Writing Question
Select three (3) books of children’s literature that you have discovered and believe are high quality and age appropriate.
Directions: Be sure to make an electronic copy of your answer before submitting it to Ashworth College for grading. Unless otherwise stated, answer in complete sentences, and be sure to use correct English, spelling and grammar. Sources must be cited in APA format. Your response should be four (4) pages in length; refer to the “Assignment Format” page for specific format requirements.
Part A: Choose to put yourself in the role of a kindergarten, first grade, or second grade teacher. Select three (3) books of children’s literature that you have discovered and believe are high quality and age appropriate. Describe two (2) ways that each of these books might support a child’s personal and academic growth. List one (1) common core standard that each book could be used to support.
These standards have been released and implemented for English language arts and math. You can download the standards at http://www.corestandards.org/. I encourage you to bookmark this site and visit it often. If you plan on being a classroom teacher, you will need to become familiar with it.
This link will take you to the portion of the website that explains how to read the standards and understand their labels: http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/introduction/how-to-read-the-standards
“Individual CCR anchor standards can be identified by their strand, CCR status, and number (R.CCR.6, for example). Individual grade-specific standards can be identified by their strand, grade, and number (or number and letter, where applicable), so that RI.4.3, for example, stands for Reading, Informational Text, grade 4, standard 3 and W.5.1a stands for Writing, grade 5, standard 1a. Strand designations can be found in brackets alongside the full strand title.”
Here is a first grade ELA standard:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.7 Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
Here is a second grade ELA standard:
Part B: Choose three (3) picture books that promote social justice. Then, describe three (3) different situations or questions that you could then share with the children in which you give a setting and a problem and ask the children what they could or would do to help.
Part C: Select three (3) picture books that lend themselves to interpretation through music, movement, or dramatization. Then, summarize the books you chose to use. Describe two (2) music, movement, or dramatic activities that you would use to engage children in follow up activities to each book.
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Rubric Name: Assignment 8 Rubric
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Criteria Exemplary
Satisfactory
Unsatisfactory
Unacceptable
Criterion Score
Literature Selection
10 points
Student identifies 3 children’s books that are high quality and age appropriate.
7 points
Student identifies 2 children’s books that are high quality and age appropriate.
4 points
Student identifies 1 children’s book that is high quality and age appropriate.
0 points
Student fails to identify any children’s books that are high quality and age appropriate.
Score of Literature Selection,
/ 10
Personal and Academic Growth
10 points
Student provides 2 clear, logical ways that 3 of the books could promote personal and academic growth.
7 points
Student provides 2 clear, logical ways that 2 of the books could promote personal and academic growth.
4 points
Student provides 1 clear, logical ways that 2-3 of the books could promote personal and academic growth.
0 points
Student fails to provide ways that any of the books could promote personal and academic growth.
Score of Personal and Academic Growth,
/ 10
Common Core Standards
10 points
Student provides 3 Common Core Standards – one for each of the three books
7 points
Student provides 2 Common Core Standards – one for two of the three books.
4 points
Student provides 1 Common Core Standards – one for one of the three books.
0 points
Student fails to provide any Common Core Standards that could be supported by the books.
Score of Common Core Standards,
/ 10
Social Justice
10 points
Student provides 3 books that promote social justice.
7 points
Student provides 2 books that promote social justice.
4 points
Student provides 1 book that promotes social justice.
0 points
Student provides 0 books that promote social justice.
Score of Social Justice,
/ 10
Social Justice Situations
10 points
Student provides 3 situations that could be presented to the children.
7 points
Student provides 2 situations that could be presented to the children.
4 points
Student provides 1 situation that could be presented to the children.
0 points
Student provides no situations that could be presented to the children.
Score of Social Justice Situations,
/ 10
Picture Book Selection and Summary
15 points
Student identifies and summarizes at least 3 picture books that lend themselves to music/movement/dramatic activities.
10 points
Student identifies and summarizes 2 picture books that lend themselves to music/movement/dramatic activities.
5 points
Student identifies and summarizes 1 picture book that lends itself to music/movement/dramatic activities.
0 points
Student does not identify or summarize any picture books that do lend themselves to music/movement/dramatic activities.
Score of Picture Book Selection and Summary,
/ 15
Techniques/ Strategies
15 points
Student provides a clear, logical description of at least 2 activities for each book.
10 points
Student provides a mostly clear, logical description of 2 activities for each book.
5 points
Student provides 1 clear, logical description of an activity for each book or a mostly clear, logical description of 2 activities for only two of the three books.
5 points
Student does not provide a description of activities.
Score of Techniques/ Strategies,
/ 15
Mechanics -Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling
5 points
Student makes no errors in grammar, punctuation, or spelling that distract the reader from the content.
4 points
Student makes 1-2 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.
2 points
Student makes 3-4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.
0 points
Student makes more than 4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.
Score of Mechanics -Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling,
/ 5
Writing Style – Organization, Transitions, Tone
5 points
The assignment is written with excellent organization, thoughtful transitions, and the appropriate tone.
4 points
This writing assignment is adequately organized, but has some errors in the transitions or the tone.
2 points
This writing assignment is poorly organized, or it contains ineffective transitions and/or inappropriate tone.
0 points
This writing assignment displays little to no organization or transitions, and/or does not use the appropriate tone.
Score of Writing Style – Organization, Transitions, Tone,
/ 5
APA Format – Margins, Font, Spacing, Headings and cover page.
5 points
The margins, font, spacing, headings, and cover page are all formatted properly.
4 points
There are 1-2 errors in the formatting of the margins, font, spacing, headings, or cover page.
2 points
There are 3-4 errors in the formatting of the margins, font, spacing, headings, or cover page.
0 points
There are more than 4 errors in the formatting of the margins, font, spacing, headings, or cover page.
Score of APA Format – Margins, Font, Spacing, Headings and cover page.,
/ 5
APA Format – Citations and References
5 points
All sources used for quotes and facts are credible and cited, and the references and in-text citations are all properly formatted. Each reference has an in-text citation and in-text citation has a reference.
4 points
All sources used for quotes and facts are credible and cited, but slight errors are present in the format of the in-text citations or references. Or there may be one in-text citation or reference missing.
2 points
Some sources used for quotes and facts are either not credible or there are significant errors in the in-text citations and/or references. Or there are multiple missing in-text citations or references.
0 points
The sources used for quotes and facts are not credible and/or not cited. The in-text citations and/or references are not present.
Score of APA Format – Citations and References,
/ 5
TotalScore of Assignment 8 Rubric,
/ 100
OVERALL SCORE
A
90 points minimum
B
80 points minimum
C
70 points minimum
F
0 points minimum
Welcome to Lesson 8! You’ve made it to the end of the course! I hope you have enjoyed your time here. Hopefully, you are feeling a great sense of accomplishment. You have been on quite the journey from learning the basic elements of literature, the different genres that exist, literature’s place in our diverse society, and finally bringing it all together in this last lesson.
The first part of your reading delves into the political aspect of literature, most notably revisiting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). You may have some feelings about these standards based on the hearsay of other teachers, or perhaps even other instructors. Some you’ll encounter hold very strong feelings about these standards as they may believe there is too much emphasis on informational texts, analyzing texts, and that it is taking away from the enjoyment of reading. Whatever your stance is, or how much of the standards are in your particular school, the CCSS do have a place in education today. Your text states that the CCSS are based on research “on the levels of literacy needed for success in college and careers and worked backward to determine the literacy knowledge they believed students needed at each grade level to be college and career ready by the end of high school” (Short, Lynch-Brown, & Tomlinson, 2018, p. 197). The problem occurred when some states either modified versions of the standards, or misunderstood the standards, placing undue pressure on the teachers, which then placed undue pressure on the students. It is important to find the right balance. Your text, however, does a wonderful job of integrating CCSS resources throughout.
Basal readers and the debate about them were a big part of this lesson’s reading. Your text calls them “highly controlled and stilted,” and that is just what they are. When I became a teacher in 2002, the school I joined had just completed their last year with a basal series. After much research had proved that basal readers did not produce better readers, my school abandoned them. Not to sound too dramatic, but I feel blessed to have never taught with a basal and feel like I never got caught in the rut that can occur with them. It is easier, as a teacher, because there are scripted lessons and multiple copies of the same text to provide students. While scripted reading lessons may seem like a wonderful time-saver, they will not teach your students to love reading. This text and its expansive coverage of literature should tell you that wonderful, enriching literature-based lesson plans will not be quick and easy, and they shouldn’t be.
When you plan a literature curriculum, you will either take a traditional approach, focusing on the mastery of content, or an inquiry approach, focusing on problem-based learning. After having taught in the more rigid public school system, I had the opportunity to teach in a private, project-based preschool which focused mostly on the problem-based aspect of the inquiry approach. If students seemed overly interested in the airplanes that flew overhead, since we were in the flight path, then we would do a project on airplanes. I’d start the project by having students say what they knew about the topic – “What do you know about airplanes?” I would then have them ask questions about the topic – What do we want to know about airplanes? We would culminate our project with a chart titled, “What did we learn about airplanes?” as well as a culminating project of some sort. In the case of our airplane project, we were able to visit an airplane hanger and provide students with an authentic experience. It was amazing. While these were preschool children, I was still able to use their questions to guide our learning, work in small groups on projects, search for information, and read a variety of informational and fictional books. For the parents who speculated about this inquiry approach, I was able to show them how the teaching of reading was woven into the experiences we were having. Whether it was through the fiction story about a boy and an airplane, an informational text full of airplane diagrams, or fun, rhyming airplane poems, we were learning all about language at the same time.
Your text provides some guidelines for creating lesson plans around literature units. It is helpful to learn the following components of a lesson plan – goals, activities, materials, evaluation, and reflection – but I think it is also important to add a motivation component. As you plan your lesson, what will be the motivation for students? This can be something as simple as what you will do to engage your students as you begin the lesson. In literature-based reading, which is the approach to teaching reading through real books, there are key elements you will want to incorporate in your classroom:
Daily read aloud – Gather your students in the same spot daily so they can listen to you read. No reading response or activity is needed for this. Sometimes it is okay to just enjoy listening to reading. This is one of the most important parts of the day, and the one my fourth graders looked forward to the most. In the younger grades, I can recall reading a Halloween book to my preschool students and having my husband play his guitar alongside me. You would not believe the excitement in the class when my husband’s guitar strums “matched” the words I would read in the “scary” Halloween book.
Meaningful reading and research – Just like my airplane project example, the students knew what they were researching and why.
Quantities of good books in the classroom library – check your local Goodwill and explore neighborhood garage sales – You may also be surprised by how many parents will donate books too!
Daily silent reading of self-selected books – Sometimes called SSR- Sustained Silent Reading, this is an independent reading time for students. I would allow my students to sit in any area in the classroom where they could get most comfortable. In the beginning of the year, we also tried to build our stamina by first seeing if we could read for five whole minutes without moving or talking, and eventually increasing that time to twenty minutes (in my 4th grade class).
Daily opportunities for children to share responses to reading – It is okay to stop the class and have a student share something new they learned about a character, or even a student who sounded out a new, difficult word. Anything to get them engaged and excited about reading.
Opportunities for children to respond to reading in various ways – A few ideas, but not all, can incorporate writing, drama such as Readers’ theatre, and art. You’ll also have read about booktalks and literature circles. I somewhat combined those two in my fourth grade class, and had “book clubs.” My students picked a genre they were interested in, and I grouped them according to common genre choice. They were then able to read the same text as 2-3 other friends and respond/discuss on a weekly basis.
Reading conferences – Conferencing/meeting with your students at least once a week so they can talk about what they are reading is a great way to do a quick check for reading stamina as well as comprehension; it also lets your students know you’re interested in what and how they are reading.
Of course, depending on the grade you teach, your students may no longer be carrying their paperback book from home, but instead will have a Kindle in hand with their latest read. Students as young as second grade in my previous school had these devices and that added a whole new element to selecting literature, restricting literature, and responding to literature. That is the technology of today’s world. Be ready!
Thank you for putting all of your hard work and effort into this course. I have enjoyed teaching, sharing, and learning alongside you. You now have a wealth of knowledge about children’s literature and how to use it in your classroom. In the wise words of Dr. Seuss, and words you can take to heart while also passing them on to those young lives you teach – “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” I wish you the best of luck as you continue your journey through early childhood education.
Reference
Short, K. G., Lynch-Brown, C., & Tomlinson, C. M. (2018). Essentials of Children’s Literature (9th ed.). New York: Pearson.
Abstract
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Pyland and several other educators from across the school district want to start a discussion about what can be done to change the Accelerated Reader policy and what can be done to generate interest among middle school students in reading. Sanders-Smith said she does know teachers have been trying things, like book clubs, to get middle school students to read.
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May 13–Kim Pyland is passionate when it comes to wanting her sixth-graders at Forest Hills Middle School to read at school and at home.
But it’s not an easy task because somewhere along the way middle school students lose interest in reading.
Plus, there’s the obstacle of Accelerated Reader and the tests students must take. In middle school, Accelerated Reader test scores count 10 percent of students’ reading grades.
While Pyland thinks Accelerated Reader is a good program. She’d like to see Wilson County Schools change its policy on counting those test scores for middle school students.
Pyland and several other educators from across the school district want to start a discussion about what can be done to change the Accelerated Reader policy and what can be done to generate interest among middle school students in reading.
“At this age, none of them like to read,” Pyland said. “It kills me.”
Pyland reached out to her fellow educators earlier this school year in hopes of finding ideas to encourage students to read. Pyland was also researching what resources are available beyond the Accelerated Reader program.
During her online research, the book, “Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It,” by Kelly Gallagher, a high school English teacher from California, kept popping up.
Pyland remembers thinking “boy, are we killing it” when she first read the title.
Pyland read the book then reached out again to her fellow educators to see if they’d like to do an informal book study. Seven people joined the group that’s been reading and meeting to discuss the book since April.
Pam Breedlove, who coordinates staff development opportunities, heard about what Pyland was doing and helped set it up so those participating in the book study could receive CEU credit. The group was open for up to 15 participants.
Pyland likes that all three levels — elementary, middle and high — are represented in the book study group, which includes an assistant principal and a media specialist.
Pyland is also working with the school district’s grant writer on searching for funding opportunities so they can help middle and high school teachers build their classroom libraries.
Gallagher, for example, has over 2,000 books in his classroom library.
Pyland reiterated that the push to help teachers build their classroom libraries doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with the media centers or media center coordinators at the schools. But Pyland thinks teachers need books their students can check out because students who owe money or fines at school can’t check out books from the media centers.
So Pyland lets students sign out books from the classroom.
Wilson County Schools uses Accelerated Reader at the elementary and middle school levels.
Wilson County Schools discontinued using Accelerated Reader in the high schools because the program was not being utilized, according to Patti Sanders-Smith, assistant superintendent for Instructional Services. Sanders-Smith said the change was discussed with the high school principals and the principals were in favor of that.
Sanders-Smith said they have had conversations with representatives from Renaissance Learning, which produces the Accelerated Reader program, about professional development showing different ways Accelerated Reader can be used.
Sanders-Smith said Accelerated Reader is meant to encourage students to read. But at the middle school level it was felt that unless a grade was attached the students wouldn’t read. Sanders-Smith said discussion was held with middle school principals about counting the Accelerated Reader tests as more like a homework grade. The decision was made to have the Accelerated Reader scores count 10 percent for middle school students.
At the elementary level, students accumulate points using the Accelerated Reader program and are rewarded in different ways.
Teachers set Accelerated Reader goals for students based on their individual reading level. Accelerated Reader allows for a lot of differentiation which is good since Pyland has students reading on a kindergarten/first-grade level and students reading on a college level.
Sanders-Smith said in middle school there are students who are gung ho and do everything they can to achieve so Accelerated Reader motivates them. But there are parents who have told Sanders-Smith that Accelerated Reader has turned their children off to reading.
Sanders-Smith said she does know teachers have been trying things, like book clubs, to get middle school students to read. And teaching is changing because of technology.
“Teachers have got to compete with technology,” Sanders-Smith said. “They have to come up with different ways to hook students. Once they are hooked, the rest of it is easy.”
Sanders-Smith pointed out that years ago reading was a way for children to explore and use their imagination. Now, if children want to learn about something they look it up on the Internet.
Plus, Sanders-Smith said children are involved in so many other things now.
She also noted that students do more nonfiction reading in school now. Unfortunately, some students do not find nonfiction reading interesting.
At the same time, students can use technology to access electronic books.
Sanders-Smith described technology as a “double-edged sword” in terms of its effects on reading habits.
Pyland, who has been teaching for 11 years and is in the process of trying to secure her National Board Certification, explained that students don’t see the connection between reading and their success in other subjects in school. Students also don’t often see the correlation between reading more and becoming better at reading.
In his book, Gallagher encourages teachers to incorporate 20 minutes of uninterrupted reading time into their classes. But Pyland said that would leave her 25 minutes to teach based on how classes are currently set up in middle school.
But she has implemented some suggestions from the book. Her students must now have a book talk with her. They must also answer written questions she gives them. She counts that work as an Accelerated Reader grade.
Pyland said she’s had students come to her in tears because they didn’t do well on an Accelerated Reader test. One issue students face is some questions on the test seem random and students don’t know the answers even though they’ve definitely read and understood the book.
She’s also turned to her students and asked for their input on ways to make reading more interesting.
They’ve asked her to not stop after each paragraph she reads. But that means students have to be able to read and discuss longer passages of text. And reading longer passages can prove challenging for some students.
Scores on state-mandated End-of-Grade reading tests show scores drop when students here are in middle school.
For example, last school year 70.4 percent of fourth graders were reading at or above grade level. But 66.1 percent of seventh graders were reading at or above grade level. These percentages reflect retests some students took because they failed the initial test. This is the first year students won’t be able to take retests so scores are expected to drop.
Reading scores for sixth graders have been trending up since the the 2008-09 school year when 67.6 percent of them were reading at or above grade level. Last school year, 79.9 percent of sixth graders in Wilson County Schools were reading at or above grade level.
Answer preview Select three (3) books of children’s literature that you have discovered and believe are high quality and age appropriate.
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