teaching literacy to kindergarteners

8/9/2019 Teaching Literacy to Kindergarteners

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/teaching-literacy-to-kindergarteners 1/64

Literacy Synthesizing Project

Running head: Literacy Synthesizing Project

Peaches M. Hubbard

“Teaching Literacy to Kindergarteners”

Assignment 8.2: Final Synthesizing Project

EDU527: Literacy I

Jones International University

June 27, 2009

1




Abstract

I would define literacy as the ability to read, spell, write, and communicate

effectively in a given language. Although many may mistake the ability to read

or pronounce words literacy, through my research I am realizing that literacy is

extremely more complex. Literacy not only refers to student’s being able to

demonstrate their reading skills, it also involves fluency and proper pronunciation.

According to the National Institute of Literacy, “By the end of third grade, a child

must read with ease and understanding to take advantage of the learning

opportunities in fourth grade and beyond,” (NIT, 2007) Therefore, it is

imperative that students are introduced to pre-reading skills as early as possible.

It is also important for students to receive the fundamentals of reading to build

upon, as early as pre-school. The following synthesizing project focuses on the

skills, methodologies, lessons, and theories regarding literacy.

2




Table of Contents

Abstract 2

Introduction

What is Literacy?

What is Language?

What is Language Acquisition?

Theories & Approaches of Language Acquisition

Reading Instruction Theory

The Role of State Standards in Instruction

Case Study Overview

Case Study Population

Phonological Awareness, Phonemic Awareness, and Phonics

Reading Components

Assessment Practice Overview

Pre-Test Design

Pre-Test Hard Copy and Answer Key

Pre-Test Summarization and Findings

Lesson Plan One: Phonemic Awareness

Phonics Lesson Plan Two: Phonics Lesson

Lesson Plan Three: Spelling

Lesson Plan Four: Vocabulary

Designing a Writing Prompt

Conclusion

Reference Page

3




Introduction

What is Literacy?

My description of literacy refers to one’s ability to use lingual, phonetic, and spelling

skills to a tone of communication that is grade level or age appropriate. Literacy involves

demonstrating one’s ability to read, spell, write, and orally communicate with an accurate sense

of fluency.

What is Language?

My description of language is it refers to the act of putting together words, to create a speech

syntax, which allows individuals to communicate effectively. Language develops in the very

early stages of life; we build upon our language as we mature. Language involves more than just

being able to recite words, language is putting the proper words together to create an effective

means of stimuli to provoke an inherent response of an individual.

What is Language Acquisition?

According to The National Science Foundation “Most researchers agree that children

acquire language through interplay of biology and environmental factors” (NSF, 2008.)

Therefore, children are born with inherent traits and pre-disposed knowledge of verbal language.

And based on the verbal stimuli that surrounds them the will create their own paradigm of

perceived language syntax. From infancy to a school aged student, one builds upon their

fundamental knowledge of language by gaining the skills that allow them to expand their

vocabulary, develop their pre-writing and writing skills, use phonetics and spelling skills to read

4




fluently and speak effectively by combining words into structured simple and complex

sentences. When students have mastered these skills at the appropriate or target grade level

range; the student begins to learn how to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together to create

active and enhanced communicatory responses. According to the Northwest Regional Education

Laboratory, a student acquires a second language through five stages, which range from: (Stage

One) The Silent/Receptive or Pre-production Stage. (Stage Two) The Early Production Stage.

(Stage Three) The Speech Emergence Stage. (Stage Four) The Intermediate Language

Proficiency Stage. And, lastly, (Stage Five) The Advanced Language Proficiency Stage.

(NWREL, 2003.) In each of the stages the student is able to comprehend and increase usage of

foreign words to demonstrate their continuous mastery of the language.

Theories of Language Acquisition

It is my belief that all of the theories of language acquisition, introduced in theme

three are equally relevant to a students learning, I personally align myself with the

Innatist theory of language acquisition. As both an educator and a mother I recognized

early on that children are born with a basic understanding of language and

communication. When children are talked to as an infant and toddler they are more likely

to have an enhanced median of language capability. When “baby talk” is used in can

stifle a child’s basic inquisitiveness of language, but when infants and toddlers are spoken

to in clear and concise sentences, with variations in tone to evoke meaning or emotion of

word context, the child begins to build upon their inherent knowledge of language and is

thereby, capable of earlier mastery of the language.

5




Approaches to Language Acquisition

Of the approaches presented in the course group I would align myself with the

“whole language” approach. Initiated by Noam Chomsky, the “whole language”

approach to literacy focuses on learning language through reading, not learning language

through recitation. I align myself with this theory because of its strong ties

constructivism and encouraging a student to be an active participant in their learning

experience, thus enhancing and creating a positive and fulfilling learning environment, by

which the outcomes of learning are contingent upon the learners, not just the targeted

objectives of a textbook.

The Role of State Model Content Standards

The role of standards is to be used as a guideline of what a student should know at

their pre-grade level, current grade level, and emerging grade level. Standards help

educators teach more effectively by giving presenting them with a clearly defined set of

goals for each student in the appropriate grade level. Mastery of the skills determined is

the end result that is desired, but above all; in synchronization with the “No Child Left

Behind Act,” if students do not master all skills they should at least be given adequate

instruction of the course material that is aligned with the designated states model content

of state.

6




Case Study Overview

School Population

For the duration of this course I have aligned myself with a community charter

school and learning center located in Los Angeles, California. The charter school non

fee-based and provides a pre-kindergarten and kindergarten half-day program. My

sponsorship is provided through the Director of the learning center, in which I work with

the four classroom teachers. The student’s rotate through three separate classrooms

through out the day, to receive instruction for various subjects. There are approximately

sixty students in the kindergarten class, and I work with a group of seven students.

These students range from low to high levels of literacy. My group of students are

comprised of students that ESL student’s, two siblings with some developmental

challenges, students that are faced with behavioral dilemmas, and two students that are

moderate to high academic achievers.

Puente offers a great reading and literacy program; they offer students the “write

to read program,” which focuses on phonics, phonological awareness, and phonemic

awareness. Students also have reading textbooks, in which they are encouraged to use

“whole language” in their studies. The students are provided with pointers and each

student takes turns in the daily reading assignment. Puente also provides their students

with a weekly work packet, half of which is completed in the classroom, and the other

half is completed over the weekend, at home. The packet offers both review and

accelerated learning activity pages, as well as strong phonics based content, among other

subject content.

7




In working with this group of kindergarten students I have seen the difference in

students who only practice their schools at school versus students who practice at both

home and school. My point being that the key to successful reading skills for students at

the pre-kindergarten through third grade level learning support both at home and at

school.

Building Phonemic Awareness

According to the article “Put Reading First” phonemic awareness can be taught

and learned by five tasks, which include: phoneme isolation, phoneme identity, phoneme

categorization, phoneme blending, and phoneme segmentation (Armbruster and Osborn,

2001.) For example, these skills can then be integrated into lesson by using worksheets

on phonics textbook pages, where students must find the beginning sound of a word. The

use of “Writing to Read” programs can be used is correlation with regular classroom

lesson and activities regarding literacy. I am a firm believer in cross-curricular activities.

Phonics does not just have to take place during the designated period of time for the

subject; educators can bring phonics into ever other subject, by turning it into learning

games, or by incorporating a question that phonics may related to in another subject

matter, such as math, for example, on a math quiz a teacher could incorporate a bonus

question such as: How many syllables are in the words: habitat, subaquatic, and

unrecognizable (Decoding Multisyllabic Words, Scholastic, 2009.)

Incorporating Assessment into Lessons

8




Assessment can be integrated into my working theory through the use of pre-assessment,

which I can then use as a tool to determine the student’s level of instruction need. The

instruction and assessment will be used as a means for charting progress, and this information

will be shared with the classroom teachers to show the improvement or need of my individual

group of students.

Assessing phonemic awareness can be assessed through a variety of means.

Speaking for myself, I am working with a group of kindergarten students a t a local

charter school; at this age level I find formative assessments are great tools for gathering

information on the learner, what they are learning, how they are learning, and in turn give

the student feedback in a non-threatening manner. At this age level, if this is practiced in

a group setting when feedback is given to all students, if creates an understanding that

being wrong or unsure is okay and that asking questions is okay, which creates a great

dialogue between both the teacher and student(s). A few examples of how to incorporate

“formative assessment” in phonemic awareness include:

Learning games, (matching games) in which the activities are geared

towards help the students blend letters to match the missing letter to the

ending sound/word. In this way the student(s) can demonstrate their

understanding, and as the teacher you can give immediate feedback to a

student who is struggling with letter recognition or blending sounds, for

example.

“Circle Time,” (singing or reading) during circle time a teacher may read a

book to the students, the teacher could then pick put words and write the

ending sounds on the board and the students can come up one at a time to

9




fill in the beginning letter. The teacher may also want children to sing a

song about the alphabet by which each student takes a turn making the

beginning letter sound for the word that is being “called out,” for example

if the letter if S, the teacher might say snake, and the student would

respond by making a hissing sound for the letter “S” and then blend “Sss”

and nake to say the word /S/nake.

Literacy, phonics, phonemic and phonological awareness all share the same common

goal, to help students learn how to read effectively and fluently. All factors of phonetic

awareness are mutually inclusive and aid in learning language.

10




Pre-Test Design

Pre-Test Overview

The purpose of this assignment is to create a pre-test for the student’s that we will

be working with for the duration of this course. The pre-test is comprised of four

sections, which include: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension.

For the duration of this course I will be working with a group of seven students that are

all diverse in their level of literacy. The pre-test that I have developed is geared for

kindergarten students. The pre-test is formatted in such a way that each of the four areas

is addressed in a distinctive manner. There are five questions included in each topic areas

and I have incorporated circle the answer and multiple-choice questions for the

assessment. The questions for the assessment have pictures that correspond with the

questions because the students in my group are on various levels of literacy

comprehension.

Pre-Test Hard Copy

A) Phonemic awareness skills (Live Search Images, Clipart 2009.)

Directions: Look at the picture, which word does not rhyme with

the word van?

Van

Man Sun Can

Directions: Circle the word that does not belong.

11

http://www.readingonline.org/articles/lund/cat.jpg

http://www.freeclipartpics.com/index.html

http://www.freeclipartpics.com/index.html




Cat Bat MopDirections: Circle the word that does not belong.

RatCat Ring Hat

Directions: Circle the two rhyming words.

Bee

Pig

KeyDirections: Circle the two rhyming words.

Ball

Mat

Fall

B) Phonics

Directions: Look at the pictures; circle the beginning letter for

the words.

_ hair

C S H

__ a p K H C

Directions: Look at the picture; circle the letter that

completes the word.

12

____




C M B

Directions: Circle all of the uppercase U’s.

U u u u U U u u p U

Directions: Circle all of the lowercase A’s.

A a t y a A a A y r e a p A a

(Live Search Images, Clipart 2009.)

13

__at




C) Vocabulary

Directions: Use the following words in sentence.

Duck

Jump

Not

Sad

Who

Example: The word is Where.

Sentence: Where is the car?

Assessment Scoring Guide (Section C):

Question

No.

Word Correct

Word Usage

(+)

Improper

Word

Usage (-)

Notes:

1. Duck 2. Jump

3. Not

4. Sad

5. Who

14




D) Comprehension

Answer Key:

15

Directions: Read the story and choose the correct answer to

the story questions.

A little golden fish

In a golden bowl she swims

And a golden bird is singing

In a golden cherry tree.

(Kidsfront.com Nursery Rhymes)

Questions: Put an X on the correct answer.

1. Is the fish in the story is ___________.

(A) Little

(B) Big

2. The color of the fish in he story is ___________.

(A) Blue

(B) Gold

3. The fish swims in a _________?

(A) Box

(B) Bowl

4. What kind of bird is singing in the story?

(A) Silver

(B) Golden5. What was the bird singing in?

(A) Cherry Tree

(B) Peach Tree




Phonemic

Awareness

Phonics Vocabulary Comprehension

1. Sun 1. C 1. Answers may vary. 1. (A) Little

2. Mop 2. C 2. Answers may vary. 2. (B) Gold

3. Ring 3. B 3. Answers may vary. 3. (B) Bowl

4. Bee/Key 4. Four U’s 4. Answers may vary. 4. (B) Golden5. Ball/Fall 5. Five a’s 5. Answers may vary. 5. (A) Cherry Tree

Pre-Test Summarization

Four of the students for my group were present: Joshua, Rochelle, Jennifer, and

Jafar. The remaining students were absent on this day. The students started off the

morning lined up ready to separate into their collaborative classrooms, and with

assistance from the teacher I pulled the students from the line to begin the pre-test. The

lesson took place in the classroom, at a collaborative table in the reading and

mathematics classroom. Because only four of the students were present I decided to

administer the test to the group instead of in pairs. We all sat at the table together, in

which I gave the students salutations. Before I administered the pre-test I asked the

students write their names on the worksheets and I reviewed the classroom and testing

rules.

The assessment started at 8:00 A.M. I read the directions aloud for each

set of questions, and I had the students follow along as I read. Before I had the

student’s circle their answer we looked at the corresponding picture, if possible,

and read the name of and identified each picture. Next, I had the students choose

and circle their own answers, quietly. The students were assessed individually for

section C: vocabulary. While each student was tested the other students were

allowed to draw a picture and then read a book. A few of the student took a small

water and restroom break during this time, as well.

16




I kept the students engaged by asking fun or funny questions about the pictures.

The students enjoyed this they were all eager to participate. I concluded the test by

telling the students what a great job they did; they were all very well-behaved and they

were rewarded with hand stamps, to which they were all eager to receive (which is the

equivalent of a gold star to them.) The actual assessment concluded at 9:00 A.M. Once

the student’s pushed in their chairs they returned to their classroom teacher and began

their daily studies in the computer lab.

Assessment Results

Joshua Rochelle Jennifer JafarPhonemic Awareness 5/5 3/5 3/5 1/5

Phonics 5/5 4/5 2/5 4/5

Vocabulary 5/5 31/2/5 5/5 31/2/5

Comprehension 3/5 5/5 3/5 4/5

Findings

All of the students tried their best. Some notes that I would like to mention are

Jafar scoring in phonetic awareness and vocabulary are slightly lower, which stem from

his developmental delays. Jafar finds it very difficult to speak in complete sentences; his

sentences are usually fragmented with no more than two words put together. After the

first initial vocabulary question he responded well and I was impressed with his

sentences, which included: I cannot get in the water (Water is the vocabulary word.)

(Personal Communication, Jafar 2009) Some of the sentences that the other students

created are: Who wants to play with me? (Play is the vocabulary word,) and I will not eat

oatmeal! (Not is the vocabulary word.) The students did well on the pre-test but there is

room for improvement. The students enjoyed the assessment, and they were focused and

well behaved. Out of the four students, the section(s) of the pre-test that seemed most

17




challenging are the phonemic awareness and comprehension portions. I am very eager to

work on lessons that will provide the students instruction in these core areas.

Lesson Plans

Lesson Plan I – Phonemic Awareness

Jones International University®

Lesson Planning Form

Teacher: Peaches M. Hubbard

Title of lesson: “Let’s Mix & Match Words.”

Grade level: KindergartenSubject area(s): Literacy: Phonemic Awareness

PLANNING:

Lesson Overview and Standards

I am teaching this lesson as an assignment for a section of my final

synthesizing project for EDU527: Literacy I. The purpose of the lesson is to

teach phonemic awareness to the group of kindergarten students that I work with

weekly. According to the text Essential Linguistics, What You Need to Know to

Teach: Reading, ESL, Spelling, Phonics, and Grammar, Phonemic (Freeman and

Freeman 2004) awareness is defined as, the ability to identify the phonemes in a

word and manipulate them in various ways, such as adding phoneme, deleting

phoneme, or substituting one phoneme for another (David and Yvonne Freeman

2004.) . This lesson is comprised of several different elements of phonemic

awareness. The primary goals of this lesson are to increase the student’s

knowledge of letter and word recognition, rhyming and comprehension.

18




For this lesson plan I have created three activities for the students: Part A

of the lesson refers to the fifth level of phonemic awareness, which is performing

phoneme manipulation by adding, deleting, and/or substituting a phoneme

(Adams 1990.) Part B and C of the lesson refers to the first ability of phonemic

awareness, which is to hear rhymes and alliteration in nursery rhymes (Adams

1990.) For these activities the students are asked to draw a line to the matching

rhyming words, and to underline the rhyming words.

The standard(s) that apply to the lesson and its activities are in conjunction with

the Colorado Department of Education’s Model Content Standards for Reading

and Writing (1995.)

Part A: Standard Three: spelling frequently used words correctly using

phonics rules and exceptions.

Lesson Objectives

The objective for student learning is to provide students with a basic

knowledge of phonetic awareness to aid them in their quest for literacy. The key

objectives include:

Chant beginning and ending phonemes in words

Identify whether a key phoneme occurs at the beginning or end of a word

Connect phonemes with written letters. (International Reading

Association 2000.)

Student Evaluation Goals

19




The students will be given the actual lesson worksheets, which they will

complete and be graded on. I will use a grading rubric to assess the students

understanding of this lesson, in conjunction with an oral review.

Lesson Teaching Model

The lesson model that I haven chosen for the implementation of this lesson plan is

cooperative learning, which is defined as “situated within the social constructivist

paradigm. Students work on projects or problems in teams with both personal and team

accountability for conceptual understanding” (Educational Technologies, Virginia Tech

2008.) I chose this model because I am a firm believer in constructivist teaching

elements, such as: situations, groupings, bridge, questions, exhibits, and reflections. By

teaching this lesson in a cooperative group it gives the students the opportunity to asks

questions, and get immediate feedback that can be useful to all of the students.

Student Orientation

There are a total of seven students in my group. I will break the students up in

pair and one group of three. This will enable me to get a better understanding of how the

students comprehend the lesson, as well as having the opportunity to provide a more one-

on-one assistance and feedback to the students.

Behavior Needs, Modifications and Adaptations

My group of students has various learning needs stemming from: developmental

delays, English learners, and behavioral concerns. Because I am using cooperative

20




groups for my teaching method we will work together, and review the directions and I

will give detailed examples for each lesson. Time accommodations will be made for

students who need extra time to complete the worksheets. For those students who have

questions are or unsure of how to continue their work, we will discuss those concerns as a

group and work together to find the correct answer, and go into further explanation as to

how the answer is founded. For the students that have behavior struggles I will be more

descriptive in my review of the rules of the assessment, such as raising your hand if you

have a question, and writing you answers individually and not sharing them with others.

Instructional Materials and Resources

The instructional materials that are needed are:

Reading pointers,

White board and dry-erase markers, if needed for added instruction.

For myself: Lesson plan, answer key, and scoring rubric.

For the student’s: Worksheet, pencils, crayons, and erasers.

Management Concerns

I do not for see any management issues that may arise because the classroom

teachers allow me to use a classroom or space that is not being used at the time, therefore,

21




if the students become a little loud with the activities they will not interrupt the other

students.

DESIGN:

1. Opening (Minutes 5 - 10)

Opening Set

I have created a lesson plan that is meant to be both visually appealing and

interesting to my group of kindergarten students. Because I have a blend of learners I

will grab the students attention by explaining the directions for each section, explain the

point, goals, and objectives of the lesson, and give the students the opportunity to interact

by naming pictures, making animal sounds for the pictures, and sounding out words that

they are unfamiliar with. Other fun activities that I will use is chanting of the beginning

and ending sounds, and call and response, in which I will call out a word and the students

have to call out a word that has the same ending sound.

2. Middle (Minutes 30) Teaching Model

For each activity I will read the directions and give the student’s an exampledemonstrating how to complete the activities. The following is the designated

times that I have allocated for each lesson.

Part A - I plan to spend about fifteen minutes, with a word review session at theend of the lesson.

Part B - I plan to spend about fifteen minutes, with a word review session at the

end of the lesson.

Lesson I: “Let’s Mix & Match Words” (Part A – Beginning Sounds)

Directions: Use each letter from the word box to complete the word.

22

M B T L C F P M




____AKE ____AN

____AKE ____AN

____AKE ____AN

____AKE ____AN

____AKE ____AN

___AT ___AR

___AT ___AR

___AT ___AR

___AT ___AR

Lesson I: “Let’s Mix & Match Words” (Part B – Ending Sounds)

Directions: Use each letter from the word box to complete the word.

M___ ___ M ___

S ___ ___ H ___

B ___ ___ Se ___

D ___ ___ Sh ___

S ___ ___ S ___ ___ ___

23

P B C F C B F T

it

ad e

ing




K ___ ___ R ___ ___ ___

F ___ ___ W ___ ___ ___

H ___ ___ K ___ ___ ___

Answer Key (Part A):

__ M _AKE ___ C _AN

___ B _AKE ___ F _AN

___ T _AKE ___ P _AN

___ L _AKE ___ M _AN

___ R _AKE ___ V _AN

__ P _AT __ C _AR

__ B _AT __ B _AR

__ C _AT __ F _AR

__ F _AT __ T _AR

__ S _AT

Answer Key (Part B):

24

P B C F C B F T

M B T L C F P M

ad e




M__ a _ __ d _ M _ e __

S __ a _ __ d H _ e __

B __ a _ __ d Se _ e __

D __ a _ __ d Sh _ e __

S __ it__ S _ ing__

K _ it__ R _ ing__

F __ it__ W _ ing__

H __ it__ K _ ing__

Checking for Understanding

I will give each student a turn to try to sound out some of the words from

the lesson, and the other words I will have the students repeat altogether, aloud.

3. Closing (Minutes 10)

I will end the lesson by summarizing what the students learned, by

reviewing all of the words from the lesson, and having each of the students take

turns making simple sentences with the words. Before the students leave I will

give them stickers for their participation in the lesson.

Assessment Results

I will use both a scoring guide/answer key, as well as a scoring rubric.

The scoring guide will create a cumulative amount of points, thus creating a total

25

it ing




score. The scoring rubric will address the development of the learner, and will be

used as a formative assessment; this portion will not be graded.

Lesson Plan II – Phonics




Title of lesson: Letter Sounds and DiphthongsGrade level: Kindergarten

Subject area(s): Literacy: Phonics

PLANNING:

Lesson Overview

Phonics is defined as a method of teaching beginners to read and pronounce

words by learning the phonetic value of letters, letter groups, and especially syllables

(Merriam-Webster Inc. 2002.) I am teaching this lesson in an attempt to reinforce what

the students have learn about the alphabetic principle, as well as increase their knowledge

of vowel patterns. In this phonics lesson, the synthetic approach to phonics will be used

by which “students convert letter to sounds and blend sounds to form words” (Freeman

and Freeman 2004, p.131.) The analytic approach is another method that will be used, by

which the “student’s will analyze letter-sound correspondences in known words” ”

(Freeman and Freeman 2004, p.131.) And, the onset and rhyme method, which

“connects sounds of onsets and rimes to the letter used to spell them,” (Freeman and

Freeman 2004, p.131) for the purpose of this lesson I will be focusing on rimes, which is

defined as A rime is the part of a syllable which consists of its vowel and any consonant

sounds that come after it (Lingual Links, 2004.) All of these methods are geared towards

26




offering the students a systematic, explicit lesson, which in simple terms means clear and

defined as discussed in the textbook Essential Linguistics (Freeman and Freeman, 2004.)

The standard that directly correlates to my lesson and are taken from the website

of the Colorado Department of Education: Standard Three: which states that students

write and speak using conventional grammar, usage, sentence structure, punctuation,

capitalization, and spelling. This relates to this lesson because it instructs students on

how to spell frequently used words correctly through the use of phonics rules and

exceptions. (Colorado Department of Education, 1995.)

Objective for Student Learning

The objective for student learning is to improve student’s phonics skills by

incorporating various methods of instruction to reinforce and build upon the student’s

phonics skills. Students will learn about diphthongs and how to use the spelling families

to figure out the sound of a word. The student’s will learn what the five common vowels

are (a,e,i,o,u.) Students will learn how to sound out and blend letter sounds to create and

read various words.

Student Learning Achievement Goals

I will assess the extent of student learning using formative assessment through

oral review in which I will review the words and vowels discussed in the lesson; the

student’s will each have a turn, in which I will give them a word the will make the

beginning sound, and as a group the students will shout out the ending rime. Next I will

administer a paper/pencil test prior to the end of the lesson, this will be done individually

for each student.

27





For this lesson I will be using the direct instruction-teaching model. The

definition of direct instruction is “instruction that involves some explication of the skill or

subject matter to be taught and may or may not include an opportunity for student

participation or individual practice” (Wikipedia, 2009) I choose this model because for

this particular phonics lesson because this is it a subject that requires direct and explicit

learning, in which the student’s will understand the subject matter and the method of

teaching will then be followed by individual practice.

Student Orientation

For my case study projects I work with a group of seven students. For the

first part of the lesson I will group the students all together. For the last part of the lesson

I will work with the students one-on-one and give them a paper/pencil test to check for

their understanding of the lesson.


My group of students has various learning needs stemming from: developmental

delays, English learners, and behavioral concerns. Because I am using cooperative

groups for my teaching method we will work together, and review the directions and I

will give detailed examples for each lesson. Time accommodations will be made for

students who need extra time to complete the worksheets. For those students who have

questions are or unsure of how to continue their work, we will discuss those concerns as a

group and work together to find the correct answer, and go into further explanation as to

how the answer is founded. For the students that have behavior struggles I will be more

28




descriptive in my review of the rules of the assessment, such as raising your hand if you

have a question, and writing you answers individually and not sharing them with others.

The instructional materials and resources that I will have on hand are:

Word charts

Access to a white board and dry erase markers

Pencils and erasers

Reading pointers

Worksheets for and end of the lesson review and test.

Management Concerns

I do not for see any management issues that may arise because the

classroom teachers allow me to use a classroom or space that is not being used at

the time, therefore, if the students become a little loud with the activities they will

not interrupt the other students. For the student’s that have a difficult time with

letter sounds and word recognition I will do repetitive tasks that will reinforce

what I am teaching in the lesson.

DESIGN:

4. Opening (Minutes 5-8)

29




Opening Set

I will get the student’s attention by prompting questions, for example, using

descriptive clues to help the students figure out the word. Or another example might be

using one of the words that the students will learn and asking them if they can think of a

rhyming word. I will communicate the objectives and directions by first reviewing the

classroom rules. Secondly, I will read the directions and ask the students if they

understood what they are supposed to do.

5. Middle (Minutes 35)


The first activity will be comprised of word charts in which the students

will focus on learning and recognizing vowels and the sounds that they make in a

word. The second activity will focus on diphthongs: /ou/ and /ow/. I will make a

list of /ou/ and /ow/ words on the whiteboard, in which I will say the word and

point out the vowel sound, then I will have the students repeat the word. Next,

point to a word on the board and have each student take a turn reading a word

from the board and pointing out the vowels. Lastly, I will have the students

spread out a various tables in the classroom; the students are then to complete a

worksheet to determine their comprehension of the lesson. (Please refer to the

following page for a copy of the worksheet.)

Name:

30




Directions: Look at the words in the word bank and write the words under the correct

column. The first one is done for you. Color the picture.


A few of the questions that I will ask to check for understanding are:

• What are the five common vowels? (Using our fingers, let’s say them andcount them altogether.)

• Can you point to the vowels on the board?

• Can you name a word that has the /ou/ or /ow/ vowel sounds?

• Can you please read the words on the board aloud?

6. Closing (Minutes 5)

31

Word Bank

Cloud Bow

Loud Ouch

Cow House

Owl Count

/ou/ Words

/ow/ Words

cloud




I will end the lesson by collecting the worksheets, giving the students positive

feedback, and giving the student’s hand stamps.

Lesson Plan III - Spelling



32





Title of lesson: “Let’s learn About Primary Colors.”

Grade level: Kindergarten

Subject area(s): Language Arts: Literacy: Spelling and Reading.

PLANNING:

Lesson Overview

The point of this lesson is to address and incorporate many beneficial skills to

kindergarten students. The primary reason for implementation of this lesson is to teach

students about spelling through the use of the word study method. “Word Study” is a

method of teaching spelling by categorizing words by similarities. The word study

approach is said to “encourage students to examine and study the patterns in words” (JIU,

2009.) This lesson will teach students about the three primary colors: blue, yellow, and

red. The lesson will emphasize spelling, word recognition, color recognition, and

developmental skills. I have created a worksheet for students, which accompanied this

lesson. The student’s are to cut out letter and cut large rectangles, this will help in

developing and reinforcing student’s fine motor skills.

The lesson relates to the following standards, taken from the Colorado

Department of Education (CDE) Model Content Standards:

STANDARD 3: (Grades K-4)

33




Students write and speak using conventional grammar, usage, sentence structure,

punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.

Rationale: spelling frequently used words correctly using phonics rules and

exceptions.

2. Objectives for Student Learning:

The objectives for this spelling lesson are as follows:

For students to learn how to spell the three primary colors.

For students to be able to name the three primary colors.

For students to recognize the words: blue, green, and yellow.

For students to demonstrate their fine motor skills.

Learning Assessment

I will assess the extent of each student’s learning by doing a review at the

end of the lesson and doing an oral group formative assessment, in which I will

ask the student questions regarding the lesson. I will provide and collect a

worksheet that will accompany the lesson, this will enable me to evaluate whether

the students have achieved the objective and met the standards. I will also have a

checklist that I will use to check for the student’s understanding of the lesson.


34




Because the overall goal of the lesson is for students to learn the content of

the lesson the teaching model that I will be using for this lesson is direct

instruction. Another characteristic of “direct instruction” is accelerating student

progress by focusing on specific skill sets. Direct instruction-teaching is defined

as “instruction that involves some explication of the skill or subject matter to be

taught and may or may not include an opportunity for student participation or

individual practice” (Wikipedia, 2009.) I choose this model because for this

particular spelling lesson the subject content requires direct and explicit learning,

in which the student’s will understand the subject matter and the method of

teaching will then be followed by individual practice.

Student Orientation

For the duration of this class I will work with a group of seven kindergarten

students. For the purpose of this lesson I will group all of the students together, in

a cooperative fashion.


My group of students has various learning needs stemming from:

developmental delays, English learners, and behavioral concerns. Since I am

using cooperative groups for my teaching method we will work together, and

review the directions and I will give detailed examples for each lesson. Time

accommodations will be made for students who need extra time to complete the

worksheets. For those students who have questions are or unsure of how to

continue their work, we will discuss those concerns as a group and work together

to find the correct answer, and go into further explanation as to how the answer is

35




founded. For the students that have behavior struggles I will be more descriptive

in my review of the rules of the assessment, such as raising your hand if you have

a question, and writing you answers individually and not sharing them with

others.

The instructional materials and resources that I will have on hand include:

Crayons

Glue

Scissors

Pencils and erasers

Spelling worksheet (project)

Word charts

Access to a white board and dry erase markers

Crayon box for the worksheet project

Management Concerns







DESIGN:

36




7. Opening (Minutes 5-8)

I will get the student’s attention by prompting questions, for example,

using descriptive clues to help the students figure out the word. Or another

example might be using one of the words that the students will learn and asking

them if they can think of a rhyming word. I will communicate the objectives and

directions by first reviewing the classroom rules. Secondly, I will read the

directions and ask the students if they understood what they are supposed to do.

Third, I will give a brief definition of what primary colors are.

Middle (Minutes 35)


For the first portion of the lesson I will do a word recognition review with

the students, I will have the students practice spelling each word aloud by using a

rhythmic clapping pattern. Example: R-E-D spells Red; all claps once, together.

The students will clap while shouting out the letters. I will allocate approximately

five to six minutes for this portion of this lesson. Next, I will hold up word charts

and I will review the spelling to effectively increase sight word recognition for the

three primary colors, which will last for approximately five to six minutes.

Followed by asking students questions, such as: Name an item in the classroom

that is red; or Name your favorite blue item, which will last for approximately

five minutes Lastly, the students will complete the review worksheet, which

should take the last remaining twenty minutes.

37




The worksheet is comprised of three large crayons, the students are to read

the word colors and use their word recognition skills to color the corresponding

crayon. After the student’s color the crayon they are to cut out each of the letter

at the bottom of the page. The letters are not in order; therefore the student’s are

to remember the spelling of the words in order to place them on the crayons.

After the students cut out the letters they are to paste the correct letters to form the

color word—on the matching crayon. Next the student’s are to cut out the entire

crayon and place it to the side. Lastly, I will give each student a plain crayon box

(with the words “primary colors” on the front) in which they are to write their

name on the back of the box. The students will then place their crayon cutouts in

the box. The students can use this at home as a word review.

Questions:

38

Color Wheel

Primary Colors

Fact Sheet

Name:

Primary means the first. (1st)

There are three primary colors:

Red

Blue

Yellow

The color wheel has many colors.




Point to something red in the room.

Point to something blue in the room.

Point to something yellow in the room.

Can you think of a type of food, fruit, or vegetable that is one of the primary

colors?

Can you name a toy that you have at home that is either one or all of the

primary colors?

Which one of the primary colors is your favorite?

How many primary colors are there?

What is something that you can see in the sky after it rains, that shows the

primary colors?

Answer: A rainbow.

Name:

39




Primary Colors

Directions: Color the crayons andcut on the line.

Red

Yellow

Blue

Directions: Cut and Glue the letter below onto matching crayons.

40

B R U Y L O

E L D E W L E





A few of the questions that I will ask to check for understanding are:

a. What are the three primary colors?

b. How do you spell (blue, red, and yellow?)?

c. Why are they called primary colors?

d. Look at the board, there are several colors written on the board. I will

have each students identify the three primary colors that the lesson focuses

on.

8. Closing (Minutes 2 to 3)

I will end the lesson by collecting the worksheets, giving the students

positive feedback, and giving the student’s hand stamps.

Lesson Plan IV - Vocabulary



Teacher: Peaches M. HubbardTitle of lesson: “Summer Fun” Vocabulary Lesson

Grade level: Kindergarten

Subject area(s): Literacy: Vocabulary/Language Arts/Reading/Writing.

PLANNING:

41




The purpose of this lesson is to provide students with a lesson plan that

will help develop and sharpen their vocabulary skills. This lesson will be

taught using the word recognition view, which is a structured approach to

teaching vocabulary. This method is a type of explicit and systematic

learning in which the learner is given a set of vocabulary words and given

clear instruction as how to proceed. The lesson is entitled “Summer Fun,”

which is accompanied by two worksheets. The purpose of the worksheets

are to provide added instruction in vocabulary, reading, spelling, and

writing. This lesson incorporates the schema theory, which is defined as

drawing from ones prior knowledge and equips the reader with

information that is implicit within the text (JIU 2009.) This lesson will

also seek to draw from student’s knowledge of childhood toys and family

activities such as: going to the beach, family outings, the season of

summer, and toys.

For my sponsorship I work with kindergarten students at an inner

city charter school, the group is comprised of various levels of reading,

and the students are a mix of English learners and second language

learners. Some of the commonalities between teaching reading to first and

second language learners include: a need for word segmentation and

review, a need for open discussion regarding text and/or workbook

readings, a need for comprehension assessment, and ongoing measures of

42




fluency. All of these areas will be addressed in this lesson. The

standard(s) that will be addressed in this lesson are:

Standard I: Students read and understand a variety of materials. In order to meet this standard, students will:

Make connections between their reading(s) and what they already know.

Finding information to support particular ideas.

Use of word recognition skills.

Use information from readings to increase vocabulary and enhance language.

Standard VI: Students read and recognize literature as a record of humanexperience. In order to meet this standard, students will:

Read literature to investigate common issues and interests.

Read literature to understand places, people, events, and vocabulary, both

familiar and unfamiliar.

Read literature that reflects the uniqueness and integrity of the Americanexperience.

(Colorado Department of Education, 1995)

Student Learning Objectives

Building background knowledge is important when teaching because it

helps students receive the fundamental knowledge of to help them succeed in

understanding more difficult and complex readings. It also helps the teacher in

figuring out how to relate the student’s early experiences into their learning, in an

attempt to make a direct correlation in their understanding of the subject matter.

Therefore, the key objectives for student learning is to provide students with basic

vocabulary categorized sight words about summer fun. The students are expected

to demonstrate their knowledge of vocabulary word recognition, spelling, reading

of selected text, and writing—labeling.

43




I will assess the extent of each student’s learning by administering an oral,

formative pre-review and lesson wrap-up at the end of the lesson. I will ask the

student questions regarding the lesson. I will provide and collect the worksheets

that accompany the lesson and this will enable me to evaluate whether the

students have achieved the objective and met the standards. I will also have a

checklist that I will use to check for the student’s understanding of the lesson.

Teaching Model

Because the overall goal of the lesson is for students to learn the content of

the lesson the teaching model that I will be using for this lesson is direct

instruction. Another characteristic of “direct instruction” is accelerating student

progress by focusing on specific skill sets. Direct instruction-teaching is defined

as “instruction that involves some explication of the skill or subject matter to be

taught and may or may not include an opportunity for student participation or

individual practice” (Wikipedia, 2009.) I choose this model because for this

particular spelling lesson the subject content requires direct and explicit learning,

in which the student’s will understand the subject matter and the method of

teaching will then be followed by a group review and practice sheets.

Student Orientation

For the duration of this class I will work with a group of seven

kindergarten students. For the purpose of this lesson I will group all of the

students together, in a cooperative fashion.

My group of students has various learning needs stemming from:

developmental delays, English learners, and behavioral concerns. Since I am

44




using cooperative groups for my teaching method we will work together, and

review the directions and I will give detailed examples for each lesson. Time

accommodations will be made for students who need extra time to complete the

worksheets. For those students who have questions are or unsure of how to

continue their work, we will discuss those concerns as a group and work together

to find the correct answer, and go into further explanation as to how the answer is

founded. For the students that have behavior struggles I will be more descriptive

in my review of the rules of the assessment, such as raising your hand if you have

a question, and writing you answers individually and not sharing them with

others.

The instructional materials and resources that I will have on hand include:

Crayons

Pencils and erasers

Vocabulary worksheets

Word charts/ White Board/ Dry Erase Markers

Management Concerns







DESIGN:

9. Opening (Minutes 30 – Part I: Day One)

45




I will get the student’s attention by prompting questions, for example,

using descriptive clues to help the students figure out the word. Or another

example might be using one of the words that the students will learn and asking

them if they can name any other things that they might take to the beach, and

make a word list on the board. I will communicate the objectives and directions

by reviewing the classroom rules. Next, I will review the vocabulary words

before the actual lesson begins by going over the words and giving brief

definitions. Next, in an attempt to communicate the objectives and directions I

will read the directions for the lesson worksheets. This lesson will be split into

two parts. The first day will be comprised of an introduction of the vocabulary

words for the lesson, as well as a brainstorming session regarding items and

activities associated with summer. Lastly, the students will each get a turn to

briefly discuss a fun summer and/or beach experience.

Middle (Minutes 30 – Part II: Day Two)


Using the first lesson worksheet as a guide I will read the selected text

aloud to the students. I will have the students take turns reading sentences from

the text aloud, to reinforce reading and re-reading skills. I will then point out the

selected vocabulary words and have each student giving me a brief definition of

each word, followed by the students coloring the first worksheet. This portion of

the exercise should take approximately 20 minutes. Next, I will have the students

complete to second lesson worksheet. For this sheet the students are to look at the

pictures, which are taken from text from worksheet I, next the students are to label

46




the pictures, and ten color them. This last section will be used as an assessment of

what the students have learned. This activity should take approximately 10

minutes. *Lesson worksheets follow on the next page.

minutes.

47

Summer Fun

The Smith family went to the beach to have some

summer fun:

The son brought hiskite

to fly high in the sky. The sister brought her shovels to play in the sand.

The mother brought her umbrella to sit in the shade.

And, the father brought his beach chair to sit in the

shade.

Directions: Read the passage above and color the picture.

Name:




Closing (Minutes 20)

Prior to the closing of the lesson I will have the students take a brief water and

bathroom break. When the lesson resumes I will do a quick wrap-up by asking

the students the following questions in order to check for their comprehension and

understanding of the lesson.

a. Can you name the (items) vocabulary words used in this lesson?

b. Can you use some of the words in a sentence?

c. If I point to the picture, can you choose the matching vocabulary word?

d. Can you name an item that one of the Smith family member’s brought to

the beach?

e. In which season would a family most likely go to the beach (winter,

spring, summer, or fall?)

f. What is an item, not mentioned in the story that you would bring to the

beach?

Lastly, I will give the students hand stamps and/or stickers when the lesson is

finished.

Writing Prompt



48





Title of lesson: “This is the House that Jack Built” Writing Prompt(s)Grade level: Kindergarten

Subject area(s): Literacy - Language Arts: Writing, Reading, Vocabulary, Spelling.

PLANNING:

a. The goal of this writing prompt is to encourage students to become

active readers and writers by providing them with the tools, which will allow the

student’s to practice their writing skills.

b. The standards that this lesson addresses is as follows:

• Standard 1: Students will use a full range of strategies to comprehend

materials such as directions, nonfiction material, rhymes and poems, and

stories (CDE, 1995.)

• Standard 2: Students write and speak for a variety of purposes and audiences

(CDE, 1995.)

• Standard 3: Students write and speak using conventional grammar, usage,

sentence structure, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling (CDE, 1995.)

Student Learning Objective

Through the use of this writing prompt the student’s will demonstrate their

knowledge and comprehension of the children’s literature “This is the House that

Jack Built.” Demonstrate their understanding of alliteration and rhymes, as well

as demonstrate their understanding of the vocabulary words used in the book.

I will assess the extent of the student’s understanding by using a writing rubric for

scoring. A sample-scoring rubric will follow the hard copy of the writing prompt, below.

49




Writing Prompt

Book: This is the House that Jack BuiltAuthor: Child’s Play International, Ltd.

Illustrator: Pam Adams

Story Synopsis

In the story “This is the House that Jack Built,” each line rhymes with next, and

anticipation builds as new characters and miscellaneous object’s pop up in a

surprising new way. The book introduces students to many fun-loving animals

and has a happy ending for all. This book is also comprised of lively pictures,

which intrigues and captivates young readers.

Writing Prompt(s):

If you were Jack and you could fill your house with any pets and/or items that you

wanted what would they be?

50




What would you build you house out of? (Examples: straw, clay, bricks, sand.)

What two pets would you like to have live in your house? (Examples: a dog, cat, and

bird.)

What are three to five items that you need to have in any house?

Writing Prompt Continued…

How many people live in your home? (*Don’t forget to include yourself.)

What is your favorite room in your “real” household?

What are the rooms that you would include in your house, and why?

Scoring Rubric4 3 2 1

Demonstrates Consistently Demonstrates Demonstrates The student

51




an

understandingof rhyming.

demonstrates an

understandingof the task, and

the student

shows a

mastery of thesubject matter.

adequate

knowledge of the

understanding

of the task, and

the studentshows

proficiency intheir skill.

limited


the student’s

shows a basic

level of learning.

does not show

anunderstanding

of the task

and/or subject

matter.

Demonstrates

Comprehensionof the story and

events that take

place.

Consistently

demonstrates anunderstanding

of the task, and

the studentshows a

mastery of the

subject matter.

Demonstrates

adequateknowledge of

the


the student

shows proficiency in

their skill.

Demonstrates

limitedunderstanding

of the task, and

the student’sshows a basic

level of

learning.

The student

does not showan

understanding

of the task and/or subject

matter.

Can identify thecharacters that

are encountered

in the story.

Consistentlydemonstrates an

understanding

of the task, andthe student

shows a

mastery of thesubject matter.

Demonstratesadequate

knowledge of

theunderstanding

of the task, and

the studentshows

proficiency intheir skill.

Demonstrateslimited

understanding

of the task, andthe student’s

shows a basic

level of learning.

The studentdoes not show

an

understandingof the task

and/or subject

matter.

Demonstrates

an

understandingof the basic

grade level

“appropriate”sight words.

Consistently

demonstrates an


the student

shows amastery of the

subject matter.

Demonstrates

adequate

knowledge of the

understanding

of the task, andthe student

shows

proficiency in

their skill.

Demonstrates

limited


the student’s

shows a basiclevel of

learning.

The student

does not show

anunderstanding

of the task

and/or subjectmatter.

*Basic sight words: House, build, lay, in, the, that, rat, cat, dog, ate, is, this, cow, and man.

52




Conclusion

As an educator it is important to understand the differences between

phonics, which is an all encompassing method or tool for literacy, and

phonological and phonemic awareness, which pertain to word sounds and letter

recognition. Understanding the nuances of each of the mediators will better help

in assessing a students needs and understanding what area a students is having

trouble in. Some students have trouble with blending sounds; therefore, they may

have memorized some words through word recognition, yet when they are faced

with a more challenging set of words, they struggle, because they are not able to

understand how to blend and breakdown words into syllables, which create the

word sounds. Therefore, by learning about the different characteristics that

“phonics” encompasses, educators have a greater change of finding the problem a

pre-reader or new reader may have and giving them the tools to improve and gain

that fundamental knowledge before moving on to higher grades.

The English spelling system can be a very tricky system to master because as an

illusion, things are not always what they seem. For example irregular words, which are

words that do not necessarily follow any ordained pattern of rules; the words are simple

not spelled as there are heard or pronounced and this can be very troublesome to students,

especially students who are just being introduced to the English spelling system, such as

pre-school and primary grade school students. There are also several different rules that

must be memorized in order for students to learn this complex spelling system, such as

the consonant doubling rule and the silent e rule discussed in the text reading for this

week. (Freeman and Freeman, pp.120-126.) These rules can make it very disarming for

53




students to learn the proper pronunciation of a word. I have noticed in my work with

kindergarten students that the pesky silent e rule can be very hard for student’s at this

grade level to comprehend; yet alone master. Therefore, students, especially primary

grade students do face challenges when it comes to learning the English spelling system,

yet with a well-balanced phonics and reading and writing literacy curriculum the students

should grasp the rules, after all practice makes perfect; and never has this been more true

of such a multifarious task as spelling.

There are several measures that teachers can take to ensure that their instruction

targets specific stages of spelling development. By using a variety of teaching methods,

curriculum, and strategies a teacher can provide his or her student’s with a well-balanced

curriculum that can fit the needs of every learner. In an attempt to ensure that the

instruction targets specific stages of spelling development a teacher needs to offer age

appropriate exercises at school to provide the student with a better understanding of

spelling as a whole, and at home for home work to promote self-assessment and to

reinforce classroom concepts, ideas, discussions, and class assignments. Another key to

ensuring that students reach specific developmental thresholds in spelling development

are to give pre-test to see what level of learning (spelling wise) that the student is at.

Also encouraging fun activities, such as mock spelling bees, hangman, and scrabble, is a

measure that I believe is vital to promoting good spelling.

Although, there are several strategies that a teacher can implement for spelling,

there are three specific components that are discussed in Theme five of this week’s online

module readings, they are: Phonetic processing, visual processing and building word

knowledge. Each of these skills can help develop a student’s understanding of the

54




procedures of spelling. Phonetic processing , which is the process of constructing a word

or words correctly. Visual processing refers to identifying and correcting misspelled

words. Building word knowledge, although self-explanatory from its title has many

facets to how to go about the process. There are several ways that an educator can build

word knowledge; this theme focuses on vocabulary lists as an option for building word

knowledge. (JIU, Theme Five 2009.)

As both an educator and student I find that spelling is one of those subjects that is

often overlooked; it is a subject that many feel that everyone will just pick up along the

way. Spelling is often times not thought of as a serious subject; I myself use the

computer’s spell check tool. I seem to have no need to truly examine words, their

meanings, word rules, and the like. It seems that after the fourth grade spelling is one of

those things either you know or you don’t, but either way there is a computer program

that can help you out. Although, I am very fond of technology, this course has given me

insight, not only as an educator, but also as a student. I have always prided myself on

being a life-long learner and I find that one must continue to spell and continue on a quest

for language. After all, although it is overlooked it is something that we truly use

everyday.

Spelling

The English spelling system can be a very tricky system to master because

as an illusion, things are not always what they seem. For example irregular

words, which are words that do not necessarily follow any ordained pattern of

rules; the words are simple not spelled as there are heard or pronounced and

55




this can be very troublesome to students, especially students who are just

being introduced to the English spelling system, such as pre-school and

primary grade school students.

There are also several different rules that must be memorized in order for

students to learn this complex spelling system, such as the consonant doubling rule and

the silent e rule discussed in the text reading for this week. (Freeman and Freeman,

pp.120-126.) These rules can make it very disarming for students to learn the proper

pronunciation of a word. I have noticed in my work with kindergarten students that the

pesky silent e rule can be very hard for student’s at this grade level to comprehend; yet

alone master. Therefore, students, especially primary grade students do face challenges

when it comes to learning the English spelling system, yet with a well-balanced phonics

and reading and writing literacy curriculum the students should grasp the rules, after all

practice makes perfect; and never has this been more true of such a multifarious task as

spelling.

ESL and Literacy

It is also important to have a working knowledge base of second-language

learning is essential for an educator of today because we live in a multicultural

and multilinguistic society. Much as the adults of today the students of the near

future will be faced with a demand for highly skilled employees as well as bi or

multi lingual individuals. As educators we must learn to adapt; and there are

56




more and more learners whose native language is not English. In order to provide

students with a cohesive and well-balanced curriculum it is imperative for

teachers to have knowledge in second-language teaching and assessment

techniques. Our primary job is educators is to teach, but there are also goals,

objectives, and demands to provide all types of learners with the ability to become

proficient in all subject matters. In order to better provide students with these

skills, a teacher must have second-language knowledge, in order to incorporate

students’ culture and views into the students’ learning experience, thus providing

the student with adequate and fair learning examples and initiatives.

I believe that both word recognition and sociopsycholinguistic should be used

together when teaching reading and literacy skills. With that said I believe that word

review would be more beneficial to second language learners because it offers clearly

defined tasks that are geared to keep the students on track with what they are to learn. I

believe that the sociopsycholinguistic view would better suit an English learner because it

gives more freedom, which would be good for a student who had already demonstrated

some proficiency or mastery of the subject matter and has a better grasp of the language.

Writing Instruction

My perspective on instruction is that I although students should get a firm grasps on the

fundamental principles of writing; student’s should also be given the freedom to express

their creativity through this art form. When teachers tend to focus only on grammar

instead of the content, the student can easily begin to feel discouraged. I believe that it is

57




imperative for students to learn about draft writing, in this way students are able to get

out their raw thoughts or emotions, free of grammar and punctuation, next the student can

revise their writing and start focusing on the proper placement of a semi-colon or

apostrophe. Another concern are teachers who are a bit too liberal with the idea of

writing being a form of art, and instead of focusing on all of the parts that contribute to a

great piece of writing they focus only on the uniqueness, or essence of the what is being

written. Therefore, a balance is needed; students need adequate instruction in creative

writing, technical writing, and grammatical writing procedures to become truly fluent

writers.

Comprehension

The statement: “Comprehension is often assessed, but rarely taught,” is a fair and

accurate statement. Too many times students are expected to learn, without being given

the opportunity to explore what learning styles best suit them, without being provided

with the skills to breakdown and explain what they have learned, both orally and in

written form. For example: (Scenario) an open book assignment, the students are given

the task of reading a passage in their textbooks and answering the questions at the end of

the Page, chapter, or unit. Some teachers may feel that the students read a passage and

answered the questions correctly; therefore, the student comprehended the material.

Unfortunately, this is not an accurate depiction of the situation. In reality, the student

didn’t get anything from the assignment, if they were unsure, unclear, or just plain

indolent they would simply skim the textbook for the answers, and then proceed to

answer the questions. A few suggestions might be; if offered in your textbook, choose

some of the extra activities for students to complete in groups, or select important

58




thoughts from the page, chapter, or unit and give writing prompts in which the student

has to reflect on their own knowledge of learning. For my sponsorship I have been

working with kindergarten students, some effective ways to teach comprehension to this

grade level include: using multiple teaching strategies, teaching strategic thinking, and

active involvement in the learning process, for the student’s (IDEA 2002-2009.)

In closing, “The traditional definition of literacy is considered to be the ability to

use language to read, write, listen, and speak ” (Wikipedia, 2009.) And as to relate to my

kindergarten case study group I end this project with a quote by Dr. Suess, “The more

you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll

go.”

59

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_(activity)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listening

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speech_communication

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_(activity)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listening

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speech_communication




Reference:

Mahoney, Nicole (2008.) Article: Language and Linguistics: Language Learning ,Retrieved May 6, 2009. The National Science Foundation (2009.) Arlington, V.A.

http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/linguistics/learn.jsp

Jones International University, Online (2009.) EDU527: Literacy I: Module One,Themes One-Five. Content Author: Dorothy Valcarcel Craig. Centennial, C.O.

http://courses.jonesinternational.edu/

Colorado Department of Education (1999-2008.) Colorado Model Content Standards for

Reading and Writing (1995.) Retrieved: May 6, 2009. Denver, C.O.

http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeassess/documents/OSA/standards/read.htm

Jones International University, Online (2009.) EDU527: Literacy I: Module One,Theme Four: Excerpts from the National Reading Panel, 1997. Content Author:

Dorothy Valcarcel Craig. Centennial, C.O. http://courses.jonesinternational.edu/

Freeman, David E. and Freeman, Yvonne, S. (2004.) Essential Linguistics, What You Need to Know to Teach: Reading, ESL, Spelling, Phonics, and Grammar. Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann Publishing.

Phonological awareness. (2009, April 16). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Retrieved 12:21, May 12, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phonological_awareness&oldid=284300841

60

http://courses.jonesinternational.edu/display.jkg/JIU/edu527may098s1/May_2009/author.html





http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phonological_awareness&oldid=284300841












Blevins, Wiley (2005, March.) Decoding Multisyllabic Words. Retrieved 12:31

May 12, 2009, from http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4330

Jones International University, Online (2009.) Module Two, Themes One-Six: Phonology, Oral Language and Instruction. Retrieved: 12:21 May 10, 2009.

www.jiu.edu

Freeman, D.E and Freeman, Y.S. (2004.) Essential Linguistics, What You Need to Know

to Teach: Reading, ESL, Spelling, Phonics, and Grammar. Portsmouth, N.H.:Heinemann Publishing.

Live Search, MSN (2009.) Clipart and Photograph Search. Retrieved: 13:01

May 10, 2009. www. http://search.live.com/images/

Kids Front (2006.) Rhymes for Kids: The Golden Fish. Retrieved: 12:10 May

19, 2009. http://kidsfront.com/rhymes/the_golden_fish.html

Jones International University, Online (2009.) Module Two, Themes One-Six:

Phonology, Oral Language and Instruction. Retrieved: 12:21 May 10, 2009.

www.jiu.edu

Freeman, D.E and Freeman, Y.S. (2004.) Essential Linguistics, What You Need to Knowto Teach: Reading, ESL, Spelling, Phonics, and Grammar. Portsmouth, N.H.:

Heinemann Publishing.

Jones International University, Online (2009.) Module Two, Themes One-Six: Phonology, Oral Language and Instruction. Retrieved: 12:21 May 10, 2009.

www.jiu.edu


to Teach: Reading, ESL, Spelling, Phonics, and Grammar. Portsmouth, N.H.:




Educational Technologies, Virginia Tech (2008.) Cooperative Learning, Blacksburg,

V.A. Retrieved: 12:21 May 21, 2009.

Gagnon, G.W. Jr. and Collay, M. Constructivist Learning Design. Retrieved: 13:10 May

21, 2009. http://www.prainbow.com/cld/cldp.html

Colorado Department of Education (1995.) Colorado Model Content Standards for Reading and Writing. Retrieved: 12:01 May 19, 2009.


61

http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4330

http://www.jiu.edu/

http://search.live.com/images/

http://kidsfront.com/rhymes/the_golden_fish.html

http://www.jiu.edu/

http://www.jiu.edu/


http://www.prainbow.com/cld/cldp.html

http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4330

http://www.jiu.edu/



http://www.jiu.edu/

http://www.jiu.edu/


http://www.prainbow.com/cld/cldp.html






Kids Front (2006.) Rhymes for Kids: The Golden Fish. Retrieved: 12:10 May19, 2009. http://kidsfront.com/rhymes/the_golden_fish.html

International Reading Association (2000.) Read, Write, Think (K-2): Phoneme

Isolation: Building Phonemic Awareness. Retrieved: May 22, 2009.

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=120

Phonics. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary. Retrieved May 28, 2009, fromDictionary.com website: http://dictionary.classic.reference.com/browse/Phonics

Colorado Department of Education (2009) Colorado Model Content Standards for

Reading and Writing. Unit of Study Assessment: Denver, C.O. Retrieved May 28, 2009,


Loos, E.E., SIL International (2004) Lingual Links: What is a Rime? Retrieved May 28,2009. http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsARime.htm

Direct instruction. (2009, May 23). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved

03:06, May 23, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_instruction&oldid=291743918

Colorado Department of Education (2009) Colorado Model Content Standards for Reading and Writing. Unit of Study Assessment: Denver, C.O. Retrieved May 28, 2009,


Direct instruction. (2009, May 23). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved03:06, May 23, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?

title=Direct_instruction&oldid=291743918

Freeman, D.E. and Freeman, Y.S (2004.) Essential Linguistics: What You Need to Know

to Teach Reading, ESL, Spelling, Phonics, and Grammar. Heinemann Publishing;Portsmouth, N.H.

Jones International University (2009.) EDU527: Literacy I, Content Author: Craig, D.V.Module Five: Morphology, Theme(s) 1-5. Centinnial, C.O.

www.jiu.edu

The Colorado Department of Education (1995.) Colorado Model Content Standards for

Reading and Writing : Office of Standards and Assessments, Denver, C.O.


62



http://dictionary.classic.reference.com/browse/Phonics


http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsARime.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_instruction&oldid=291743918





http://www.jiu.edu/




http://dictionary.classic.reference.com/browse/Phonics


http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsARime.htm






http://www.jiu.edu/





Direct instruction. (2009, May 23). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved

03:06, May 23, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?

title=Direct_instruction&oldid=291743918

Freeman, D.E. and Freeman, Y.S (2004.) Essential Linguistics: What You Need to Know

to Teach Reading, ESL, Spelling, Phonics, and Grammar. Heinemann Publishing;

Portsmouth, N.H.

Jones International University (2009.) EDU527: Literacy I, Content Author: Craig, D.V.

Module Five: Morphology, Theme(s) 1-5. Centinnial, C.O.www.jiu.edu

Jones International University, Online (2009.) Module Seven, Themes One-Five: The

Foundations of Writing. Retrieved: 12:21 June 8, 2009. www.jiu.edu

Jones International University, Online (2009.) Jones International Lesson Plan Template

Retrieved : 12:21 June 8, 2009. www.jiu.edu


to Teach: Reading, ESL, Spelling, Phonics, and Grammar. Portsmouth, N.H.:


Colorado Department of Education (1995.) Model Content Standards for Reading and

Writing. Office of Standards and Assessments, Denver, C.O. Retrieved June 19, 2009.

http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeassess/documents/OSA/standards/read.htm#standard1

Literacy. (2009, June 27). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22:51, June

21, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Literacy&oldid=299019343

Jones International University, Online (2009.) Module Four, Themes One-Five:

Orthography. Retrieved: 12:21 May 26, 2009. www.jiu.edu


to Teach: Reading, ESL, Spelling, Phonics, and Grammar. Portsmouth, N.H.:Heinemann Publishing.

Literacy LA (1996) Quotes on Literacy and Reading, Retrieved 22:51, June 21, 2009.

www. literacyla.org/quotes.htm

63



http://www.jiu.edu/

http://www.jiu.edu/

http://www.jiu.edu/


http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Literacy&oldid=299019343

http://www.jiu.edu/



http://www.jiu.edu/

http://www.jiu.edu/

http://www.jiu.edu/


http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Literacy&oldid=299019343

http://www.jiu.edu/

teaching literacy to kindergarteners

Documents