Kenneth W. Trotman EPortfolio of Classroom Management and Instructional Strategies

E-PORTFOLIO OF
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
AND INSTRUCTIONAL
STRATEGIES
Kenneth W. Trotman, M.Ed., Ed.S.
www.kennethtrotman.com

Making Government Class Memorable

3 Levels, 3 Branches:
Review Games I Created

Entertaining Conversations in a Political Zoo

Our classroom is filled with creative projects, interactive study
guides, and student work that creates a beautiful learning
environment!

Here are some photographs of our classroom
during ‘presentation view’

Organization: Checks for Understanding
I told students on Day One that our
interactive notebooks (checks for
understanding/formative checks) are
called ‘Passports’ because I believe each
opportunity for learning is similar to a
voyage. We acknowledge their ‘arrival’
by stamping their passports. 10 stamps
leads to an extra credit “Trot Dollar”

Being Organized to Prepare Lessons
As a new CLT, we found creative ways to organize our
planning which helped out lessons flow into the
LEARN Model

Play on Words to Help
Congressional Comparison
• In Spanish, ‘cangrejo’ means ‘crab’ and ‘Congreso’ means
‘Congress.’ Students were able to remember that information
regarding ‘Congreso’ was on their ‘cangrejos’
• The crab’s legs represented a T-Chart Comparison between State
& Federal Legislative Branches while its belly served as a Venn
Diagram comparing the two houses in Congress
• The mouth/stomach helped students ‘digest’ their learning through
4 reflective questions

Comprehensive Group-Review Project
The turtle projects gave an
overview for the year and
included an incredible
amount of information:
15 essential questions
from the VDOE
standards
4 reflective questions
from the Cornell Notes
on the legs
3 vocabulary word
analysis
2 diagrams of
government processes
and a comparison of
the three branches of
government

Constructing Vocabulary Development to
Lift Us to New Heights
Getting to the
‘core’ of our
vocabulary lesson
A revised and
expanded Frayer
Model has helped
develop word
pyramids, which
have been used to
create trees,
boats, and leaves!
We organize our vocabulary
words using balloons which
helps them be readily
available for delegating
words/activities

‘Ave’-ry Comprehensive Review Project
*Note: ‘Ave’=‘bird’ in Spanish
The tail-feathers
served as a
Venn-Diagram
comparison
between the two
Congressional
houses
The neck gave
students a space
to organize &
test their
knowledge of
Presidential Roles
The inside of the bird’s wings provides
enough space for 4 vocabulary pyramids of
essential words/knowledge

Getting a ‘leg-up’ in our learning
One leg identifies
roles/responsibilities of the three
levels of government and places a
symbol on the four types of
government we studied
The other leg has a fill-in-the blank
timeline of influential documents and
events that led to the signing

Student Work=Hallway Decorations
• We used Kahoot, Google
Classroom, Quizlet, PebbleGo,
and many other digital resources.
• I’d say we were ‘spinning’ quality
time utilizing the web

As students walk to my class…
They are greeted by their work displayed in our hallway

Grade Rubric and Student Reflection
To help all students understand their behavior expectations and our participation guidelines,
I created a student-friendly rubric that served as a basis of understanding. This also served
as a differentiated-reflection tool at the end of the class.

Higher Order Thinking while ‘Under the Sea’
Each section within the
fish/whale required Higher
Order Thinking activities and
questions related to our
Unit 1-3 Review

This bulletin board walks students through our daily routines while using creative puns/phrases
and visuals. It demonstrates our classroom policies and their academic expectations for
Health/PE Class
Establishing Routines while
Building School Climate

Displaying Student Accomplishments
I loved having a bulletin board where student achievement was recognized. Test scores, quizzes,
and projects were all displayed as students’ effort translated to exceeding learning targets.

Setting a Tone for Creativity
Keeping Track
of our
Vocabulary
Words
(every unit is a
different color
balloon)
Our school’s door
decorating contest
allowed me to tell my
students about how
college impacted my life

Setting a Tone for Creativity
The calendar helped students track
their physical and dietary goals using a
sticker based system we created
This door decorating contest allowed
me to show students many of the ‘roads’
that could ‘pave their way’ to a career
in criminal justice and homeland
security.

The “Check 4 Understanding” Board
• This board was dedicated to make sure I had
easy access to demonstrate common formative
‘checks’ during a presentation.
• These included: Frayer Model, Concept Ladder,
3-2-1, and a chronological timeline

Interactive Notebooks for Formative
Checks: “Passports”
Students completed these formative check activities for
warm-ups/reflections and during presentations. They
received a stamp in their ‘passports’ to acknowledge they
had ‘arrived’ at a certain point in their learning. (I even
bought a pilot hat and wore it during these activities)

Our Daily Agenda
The whiteboard at the front of the class shows observers and students our: standards,
agenda via the LEARN Model, and our “Know, Understand, Do” learning targets

Differentiated Review Game I Invented!

Bringing ‘Games’ to the Classroom
A colleague
and I created,
“Government
Battleship!”

Creating Academic Conversations

Student Review Triangles
Student work
can create a
comprehensive
review guide.
Combined,
these can
create BIG
classroom
displays!

Students’ Work Displayed

Diamond Dioramas
Diamond
Diorama
projects
allow the 8
units to be
displayed as
an End-of-
Course
Overview

Student Diorama Project
Compare and
Contrasting

Hanging/Displayed Diorama
Diamond Dioramas can hang and rotate
as students review each unit of study

Early American History Foldables

Caterpillar Example

This
caterpillar
opens up to
become a
War of
1812
Timeline with
visual aids
War of 1812 Timeline

Butterfly Foldables

Political cartoons, writing assignments, and flowcharts
help bring students to a deeper
understanding of the content

“Lantern”
Foldables to
break-up
learning into
segments

Displaying Student Work

Displaying
Student Work

French Fry: Warm-Ups and Exit Tickets
Using some simple guidelines, this
system allows students to reflect on
their learning while I give a
formative assessment and quickly
measure classroom understanding

Sample Lesson: Essential Vocabulary
(Look at the next slide for the project…)

Getting to the “core” of Presidential Power
I took the four
essential
vocabulary
words to teach
Presidential
Powers
Synonyms, Antonyms, Current Events, Using the Word in a
Sentence, and Word Importance are outlined in these projects
We discussed:
Presidential
Pardons, Executive
Orders, Executive
Privilege, and
War Powers
Resolution

Why do you keep ‘buggin’ me about the
Judicial Branch?
The two wings have activities detailing the appellate processes of
State & Federal Courts and Criminal/Civil Proceedings

These make great wall decorations!

Visual Displays & Resources
Visually showing our class progress and
connecting students to additional material
is vital to their success

Student Data
These techniques and strategies help my students
learn and make incredible gains academically.
Here is a sample of my student data to
demonstrate academic improvement.

Student Scores
Pre-Assessment Mid-Assessment Post-Assessment
Alfred 27 80 85
Christian 38 58 82
Sandra 23 33 85
Omar 42 55 86
Jada 25 63 80
Walter 42 57 82
Zari 20 38 85
Patrick 28 78 82
Erlin 73 78 100
Marcus 33 73 89
Jaadir 40 62 86
Milton 52 82 100
Elaine 37 55 82
Nichole 27 52 89
Shannon 47 68 89
Mo 18 57 82
Elvis 12 55 82
Jayson 38 55 89
Average 35.86956522 62.26086957 86.38888889

Percentage Gain: Pre- to Post- Assessment
300
250
200
150
100
Post-Assessment
Mid-Assessment
Pre-Assessment
50
0

US/VA History Pre- to Post-Assessment Gains
120
100
80
60
Pre-Assessment
Mid-Assessment
Post-Assessment
40
20
0

US/VA History Student Averages
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Pre-Assessment Mid-Assessment Post-Assessment

Student Data: US/VA Government
Name (Last, First) Pre Mid Final
Akram, Zeshan 17 51 77
Ayala Hernandez, Orlando 44 41 64
Barnes, Allira 30 41 79
Boateng, Felicia 21 51 83
Bonilla, Zari 41 33 57
Brown, Devlin 43 43 64
Concepcion-Melendez, Priscilla 60 59 89
Courtney, Jason 3 41 69
Cu Ramirez, Daylin 41 51 68
Diggs-McLean, Brianna 54 74 91
Escobar, Marcos 69 76 98
Harding, Katherine 41 47 69
Hill, Dominic 61 72 80
Jappah, Dominic 59 76 83
Lehto, Vanessa 36 54 88
Malvas, Matthew 29 54 57
Mercer, Krislina 27 56 53
Moorer, Erykah 46 59 81
Orellana Hernandez, Mely 40 46 54
Ray, Chanise 30 30 51
Redwin, Demarco 54 66 77
Roque, Kelyn 16 50 56
Weinbach, Katherine 51 60 71
39.69565 53.52174 72.13043

US/VA Government-Average Student Growth:
Pre- to Post-Assessment
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Pre Mid Final

Individual Student Growth
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Pre Mid Final

Individual Student Growth
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Pre Mid Final

Additional Strategies I Use

Views from around the classroom…
When I thought about
going into teaching, I
knew I wanted to create a
bright and interactive
atmosphere that
encourages learning
My intent is to uplift
students as they walk into
the classroom so that they
are eager not only to
acquire knowledge, but
also to process
understanding

Views from around the classroom…

Organization and Policy
Teaching at a juvenile detention center is one of the
most challenging things I could ever attempt to
tackle as a first year teacher
Despite the difficulties, I have no regrets
As the only Social Studies teacher, I have to create
all the materials and lesson plans
Each teacher is required as well to meet the
following expectations:
• Virginia Standards of Learning
• Special Education Requirements
• Low literacy rates

Organization and Policy
I am responsible for knowing
the following subjects:
6 th Grade American History
Civics
World History I
World Geography
World History II
US/VA History
Government
GED Social Studies
and helping my Post-GED
students explore career
opportunities
I created a color-coded
system using textbooks
and assigning a
personal folder for each
student

Organization and Policy
Their books are labeled by their appropriate subject

Communication with students
Staying in contact with my
students is very important
to me
The questions they are too
embarrassed to ask in
front of their peers are
placed in my mailbox and
I answer them the
following class or drop a
note in their folders

Current Events Foldable
Current Events are vital for
students to remain up-to-date
on international and domestic
news and connect their
subject to the “real world”
Instead of asking for a
traditional summary, I use
these colorful little booklets
that extract the most essential
information from the articles
and assist with verbal
presentations

Final Product
When it is complete, this is a great graphic organizer

Bill of Rights Booklets
Students love kinesthetic
learning activities
Using popular songs and
comedy clips, I teach the
students about their
individual liberties
Jay-Z-99 Problems (censored)
describes the fourth amendment
Dave Chappelle- “FIF” YouTube
Clip describes the fifth
amendment
These are easy to make
booklets using simple
materials
3 colored half-sheets of paper
Hole puncher
String for binding

Individualized Learning Activities-Islam
While teaching the history
and influence of Islam, I
create individualized learning
activities that include
differentiation strategies
Each activity includes
different aspects of the
learning
Students verbally present
their work and practice
reciprocal teaching

Individualized Learning Activities-Islam
Vocabulary and social class
pyramid
Islamic Culture and
Historical Timeline
Spread of Islam
Geography Lesson

Graphic Organizer Activities-Islam
Five Pillars of Islam
Venn Diagram
Comparison: Sunni and
Shia Islam

Political Views Foldables
Foldables help students organize
their notes and thoughts before a
writing assignment
Here, students organize
Democrats in the left tab,
moderates and third parties in
the middle column, and
Republicans in the right tab
Lastly, students draw a line on
the bottom with political labels
Each student receives a small
sticker and had to choose a
political position

Writing Responses
Writing is a vital part of all
content areas and should be
incorporated as often as
possible into the curriculum
Using Bloom’s Taxonomy
Question and Design Wheel,
students are able to synthesize
and evaluate their learning
Here, students use their notes
(tabs) to identify with a political
stance and then explain why they
chose their view
Many students are surprised when
they actually choose their political
view for themselves rather than
relying on popular family or
cultural opinions

Incorporating Writing Strategies

Jigsaw Method
Using different roles, I created a
jigsaw project to help teach
Federalism and division of
Constitutional powers.

Honeycombs & Beehive: Final Product
Outside
Inside

Political Views Foldable
At completion, this makes
a great way to decorate
a door
Additionally, it allows
students to anonymously
learn others’ political
views
This can be used in
mathematics for
percentages or a preassessment
before a mock
election

Word Walls and Picture Books
Using Bob Marley’s “Buffalo
Soldier,” students learn how
music can teach history
Word walls and picture books
assist in developing vocabulary

Hawaii
This lesson includes:
Differentiation strategies
Lower level learning
Vocabulary
Development
Multiple learning
activities
SOL Essential Questions
Journals and Poetry
Responses

Hawaii
With velcro, three
different matching
activities provide students
opportunities to match
text or geographical
information to the correct
location
The categories are:
Historical Pictures
Famous Hawaiians
Matching the islands

Hawaii
This lesson also includes learning:
Hawaiian cultural symbols
History of Hawaii timeline
New vocabulary words with Word Splash method

Foldables-First 13 Colonies/States
Instead of traditional notes, each
tab is labeled by the state and
notes are written inside the
project

Foldables-Three Branches of Government
Using this method,
students are also able
to learn about the three
branches of government
and their roles
Students write a
paragraph describing
the significance of
Checks and Balances on
the back of this project

Wordle-Global Understanding
Wordle is a great resource for students to visually understand main
ideas and concepts within speeches, letters, or historical documents
The bigger the word, the more it is used within the document
Here, students are asked to write a free-response about how they view
the world and current issues involving international relations
The most common words for Echo, the girls class, are:
Money
People
Love
Hurt
Separation
Responsible

Writing Responses-Global Understanding
With any lesson, developing the students’ writing
abilities is very important
Here, students write free responses on how they
view the world
They are required to justify their reasons with
supporting evidence

Hands-on Learning-Map Skills
These two lessons were are some of the students’
favorite lessons
Using a DC Metro Map, the class traces a “field trip”
using the national monuments, museums, and other city
attractions
Next, each student organizes a “dream date” with a
celebrity of their choice
They show their “date” around DC for the day using
their acquired map skills
Finally, each student writes a detailed essay
describing their date with Beyonce, Akon, Miley Cyrus
or whomever they pick

Hands-on Learning-Map Skills
Students are able to
locate universities,
parks, rivers, cities,
highways, and state
attractions
Students are engaged
through several
activities using Virginia
state maps

Differentiation-British/Irish Conflict
This lesson involves using U2’s
popular song, “Sunday Bloody
Sunday” and covers nine hundred
years of history
Using differentiation strategies,
video clips, maps, pictures, and
online resources this challenging
task is both fun and educational

Differentiation-British/Irish Conflict
Here you see a basic Venn
Diagram analyzing the
similarities and differences
between British and Irish
viewpoints
Students incorporate higher order
thinking and SOL vocabulary
terms: colonialism, parliament,
penal laws, IRA, home rule,
cultural renaissance, partition,
hunger strike, and gerrymandering

Differentiation-British/Irish Conflict
Students use a Mind Map, a
graphic organizer of major
events within the conflict
Students also write a journal or
poetry entry by “putting
themselves in British or Irish shoes”
during the conflict
For lower level students, I had
them draw a comic strip involving
one of the major conflicts
1845 Irish Potato Famine
1916 Easter Rising
1921 Independence War
1981 Hunger Strikes
1972 Bloody Sunday

Differentiation-British/Irish Conflict
Student quizzes are
presented on paper “blood
drops” which decorates the
project

Graphic Organizer-Mayans
Mayan Civilization notes are
divided into 7 sections
Because Mayans are famous
for their calendar system,
these notes are made into a
modern looking calendar
City Life
Geography
Religion
Politics
Contributions to Mankind
Pyramids
Extra Facts

Mesoamerican Civilizations
When studying the Mayans and Aztecs, students are
very interested in their pyramids
A pyramid foldable is used to organize students’
notes and thoughts
This foldable can also be used to
graphically organize all the
Mesoamerican civilizations:
Mayans, Aztecs, and Incans

Graphic Organizer-Black History Month
Similar to the previous calendar, each student receives a
famous African-American and writes a brief biographical
report on their achievements, personal life, education, etc.

JIGSAW Method
This method allows students
to move around and
interact with their learning
Students divide into groups
where they learn one of
the three main pieces of
information
They then return to their
original spots and teach
the information to a new
set of students
Reciprocal Teaching

JIGSAW Method-Music and History
Using 3 popular poems/songs from different eras, the JIGSAW
method is used to encourage student collaboration and analysis
while studying Black History Month and anthropologically
discussing the Post-Civil Rights era in America
The songs we studied are:
Gil Scott Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not
Be Televised”
Tracy Chapman’s “Talkin’ ‘Bout a
Revolution”
2Pac/Mos Def’s “Can U C The Pride in
the Panther”
These songs led to discussing Malcolm X,
The Black Panther Party, The
Weathermen, the Rainbow PUSH
Coalition, and formation of the NAACP

JIGSAW Method-Music and History
I made a television that
opens up to the lyrics
and student work
Foldables and a writing
prompt are given to
compare and contrast
several aspects of each
song and poem
Students loved this
lesson!

Individual Projects
Students in GED and
Post-GED Social Studies
program are asked to
create individual projects
throughout the year.
Some projects include:
Presidents
Great Lakes
World Religions
Virginia Facts

Character Education
The juvenile detention center
requires that students learn
about character education
These traits include:
Perseverance, Cooperation,
Citizenship, Tolerance, Kindness,
Respect, Self-Discipline, Honesty,
Responsibility, Courage,
Compassion, and Patriotism
Students connect the material
learned in Social Studies class
with the needed character traits

TIC-TAC-TOE for Character Education
Using this learning strategy, students are given a choice
of three activities to complete
Each activity requires using a different character trait
and each student makes “TIC-TAC-TOE”
Using differentiation
strategies, the activities are
organized into writing,
graphic organizers, and
hands-on learning.
Final drafts are done on
“puzzle pieces”

Character Education
Student work provides a clear
example of how several
learning strategies can be used
to implement new curriculum

Word Pyramid-Character Education
Using Dr. Seuss’ “The
Sneetches” story, I
introduced the theme
entitled “Tolerance”
Following this introduction,
we discussed historical
examples of intolerance and
how it relates to the world
the students live in today

Word Pyramid-Character Education
Additionally, students
had to draw a picture
that related to the
vocabulary word they
chose
Here is “Trail of Tears”
Using the word
pyramid, students build
their vocabulary skills
The pyramid is divided
into 4 sections
Word
Antonyms
Synonyms
Use the word in a
sentence

Word Pyramid-Character Education
When it is all completed, these form a giant pyramid
and can also be used as a border for a classroom

Making a Statement with Word Pyramids!
The pyramid sections are:
(1) Word
(2) Antonyms
(3a) Description/Synonyms or
(3b) Where found in politics
(4) Using the word in a
sentence

Flowers for Democracy
Word Pyramids
helped make the
“flower pot”
The flowers helped organize the various aspect of
democracy’s ‘roots.’ Petals showed democratic
concepts/principles, and the leaves described the two
ancient civilizations---Greece and Athens

Graphic Organizer & Visual Learners-
Genocides
Understanding two major genocides and their complex
details is a difficult task
By using a graphic organizer, photography, basic
phrases, and film clips students are able to both
comprehend and process these historical events
Additionally, the focus is on nine new vocabulary words
which outline the graphic organizer

Graphic Organizer & Visual Learners-
Genocides

Hands-on Learning and Writing
Once learning is
established, some students
may need time for their
learning to “soak in”
Using Crayola’s Model
Magic, students pick a
lesson to make a figurine
and write a brief report
about the lesson

Vocabulary Development via Word Splash
Additionally, students learn
nearly 75 vocabulary
words the first semester
Some students need time to
process and visually see
their learning
With this in mind, students
use word splashes to create
a vocabulary tree

Vocabulary Development via Word Splash
A word splash is when students relate
synonyms or words they think of to the
main word being described
It helps students with a thought process
called word association

Vocabulary Development and Writing
Even the “leaves” are words!
Here, on the “grass” students
write paragraphs about how
their vocabulary has
developed and why
vocabulary is important to
them as individuals in a
competitive society

Fun Activities
Finally, we discussed
the freedom and
importance of
practicing civic duties,
including the right to
contact elected officials
As an optional activity,
students are able to
write President Obama
a Christmas card for
the holiday season

Music and Hands-on Learning
Studying the song, “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel,
is a way to pre-assess students’ prior knowledge of the
Cold War
Joel’s song talks about dozens of leading political issues
that marked the era
Likewise, students make the top 26
national/international issues of their
lifetimes using an A-Z graphic
organizer
Finally, students rank their top 6
issues and trace them on their
handprints

Music and Hands-on Learning
A fire is made when students combine their individual efforts!

Music and Hands-on Learning
This is the perfect decoration for the holiday season!

The Cold War
Standards Overview
This unit covers
multiple SOL
standards and GED
curriculum
Additionally, several
NCSS and INTASC
standards are
addressed
Subjects Covered
Civics
World Geography
World History II
VA/US History
Government
GED
All of my Cold War lessons can be found at kennethtrotman.wikispaces.com

The Cold War
The idea for covering
the Cold War as a unit
evolved into creating
several kinesthetic,
vocabulary
development, and the
use of various
instructional activities
I organized the Cold
War by lessons that
would fit inside a
“fridge”

The Cold War
The Cold War Unit is divided into
seven unique lessons
Lesson One: Background Information
Lesson Two: Europe
Lesson Three: China/Korea
Lesson Four: Vietnam/Cambodia
Lesson Five: America
Lesson Six: The Ending of the Cold
War
Reading Lesson: Cuba

The Cold War
Furthermore, I want my
students to know that
history is not just facts
and dates
I purposefully made the
appearance plain,
asking students to
continually “dig deeper”
to discover how these
series of events shaped
our everyday lives

The Cold War
To introduce complex concepts, a variety of literary
devices are used that serve as a pre-assessment and an
introduction to the topic being covered
Some of these devices include:
Short Stories
Picture Books
Primary Source Documents
Newspaper Articles
Graphic Novels
Current Events

The Cold War
Background Information and Europe
Students make hands-on activities using vocabulary
development strategies
Here, the Frayer Model is being displayed to analyze
Communism and Democracy

The Cold War
Background Information and Europe
Students study tangible ways the West helped
devastated Europe after WWII and at the start of the
Cold War
Below is a foldable and map activity that displays the
complex events that took place
Kit Kats and Crunch candy bars
are used to act out the Berlin
Airlift!

The Cold War
Background Information and Europe
This is what the final “drawer” looks like within the fridge

China and Korea during the Cold War
Using knowledge
about the 38 th parallel
and Korean War,
students make
foldables that display
their learning
Also, using a Current
Events foldable, students
study the transition of
power in North Korea
and the civil rights
struggle in China

Vietnam and Cambodia
during the Cold War
Using a vocabulary development strategy called
“Concept Circles” and a hands-on activity, students
learn about the Vietnam War and Cambodian
Genocide

China, Korea, Vietnam, and Cambodia
during the Cold War
This is what the final “drawer” looks like within the fridge

America during the Cold War
Using a modified version of the concept circles, students
make a Pop-Out Foldable that describes the major themes in
America during the Cold War
These themes include:
Vietnam War Veterans
McCarthyism
Space Race
JFK

The Fall of the Soviet Union and the
End of the Cold War
Several events led to the fall
of the U.S.S.R.
In order for students to
visually piece these events
together, a strategy called the
“Concept Ladder” is used
Here, students see and write
about the cause and effect
relationship that the fall of
the Soviet Union had on
communism, Eastern Europe,
and the expansion of NATO

America, The Fall of the Soviet Union,
and the End of the Cold War
This is what the final “drawer” looks like within the fridge

The Cold War Assessments
Summative Assessments
6 vocabulary quizzes
10 Questions Each
Matching and Multiple
Choice
2 Cold War Tests
Multiple Choice
Formative/Writing Assessments
Political Cartoon Free
Response Test
Students analyze
nearly 30 political
cartoons and images

Spelling Bee
Words are compiled from
each subject throughout the
year to form a spelling bee
Students compete each week
to gain small prizes and
privileges
As a collective activity at the
end of the year, students
compete in our third annual
Spelling Bee!

THANK YOU!
Kenneth W. Trotman, M.Ed., Ed.S.
www.kennethtrotman.com