Benchmark – ela, social studies, and arts differentiated

Educators are continually seeking various way to enhance students’ language development and communication skills. This can be accomplished through thoughtful reflection, revision, collaboration, and subsequent planning. Students with exceptionalities and students learning English as a second language are separately considered to ensure differentiation occurs for all students.  

Part 1 Revised Unit Plan

Revise your five-day integrated literacy and social studies unit from Topic 4 to include two art standards for the appropriate grade level. Make any changes to your original unit to fully integrate the art components and incorporate useful feedback you received from your mentor teacher.  In the Differentiation section of the unit plan, identify support strategies forstudents with exceptionalities. Strategies should be based on the students in your field experience classroom who are receiving special education services. For clarification, explain the delays or disabilities on the plan. (Please do not use children’s real names to protect confidentiality.)

Part 2 Reflective Essay

In a 750-1,000 word reflection, describe your instructional choices, including 3-5 research-based sources that support your reasoning.  As part of your reflection address the following items:

• Delineate the specific standards integrated throughout your plan and the rationale for their appropriateness.
• Explicitly highlight the proposed strategies within your plan that enhance language development and communication skills.
• Describe the learning resources and materials needed to support your lesson plans. Specifically address the use of technology in creating an engaging learning experience.
• Explain the differentiation included to make this unit accessible and appropriate for individuals with exceptionalities.
• Explain how you have addressed or incorporated the unique backgrounds of the individual students in your class, to prevent any social and cultural biases from interfering with student learning. (For example, how did you consider students who may be experiencing poverty, oppression, or injustice in regards to preparing the lessons?)

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

This assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance.

Program competencies and national standards assessed in the benchmark assignment:

COE 2.1: Apply in-depth content knowledge and learning resources, including technology, in the academic disciplines to create meaningful and engaging opportunities for students to learn, practice, and master content. [CEC 3.2; NAEYC 5a, 5b; InTASC 4(b), 4(c), 4(d), 5(a), 5(b), 5(c), 5(e); ISTE 1b, 1c]

COE 2.2: Apply appropriate curriculum, content standards, and early learning standards to plan, implement, and evaluate developmentally meaningful and challenging learning opportunities for each child. [NAEYC 5c; InTASC 4(a)]

COE 2.3: Apply central concepts, structures of the discipline, and tools of inquiry of the content areas, and organize this knowledge, integrate cross-disciplinary skills, and develop meaningful learning progressions for individuals with exceptionalities. [CEC 3.1; InTASC 4(c), 4(f)]

COE 2.4: Modify general and specialized curricula to make them accessible to individuals with exceptionalities. [CEC 3.3; InTASC 2(b), 2(h), 4(g)]

COE 2.5: Use strategies to enhance language development and communication skills of individuals with exceptionalities. [CEC 5.4; InTASC 2(e)]

COE 5.4: Interpret implications of applying a Christian worldview as an educator in a school setting. [MC3]