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Literacy Case-Study: Instructional Planning SEYSL 751 Professor Carol Hacker Jessica Constantine

Literacy Case-Study: Instructional Planning SEYSL 751 ...€¦ · Literacy Case-Study: Instructional Planning SEYSL 751 Professor Carol Hacker Jessica Constantine

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Page 1: Literacy Case-Study: Instructional Planning SEYSL 751 ...€¦ · Literacy Case-Study: Instructional Planning SEYSL 751 Professor Carol Hacker Jessica Constantine

Literacy Case-Study: Instructional Planning SEYSL 751

Professor Carol Hacker Jessica Constantine

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Literacy Profile/Planning Instruction Student Name: Alonso Napa Grade: 6 School District: District 25 School: Magic Carpet Prep DOB: 6/3/02 Age: 11 Former ELL: Yes: Spanish speaker Date of Report: April 2014 IEP: No NYS Common Core ELA Test: 1.94 Lowest Third in School 2013-2014 NYS Common Core Math Test: 1.90 Lowest Third in School 2013-2014 Reason for Referral: This student has been experiencing difficulty in his ELA class. The ELA teacher has recommended that this child be assessed due to lack of inferential skill, inability to comprehend written and verbal instruction, and language construction deficits. The teacher has noted that although Alonso is able to pronounce and read words, he can’t read fluently, his comprehension and language conventions are far below grade level expectations. After surveying other teachers, collecting artifacts of the student’s progress, and assessing the student’s reading one-on-one, the teacher has reached out to the family to discuss Alonso’s progress, and both parent and teacher agree that a literacy intervention could be beneficial to this student’s academic progress. This student is often quiet in class and has a timid demeanor. He avoids answering questions and is often spotted looking off into the distance or at the ceiling. Classwork assignments are often half completed, for he spends a great deal of time focused on the spelling of individual words rather than forming of coherent sentences or paragraphs. The teacher has noticed that this student doesn't always answer comprehension questions correctly, and lacks the skills to explain any inferences, if they are made. He struggles to express himself correctly while speaking and writing. Teachers have noted that he becomes red in the face and swings his leg before answering questions whole class. However, he becomes very animated when he feels confident in an answer or a topic which he feels familiar. (IRA 2.1) Candidate’s Name: Jessica Constantine Supervisor’s Name:-Carol Hacker

Pre-Intervention Testing/ Analysis of Results

Interest Inventory Administered 9/9/13

This assessment, administered on the first day of school, is a snapshot of a student’s reading and writing perceptions, interests, and habits. The teacher is able to ask questions which are specific to his/her content area. Ms. Con administered this test and asked open-ended questions that students were required to answer in writing. If she was not sure of an answer or if answers were too vague, Ms. Con asked the children orally. Alonso answered questions very vaguely or with one word answers. He did not complete the survey in the time allotted. When asked, “Why do people read?” Alonso answered, “To help them understand the words more better.” Also, when asked, “What does someone need to do or know in order to be a good reader?” Alonso answered, “To try there best.”

Words Their Way Spelling Assessment Administered 2/28/14

Giving the Upper-Level Spelling Assessment revealed that the words were too advanced to truly assess his word knowledge; only one out of the thirty-one words administered were spelled correctly, and only 22/68 feature points were obtained. In order to choose the most appropriate spelling stage for instructional activities, I needed to switch to the Elementary Spelling Assessment. After scoring both assessments, it is clear Alonso scores Late Within Word Pattern. It is during this stage which students “ transition between the beginning

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stage when students’ reading and writing are quite labored and the intermediate stage when students can read and write a variety of genres more fluently” (Bear, et al., p. 2, 2012). Students at the 6th grade level should be towards the end of the Syllables and Affixes stage and toward the end of the year begin moving into the Derivational Relations stage where students can begin developing vocabulary. He is below grade-level expectations and therefore will need assistance while reading and exploring new topics. He may be able to identify words, but lacks the skill to comprehend. He is still relying on sounds to write words, therefore he will need word study practice to help advance his writing and shift his concern from spelling to forming meaning in her writing. He needs to read for at least 30 minutes each day at his level or else he will become stagnate.

IRI Administered 3/16/14, 4/4/14

The first IRI administered to the student was on March 16, 2014. During this session, the teacher had the student read aloud the first 110 words of Level T. He had 11 miscues and could only properly answer 1 of the 4 questions, a basic recall question. The second IRI administered on 4/4/14 the child only made 7 miscues and could answer 2 of the questions.

Writing Assessment Ongoing, Short-Response Questions

Writing samples, the Interest Inventory, and the responses to the IRI reading passages reveal that Alonso is performing below standard. Alonso struggles to include sufficient and appropriate detail in his writing, and he struggles to structure responses in a coherent manner. His organization and sentence structure often lack sequential order; ideas, claims, and transitions are neither clear nor concise and lack development. He sporadically attempts to include evidence from texts to support claims, but he doesn’t always choose the most appropriate detail nor lacks the skill to explain how that detail supports his argument. He lacks the skill to be specific and often writes in general statements. According to the school’s curriculum, Alonso often scores a level 1 or 0 on the 2 point scoring rubric. His thoughts are incomplete, his knowledge of punctuation is minimal as most of his sentences are written in simple form, he makes many spelling errors, and much of his writing includes fragments.

Overall Instructional Observations When answering the questions, Alonso seemed unsure of his answers and would often look to the teacher in a questioning manner. His face would sometimes grow red when he was reading, and his frustration and embarrassment was clear. However, he still seemed to want to please the teacher and really seemed to show effort in reading text. During group work observations, he does not volunteer to engage in discussion, yet needs prompting from peers and the teacher. Throughout all of the assessment process, he did have moments of excitement, but it seemed his confusion about a task or

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reading was more evident.

(IRA-3.2. 3.4)

Initial Planning

The above assessments revealed that Alonso struggled to comprehend, retain and analyze information. He was not able

to articulate his understanding of a text in a way that was coherent in writing, nor while he discussed text. He often

responded with simple answers, and sometimes forget the original question after he had responded. In order to help

Alonso retain information and work through his confusion, I planned on using fix-up strategies to help him remember

information and be able to answer various levels of questions. He seemed to focus on individual words rather than

whole-meaning, so I wanted to build his comprehension ability. The goal was to focus on the following: deconstructing

questions, annotating and conversing with a text, structuring short-response questions, identifying unfamiliar words,

and understanding main parts of a large text. His enthusiasm towards science topics, scary stories, poetry, and being a

former ELL, shows in his efforts. Alonso does have the potential to write more when he is confident and interested in a

topic. I think if teachers approach their topics with multiple strategies, Alonso does have the potential to grow as a

reader and writer. He would need more support than a higher-level reader, but when given the direct guidance, it seems

he could flourish. (IRA-2.1)

Overview of Instructional Sessions

Instructional Plan Text Used Technology Resource

Strategy: Deconstructing Questions: Skimming and Scanning (Appendix A)

Excerpt from A Jar of Dreams by Yoshiko

Uchida and Multiple Choice questions

Smartboard

Strategy: Noticing and Wondering: Previewing Text (Appendix B) Dragongwings by Laurence Yep

Chinese Immigration video from Youtube

Shockwaves a documentary about the

1906 Earthquake

Smartboard

Strategy: Evidence Flags. (Appendix C) Dragonwings by Laurence Yep

(Chapter 5 and 6)

Smartboard

Strategy: Identify Unfamiliar Words: Word-Catcher (Appendix D) (3) Excerpts from Lost Garden by Laurence Yep

Smartboard

Strategy: Finding the Gist: Read, Reread, and Read Again (Appendix E)

“The Migration of Grey Squirrels” by William

Howitt (poem)

Smartboard

Discussions on Planning, Modifications, and Student Needs

Alonso was very timid in my class, and before working with him closely, I realized I barely even knew him as a

person. In order to plan my lessons and make them engaging I referred back to his first day interest inventory, but also

verbally asked him some questions to help me get to know him better. I found out he has a real passion for travel and is

really into scary stories. I wanted to make sure that my lessons with him were personal and comfortable, so I always

tried to relate the sessions back to his own personal interests. I started my school year with the interest inventory to

remind students that reading, writing, listening, and speaking are the most important skills to obtain to pursue their own

self-interests. After choosing Alonso as my case study, I realized he struggled with writing, vocabulary and

comprehension. I started with a simple Skimming and Scanning activity to focus his reading attention and realized he

could process smaller texts, but needed more help with texts of a longer length. I started with the novel Dragonwings,

the whole-class novel. We conducted a previewing activity to activate his thoughts and get him engaged in the novel. He

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dreads reading novels because he said he loses interest quickly. However, I think part of his feeling was because he was

reading texts which were above his reading level. I then used evidence flags and annotations to help him focus and

remember information throughout the novel. As he was annotating, I noticed that he was having trouble understanding

the context, so I implemented the fourth activity: Identifying Unfamiliar words. The last activity was to help Alonso

continue practicing understanding texts with the use of reading different texts. The opportunity for instruction clarified

that he really needed support that helped him to remember information. Once I helped him to record information and

refer back to it, his writing and reading improved. (IRA-2.2, 2.3, 4.1, 5.3)

Summary and Conclusions

Over the course of these five lessons, I have noticed that Alonso’s ability to understand the main ideas and

answer questions effectively, had greatly improved. I administered another IRI, and although Alonso still made several

miscues, his answers to questions grew in length and detail. He was able to read aloud with more confidence and

intonation. I can conclude that Alonso’s skills improved when he was given direct graphic organizers and multiple entry

points to address a topic or text. He was lost on where to begin and what to think about before this intervention was put

in place, but has grown in confidence and understanding of the reading process.

(IRA- 4.2, 5.3)

Recommendations for Further Instruction

It is recommended that Alonso’s other teachers continue to use graphic organizers to help guide his learning.

After several sessions, these graphic organizers and text levels can be modified to help Alonso improve his reading skills.

For now, he has not developed the proper skills to read an entire text independently. Teachers could pause at several

key areas and check for understanding, supply Alonso with multiple text-dependent questions, help him focus on textual

features, and have supplemental readings in the classroom to support his understanding of a topic. He should be

grouped in a heterogeneous group or paired with a higher-level student who can help Alonso when he is struggling to

understand the topic or question posed. Peers can help clarify and misunderstandings if the teacher is not available.

Also, a teacher must give Alonso a choice of text. When he has a choice, he feels more ownership, and is more engaged

in the text.

Personal Reflections/Report on Conference

Overall, I feel this was an interesting learning experience, I was able to pinpoint specific reading skills which

were necessary for a child to improve his reading comprehension. Some of the skills I transferred to my whole-class

instruction and noticed huge improvements in my classes’ interaction and understanding. I think I need to work on

making vocabulary instruction more interesting and intriguing for students and could probably refer to Words their Way

for better activities which are directly related to my students’ deficits. Planning the lessons was not a difficult task. I felt

focusing on the implementation and noticing which areas the child was truly struggling with was a difficult task. I wanted

to make sure I was truly helping my student to become a better reader and writer. During and after the intervention, I

met with Alonso’s Science teacher to discuss my findings and help her to improve her instructional planning. Based on

the assessments and the evidence, his teacher agreed and was very willing to take the advice I gave her. She started

using more graphic organizers in her class and Alonso’s test scored began improving. He also was able to connect the

information to other texts and comprehend concepts. His vocabulary was still a bit unorganized, but the teacher was

able to report that he was using context clues and explaining which sections of the text he looked at for evidence and

support to answer vocabulary questions. This assignment also helped me to grow as a teacher and a literacy specialist

because I was encouraged to have a voice with my colleagues. Being a first-year teacher in the DOE, I sometimes fear

offending others or overstepping my boundaries. This assignment helped me to see that I am just as educated and well-

informed as some of my colleagues. It also taught me that true professional development comes from taking risks and

collaborating with veteran teachers.

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Appendix A

Student(s) Name: Alonso Napa Grade: 6 Common Core Learning Standards: - L.6.3-Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. -SL.6.4-Present claims and findings, sequencing ideas logically and using pertinent descriptions, facts, and details to accentuate main ideas or themes, use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation. -RI.6.1-Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Learning Objectives: - I can apply my knowledge of skimming and scanning textual features to help me understand the main idea of a text. -I can identify important clue words to help me comprehend the questions’ purpose. Mini-Lesson/Teaching Point: Teacher will inform the student about the two before reading strategies listed in the learning objectives: skimming and scanning. The student needs to understand the differences in order to utilize the skills with the text. Skimming: Reading main ideas within a passage to get an overall impression of the passage. How to do it: Read the title, Read the introduction, Read the first sentence of every paragraph, read headings and sub-headings, notice pictures, charts, boldfaced words, etc. Scanning: Used to find specific information quickly. How to do it: Search for clue words that will connect with the question posed, use headings and other aides to help you identify sections which may contain the information. Rationale: Alonso struggles to begin reading because he is unsure of where to begin. Since the ELA NYS Assessment requires students to answer multiple choice questions, I conducted a mini-lesson that would help him tackle the articles and questions without feeling nervous. Alonso also thinks that reading is supposed to help people pronounce words better, so I wanted to show him that reading is more than just words. Good readers observe all features of a text and the organization of an article, as well as the words, pictures, and titles help readers understand the main ideas associated with the text. If Alonso can identify features and identify the structure of questions, he will improve his overall reading comprehension. Materials: -from A Jar of Dreams by Yoshiko Uchida -Pen/Pencil -Smartboard slides -Graphic organizer “Sixty Second Skim and Scan” -Text-dependent questions Procedure:

1. Teacher poses the question to child: “What do good readers do before reading to help them understand the text?”-Student responds verbally

2. Teacher administers the text to student.

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3. Teacher models the reading strategy of skimming the text with a model text. 4. Teacher administers the skimming and scanning task card and graphic organizer to the student. 5. Student begins skimming the textual features of the text and records any notices or questions onto the

graphic organizer. 6. After completing the first portion of the graphic organizer, the teacher asks the student what he thinks

about the main idea of the article. 7. Student begins reading the text with teacher assistance. They pause every two paragraphs to record

the main idea in the margins. 8. Teacher and student discuss the overall text after completing the reading. 9. Review the scanning task card with student. Ask: “What are some clue words we can observe in

questions to help us find the answers?”…infer, NOT, BOTH, line references, etc. 10. Student circles clue words or phrases in text-dependent questions. 11. Student scans the text for similar words and then attempts to answer the questions. 12. Teacher reviews all material.

Anecdotal Notes: - Still had a bit of difficulty with thinking about the text before reading. Was anxious to begin. - Enjoyed focusing his thinking and filling out the graphic organizer - In the next lesson, I will supply him with another organizer and refocus him on previewing text. - He needs help focusing before reading.

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Sixty Second Skim and Scan

Skimming and scanning a text prior to reading can help you activate knowledge and set your

purpose. Examining the content and format of the text helps you understand what you’re

reading, become aware of the text layout and activates any knowledge you may have about

the topic. Complete the “Sixty Second Skim and Scan” organizer prior to reading.

Title:_______________________________________________________________

Author:____________________________________________________________

Note the title and the name of the author. Are you familiar with this author?

Read the directions and blurb before the story. What information do you gain from reading these features?

Think about the title. What do you think the story may be about based on the title?

What do you already know about this topic/theme?

Skim through the story and read topic sentences, or a few paragraphs. What did skimming through the story make you think about?

Make a prediction:

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Appendix B Student(s) Name: Alonso Napa Grade: 6 Common Core Learning Standards: -I can analyze how an author develops a narrator or speaker’s point of view. (RL.6.6) -Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot. (Rl.6.5) Learning Objectives: - I can preview a novel to understand the gist of the story. -I can complete the PQ4R graphic organizer to interact with the novel before and during reading. -I can determine the point of view of a text. Mini-Lesson/Teaching Point: Before Reading Preview strategy. Continuing from the lesson before, I have changed the type of text Alonso was working with to help him transfer and apply the same skimming skills to previewing and engaging with a longer text. (May span over two sessions) Rationale: The primary focus of this lesson is to help Alonso connect with the texts he reads. The activity will help Alonso imagine “stepping into” the world of the novel and understand and question background information. Alonso struggles to become engaged in the texts he reads, so I believe this previewing activity will get him interested in the text and want to continue reading. This will also aide in his overall comprehension of the plot, setting, and theme. Materials: -Dragonwings by Laurence Yep -PQ4R graphic organizer -Basic Questions for Moon Shadow -Chinese Immigrants movie from Youtube -Shockwaves documentary film -KWL Chart -Smartboard Procedure:

1. Teacher administers the novel and PQ4R graphic organizer. 2. Focus Alonso on the front cover of the book. 3. Teacher asks: “How can you get to know about this book?” Listen for: I can skim the cover and back

cover to gain an understanding of the text. 4. Review PQ4R graphic organizer with Alonso: Preview, Question, Read, Reflect, Recite, Review. 5. Student shares ideas out loud before jotting them down on the organizer. 6. Invite student to read the back blurb and add more information to the graphic organizer. 7. Begin reading the first couple of pages of the novel. 8. Ask: What point of view do you think this story is being told in? Which words help you to identify this

point of view? 9. Continue reading the beginning of chapter 1. 10. Administer “Basic Questions for Moon Shadow” 11. Read the questions together and ask student to answer the questions as if he was the main character:

Where do you live? Whom do you live with? What does your family do? What is something important to know about your family?

12. Student completes the short-response questions independently.

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13. Give student choice of video, Chinese Immigrants or Shockwaves 14. Student completes KWL before and during the video.

Anecdotal Notes: -Enjoyed the topic of Earthquakes and filling out the KWL chart. Asked to color the outline of the KWL chart. -Previewing the text seemed to help again! He seemed excited to read the novel. -Graphic organizers continue to be a focusing strategy for Alonso

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Name:_______________________________ Date:_______________

Preview What do you NOTICE? Look at titles, visuals, headings, subheadings, structure, etc. Record information below.

Questions What do you WONDER? Do any questions arise from previewing the text?

Read Read the text are any of your burning questions answered? Record new information below.

Reflect/Connect How does this information match other information, stories, or life experiences? What do you learn or want to continue learning?

Recite/Discuss What are the key details from the passage? Discuss with another individual and add any information you may have missed or did not think about.

Review What stuck with you? Do you want to explore more? How would you apply this new knowledge to the world?

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Class:__________________

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Appendix C

Student(s) Name: Alonso Napa Grade: 6

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Common Core Learning Standards: I can analyze how an author develops a narrator or speaker’s point of view. (RL.6.6) Learning Objectives: - I can recognize Moon Shadow’s point of view concerning the “opium dens” in the

second half of Chapter 4 of Dragonwings.

-I can locate, using evidence flags, text evidence of Moon Shadow’s point of view.

Mini-Lesson/Teaching Point: Point of view is a concept that needs to be understood for an individual to comprehend a text and author’s perspective in a novel. This lesson helps Alonso think about a focus question, search for the appropriate evidence, and then formulate an answer in writing. To engage Alonso before reading the text, I will give Alonso a picture of a young girl crying in the hallway next to her lockers to help Alonso understand different point of view. We will discuss how some people may think she is crying because she is bullied and others could assume she may be crying because of a bad test grade. This activity will then lead into the reading and focus Alonso on point of view. Rationale: There is a direct correlation between point of view and authors’ perspectives in all text. This lesson prepares Alonso for the graphic organizer he will use in later lessons to independently analyze point of view in a text. Materials: -Dragonwings by Laurence Yep -Photo of Girl crying in hallway -Post-its -Focus Question Paper: “What is Moon Shadow’s point of view of the opium dens? Positive? Negative?” -Pen/Pencil -Smartboard (to project photo and point of view definition) Procedure:

1. Teacher sets the purpose for the activity by saying, “Alright Alonso, today we are going to be focused on identifying important details in a text that help you understand point of view.”

2. Teacher administers photo and asks: “What do you notice or think about this picture?” Teacher and student discuss different points of view about the picture.

3. Teacher gives student post its and focus question. 4. Student begins reading the text and teacher stops the student at various points to ask if he has found

any textual evidence which answers the focus question. Student uses the post-its to respond to the text and flag appropriate evidence.

5. Teacher and student discuss the focus question again and begin discussing how to formulate an answer.

6. Student writes independently. Anecdotal Notes: -Alonso wanted to continue discussing the image and wanted to start creating stories about the girl in the picture. -His body position seemed a little more confident than the first session: sitting up straight, making eye contact, laughing. -Actively ripping the post-its from the pad to place in the novel.

Appendix D Student(s) Name: Alonso Napa Grade: 6

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Common Core Learning Standards: I can explain how an author’s geographic location or culture affects his or her perspective. (RL.6.6a) Learning Objectives: I can identify details in the “Being Chinese” excerpt that affected Laurence Yep’s

perspective of being Chinese.

I can infer how those details affected Laurence Yep’s perspective of being Chinese.

I can identify and determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.

(Repeat learning targets for the other excerpts: Opening excerpt and “Crime in the Neighborhood”)

Mini-Lesson/Teaching Point: Teacher reads the excerpt aloud to the student and asks student to follow along. Student annotates the text and circles any words which are unfamiliar. Teacher models circling a word that’s unfamiliar and teacher and student work together to identify the meaning of the word using the graphic organizer and background knowledge. Rationale: Vocabulary development is a very important skill for Alonso to work to improve. If he can improve his vocabulary development, he can improve his overall comprehension of texts. I noticed from his reading assessments that he focuses on words more so than the overall meaning. If he can build his confidence with word knowledge and let him fluently read the text, I believe he can improve his overall understanding. Materials: -“Being Chinese” excerpt from The Lost Garden by Laurence Yep -“Opening Excerpt” from The Lost Garden by Laurence Yep -“Crime in the Neighborhood” from The Lost Garden by Laurence Yep -Vocabulary Word Catcher -Smartboard Procedure:

1. Teacher administers Vocabulary Word Catcher 2. Teacher and student discuss the importance of vocabulary when reading a text. 3. Teacher reads the excerpt aloud to student and models circling an unfamiliar word and filling out the

graphic organizer. 4. Student reads the second excerpt independently out loud and circles unfamiliar words. Teacher and

student work together to define words. 5. Student reads the last excerpt independently silently and circles unfamiliar words. Records words on

the graphic organizer and tries to complete the graphic organizer alone. Anecdotal Notes: -This wasn’t the most exciting lesson for Alonso. -He voiced being bored and not interested in the excerpts. - I could make the lesson a little more interactive the next time we do vocabulary. -The graphic organizer helps him focus his attention though.

Name:_____________________________________ Date:____________________

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Dragonwings Vocabulary Tracking Sheet

Word Word parts, Related words

Meaning from discussion, context, or dictionary

Sentence, rhyme, or image to help me remember the

definition

Appendix D

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Student(s) Name: Alonso Napa Grade: 6 Common Core Learning Standards: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments. (RL.6.2) Learning Objectives: -I can get the gist of the poem “The Migration of Grey Squirrels”

-I can identify figurative language in the poem “The Migration of Grey Squirrels”

-I can notice shifts in the poem to understand the overall meaning.

Mini-Lesson/Teaching Point: Student will complete a concept map on a piece of loose leaf and write down anything they relate to the word POEM. Teacher and student will discuss how the features and structure of a poem help you to identify the main idea and central theme of a text. Rationale: Alonso struggles to understand overarching thematic topics and doesn’t understand the process of making an inference. This lesson is the last lesson that we worked on together, for Alonso needed to work on creating a foundation of basic recall skills before making a higher-level inference. Poetry is usually a difficult genre to understand because of the many intricate details of the text: concepts, vocabulary, figurative language, text structure and shifts. Materials: -“The Migration of Grey Squirrels” by William Howitt -Pen/Pencil -Text Interaction Organizer -Colored markers Procedure:

1. Teacher administers poem, graphic organizer, and colored markers. 2. Teacher asks student to complete a concept map of the word POEM. 3. Teacher and student discuss the information written by student, and teacher makes sure to mention

text structures and figurative language. 4. Student begins completing the Text Interaction Graphic Organizer with little guidance from the

teacher. 5. Teacher and student discuss the overall theme together and complete the answer.

Anecdotal Notes: -Alonso enjoyed the one-on-one interaction today. -Student was able to identify many features related to poetry and voiced feeling proud of how much knowledge he had already. -Student needed some directives from teacher to complete the textual shifts part of the graphic organizer.

Term and Steps Explanation Notes

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Title Predict the meaning of the poem based only on the title.

Paraphrase Stanza 1-2 Come up with a one or two sentence statement about these stanzas.

Paraphrase Stanza 3-4 Come up with a one or two sentence statement about these stanzas.

Paraphrase Stanza 5-6 Come up with a one or two sentence statement about these stanzas.

Figurative Language Find and label examples of figurative language in the poem. (meaning beyond the literal)

Shifts Note any changes in the writing. Rarely does a poet begin and end in the same place. Examples: -punctuation -change in stanzas -change in line length -changes in sound/tone

Title Examine the title again and interpret the meaning now that you have read the poem.

Theme Determine the overall message the poet is trying to convey.

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This report was prepared by Jessica Constantine Queens College graduate literacy student under the supervision of

Carol Hacker, certified faculty.