Assessment to Instruction

 After getting to know two different buddies, I know have a third buddy to get to know all over again!  Though I have enjoyed these students, it is very difficult for me to gauge each new buddy's ability, strengths, and interests.  My new buddy, T, is an interesting kid.  Based on our first meeting, he is very soft-spoken and appears to read and write fairly well.  He has wonderful accuracy when reading, but does not retain a lot of information after the passage has been read.  After reading both stories (Amelia Earhart and Early Railroads), he read with amazing accuracy, but his level of comprehension put him in the frustration category.  A few things that caught my attention were his answers, word for word in the passages, when the questions related to technical or mechanical aspects of the story.  Since I am getting to know T, this gives me a jumping off point as to the sorts of stories he may be interested in reading or writing about in the future.


As a result of our findings, it would be logical to consider implementing a comprehension lesson as a shared reading lesson.  Because my first impression of him was shy and a little timid, I feel that shared reading would create a safe learning environment for him and the other students to to practice reading.  The teacher will model the behavior that a good reader would do while reading.  Tovani has many examples as to how she listens to her inside voice.  She also models how she asks questions, makes inferences, predictions, and opinions.  I also like how she promotes writing in the book (if allowed) to mark down these inside thoughts.  She also admits to daydreaming or easily becoming distracted for pages or two before realizing she hasn't been paying attention.  I think telling young readers that it is natural that things like that happen is important so that they don't feel like poor readers.  The lesson for T could be very simple as having the teacher model his/her thoughts while reading a short passage (maybe a paragraph).  While the students are following along, either on the doc-cam or reading from a class textbook, they can practice comprehension.  When the teacher vocalizes his/her thoughts, the students can easily observe how a good reader has a conversation with himself about what has just been read.  The teacher can place a sticky note on the page and write down any questions she had about the paragraph that may not have made sense or that more information is required to fully understand its message.  Then the students can practice this one strategy in their own independent reading time with sticky notes.  This would be a good start as an activity to build on reading comprehension.

Analysis and Lesson Plan

My buddy’s story is about a cat that has a unique trait: it talks to her!  Within her story, she speaks to the reader about how this talking cat shocks her, but also about how the cat is feeling in a human world.  The author presents a pretty complex world of emotions and instances of empathy.  She has a knack for words and writing funny scenarios.

6 Traits of Assessment:

IDEAS – She gives a great amount of detail to hold the reader’s attention.  Her ideas are fresh and original.  On her third page, she writes, “I leaned back and I heard, “Ouch!  That Hurt!”  Shocked, I looked up to see if anybody got hurt...”  In this example, she uses onomatopoeia and anticipates and answers the reader’s questions.

ORGANIZATION - She is pacing her story fairly well, but her story details (page 5), though a funny detail, detracts from the main story line and what she’s trying to get across to the reader.  In short, the details take too long to explain.  For most of the page, her main goal is to express the cat’s sadness because he cannot play with the kids.  She goes into detail about how the kids are playing ball and how the cat is physically unable to play such a game.  She feels sorry for the cat because of his opposable thumbs, and decides it would be best to call for her mom to take the cat home from school.  Though it is a funny story, it is very lengthy.

VOICE - .  Her ideas and content is evident (how sad the cat was at recess because he could not play kids’ game, no opposable thumbs).  She also uses engaging language:  (page 7) She uses expressions such as full speed ahead and in a blink of an eye.

WORD CHOICE – She consistently uses lively verbs throughout her story.  On page 6 she uses the word “grabbed” to describe how she was picking up a stick to defend the cat.  On page 1, she used the word “fainted” after the cat started talking to her.  On Page 3 the word “rushed” was used to express a sense of urgency, running down the stairs.

SENTENCE FLUENCY – Her sentence beginnings are not all alike; there is variance.  In one instance, she uses “But” to emphasize something different as a beginning sentence word (page 2:  The cat jumped at me and said,“Feed me now, stupid head!”  But didn’t listen).  She also uses descriptive words of time elapsed, such as for ten minutes after an hour, when I was sleeping in my bed.

However, sentences are awkward because they are very long. “I thote that was to rud to say so I did nothing but do my hair then the cat asked nicely then I rushed down stairs and expluned, you will get your way when you are nice to the person your talking to.”

CONVENTIONS - Spelling errors are frequent, even on common words (sight words, such as said).  Punctuation is often missing (no periods) and paragraphing is missing, as well.  Only one paragraph was made:  the beginning paragraph.

OWNERSHIP:

My buddy is a writer, and she says that she enjoys writing more than reading.  I have only seen one example of her writing, and it is evident that her ideas are full of detail and imagery.  She accepts compliments about her good writing and recognizes that she has a skill for writing.  She likes to read recipes when she is cooking with her grandmother (a response to my question:  what other types of writing do you like to read?).  If she does get to choose what she gets to read, she likes  to read non-fiction just as much as fiction and fantasy books.

SPELLING TEST AND DEVELOPMENT FINDINGS:

As I had only one meeting with Julia, and it was a full one with many activities and introductions to each other, I was only able to get halfway through her spelling test.  Based on my limited findings, she could be found on the middle Within-word Patterns (misspelling words such as flote, brite, and chooed) on the developmental continuum.  More analysis and observation is necessary to make a more informed placement.

I also had her read to me, and she frequently made mistakes.  She saw the first letter of the word and said a random word that started with the same letter.  When I asked her to read the sentence again, or asked if she knew the meaning of that word, she either stopped at the word or asked me what it meant.  Besides the words she does not know (and creates), she infers their meaning because at the end of each page, she is able to tell me what she just read.  She has a good sense of comprehension.

LESSON PLAN:

Objectives: 

Students will understand writing conventions and enhance word definitions by completing a spelling journal.

Standards: 

3.3.4. Applies punctuation rules.

3.3.6. Uses complete sentences in writing.

Materials:

Journal notebook

Pencil

Sticky notes

Vocabulary from current literacy textbook

Instructional Strategies:

Student will listen to 3 vocabulary words per week, supplied by the teacher.  As a class, the student will write in his/her notebook the vocabulary word and its definition.  Together they will discuss the meaning of each word. 

Independently, the student will draw the meaning or an example of the vocabulary word and use the word in a sentence, using his/her own words.

The teacher will monitor independent student work to check for correct definition, representation, and usage (capital and period).

Throughout the week, the student will be aware of these vocabulary words, inside and outside of class.  When these words are used, the student will journal how the word was used or quickly jot down the example of its usage on a sticky note to transfer/stick on the page at a later time.  Because these are vocabulary words taken from the literacy textbook, there will be at least one opportunity to journal about the word’s usage.

Assessment:

When notebooks are handed in at the end of the week, I will assess the student’s written work:  spelling vocabulary terms correctly, punctuation, and sentence structure.

At the end of the week, a spelling test (including definition) will be administered.  I will assess the student’s test for correct spelling, punctuation, and definition.

Super Second-grader!

My second grade buddy is an amazing reader!  He reads with so much emotion, it's like I'm watching him read for a play.  I even asked him if he thoughts of being an actor.

I decided to conduct a running record with him for our last meeting.  I chose "Hi! Flyguy" and he told me he's read the book series before.  Not surprising, he read through the book with no problems at all.  He understood the story because every once in a while he'd stop reading, look at me, and laugh out loud, or tell me, "that was a funny part!"

He read so fast, though, that his substituted a couple of prepositions that didn't change the meaning of the story, they were just lazy mistakes.  Maybe if this was a more serious test, he would have read more carefully.

He seems to understand most of what he reads, except really difficult and advanced words.  I think I might try an activity that I saw in Fox that uses the meaning of Greek roots, suffixes, and prefixes.

I love writing!

In class today, we finally started to discuss the Vignette assignment.  I say "finally" not because I was in anticipation of and excited about the assignment, but because I have been concerned about doing the assignment since Day 1 (the first day of class when the syllabus was handed out and assignments briefly introduced).  I've desperately been waiting for explanations, examples, a "step by step" instructional sheet to tell me what my professors are looking for, what components of the vignette I need to satisfy, a rubric.  Our cohort has so many assignments and projects to keep track of, and it is vital that I organize everything that I can possibly organize.

Then we began listening to example vignettes from past students.  What a picture they painted using only their words!  When we were asked to take a moment to brainstorm ideas, I was surprised at how fast my pen was moving!  I could see myself smiling inside my body.  I had forgotten how much I loved writing stories!  I used to write stories all the time throughout high school.  In my undergraduate studies, I majored in Comparative Literature, so I became comfortable with writing essays.  It's how we were assessed.  I suppose, along the way, the creative writer in me went away.  I honestly don't remember the last time, before college, I wrote an actual story for someone.  I've written in journals for myself every now and then, but since it's for me I don't use detail, specific descriptions, and imagery.  Other than myself, I never had a worthy audience member to write for.

Because I am adult and have experienced being a student in elementary school, I know that the act of writing is the actual reward.  Kids are so concerned with logistics and get stuck on grades, correct spelling, correct grammar, forcefully supplying details, and other "requirements."  In Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott says "it's like discovering that while you thought you needed the tea ceremony for the caffeine, what you really needed was the tea ceremony."  I haven't started writing my draft for the vignettes yet, but I am really looking forward to starting it later tonight.  All the worry about organizing my projects, thoughts, and time have seemed to take a back seat...for the time being (or at least until tomorrow morning!).  

When I become a teacher, I hope my students will come to know this rewarding feeling of being a writer.

Thoughts about ELP with Kinder Buddy

My kindergarten buddy is a wonderful reader.  He reads better than most of my 2nd and 3rd graders from my main placement.  Before administering the ELP, my partner told me to check off items on the record sheet because she was sure he would "pass" with flying colors.

Even though I agree he is an excellent reader, I've only worked with him once before for 30 minutes.  I wouldn't ever assume his skill level, or any other student's, based on once sit-down.  I found this to be a great learning moment for me.

It is so easy to make assumptions.

This child, a week before, proved to be an eager reader.  I presented a book that I wanted to read to him, and he immediately grabbed it from me and asked if he could read it to us instead.  Blown away by his suggestion, I said yes just as quickly as he had grabbed the book from my hands.  He read that book easily and effortlessly ("How Do Dinosaurs Go To School?" by Jane Yolen).  However, I could not be sure he understood everything he read.  Sometimes I would stop him in the story and ask about certain characters:  what they were feeling, what he thought about a character's role.  Sometimes he could answer me, but sometimes he would tell me something else that was completely unrelated to my question.

The last time we met with our buddy for the ELP, I did not want to flood my open mind with opinions, based on the one story he read to us previously.  I try really hard to keep unbiased.  It really has to be a conscious effort to be an unbiased educator.  My partner was administering the ELP, while I recorded and took notes.  When we came to the "sliding doors" part of the assessment, my buddy did not know where to locate a "group of words."  My partner had to define what a sentence was first before he could nod "yes" to her that he really did  know what a sentence was.

Though he is a skillful reader, I cannot assume that he knows what a sentence is.  He may know what consists of a sentence, and he may simply not know, concretely, the word "sentence."  Another possibility could be that the explanation of "group of words" was not worded correctly for his age level.  I feel it is important to be thinking about possible factors, as well as one-on-one conferences with him, to really get to know him as a reader.

First Read Aloud!

My first Read Aloud with my kindergarten class went really well!  At least, in my head I think it went well.  I read "Sheila Rae, The Brave" by Kevin Henkes, and it's about a little girl who thinks she's brave and gets lost, taking a long route home.  My co-teacher gave it to me, and it was the first time I'd ever heard of the book.  So I quickly scanned through the book, and thought the story was very cute and that many kids would be able to comprehend the story.  I also felt confident enough to lead an introduction with "who knows what it means to be brave?"  I think it was a good lead-in because the kids responded well.  At least half of the kids raised their hands to give examples of someone they knew who was brave.

I also feel good about reading the story with "silly" character voices and other varying voices to make the story livelier.  I'm slowly letting myself be silly, and I can see that the kids respond better when I am silly and energetic.

So.  There are also areas that I need to work on for next time.  One big mistake I made was that I didn't thoroughly read the book.  I didn't even notice that Sheila Rae's little sister was hiding and following her on the way home.  A couple of kids yelled out, "I see a tail!"  I had no idea why they said that!  Turns out, it was the sister's tail and she was hiding.  I also feel like I could have asked more questions to assess their understanding, like ask for predictions and if they understood vocabulary.

Overall, I am glad with the experience, and I am looking forward to my next Read Aloud.

My Own Literacy Experiences/Observations

As I have mentioned before, I was not really a "book work" type of person. I would most likely be found climbing the tree in the backyard, watching movies or TV, or singing and dancing with my sister. Did my parents read to me? No, not really. There is one book, though, that my parents and I will agree I read over and over again. It was a nursery rhyme picture book, and I loved it because my parents would sing the stories to me. It seems as though we were a very musical family.

Then something from our readings turned these observations into light bulb moments! Before I even started kindergarten, I was taking piano lessons. I learned how to play the piano because I was being taught how to read music.  I picked up on symbols, letters, how to read music from left to right, and what it looks like when a phrase begins and ends.  As Teale and Sulzby describe (pg 3), young literacy learners begin at a very early age within a literate society.  The society I found myself in incorporated music and singing, and I made an emotional connection to those words, symbols, and letters.

My goal with my students will be to create or find an emotional connection to the stories they read.