INTASC+1B

INTASC Principle 1: Making Content Meaningful  The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of discipline(s) he or she teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful to students.

**I will demonstrate that I ...** b. plan a variety of learning experiences that make subject matter meaningful for ALL students.

**What is this artifact? ** This artifact is a hypothetical fourth grade field trip plan created by Sarah Hicks, Ashley Piston and myself to the Historic Savage Mill in Savage, Maryland. Discovering surrounding historical areas is an excellent way to **make social studies meaningful to all students**. This artifact is a prepared field trip that includes essential documents and preparation such as a parent letter,schedule, fundraising activity, hypothetical groups, maps of the location, student activities and group name tags that correspond to buildings found at the Historic Savage Mill.

This hypothetical field trip qualifies for this INTASC principle because it is an **authentic experience** that will make **social studies based subject matter meaningful to all students**. This artifact includes a variety of activities to strengthen the authenticity of the field trip. Meaning will be made through an onsite scavenger hunt, Child Labor PowerPoint presentation and a class discussion focusing on child labor. These three additional activities will help **all students** experience the Historic Savage Mill in a meaningful way.
 * Why did you put this artifact in this INTASC principle? **

I anticipate this artifact will positively affect my ability to create other **learning experiences using a variety of techniques to make subject matter meaningful. **By creating this field trip I was able to evaluate areas I thought were most important and deserved the most attention from my students. I was also able to avoid areas and topics that were inappropriate for a class of fourth graders. Planning this field trip with two other individuals simulated a “real school” situation where field trips are planned by teams through collaboration. Having this experience has lowered the level of anxiety surrounding field trips as a first year teacher.
 * In what way(s) do you anticipate this artifact contributing to your positive impact on student learning in your class? **

Many areas of the core cluster of instruction were utilized when creating this artifact. **Planning for Instruction** was developed as I thought critically about how the field trip would tie into the curriculum, as well as when creating activities students would complete prior to, during and after the Historic Savage Mill field trip. Since this artifact was created from scratch Sarah, Ashley and me, it was necessary to **collaborate** and plan how the students would arrive, transition and depart from the location. **Reflecting** on this assignment made the planning even more meaningful, as I was able to identify areas of growth and areas where improvements could be made.
 * Where does this artifact fit within the core cluster of instruction activities: judges prior learning, plans for instruction, teaches, assesses, analyzes, or reflects; and why? **