Teaching Portfolio By Rachael Gowan Intended Audience Teachers

Teaching Portfolio By: Rachael Gowan Intended Audience: Teachers and Pre-Service Teachers of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students K-12. Goals/Objectives: Demonstration of my ability to effectively and professionally gather, organize, identify, reflect upon and share what I consider to be my educational beliefs, assessment protocols, instructional strategies, and curricular resources and effectively support the information provided in the portfolio. Abstract: The information provided in my teaching portfolio is a collection of by own teaching beliefs and information that I have gathered through my teacher education program and through past educational experiences. The information includes my story of how I became involved in Deaf Education, Positive/Negative Teaching Characteristics, my Educational Beliefs, Assessment Protocols, Instructional Strategies and Curricular Resources for Science, Math, Social Studies, and Deaf Studies.

Table of Contents • My Story • Positive/Negative Teaching Characteristics • Educational Beliefs • Assessment Protocols • Instructional Strategies • Curricular Resources – Science Curriculum – Math Curriculum – Social Studies Curriculum – Deaf Studies Curriculum

My Story My beginning interest in the field of Deaf Education is quite unremarkable. I became interested, as many others did, with a fascination of American Sign Language. I remember seeing Deaf people signing when I was little and thinking it was so beautiful how they communicated. Then in my seventh grade Language Arts class, we studied Helen Keller and learned the manual alphabet. I was hooked form this point on. For Christmas, my mother bought me an American Sign Language dictionary computer program. I used this every week for about a year. I wanted to learn as much as I could from it, yet not having any concept that this was a language of its own. I left much of this at bay until I began my search of colleges to attend. I became confident that I wanted to have a career that used American Sign Language in some form, but was very unaware where to go with it. I met with the Kent State University Speech Pathology and Audiology Department to discuss what a career as an Audiologist entailed. This was definitely not a match, I am not sure what I was expecting to hear, but whatever they told me was not what I wanted to do with my life. They suggested that I talk to the Deaf Education Department, that this might be more what I was looking for. It was not until the end of my first semester as an exploratory major at Kent State that I finally went to talk with the Deaf Education Department. I declared my major that day and have been here ever since.

Positive/Negative Teaching Characteristics The positive and negative teaching characteristics were taken from my own classroom experience as a student and through observing other teachers. Positive Teaching • • • Excited about what they teach and obviously enjoy their work. Respect the students. Organized Do not show favorites and treat all students the same. Teach through multiple modalities. Use a variety of instructional strategies to reach a wide variety of student’s learning strengths and abilities. Find at least one thing to like about each student. Creative Effective positive behavior management Ready to try new things and take risks

Negative Teaching • • Disrespectful to students Always using the same teaching modality, like lecturing, never trying to reach those students who learn in a different manner. Allow students to see which are the teacher’s favorite students. Bored and unengaged in the material they are teaching Unorganized Uncreative Poor behavior management skills Dislikes their job

Educational Beliefs

Concrete to Abstract • Description: The less sophisticated the learner, the more concrete the learning. • Rationale: The less experience a student has with a topic, the less they are able to learn from others about that topic, and the less they are able to reflect upon or project future information pertaining to that topic, the more immediate and actual the learning must be. Therefore, the newer the topic, the more hands on the learning must be, going from hands-on actual experience and from there moving to more abstract representations of the topic e. g. Pictures, stories, etc. • Reference: Orlich, D. , Harder, R. , Callahan, R. , & Gibson, H. (2001). Teaching strategies: A guide to better instruction (6 th ed. ). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. (p. 46) Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center. (1999). Language learning disability & deafness. Retrieved November 5, 2001 on the World Wide Web: http: //clerccenter. gallaudet. eedu/Support. Servicecs/series/6002. html What is Montessori. Retrieved December 7, 2002, from http: //www. montessoricorner. org/whatis. htm

Learning Skill • Description: Students must learn how to learn as well as what to learn. • Rationale: If all that is gained through school is knowledge, then the students will be as dependent upon the teacher at the end of the year as they were at the beginning. The older students become, the more sophisticated and independent learners we expect them to be, but if we do not teach them to learn independently, they will rely on us as teachers for their knowledge. In schools, we measure such sophistication by the complexity of the problems tackled as well as the independence used to solve the problems. Therefore, students must be taught the skills needed to learn as well as the expected knowledge. • Reference: Hammonds, Bruce. (n. d. ). School Teaching Beliefs: Five points for schools to 'customize'. Retrieved December 6, 2002, from http: //www. leadinglearning. co. nz/quality-learning/teaching-beliefs. html (Vivian Smith, Virtual Teaching Observation, October 21, 2002)

Excitement • Description: If teachers are excited about what they teach, then students will be excited about what they learn. • Rationale: If teachers are enthusiastic, interested, and engaged in what they are teaching then the students will see this content as worthy of investigation themselves. When teachers appear bored with the content then the students will not see this as being valuable or worth their time. Therefore, when teaching any content or material, I must be sure that I am engaged in the content myself before I can expect my students to become engaged. • Reference: Atwell, N. (1998). In the middle: New understandings about writing, reading, and learning (2 nd ed. ). Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook Publishers. (p. 83) (Dr. Pamela Luft, Language and Literacy Class Notes, March 4, 2002) (Vivian Smith, Virtual Teaching Observation, October 7, 2002 through November 21, 2002)

Multiple Intelligences • Description: Learning can occur through a variety of modalities i. e. Verbal/linguistic, Body/kinesthetic, Intrapersonal, Logical/mathematical, Visual/spatial, Interpersonal, and Naturalist. Students prefer to learn new information through their best modality and are then able to refine their learning to increase their knowledge and sophistication through other modalities. • Rationale: The effectiveness of a student’s ability to learn new material is directly related to the manner in which the material was presented. The better the match between the presentation style and the student’s learning style the more effective the learning. Therefore, when teaching a new topic or content, each student’s preferred modality should be addressed through the presentation of the material and the students should also be provided with the opportunity to express themselves through this preferred modality. • Reference: Eccarius, M. (1997). Educating children who are deaf or hard of hearing: Assessment (Report Number: EDO-EC-96 -5). Reston: Virginia: ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 414668) Orlich, D. , Harder, R. , Callahan, R. , & Gibson, H. (2001). Teaching strategies: A guide to better instruction (6 th ed. ). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. (Pgs. 189 -191)

Collaboration • Description: Learning is more likely to occur when students can learn from and with other students. • Rationale: The amount a student is involved in the learning process directly relates to the amount of learning that occurs. By students working together to discuss and solve problems, they will develop their own knowledge through the active involvement of interacting with other students. Therefore, I will establish numerous opportunities for student collaboration through group work, class discussions, and peer tutoring in order to support and encourage the extensive learning that occurs through this sort of student interaction. • Reference: Atwell, N. (1998). In the middle: New understandings about writing, reading, and learning (2 nd ed. ). Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook Publishers. (p. 69) (Dr. Wendy Kasten, MCED Reading and Writing Class Notes, January, 22, 2002) Parmley, Amanda. (2002). Amanda Online: Teaching beliefs. Retrieved December 6, 2002, from http: //www. amandaonline. net/Teaching_Beliefs. html

Assessment Protocols

Homework • Description: Work to be completed by the students outside of class time to reinforce the content of the lesson from class, not done to learn new material on their own. • Rationale: If the material the students learn in class is new to them, it should be done in a concrete manner. This new material then is reinforced by the students doing additional work outside of the class on the same information and can then be moved to a more abstract method of learning as is stated by my educational belief of Concrete to Abstract. Therefore, when I assign homework to students, it will be to assess the extent that they understood the material in class and where then able to apply it outside of the classroom with various abstract assignments. • Reference: (Dr. Harold Johnson, Curriculum for Deaf/HH Class Discussion, November 19, 2002) (Vivian Smith, Virtual Teaching Observation, November 7, 2002)

Rubrics • Description: A form created to assess student work by the teacher and to allow the students to know what exactly they are being graded on is developed through two components, criteria or the categories describing exactly what is being evaluated and standards or the level of achievement and the tasks required in reaching that level. • Rationale: When students know the criteria and standards that they must accomplish through their assignment, they know exactly what to work on and perfect. Rubrics provide students with an inside view into what teachers tend to require out of student work and they can then apply this knowledge to future learning experiences. Therefore, this assessment relates to my educational belief of Learning Skill by informing the students on how their knowledge will be assessed and I will provide students with rubrics so that they will gain an insight into how they will continue to be assessed throughout their education. • Reference: Orlich, D. , Harder, R. , Callahan, R. , & Gibson, H. (2001). Teaching strategies: A guide to better instruction (6 th ed. ). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. (p. 370 -371)

Portfolio Assessment • Description: A collection of evidence documenting the work a student has created, and from that evidence observing how the student had grown. • Rationale: Each student has a preferred modality for learning and expressing knowledge. Through assessing a student with a variety of work samples collected in a portfolio, the work done through the student’s preferred modality can be used. Therefore, I will address my educational belief of Multiple Intelligences by assessing student’s through portfolios in order to see the knowledge they are able to express through using a collection of work, including their work expressed in their preferred modality. • Reference: Atwell, N. (1998). In the middle: New understandings about writing, reading, and learning (2 nd ed. ). Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook Publishers. (p. 301 -302) Vaughn, S. , Bos, C. , Schumm, J. (2000). Teaching exceptional, diverse, and at-risk students in the general education classroom (2 nd ed. ). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. (p. 481 -482)

Observation • Description: Informally assessing students in the class by watching and interacting with them. • Rationale: When students know that they are being assessed their attitudes and actions tend to alter, so by assessing them through observation they will be unaware of it and remain consistent in their normal daily actions. My educational belief of Excitement can be assessed through observation of the attitudes and amount of enthusiasm the students have towards the content and material they are learning. Therefore, to be sure that my lessons are engaging to the students I will use observation to assess their enthusiasm with the material. • Reference: Machado, J. (1999). Early childhood experiences in language arts: Emerging literacy (6 th ed. ). Albany: Delmar Publishers. (p. 139)

Games • Description: The use of fun games like hang-man or Jeopardy to assess student knowledge about the content taught in class. • Rationale: Students can enjoy being assessed when games are used and they often do not realize that they are being evaluated. The use of games in the classroom as an assessment ties into my educational belief of Excitement because the students will be excited and engaged in this assessment by trying their best to win with the most knowledge of the content. Therefore, I will use games to assess the student’s knowledge, especially when the material is not very engaging to the students on its own. • Reference: (Vivian Smith, Virtual Teaching Observation, November 4, 2002) (Gwen Yohe, Practicum Teacher, Spring 2002)

Performance Assessment • Description: The students must complete a task through producing, demonstrating, performing, creating, constructing, applying, building, solving, planning, showing, illustrating, convincing, persuading, or explaining it. • Rationale: The ability to complete a task through performance is a skill that is needed throughout daily life, either through work, personal interaction, etc. By assessing a student’s ability to do so in a classroom setting in turn assesses their probable ability to do so outside of the classroom and away from the teacher which directly corresponds with my teaching belief of Learning Skill. Therefore, when assessing student’s knowledge of a task I will require them to perform the task through one of the previously mentioned methods. • Reference: Taylor, R. (2000). Assessment of exceptional students: Educational and psychological procedures (5 th ed. ). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. (p. 134 -136)

Rating Scales • Description: A list of items to be observed with a scale showing the variety of degrees to which they can be met. • Rationale: Students can be assessed through observation paired with a rating scale to obtain a more accurate account of the student work through various degrees to which the criteria was met. This assessment corresponds with my educational belief of Collaboration, to asses the extent that the students are able to work together in a collaborative manner. Therefore, I will use rating scales to assess my student’s group activities in order to record the extent they are able to work together. • Reference: Orlich, D. , Harder, R. , Callahan, R. , & Gibson, H. (2001). Teaching strategies: A guide to better instruction (6 th ed. ). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. (p. 366 -367)

Group/Self Evaluation • Description: Students evaluate the group process by reflecting on each member’s contributions to the group and how well the group worked together. • Rationale: The extent that a group works together in a collaborative manner can not always be seen by someone not working in the group. The true assessment of the group’s ability to work together can be determined by each member evaluating how all the members contributed and then how well the group as a whole worked together. Therefore, I will use this assessment to address my educational belief of Collaboration in order to determine the extent of the students’ abilities to working together. • Reference: (Rebecca Morsefield, Family & Professional Collaboration observation of strategy used, Fall 2002) Orlich, D. , Harder, R. , Callahan, R. , & Gibson, H. (2001). Teaching strategies: A guide to better instruction (6 th ed. ). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. (p. 306)

Extended Curriculum • Description: The assessment is performed at the end of a unit as a class project where each student contributes to its development through using their modality/skill they do best. • Rationale: A manner to assess what the class as a whole got out of a unit in a way that is meaningful to the students is to have them create a class project, play, etc. that represents all they have learned. By creating the project, the multiple intelligences will be brought out by through each student using their preferred modality to contribute to the project and the information will be reinforced in their minds in a concrete manner. Therefore, I will evaluate the student’s knowledge of a completed unit through an extended curriculum that allows my educational belief of Multiple Intelligences to be utilized. • Reference: Orlich, D. , Harder, R. , Callahan, R. , & Gibson, H. (2001). Teaching strategies: A guide to better instruction (6 th ed. ). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. (p. 144 -146)

Instructional Strategies

Hands-on • Description: The fewer experiences a student has with a topic, the more hands-on the encounters with that topic need to be. • Rationale: As students acquire new information and knowledge, they need to first have had actual experiences with the topic. By using hands-on activities, the experiences necessary to develop sophisticated knowledge are being created through the students first having had actual real experience with the topic. This concept links to my educational belief of concrete to abstract. • Reference: (Janelle Slavick, Practicum Teacher, Spring 2002) Stewart, D. , & Kluwin, T. (2001). Teaching deaf and hard of hearing students: Content, strategies, and curriculum. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. (p. 20)

Prior knowledge • Description: When teaching new information, relate it to the student’s prior knowledge or experiences. • Rationale: All students bring prior knowledge and experiences with them to the classroom. Learning is best done when it can be related to something the student already knows or has experienced and the new information can be expanded from the prior knowledge of the students relating to my educational belief of concrete to abstract. • Reference: Orlich, D. , Harder, R. , Callahan, R. , & Gibson, H. (2001). Teaching strategies: A guide to better instruction (6 th ed. ). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. (p. 53) (Janelle Slavick, Practicum Teacher, Spring 2002)

Role-playing • Description: Role-playing is a great visual demonstration that allows students to be involved in their own learning by acting out a wide variety of scenarios. • Rationale: Students physically acting out a role/situation will embed the knowledge and/or material as an experience that can be used to clarify an issue, for reflective thinking, or represent a situation. Role-playing addresses my educational belief of Multiple Intelligence through those students who learn best through the body/kinesthetic of physically performing the information they are to learn as well as those students who learn best through visual/spatial display of the information. Therefore I will use role-playing techniques whenever possible in order to reach a wider variety of my students’ preferred learning modalities. • Reference: Orlich, D. , Harder, R. , Callahan, R. , & Gibson, H. (2001). Teaching strategies: A guide to better instruction (6 th ed. ). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. (Pgs. 295 -296) (Vivian Smith, Virtual Teaching Observation, November 18, 2002)

Collaborative Brainstorming • Description: A process used to gather creative ideas or topics that can be done with any number of students. A problem is presented to the students who then must begin thinking creatively and interacting with each other about methods to address the problem, the responses are recorded to discuss when the brainstorming is finished. • Rationale: It is difficult for students to individually come up with numerous creative ideas for addressing a problem. When students are able to collaborate about a particular problem, they can feed off each other’s thoughts to further establish well thought out, in-depth creative ideas through a deliberation process of whether the group likes/dislikes or at least agrees upon the ideas presented. Therefore, I will allow the students to brainstorm as a class on problems or topics presented in order to allow my educational belief of collaboration to occur through the discussion and deliberation of developing creative ideas. • Reference: Orlich, D. , Harder, R. , Callahan, R. , & Gibson, H. (2001). Teaching strategies: A guide to better instruction (6 th ed. ). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. (p. 290 -292) (Vivian Smith, Virtual Teaching Observation, November 5, 2002)

Authentic Context • Description: Reading instruction that is taught using real pieces of language i. e. books, magazines, advertisements that have relevance to the child’s leaning needs and has a real-world implication. • Rationale: Reading instruction can be a boring process for both teacher and student when typical basil stories are used, but when materials like books and magazines that are relevant to the child’s interest, needs and the real-world are used it can actually be fun. Engaging the students in the materials they are reading connects to my educational belief of Excitement because by making the material meaningful to the student’s daily lives, this will allow them to see reading as valuable and worth learning. Therefore, I will use authentic reading materials pertaining to the students’ interests and needs in order to engage them in the reading process by making it valuable and meaningful to them. • Reference: Stewart, D. , & Kluwin, T. (2001). Teaching deaf and hard of hearing students: Content, strategies, and curriculum. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. (p. 85)

Semantic Maps • Description: A visual aide through the development of a map to help students see the relationships among various ideas which connect to them to each other and to the student’s prior knowledge. • Rationale: Often students are given various information about a topic or concept, but do not know how it all fits together in order to make a cohesive abundance of knowledge. Using a semantic map is a valuable tool for students to use in organizing that information so that it can be better understood, connecting with my educational belief of Learning Skill because the effective use of this tool teaches students one strategy of how to learn. Therefore, I will model the use of semantic maps in my classroom and slowing transfer the strategy to my students by making the map myself first and then each subsequent time allow the students to become more involved in the process until they are finally making the maps on their own. • Reference: Rasinski, T. & Padak, N. (2000). Effective reading strategies: Teaching children who find reading difficult (2 nd ed. ). Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall, Inc. (p. 155 -156) Vaughn, S. , Bos, C. , & Schumm, J. (2000). Teaching exceptional, diverse, and at -risk students in the general education classroom (2 nd ed. ). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. (p. 467 -468)

Storytelling • Description: The use of storytelling in developing literacy for children promotes comprehension and writing skills as well as excitement for reading stories. • Rationale: Deaf students who use sign language need to visually see a story to become truly engaged by it. By using the storytelling tradition of Deaf culture to tell stories, students will not only improve their comprehension and writing skills, they will also be highly motivated to read that story, to write that or a similar story themselves, respond in a journal, and pay attention to other stories they read to find others that would be good for storytelling. Therefore, I will address my educational belief of Excitement by using the art of storytelling to engage and excite my students about reading and writing. • Reference: Schirmer, B. (2000). Language and literacy development in children who are deaf (2 nd ed. ). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. (p. 176) (Vivian Smith, Virtual Teaching Observation, October 29, 2002)

Wait-Time • Description: Allowing students time after asking a question to think about it and to construct a response. • Rationale: When a question is asked, people tend to expect an immediate response or answer, but people need time to first comprehend the question and then construct a response, which takes time. By allowing students time to think about a response, they have time to possibly use higher order thinking to construct an indepth answer, and it also allows those students who are not verbal/linguistic or visual/spatial learners and may need more time to comprehend the question and what it is asking before they can think of a response the chance to answer also. Therefore, I will use wait-time to continue fulfilling my educational belief of Multiple Intelligences by allow those students who so not comprehend questions as fast as others the time to do so, in turn they will also gain the opportunity to participate and respond to questions in the class discussion. • Reference: Orlich, D. , Harder, R. , Callahan, R. , & Gibson, H. (2001). Teaching strategies: A guide to better instruction (6 th ed. ). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. (p. 253 -255) Vaughn, S. , Bos, C. , Schumm, J. (2000). Teaching exceptional, diverse, and atrisk students in the general education classroom (2 nd ed. ). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. (p. 187)

Teachable Moments • Description: A student-centered way to allow students to carry on a conversation or discussion about their choice topic and later relating the conversation back to the curriculum. • Rationale: Students enjoy carrying on conversations they feel are unrelated to educational issues or topics. When a good class discussion arises, the students are learning from each other through a variety of different perspectives and opinions, correlating with my educational belief of collaboration. Therefore, when these class discussions occur, I will encourage them to continue and relate these teachable moments back to the curriculum being covered through the class. • Reference: (Vivian Smith, Virtual Curriculum Observation, November 7, 2002) (Gwen Yohe, Practicum Teacher, Spring 2002)

Discovery Learning • Description: Non-direct method where the teacher is a “guide-stimulator” who helps the students to identify questions to guide their inquiry. The students must construct their own knowledge through investigation and discovery. • Rationale: Traditionally, students are taught through direct instruction by the teacher, where they are told the facts and information but never experience it for themselves. By providing students with the opportunity to discover the knowledge, they are more likely to retain the information because through inquiry they discovered the knowledge for themselves. In addition, they also are learning how to learn and discover new information without the teacher feeding it to them, which is a vital life skill. Therefore, the use of discovery learning in my classroom is important to the amount of information students retain and to address my educational belief of Learning Skill by teaching the students how to learn information without the teacher providing it. • Reference: Friend, M. , & Bursuck, W. (2002). Including students with special needs: A practical guide for classroom teachers (3 rd ed. ). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. (p. 141) Orlich, D. , Harder, R. , Callahan, R. , & Gibson, H. (2001). Teaching strategies: A guide to better instruction (6 th ed. ). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. (p. 338 -341)

Curricular Resources o. Science Curriculum o. Math Curriculum o. Social Studies Curriculum o. Deaf Studies Curriculum

Science Curriculum • National Organization • National Standards • Web Resources

National Organization National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) http: //www. nsta. org/ • Description: This site provides resources, including journals, newspapers, links to resources, events, legislation, and what is new in Science education. Also provides links to other state and national organizations with curriculum materials. The site hosts two discussion rooms for interaction with other science teachers. You must be a registered user of the site to gain full access to the site. • Rationale: This group/site is among the oldest and largest organizations in science education. It provides legislation updates, and a means of networking professionals in the science education field using discussion rooms.

National Standards www. nap. edu/readingroom/books/nses/htm/ 6 c. html • Description: Provides science education content standards for grades K-12. • Rationale: National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) website links the user to these content standards.

Web Resources • – Curricular Education World: The Educator’s Best Friend http: //www. educationwor ld. com/science/ – Power of two: http: //www. powerof 2. org/resources/ – Teach-nology: The web portal for educators http: //www. teachnology. com/teachers/lesson_plans/science/

• – Assessment Eisenhower National Clearinghouse: K-12 Mathematics and Science Curriculum Resources http: //enc. org/topics/assessment/ – Science Made Simple http: //www. sciencemadesimple. com/ – Cool Science for Curious Kids http: //www. hhmi. org/coolscience/index. html • Instructional - Science Research Associates/The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies http: //www. sra 4 kids. com/product_info/science/bitg. phtml

• – Instructional continued… National Geographic. com Kids http: //www. nationalgeographic. com/kids/ – Science Daily: Your link to the latest research news http: //www. sciencedaily. com – Discovery: Kids http: //kids. discovery. com

Math Curriculum • National Organization • National Standards • Web Resources

National Organization National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) http: //www. nctm. org/ • Description: This site is the host to the primary organization for math teachers. It has the national standards linked to the page, information about becoming a member of NCTM, upcoming conferences and events, links to journal publications and manipulatives to buy. There also jobs posted and news dealing with mathematics in schools. • Rationale: NCTM has been around for 75 years and leads in changing math education, (www. nctm. org/about/beliefs/htm). It is the primary professional organization for math teachers. It has about 100, 000 teachers, educators, and institutions as registered users.

National Standards http: //standards. nctm. org/document/ chapter 1/index. htm • Description: Provides national math education content standards for grades K 12. • Rationale: In April 2000, this organization published the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics.

Web Resources • – Curricular ILLUMINATIONS: www. illuminations. nctm. org – Enhancing Learning through Images: www. kodac. com/US/en/digital/dlc – Math Curriculum Materials Report: http: //project 2061. aaas. org/matheval

• – Assessment Issues in Math Forum. swarthmore. edu/mathed/index. html – – • Utah State Office of Education www. uen. org Math Resources for Teachers and Students http: //www. li. net/~ndonohue/math. thml – Instructional CUT THE KNOT www. cut-the-knot. com – Math Stories www. mathstories. com – Figure This! www. figurethis. org/index 40. htm

Social Studies Curriculum • National Organization • National Standards • Web Resources

National Organization National Council for Social Studies- www. ncss. org • Description: This website provides information on the National Standards for Social Studies. It also lists information about the NCSS and the affiliated councils. This website offers links and resources to different lesson plans, noteworthy books, and the NCSS journal articles mainly about September 11 and other topics. It also provides a link that tells individuals about upcoming TV shows that deal with social studies issues. This website has a lot to offer and is very user friendly. • Rationale: The National Council for Social Studies was founded in 1921, and has grown to be the largest association in the country solely devoted to Social Studies education. It helps and supports educators by strengthening their knowledge in Social Studies. It’s members vary from kindergarten teachers to college professors throughout all of the 50 states; with more than 100 affiliate councils.

National Standards www. educationworld. com/standards/national/index/html • Description: Education World contains links to all subject’s national organization websites. Below these are links that take you to all of the subject area's standards. The Social Studies standards are not in “standard” format, they are in question format. This website also has links for lesson plans, state standards for each subject, article search, and a search engine that will look up only educational websites, along with many other links. It is a very teacher friendly website and does not cost anything to use and you do not need to register for it. • Rationale: Educational World was started in 1996 for teachers throughout the United States to have one site to use for everything that they needed. This site was chosen as the national standards site because it seems to go into more descriptions of the ten themes in Social Studies in comparison to NCSS. This site does not show the exact standards for each grade level or theme, but for that matter neither does the national organization. On the other hand, Education World does ask questions that deal with the standards, which gives the teacher an idea of what the standards might be for each theme. Education World also connects you with other Internet sources, which deal with the standards for each specific theme in Social Studies according to NCSS.

Web Resources • • – – – Curricular Social Studies Lesson Plans and Resources http: //www. cloudnet. com/~edrbsass/edsoc. htm Assessment ASSESSMENT MATTERS! Toward Authentic Assessment http: //members. tripod. com/~ozpk/assess. html Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators-Assessment Rubrics http: //school. discovery. com/schrockguide/assess. html#web

• Instructional – Instructional Materials in Social Studies http: //www. cln. org/subjects/socials_inst. html – A to Z Teacher Stuff – Free online lesson plans, lesson plan ideas and activities, thematic units, etc. http: //atozteacherstuff. com/ – Lesson Plans and Resources for Social Studies Teachers http: //www. csun. edu/~hcedu 013/

Deaf Studies Curriculum • National Organization • National Standards • Web Resources

National Organization The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) http: //www. nad. org/ • Description: “The National Association of the Deaf (NAD), established in 1880, is the oldest and largest constituency organization safeguarding the accessibility and civil rights of 28 million deaf and hard of hearing Americans in education, employment, health care, and telecommunications. ” • Rationale: This organization was chosen as the top organization due to the impact it has had on the field of deafness. Also because of its age, size, and wealth of information that is stored within the website/organization.

National Standards http: //clerccenter. gallaudet. edu/infotogo/ • Description: Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, Gallaudet University Information About Deafness. This website contains categories for information about deafness. One list of categories contains information ‘to go’ and the other list contains information about the Clerc Center. The information ‘to go’ sections includes the following categories: Assistive Devices and Hearing Aids, Careers and Employment, Communication and Sign Language, Education, Especially for Children and Their Teachers and Especially for Parents. The information about the Clerc Center contains the following categories: For and About Deaf and Hard of Hearing People, Gallaudet University, Health and Mental Health, Legal Focus and Publications of Special Interest. Each category links to a list of resources for the subject area of the category. • Rationale: National and state standards have not been created for the subject area of Deaf Studies. Therefore, the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center: Information to Go, is the best website for finding information about Deaf Studies. This information will provide Deaf Education teachers with the essential topics related to Deaf Studies. Each category can be used as a resource for creating standards for students.

Web Resources • – Curricular RIT Wallace Library http: //wally. rit. edu/electronic. html - Centre for Deaf Studies Library of Deaf Issues http: //www. bris. ac. uk/deaf/library/deafstudies_info - Deaf Studies Resources http: //www. csufresno. edu/csd/CDDSNew. Site 050202/Resources/d eafed_resource. htm

• • – – Assessment Rubistar http: //webquest. sdsu. edu/rubrics/weblessons. htm Instructional American Sign Language/Signed English Home Page http: //www. lessontutor. com/ASLgenhome. html – Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) Teaching Strategies and Disciplinary Resources http: //www. crlt. umich. edu/teachings. html