Name: Jamillah Simpson
IRA Standards / Artifacts / RationaleStandard 1. Foundational Knowledge.
1.1Candidates understand major theories and empirical research that describe the cognitive, linguistic, motivational, and sociocultural foundations of reading and writing development, processes, and components, including word recognition, language comprehension, strategic knowledge, and reading–writing connections. / 5200 The Politics of Literacy- “What is Literacy?”
5710 Seminar in Reading & Language Arts Research- Best Practice Question #2
5725 Practicum in the Clinical Teaching of Reading- Case Studies / These artifacts met this standard in many ways. My knowledge of research, the background of education, and why we as teachers do certain things have definitely helped me to develop a greater understanding of foundational knowledge. My “What is Literacy” paper reflected on my view of what literacy means to me. Using all the things that I have learned through my studies in this program and putting it down on paper. Literacy means so much and entails foundational knowledge that keeps a teacher and students motivated and ready to learn. In RE 5710 through my Best Practices paper I have learned a lot about using Best Practices in my classroom. Best practices are the tools that help demonstrate the best way for your students to succeed in the classroom. Through this paper I was able to dissect the best practicesthat I use in my classroom and try to get a better understanding of why I use them. Then it gave me an opportunity to see if what I was actually doing in my classroom was in fact Best Practices. Then I was able to find the research that supports it what I am doing in my classroom. This allowed me to take a look at what I was doing as a teacher and understand my role better. Some of the things that I do in my classroom I do because I know that it works. It may not be something that is researched or I was told to do, I just do it using my judgment and I know that it will help my students succeed. During RE 5725 I was able to tutor two children during the summer in reading. I was asked to present my case study to the class of one of my student. It was amazing in how short of a time I was able to document, look at data and actually see how much growth this little girl had made in reading fluency. I had to take what I had learned in the program and use to diagnose that she was having a problem with reading fluency. Then between me and my professor we came up with the idea to do repeated reading. This worked wonderfully and all of us were very happy about the progress.
1.2Candidates understand the historically shared knowledge of the profession and changes over time in the perceptions of reading and writing development, processes, and components.
1.3Candidates understand the role of professional judgment and practical knowledge for improving all students’ reading development and achievement.
Standard 2. Curriculum and Instruction.
2.1 Candidates use foundational knowledge to design or implement an integrated, comprehensive, and balanced curriculum. / 5130 Teaching the Language Arts- Literacy Through Photography
5710 Seminar in Reading & Language Arts Research- Annotations
RE 5130Teaching the Language Arts- Poetry mini lesson / In 5130 I did a Literacy Through Photography project. This project was to integrated different subject areas along with photography, into a lesson. LTP uses photography to teach critical and creative thinking, communication and visual literacy. A guided analysis through each photo-story encourages students to apply this knowledge to find, analyze and interpret the cross-cultural content in images. My project helped me to increase in student competence in constructing meaning from images that incorporate various curriculum-based subjects. The lesson planning of this was very interesting and it allowed me to examine each subjects and add a little piece of as many as I could into this one lesson. In RE5710 I did a paper that consisted of annotation from different research articles. I was answering the question, “How does high frequency words and vocabulary knowledge help improve fluency in reading.” While answering this question I found a lot of articles that took different approaches to the question. Some articles said that playing games will help to increase while others said using a word wall will help increase fluency. Knowing how research has proven the accuracy of different strategies helps me to develop my instruction and try to do what works for the most success for my students. I also did a poetry mini lesson in RE 5130. This mini lesson gave me the opportunity to see how well my students were doing with poetry. I came up with a five days of lessons that would give each student the opportunity to review, make up, and edit a poem. I was able to integrate an earilier assignment that my students had done in art and use a collage they made for their poetry. Students made collages as they learned about an African American artist, Romare Bearden. Then they were able to write their poem from their own personal collages. This project also allowed me to use literature in a reading and writing connection. As we learned about the author Romare Bearden we read books about him and his work as well.
2.2 Candidates use appropriate and varied instructional approaches, including those that develop word recognition, language comprehension, strategic knowledge, and reading–writing connections.
2.3 Candidates use a wide range of texts (e.g., narrative, expository, and poetry) from traditional print, digital, and online resources.
Standard 3. Assessment and Evaluation.
3.1Candidates understand types of assessments and their purposes, strengths, and limitations. / RE 5100Teaching Beginning Readers and Writers- Midterm
RE 5725 Practicum in the Clinical Teaching of Reading- lesson planning and evaluating everyday
RE 5715 Reading Assessment and Correction- IRI paper / I really enjoyed RE 5100 and feel like it may have been one of the most beneficial classes that I took in the program. Dr. Morris had a effective way of showing us that all children can learn. The word sort was used to show how you start from the very beginning of picture sorts and move all the way to the word sort. The midterm questions that I had to complete allowed me to look deeper into what I do,as a teacher, and overall made me see what and why I do it. Through my readings and answering my questions I learned that the two forms of knowledge that students must pick up on are print related knowledge (with-in the word) and language and word knowledge (outside the word). This helped me to see where the knowledge is suppose to come from. I also learned that while readers are reading for comprehension it is not important for them to read word by word. Students eventually learn how to read beyond the word. The most important thing is for them to understand the meaning of what they are reading. During RE 5725 I had to keep a journal that consisted of my lesson planning and reflections. Each day I would reflect of my lesson whether it was successful or needed a little tweaking. Then I would plan for the next day according how that day went. This gave me the opportunity to really sit down and think if what I am doing is successful for the student or if I needed to do some reevaluating. When doing timed repeated readings I used data charts to chart my information to see if there was any progress being made. If I was unsure about something I always had my instructor there to ask for help or clarification on anything. In RE5715 we were taught how to complete an IRI. This is the first time that I was introduced to this process and it was very interesting. I learned how to find the reading rate, fluency and accuracy and find the independent, instructional, and frustration reading level on a student. I learned the formulas to find all the percentage and what to look for. In this assignment we were given some scores and I had to find the reading level and explain why I believe they would be in that reading level and what I think he/she needs to work on. This assignment was very difficult for me because it took a lot of thinking on my part. I had to look at all the scores, whether they were in a gray area or right in the middle. And tell their reading level. This helped me so much, now I do an IRI on every one of my students at the beginning of the school year. This gives me a great understanding of where they are when they enter my classroom and it is easier for me to figure out where to begin.
3.2Candidates select, develop, administer, and interpret assessments, both traditional print and electronic, for specific purposes.
3.3Candidates use assessment information to plan and evaluate instruction.
3.4Candidates communicate assessment results and implications to a variety of audiences.
Standard 4. Diversity.
4.1Candidates recognize, understand, and value the forms of diversity that exist in society and their importance in learning to read and write. / RE 5140 Advanced Study of Children's Literature- Book reviews
5140 Advanced Study of Children's Literature- Authors Study
RE 5130 Teaching the Language Arts- Poetry mini lesson / I really enjoyed all of the reading we did during RE 5140. We were able to read a lot of different types of books in different genres and backgrounds. After each reading we often times got into small groups and discussed what we read. Giving opinions about certain situations in the books made for good discussions. We often times just had a whole group discussion. We were also allowed to do a book review after each reading. This was to allow for you as the reader to get down your points of interest or so you can remember the key parts of the story. In RE 5140 I did an author study. I wanted very much to use an African American author that wrote children books. I found an author by the name of Marie Bradby. She had published five books, More than Anything Else, The Longest wait, Momma, where are you from?, Once upon a farm, and Some friend. I found that my students enjoyed reading stories that had were written by an African American because it gives them hope. They can all see themselves in this person. I used this author study with a small group of students during guided reading time. We used 3 of the children’s books and took a dive into the reading. We did writing, poetry and even theatre using her books. I also did a poetry mini lesson in RE 5130. This mini lesson gave me the opportunity to see how well my students were doing with poetry. I came up with a five days of lessons that would give each student the opportunity to review, make up, and edit a poem. I was able to integrate an earlier assignment done during Black History Month, that my students had done in art and use a collage they made for their poetry. Students made collages as they learned about an African American artist, Romare Bearden. We also read literature and watched videos about him and his work in the classroom. Then they were able to write their poem from their own personal collages. This project also allowed me to use literature in a reading and writing connection. As we learned about the author Romare Bearden we read books about him and his work as well.
4.2Candidates use a literacy curriculum and engage in instructional practices that positively impact students’ knowledge, beliefs, and engagement with the features of diversity.
4.3Candidates develop and implement strategies to advocate for equity.
Standard 5. Literate Environment.
5.1Candidates design the physical environment to optimize students’ use of traditional print, digital, and online resources in reading and writing instruction. / RE 5120 Psychological Bases of Reading- Blog
RE5200- What is Literacy
RE 5533- Webpage / In RE 5120 I made a blog. This is the first blog that I have ever created so it was very unfamiliar to me. I took on the task and accomplished my goal. The blog consisted of research summaries and answer questions about different topics. All of the topics had to do with reading and how the brain works. The research summaries were done in class most of the time and we had to find the main criteria for each research paper. This helped me to really read and understand research because sometimes it can look like a lot and get really confusing. But doing these research summaries it helped me to be able to pull out the most important information and use that in my understanding. We also answered questions on our blog. Our professor would give us research to read and give us questions to answer. We would read the research and post the questions and the answers on our blog. This blog gave me an opportunity to reflect on the class. And was very helpful for me when taking other research classes. My “What is Literacy” paper reflected on my view of what literacy means to me. How literacy affects each child differently. Understanding that students that are in lower socioeconomic background and students that are in the higher end will learn different. Not to say that some children can’t learn because of what is going on at home. But that all children just learn different. Using all the things that I have learned through my studies in this program and putting it down on paper. Literacy means so much and entails foundational knowledge that keeps a teacher and students motivated and ready to learn. I took RE 5533 during summer session two. One of our assignments was to create or update our own school webpage that we use at our own individual schools. We had to incorporate what we learned in our class and add it to our webpage. Listing the standard course of studies, educational links, as well as many other criteria. I really enjoyed this assignment because it was really something that we use every day in our classrooms. The fact that we have to update our webpages regularly this gave us the opportunity to update and enhance our webpages.
5.2Candidates design a social environment that is low risk and includes choice, motivation, and scaffolded support to optimize students’ opportunities for learning to read and write.
5.3Candidates use routines to support reading and writing instruction (e.g., time allocation, transitions from one activity to another, discussions, and peer feedback).
5.4Candidates use a variety of classroom configurations (i.e., whole class, small group, and individual) to differentiate instruction.
Standard 6. Professional Learning and Leadership.
6.1Candidates demonstrate foundational knowledge of adult learning theories and related research about organizational change, professional development, and school culture. / RE 5710 Seminar in Reading & Language Arts Research- Best Practices paper Question # 2
RE 5715 Reading Assessment and Correction- IRI paper
RE 5100 Midterm / In RE 5710 through my Best Practices paper I have learned a lot about using Best Practices in my classroom. Best practices are the tools that help demonstrate the best way for your students to succeed in the classroom. Through this paper I was able to dissect the best practices that I use in my classroom and try to get a better understanding of why I use them. Then it gave me an opportunity to see if what I was actually doing in my classroom was in fact Best Practices. Then I was able to find the research that supports it what I am doing in my classroom. The research that I found helped my professional development. It helped me to see that there is so much out there for our students and ways to get help if you need it. This allowed me to take a look at what I was doing as a teacher and understand my role better. Some of the things that I do in my classroom I do because I know that it works. It may not be something that is researched or I was told to do, I just do it using my judgment and I know that it will help my students succeed. In RE5715 we were taught how to complete an IRI. This is the first time that I was introduced to this process and it was very interesting. I learned how to find the reading rate, fluency and accuracy and find the independent, instructional, and frustration reading level on a student. I learned to formulas to find the percentage and what to look for. We were given some scores and I had to find the reading level and explain why I believe they would be in the reading level and what I think he/she needs to work on. This assignment was very difficult for me because it took a lot of thinking on my part. I had to look at all the scores, whether they were in a gray area or right in the middle. And tell their reading level. This helped me so much, now I do an IRI on every one of my students at the beginning of the school year. This gives me a great understanding of where they are when they enter my classroom and it is easier for me to figure out where to begin. In 5100 I completed a midterm which provided me with the foundational background and basic understanding of the history of literacy and its roots. Now I feel like I possess a more comprehensive understanding of the development of reading and writing in emergent and beginning readers alike. In addition, I learned different ways to improve my classroom and make it more of a literacy based classroom. Learning the importance of how having conferences with students frequently, and providing feedback quickly can affect their progress was truly invaluable. Making make each student accountable for their learning is another lesson that will contribute to my classroom teaching experience. Furthermore using instructional leveled text is very important to students. It helps to make each child feel comfortable and confident as they read. As students begin to feel more confident; fluency, comprehension and rate will increase. This is a direct correlation between students feeling more confident and their fluency & comprehension rate increasing.