Fifth-grade teacher Ilza Zamora outlines classroom checks for understanding using Shakespeare

Ilza Zamora, a fifth-grade language arts teacher at Juan Seguin Elementary, described methods she uses to check students’ understanding of complex texts during her classroom instruction.

Zamora said she pairs brief, concrete checks for understanding with peer discussion to measure whether students grasp what is asked of them. “Utilizing A B C D cards alongside peer-to-peer discussion allows me to quantify how many students understand what is being asked,” she said, adding that listening for complete sentences and academic language helps her give targeted feedback.

Zamora told the meeting she uses whiteboards for quick written responses and models how to write at a fifth-grade level before asking students to compose answers. “Modeling how to appropriately write at a fifth grade level, and then checking students' responses on the white boards makes it clear to me where our strengths and areas of opportunity are,” she said.

She said these strategies support development of both oral and written academic language while students engage with challenging texts, including selections from the Bluebonnet list and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. “Having a clear structure for checking for understanding and providing feedback ensures that my students are adequately prepared for engaging with any text meaningfully,” Zamora said.

The transcript contains only this testimony and does not record any formal action or vote related to the instructional methods described.