticket. For the exit ticket students will be asked to provide a definition
of an isotope. Students will be asked to fill out a chart for an isotope (protons, neutrons,
electrons, atomic mass and atomic number). Students WILL NOT be allowed to use their notes,
cell phones or laptops to answer the exit ticket.
List of Significant Vocabulary: (List the significant vocabulary words and definitions for this
lesson)
Proton: Positively charged particle located in the nucleus.
Neutron: neutrally charged particle located in the nucleus.
Electron: negatively charged particle located in electron clouds or orbitals.
Atomic Number (Z): determines the identity of the atom. It is the whole number in the
periodic table.
Atomic Mass (A): The mass of an atom in atomic mass units (amu) and is the combined
mass of the protons and neutrons. It is not usually a whole number.
Isotopes: Atoms of the same element (same number of protons and same atomic number)
that have different number of neutrons, which causes them have a different atomic mass.

Planned Lesson Activities

Name and Purpose of Lesson
Should be a creative title for you and the students to associate
with the activity. Think of the purpose as the mini-rationale for
what you are trying to accomplish through this lesson.
Approx. Time and Materials/Procedures
How long do you expect the activity to last and what materials
will you need? What do you need to collect, prepare, reserve,
set-up, etc. ahead of time?

Pre-Assessment
How will you pre-assess students knowledge of the topic to be
covered? Describe both formal and informal ways you will
assess their knowledge

Anticipatory
Set/Focus/Hook/Engagement/Motivation/Introduction
The hook grabs students attention and engages them from
the start. These are actions and statements by the teacher to
relate the experiences of the students to the objectives of the
lesson and to put students into a receptive frame of mind.
To focus student attention on the lesson.
To create an organizing framework for the ideas,
principles, or information that is to follow (advanced
organizers)

Name: What are elements made up of?

Purpose: To be able to identify the protons, neutrons and electrons
found in an element and also identify isotopes of different elements.
Approx. Time: 80 minutes
Worksheet #1: ~20minutes
Lecture: ~20 minutes
Worksheet #2: ~20 minutes
Review Factor Label Test: ~10 minutes
Clean up/Closure: ~10 minutes
Materials: 2 worksheets, PowerPoint on smart board, writing
utensil, and notebook.
Before Class: Both of the worksheets and the pre and post tests will
be copied.
Formal: Due to time constraints the day before the lecture this will
be done right before the lesson starts. On a piece of paper students
will be asked to in their own words describe what atomic structure
is and what an isotope is.
Informal: Students will be asked to raise their hand in a thumb up
fashion when asked if they know anything about atomic structure
and isotopes.
Anticipatory Set: A worksheet will be handed out at the beginning
of class, which students will complete in groups. This worksheet
will get students thinking about the upcoming lesson on atomic
structure. The worksheet is about atomic structure notation.
Time Needed: 20 minutes. 10 minutes to answer the worksheet and
10 minutes to go over the worksheet as a whole class.

An anticipatory set is used any time a different activity or new

concept is to be introduced.
Procedures/Instructional Input/Learning
Chunks/Scaffolding for Learning (this is the largest part of
your lesson plan)
(Include a play-by-play account of what will happen in the class from
the minute students arrive to the minute they leave your classroom.
Indicate the length of each segment of the lesson. List actual
minutes.)
Include the following components in scripted format:
-Teacher input-what you will share (lecture outline, notes of interest,
facts, vocabulary, description of activities, etc.)
-Modeling (demonstrations, stories, examples, etc.)
-questioning strategies (what questions will you ask to CSU)
-guided/unguided:
-whole-class practice
-group practice
-individual practice
-check for understanding
-other (FCCLA, FFA, etc. connection)

The topic that will be taught is atomic structure and isotopes. This
topic will cover how to determine the protons, neutrons, electrons,
atomic mass and atomic number of a particular element on the
periodic table. This topic will also cover how to determine what an
isotope is as well as the protons, neutrons, electrons, atomic mass
and atomic number of that particular isotope.
Before students arrive have the lab and both worksheets copied.
7:40- 7:42- Announcements, explain what the day looks like (pretest, worksheet #1, lecture, worksheet #2, review factor label exam,
and post-test) and present learning targets to students. Handout
Worksheet #1 while walking explaining the plan for the day.
7:42-7:45- Students will complete the pre test. Tell them that it is
only required that they answer the question in their own words. Pass
out Pre-Test.
7:45-7:50- Review with students what the charge is of a proton,
neutron and electron.
Go over the sodium example.
Do Iron with students so they can see how it is done.
Start bromine then let students finish the rest of the
worksheet.
Remind students that they are to only use their periodic
table. No cell phones or laptops allowed.
Modeling: By going over the sodium, iron and bromine examples
with students they will see what is expected of them for the rest of
the worksheet.
7:50-8:00- Students will finish worksheet #1 in their table groups.
(Group Practice). Check for student understanding: I will walk
around to the different table groups and answer any questions the
students may have as well as ask the students various questions.
8:00-8:05- Go over worksheet #1 to reinforce the notation used in
atomic structure. Modeling: Reminding students what the notation

is that is used in atomic structure.

8:05- Get notebooks and writing utensil out to take notes.
(Transition)
8:05-8:25- Start Lecture. (Teacher input- notes on atomic structure
and isotopes, such as definitions and notations and students are
required to copy these notes into their notebooks.) Modeling: The
modeling that will be used will be worksheet #1 An example of an
isotope will be provided for students. Examples of percent
abundance will also be provided for students. Check for student
understanding: I will ask students to provide their own example of
an isotope. As well as asking students to predict what is under the
boxes on the table of subatomic particles.
8:26- Pass out worksheet #2.
8:26-8:27- Explain worksheet #2 to students.
Review charges, what A and Z are, and how to solve for
electrons when the element isnt neutral.
Ask for volunteers to help solve Neodymium and strontium.
(Guided practice)
Tell students to work on the top part of the worksheet, as we
will go over isotopes on Thursday.
Remind students that there are bookwork problems that need
to be completed on the bottom of the worksheet. Any
problems that require a calculation on the bookwork
students must SHOW ALL WORK done to complete
problem.
This worksheet will be finished for homework.
8:27-8:42- Students will complete worksheet #2 individually but
they may consult their table members for help.(Group and
individual practice) Check for student understanding: I will
walk around to the table groups and ask them questions pertaining
to atomic structure as well as answering any questions they may
have pertaining to the worksheet or atomic structure in general.
8:42-8:52- Hand back factor label exam that was taken Friday and

Closure/Conclusion/Summary/Adjustments/
Wrap-up/Clean-up
Those actions or statements by a teacher that are designed to
bring a lesson presentation to an appropriate conclusion. Used
to help students bring things together in their own minds, to
make sense out of what has just been taught. Any Questions?
No. OK, lets move on is not closure. Closure is used:
To cue students to the fact that they have arrived at an
important point in the lesson or the end of a lesson.
To help organize student learning
To help form a coherent picture and to consolidate.
Differentiation/Modifications/Adaptations/Accommodation
s To modify: If the activity is too advanced for a child, how will
you modify it so that they can be successful?
To extend: If the activity is too easy for a child, how will you
extend it to develop their emerging skills?

Assessment/Pre-Post/On-going
How will you know if students met the learning targets? Review
each learning target and determine the assessment that met
that target. Can the students answer your inquiry questions?
Write a description of what you were looking for in each
assessment.

go over any questions that students may have. Recollect test when
students are finished looking over them.
8:52- Hand out exit ticket, which is also going to be used as the
post- test for this lesson.
8:53-9:00- Exit ticket. Students will be asked to define atomic
structure and isotopes. Students will also be asked to solve two
problems pertaining to both atomic structure and isotopes. They
WILL not be allowed to use their notes, cell phones or laptops.
When they are finished they will put them in a pile in the middle of
their tables and I will walk around and collect them.

I am already placed into an MYP chemistry classroom. Students

will be allowed to have time to work on the second worksheet in
class and then will be expected to finish it for homework, which
allows them to have plenty of time to complete it. This worksheet
will also be used again on Thursday giving students just a small
section of the worksheet to focus on at a time. If I were to teach this
lesson to a different chemistry class I would not open the lecture
with a worksheet in which the students complete it in groups instead
I would walk them through the worksheet allowing all the students
to have an equal opportunity to access their prior knowledge.
Students will be assessed on both their exit ticket (learning target
1+2) and worksheet #2 (learning target 1). For the exit ticket I will
be looking to see if the students can provide an accurate definition
of both an isotope and atomic structure. For the exit ticket I will
also be looking to see that students can answer accurately the two
problems pertaining to atomic structure (protons, neutrons,
electrons, atomic mass, atomic number and overall charge) and
isotopes (atomic mass, atomic number, protons, neutrons and
electrons). In the worksheet I will be looking to see that the students
can answer accurately the questions that pertain to atomic notation

as well as isotopes. This will further demonstrate that the students

understand atomic structure and how to use their periodic tables to
determine the atomic structure and isotopes of specific elements.

Handouts:
Worksheet 1:

Worksheet 2:
Atomic Structure Worksheet #1

Name_________________________
Date________________Per_______

A.
Complete the following chart:
Atomic notation
A
Z
144
Nd
90

p+

e-

no

92

92
36

146

Sr
57

17
26

24
3
15
38

Complete the following table:

Isotope
p+
C-12
C-13
C-14

20

1-

8
13

23
6

3-

Charge
0

10
1

0
19

1+

B.

e-

no

Complete the following, SYW on all calculations:

1.
2.

Sulfur occurs as four naturally occurring isotopes; 95% of the sample has 16 neutrons, 0.76% has 17 neutrons, 0.014% has 20
neutrons, and the rest has 18 neutrons. Determine the weighted average of this sample of sulfur.
Silver (Atomic weight 107.868 amu) has two naturally-occurring isotopes with atomic weights of 106.90509 amu and 108.90470 amu.
What is the percent abundance of the each isotope?

Ch 4 Bookwork:
13, 17, 20, 22, 23 (63.546 amu), 32, 41, 50, 51, 61, 65 (207.241 amu), 74, 81 (Li-7 = 92.5%)

PowerPoint: Please see attached.

On-going Lesson Assessment:

During my lesson while the students were working in their table groups I went around and interacted with each group and
made sure to answer any questions they may have had. Not only did I answer any of the students questions I also asked them questions
to further assess whether they were understanding the material. If there was any confusion or any evidence that the students were

headed down the wrong path I corrected them by redirecting them. Another way I assessed for student understanding was by asking
the students to predict what they thought would be under the boxes pertaining to the various parts of the atomic structure. This allowed
the students to actively participate in the lecture I was giving that way they wouldnt get so bored. While I was lecturing and
introducing the material to the students I was looking for the students to show me any signs of confusion, whether that be by raising
their hand and asking me questions or by showing signs of confusion on their face. If there were any confusion happening I stopped
the lesson and explained the material in a different way then they way I had previously explained it. In order to make sure the students
understood the material I allowed them to work in groups to answer a worksheet based on the material that was just lectured on. I
walked around the room during this time to make sure they understood and if the students did not understand I would redirect them in
the right direction by asking them redirecting questions not leading questions. Another way that I assessed whether the students met
the learning targets was by providing them a formal exit ticket, which also served as the Post-Test. This allowed me to actually assess
students on an individual basis to see whether or not they were meeting the learning targets. I asked specific questions that I knew
would allow me to assess whether or not the students met and understood the learning targets.

Modifications, Adaptations and Accommodations:

The students in this class are in their last year of the Middle Years Program (MYP) before they enter the International
Baccalaureate degree program. Since these students are in MYP they are more advanced then their other peers and tend to learn
concepts and things in a faster pace. Keeping this in mind I know that I need to be able to answer more complex questions and provide

them with more challenging work. In order to meet the vast learning styles in this particular classroom I used the materials Mrs. Suto
provided for me that way I knew what rigor to make the assignments. By providing a variety of instructional strategies, such as lecture
and group work allows all of my students to succeed in the classroom. One specific example of accommodations I made during this
lesson would be that one of the students has trouble hearing. To accommodate this student I made sure this student was sitting in the
front of the room close to the smart board so the student could easily hear me as I was presenting the PowerPoint. Another
accommodation I provided for this student was that I printed out the PowerPoint ahead of time and gave it to the student. I did this so
the student could focus on me rather than worrying about trying to copy the notes and understand the material I was presenting to the
class. A second specific example of accommodation I made during this lesson was there is a student who required more time on
assignments. In order to meet this accommodation I assigned one worksheet that was to be completed by the exam. This allowed the
student to have enough time to work on this assignment. For the Pre and Post-Test I made sure this particular student had plenty of
time to complete the assessment. I did not move on with the lesson until this particular student was finished.

Pre/Post Assessment Discussion:

Each of the assessments was graded out of two possible points.
Name
Evan T.

Pre-Test (out of
2)
2

Post-Test (out of
2)
2

Gain Score (Post

Pre)
0

Jesse
Thomas
Evan H.
Abby
Rosie
Luna
Rebecca
Josh
Blake
Hunter
Terri
Bryan
Bailey
Pheobe
Emma E.
Chloe
Emma H.
Leila
Owen
Jillian
Taylor
Jackson

1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
0
0
0

2
2
2
0
0
1
2
2
2
1
2
2
1
1
2
2
2
1
2
2
1
2

1
1
2
0
0
1
2
2
1
0
2
2
1
1
2
2
2
0
0
2
1
2

Individual Student Scores

Pre-Test
Post-Test
Gain Score

The following graph represents each

individuals pre, post and gain scores. Pre-Test score is the blue bar. Post-Test is the red bar. Gain score is the green bar.

The following chart represents the average pre, post and gain score for the girls and boys in the class
Pre-Test
Post-Test
Gain Score
Boys
0.8
1.9
1.1
Girls
0.08
1.42
1.33

The following graph represents boys versus girls. The red bar represents girls and the blue bar represents boys.

Boys vs. Girls

Boys
Girls

The overall results show that there was student growth from this assessment. Growth was evident because for a majority of the
students they scored higher on their Post-Test as opposed to their Pre-Test. The boys seemed to do better on the Pre-Test and the PostTest than the girls in the class. However, the girls seemed to have a higher gain score than the boys. There were a few students who
showed no growth and I think that is due to the fact that I prefaced the Post-Test by saying this was not going to be graded so the
students did not put their full effort leading to them not scoring high on the Post-Test. The Post-Test was given to the students two
days after my lesson was taught without any review. This could have potentially skewed the data due to the fact the students were
trying to recall information from the previous day. Another thing that happened was that unfortunately due a time constraint the PreTest was given on the day of the lecture, which did not allow for me to make any modifications to the lesson to make it more
challenging to the students who already knew a little bit about my lesson. Even though the Pre and Post-Test was not given under the
circumstances I would of hoped for, I was still glad the students showed growth over my lesson. When I looked at the answers the
students provided the showed the most growth in the area of isotopes. The students really seemed to grasp the concept that isotopes are
used to find the average mass of an element and that isotopes have a different number of neutrons, which causes the isotopes to have
different atomic masses. Below are a few student examples of both the Pre and Post-Test.
Examples:
Pre-Test:

Post-Test

Pre-Test

Post-Test

Pre-Test

Post-Test

Reflection and Critique:

There are a few things that I learned from teaching this lesson. One very important thing that I learned was that sometimes
doing an inquiry lesson is not always the best approach to use. In this lesson I had the students complete a worksheet that I only
provided them with minimal information in order to complete it. As I was walking around assisting the students in their table groups I
quickly realized that since I didnt lecture the students first and help them understand the concepts on the worksheet I could see how
frustrated a few of them became. Once these students became frustrated they checked out for the rest of the class, which was reflected
in their Post-Test scores. Another thing that I learned from teaching this lesson was that sometimes plans change at the last possible
minute. I had walked into the lesson expecting to deliver the Post-Test to the students that day but do to time constraints and the
amount of material I needed to cover their was no way to administer the Post-Test. This taught me that it is always a good thing to
over plan that way there is never a moment in your classroom where there are students just standing around waiting for the bell to
ring.
If I was to teach this lesson again I would be sure to utilize the white board when I was explaining what the certain symbols
stood for. If I had utilized the white board I believe that the students would of better understood the lesson. They would have been able
to see how the symbols and the definition connected as opposed to me just saying them out loud. I would of also liked to show the
students a sample box from the periodic table that way when the students were completing the worksheet they would have been able to
better understand where to locate the information. However, just because I would change these few little things doesnt mean that
overall I felt as though the lesson went well. I felt that the students really seemed to understand the definitions of the concepts we were
covering and with a little more practice they were able to fully master the skills of the lesson.

I am discovering that as a teacher when I lecture to my students I like the classroom to be quiet and everyone to be paying
attention to me. I like knowing that everyone is paying attention because sometimes the 15-minute lecture I will be providing my
students with will hold vital information that they will need to complete the activity. However, when students are completing activities
I like to walk around to all the different tables and make sure that each individual student understands the material being presented to
them. An important thing that I learned is that if I stand in front of my class and look confident then my students are going to pay
better attention to me. By being confident in front of the students they tend to respect you more and listen to what you have to tell
them.
Since this lesson was taught using the inquiry instructional strategy, I needed to make sure that I understood the questions I
was going to ask the students as well as the material I was going to be presenting to them. This required that as I was planning my
lesson out I needed to think of specific questions I would ask my students to introduce the lesson as well as how much guiding
information I wanted to provide to my students. It came down to me explaining mostly what each of the symbols on the worksheet
stood for and how chemists figure them out. After that I allowed the students time to complete the worksheet and then I began the
lecture, which hopefully helped to clear up any confusion that was happening.
One of the most important things that I can take away from this lesson was that not all students learn the same way. Some of
the students really responded well to the inquiry lesson while other students really got frustrated with it. This showed me that
sometimes it is important to push your students to do things that they are uncomfortable with but that there is also a fine line. If you as
a teacher cause the students to cross that fine line than there is a chance that the students will become frustrated with you and will

check out of your lesson. Once those students check out of your lesson it will take a lot of work to get them to check back in. This is
not always the best approach to meeting the diverse needs of all your students but sometimes it is a necessary approach so you can
push your students to be the best that they can be. Overall, I enjoyed teaching this lesson and I cant wait to take what I have learned
from this lesson and apply it to my future lessons