This document shows how I promoted equity and diversity in the classroom. There is a lesson plan where students brought in personal artifacts, a description of literature circles and a poetry project and also a reflective essay and statement of equity.

1. Standard D
Promotes Equity
Statement of Philosophy: Equity
Lesson Plan: My Personal Artifact
Literature Circles
Poetry Project
Reflective Essay

2. Statement of Philosophy: Equity
All classrooms are diverse. Whether that diversity is drawn along gender, cultural,
learning style or socioeconomic status does not matter. What matters is that teaching
acknowledges this diversity and celebrates it. As The Dreamkeepers by Gloria Ladson-Billings
says, “culturally relevant teaching fosters the kinds of social interactions in the classroom that
support the individual in the group context.” (p. 82). Everyone is an individual and this must be
remembered even when building a community of learners. I believe that curriculum and lessons
must address the uniqueness of the students in a classroom. Curriculum should not be completely
pre-determined without knowing anything about the students. Curriculum should be flexible so
that teachers can alter it based on student needs, interests or ability levels. There are numerous
effective ways to differentiate instruction based on content, process and product. This needs to be
at the forefront of teaching. Each student can succeed. A teacher has to facilitate curriculum to
allow all students to succeed. Success may look different for students, but I believe it is
attainable by all.
At the heart of differentiated instruction is social justice. Every child deserves the right to
an excellent education. Whether that child is rich, poor, black, white, developmentally
challenged or at the level of a genius. As a teacher, I will always remember that no matter what,
each child deserves an education. I believe that social justice is also about educating the whole
child, the whole person. Each child should understand that they are an important member of
society. Education is not always about learning math facts or how to write a paragraph.
Sometimes it is about learning respect, self-respect, compassion, responsibility and courage. The
Habits of Mind in the Boston Citywide Learning Standards speak to these elements of social
justice. I believe these are just as important and critical as the Massachusetts Curriculum
Frameworks and should be at the forefront of teaching with social justice.
To teach is to take on the responsibility of the future. It is an acceptance that you can
inspire a life. Teaching is not all about facts and information. It is about instilling a passion for
knowledge into all students; a passion to continuously explore, experiment and challenge. I
believe teachers should be passionate about knowledge and should be passionate in the belief
that all students are worthwhile individuals that will succeed.

3. My Personal Artifact Lesson
The following lesson plan is one example of how I differentiated learning and promoted equity in the
classroom. The lesson asked students to bring in a cultural artifact from home to share with the class
and then share in more detail with one student. While I was planning, I realized not all students may
have an available cultural artifact so I added in that students could bring something in that was
important to them. Student choice for what to bring in is one aspect of differentiation. Another element
of differentiation that I included is the processes that the students will do in the lesson. If I asked
students to just write a paragraph only, not all students would be successful. Instead, I asked students to
speak about their artifact in a whole class format, speak with an individual about their artifact, use a
graphic organizer to gather information and finally draw a picture of another student’s artifact. Students
had a chance to speak, write and draw. This allows students who are not strong in one area shine in
another. This provided various points of access for understanding.
Overall, this lesson promotes equity. Students had a chance to share something about themselves that is
important. They were able to listen to one another and broaden their understanding of diversity and
respect for each other. They were able to see that even though people can be different we all have
something to share and be proud of.
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
My Personal Artifact
Reading-Grade 4
February 10, 2011 (Thursday)
60 minutes 1:00 – 2:00
Lesson Overview:
This lesson will ask students to bring in a personal artifact that represents something from their culture
or family or something that makes them a unique individual. Students will present their artifact to the
class and will then interview one student to get more information about his or her artifact. This lesson is
being done in conjunction with the reading of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes because in the
book there are many examples of Japanese artifacts. The goal is for students to personally connect with
the book and to learn something new about each other.

4. PART A: LEARNING STANDARDS, ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS & GOALS
Essential Questions
What is culture? What types of items or traditions represent Sadako’s culture?
Why does Sadako wish on a crane? Does she believe in the legend?
What kind of person is Sadako? Is there a lesson you can learn from her?
Goals (this lesson addresses the first essential question)
Content/Understanding Goals
o How culture can be represented by physical items or traditions
o Each individual has something unique and special about themselves
o Sadako’s cultural items were important to her, just as each student’s item is important
Technical Skills
o English Language Arts – Language – General Standard 1: Discussion
1.2 Follow agreed upon rules for class discussion and carry out assigned roles in self-run
small group discussions (p. 13)
o English Language Arts – Language – General Standard 3: Oral Presentation
3.5 Make informal presentations that have a recognizable organization (p. 17)
Habits of Mind
o Respect for Diversity: Students will recognize that even though they have different
backgrounds, they all have something to be proud of. They will recognize similarities
and differences between each others’ artifacts and will value that each is important.
o Consideration and Compassion: Students will build trust and respect with one another
by sharing something personal.
Curriculum Framework
English Language Arts – Reading and Literature – General Standard 9: Making Connections 9.5
Relate a literary work to artifacts, artistic creations, or historical sites of the period of its setting
(p. 40)
English Language Arts – Composition – General Standard 19: Writing
19.11 Write brief summaries of information gathered through research (I consider research to
be interviewing a partner) (p. 72)
Braintree Public Schools Department of English Language Arts
Category: Realistic Fiction with a Challenge
-Relating to the events in the story; personal connections

5. PART B: THE INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN
A. Introduction Initiating Engagement
I will introduce this lesson by bringing in my own artifact and sharing with the class something about my
Portuguese culture. This will show them what I expect them to share about their own items and will
allow them to learn a little more about me. About a week before the lesson I will also send home a letter
to parents explaining the activity and asking for their help in locating an artifact.
B. Assessing Ideas/Understanding
o Initial / Prior Ideas – I will assess their initial ideas about artifacts by listening to what they
have to say during their quick presentation of their artifact. I will listen to whether anyone
makes a connection to Sadako. For example, someone might say his/her artifact is like
Sadako’s kimono because he/she wears it.
o Developing Ideas – I will assess their developing ideas by reading what they write about
their partner’s artifact. I will be able to see what they learned about someone else’s culture
or about something important. I will also ask whole class questions about why they think we
are doing this lesson in conjunction with reading Sadako and what types of artifacts Sadako
could have brought in.
C. Materials and Resources
o Personal artifacts showing culture or an important aspect of each student’s life
o Graphic organizer to interview partner
The rational for using individual personal artifacts is to help the students make a connection between
themselves and the character of Sadako in the book. The book can be challenging because of all the
Japanese cultural items, so it help the students to see that they too have cultural items and items that
describe them. It is also a good way for students to practice their presentation skills informally and their
research/interview skills informally.
D. Processes – Questions
o Initiating Exploration
Students will each have a turn to show the class their artifact, explain what it is and why it is
important or what cultural significance it has
o Looking Closer
I will break the class up into partners where they will talk with each other more in-depth about
their artifacts. Each partner will write up three reasons why their partner’s artifact is significant
to them. The students will have the opportunity to question each other and discuss their
thoughts.

6. o Sense-Making
I will bring the class back together after the partner work is finished to discuss what was learned
from doing this activity. I will also make connections to Sadako by asking what she could have
brought in to our class today.
E. Products
Students will produce a completed graphic organizer that describes what their partner’s artifact is and
why it is significant. Students will also produce a drawing of their partner’s artifact.
F. Closure
I will wrap up this lesson mainly during the sense-making portion. I will not ask students to formally
write a “what did I learn” or “why was this important” but I will initiate a whole class discussion on these
questions.
PART C: FLOW OF LESSON / TRANSITIONS
This lesson will run for one hour. I will plan about 35 minutes for each student to present his or her
artifact and 25 minutes for the students to interview one another, fill in the graphic organizer and sketch
a quick picture of their partner’s artifact.

7. Literature Circles
During my last few weeks of the practicum, I implemented literature circles. I had learned a lot about
literature circles in the Literacy class as part of the graduate program and I was excited to put them into
action. I learned that literature circles are an excellent way to utilize differentiation effectively. I worked
with Miss Chiles to split the class into groups of students at similar ability levels. We then selected three
biographies, one of Walt Disney, one of Rachel Carson and one of the Wright Brothers that the lower
group, mid level group and higher group would read. As the literature circles progressed, I was able to
leave the mid level and high group to work very independently and I spent more time with the lower
group helping them along to understand and connect with the text. It was wonderful to see how some
students thrived on the autonomy and were motivated and focused. It was also wonderful to watch the
lower group progress as they embraced their roles and started having great discussions without much
assistance. Literature circles promote differentiation because each student is able to read a piece of
literature that is on level and connect with it, comprehend it and discuss it in ways that are appropriate
to his or her ability. This activity showed me that all students are capable of success, even if that success
looks slightly different.
Poetry Book
I designed and implemented a poetry project with differentiation in mind. I asked the students to create
a final product of four poems that would be put together to form their own poetry book. I differentiated
by giving the students six different types of poems to choose from. They were able to choose their
favorite four types to write. This allowed students who were not strong poetry writers to choose ones
they felt most comfortable with. I also encouraged a few strong writers to try out all six types. I was very
pleased with the results of this differentiation. The strong writers ended up writing all six types with
enthusiasm and a couple students wrote more than six. The struggling writers were able to focus in on
just four and feel a sense of accomplishment.

8. My Poetry Book Rubric
I included four different types 10
of poems
I followed the definition of each 30
type of poem
I included at least one picture 20
for each poem that helped the
reader know what the poem is
about
My cover page includes a title, 15
my name, the date and a border
I have no spelling errors 15
My poetry book looks neat 10
Points Earned
TOTAL POINTS EARNED ________________ / 100

9. Reflective Essay: Standard D
The students in my practicum classroom were a diverse group. Ability levels ranged from
very low to very high. I quickly realized that not all students are capable of doing the same work.
Over the course of the practicum, I also saw why all students should not be expected to do the same
work. Students should be pushed to succeed just past their level of comfort. The same assignment
can bore one student and be way beyond the reach of another student. Assignments and instruction
had to be consistently differentiated to meet the needs of particular students.
Math was a subject where differentiation had a large presence. One example of
differentiation that I used was having a challenging math game called Zupels always available for
early finishers in math. There were two students in particular who were fast finishers and enthusiastic
Zupels players. Having the game available allowed those students at a high math ability to spend
some time on a challenge. Another way I differentiated in math was by splitting the class into groups
to work. At times, I would assign students who were low and high to work together so the higher
students could help the more struggling students. At other times, I would split the groups by ability.
One of the first tasks I undertook in the practicum was working with small groups of students who
were struggling on a particular topic. While Miss Chiles worked on more challenging aspects of that
topic, I reviewed and reinforced the basics with small groups. As the practicum progressed, our roles
reversed. I would continue on with the larger class lesson and she would spend some time with
struggling students.
Because Miss Chiles is the science teacher for the whole fourth grade, I got to teach science
to three different classes. In one of the classes, there was an ELL student with extremely limited use
of English. I had to always differentiate for this student by allowing him to use a Mandarin to English
dictionary and drawing pictures or orally describing instead of writing. It was interesting to work
with this student because he demonstrated a strong understanding of the science concepts by working
with the materials and by the pictures he drew. It would be wrong to expect this student to do all of
the same work as the other students because of his limited knowledge of English, but he was able in
his own way to demonstrate an understanding of science.
With my Reading class, I created a few projects and lessons that were designed with
differentiation. One of those projects was the poetry book. Students were able to choose what types
of poems they wrote and if they wanted to write more than the four minimum. Students’ final
products looked different, but all were able to demonstrate they understood poetry at an appropriate
level for them. Another Reading project that exemplified differentiation was the Literature Circles.

10. All students went through the same processes of meeting in groups, performing roles and discussing
literature, but the texts used and expectations for each group were different. One group was expected
to take the autonomy in stride and discuss the more challenging text deeply. One group was expected
to start with some guidance and fairly quickly assume the responsibility of the group independently.
A third group was expected to need more guidance with the reading and performing of roles. It was
not expected that this group would take on a completely independent look. Surprisingly, this group
became more independent and hard working than Miss Chiles or I expected. Even though the groups
were differentiated, all students were able to succeed at reading a novel and building discussions
around it. I loved implementing Literature Circles. I think they are an excellent way to differentiate
and ensure all students can be successful. I hope to continue these in my own classroom.
Another Reading activity that showed differentiation was some guided reading work that I
did. I broke the class into three groups and selected three picture books all about a person during the
civil rights era. There was a challenging book, a mid level book and low book. The students read the
book that was on their level and then all students completed the same story board activity to work on
comprehension. Even though the texts were different, all students learned a little about civil rights
and practiced reading comprehension.
There were a number of students in the class that were on IEPs. One way I had to modify for
specific students on IEPs was by allowing for extra time to complete work. I also had to modify some
math homework so that particular students only did the odd numbered problems instead of the whole
sheet. I also had to remember that during tests and quizzes some students were allowed the use of a
multiplication chart. Alpha Smarts were another IEP requirement for a couple of students. Many of
the IEP students were also required to have individualized pull out assistance with specialists.
Keeping track of all the IEP requirements was the most challenging part of differentiating for me.
While planning, I had to keep in mind what students would be in the room or out of the room at a
specific time. While planning for the Reading class I also had to plan based on when the resource
specialist teacher would be in the room co-teaching. Sometimes, I also found it challenging to keep
track of what students needed to finish what work. Some students were much slower finishers than
others, so I had to plan accordingly with time for catch up. However, for the students who were all
caught up with everything I had to have some extra work or activities available. Of course, silently
reading was always an option, but some students would always be reading if I did not plan extra.
Differentiation and accommodations played a large role in my practicum experience. I am
happy that I was in this situation because it made me realize that differentiating can be done and
should be done to ensure that all students have a chance to succeed.