Interview Protocol Teacher Interview Teacher: Mrs. Estell 2/27/14 3:30 PM Planning Questions: 1.

. How do you write a typical lesson plan? a. I look at the common core standards and use the unpacking document which elaborate off of those standards. Think of the lower level students. The higher-level students, how will I challenge them? What resources can I find and use? I look at using different websites such as discovery education. Always think bout the standards and what should I teach. 2. What types of materials do you need available when you plan lessons? a. Games, student activity books, construction paper, scissors, glue, markers, and hands on materials are all used. Most of my games and activities are hand-made. 3. In what ways do you plan to accommodate individual differences in the classroom? a. We modify assignments and assessments, use different levels for works, contracts, choice menus, different level readers, and challenge higher level students. We also intervene in group assignments. Instructional Questions: 1. What are some of your instructional challenges as a teacher? a. There are many different levels in a classroom. You can teach 4th grade material, but some students may be on a 1st grade level. Differentiating lessons to meet students needs. Putting those plans into place can be very tricky. 2. What have been some of your instructional successes as a teacher? a. I have helped students with low scores achieve placement that they didnt think that they could. They grow exponentially and blossom from it. 3. What do you consider essential characteristics for successful teaching? a. You must be very patient with the students. There will be many different levels and you must meet them where they are. There must be an effective classroom management system. You must be creative and make the students interested in learning 4. How often do your students receive social studies/science instruction? a. We do a monthly unit. We teach science one month and social studies another month. These standards are always incorporated with reading and writing standards. These subjects, during their assigned month, are taught daily. 5. Are you satisfied with the amount of time that you currently allot for social studies/science instruction?

a. I like the way that we run things with the monthly units. Its usually about 45 minutes a day. So my final answer is yes, because I think it allots a perfect amount of time for these social studies and science lessons. 6. What social studies and science topics/units will be studied during the second week of my clinical experience? What are possible goals/objective I could address for my lesson? Do you have any instructional resources that would support these goals/objectives? a. Unfortunately we move very fast in these subjects, so I will need to explain this in detail closer to the date you teach and observe. Our topics rapidly change and students are only given an hour per day for these subjects. 7. What does reading instruction look like in your classroom? What reading topics will be studied during the 2nd week of my clinical experience? What are possible goals/objectives I could address for my reading lesson? a. For reading, our school has adopted balance literacy. It is comprised of word works, reading, writings, etc. We are required to do interactive read aloud and word works. Small groups are incorporated with the reading instruction. We are currently in a historical fiction unit. We are using Number the Stars, as our primary book to use. Its hard to say exactly where we will be in the unit. Our current objective is to describe in depth characters, settings, and events. Also refer to the teach point. Use the unpacking document. Classroom management questions: 1. What motivation tactics do you use to ensure a desire to learn? a. We use the fry system. Every day they keep good behavior they can earn 3 fries. At the end of the week they can cash in their fries to get a small treat such as candy. You must be spontaneous to keep kids focused. Students should be up and moving to keep them interested. Act things out while reading. Always have a personal relationship with the students. 2. Tell me about the classroom community. What are the class rules? How is student behavior monitored? In what ways is positive behavior reinforced? In what ways are negative behaviors prevented? Tell me about the consequences for negative behavior. a. The students have jobs as a community. The weekly jobs consist of teachers assistants, equipment managers, bankers, energy saver, door monitors, guest star, table washers, librarians, hand sanitizer, suppliers, custodians, and couriers. We use the fry system as discussed before to reinforce positive and negative behavior. The students have 3 warnings. The first warning is verbal. The second warning is a parent letter. The third warning is a visit to the principal. We always warmly receive new students. 3. Tell me about the pacing of lessons and interaction in the classroom- use of time and other aspects of time. What works well with your students?

a. We usually have cues such as if you can hear me raise your hand. We give the students plenty of opportunities to interact and discuss with one another. When group discussions are over we will start a count down to grab their attention. The students generally know when and when not to talk.