Week 8 Assignment

Assignment #1:

Sheila and John incorporates emergent literacy in their lessons by using the Word Wall to have the students write and read sentences. John used the missing word exercise to have the students complete the passage. He used the sight words to complete the sentences. The trial and error manner allows manner allows the students to demonstrate their vocabulary and sentence comprehension. The primary focus of the lesson were vocabulary and comprehension of the sentences. They both used the group setting to have the students participate orally in the lesson. They assisted their classmates and helped to complete the task without the teacher's assistance. The teachers used the Word Wall to have the students display their knowledge of the words they learned. Sheila used the opportunity to have them create their own sentences. John used the opportunity to have the students use the words on their wall to complete the sentences. They both had planned lessons, where the students had to use their sight words to complete the tasks. Sheila used one of the sentences that a student made; John used a paragraph with missing words.

Assignment#2:

Charmon and Shari both taught phonics lessons in the class. They chose to use different approaches because they had different lessons prepared. Charmon was teaching the a_e words before they were to read a story that had one of the words in it. She wanted them to become familiar with the words,so they could read the story clearly. Shari wanted to the teach the ug family words to the class. They used the phonics principles of finding family words and creating words with the same vowel structure and sound. The lesson that Shari created promotes more student engagement because they were allowed to select the words. Shari used her “Poem of the Week” to engage the students in a sing-song manner to learn the words. Becky's “Reader Theater” has the students practicing their scripts, which develops their vocabulary. In Shari's activity, all the students participated, but in the “Reader Theater” activity, the engagement was only from a select group of classmates.

The “Reader Theater” students would be assessed using the three stages of fluency as follows:

1. Connecting with the language: monitor the students as they practice the scripts before their presentation.
2. Getting comfortable in most situations: monitor and assess the way that the students read the script.
3. Constant improvement: while the students are presenting the script, I would assess the level of fluency when they are reading the script; compare it to the previous activities that the student completed.

Assignment #3:

The child that I practiced the QRI-5 assessment with was a Kindergarten student. He was very good with reading on a Primer level. He had some difficulty when answering the concept questions, but did better on the general questions. He needs to be assisted when developing answers in detail about the story. He will be able to move up a reading level by the end of the year, if there instructional assistance with developing question answers.

Week 7 Assignment

Assignment #1:
I. Print Awareness:
Pre-test: I got 9/10 questions correctly, I have a good understanding of the concept of print awareness
Intro & In Depth: I learned that there are many different aspects of print awareness than just reading the book. You have to be able to identify the parts of the text that make up the book. Also, books are not the only form of print, the internet and any text that is read can be viewed to create print awareness.
In practice: The aspects of the book should be reviewed with the students, they should know all parts of the print for recognition. The information that is gained about the book (for one aspect of print) will give them print awareness.
Assignments: The class can develop their knowledge of the book by  the sample format provided or by your own method of teaching it:
1. I would allow one student to select a book to be read to the class.
2. Once the book is received, I would ask another student to come up to the front of the class to demonstrate the front, back, sides and inside flaps of the book.
3. The class will demonstrate their knowledge of the author, illustrator and the difference between words and pictures.
4. After the initial introduction of the story, we will establish the characters of the story, then proceed with reading the story.
5. When the story is finished, I will ask the students: what is the purpose of the characters, who is their favorite character, and what they consider the best part of the story.
6. The students will draw and write a summary of the story.
Post-test: I got 9/10 questions correctly, I changed one of the answers that were originally correct.

II. The Sounds of Speech:
Pretest: I received 9/10 questions correctly, I did not know that there were 40 sounds in the English language.
Intro & In Depth: I learned that there are 42-44 sounds in speech. The development of a word is created by the sounds that are created to make the words. Students that are struggling may be able to distinguish the sounds, but not be able to articulate the words. Also, if the student has a hearing or auditory problem it can be detected in their area of learning and assessment.
In practice: I like Activity #1, where the student uses his vocal cords to hear the vibrations in the words. This is an easy exercise to practice with the students. All age groups can practice this and get the feel of the phonemes in the words given.
Assignments: I would use the spelling words that they have to study, recording the sounds and allowing the students to state the number of phonemes.
Post-test: I received 6/10 questions correct, I need to work on phonemes and recognizing the number of them in words.

III. Phonemic Awareness
Pretest: I got 5/10 questions correct, I need to get a better understanding of phonemic awareness and phonologic awareness.
Intro & In depth: I learned that there is a difference between phonics and phonemic awareness. Also I have gathered information on the differences between phonologic and phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is a part of phonological awareness, which is the bigger picture. The importance of phonemic awareness is the fact that is helping the students learn to spell and read.
In practice: The students will have effective phonemic instruction with isolation, blending, categorization, segmentation, deletion, addition and substitution. Activities that incorporate these abilities are the most effective.
Assignments: I would try a game that had the words: it, at, an, in, and et. The students will select letters that will allow them to blend, add, and substitute. We will create a bingo board with the letters and words that will blend the words. Each child will get a board and some chips. The goal is to get BINGO with the word created from the phonemes.
Post-test: I received 8/10 questions, I need to get more experience with phoneme blending.

IV. Phonics
Pretest: I got 7/10 questions correct, I need to understand phonics more clearly.
Intro & In depth: I learned that phonics is very involved with the sounds and letter/vowel  combination, to create words. The student will learn to spell and read effectively. I learned effective phonics instruction to give to the class. I gained the knowledge of how to teach phonics: using synthetic, analytic, analogy-based, phonics through spelling, embedded, and onset-rime. I have the knowledge of the phonics terms: graphophonemic relationships, letter-sound association, letter-sound correspondence, sound-symbol correspondence, and sound spellings.
In practice: I learned that short books and stories are reading materials that are suggested.  Practicing to write also assists in the  effectiveness of phonics instruction. Systematic instruction can be more effective than non systematic instruction.  The students are learning about relationships between words and sounds; also letter/vowels and letter/sound combinations. Phonics instruction in the first and kindergarten levels can help prevent difficulties in reading.
Assignments: I am not in a classroom as of yet, but I would like to maintain a simple reading program that would encourage phonics.  Using websites that can incorporate  activities with spelling and minor reading passages.  The student will then write their own stories.
Post-test: I got 7/10 correct, I need to gain more knowledge of the terms of phonics.

Assignment #5:
Child Name: Keyno Coleman
Age: 5 years old
Grade: Kindergarten

I. Print Awareness

Lesson: I selected a book from the library, and the student demonstrated his knowledge of the book structure.

Results: Keyno was able to identify the front, back and inside cover of the book. He demonstrated the knowledge of the author’s name and the illustrator. He was slightly confused on what the title meant, but he was able to understand the meaning after the explanation was given.

II. The Sounds of Speech

Lesson: The student selected an ABC book, so we could review the sounds of the letters of the alphabet. We then created three to four letter words with the sounds of the letters.

Results: Keyno was able to sound out the letters of the alphabet effectively. He was also able to create words using different sounds. He was able to create:
/b/ /a/ /t/ - bat
/b/ /a/ /g/ - bag
/c/ /a/ /t/ - cat
/d/ /o/ /g/ - dog

III. Phonemic Awareness

Lesson: I gave the student 5 words to sound out and read:
Bet
Let
Set
Pet
Get

After the words were read, the student then had to substitute with other vowels: i, a, o, and u

Results: Keyno was able to replace the vowels and recognize/read the new words. He also questioned the words that were unfamiliar to him.

IV. Phonics

Lesson: We used worksheets from the website, which allow the student to fill in the missing letters of the words selected. He also worked on rhyming words, where they had a root word, he selected the word that rhymed with the root word.

Results: Keyno was able to fill in the missing letters and select the correct word that rhymed.

Suggested websites:
1. www.littlebirdtales.com : phonemic awareness and print awareness
2. http://www.actionfactor.com/pages/lesson-plans/v1.06-rhyming-words-short-vowels.html : Phonics
3. http://www.angelfire.com/nj/speechlanguage/Onlineactivities.html : Sounds of Speech

Week 6 Assignment

Instructional Focus:

My instructional focus would be mainly on comprehension skills. Mary can fluently read the text, but she does not retain information past the basic, general details. She may not get the focus of the story, such as, she can remember the generic information, i.e. character names and places, but not their purpose. Her understanding needs to be extended and conditioned to focus on more important structures and details of the story.

Length of Intervention:

I would give Mary 45 minutes of intervention during the day. She would be given passages to read during the independent reading time. Short passages that give details that are easy to absorb. Each day the passages will hold more details without going over the reading level of Mary. Since it is independnet reading time, there will be no time taken form the rest of the class.

Intervention Structure:

I would use the intervention structure of expository structure and details. But, I would also ask her to draw and write the important details she can remember from the story. Also, allowing her to look back at the text.

Mini-Lesson:

Time: 45 minutes each day

Materials:

• 5 one-page passages about animals (easy text with range)
• Pencil
• Paper/construction paper

Instruction:

• Student will read one passage pages each day
• Student will draw the important details from the story up to 5 details
• Student will list details they can remember from the story
• Student will write a small summary for homework to relate that day's passage

Week 5 Assignment

Assignment #1:
Mary recognized 16 words out of the 20. She was able to identify 2 words on her own. I believe that based on the results from the QRI-5, she recognizes 90% of the Second Level list.

 

Assignment #2:
Mary was not able to identify the words on this list, except for 2 words. She is unable to identify or read the Level 3 word list. She is more able to read thr Level 2 word list from the prior example. Mary did not attempt to read the words that were unfamiliar to her. She would skip across the words, so she is not ready for the Level 3 words.

 

 

Assignment #3:

Mary recalled 14 ideas from the story, she was comfortable recalling the most important ideas for the story. She gave the basic information about whales and fish. She did not feel comfortable pushing past the information that she already given.

 

 

 

Assignment #4:

My assessment of Mary is that she is comfortable with reading the passages. She is fluent and can recall most ideas from the passages. Her reading is on a 2nd grade level, she needs more recall instruction, but she can move up to a 3rd grade level by the end of the school year. With more practice, she can be reading at a 3rd grade level by the end of the year with intense instruction.

 

 

 

Week 4 Assignment

Assignment #1: RTI

My understanding of Response to Intervention (RTI) is that it is a new approach to special education. It is used to provide support and intervention activities to struggling students. By using the RTI method, there should be a limit or reduction of reading difficulties. The concept is that the students that are struggling with their reading comprehension are to receive intervention to create an instruction to assist them. The RTI would be developed to suit the needs of the student. The teacher and teaching professional will assess the student to measure the progress, if any. The intervention programs will create an additional instruction program to structure extra learning opportunities to the student. The only issue is that many teaching professionals will use the results for the present issues, but it should future learning of the student.

Like all programs, the RTI was used to help identify learning disabilities in the students that possessed them. Progress data is collected and continuously to make sure that the instruction the student is receiving is correct and sufficient. Once the results are given, then the correct and necessary services can be established. This model allows for the students to receive the best instruction for this learning situation.

Assignment  #2:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/99459862/Week%204%20636%20RTI%20PPT.ppt

Assignment #3: QRI - 5

Qualitative Reading Inventory 5 is an informal reading activity that consists of many activities to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the reader. The assessment is used to put together several reading assessments that will show the progress and where the student needs assistance. The QRI-5 gives many assessment options for the evaluator/instructor to use. The form gives more leverage to getting the most accurate results for the student’s progression. The many assessments allows for a wider range of evaluation and better results. The word lists allows for the assessment of accuracy of word identification and the speed in process. The passages increase in difficulty to assess the level of comprehension of the student. The QRI-5 gives more accurate progression information than single assessment methods.

Week 3 Assignment

Assignment #1: Response to Article Readings

The articles that I read about Response to Intervention and The Assessment of Thoughtful Literacy in NAEP, they are very insightful to assessment situation. My son is in a special education and collaborative tea class. He had assessment in ELA because he needed the intervention to assist in his comprehension of text. I believe that intervention is necessary for more than just struggling children. The additional instruction that Mark received helped him to put his level of comprehension and fluency back in perspective. But, he needed the continued intervention, he needed to have the same effort placed in his future learning. The Assessment article described that the student should be familiar with the genre of reading, this allows the student to relate to the reading. They can draw the information from the characters because they relate to the reader or someone they know.

The results of the other states and the assessment percentages were interesting. The fact that California had the lowest testing rate compared to Texas, who had the highest were insightful to the education levels in the states. We all assume that we teach the same, but the different standards compete with the education gained in any state. I think that the Assessment article was expressing the demand that is needed in the education field for reading. I think that the RTI article expressed the fact that intervention is the best assistance to help a struggling or slightly in need student.

Assignment #2: Assessment to Measure Students' Outcomes

The assessments that are used to measure students' outcome are ones that really detail the needs or improvements of the students. Recording logs are used to determine the reading level of the students, and to maintain a progress report on the development. Also anecdotal notes would be good for all the sample tests that were presented. The teachers can use the anecdotal notes will help to observe and record the progression of the student over a time period.

Sample Lesson #1: The assessment that would be effective for this lesson is the Peer Assessment. The groups will be given a list of criteria to follow. They will evaluate the recordings of the other group, then they will record the evaluations. The teacher will collect all the information that is submitted by each group for their story assessment and the group assessments. The teacher will then put together a report on the information that is gained.

Sample Lesson #2: The assessment that would be good for this lesson would be the anecdotal notes. The teacher will take notes on each student during their presentation. This assessment will give information on the students that can be monitored throughout the year. The students will select the proposal that they want to present, then the teacher can use the comprehension and fluency that they put in the presentation.

Sample Lesson #3: The assessment that would be used for this lesson is to create a Blog to help with the podcast episodes. They can record the episodes to follow and they can describe how they created them. The progress of the project will be recorded in the blog and the students can create the blog in their own style.

 

Assignment #3: QRI5

• The QRI5 is an informal reading inventory that measures the comprehension and word identification of the students, also what word they can not correctly identify.
• The purpose of using the QRI5 is to pinpoint the students' reading levels, what the groups reading sessions can be arranged, or to select the appropriate reading materials.
• I would say that the Running Records are similar to the QRI5.
• I think that the QRI5 is a great way to assess may different aspects of reading for the students.

Week 1 Introduction

My name is Ayanna Brown and I am the mother of two boys, in the picture above, my sons and nephew are visible. I have wanted to be an educator from the earliest years of my life. I am currently two semesters (two classes) away from obtaining my Master's degree in Childhood Education. I am not a current teacher and have not been in the class My book title for my life and goals would be "Creative Life and Achievements: Overcoming Personal Hurdles to Become Successful". My favorite joke is the Nacho Cheese joke, it is really funny. Also some Chris Rock jokes that are funny, but may be too racy for this introduction. I am learning more about the new literacies and teaching language arts. At this time, I have no concerns in taking this course.