6. Reading, Writing, and Oral Communication

In the fall semester of 2021, I completed a student assessment project for my Elementary English Language Arts Methods class which required me to work individually with a student. I worked with a student in second grade. I used multiple diagnostic protocols to assess the student about reading. I used an attitude survey to see what the student’s attitude was towards reading. I used an interest inventory to see what his interests were in terms of the types of books he enjoyed reading. I also used two running records to assess his reading abilities. I then presented and analyzed the data through the use of charts. At the end of the assessment, I decided on a focus for future instruction that would be best fit for this student.

Knowledge indicator 6G of the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards states, “understands how to design, select, modify, and evaluate a wide range of materials for the content areas and the reading needs of the student.” The whole purpose of this assessment project was to take an in depth look at the student’s literacy abilities, analyze them, and determine what resources and materials could be implemented in order to best accommodate the reading needs of this student. Throughout the course of my class, I learned how to identify a struggling reader and how to find resources that would benefit a struggling student academically. I also learned how to look for resources that push gifted readers so that they can be challenged more. The student I assessed had strong reading skills, however his interest in reading was primarily dependent on if the book would be of interest to him, specifically books about sports. I had to understand how to select books that would be best fit for him in order to push him to grow as a reader while staying engaged.

I learned many things while administering this assessment project and assessing the outcomes later on. I learned how beneficial it can be when you take the time to assess a student's literacy skills in-depth. I also learned how to use things such as attitude surveys, interest inventories, and running records. I was able to see how many resources there are online to use in order to accomplish these things. I also was able to learn what it is like for a teacher to gather this much data on a student and keep a record of it to be able to make a clear plan for the student moving forward and to be able to look back on the data to see the student’s growth later on. Overall, it was a great learning experience for me to do this project.

My partner and I created a unit plan for a third grade class for a prompt that was given to us in our Elementary English Language Arts Methods class. The goal of our unit was for our students to learn and appreciate a variety of cultures and their foods that exist within society and the world. In the fourteen day unit, students would create recipe pages to be compiled into one class cookbook. On the last day, the students’ families, local restaurant owners, and food critics would be invited to the celebration of the completion of their cookbook. Students would share about their food in the cookbook in front of the class and the visitors. At the end, families would present a prepared dish from their culture for the class and visitors to try. The project provides the students an opportunity to have their voice and culture shared in the classroom as well as a fun way to practice their writing skills in an authentic way. Students used many mentor texts in order to guide them to create an authentic recipe page with components such as servings, ingredients, amounts, directions, equipment needed, temperature, and time.

This artifact shows that I have met indicator 6F, which states, “The competent teacher recognizes the relationships among reading, writing, and oral communication and understands how to integrate these components to increase content learning.” This unit outline shows that I have met this standard because it required students to read different texts in order to guide them to eventually then write their own recipe page. Then, they would orally communicate with the visitors, sharing about their cookbook and presenting their finished product. Each of these things were integrated together into this unit plan cohesively. Indicator 6O states that the competent teacher, “teaches students to analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and summarize information in single texts and across multiple texts, including electronic resources.” In this unit, students would show these skills by being exposed to mentor texts, which include books and videos in order to analyze what they should mimic and explore in their own texts. Students were required to analyze those mentor texts and then synthesize what they had researched in order to create something new that they could share and be proud of.

This project showed me the value of collaborating with another teacher to ensure student success in taking in information and determining how it can best be used. It also showed me how all forms of literacy such as reading, writing, and oral communication can easily come together in one two-week unit. It clearly showed me the benefit of integrating each of these aspects into an authentic project where students can learn from mentor texts yet also create something themselves and present it to an audience where their voice and culture can shine through in the classroom.