Running head: DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE INSTRUCTION 1

Developmentally Appropriate Instruction

Kelly Smalley

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Fall 2017

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Introduction

If students are to thrive academically, teachers need to provide them with

developmentally appropriate instruction. Teachers should consider their students age-related

stage of development when creating their lessons in order to make the lessons appropriate and

meaningful. When teachers meet the needs of the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional

stages of their students, they create a community of learners who are eager to learn.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

My first artifact is a third-grade whole-group lesson on text connections. I chose to read a

book called Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold. The story allowed me to make all three types of text

connectionstext-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-worldas well as address the cultural

diversity of the students. I began the lesson by drawing upon the students prior knowledge about

text connections and creating an anchor chart; I added to the information the students provided as

necessary. I then read the story, stopping at certain points to share my thinking about the

connections that I made as I was reading. After I read the entire story and modeled the three

types of text connections, I allowed the students to share the connections that they made as they

listened to the story. As an extension activity, students used post-it notes to mark and share text

connections that they made while reading selected texts in their guided reading groups and while

reading independently.

This lesson demonstrates developmentally appropriate instruction by addressing the

appropriate cognitive, social, and emotional stages of the eight-year-old students it was created

for. First, it allowed the students to access prior knowledge and link it to what they were

learning. This is something that third-grade students begin to do as they process new

information, according to Bergin and Bergin (2015). Next, the students were active participants
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in the lesson, not just passive receiver[s] of knowledge (Bergin & Bergin, 2015, p. 119), an

important aspect of developmentally appropriate practice. They were able to share their thoughts

and respond to others thoughts, creating an interactive classroom dialogue. Finally, the lesson

demonstrates careful consideration for cultural diversity in the classroom. Many of the students

could relate to the eight-year-old African-American girl in the story, even if they were not

African-American themselves, and in one part of the story, I was able to provide an example of a

text-to-world connection that led to a discussion about fairness, a concept that third-graders are

extremely interested in.

My second artifact is a set of pictures from a center activity on rounding. During a prior

center, students cut prices from grocery store ads, glued them to construction paper, and rounded

the prices to the nearest ten or hundred. Many of the students asked if they could continue the

activity on subsequent days, but they had progressed to rounding much larger numbers, so I

provided them with automobile and house ads to work with. Because we were at the end of the

rounding unit and the next unit was estimation, I added an additional requirement for them to

create sentences with their rounded numbers using wording related to estimation (for example,

the approximate cost, the estimated cost, etc.).

This artifact displays developmentally appropriate instruction in several ways. First, a

third-graders approach to learning is affected by his increasing knowledge of what is easy or

difficult for him (Anthony, Support n.d.); providing students with an activity that was both fun

and had real-world connections enticed even those who were struggling with the concept of

rounding to complete the work. There were no complaints that it was too difficult because all

students were invested in the project. Next, allowing them to have discussions while working on

the task not only fulfilled their need for socialization, but it also provided scaffolding for those
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students who needed it; the students were able to construct meaning from interacting with their

peers, which is an important concept in developmentally appropriate practice (Bergin & Bergin,

2015, p. 119). Last, the students were provided with external storage (Bergin & Bergin, 2015,

p. 151) in the form of a sample and instructions placed on the board using a document camera;

since a third-graders ability to follow complex instructions is limited, this allowed the students

to focus on the task rather than try to remember all of the instructions.

Reflection on Theory and Practices

Not only do developmentally appropriate practices aid in growth of student cognition, but

according to several studies, they account for a variety of psychosocial outcomes ranging from

decreased stress to higher social skills among preadolescent children (Van Horn, Karlin,

Ramey, Adridge, & Snyder, 2005). When student stress levels are low, students may be more

willing to attempt challenging learning tasks. Moreover, when they have higher social skills,

cooperative learning becomes more effective, and challenging learning tasks become more

enjoyable. As a teacher, it will be my job to foster this type of environment in my classroom.

Sue Bredekamp, an editor of Developmentally Appropriate Practice, said this: Teachers

are still the most important determinants of the quality of childrens experiences and their

learning (Bredekamp, 2011). To provide my students with meaningful experiences, I must

know them well, and part of knowing them well is knowing what they should be achieving

cognitively, physically, socially, and emotionally at whatever developmental stage they are in.

Because children do not always fit perfectly into a specific stage of development, I know that it

is also important to take into consideration what is individually and culturally appropriate for

each of them (Bredekamp, 2011). Doing so ensures that each of my students gets the best

developmentally appropriate instruction.

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Although it is not always possible to cater to each student during every lesson, I will be

able to reach the majority of my students by being observant and contemplative, paying attention

to their general developmental stage, and using what I observe about them individually and

culturally to plan my instruction. When I am familiar with what my students are capable of and

what they are interested in, I will be able to meet them right where they are and take them to new

levels of understanding.
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References

Anthony, M. (n.d.) Support learning in 8-10 year olds. Retrieved from

http://scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/thinking-skills-learning-styles/support-

learning-8-10-year-olds

Bergin, C. C. & Bergin, D. A. (2015). Child and Adolescent Development in Your Classroom.

Stamford, CT: Cenage Learning.

Bredekamp, S. (2011, October 13). Q & A with the editors of Developmentally Appropriate

Practice. Retrieved from https://naeyc.org/event/developmentally-appropriate-practice

Van Horn, M. L., Karlin, E. O., Ramey, S. L., Aldridge, J., Snyder, S. W. (March 2005). Effects

of developmentally appropriate practices on childrens development: A review of

research and discussion of methadological and analytic issues. The Elementary School

Journal, 105 (4), pp. 325-351. doi: https://doi-org.ezproxy.regent.edu/10.1086/429946

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Artifact 1: Lesson plan for making text connections

Teacher Education Lesson Plan Template

Teacher: Kelly Smalley Date: September 13, 2017

Title of Lesson: Making Text Connections Cooperating Teacher: Beth Kelly

When Reading

Core Components

Subject, Content Area, or Topic

Language Arts

Student Population
20 Students

Learning Objectives
TSW demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts by making connections between previous
experiences and reading selections.

Virginia Essential Knowledge and Skills (SOL)

SOL 3.5.2 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional text and poetry
(b) Make connections between previous experiences and reading selections.
VDOE Technology Standards
C/T 3-5.1 Demonstrate an operational knowledge of various technologies (A) Use various
types of technology devices to perform learning tasks: use keyboard, mouse, touchscreen,
touchpad, and other input devices to interact with a computer; Demonstrate the ability to
perform a wide variety of basic tasks using technology, including saving, editing, printing,
viewing, and graphing.
English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS)

Materials/Resources
Easel pad and markers for creating anchor chart
Tar Beach (Ringgold, 1991); post-it notes on pages where connections can be made
For small groups: leveled books (groups 1 & 2 Kid Power, group 3 Freckle Juice,
group 4 Cat and Rat Fall Out)
chrome books logged onto Achieve 3000
word study notebooks, thesauruses
High Yield Instructional Strategies Used (Marzano, 2001)
Check if Used Strategy Return
Identifying Similarities & Differences 45% X
Summarizing & Note Taking 34%
Reinforcing Efforts & Providing Recognition 29% X
Homework & Practice 28% X
Nonlinguistic Representations 27% X
Cooperative Learning 23% X
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Setting Goals & Providing Feedback 23% X

Generating & Testing Hypothesis 23%
Questions, Cues, & Advanced Organizers 22% X
DOES YOUR INSTRUCTIONAL INPUT & MODELING YIELD THE POSITIVE RETURNS YOU WANT FOR
YOUR STUDENTS?
Check if Used Strategy Return
Teach Others/Immediate Use of Learning 95% X
Practice by Doing 75% X
Discussion 50% X
Demonstration 30% X
Audio Visual 20%
Reading 10% X
Lecture 05%
Safety (if applicable)

Time
Process Components
(min.)

*Anticipatory Set
TTW facilitate discussion: What are text connections? (text connections are
5 when the story you are reading makes you think of something else). What
kinds of text connections can you think of? (there are three types of text
connections: text-to-self, text-to-text, text-to-world) Why do you think text
connections are important? (they help us to understand what we are
reading). TTW begin anchor chart with student ideas.
*State the Objectives (grade-level terms)
Today you will be learning how to make connections by linking what you have
<1
experienced, read, or seen to a book you are reading.

*Instructional Input or Procedure

Text-to-self: Makes you think about your life; you could say that reminds me
10 of a time when and say something similar that happened to you, or I
understand how that character feels and tell why (put pertinent information
on anchor chart)
Text-to-text: Makes you think of something in another book you read; you
could say this reminds me of what happened in the book and say why, or
the character in this book is like the character in (another book) because
(add pertinent information to anchor chart)
Text-to-world: Makes you think of something that has happened or is
happening in the world: you could say that reminds me of something I saw
on the news (t.v., internet, in the newspaper, in a magazine, etc.), or I know
about this because (add pertinent information to anchor chart)
Connections are rich. You might have the same hair color as a character in
a book, but that is not a rich text-to-self connection. Connections that are
rich are detailed (ask students to give examples of what they might think are
rich text connections they have made from other books they have read).
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Introduce Tar Beach using the cover: sate the author; ask students what
genre they believe the book is in; ask students to predict what they think the
book will be about
Point out the use of post-it notes to mark when a connection could be made
Read Tar Beach, stopping to model as noted

*Modeling
Stop at p. 13, first post-it note. Discuss the connection to the story: I can
10 make a text-to-self connection here because this reminds me of how Ive
driven across lots of amazing bridges, and it always made me wonder how
they were built and who built them. I also understand why Cassie thought the
bridge was the most beautiful bridge in the world, because I have driven
across it before, and it really was beautiful.
Stop at p. 17, second post-it note. I can make a text-to-text connection here
because this part reminds me of the story we just read, The Man Who
Walked Between the Towers, and I think that Cassies dad must have been
just as brave as Phillipe to be up so high.
Stop at p. 19, third post-it note. I can make a text-to-world connection here
because this reminds me of stories I have heard in the news about how
people are treated unfairly because they might have a different skin color or
they come from a different place.
TTW facilitate discussion about these connections.
*Check for Understanding
TTW give students a moment to think of a connection that they can make to
10 Tar Beach (if they cannot think of a connection to this story, tell them they
can use another story that they have read recently).
TSW turn-and-talk with a partner, stating the type of connection and what the
connection is; remind students to make rich connections.
TTW listen as students talk with one another.
*Guided Practice
TSW practice marking connections during guided reading center.
5
TTW provide feedback to students.
*Independent Practice
10 TSW continue marking connections and then share them with the group.
Group 1 (low) Cat and Rat Fall Out (McCaughrean, 2011)
Group 2 (intermediate) Freckle Juice (Blume, 1971)
Groups 3 & 4 (high) Kid Power (Pfeffer, 1977)
Rotations: Guided reading, word studythesaurus, chrome booksAchieve
3000, early finishersindependent reading (20 minutes for each rotation
guided practice, independent practice, assessment during guided reading
rotation)
Assessment
Teacher observation
5
Exit ticket: during guided reading, on a piece of paper, students will write:
name of book, type of connection, and what the connection is using
appropriate wording as listed on anchor chart
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*Closure
Students share connections they made while reading
10

Differentiation Strategies (enrichment, accommodations, remediation, or by learning style). Anchor

chart created using both words and pictures; leveled texts during guided reading

Classroom Management Issues (optional)

Make sure students know what they are working on for each block of time (one rotation will
have to be completed after Art)place groups and rotations on board; emphasize where
students are to go on chrome books; remind students about what they will be doing during
word study; practice transitions and remind students how they should take place (quickly and
quietly, walking feet, push chairs in)

Lesson Critique. To be completed following the lesson. Did your students meet the objective(s)? What
part of the lesson would you change? Why? Students could make text-to-self connections easily;
need to try to draw out more text-to-text and text-to-world connections. One lower-level
student had difficulty making connections because the characters in his book were not
people; instead, he tried to make connections between his cat and the characters in the story.
Use texts that have people in them or give explanation that we can still make connections
even if the characters are not people.

*Denotes Madeline Hunter lesson plan elements.

Intern Signature Cooperating Teacher Date

Signature
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Artifact 2: Rounding Activity