Demonstration Lesson

All finalists must record and submit a demonstration lesson by the deadline provided in their email. The goal of the demonstration lesson is to display your potential as a future educator through a video of you teaching. The recording should include a short introduction and a 5-minute lesson. Please read ALL of the instructions below.

Through the demonstration lesson, you will be evaluated on the following: 

• Content knowledge: familiarity with lesson topic
• Student engagement: your lesson encourages student participation and engagement
• Cultural Responsiveness: use your students’ strengths, languages, customs, characteristics, experiences, and perspectives to deliver relevant instruction

Planning Your Lesson:

1. Identify the student population you will be teaching in your demonstration lesson. We encourage you to think about the students you will teach when you enter the classroom. The following questions are examples of what you might consider, but you don’t have to account for all of them. 

• What percentage of your students are English Language Learners? 
• What percentage of your students have special needs, have a disability, and/or need accomodations?
• What percentage of your students are from a historically marginalized group? 
• What are their skills, strengths, and life experiences? 

If you are getting stuck, think about what school district you would like to teach in. Click here to look up the enrollment and demographic data. You will need to identify the makeup of your class below.

2. Consider how you can use your students’ strengths, languages, customs, characteristics, experiences, and perspectives to deliver better instruction. How will you ensure your lesson is relevant and accessible to your specific students? 

3. Respond to a brief essay question. The goal of the essay is for you to explain how you considered your students’ unique backgrounds and abilities when planning and delivering your lesson.

Preparing to Record:

• When choosing a topic to teach, choose something you feel you can fully teach within the 5-minute time limit. The demonstration lesson can be for any subject in grade levels Pre-K – 12. Digital presentations (i.e. Powerpoint or Prezi) are not allowed. You can create and use posters and charts or use a white or chalk board.
• You should deliver your lesson as if you are teaching a classroom of students. You can pretend the students are there, or invite other people to act as your students. Inviting others to act as your students is not required and will not give you an advantage. If you choose to invite people to participate as your students, please adhere to CDC social distancing and mask guidelines. Whether you use real people or pretend, be sure to engage with your students as you would in a real classroom.
• If you include handouts or manipulatives in your lesson, you should upload these documents and/or photos of the manipulatives in Survey Monkey Apply (the application platform). Name the file(s) the same way you refer to them in the video and include your first and last name. For example, if you mention “Handout 1” in the recording, please label the uploaded document “Your First Name & Last Name Handout 1”. Including handouts or manipulatives does not give you any advantage, but may help your reviewer to have a better understanding of your lesson.
• Find a quiet place where you will feel comfortable presenting. Be sure we can see your face, not just the materials you are presenting. Present as if you are teaching in a classroom.
• Submit one continuous take of your demonstration lesson. Do not edit  out parts or use a video editing software.
• Depending on your year in school, you may or may not have started your education classes. We will take this into account when evaluating your lesson. 
• If you are planning to become a bilingual teacher, you can do your demonstration lesson in Spanish.
• A good demonstration lesson will teach your students a quick piece of knowledge or skill. If you are having difficulty getting started, feel free to search the internet for examples, but please be sure your demonstration lesson is your own original work.

How to Record

There are several ways you can record and upload your demonstration lesson. Keep in mind, Survey Monkey Apply supports .mov or .mp4 files, or YouTube links. Please review the options below and select the one that is easiest for you. The maximum file size you can upload is 1GB/1000 MB.

Do not use Google Drive. You cannot copy and paste a Google Drive link into Survey Monkey.

Recording

Begin your video with the following introductory information. 

1.  Your name
2.  University or universities you’re applying through
3. Your year in school (ex: freshman, sophomore, Master’s, etc.) 
4. What you will be teaching in your demonstration lesson (include subject area and grade level) 

Your 5 minutes can officially begin after the introduction. Please keep your responses to the introduction questions brief. 

Please submit one continuous take of your demonstration lesson. Do not edit out parts or use a video editing software to alter the video.

Submitting your Demonstration Lesson

Log in to Survey Monkey Apply (the application platform) using the same account information you used to submit your application. Click the demonstration lesson task. Email RaisingTXTeachers@charlesbuttfdn.org if the demonstration lesson task is not listed. 

Upload your .mov or .mp4 file, or paste your Youtube link. If you are submitting a Youtube link, you MUST enter the long version of the URL, not the shortened version. A long URL contains “youtube.com” and the shortened URL contains “youtu.be”. If you click “Share” and copy that link, it will be the shortened URL and will not work. 

If you’d like, upload any documents or photos that go along with your lesson. 

You must submit your recorded demonstration lesson to Survey Monkey Apply by the deadline provided in your email.