1. education
2. school

My Teacher Work Sample
Martin Luther King Jr. Early Childhood Center
Presented By:
Miss Kristalyn M. Bell
December 7, 2009
Martin Luther King Early Childhood
Center
“Actual Factual”
Martin Luther King is an HISD early
childhood center that provides education
to 4 year old children that meet certain
qualifications.
 Principal: Gabrielle Coleman
 Instruction Coordinator: Constance
Lathan
 Region: South Region, Warner D. Ervin
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Section 1:
Learning Context
Instructional Implications of the Community
Martin Luther King Jr. ECC is located on the south
side of Houston in the South Region of the Houston
Independent School District. The community is
relatively large and surrounded by low- income and
under privileged families. There are several large
neighborhoods that surround the school.
 Ethnic population: African American 63.4%, Hispanic
35.6%, White 0.7%, Native American 0.2%
 Economically Disadvantaged 99.3%, Limited English
Proficient 26.2%, At Risk 64.4%
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Instructional Implications of the
School
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Early Childhood Center opened in the Houston
Independent School District’s South Region in August 2004. The school
provides students with a solid foundation in effective oral language,
problem solving, and social emotional skills, which will enable them to be
successful throughout their educational career. Students qualify for
attendance based on three criteria: income, homelessness, and limited
English proficiency. Martin Luther King, Jr. ECC offers four year olds a
unique opportunity for learning through a multisensory curriculum that
includes a Bilingual/ESL Program. The center also has a collaboration with
Neighborhood Centers Incorporated Head Start program. Other
programs available at MLK, Jr. ECC include Inclusion, Speech Therapy, and
other related services for students with special needs. Social Services are
available through the social worker.
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www.houstonisd.org
Morning Message
Instructional Implications of the School
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The school was built in 2004 with white bricks, every classroom has a
window and the front of the campus has a steel covered walkway and the
building is surrounded by multicolored flowers and a variety of plants. The
school has a multipurpose room, a library, a pavilion for Physical Education
classes, a science lab that houses several animals, and the classrooms are
filled with educational opportunities for the children to enjoy learning.
Number of Students: 413
Number of teachers: 23
Support Personnel: 3
Administration: 1
Student to Teacher Ratio: 22:1
Media and Educational Resources: There are 3 computers in each
classroom, library (students can check out books), teacher resource room
(cutting machine, laminating machine, printer, dye-cut machine,
constructional paper, camera, and other supplies)
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Parent Involvement: Parent Meetings are scheduled once a quarter. The parents can
participate on a parent board that helps make decisions for their children pertaining to
their education. Parents can be room mothers/ fathers and they can also volunteer
everyday as they please. The parents help with dismissal, programs, and activities at the
school.
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Enrichment Activities: At Martin Luther King, Jr. Early Childhood Center our faculty
understands the influence of the family, community and culture on learning and
development of the young child in an emotionally safe and healthy environment. Our
goal as early childhood educators is to promote an environment that nurtures and
encourages the physical, emotional, cognitive growth and development of all children.
MLK, Jr. ECC functions as a learning community in which the children assume
responsibility for themselves and one another and work collaboratively and
independently while engaging in purposeful learning activities. We encourage individual
and group activities and create and modify the environment and curricular experiences
to meet the individual needs of all young children.
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The school’s environment consist of: Hands-On Learning Activities, Literacy and
Math Workstations, Movement and Music, Science Fridays, Small and Whole Group
Instruction, Technology in the classroom, Oral Language Development, Science Lab,
Student Generated morning announcements, and Daily Morning Messages.
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Sports: Soccer- Students can play soccer free of charge through the City of Houston
Parks and Recreation
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Extracurricular Activities: Dance Team,Violin, Choir
Instructional Implications of the Classroom
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The classrooms are very colorful and student centered.
The classrooms include: bulletin boards, dry erase boards, word wall,
tables, chairs, individual cubbies, writing station, paint easel, restroom, sinks,
storage, and rugs.
The room is arranged as a traffic free zone. The students do not have
individual desks, instruction mostly takes place on the floor. The students
are able to move about without the hassle of desk.
The graphics of the room include the student’s work displayed, bulletin
boards, shapes, alphabets, numbers and other instructional posters. The
rooms are less than 50% commercial.
The lighting in each class is sufficient. The teachers are able to adjust the
temperature to meet the students needs.
Educational Resources: computers, listening center, and a television
Schedules and Routines: Each class has its own particular schedule but the
schedules consist of the same activities.
Instructional Implications of the Classroom Teacher
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Teacher: Mrs. Charlotte Murray- Lawton
Education:Texas Southern University Bachelors in Social Work, Certified
through Alternative Certification Program in 1989
Gender: Female
Age: 47
Ethnic: African American
Teaching Experience: 20 yrs. (Last 6 yrs. In Pre-K)
Teaching Style: Constructivist- Jean Piaget. She constructs her own
knowledge instead of reproducing what someone else has taught. She
creates her own activities and learning instruction. Mrs. Lawton believes
that children learn through hands-on instruction and from their
environment. Mrs. Lawton enjoys teaching and has great expectations for
children’s learning. Watching her teaching methods has given me great
insight on classroom management and how to help my students learn to
best of their abilities.
Mrs. Lawton in Action!
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Instructional Implications of the Teacher Candidate
Kristalyn M. Bell
Ethnicity: African American
Age: 25
The greatest thing about teaching is watching the
students learn. I know that I will become a great
teacher one day and help impact the lives of the
students. I chose this field because I believe it was an
innate passion that was inside of me to help children.
The ability to teach is one of the greatest skills I
posses and I intend to use that skill inside of my
classroom to help my students.
Instructional Implications of the Classroom
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Grouping Practices: The teacher conducts whole and small group activities
with the class.
Ancillary: Under the new law ELA students must have integrated learning
with English speaking students. The teachers created two groups for their
students blue and red group. The blue/ red group in both of the teacher’s
classes attend the same ancillary together. Each student attends each of
the ancillaries throughout the week but with other students from each
class. This allows the students to interact together and possibly learn
another language from other students.
Ancillary: Music, Physical Education, Science, Library
These classroom characteristics will affect my teaching and student
learning in an excellent way because it will allow me as well as the student
to be exposed to another culture through language.
Lawton’s Ladybugs
Instructional Implications of the Students
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Number of students: 22
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Age: 4
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Grade Level: Pre- Kindergarten
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Gender: 11 boys, 11 girls
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Ethnicity: 1 Chinese male, 1 Vietnamese male, 1 Vietnamese female, 1 Hispanic Male,
8 African American males and 10 African American females
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There are no special need students.
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The primary language of the class is English. The two Vietnamese students say a few
English words but their primary language is Vietnamese. The Chinese male can
speak a little English at school but he uses his native language, Chinese at home.
The Hispanic student speaks English.
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Learning Styles: Most of the children learn by observing. This theory is supported
by Albert Bandura, who believes that we can learn from watching or observing
others (Roe, Ross, Smith 27).
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Achievement Levels: The student’s achievement level is based on a grading scale of
1,2, or 3. 1- Discovering, 2- Exploring, 3- Connecting
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Special Modifications are not included in the lesson plans until
the child has been diagnosed and it is acknowledged by the
school. If a special need child was included in the class I would
the necessary arrangements to ensure the child’s
participation in the lesson.
The Instructional Aides provide individual instruction for
students who may be have difficulty in grasping certain
concepts. They work one-on-one or in small groups.
Prior Learning: The students use their five senses throughout
the school day in many ways.
The prior introduction to the skill that I will teach in the unit
will help the students to better understand why our senses
are important and how do we use them.
Section 2:
Learning Goal and Objectives
Marvelous Math!
Appropriate Learning Goal
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Multiple Objectives Lead to the Goal: The learning goals
and objectives that are appropriate to the learning context
are outlined with the Texas Essential knowledge and Skills
Handbook, Clear Curriculum, and Scholastic Curriculum.
Learning Goal: To prepare the students for Kindergarten by
simplifying future concepts to fit their learning needs by using
the objectives outlined in TEKS and the curriculums.
This goal address crucial components of the curriculum and is
appropriate because it builds on future learning and concepts
that the students will need. The students must understand
how their senses help them learn and observe to collect
information.
Appropriate Learning Goal
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The students need to know each sense and understand how it operates to
help the body system.
Objectives Match Leaner Concept: The learner context will consist
of the community, school, the classroom, the teacher and the students. The
objectives that are set forth will help the become good learners and
productive citizens. The achievement levels in this class are average at this
particular time due to lack of exposure before attending school. A few of
the student have prior knowledge about their five senses and know how
they work. The learning style of each student is different. Once
observations have been made through prior learning scenes than the
needs of those students can be met through an IEP. Individualized
Education plan is an anecdotal record that helps the teacher understand
how to teach a student based on prior observation of the student’s
learning abilities.
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Objectives Suggest Multiple Learning Activities: I want the
children to have a good learning outcome rather than the
activities. The learning outcome will come from the activities I
have planned (e.g. What do you smell?) The students will have
a better understanding of why we use our nose to smell and
associate the thing they smell at school with the things they
smell at home.
Each child was given two cups to smell and they had to draw
what they smelled. Carrington said I smell oranges and
pumpkin. The first cup was right, oranges. The second cup was
wrong, it was cinnamon. The great thing about his outcome
was he associated the pie taste and scent to what he smelled
in the cup. This can also help with the next sense which could
be taste.
The fun begins with Reading!
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Objectives Align with Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills
(TEKS) and Clear Curriculum:
VI. Physical Science Skills VI.A.1 Child describes,
observes, and investigates properties and characteristics of
common objects. The child uses senses to explore and
sensory language to describe properties of natural and
human- made materials. The child examines and describes the
texture of materials.
During the unit the children will investigate properties of
certain materials using their five senses. Some objects may
require more than one sense (e.g. Popcorn- you can smell,
taste, see, hear, and touch popcorn)
Reading about the 5 Senses!
Section 3:
Assessment Plan
Assessment Plan
Pre- assessment
 How many senses do we have?
 What do we use our senses for?
 Name a sense and give 2 things that fall
under that sense.
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Pre-Assessment Chart
Pre- Assessment Results
About 49% of the students had prior
knowledge of the 5 senses
 About 31% of the students had no
knowledge
 About 10% Gave examples
 About 10% Gave no examples
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Assessment Plan Overview
Learning
Objectives
Type of
Assessment
Assessment
Format
Adaptations
Science- V. A.1. The
child uses senses to
explore.
Authentic- Formative
and Post
Questions
Drawing
-Customize
assessment
-Different intro
Mathematics-V.A.6.
Child
demonstrates
understanding
that when
counting, the
items can be
chosen in any
order.
Reliable Assessment
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Before I begin the lesson I will be checking for prior knowledge. I will also record
the answers of children to the questions I ask.
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During the lesson I will ask questions about the things we discussed previously.
Sense 1: Hearing. What part of our body do we use to hear. Sense 2: Seeing. What
part of our body do we use to see? What are some things we can see.
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After the lesson I will review the senses and their properties. I will ask questions
about each sense. The children will pick a sense and draw something they can do
with that sense. Indiya: Touch. I can draw hearts. She has associated touching with
being able to pick up a pencil and draw.
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Pre- Kindergarten is a discovery grade and it is based on connecting with certain
concepts.
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Assessment Strategies: I chose this assessment because it is based on if the student
knows the information or not. If the student was listening then they would be able
to name a sense and possibly what the sense does. The assessment reliably assess
the learning objective because not only can the student explain but they can
visually draw what they have learned.
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The reason why I chose these two types of assessments is they were the
best learning styles for my students in my class. Pre- Kindergarten
students need a lot of visual and hands on activities, so this was helpful to
them.
The pre-assessment results differs a lot from the post-assessment results.
When I gave them the pre-assessment, I wanted to know if the students
knew anything about the five senses. Some of the student knew while
others went into deep thought.When I reviewed the lesson and gave
examples the students seemed enthused and eager to learn more.
As a future teacher my thoughts were of the children with difficulties
during my lesson and how I could make the proper adjustments and
modifications that were suitable for my students needs.
Valid Assessment and Scoring Procedures
I will score the students based on what they explained to me
and what they drew.
 1- Discovering, 2- Exploring, 3- Connecting
 1- Discovering- The student did not grasp the concept.
 2- Exploring- The student could explain or draw.
 3- Connecting- The student fully understands the concepts.
 The females in this classroom grasped the concept better
than the males. The females in this classroom had more prior
experience than the males. Aaron stood out among the males
because he named each sense, its function, and he drew the
picture.
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Adaptations in Assessment Administration
Procedures
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The same procedures were used for each
student. The students that were still
discovering the concept will be placed in a
workstation that will help them connect with
their 5 senses. The instructional aides will also
do a one hour inclusion twice a week working
with the students on their senses.
Assessing the student
Section 4:
Design for Instruction
Application of Pre- Assessment Data
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The results from my pre-assessment revealed to
me that some of my students had lack of
knowledge when it came to the five senses.
After carefully analyzing my assessment, I made
the proper adjustments. After a period of time I
saw that the students were learning the five
senses and their properties.
Impact of Learning Context
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The 5 senses unit that I carefully thought through impacted my
students. It taught them what their senses are and how they are
used to help the human body. When I began to ask my student
about the five senses some of them knew right others began to
think. As time progressed throughout the unit the students began
to grasp the concept. Some of the student s needed help while
others independently completed their assignment.
Technology
We used the television to review a small
video about our five senses.
 The children also played matching games
with the senses.
 Nose: match to a flower or bottle of
perfume
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Section 5:
Instructional Designs
Instructional Decisions Informed by Student
Performance
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When I gave my pre-assessment test, I had pictures or an ear and
two eyes and I ask the students some questions. Some of the
students got them correct, I added two more senses for more
practice.
For the students who did not do as well on the pre-assessment, I
went back and reviewed two other senses. The students who did
better that time, I ask them to give me examples for two of the
senses. The students who didn’t understand, I put them into little
groups and I worked one on one with them. I showed them where
we use each senses and examples of things that could be used with
those senses. After that I re-taught the lesson as a group and they
all had a better understanding of the five senses.
Instructional Decisions and Learning Goals
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The modifications that I made were different for every
student according to how they responded to my questions. I
the different modifications so that every student in my class
would be able to learn and understand all of the learning
objectives and goals set for my students.
Instructional Impact on Student Attitudes
and/or Behavior
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While I was introducing the lesson my student were
listening and paying attention. Their interest seemed to
with the lesson. Before I could finish my students began
to ask me questions about the five senses and some
tried to explain to the other students what the five
senses are. My students did very well with the lesson.
They were attentive and using their senses hearing and
seeing to apply the lesson.
Section 6:
Analysis of Student Learning
Analysis of Student Learning Graphic
Presentation of Assessment Results
Results
Analysis of Student Learning
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Whole Groups- From the very first time I gave the preassessment up until now, the students have made tremendous
progress. I was worried at first that all of my students were not
going to grasp the five senses concept and properties, but with the
hard work and determination that I had for my students was worth
every bit of work.
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Sub-Groups- The groups that I studied and paid close attention to
were my high and low leveled learning students. The students that
did very well on the five senses, I asked more advanced questions.
As for my group of low leveled students, I gave them the same
amount of work I modified my questions to fit their needs.
Interpretation of Assessment Results
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After viewing the results of my students, I was
satisfied with the outcome of the lesson. For
the most part my students did well and
grasped the concept of using their five senses
and how we use them in multiple ways. The
children accomplished the learning objectives
and demonstrated new skills such as
classifying different things using their senses.
Section 7:
Reflection and Self- Evaluation
Reflection on Modifications to the Unit of
Instruction
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After reflecting on the unit, I feel that I have accomplished so much,
and have grown as person. When I started out on my unit there
were things that I had to improve on within myself in order to help
my students to be successful with this unit. It took some time to
plan out this unit for them because it was new to me and I didn’t
know how to exactly get started. At the beginning I had this
perception that everything had to be perfect because I was
teaching my students but as time went on I realized that I was
learning along with them.
When I reviewed my unit I took a mental note of the certain
modifications to the unit and assessments and began to pace my
students on different levels of learning so they could all learn the
lesson. In the future I will remember that all students do not learn
on the same level or at the same pace. While I am preparing my
lesson I will include different modifications so that I will be
prepared.
Reflections on Implications for Professional
Development
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Planning this unit has been truly an experience, and I believe all future
teachers should do a work sample because it helps you reflect on your
experience as a student teacher candidate and will help you grow in
certain areas. When I began to put this work sample together I thought
that it was pointless, but as time went on I saw the significance of this
assignment and it also helped me to realize certain things about teaching.
My student teaching has been an experience that I will never forget. I have
had some wonderful and trying days. I was faced with some oppositions
that had not arose inside my head. I have developed a since of individuality
that I did not know existed. I have learned to be more patient and
understanding. When you have obstacles before you use the children as an
uplift. My coordinating teacher was not the best it was times that I had to
figure things out by myself but it taught me that I was a great problem
solver. We as teachers hold some of the most greatest gifts we have search
deep within ourselves and speak life into our classroom situations. I
enjoyed my experience and I thank those who have helped me get to this
point.
Future Educator Of America
Mrs. Kristalyn Koontz