For three years, I taught 3rd grade at
P.S. 184M,
the Shuang Wen School, a Dual Language Chinese School in the Lower East Side.
I spent the first two years teaching the content in English in the "Side-by-Side" model. The third year, I taught the content in Chinese, as well as part of the content in English, in a self-contained ICT setting.
I use
3rd Grade Common Core Checklists to assess whether or not the students have gained proper knowledge and expressed appropriate application of the learning target as they are working independently or in groups.
To differentiate student learning, I incorporate the use of Interactive Notebooks, Task Cards, games and project-based learning.
With the new emphasis on Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) in the classroom, I also used curriculum provided by
CASEL to undergird my lessons. I supplemented these lessons with materials from
PEEKAPAK (which I personally ordered for the 3rd grade team), as well as Growth Mindset resources. The children loved the Peekapak stories and it helped them visualize how the SEL lessons could apply to them personally.
I believe in the potential of all of my students, and I believe they learn better when learning is fun and relevant. Below you will find artifacts of student work which demonstrate all that they have learned.
CLASSROOM ARTIFACTS:
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| Students interpret different types of graphs, including Picture and Pictographs. |
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| Students create different kinds of poems in Chinese, including Rhyming Poems, Personification poems, Parallel poems and Simile poems. |
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| Students demonstrate understanding of Animal Adaptations. |
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| Students create a pastel portrait of the animal they researched for their Animal Adaptations report. |
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| Students illustrate the Nile River and explain why it was so important to the Ancient Egyptians. |
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SEL: Students record all of their brainstormed strategies on how to self-regulate.
Social Studies: Studies create a tourist booklet on Canada. |
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| Students apply their knowledge of fractions to creating a "fraction flag" with their own personal crest in the center. |
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| Students collaborate in Literature Circles |
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| Students use an Interactive Notebook activity to record examples of the three states of Matter. |
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| Students use Accountable Talk sentence starters in Chinese to guide their conversations. |
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| Accountable Talk Sentence Starters provided. |
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| Students engage in Socratic Seminar to discuss whether or not it is ever okay to lie - based on The Boy Who Cried Wolf. |
To see VIDEOS of Students in the learning environment, please visit:
DROPBOX
For three years, it was my privilege to serve at The Shuang Wen School as the 3rd Grade Team Leader and Senior Teacher.
My teaching methodology and effective teaching practices gained the attention and praise of my former principal, Iris Chiu, who called me her "Star Teacher," and of Dr. Leon of DELLISS, who came to to sit in on my classes for half a day after being impressed during a quick 15-minute lesson demonstration.
The PTA honored my colleague and I as Teachers of the Month in the Winter of 2018/2019.
