Context:

R E -4030-432 Dr. Woodrow Trathen

Brittain, Bill and Andrew Glass (ill.). The Wish Giver. Philadelphia: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1983. 5th grade.

Cooper, Michael L. Dust to Eat: Drought and Depression in the 1930s. New York: Clarion Books, 2001. 7th grade.

http://www.state.nj.us/drbc/drought/kids_droughtinfo.htm

I created this multi-text study in RE 4030 under the advisement of Dr. Woodrow Trathen in the fall of 2005 as a Block II requirement. The study is geared toward the 5th grade and was created around the fiction and non-fiction books entitled The Wish Giver and Dust to Eat. In addition an Internet Workshop focusing on drought was created to promote an understanding and familiarity with drought. This unit is a language arts unit which integrates science by delving into natural disasters such as drought.

The references for my unit are as follows:

Brittain, Bill and Andrew Glass (ill.). The Wish Giver. Philadelphia: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1983. 5th grade.

Cooper, Michael L. Dust to Eat: Drought and Depression in the 1930s. New York: Clarion Books, 2001. 7th grade.

http://www.state.nj.us/drbc/drought/kids_droughtinfo.htm

Impact:

This multi-text study is a great way to integrate both fiction and non-fiction texts through very creative and engaging formats. Through reading The Wish Giver and Dust to Eat text, students are given the opportunity to think critically about what they read while completing a variety of engaging language arts activities that connect to the multi-texts. I chose to develop this unit because the concept of drought is very frequently misunderstood and misrepresented. Since I did not have a chance to implement my multi-text study this semester, I hope to put the unit to use in my student teaching and future classroom in order to engage the interests and intellects of my students.

Alignment:

This multi-text study unit aligns with the Department of Public Instruction standard 1, indicator 3. In this study, I have included not only a fictional text, but I have also included a non-fictional text which addresses diversity through introducing students to the concept of drought. This unit also aligns with the Department of Public Instruction standard 1, indicator 4. This indicator is met through addressing the needs of students by providing a variety of instructional activities in which students are able to exercise their communication skills through a multitude of reading, writing, listening, and speaking activities that cater to a multitude of learning styles. This study aligns with standard 1, indicator 5. Throughout the multi-text study, I ask students questions in order to activate prior knowledge that they have about the books they are reading. Students are provided with individual and small group activities in which they are able to interact with the text in order to increase their reading and comprehension skills. This lesson also meets standard 1, indicator 6. As a teacher, it is my job to encourage the development of literacy in each of my students. It is also my job to cater to the individual needs of the students in my class by providing developmentally appropriate activities that will help and not hinder the development of literacy. Standard 7, indicator 2 is met through integrating language arts, social studies and technology into this unit. Students are reading, writing, learning about the concept of drought and participating in an internet workshop. Standard 7, indicator 3 is met by activating the prior knowledge of students through having them make predictions about their reading. Standard 7, indicator 5 is met by providing the students with activities that cater to a variety of different learning styles. As a part of this study, students will be artistically representing similes, participating in a character sketcher activity, working in small groups in a discussion director activity, writing poems, and even creating a wanted poster for one of the characters in The Wish Giver. Standard 7, indicator 7 is met by assessing students both informally and formally through observations and a written vocabulary assessment at the end of the vocabulary activities section of the multi-text study. Standard 8, indicator 3 is met by encouraging students to use critical thinking skills when reading or writing through the use of positive feedback and guidance. Standard 8, indicator 4 is met through providing students with exciting and interesting literature such as the novel The Wish Giver and the non-fiction text Dust to Eat. Standard 8, indicator 5 is met by providing students with a variety of different writing activities such as writing an “I am” poem, creating a wanted poster, writing entries in a double-entry diary, and creating an ABC book. Students are encouraged to share their products in both small and large group settings. Standard 8, indicator 6 is met by making sure that I, as the teacher, use proper English when working with students so that I will serve as a good model for them as they continue to develop their use of the English language.

Context:

I administered a reading assessment to a fourth grade student at Valle Crucis School in Valle Crucis, North Carolina. The test was intended to show the students grade level for word recognition, reading grade level, and reading comprehension.

Impact:

Because of this assignment, I am now privy to a fairly accurate depiction of a student's reading abilities. I know exactly what kinds of materials that student would be comfortable reading and what kinds of materials would be appropriate for instruction. More than that, I understand how the test itself works. Given the materials again, I feel confident that I would be able to reproduce the test for any other child in my classroom. That is to say that I know possess the necessary knowledge to explore the reading level of any student in my classroom.

Alignment:

This activity meets Standard 7 Indicator 7 by showing that I can administer a formal assessment of a child's reading level. This also meets Standard 1 Indicator 1 by demonstrating my knowledge of the developmental stages of students' language development. I demonstrated this knowledge by using the information gathered from the test and placing the student in a certain reading level. This also aligns to Standard 16 Indicator 4 because I selected a number of books that the student could read independently with little or no trouble as well as a list of books that would be suitable for this student to read in class with some assistance.