Planning and preparation are essential in developing lesson plans that

support student learning. I will use this attached lesson plan as an example
of applying Domain 1 from Danielson’s Framework for Teaching
(Danielson, 2014, pages 7-29).

First, the lesson plan established important concepts of the discipline

by firmly being rooted in the Pennsylvania Standards. This establishment
provides a foundation for the skills that will be strengthened by this lesson
and the lessons that follow it. Learning plural noun endings is essential in
the development of solid grammar skills. This is further naturalized with
the prerequisite of knowing what a noun is in order to pluralize it. The
students will be reminded that nouns are typically referred to as people,
places, and things. These students learn animals as a separate category
until they are more secure in their understanding of nouns in general. This
aligns with Danielson’s Domain 1a “The teacher demonstrates accurate
understanding of prerequisite relationships among topics” (Danielson,
2014, pg. 9).

The activities in the lesson are geared at supporting the objectives and
student learning. Whether oral discussion, writing sentences, or group
creation, each activity reinforces the rules of grammar and offers practice.
This supports Domain 1e, “The learning actives are matched to
instructional outcomes” (Danielson, 2014, pg. 25).

In the beginning of this lesson, there is an interdisciplinary option to

incorporate mathematics into the ELA lesson. Using gum balls, the teacher
can explain the difference between singular and plural nouns by using one
gum ball. Adding more makes it plural (2, 3, 4, etc.). This fun use of gum
balls is a great way to incorporate math to help the students understand
that plural means more than one. This aligns with Danielson’s Domain 1a
“The teacher can identify important concepts of the discipline and their
relationships to one another” (Danielson, 2014, pg. 9). This also supports
Danielson’s Domain 1d, “Resources are multidisciplinary” (Danielson,
2014, pg. 21).

It is important to include the students when preparing lessons. For

example, including heritage and interests helps the students stay engaged
and makes the lesson more personal. In this lesson, there are opportunities
to use examples and sentences that contain plural nouns which may
interest the students. For example, there is not a lot of cultural diversity
among this particular group of students, but many are very interested in
animals. Sentence examples could include: The tigers are in the cages.
Also, a few students are interested in tractors. Another example could be:
The tractors go to the fields to cultivate the crops. Most of the students
who are interested in tractors come from farming families, so this sentence
would support interest and heritage.

Additionally, it is important to differentiate the lesson for different

student needs. This particular group of students is divided into three
different switch groups. The leveled learning groups have different needs
and the lesson needs to accommodate those needs. In this lesson: Switch
A: Students will volunteer nouns that can add-s to for the board examples,
rather than having them all provided. Switch B: Students will be given half
of the examples and will generate the other examples. Switch C: Students
will have more completed examples done as a class. There will more
repetition with Switch C. The approaches can be adjusted as the skills
develop and needs change. This aligns with Danielson’s Domain 1b “The
teacher understands the active nature of student learning and attains
information about levels of development for groups of
students” (Danielson 2014, pg. 13).

The differentiation is also supported to meet the instructional

objectives. While we want all students to meet the objectives, there are
different approaches that need to be taken to help make that possible. In
this lesson, teacher support and interaction, as well as peer interaction
helps the students communicate and demonstrate understanding. While
the Switch A group may start as independent learners in this lesson, I may
have them work with partners for a part. It will depend on how the lesson
is progressing and how students are showing hesitation and progress. This
also supports Danielson’s Domain 1c “Outcomes, differentiated where
necessary, are suitable to groups of students in the class” (Danielson, 2014,
page 17).

Incorporating technology is a great way to add to the lesson. This

lesson offers a video, “Nessy Spelling Strategy: Plurals -s -es,” that will help
further explain the grammar rules. This supports Danielson’s Domain 1d,
“The teacher facilitates the use of internet resources” (Danielson, 2014, pg.
21).
 Assessment and feedback are essential in supporting student learning.
First, assessment for this lesson includes active teacher circulation and
interaction with students as well as written supports. The teacher must
observe and monitor student input and practice. Written support of
learning includes students creating sentences that will be used to measure
understanding. Furthermore, the flip book graphic organizer and sentences
will continue to build with the next lessons and each skill set will be
reviewed in the beginning of each following lesson. Continual evaluation of
sentence building with correct plural noun endings will be considered.
These forms of assessment help show the depth of the student learning
rather than simply completing tasks. This supports Danielson’s Domain 1c
“Outcomes are written in terms of what students will learn rather than
do” (Danielson, 2014, pg. 17). The assessments support the learning
outcomes as well. (pg. 29). The assessments are also flexible to allow for
use during instruction. (pg. 29).

Feedback will be a vital part of this lesson. Through discussion, turn

and talk, and pod work, students will receive oral feedback from the teacher
as well as from peers. It will be necessary that the teacher circulates and
monitors for the correct structure of plural nouns with peer input. In the
unit, there will be ample opportunity to use the new skills in writing and in
oral representation. Each of those activities will be opportunities to provide
feedback to support student learning.

Danielson, C. (2014). The Framework for Teaching: Evaluation Instrument.

Princeton, New Jersey: The Danielson Group.

Nessy Spelling Strategy: Plurals -s -es. (2013, November 5). Youtube.

Retrieved from www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD1OaD4FBqM