I have been running this website for a few years, and it always bothered me that the only lesson plan I have here is one I wrote before I really became a full-time teacher!
Teachers are required to complete CalTPA 1 and 2 to earn their Clear Credential within the first 5 years of having their Preliminary Credential. Version 1 is about analyzing your student population and planning and filming a lesson that meets certain teaching criteria.
This slideshow is from my CalTPA1 lesson, which I did in year 2, which was *Distance Learning*!
It was thankfully easier to record the Zoom session than it would normally be to record myself in the classroom. There are a few things left off the slideshow that were said and discussed verbally.
This lesson teaches 6th graders about the concept of symbolism. We were reading “Look Both Ways” by Jason Reynolds, so I wove in references to the chapters we’d read and asked questions about the reading. Before this, the students had completed a Nearpod lesson that introduced the idea of basic or general symbols (like country flags, football jerseys, etc.) and went over some common literary symbols and what they normally stand for (the sun and moon, colors, animals, etc.) This lesson takes the discussion to the next level.
Also, in 2021, Google Jamboard was still a thing, so I have links to a Jamboard project embedded in the slideshow that don’t work anymore. Fortunately, I had to send everything in to the TPA as .pdf, so I’ve included the images that the students saw. I also saved student answers, so I’m including one class’ responses. They did good for their first try! Jamboard was a collaborative whiteboard of sorts. In this project, students could add their own boxes filled with their answers and ideas, kind of like a digital way of writing on post-it notes.
Natalay G. Maria 