Context:

This unit was created under the instruction of Dr. Ellen Pesko and the class RE 4030: Development of Literacy for Learning during the Fall 2007 semester. 

The unit was implemented in a third grade classroom at Westwood Elementary in Ashe County, North Carolina.  It was used as a part of a Communities study to help the students understand the differing characteristics of a community compared to their own.

Impact:

The unit is designed as a study on the novel Sarah, Plain and Tall.  It provides a packet of comprehension activities for the students to complete upon reading each chapter.  The unit also includes a set of vocabulary words and activities, as well as an assessment for these.  The unit not only focuses on the word study and comprehension aspects, but it is also designed to help students organize their thoughts as they complete each chapter. 

This unit is beneficial to students because it teaches comprehension strategies as well as includes a grade-level appropriate novel for the students to read and enjoy.

Alignment:

The following indicators were met by the creation and use of this multi-text study:

Standard 1: Indicator 3: Teachers know and understand a diverse range of historical and contemporary literatures, including various genres of American, British, and World, as well as literatures written by women and authors of colors and works written for children and young adults. 

• This standard is met by the choice of the novel for the unit.  Sarah, Plain and Tall was chosen because of the setting of the novel and how it could be incorporated into the study of different communities. 

Standard 1:  Teachers understand the importance of literacy for personal and social growth.

• By including the packet of activities, this indicator was met.  The packet was designed for the students' understanding of the novel, as well as types of comprehension strategies that the students can use later in their educational career to help them excel and grow. 

Standard 7:   Indicator 7: Teachers develop and use a variety of formal and alternative assessment strategies as an integral part of instruction and learning appropriate for assessing individual, peer, team, and collaborative skills. 

• The multi-text unit includes a rubric by which the instructor can use to assess the packet for each individual student and each chapter activity that is completed. 

Standard 8:  Indicator 2: Teachers help students use a variety of strategies to monitor their own reading comprehension. 

• This standard is met by the inclusion of the packet for the students.  Each activity is different, yet they all are designed to help students recall the importance of each chapter as it creates the entire novel.

Standard 8:  Indicator 3: Teachers guide and encourage students to think critically about what they write and read. 

• This indicator is met by the many activities that ask the students to recall what they have read and apply it to different situations.  The students many times are analyzing the events of the chapter and are also using them as a comparison to their own life.