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ESL- First Grade Language Arts, Small Group Instruction/Comprehension

Learning Context, Topic and Objectives
Chase Elementary is located in eastern Baltimore County and serves a diverse community
with a wide range of socioeconomic factors. Many students live in homes averaging from
$300,000 to $400,000, while approximately half (48.7%) of students receive free and reduced
lunches. Chase Elementary students are culturally diverse; 29% of the students are African
American, 66% of the students are Caucasian, and 5% are of other races.
Chase Elementary has an enrollment of 367 students and embraces an inclusion only
environment. Approximately 17.7% of their students are in the Special Education inclusion
setting and .8% are apart of the ESOL Program. There are two first grade classrooms with
approximately 25 students each. The classroom that is of primary focus for the evidence of
student learning project includes four students in the first grade with IEPs, while the other first
grade classroom does not include students with exceptionalities.
The classroom environment of focus is extremely welcoming as all students accept each
other as equals and are eager to work with one another as partners or in groups. The students
used for the evidence of student learning project include four students with IEPs who are often
pulled for small group instruction aside from general instruction to address instructional and
learning goals as indicated on their IEPs. The four students with IEPs are made up of one boy
and three girls. All four of these students have reading goals focusing on comprehension. One
out of the four of these students has significant needs. She is non-verbal and relies on eye contact
to communicate answers to questions and tasks. She also lacks almost all motor skills and grasps
onto objects with much difficulty. She is accompanied by a one-on-one to assist with completing
tasks and verbalizing her answers to complete educational goals. Two other students, both girls,

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who do not have IEPs or 504 Plans are also failing to meet first grade requirements and have
been identified by both the special educator and general educator as having extreme difficulty in
meeting reading goals. These two students are also being pulled into small group instruction
along with the students with IEPs, totaling the class size for the evidence of student learning
project to six students with extreme needs in regards to obtaining reading skills. While one
student has oral development delays as stated, the rest of the students do not have such delays.
Written language development is of concern within this group but is not the primary focus of this
unit for the evidence of student learning project as the lessons focus on comprehension and basic
decoding skills. While there are no linguistic differences or significant cultural differences within
the group, five of the six students come from a low socio-economic background.
The students with IEPs have accommodations listed on their IEPs to reduce distractions
during instruction. The two girls who do not have IEPs also have difficulty remaining focused,
resulting in unwanted behaviors of calling out, becoming easily distracted by what others are
doing within the classroom, and refusing to complete tasks as asked. To address these behaviors
a behavior clip chart that is apart of the schools PBIS framework is utilized during instruction.
The chart is comprised of seven tiers. Students begin the day with their clip in the middle tier of
the chart. As they display exemplary behavior, they move their clip up to a higher, more desired
tier. As the student displays unwanted behaviors, the student is instructed to move their clip
lower on the chart to show to the entire class that they are not showing desired behaviors. Other
accommodations include extended time for three of the four students with IEPs. These students
will be allotted the time to complete all tasks.
The unit plans learning objectives are directly aligned with the Maryland College and
Career Readiness Standards. The anchor standard aligned to this unit plans learning objectives

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include RL1 CCR Anchor Standard: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and
to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to
support conclusions drawn from the text (MCCRS). RL1 standard describes that students will
ask and answer questions about key details in a text (MCCRS). The objectives for this unit plan
include: 1. Students will be able to apply appropriate strategies of background knowledge and
prediction before reading, viewing, or listening to a text by examining the title, cover, and
illustrations of the text as well as examining if the author or topic is familiar. 2. Students will be
able to apply appropriate strategies of rereading and/or confirming/adjusting predictions to
monitor understanding during reading, viewing, or listening to a text by identifying and
questioning whether what they read makes sense, then rereading and restating in their own
words. 3. Students will be able to demonstrate understanding of the text after reading, listening,
or viewing the text by retelling the story in their own words and engaging in conversation to
facilitate their complete understanding of the text. These objectives include options of reading,
listening, or viewing as all of the students in this group have a wide variety of reading abilities.
Objective one, two, and three correlates to the MCCRS essential skills and knowledge of
RL1. Objective 1 connects to the MCCRS (Maryland College and Career Readiness Standards,
MDk12.org) essential skills and knowledge where students must apply appropriate strategies
before reading, viewing, or listening to a text. Students must use prior knowledge and
experiences to make connections to the text, make predictions or ask questions about the text by
examining the title, cover, illustrations/photographs/text, and familiar author or topic, and set a
purpose for reading and identify the type of text. According to MCCRS, objective two connects
to the essential skills and knowledge, which states that students must apply appropriate strategies
to monitor understanding during reading, viewing, or listening to a text. Students must recall and

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discuss what is understood by identifying and questioning what did not make sense, reread
difficult parts and use their own words to restate, and make, confirm, or adjust predictions.
According to MCCRS, objective three aligns to the essential skills and knowledge of the
standard where students must demonstrate understanding after reading, viewing, or listening to a
text by retelling and discussing the text, engaging in conversation to understand the text, and
determining the main idea of a text.
All objectives are aligned to the Maryland College and Career Readiness Standards as
well as aligned to the essential skills and knowledge that sum up the standard. These objectives
have all students in mind, making the outcomes obtainable and compliable to their learning goals
and objectives stated in their IEPs.