An interactive bulletin board is a fun way for students to learn material hands-on.  It is important to involve children in activities that actually require them to use displays or the information of the walls (Taberski, 2000). 

I made a pizza interactive bulletin board for a 4^th grade class for a study of fractions.  The purpose of the bulletin board is to have students see a picture representation of a fraction and a mathematical symbol of a fraction at the same time.  The visual representation of the fraction will help the student develop a more thorough understanding of fractions in an independent fashion. 

This artifact shows that I have an understanding of children and their need to learn concepts on their own as well as to connect what they already understand to the learning process (in this case, fractions). In the future, I will continue to use interactive bulletin boards and even go further to have students make them on their own or in a group.  This would foster an independence as well as critical thinking skills as they work to accomplish a goal of not only understanding, but then explaining how their board works.  This form of concrete learning is a way I show my competence as a professional.  This also fulfills INTASC 1 as I am “creating a learning experience that makes aspects of subject matter more meaningful to students.”

Developing various activities for students to do in a classroom is very important as they learn to become “independent learners, constructing meaning on their own” (Curriculum Model).  Rick Wormeli (2001) agrees that "games are intrinsically motivating that teach substantive content while entertaining students" (p. 49). 

With a group, I developed a game board students could use as a means of reviewing for a test.  The game board can be used for several grade levels as the questions are made for reviewing material for a test or unit review.  Through constructing a board game, I am demonstrating my understanding that using “a variety of instructional strategies encourages students’ development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills” (INTASC 4).  As a teacher, my professional aptitude is growing as I have shown an understanding of using a variety of methods to help students learn.  In the future, I will use game boards and other various games to help my students grasp information and retain it for future use.

“We make art to make sense of things, to give meaning to our existence.  Through creating art, students may synthesize their own experience and engage in reflective thought about that activity and the meaning produced” (Anderson, 2005, p. 31, 32).  Art is stimulating and full of pleasure.  Incorporating art into a literary lesson plan is an excellent way to give students more opportunities to be creative as well as mix their background knowledge with new knowledge.  For example, my enclosed lesson plan entitled "An Unknown Land", seeks to have students combine reading with drawing.  They will use a combination of imagination and knowledge of the real world to draw a picture of another world based upon C. S. Lewis’s book, The Magician’s Nephew.  Just as Tom Anderson (2005) states, “The teacher’s job is to enrich, stimulate, and challenge students to see more, sense more, remember more, and put their own visual imprint on ideas” (p. 33). 

My lesson plan demonstrates that I can create learning experiences that make aspects of subject matter more meaningful to students (INTASC 1).  This lesson plan also demonstrates my growing, professional ability to meet students’ differing learning needs.  This lesson plan will spark interest in some students more than others, conveying an exciting learning experience that will hopefully encourage more learning growth.  I will use art in my classroom as a means to reach students with more meaningful subject matter.  Art will bring a colorful dynamic to the classroom, a dynamic I will use often.

Incorporating music into activities is a rewarding experience, as it draws students into learning in a nontraditional way.  Just as Howard Gardner (1983) has emphasized with multiple intelligences, students learn in a variety of ways, music being one of the intelligences.  Different approaches to teaching opens up paths for student learning. 

"Creative Writing with Music" is a lesson plan for an eighth grade literature class.  The lesson involves students writing a very short piece using as many descriptive adjectives as possible.  Once the story is complete, music must be found to dramatize the mood of the piece.  The piece is then read with the music playing in the background.

This lesson plan forces students to use material they have learned in class and put it to practice in a fun and unusual way with music.  Just as the curriculum model states, teachers as cognitive mediators “help students to become independent learners who construct meaning by combining new information with background knowledge.”  This lesson plan demonstrates my ability to fulfill the standard as well as demonstrates my ability to think professionally as I work to make assignments more meaningful and effective to students. 

Even though this lesson plan was written for a specific grade and topic, music has flexibility for any subject area.  Considering all grade levels and subjects, such as fourth grade or seventh grade math, I will continue to use music to a great extent.  Music reaches a part of the human psyche that worksheets or book reading fails to meet.  I believe music can inspire or encourage students to learn; therefore, I intend on using any possible means available to reach my students with knowledge.