Internship Reflection (Week Four)

1. What have you seen in language arts/reading instruction?

On our last day, this past Monday, the students wrote Ms. Leffite and I letters.  These letters ranged from how they were going to miss us to giving us advice about what grades we should teach.  All and all, these letters were great, and I plan to keep them forever.  In addition to the letters, Ms. Duckworth gave Ms. Leffite and I the book Where The Wild Things Are.  Receiving both the letters and the book made me realize that this day  really was our last day there.  Aside from the letters and the book, the students followed along with the teacher as she read a story from their textbook.  After the teacher was done reading then the students were to finish any writing materials they have not finished.  After their writing time I followed a boy to his reading group.  In his reading group was him and one other girl, his cousin.  Together they choral read with a lady for about 15 minutes, and then for the remainder of the time they went to another room where they worked on a workbook titled Reading Strategies.  Seeing this book brought back memories because I worked on this workbook as well when I was in middle school.  The reason why I worked on this book was because I too was behind in reading.  While observing their reading group the teacher wrote a series of words on a board and had them read them individually and then independently.  After they read the words off the board correctly the teacher had them read another series of words off their workbook page.  Once they completed those words then they read a story that was on the page as well.  Reading this story, they took turns every three sentences.  As each student read the teacher would mark the words they messed up on and then tally them up at the end.  If they made more than two mistakes then they did not receive their points for that days reading.  They kept a point chart in the back of the workbook, and when they completed the chart then they could move on to the next level workbook.  Lastly, the students only had about five mines for SSR due to the tooth bus being there at the school.  All and all, the last day was very good, and I am going to miss Ms. Duckworth and her students.

2. What have you taught in your internship?

This time in my internship I got the opportunity to read the math practice test questions to the EC Special Education math students.  Doing this gave me practice in what it is like to have to read each question out loud to the students, so they can hear the question as well as see the question.  Other than reading the questions, that was the only teaching experience I got on Monday.

3. Comment on any interesting things that you have noticed about your school, the teachers, the students, or the curriculum.

This past Monday the school had a tooth bus at the school, and on this bus the students could learn about teeth and why it is important to keep your teeth clean.  Also, if the students parents or guardians signed the consent forms, then the students could get their teeth checked.  More than half of students were able to get their teeth inspected.   Lastly, Ms. Leffite and I got to see this kitchen that is open to teachers to do lessons with their students in.  Other than that there was nothing else interesting about the school, teachers, students, or the curriculum.

4. Post any questions that you have about teaching/learning.

I currently do not have any questions!

 

Internship Reflection (Week Three)

1. What have you seen in language arts/reading instruction?

This past week was a little hectic due to the students trying to get back in the groove of things.  All the students had stories to share and catching up to do.  Besides the teacher trying to bring the students back together, this week was pretty good.  I really enjoyed seeing the students again and having them make me laugh about the little things they do!  Besides the ciaos, the students did pretty well getting back into the groove.  On Monday the students worked on writing a letter to a travel agent requesting information about the country they wanted to travel to.  Many students chose Canada, yet, some chose the United Kingdom, Ethiopia, and some other countries in Africa.  These students were required to ask the travel agent questions about the country which they wanted to travel to.  Some of the questions they asked were about what they needed to pack, the food, the culture, the money, and so on.  The reason for this writing assignment was because in their textbook reading they were beginning to read a story about a child in Vietnam.  In addition to their reading and writing, the students in the small reading group worked on finishing up their worksheets and AR tests for Amelia Earhart.  Lastly, the students on Monday worked had SSR where they read independently.  On Wednesday, the students continued working around the story of the child living in Vietnam.  After listening to the story on tape, the students compared and contrasted what people have here in the United States to what people have in the rural area of Vietnam.  The students did very well with the assignment!  In the small reading groups the students started reading a Judy Blume book.  I cannot think of the name of the book, however, it was about a boy named fudge I believe.  While the students read this chapter book independently, Ms. Duckworth worked with a boy on his comprehension of the Amelia Earhart books.  This took up the whole time during group reading.  During SSR the students again read their own books independently.  All and all, this was a great week!

2. What have you taught in your internship?

During this week of my internship I did not do much teaching.  I feel it was because Ms. Duckworth was trying to get everything back together.  The only teaching I did other than answering questions and assisting was during math.  I ended up helping a girl catch up since she missed Monday.  On the other hand, Ms. Leffitte did work with one of the boys on Wednesday on getting caught up in his reading.

3. Comment on any interesting things that you have noticed about your school, the teachers, the students, or the curriculum.

Like I stated before, this week was a little hectic due to the students being on spring break for a whole week.  The only interesting things I saw this week was Ms. Duckworth’s way of bringing the students back together and focused.  She didn’t have a true way of catching the students attention again.  All she did was do a little yelling, and talk to the students about what they did.  The other interesting thing I saw was how Ms. Duckworth was not prepared to teach the science unit on Wednesday.  All the students did was watch movies off of a website about electricity and magnetism.  The at the end she ended up stalling about talking to the students about their experiences with lightening.  All and all, I truly feel my teacher could do a little more to make her classroom be a little more exciting.  I am not trying to make her seem like a bad teacher, but every time I am there I am finding myself thinking of creative activities she could have done with her students.

4. Post any questions that you have about teaching/learning.

I currently do not have any questions!

 

Internship Reflection (Week Two)

1. What have you seen in language arts/reading instruction?

Week two was very similar to week one.  The students finished up their textbook reading on Monday by taking a test about what they had been reading.  Following their test they continued to work on their writing promps, and then rotated to their reading groups.  In their reading groups my group and I finished reading Amelia Earhart as I asked them various questions about what they were reading.  As I asked questions I found it to  be very similar to a DRTA lesson, however, I did not have the questions already prepared.  After the reading groups the next language arts/reading instruction was SSR.  Ms. Laffitte and I did not stay during SSR because we had to do some math assignments for our MAT 3030 class, yet, during SSR the students independently read different books and then take a test on the computer that measures what they read.  By the end of each month the students must meet their AR goal, however, sometimes not all the students meet it.  On Wednesday the last student in the classroom ended up meeting his AR goal, so the whole class was very excited.  Also on Wednesday the students took a reading test during textbook reading and writing.  This test is given every nine weeks to measure the students improvements.  In addition, it allows the teacher to see how far along the students have come, and what all he or she needs to focus more on.  Another variation to this past week was Ms. Laffitte and I did our WRI assignment during SSR.  I did mine with a boy who did exceptionally well.  He made it all the way to the eighth grade!  During the assignment he thought it was really neat how he was helping me with something in college, and he also said during the WRI that he wanted to make it all the way to the end, which he did.

2. What have you taught in your internship?

During my internship time I have been really busy with observing, interviewing, and doing things for math and reading, however, I did the opportunity to teach the students about how the Linville Caverns were discovered and how it got it’s name.  This teaching opportunity was during science because Mrs. Duckworth wanted to go over what all the students would be seeing on Friday on their field trip to The Linville Caverns.  Also, when the students go to their reading groups I got to basically do a DRTA lesson with the students.  The book we read was Amelia Earhart.  Overall, most of my teaching opportunities is done when students have questions.

3. Comment on any interesting things that you have noticed about your school, the teachers, the students, or the curriculum.

In addition to my answer in my first reflection I have learned that teachers work together on everything.  They do a lot of the same projects, worksheets, and activities.  They may do this partly because of the new principal and the new structured schedule, but overall, I think most teachers do work together and share ideas to help each other out.  Also, I have learned that during recess the forth grade teachers do a lot of their gossiping and sharing about their students in their classrooms.  For some reason I found it kind of funny because I got to see more loose and relaxed sides of the teachers.  Lastly, I have began to pick up on things about my students through interacting with them.  One student kept dozing off during their reading test, and from just having to wake him up every 30 seconds, I could tell something was probably going on in his home-life.  After the test I asked the teacher about the boy and she gave me a run down of what all he goes through.  Being able to see how a child acts at school due to what all goes on at home really hit me hard because I have either never been exposed to it or was just naive to it.  But overall, I am not picking up on the little things students say that give you a glimpse into what their life is like outside of the school.  All and all, I seem to be learning something new everyday that prepares me even more for when I become a teacher with my own class.

4. Post any questions that you have about teaching/learning.

I was just wondering if you were going to be coming my our forth grade classroom.  I know you were there one day, but I never saw you come into our classroom.

 

Internship Reflection (Week One)

1. What have you seen in language arts/reading instruction?

Thus far at Glen Valley Elementary School, Mrs. Duckworth has done a lot of her lessons and activities out of workbooks and textbooks.  In the morning, when we get there, the students read an assigned story silently to themselves.  This past Wednesday the students took an open book test based on the story they had been reading for several days.  Following silent reading the students begin working on their writing.  During this time Mrs. Duckworth assigns a topic, which is typically written on the smart board, for the students to write about.  The students are required to do a web plan first then begin writing.  Usually the students do one or two rough drafts and then a final copy which the teacher takes up.  After writing the students split up into separate rooms according to their reading level.  The level of readers Mrs. Duckworth works with are average readers.  In this reading group Mrs. Duckworth typically has the students work in a workbook.  In this workbook the students read short passages about various topics and then answer two or four questions about what they read.  On Wednesday Mrs. Duckworth switched things up a bit, and had the students read a chapter book about Amelia Earhart to me and Ms. Laffitte.  The students were split into two groups of three; I had one group and Ms. Laffitte had the other group.  As the students, in both groups, took turns reading each page, Mrs. Duckworth worked with one student individually on reading.  Once time was up for reading groups, the next language arts/reading activity was after lunch when the students had silent reading.  In this silent reading the students read whatever they want to read.  As the students read, Mrs. Duckworth has Ms. Laffitte and I go around asking comprehension questions about what they are reading.  Lastly, towards the end of the day the students usually have a lesson on grammar.  This past Wednesday the students focused on adjectives.  The way Mrs. Duckworth taught the class was through a power-point, which she read word for word.  Overall, the students in forth grade do focus a lot on language arts and reading instruction, yet, I strongly believe Mrs. Duckworth could go about teaching the students differently.  I know the school is at risk of having the government come in and run the school, however, that does not mean the students can only do workbooks.  Having fun interactive activities or even group work for the students can also help the students learn.

2. What have you taught in your internship?

These past three days at Glen Alpine, me and Ms. Laffitte have done a lot of observing and floating around answering questions.  On Wednesday, me, Ms. Laffitte, and Ms. Odgers gave the QIWK spelling words to the students.  Then during Mrs. Duckworth’s reading group, we were able to have the students read to us as we asked questions about what they were reading.  As for that, Ms. Laffitte and I have mostly been observing and floating around answering any questions the students may have.

3. Comment on any interesting things that you have noticed about your school, the teachers, the students, or the curriculum.

On the first day we were there at the school, I was surprised at the range of student diversity they have there.  Glen Alpine has students from all walks of life.  In addition, I was very shocked at how this school went from a School of Excellence to a school in danger of the state coming in.  Glen Alpine’s principal last year is no longer the current principal, but is now the superintendent.  I find this very interesting because how does a principal go from working in a school that is falling fast to a superintendent?  Something there does not make any sense to me!  Overall, I really do like the school, and I can tell from talking to Mrs. Duckworth and the other teachers that they are all working hard to keep the state from coming in.  The new principal has come into the school and has changed everything.  Because of the current principal, Glen Alpine is now having the students split up, in their grade, according to their reading and math levels.  Each teacher in each grade is assigned a certain level in math and reading, and they are to work with the students in the level.  I find this to be very helpful because the students are now getting the appropriate help they need.  If Mrs. Duckworth were to be responsible for all of her student in reading and math then she would have a very hard time getting anything done because the students in her class range from second grade reading to fifth grade reading.  Although I like the classes being split up according to the students reading and math levels; I do not like how Mrs. Duckworth goes about teaching.  I feel she focuses to much on workbooks, and forgets about making the lessons more enjoyable.  There are plenty of ways to teach that does not just involve reading from a textbook or doing a worksheet.

4. Post any questions that you have about teaching/learning.

As of right now I do not have any questions, however, I know I will have some soon!

 

Curt Assignment Two

1. What grade is Curt in?

Curt is an eight year old boy who is in third grade.

2. What was the flash score for words at: first-grade level? Second-grade level? Third-grade level?

First Grade – 75%

Second Grade – 50%

Third Grade – 20%

3. What was the accuracy score at: 1-2 level? 2-1 level? 2-2 level?

1-2 Level = 97%

2-1 Level = 90%

2-2 Level = 84%

4. What was the rate score at: 1-2 level? 2-1 level? 2-2 level?  Look at the spelling scores in Table 5.2 on page 172.

1-2 Level = 65%

2-1 Level = 44%

2-2 Level = 36%

Source (Curt, the Late-firstto Second-Grade-level Reader)

5. What was the percentage correct score for: first-grade words? Second-grade words?

Consider the following expected scores, and then compare those expectations to the scores Curt produced. With the Word Recognition Test, flash scores are generally interpreted as follows: 90-100% indicates Independent Level; 60-85% indicates Instruction Level; below 50% indicates Frustration Level.

With oral reading accuracy, scores are generally interpreted as follows: 98-100% indicates Independent Level; 95-97% indicates Instruction Level; below 92%   indicates Frustration Level.

With oral reading rate, expected grade-level ranges are as follows:

Grade–Words per minute

1^st–45-85

2^nd–80-120

3^rd–95-135

With spelling scores, around 50% correct indicates Instruction Level.

First-grade words – 60%

Second-grade words – 0%

Source (Google Images)

6. Which grade-level flash score is the best choice for Instruction Level? (*Note: 92-94% accuracy is marginal; take a close look at Rate.)

First-grade (1-2 level) had the best flash score for the instructional level.

7. Which grade-level accuracy score is the best choice for Instruction Level?

The beginning of second grade (2-1 level) had the best accuracy score for the instructional level.

8. What do Curt’s rate scores indicate about his grade-level reading? Where is he instructional according to rate?

Curt’s rate scores indicate that he is reading at the first grade level, due to his 1-2 and 2-1 reading levels.  In the second grade he is performing at the instructional level due to his spelling being at 50%.

9. What do Curt’s spelling scores indicate about his Instruction Level.

What Curt’s spelling scores indicate about his Instruction level is he got 60% out of the ten words correct on this first grade column, and then on the second-grade column he misspelled all of the words.  Therefore, he is instructional at the first-grade level.

10. Put all of these scores together, and what do they indicate Curt’s reading level to be?

When putting all the scores together, I found Curt’s reading level to be around the first-grade level, due to all of his tests being around the 1-2 level.

 

Rasinski (2004) Assignment

1. What are the three dimensions of fluency? How can you assess each dimension?

Accuracy in word decoding – In order to determine proficiency in decoding connected text, calculate the percentage of words a reader can accurately decode on grade-level material.  An accuracy level of 90-95 percent is usually considered adequate.

Automatic processing – Teachers can normally access automaticity in decoding by looking at the student’s reading rate.  Reading rates increase as students mature, so the target reading rate increases as students move through school.  As easy method for determining reading rate and automaticity, involves having students orally read a grade-level passage for 60 seconds and then calculating the number of words read correctly (corrected errors count as words read correctly).  Compare students’ scores with target rates (oral fluency norms) for each grade level.  Readers who fall 20-30 percent below the target rate will normally require additional instruction.

Prosodic reading – The best way to assess prosodic reading is to listen to a student read a grade-level passage and to then judge the quality of the reading using a rubric that scores a student on the elements of expression and volume, phrasing, smoothness and pace.  Students who score poorly may be considered at risk in this dimension of reading fluency.

All and all, teachers can get a quick sense of their students’ level of decoding accuracy, automaticity, and prosodic reading by having students read one or two grade-level passages for one minute each.

2. Rasinski refers to fluency as a “bridge” between decoding and comprehension. What does he mean by the “bridge” metaphor?

When Rasinski refers to fluency as a “bridge” between decoding and comprehension, he is meaning that reading fluency is the link between three important dimensions that lead up to comprehension.  The three dimensions reading fluency dimensions are: accuracy in word decoding, automatic processing, and prosodic reading.

3. What instructional methods does Rasinski suggest for students with difficulties in automatic and prosodic reading?

Rasinski suggests using assisted readings and repeated readings with students who have difficulty in automatic and prosodic reading.  He states that students need to hear what fluent reading sounds like, and how fluent readers interpret text with their voices.  He notes that hearing fluent reading is not the same to being a fluent reader, yet, assisted reading helps.  Rasinski suggests reading aloud to students, and then asking the students to follow along.  First the students should follow along silently and then aloud, as a group.  Sometimes Rasinski asks students to orally read with a partner who is at the same reading level, or with students who are more fluent readers.  Lastly, Rasinski will have students silently read while listening to a fluent reader on tape.  All and all, all of these practices help improve fluency and comprehension.

4. Multidimensional Fluency Scale (MFS) is used to measure prosodic quality of oral reading. List components of the MFS and describe briefly what each refers to (p. 49).

Source (Creating Fluent Readers)

Expression and Volume – There are four parts to expression and volume.  In the beginning the reader reads words as if too simply to get them out, and they have little sense of trying to make text sound like natural language.  Also, they tend to read in a quiet voice.  Then by the end of expression and volume, the reader has improved to reading with good expression and enthusiasm throughout the text, and varies expression and volume to match his or her interpretation.

Phrasing – In the beginning the reader reads in monotone with little sense of phrase boundaries; frequently reads word-by-word.  Then as time goes on the reader improves to reading with good phrasing; mostly in clause and sentence units, and with adequate attention to expression.

Smoothness – The reader starts by making frequent extended pauses, hesitations, false starts, sound-outs, repetitions, and/or multiple attempts.  Then by the last step the reader reads smoothly with some breaks, but resolves word and structure difficulties quickly, usually through self-correction.

Pace – In this last step the reader stats by reading slowing and laboriously.  Then by the end of this step, the reader consistently reads at a conversational pace; which is an appropriate rate throughout reading.

 

Stahl (2008) Assignment

1. Describe in broad stokes the reading processes that take place during comprehension of informational text (p. 362, under Construction of Meaning and Concept Development with Informational Texts).

Comprehension of informational texts requires accessing accurate, relevant knowledge, managing mental processes (both top-down and bottom-up) during reading within the confines of limited working memory, and constructing a coherent mental representation through pruning and organizational processes.

2. Specify the effect that background knowledge may have on constructing mental representations from informational text. Why should teachers be concerned about activating prior knowledge?

The effect that background knowledge may have on constructing mental representations from informational text is that children rely heavily on background knowledge in their interactions with text.  Teachers should push for students to use their background knowledge because they can build upon what they already know, however , they too need to be careful that the students do not rely on inaccurate or irrelevant background knowledge.

3. What are the three instructional approaches that can be used to help primary-grade students comprehend informational text? Describe their common (p. 365) and distinctive features (p. 363-5).

The three instructional approaches that can be used to help primary grade students comprehend information text are picture walk (PW), know-want to learn-learn (KWL), and directed reading-thinking activity (DRTA).  All three approaches are structured, teacher-facilitated social interactions, and focused on increasing students’ comprehension of text.  In addition, all three approaches engage students in generating purposeful predictions based on prior knowledge and informational text features, such as pictures, tables of contents, and headings.

Picture Walk (PW): PW is commonly used with leveled text – small paper backs that have been leveled using a narrow gradient readability scale based on qualitative text features.  In picture walk, the teacher and students preview each page or few pages of a new book before reading it.  The pictures are used as a catalyst for a discussion of what the book is likely to be about.  Lastly, two or three vocabulary words are introduced during the PW as well.

Know-Want to Learn-Learn (KWL): KWL was originally developed by Ogle to enable teachers to access the prior knowledge of students and to help students develop their own purposes for reading expository text.  The teacher generates a discussion about a text topic and uses a chart or worksheet to record students’ statements about what they know (K), wan to learn (W), and, after reading, what they learned (L).  Lastly, Ogle found that KWL is appropriate with information text, and can be used in any grade or content area.

Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DRTA): In DRTA the teacher selects an instructional level text (book) and then divides the text into meaningful sections.  Then the teacher facilitates the discussion of each section of the book, and the students are responsible for establishing their own purposes for reading, generating predictions, justifying those predictions, independently reading the text, and verifying or revising predictions based on evaluations of information in the text during the teacher-led discussion of each section.

4. What is the purpose of the experimental study reported?

The purpose of the experimental study was to explore how the PW, KWL, and DRTA might influence developmental reading abilities and content acquisition when used with information text in the primary reading group context.

5. Who were the subjects?

The subjects were 31 second-grade students in two demographically similar schools, in the same school district, in a midsize Midwest City.

6. Describe the reading materials used during the intervention.

The materials used during the intervention were informational texts on topics that were likely to be familiar to second-grade students.  The text addressed science topics that had been taught to the students in their first or second grade science curriculum as part of the state science content standards.  The topics for each group during both cycles were: spiders, the moon, how water changes form, and insects.  Each week three different informational texts were used that focused on the various science topics.

7. How long did the experiment last?

The data that was gathered was collected over a ten week period.  There were two four-week periods of intervention within that time frame.  Groups one through four from School A received the intervention during the first cycle, and Groups five through eight from School B received the intervention during the second four-week cycle.  Overall, there were twelve days of intervention in each cycle (three consecutive days for each four consecutive weeks).

8. What were the experimental conditions?

The experimental conditions were (PW, LWL, DRTA, and Control).  A random order of treatment was applied, so every student would receive each of the four treatments.  This helped increase the validity of the experiment.

9. Describe the procedures specific to the Picture Walk, KWL, DRTA, and the Control Group conditions.

Picture Walk (PW): In PW, the teacher would do a brief overview of the text.  Then together, students and teacher would engage in an interactive discussion about the book by going through the books pages, talking about the pictures, the text structure, and the student’s prior knowledge, and formulating predictions based on that information.  In addition, topic headings were addressed, when available.  This method is the only way that specifically introduces new vocabulary before reading the book.  Lastly, following the reading, the teacher would have the students read independently and then discuss what they read and if their predictions were right.

Know-Want to Learn-Learn (KWL): In KWL a topic would be introduced and the children would discuss the topic.  Students input would be written on a KWL chart in the “Know” column.  All of this would be done on Day 1 and Day 3.  Then on Day 2 and Day 3, the students would write what he or she knew on their personal KWL chart before sharing and writing what they knew on the class KWL chart.  Next, students would categorize the information.  Then the students would generate questions about the topic and place them in the “What I Want to Learn” column.  However, before placing them in the column, the teacher would provide a brief overview of the book.  Then the table of contents of the book would be discussed, if available.  This would help the students to be able to anticipate the content and generate questions that could actually be answered in each book.  Each day the teacher would write the students questions in the “want to learn” column, on the class KWL chart.  To help the students generate questions the teacher would guide discussions.  The following the pre-reading discussion, students would mumble read the entire text, and then after reading, teachers and students would start a post-reading discussion by considering whether the text had provided answers to any of the students questions.  If so, then the teacher would record the information in the “What I Learned” column.  Then together the teacher and students would discuss other new learning and record them as well.

Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DRTA): In DRTA, students would formulate and justify their predictions about the text based on the title, cover, prior knowledge, and if available, the table of contents.  Students would predict for a two-page or three-page section of text, and then they would mumble read that section of text.  After reading each section of the text, the teacher would do a brief discussion to verify predictions, summarize the information in the text, and generate new predictions for the next section of the text based on the discussion about the text, pictures, and headings.  Then in the end the teacher would discuss the minimal amount about the text.

Control Group: In the control group the students would receive a general overview of the text, just like in the other three, and then the children would independently mumble read the new text.  Following that the students would draw a picture or write about something they would like to share with the group based on the text.

10. What measures were used to determine the relative effectiveness of the treatments? Describe the measures briefly.

The measures used to determine the relative effectiveness of the treatments were: The Vocabulary Recognition Task (VRT), Maze Task, Free Recall, Cued Recall, and Post-intervention Interview.

The Vocabulary Recognition Task (VRT): The VRT is an experimenter constructed yes/no task used to estimate vocabulary recognition in a content area and to confirm that groups had similar levels of prior knowledge of the topic.  The task consisted of a list of 25 words; 18 of the words were related to the content in the informational texts and 7 words were unrelated foils.  Students circled the words that they both were able to read and related to the topic.  Then VRT would categorize those words under provided headings on a concept web.

Maze Task: This task was a multiple-choice cloze modification.  It was a timed (three-minutes), group-administered task. The original text read by the students was reprinted after the deletion of 10 content words. The score on the maze task was the number of correct responses. All maze texts ranged from 254 to 267 words.

Free Recall: In Free Recall, each child provided a free recall of the day’s text.  Students told everything they could remember about the text they read that day and what the book made them think of.  Then two raters parsed the texts into casual units.  Tree diagrams were to determine ideational hierarchies, and placed these ordered clausal units on coding sheets.

Cued Recall: In cued recall, each child was asked to answer three explicit and three implicit questions based on that day’s text.  First, items were scored as correct or incorrect as a measure of general comprehension.  Both correct and partially correct items were scored as correct.  Next, a four point scale was used to produce weighted scores for each answer.

Post-intervention Interview: At the end of each research cycle, and individual strategy interviews were done with the students in that cycle.  Interviews were recorded on audiotape and transcribed.  The interview was adapted by Duffy to determine if students gained knowledge of the two common strategies, activation of prior knowledge and prediction.  The questions surveyed three types of strategy knowledge: declarative (what the strategies were), procedural (how to perform the strategies), and conditional knowledge (when and why strategies are useful).  The students were able to refer to a new informational text that was provided as a means of making discussion less abstract.  The final two questions related to the instructional methods.  Following the poster-aided review of the four instructional methods, students were asked to reflect on their preferred approach for enjoyment and helpfulness.  Then finally, descriptive analysis of information gathered in the interviews was performed.

11. Which treatment(s) were found to be more effective in increasing students’ vocabulary knowledge and maze performance (p. 381)?

The treatments that were found to be more effective in increasing students vocabulary knowledge and maze performance was all three treatments.  They all three had vocabulary gains, yet, the PW and DRTA were more effective for the maze task than the KWL and control group.

12. Students’ comprehension of the texts was greater under the DRTA condition than KWL and the control conditions. What do you think explains DRTA’s advantage over the KWL condition (p. 382)?

The reason why students’ comprehension of the texts was greater under the DRTA condition is because DRTA is more structural.  It directs the students’ attention to the more important areas of the text and helps the students understand the more difficult concepts.  In addition, DRTA has a higher level of thinking than the other three conditions.  All and all, these reasons are why students’ comprehension was greater under the DRTA condition than the KWL and the control conditions.

13. It was found that the treatments did not differ in the quality and quantity of students’ retellings (p. 384). In other words, students were not differentially affected by the treatments in the way they integrated textual information with prior knowledge. What does this finding mean in terms of the different emphases employed by experience-based (KWL) vs. text-based (DRTA) treatments?

It means that both KWL and DRTA are effective teaching methods when it comes down to students retelling.  Both experienced-based (KWL) and text-based (DRTA) can achieve the same results when it comes down to students retelling.

14. In light of the findings from this study, what conclusions can you draw about the role of teacher support in children’s construction of mental representations from informational text?

The conclusion I drew is it is important that teachers use one of the three approaches when reading informational texts.  As a teacher you should always support your students, whether you use any of the three approaches.  All and all, students construct mental representations in various ways, therefore, it is up to the teacher to use any of the methods to help the students with their reading.

 

Words Their Way Assignment Two

1. How does a Preliterate (Emergent) speller read and write?

Preliterate (Emergent) students are children who are not yet reading conventionally, due to not being exposed to formal reading instruction yet.  Typically students in this stage range from zero to five years of age or they are people who are not yet reading conventionally.  Those who are Emergent spellers are typically toddlers and preschoolers, and their writing may range from random marks to legitimate letters that bear a relationship to sound.  Emergent spelling is divided into two different series of steps or landmarks.  In the early emergent stage, students may produce large scribbles in a circular motion, and as they draw they may tell a story that shoes no resemblance to what they are drawing.  In the earliest part of this stage students do not produce readable letters, however, later in this stage they may start producing drawings that look like letters.  In addition, students in this stage usually pretend to read.  The students will look like they are reading a book; however, they have just memorized the text.  Also, Preliterate readers and spellers begin to learn letters, particularly the letters in their own names, and begin to pay attention to the sounds in words.  This is done usually during the middle of the Emergent stage.  Towards the end of the Emergent stage, their writing starts to include the most prominent or salient sounds in a word, and they begin to memorize words and write them repeatedly; (cat, Mom, love, and Dad).

2. How does a Letter Name-Alphabetic speller read and write?

In this stage students range from five to eight years old, yet, someone older can also fall into the Letter Name-Alphabetic stage.  Moving from the emergent stage to this stage students are going from pretend reading to really reading.  In this stage students begin to recognize the sounds for each letter.  Charles Read named this stage “letter name spelling” due to the predominant strategy of using letter names to represent speech sounds.  In this stage students use the names of letters as cues to the sound they want to represent.  For example, students may use the letter y to represent the /w/ sound at the beginning of the word when, because the first sound in the pronounced letter name Y (wie) matches the first sound in the word when.  They may also use the letter N for the sound “en” to finish off the word when.  This stage is divided into three stages: early, middle, and late.  Throughout these three stages students learn to segment the sounds or phonemes within words and to match the appropriate letters to letter pairs to those sequences.

Early Letter Name-Alphabetic Spelling: Students apply the alphabetic principle primarily to consonants.  Students typically spell the first sound and then the last sound of single-syllable words.  The middle elements of syllables, the vowels, are often omitted.  Usually, the first sound of a two-letter consonant blend is represented, as in FT for float.  In this early stage, children often lack spacing between words, which makes it hard to decipher unless you know what the child is trying to write.  All and all, this early part of Letter Name-Alphabetic spelling is known as semi phonetic because only some of the phonemes are represented.  Lastly, students typically confuse the sounds /b/ with /p/ due to the similar way of articulating the mouth.  Both sounds are made with the lips in the same way except for one feature: In making the /b/, the vocal chords vibrate to produce a voiced sound.  A child in this stage usually spells the word pat as BT.

Middle to Late Letter Name-Alphabetic Spelling: In the middle to late letter name-alphabetic spelling students begin to show that they know most beginning and ending consonants.  They typically spell high-frequency words correctly, but still make errors.  Students in this stage of early letter name-alphabetic spelling use many vowels, especially long vowels.  They will use short vowels; however, they get confused with how they are spelled.  In this stage students also learn to segment both sounds to a consonant blend and begin to represent the blends correctly.

Late Letter Name-Alphabetic Spelling: Student in this part of the stage has full phonemic segmentation because they are representing most regular short-vowel sounds, digraphs, and consonant blends.  In addition, students in this stage typically omit preconsonantal nasals, such as letters like n and m in bunk and lump.  All and all, by the end of this stage students master the alphabetic layer of English orthography.

3. How does a Within Word Pattern speller read and write?

Students in this Within Word Pattern stage are able to read and spell many words correctly because of their automatic knowledge of letter sounds and short-vowel patterns.  People who are in this stage can be referred to as transitional spellers because they are transitioning from the alphabetic layer to the meaning layer of English orthography through patterns.   In this stage students are beginning to read independently and continue reading throughout their schooling years.  In order for a student to be in this stage they should be able to correctly spell most single-syllable, short-vowel words correctly as well as consonant blends, digraphs, and preconsonantal nasals; therefore, they begin to concentrate more on patterns and chunks of letter sequences.  In this stage students study words by sound and pattern, and they look closer at vowel patterns within single-syllable words.  The first thing student’s focus on in this stage is the common long-vowel patterns, and then the less common patterns.  Towards the end of the Within Word Pattern stage students begin to focus on ambiguous vowels, which are vowels that are neither long nor short, and begin to learn homophone words.

4. How does a Syllable and Affixes speller read and write?

In this stage students are expected to be able to spell words of more than one syllable.  In this stage students begin to look at spelling patterns where syllables meet affixes meet.  Yet, towards the end of this stage students begin to understand how affixes change the meaning of words.  Lastly, they are able to read out loud or silently.  They are also reading various genres of books, and are writing more abstractly (poems, persuasive essays, and etc…).

5. How does a Derivational Relations speller read and write?

People in this stage are reading and writing according to their interests and specialties.  They already have their style of writing, and show it through their essays.  In this stage students examine how words share common derivations and related base words and word roots.  They learn that the meaning and spelling of parts of words remain constant across different but derivationally related words.  Those who are in this stage spell most words correctly, yet, they still misspell words like favorite as FAVERITE.  All and all, students in this stage make their errors when dealing with consonant doubling in absorbed prefixes.

6. What is the existing research evidence on the relationship between spelling and reading? Briefly describe research findings discussed on page 20.

In the six studies Ehri examined, he found a relationship between spelling and reading ranging from .68 to .86.  In the other studies, spelling measures have accounted for as much as 40% to 60% of the variance in oral reading measures.  In a two year study that focused on first to third graders, spelling was found to the most consistent predictor of reading achievement.  Lastly, studies have shown that students who receive additional spelling instruction perform better on reading tasks.

 

Curt Assignment

1. Look at the spelling errors that Curt makes. What stage of word knowledge is Curt in? Why do you pick this stage of development? What are the key characteristics?

From reviewing Curt’s work, I believe he is at the within word pattern stage.  The reason why is because in this stage students can almost spell most single-syllable and short-vowel words, however, there are sometimes a few mistakes.  As for Curt he only makes a few errors on his one-syllable and short vowel words.  In addition, Curt is doing well on the beginning consonant blends and digraphs.  And in the within word pattern stage students typically are correctly spelling words that are consonant blends and digraphs.  All and all, Curt is doing well with on the second-grade level, however, when he works on the third-grade list, which is multi-syllable words, he sinks.  This is why I would put Curt in the within word stage.

2. Describe partner reading.

Partner reading is a form of guided reading, which often begins with a preview.  The preview consists of the teacher and student going through a “walk through” of the pictures on the first four to six page.  While going through the pictures the teacher and student discuss what they believe is happening in the pictures and what they believe may happen later in the story when they read it.  After the “walk through” the teacher and student return to the opening page and begin to partner read, which is when they alternate pages.  Typically the teacher or tutor will start the partner reading.  Overall, partner reading is a great way to begin reading stories with a slow, word-by-word reader, and creates a safe and comfortable atmosphere to read in.

Partner reading also has some advantages.  First, partner reading is psychologically appealing to the child because they can perceive the teacher (tutor), from the start, as an equal partner who is willing to share the reading load.  In addition, the teacher (tutor) reading every other page provides a fluent model for the child to emulate.  Lastly, the student is able to read out loud, which provides important opportunities for the teacher to diagnose his reading skill.

3. Which is harder for a student, partner reading or DRTA?

From reading what partner reading and Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DRTA) are, I believe that DRTA is more difficult for a students because of how DRTA requires active and decision making of both the student and teacher.  Having the student think more critically is what I believe makes DRTA harder.  I believe that partner reading is more comfortable for students because it provides the students with a one-on-one reading experience with the teacher, and they feel they are equal with the teacher (tutor) or whomever they are reading with.

4. In planning a DRTA, what is important about selecting places to stop?

When planning a DRTA lesson it is important for the teacher to first read the story their self in order to determine the appropriate areas to stop.  A few questions to ask when determining these areas to stop are:

1. “At what point in the story am I able to anticipate an important upcoming event or plot to turn?”
2. “Why am I able to do so?”
3. “What information have I read that is triggering anticipation?”

Lastly, it is important that the questions are appropriate for each stopping point and are prepared before reading the story.

5. In planning a DRTA, what is important about deciding questions to ask? What kind of questions? How many?

When planning a DRTA lesson it is important to decide how many questions to ask and what is important to ask.  At the beginning of the book the teacher should have three questions planned.  The first two questions should seek information about the story setting, and the characters that are introduced on the first two pages.  The third question asks the student if they want to keep or change their original prediction, and why or why not.  At the second stop the reader should have another three questions prepared.  Two of the questions should check the student comprehension of the plot information.  The third question should ask the student to predict what might happen next in the story.  At the third stop (stop three) the reader has two different ways of handling the questions.  The first way combines a retelling question with a prediction question.  The reader should begin by asking the child to retell what happened in the section they just finished reading.  If the child’s summarization of the events is incomplete, the reader (teacher) should probe for further information.  And if the teacher wants they can have the child reread parts of the story.  Lastly, after the child retells what happened so far in the story, the reader can ask the child to now tell what they believe will happen next based on what they have read thus far.  The other alternative questioning strategy at stop three involves asking the child how he/she thinks the story will end.  There should be a follow up question asking why the child predicts that.  However, as the teacher you do not want to overquestion at this crucial juncture in the story, so having the student make a comment on what he/she has read, and then allow the child to read the end.  At the end of the story the questioning can be done several different ways depending on the type of story.  Sometimes a straightforward question like “How did it end?” is appropriate.  For other stories, questions that ask the student to give an alternative question can be appropriate, or a possible “moral” can be pursued.

 

Ehri and Rosenthal Assignment

1. What was the hypothesis tested by the researchers?

The hypothesis tested was that students would learn the pronunciations and meanings of new words better than they see spellings of the words during study periods than when they do not.  Their explanation was that grapheme-phoneme connections should be activated by spellings and as a result should secure the pronunciations and meanings of words in memory earlier during learning.  In the fifth grade experiment, experiment two, the hypotheses were: spellings will help fifth graders learn the pronunciations and meanings of new vocabulary words better than no spellings; and students with stronger orthographic knowledge (higher level readers) will benefit more form spellings than students with weaker orthographic knowledge (lower level readers).

2. Who were the subjects?

The subjects of the two experiments were:

Experiment One – the participants were 20 second graders with a mean age of 7 years and 7 months.  They were enrolled in an urban school with a large minority population.

Experiment Two – these participants were fifth graders from the same lower SES school as the second graders.  The students were divided into two groups that differed in their orthographic knowledge (reading levels).

3. What were the experimental conditions?

Experiment One Conditions – The experimental conditions for the first experiment with the second graders were each student was to be taught the pronunciations and meanings of two sets of six concrete nouns.  Spellings were shown as students learned one set.  Spellings were not shown as students learned the other set.  The particular word set was counterbalanced across conditions.  The order the students completed the conditions was counterbalanced across students.  In the initial trial, the six words, their spellings, and their meanings were introduced.  For each, a card would be shown with a drawing of the object named by the noun and a spelling printed beneath the picture.  The experimenter would pronounce the word and its definition and the student repeated them.  The rest of the trials tested the student’s recall of the pronunciations and meanings of the words.  All six words were tested in every trial, and they were given a minimum of six and a maximum of nine trials to learn the pronunciations and meanings.  Lastly, in order to complete the trials the students much complete 3 perfect trials consecutively.

Experiment Two Conditions – In this experiment the students were divided into two groups that differed in their orthographic knowledge: 14 higher level readers and 18 lower level readers.  The higher group read real words at a 7.3 grade equivalent (GE) level and non words at a 4.8 GE level.  The lower group read words at a 4.6 GE level and non-words at a 2.2 GE level.  In addition the two groups differed in their spelling ability.  All and all, this second experiment was not much different than the first because they followed the same procedures as before, but the words were low-frequency nouns that were longer, consisting of two and three syllables.  Ten words were taught instead of six, and there was a minimum of five and maximum of eight trials for each student.   The students still had to learn the pronunciations and meanings of the words, and still get three perfect consecutive trials completed.

4. What did the treatment involve?

The treatment involved the students learning words during their study periods.  For the second graders, the students in the initial trial were given six words that included their spellings and their meanings.  In addition, each card was had a picture (drawing) of the object named by the noun and the spelling printed beneath the picture.  Following the initial trial, the other trials were in place to test the students’ recall of the words’ pronunciations and meanings.  The same treatment was in place for the fifth graders, however, their words were low-frequency nouns that were longer, consisting of two and three syllables, and there were ten words instead of six.

5. Which group (spelling-present vs. spelling-absent) gained more in vocabulary learning?  How were the groups’ recall of pronunciations affected by the treatment?

Both groups benefited from the spellings being present.  In the first experiment, with the second graders, the students recall of the meanings were higher than the recall of the pronunciations, however, with the spellings present the overall recall was significantly higher.  After many trials, the recall of pronunciations grew larger with the help of seeing the spellings.  In the second experiment, with fifth graders, the higher reading students outperformed the lower readers, yet, they both benefited from having spelling aid.  Having the spellings present in the trials became apparent that it helped the students in the first trial for the higher readers, and in the second trial for the lower readers.  All and all, these findings support that spellings help establish pronunciations in memory earlier during the course of learning.  The way the treatment affected the two group’s recall of pronunciations, was it slowly helped the students learn the pronunciations.  Although the students learned the pronunciations of the words later than the meanings, they still learned them after several trials.

6. Why do you think that fifth graders who were high on a word reading task benefited more from the spelling aids than their peers with less orthographic experience and knowledge, even though the two groups did not differ on receptive vocabulary knowledge?

I believe the higher reading fifth graders benefited from the spelling aids faster than their lower orthographic peers because they were more knowledgeable in reading and had more experience under their belt than the lower reading students.  Also, the students who had stronger orthographic knowledge had better grapho-phonemic knowledge and knew more syllabic spelling units than the lower readers.  In addition, the lower readers had more learning to do than the higher readers.  A great way to look at it is that the higher readers had a jump start to the lower readers, therefore, making the lower readers more behind, so it took them longer to learn and comprehend the meanings and pronunciations of the words.  However, they eventually caught on and benefited from the spelling aids.

7. What general conclusions were derived from the study findings by the authors? What implications were offered for vocabulary learning and instruction?

The conclusion of this study done by the authors was that students learned the pronunciations and meanings of the new words  better when they were provided the spellings rather than when they only spoke the words.  In addition, the students that had higher orthographic knowledge benefited from the spelling aid more than the students who were considered lower readers (lower orthographic knowledge).  Lastly, having grapho-phonemic knowledge helps the students remember the pronunciations better.  Therefore, teachers should link teaching new vocabulary with how to spell the words because it helps the students learn the meanings and pronunciations.