Effective Fluency Assessments

Fluency is a major component of literacy and I think it can be assessed easily as well.  As for the Tompkins reading, I think the running record scoring sheet is effective because it assess's accuracy as well as reading speed if the assesser records the speed.  While it seems like a lot of work for the teacher or assesser I think it is very effective in assessing fluency.  I also really like the "Words I Know" test on page 73.  I've never seen an assessment like this before but I like its simplicity.  While it might be the most effective way of assessing fluency, I think it will give the assesser a better idea of what words the student already knows well (sight words) and what the students might need to work on more.  I also think that reading books with students is also an effective informal assessment.  It is a good way to assess students prosody.

As for my placement, since I am in a kindergarten classroom and it is getting closer to the end of the year, fluency is something they are focusing on right now.  My mentor teacher focuses on literacy with the students so I get the opportunity to see how she assess students as well as get a chance to see the students grow and improve.  The students have really grown as far as sight words.  At the beginning of the year they would need my help to read or write just about every word but now I am so impressed at how much they can do on their own.  Also, not only do they have more sight words but they have also learned how to sound words out which has helped them a lot as far as fluency is concerned. 

New Literacy- Chelsey

1. Conceptual understanding:

The way I view literacy has definitely changed since the beginning of the semester.  In the beginning, I was under the impression that literacy was just the understanding of how to read and write.  However, now I know that literacy can mean understanding all types of things from different cultures to the way emotions work and how we express ourselves effectively.  By completing this project I was able to learn about all different types of literacies while I was trying to decide which direction I wanted to take as well as various new technologies that will definitely be helpful when I have a classroom of my own.  I had no idea that so many technologies were out there and available for free and that they were so easy to use, it makes discovering new things a lot less scary.

2. Effective Liteacy Instruction:

I now know how important it is to teach students the various types of literacies and not just focus on reading and writing.  Not only did completing this project help me learn about cultural literacy but by reviewing another persons project I was able to understand how crucial it is to teach students about emotional literacy and how to express their emotions in a safe and positive way.  All classrooms with be diverse and as a teacher I feel like I am now equipped with the right information so that I will be able to teach my students about all different kinds of literacies in new and exciting ways.  I know how important it is not to focus on one type of literacy because they all hold an important place in our students learning and will help them continue to learn and grow after they leave our classroom.

While I think it may be hard for kindergarden students to use a technology such as creating a website, I do not think it is impossible.  With the right instructions and help students can work with an older student or adult to create their own website and use it to express their ideas and the information that they have learned.  However, I think creating a website (or scrapblog) would be a GREAT tool for teachers to use with older students who can spend time outside of the class working on it and will not need as much help and specific instruction as younger students would.

3. Lesson plan:

Target area and rationale:  For this lesson I would l like my students to take away how to use a new technology: scrapblog, while they learn how to teach their classmates about a specific culture that may differ from others in the class.  The target grade level for this lesson is 4th grade.

Objectives: Common Core
1.  Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

2. Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

Materials needed: Teacher example of own cultural scrapblog focusing on the Irish culture (for St. Patricks day), access to school computer classroom or laptops for at least 1 hour a day for a 5 day week, classroom computer with hook up to SmartBoard for presentations

Outline of key events:

* Teacher will show his/her own scrapblog to the class and then have a short discussion about how the project will entail, showing the basics on how to use scrapblog and how to look up information about the culture they want to explore.

* Students will then have an opportunity to explore their culture and gain familiarity with that culture using the internet or library as resources.

*Students will then use the next few days to create their scrapblog in class or in a computer room using the information that found about their culture.

* Time will be spent during class on the last day of the week for students to show off their scrapblog using the SmartBoard.

Closing Summary: From this project I hope students will not only learn about a new culture and be able to teach their classmates about what they have learned but also how to use a new technology that they will be able to use in the future to help get their point across in a fun and engaging way.

Ongoing assessment: Teacher will be able to assess the students presentations while they are presenting to the class but as an ongoing assessment, the teacher will be able to assign projects using this new technology in the future that the students will be able to do in their own time without much class influence.

New Literacy - Emily

Understanding Literacy

         Throughout the course of this semester, I have come to understand the definition of literacy in a much more broad sense.  In previous classes when we have talked about literacy, it has been emphasized as being able to read, write, and comprehend.  But the readings that we have done and the class discussions we’ve had over the past several weeks have made me realize that literacy includes much more than that. 

         This project itself was a great way to prove that point- I never would have associated ideas like culture or emotions with the word “literacy”.  After creating my own website and looking over the projects created by my classmates, it’s obvious that there are not only multiple types of literacy, but multiple ways to interpret them. For example, there were several projects that focused on cultural literacy (the subject that I chose as well).  However, each of the other websites or scrapblogs that I saw were extremely different than my own- we all chose to emphasize or focus on different aspects of the same literacy.  This goes to show that literacies can be interpreted in many different ways.

Effective Literacy Instruction

         If there is one main lesson I learned from this project, it’s that effective literacy instruction goes far beyond simply teaching children how to read.  As teachers, we need to be fully aware of the many different types of literacies that exist and of the strategies we can use to teach them to our students.  Using a variety of teaching strategies and taking advantage of as many resources as possible has never been more important.

          Living in a world where it seems like new technology is emerging on a daily basis, we have to make constant adjustments both to our learning and our teaching.  Whether we like it or not, technology use has become a vital part of day-to-day classroom operations.  With countless numbers of free or cheap websites available to work on and customize, teachers need to make sure to expose students to as many different options as possible.  Molding children’s technological literacy is just as important (if not more important) that the formation of the various other types of literacy.  Websites, scrapblogs, online concept maps, etc. can be paired with more “conventional” types of literacy instruction to create the most beneficial experience for students.

Lesson Plan

On the Weebly page I made for cultural literacy, I included an idea for a class-wide project focusing on cultural and using the technology of creating a website. I adjusted the standards and objectives based on a 5^th grade classroom.

Lesson Summary & Rationale:

To take advantage of the many free web-design opportunities that are available today, the teacher will assign an individual or small-group project lasting several weeks that requires students to do in-depth research on a specific culture using multiple sources of information (including texts). As a finished product, students will use the information they have found to create a website or other online resource about the culture.

Common Core Standards:

RI.5.3. Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.

RI.5.9. Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.

SL.5.4. Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

SL.5.5. Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

Objectives:

• ·      Students will spend several weeks researching a previously assigned culture and compiling their findings to create an online resource
• ·      Students will demonstrate in-depth understanding of their “culture” and will be able to answer basic questions posed by their peers and the teacher
• ·      At the conclusion of the assignment, students will provide a brief presentation of their work and will demonstrate understanding of how the technology works

Lesson Closing & Post-Assessment

Over the course of several days at the end of the project, each student will present their work to the rest of the class. Students will be assessed on the evidence of work time and quality put into creating the project as well as demonstration of deep understanding of their assigned culture. Links to each final project will also be sent out to parents and the rest of the school, allowing the students' work to be shared on a wider basis.

Jessie's New Literacy Learning

1) YOUR CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING:

My understanding of literacy has changed tremendously since beginning this class. Initially, I thought of literacy of basically encompassing one’s ability to read and write.  I placed high emphasis on the value of literacy, but again, only on the value of being able to read, comprehend, respond, compose, etc. However, from my research on emotional literacy, my ideas have transformed tremendously. In only focusing on one new literacy, I now understand how one’s ability to be “literate” in other avenues are just as valuable and necessary to a student’s learning and performance in school. For instance, in regards to emotional literacy, the ability to understand one’s own emotions as well as others is incredibly helpful in promoting student’s learning as a strong culture of acceptance and togetherness is formed, encouraging more positive learning environments.  The instance of bullying may be drastically reduced as well, helping to create a safe learning environment. Specifically, emotional literacy spans much farther than simple academics, stemming into one’s personal life and affecting their everyday endeavors. Many websites found via Edutopia t me realize the full potential of emotional literacy, as the prevalence of discussion of emotional literacy via educators on Twitter. It’s truly an integral topic in regards to education and helping students become well rounded individuals prepared not only to engage in academic learning, but to engage in society as effective citizens.

2) EFFECTIVE LITERACY INSTRUCTION:

I now understand that providing “effective literacy instruction” does not simply encompass teaching a student to read and write. From my research on emotional literacy, I now find myself compelled to argue that in fact, a child should be provided with ample opportunities to become literate in several avenues.  Emotional literacy could be especially crucial in reaching diverse learners, as creating a culture of understanding and acceptance is crucial to helping diverse learners feel safe and accepted, a crucial first step that must occur before academic learning can occur. If students do not feel part of their learning community, they are less likely to engage in the academic learning process.

I actually engaged with this type of literacy for my critical literature discussion. In working with Kindergarten students, a story was read that dealt with various emotions such as excitement, anger, and regret. Students were incredibly open to discussing the emotions present within the story and applying the emotional responses to their own life experiences.  Their final activity included drawing a picture of a time they felt one of the emotions the main character experienced in the story. While a form of technology was not used for this lesson, in perhaps a later grade level a similar lesson could be conducted in which students use a medium of technology that allows them to express the same type of goal, perhaps using Storyboard to make the experience into a story in which they can use their own experiences or create their own character. In general, helping students gain awareness of how one’s emotions, attitudes, and behaviors can affect every avenue of their life inside and outside of school is necessary for allowing students to reach their full potential.

3) LESSON PLAN: 

As discussed in the prior section, learning to identify and relate to various emotions is an important aspect of emotional literacy. While I began to discuss various options, in developing a integrated lesson for lower elementary students, I believe creating a Storyboard in response to the reading of a story would be appropriate.

  

• Target area and rationale: As discussed throughout this post, emotional literacy is crucial for helping students reach an understanding of self and others to foster a positive learning environment. This literacy is also beneficial in analyzing characters in various forms of literature, helping to integrate the overall lesson’s objectives. The technology used in this lesson will help further integrate, providing students with an opportunity to not only become literate in emotional awareness, character analysis, but also in technology use.

• List your objective(s):
• Students will be able to identify main character’s emotions as present throughout the narrative
• Students will be able to relate character’s emotions to occasions in their own life in which they have experienced similar emotions.
• Students will be able to engage in the process of emotional awareness and character analysis using a new form of technology.

• List the materials and supplies needed:
• Grade appropriate piece of literature that highlights a main character experiencing various emotions. (Ex: Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse) (This material is open to teacher’s selection in accordance to grade and classroom culture as an array of narratives are available)
• Computers/Laptops for accessing technology resource: Glogster
• Outline of key events (use bullets)
• Teacher and students will engage in reading the story, paying careful attention to main character’s emotions
• Students will discuss (with guidance of teacher as needed) the emotions experienced by main character, relating emotional experiences to their own personal experiences
• Students will create a “glog” in which they highlight 3-5 (depending on grade level, could be less) different emotions, including a personal recollection of a time they experienced such emotions as well as how they responded. Visuals are expected to help students and viewers make stronger connections between the experience, emotion, and response.
• Closing summary
• Students will share their Glogs whether through class website or class wiki, and respond to a peer’s glog with any similarities or differences they found in regards to emotions experienced
• Ongoing assessment
• Students will be assessed throughout the lesson in regards to their participation in the class discussion, their identification of emotions in the glog, and their response to a peer’s glog.