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Writing pre-assessment
On this day, the third day of school, I gave my initial writing assessment to evaluate my students' strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, I was hoping that this assessment would lead me to the inevitable conclusion that I would be able to follow my county's instructional calendar. However, I found that my students are lacking in the most fundamental ways in their reading and writing. -
Decision to try a back to basics approach
I consulted with other 6th grade Language Arts teachers at my school. They suggested other forms of instruction in order to guide the evolutionary process of my students' reading. Teachers shared with me their lesson plans, and suggested that I begin by giving them code cards to denote items of great interest within their reading. -
1st day of Code Cards
On this day, I passed out the code cards to my students and instructed them on the proper way to utilize the code cards. Students will place them in their Writer's Notebook (a compostion book we use in order to organize Reading Instruction) to repeatedly access while reading various texts. Ideally, my hope is that the students will only need to refer back to the cards for a short period of time and will eventually begin to instinctively notice the codes. -
Connection between my Master's Level Reading class and my teaching
I begin to read the text American Reading Instruction by Nila Banton Smith. In this text Smith goes into great detail about the early origins of reading instruction. I begin to take solace in my approach to teaching my reading class when I read of that the pioneers of reading instruction found The Hornbook to be a beneficial tool in teaching reading. Although, I am not using them "for catechizing" (Smith 14) in my classroom, I will be using them to enable students to find a purpose for reading. -
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Distinctive educational influences on reading intstruction in the middle grades classroom
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Students use the reading code cards
I begin my Literature Elements unit by instructing my students how to code or identify key stopping points in text. Students are unfamiliar with traditional story patterns, so I begin our unit by telling them the universal fairy tale, Cinderella. Having clearly defined character roles as well as exposition, climax, and resolution, students easily fall into the familiar story pattern. -
"What stuck to me"
On this day I try an instructional tactic to assess my student's understanding of the day's lesson called "What stuck to me". In this tactic, students write on a post it note the aspect of the lesson with which they best identified. Based on this tactic, I understood that students were not at a level where I could fully begin my Literature Elements unit. -
Student Pre-Assessment
Taking yet another step backwards, I decide to assess my students understanding of Literature Elements by having them take a pre-assessment. This pre-assessment is essentially a modified version of what their test was to be. -
Students are reading at a 3rd Grade Level
Based on the pre-assessment I gave my students, I found that on average they were reading at a third grade level, and had an independent comprehension reading level of a student in the 2nd grade. Sarah Sparks author of New York Times article, "Study: Third Grade Reading Predicts Later High School Graduation", interviewed Donald Hernandez, the study's author who posits there are "warning signs as early as 6th grade..." that a student will not graduate on time due to poor reading skills(23.12.14) -
Fundamentals of Reading Instruction
After grading the assessments and finding the reading levels of my students as well as their comprehensive knowledge of Literature Elements, which should have been a topic covered at a sophisticated level in the fourth and fifth grades, I decide to take an even more fundamental approach to reading instruction by integrating easy to follow classic picture books into my instruction. -
Classic Literature Connection
Today we begin a mini-unit within my larger unit of Literature Elements by reading the classic folktale, "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters". Sharing both a similar plot and theme with Cinderella, my reasoning for introducing this classic text is founded in my American Reading Instruction text when Smith (1936) quotes Elson, "interesting material is the most important factor in learning to read" (145). -
Introduction to Poetry
After completing "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters", I attempt to introduce story line poetry to my students with the poem, "Making Sarah Cry". This poem has many of the same story elements as seen in both "Cinderella" and "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters" yet with a more modern spin. Ideally, I would like for my students to be better able to comprehend Literature Elements through the use of chunking or grouping lessons into smaller pieces to aid in their total understanding. -
Kinesthetic Poetry Project
Engaging students in student-led instruction is difficut. True learning takes place when the burden or the hardship of learning is given to the students, we begin a hands on project with the poem, "Making Sarah Cry" in which students identify the key concepts of the plot diagram by cutting them out of their own copy of the poem and pasting them on a plot line. In American Reading Instruction, Smith (1936) reflects on the importance of methods that "make use of the child's interest" (126). -
Failures in class due to number of SPED students?
Upon assessing the project, many students failed to recognize key plot concepts even with modifications and adaptations. In my 2nd academic period, 24 out of 36 students are being serviced for SPED with 16 of those accomdations related to reading ability. Early 20th century reading breakthroughs point to: "With the advent of instruments of measurement...possible to obtain scientific information about the effectiveness of reading methods" (Smith 148); hence early SPED interventions. -
A Cry for Help
Trying to meet the demand levels of my 6th Grade classroom has become too daunting of a task for me to do alone. I contact my 6th grade adminstrator and ask her to look at my pre-assessment, evaluation, and observe my classroom strategies. Building on the collaboration of my peers is crucial for reading success. After observing me she suggests assigning an oral presentation project. -
Character Mandala Oral Presentation Project
In an attempt to further engage my students, and to strengthen their reading comprehension, I begin an oral presentation project about character traits from which students pull a character out of a short story recently studied. Major instructional innovations have taken place in the past century; however, I am eager to witness the outcome of "oral reading...its supreme and undisputed claim over classroom methods" (Smith 149) and how this plays out in the 21st century classroom environment. -
Anticipation Guide Pre and Post Assessments
My students begin their Figurative Language Unit. I provide my students with a closed note version of the pertinent terms and definitions to help them follow my guided powerpoint. However, prior to the powerpoint, I have my students rate their familiarity level with the terms on a scale of 1 to 4, establishing a baseline from which to instruct. Additionally, within the closed notes, I provide my students with an after rating scale to assess their post instruction level of knowledge. -
Incorporating informative expository non-fiction text
In an attempt to further assess my students reading fluency and comprehension levels, I assign an article of the week in which my students choose an article closely related to our unit of study and create a unique product based on what they read. "One of the most significant instructional shifts in these standards [common core] is the demand that schools teach more non-fiction or "informational text" across subject areas (Brown&Schulen, 2012). -
Close Reading Codes on Article of the Week
Illustrating to my students that close reading codes and cues are an important attribute in the accurate reading of both literature and non-fiction text has been difficult. To combat their misconception that these two types of texts are unrelated, we use our close reading codes on students individually chosen articles with the addition of stop and take notice as our main point of reference. -
Cloze Reading Recipe
In LLED 6020E, we are learning about the reading comprehension tool cloze reading in which readers must fill in the blanks left in the text, using whatever knowledge and experience they have (Hornsby, 2012). Utilizing the close procedure to model a variety of problem solving reading strategies, I ask my students to eliminate certain words or key phrases in their articles, requesting they reinsert the next day after being apart from their articles. This has been a recipe for comprehension! -
Cloze Reading Strategy Prediction Skills
Incorporating Cloze Reading is one of the best decisions I have made in my instruction thus far. In a cloze reading activity words or letters are omitted from text in ways that require the reader to use specific reading strategies, or to focus upon specific cues in the text (Hornsby, 2012). Guiding my students through their texts as well as allowing them the freedom to choose their related text has been beneficial. -
Cross Curriculum Correlation Instruction
Students in my Language Arts class are learning about the culture, history, and habits of Native Americans in Social Studies. In order to integrate learning, I am going to begin reading Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech. Nila Banton Smith (1936) emphasizes the importance of correlation when she writes "The term correlation is used to designate the method in which reading is not thought of as the central core around which all...but rather as having a correlation or equal relation to other subjects" -
Close Reading of Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech using Sticky Notes
Students who are not adept with annotation benefit from making notes on sticky notes. Small notes can be positioned to "underline" important passages students encounter. Students who are accustomed to writing on larger paper might find it difficult to write using an "economy of words". Frey&Fisher (2013) emphasize in Rigorous Reading, "It is useful for them [students] to have a bank of simple annotations available to help them abbreviate their thoughts while still preserving meaning" (111). -
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech Reading Reflection Journals (Writer's Notebook)
Independent readers not only read for meaning; they also need to reflect on and discuss their readings with others. To support their discussions, students need to make notes and write down their thoughts and observations. We begin this novel as Fisher and Frey (2013) state with stressing the importance of utilizing our Writer's Notebook for the purpose of "engaging in a meaningful transaction with the text" (111). -
Writer's Notebook during classroom discussions of Walk Two Moons improves students academic performance
Students draw from the content of their Writer's Notebook during class discussions to provide evidence from the text. Fisher and Frey (2013) in Rigorous Reading posit, "Readers make meaning at the word level through understanding the vocabulary, and at the sentence and paragraph levels through understanding how ideas are crafted by the author to tell a story or forward a position on a topic" (111). Subsequently, readers also begin to make meaning through their own transactions with the text. -
Utilizing Comment Cards while reading Walk Two Moons
Seeing texts as an important source of information and as a place from which students can draw conclusions is imperative to the close reading process. One of the desired outcomes for my classroom is whole class format or small group conversations in which students participate in book discussion. One of the ways I encourage this is through the use of structured comment cards passed out at the beginning of class and then used for collaborative conversations during pair and share. -
Discerning Theme Graphic Organizer for Walk Two Moons
One of the most challenging concepts during our Story Elements unit was theme discernment. Attempting to instruct using a different angle, I created a graphic organizer in which students address key elements characters face such as: Desires/Goals, Problems/Struggles, Resolutions/Outcomes, and Universal Truths. Upon completion of graphic organizer,I have found that students are better equipped to brainstorm common themes found in literature drawing comparisons between this text and others. -
How to mine writing ideas using a Sensory Web
One major aspect of Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech is the author's story telling through the use of flashback. The main character is plagued by memories of her mother that not only haunt her, but affect her day to day life. In the sensory web exercise students go back in their minds to a memory, but recollect the setting only through their senses. In their Writer's Notebook, students create a sensory web by placing their memory in the middle and having sense stems come off the memory. -
Flashback Narrative Essay
Using their sensory web students begin to mine writing ideas for a flashback narrative essay in which they only use the five senses to describe their memory. On this day, we read 10-12 narrative mentor texts from which students could analyze, model, and evaluate different writing techniques. -
Flashback Narrative Essay revision
Using a streamlined, structured, and consistent editing sheet, students begin to edit and revise their own narrative essays. After I have edited their essay using codes,with which we as a class have decided, students edit their own essays, fixing their errors, as well as the errors of others in a pair and share format. There are many ways in which this could be done, but students are required to celebrate one another's work by finding at least 3 things that have been done well in the writing. -
Walk Two Moons Project Based Learning Project
Our school is becoming a Project Based Learning school or PBL, Educators emphasize the importance of students taking ownership of their own learning through adaptive projects. Today, I assigned our PBL Walk Two Moons project in which students have their choice of one of four project options. Some of the options include making a scene with the use of any media or create an interactive map of the journey taken in the novel making sure to use both miles and kilometers to express distance. -
Anecdotal Notes during Readers' Conferences
As a means of checking in with my students periodically, I try to arrange a one-on-one conference with each of my students during every unit of study. Over the course of two days, I meet with each student, which allows me to "Gauge each the progress of each student, clarify information, and provide feedback" (Fisher&Frey 2013, 117) through the use of an active reading web in which students compare and contrast the main characters' journey with that of a secondary character. -
PBL Meeting
6th grade Language Arts and Social Studies teachers met to discuss our new PBL initiative. Meeting in small groups, within our content area, we collaborated and devised a project for the spring semester in which students will generate a list of the most influential people of 2015 by researching theTime magazine website thusly devoted. Larner&Mergendollar (2010) write in their article, "8 Essentials for PBL", "...students follow a trail that begins with their own questions" (pg. 3). -
The Process of Creating Text-Dependent Questions
Our Walk Two Moons unit is about to end, so in order to prepare my students for the unit test, I am utilizing a list of scaffolded text dependent questions students can ask themselves as a touchstone when reading a text. Fisher&Frey (2013) emphasize in their book, CCSS in Literacy, the importance of using these questions to progressively guide students' text understanding from part to whole beginning with general understandings and ending with opinions, arguments, and intertextual connections. -
Cross-County Middle School Planning
As part of Gwinnett County's Vision Cohort team, I attend meetings in which 6th grade Language Arts teachers from all over the county gather and share their lesson plan ideas. The lesson plans not onlysupport AKS but foundationally address the language of questioning, processing and applying information. I benefit greatly from these meetings and systematically attempt to interweave the shared lessons with my own. -
Cross Curriculum Article of the Week
During last Saturday's Vision Cohort, a 6th grade Language Arts teacher shared a lesson plan that I used with my class, and based on the results of the plan, I will consistently implement. For this week's Article of the Week students read an informational Scholastic article entitled, "Venus" in which the properties of Venus are discussed being sure to highlight each fact. Students are then asked to write a 2 page narrative about life of Venus carefully embedding 3 facts from the article. -
Old Final Draft of Flashback Narrative Essay
Trusting the revision process is not an easy one for writing students. 6th graders want to finish an essay and move on to the next. According to Kylene Beers (2003) in her book When Kids Can't Read": "this transactional nature of writing [revision] often escapes dependent writers who expect the teacher to provide everything" (pg. 69). Students begrudgingly spend this class period utilizing this editing sheet to make revisions. -
New Rough Draft of Flashback Narrative Essay
Once students have completed fixing their grammatical errors, a new rough draft, or a NRD (nerd) is created. From this draft comes the completion of the editing process. Once students get an all clear from me, their Final Final Draft (FFD) is begun. -
Final Final Draft of Flashback Narrative Essay
Students turn in their Final Final draft of the Flashback Narrative Essay. I spend the evening grading students' writing and I am blown away; I am so impressed with the caliber of their writing. -
Venus Narrative Revealed!
Students' progress from the beginning of the semester until now is positive. They turn in their Venus Narrative based on the Scholastic article they read. Each student, even students who traditionally experience difficulty in writing, receive an A on this paper. Facts are properly embedded, proper grammar conventions are utilized, and I am amazed. The science teacher in my pod quizzes students on the facts and they all pass! A method by which I teach my students is born!
