Literacy is essentially our most basic form of communication.

Whether it is through reading, speaking, writing, or listening its the avenue where two or more people communicate. Literacy is how all learning occurs and is evaluated in the classroom. That is why incorporating literacy in intentional and meaningful ways is crucial for each students development. Through writing students are able to organize and evaluate their own understanding of concepts. With speaking and listening students communicate their ideas with peers and can gain deeper understanding through connections and shared experiences. When students read, they process information and use strategies to develop new knowledge. Reading is a process that takes many years to perfect. Some people in adulthood still struggle to understand difficult vocabulary and it hinders them from understanding new concepts. Throughout the geometry unit I taught, literacy was incorporated each day. I believe that the best way we learn is through meaningful situations and communicating about past experiences with peers. Everyday in this unit students were asked to work in partners to communicate with the support of sentence frames about where they have seen shapes in their daily life. Students also communicated their understanding of shapes by coloring and writing about shapes each day.

Some of the literacy standards I used in this unit were: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1.2 Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.

Ashley Farrens, Geometry Unit, Spring 2014

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At the end of this unit as a performance task students were asked to write an explanatory (descriptive) text about an invention they created out of shapes that would make their lives easier. They were asked to create a topic sentence that named their inventions, describe their shape by listing how it will help them, list the shapes they used, and why they created their invention. I was able to determine if the students were able to recognize the shapes they used. Some students said they had used two triangles when they had used four. Through their writing I was also able to determine which students were able to determine the attributes of their shape a circle does not have any sides or corners so it rolls, that is why it is the wheels of my bicycle that can get me to New York in one minute. By having the students write about the shapes I could easily identify which students needed more support in labeling shapes as well as what students had a deep understanding of shapes. Writing is an excellent avenue to take students when wanting them to begin synthesizing information on their own.

Some of the literacy standards I reviewed were:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.1.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.1.1a Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion). One thing I feel strong about, as a future teacher is the need for collaboration and ability to build off of one anothers knowledge and understanding. I choose to focus on the literacy standard about engaging effectively in a range of discussions because I think it is imperative for students learning. We focused on this by reviewing it Ashley Farrens, Geometry Unit, Spring 2014 Page 23

each day through our learning targets and I gave them opportunities to work in pairs, small group, and whole group discussions. This is a form of literacy instruction that may be easily ignored. Students need to collaborate to gain different perspectives, practice working with one another, as well as practice expressing their ideas in a sensible manor. Collaborating is a skill that needs to be practiced and developed, no matter where their life takes them; each student will need to be able to communicate their feelings and ideas when working with others. Literacy is in everything we do. Every time we converse with another we are using some form of literacy. When we are driving in our cars we have to read road signs, applying for a job, sitting in an interview, talking with friends, or painting pictures literacy is woven throughout everything. Literacy is an integral part of the classroom, and I am committed to improving and developing my students literacy for their development and the success of their future.

Ashley Farrens, Geometry Unit, Spring 2014

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