Classroom Artifacts

Upon arrival to my student teaching placement, I sent an introductory letter to students' families. This letter demonstrates my competency in professional communication with families by clearly explaining who I am, what my role is in their child’s English 9H course, and how they can reach me. It also provides transparency about my university's video recording requirement and includes a permission slip to obtain informed consent.

This communication builds trust between home and school, increases parents’ understanding of classroom expectations, and invites them to partner with me in supporting their student’s success. By establishing a professional and approachable tone early, families were more comfortable reaching out with questions, which helped me better understand students’ needs and therefore support their learning.

For future placements, I would consider providing the same information in multiple formats, such as sending an email in addition to a printed letter, to increase accessibility. I could also offer translations for families who prefer a language other than English, or even include a QR code or online form for parents to easily respond or contact me. These changes would strengthen communication, increase family engagement, and ultimately benefit students’ classroom experience.

During my student teaching placement, I created this Hero vs. Anti-Hero worksheet as part of an English 9 Honors unit on Beowulf and John Gardner’s Grendel. It demonstrates my competency in teaching academic language because it scaffolds students’ use of discipline-specific vocabulary, such as “fatal flaw,” “morally ambiguous,” and “anti-hero”. The handout provides structured opportunities for students to practice MLA citation and guides them through constructing LQI (Location, Quotation, Interpretation) responses, which require embedding quotations and analyzing their significance with precise language.

Students first engaged in whole-class and small-group discussions, using sentence starters and anchor charts to compare traits of heroes and anti-heroes. They then worked in groups on a “scavenger hunt” where they defined an assigned anti-heroic trait, located textual examples of characters demonstrating that trait in Beowulf or Grendel, and recorded a properly formatted MLA citation. Finally, students transitioned to independent practice by writing their own mini-paragraph utilizing LQI and incorporating academic language. 

For future use, I would modify the artifact by including an exemplar LQI paragraph at the beginning of the handout. While students benefited from the sentence starters and step-by-step structure, some needed to see a fully developed model to better understand expectations. This would reduce cognitive load and provide a clearer benchmark, helping all learners strengthen their mastery of academic language.

Later during that same Beowulf and Grendel unit in English 9 Honors, I taught a lesson that utilized a sample body paragraph and graphic organizer as a scaffold for essay writing. The sample paragraph modeled how textual evidence and analysis could be structured in a persuasive essay about King Hrothgar in Beowulf. Students first examined the completed example with me as a class, and then they received a blank version of the same graphic organizer. Using this tool, students developed their own body paragraphs on a topic of their choice related to either Beowulf or John Gardner’s Grendel.

This artifact demonstrates differentiation in several ways. The graphic organizer broke down the writing task into smaller, manageable steps, which was especially beneficial for students who struggled with structuring essays or who were learning English. The explicit model showed them how to use academic language, integrate quotations, and connect evidence back to a central argument. Advanced students were able to extend their paragraphs by adding more evidence or by making connections to larger themes, allowing the activity to meet students at different levels. As a result, students across the class produced stronger body paragraphs and demonstrated noticeable growth in their ability to construct analytical writing. 

For future use, I would create tiered versions of the graphic organizer to better align with different levels of readiness. For example, one version might include sentence starters and guiding questions for students who need more structured support, while another version might provide only the outline headings for students prepared to write more independently.