KEVIN WALLACE

PROFILE OF A READER

EDRD 731:

ASSESSMENT & THE FOUNDATIONS

OF READING/WRITING

DR. VIC OGLAN

7/29/2017
 Table of Contents

Sections I:

Student Reader’s Background Information……………………………………………………….1

Student Reader’s Interview………………………………………………………………………..2

Section II:

Session One – Reading Conference……………………………………………………………….5

Session Two – MARSI Chart……………………………………………………………………..8
Session Three – Vocabulary Cards………………………………………………………………12
Session Four – Annotation……………………………………………………………………….16
Session Five – Retrospective Miscues Analysis…………………………………………………20
Session Six – Split-Page Note Taking…………………………………………………………...25
Session Seven – Questioning the Author………………………………………………………...28

Section III:

Connecting Practice to Course Readings………………………………………………………...32

Section IV:

Classroom Layout………………………………………………………………………………..35

Section V:

References………………………………………………………………………………………..37

Section VI:

Self-Grading Rubric……………………………………………………………………………...38

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 Section I

Student Reader’s Background Information:

For the profile of a reader assignment I chose one of my former Sunday school students,

Devin, so that I could learn more about who he is as a reader. He is a 15 year old student who is

transitioning from the 9th grade into the 10th grade. As I got to know more about him from the

interview and from the several years that I had him in my Sunday school class, I learned more

about what he finds comfortable as he learning the different skills through reading and writing.

Devin comes from a middle class family and his dad works as a mechanical engineer for

an engineering company in Columbia. His mother is a stay at home mom, but also runs a

successful hair salon adjacent from their house. He also has a younger sister who I also taught in

my Sunday school class, and they have two dogs that they really adore. What I learned from the

interview with Devin was that his grandmother played an important role in his life by helping

him with school work in the afternoon while both his parents were working. She also helped him

improve his reading skills by encouraging him to set a goal for himself to read at least two books

a week during the school year. During his summer break, he told me that “I have slacked off in

my reading so that I could spend more time hanging out with my family and friends.” When he

does read, he has a passion for reading sports books and the National Geographic magazine.

I also discovered that he has an interest in sports, especially basketball & football. Every

summer the one thing that he looks forward to is a weeklong basketball camp at Clemson

University. During this summer camp, he stated that “I am learning more about the

fundamentals of playing basketball which helps me prepare to play for his high school basketball

team during the winter season.” During the rest of the year, he enjoys playing football in his

backyard with his cousins and his friends.

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Student Reader’s Interview:

Kevin: When you’re reading and you come to something you don’t know, what do you do?

Devin: I usually look up the words that I do not understand. I try to find more about the word

and look for different ideas to make me know it better.

Kevin: Who is a good reader that you know?

Devin: My grandmother is a really good reader. She has always helped me with English and

Reading.

Kevin: What makes you a good reader?

Devin: I do not go through any reading too fast. I always try to read slowly by taking my time to

look through every word so that I can understand what I am reading.

Kevin: Do you think you ever come to something that gives you trouble when you are reading?

Devin: There are some words that I do not understand. I usually try to kind of think about it or

look it up.

Kevin: When you come to something that gives you trouble, how to solve the problem?

Devin: I would try to do my best to think what the word is and look it up in a dictionary.

Usually my teacher gives us a dictionary just in case we stumble on something.

Kevin: How would you help someone having difficulty reading?

Devin: I would ask them what they think about it and what they understand from it, and if they

are clueless I would give them extra help.

Kevin: What would some of your teachers do to help that person or even you?

Devin: They would try to help me through anything that I am having trouble with. Teachers are

there to help me, and if I have any questions I can just ask them to help me through it.

Kevin: When you were younger how did you learn to read?

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Devin: I would just always read little books that my parents would buy me. I would also

practice reading and go through the books to help me understand what I am reading.

Kevin: Is there anything you would like to change about your reading?

Devin: Not really. Right now I cannot think of anything that I would change with my reading.

Kevin: Describe yourself as a reader? What kind of a reader are you?

Devin: I do not read as much as I should, especially during the summer. I should try to read

more so I can do better in English and in school. I try to read when I have the spare opportunity.

Kevin: How often do you read routinely read a week?

Devin: I usually during the school year try to read about one to two short books as my goal for

each week.

Kevin: What do you like most of all to read?

Devin: It is one thing that helps me in school, especially in writing essays.

Kevin: Can you remember any special book or what was the most memorable thing you have

ever read?

Devin: I like to read sports books and National Geographic. I remember reading a football book

called The Big Field by Mike Lupica. It was pretty good and I have always liked reading his

books. He has taught me a lot of lessons that helped me in football.

Kevin: What is the most difficult thing you have read?

Devin: I read one book I think last year for English II called Mythology. It took me a while to

read and understand it.

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Reflection:
During the interview process with Devin I learned a lot about who he was as a reader.

The main thing that intrigued me was that he was exposed to reading at a very young age from

both his parents and grandparents. As learned more about his reading skills, I discovered that he

was a slow reader, taking his time to try and comprehend what he was reading. He also told me

that “when I am struggling with something, I do not hesitate to ask my teachers for help.” Some

of his favorite things that he likes to read include sports books & the National Geographic

magazine.

After listening to what Devin told me about how he reflects in his reading skills, it gave

an insight to what I will see in my future students. From what I have learned from Dr. Vic in

EDRD 731 & 732, not all of my students are going open up in the classroom when they are

struggling. As a future teacher I need to be able to pick up the different clues that my student are

presenting to me so that I can understand what areas they are struggling in so that I can provide

the support they need to solve them.

When it comes to a student’s reading ability in the classroom, I need to learn to expect

the unexpected. From what I learned after working with Devin over the past several weeks was

that he loved to read when he had extra time, and that he was a student that struggled in

comprehending what he was reading. One of the things that he has learned over the many years

in K-12 was that “he reads slowly so that he can have a better understanding about what he is

reading.” In my future classroom, I will get a wide variety of readers who are strong, weak, or

even somewhere in between in their reading skills. By being prepared to teach in any situation,

it will provide me with the necessary skills that I will need to become a great teacher, which will

come from many years of teaching.

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 Section II

Session One – Reading Conference:

Session # 1.

Reading Conference, (Compulsory session).

Sunday July 2, 2017 at 10:00 A.M.

This session took place in a Sunday school classroom.

Description:

For this session I provided Devin with a short reading from the National Geographic

magazine titled Into the Deep by Mark Synnott. For this particular reading I want to understand

more about how he is able understand what he is comprehending from this reading. For this

particular reading assessment, I will have Devin read aloud for about two and half minutes

before I have him pause to discuss about what he has learned from the reading. After the

discussion I will read the next section of the reading to him to see if he has a different

understanding about what he is hearing in the reading versus when he is reading aloud. Also

during the discussion I plan on asking him if he has any questions about the reading before I

have Devin read the remainder of the article aloud to me. At the very end of the reading

conference I will have a final discussion to see if he has learned from the reading has changed

since the beginning of the conference and if he was able to solve any of the answers to the

question(s) that he had.

Reference:

Synnott, M. (2017, March). Into The Deep. National Geographic, 231(3), 104 – 119.

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Reflection:

With this reading being very short, I had Devin read aloud to me for about two and half

minutes before I checked in with him to see how he was coming along with the reading. During

our discussion about the reading, I wanted to know what he thought about the reading and if

there were any parts of the reading that he found interesting. Devin told me that “this is a very

interesting article;” and that one of his favorite parts of the reading at that particular point,

(Synnott, 2017) was how this American scientist/explorer had traveled to the country of

Uzbekistan to explore a very remote cave with about 30 Russian explorers. (pp. 110). Another

section of the reading that really caught Devin’s attention was that this particular cave was

considered one of the deepest and longest caves in the world and still has a lot of new

passageways that have not been explored. (pp. 112 – 113).

Following our conversation I read the next section of this article to Devin, when he had

me pause. At this particular point after hearing what I just read to him, Devin asked me a

question. He wanted to know, “What is causing this particular cave to be freezing cold inside of

it when the outside temperature at the top of the mountain where the cave is located is near

100°F?” This was a very interesting question that even had me wonder what was causing this

particular cave to have such extreme temperature changes. To find out the answer to his

question I had Devin continue reading aloud to me the remainder of the article to see if he could

figure the answer, which we would later discuss during our final discussion.

During our final discussion about the reading (Synnott, 2017), Devin discovered that the

scientists on the expedition were unsure about what was causing the extreme temperature

changes within the cave. He also learned that the scientists believe that there must be multiple

cave entrances, which may be one of the factors causing the extreme temperature changes. (pp.

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116). Before we concluded this reading conference, I asked Devin if there were any other parts

of the reading that he found difficult to understand. He told me that “this was an easy reading for

me to read, and I also found certain words that I want to share with you that I do not understand.”

These words were bespectacled, contemplate, itinerant, and satirical. Many of these words that

Devin gave me, I was unsure myself about what there meanings were. Before we looked these

words up in a dictionary, I had him tell me what he believed was the meaning to each of these

words, which he would later compare to the actual definition.

When I use the reading conference with my future students, it will become more

challenging for me to work with each student one-on-one in comparison to working just one

student during the summer. What I would continue to do with this type of reading assessment is

that I will still have the students read in short chunks. The one thing that I would change with

this assessment is that I will have the students turn and talk with another student about what they

are learning from the reading instead of talking directly to the teacher. This will allow the

student to become comfortable with talking with their other students as they start building their

public speaking skills.

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Session Two – MARSI Chart:

Session # 2.

MARSI Chart, (Compulsory Session).

Sunday July 9, 2017 at 10:00 A.M.

This session took place in a Sunday school classroom.

Description:

For this session I will provide Devin with the MARSI chart to determine what his

strengths and weaknesses are in reading. After he completes this chart, I will have him tally up

the results which will show both of us where he stands as a reader. After he sees his results from

the MARSI chart, I will have a conversation with him about what he thought about the chart and

what he learned from completing this chart.

Reflection:

During this session, I provided Devin with the MARSI chart and had him fill it out to see

where he stands as a reader. While he filled out this chart it gave me time to reflect about what I

thought about this chart when I filled it out for both EDRD 731 & 732. By understanding myself

as a reader, I was able to compare what I learned from this chart to what Devin has learned from

filling out this chart. Once Devin had completed the MARSI chart I had him tally up the

different scores for each of the three sections to see where he stood in his reading skills. Once he

determined where he scored in each of the three different sections, we had a conversation about

what he thought about the chart and what he learned from filling out this chart.

During our discussion, Devin told me that “I found this chart very interesting and that it

gave me the opportunity to see where I stand as a reader in my high school classes.” I also asked

him if found any questions that he found surprising or something that he needs to work on to

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improve his reading. He responded by telling me that “I need to work more on summarizing

what I am reading so that I can understand each of the important points the author is trying to tell

me.” After our conversation, I looked over his results and discovered that for most of the

questions he scored himself between the scales of 3 – 5. This in return gave him an overall score

in two of the three section in the high range with the remaining score being in the medium range.

This left him with an overall score being in the high range.

When I go to introduce this type of reading assessment to my future students I plan on

not making any changing to this reading assessment. I will continue to have my students fill out

the MARSI chart and will still have the students talk about what they have learned from filling

out this chart. The only thing that I will do differently is that I will have the students keep their

chart for their own records and will give them the option on whether or not they wish to share

their results with the rest of the class.

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Session Three – Vocabulary Cards:

Session # 3.

Vocabulary Cards.

Sunday July 9, 2017 at 10:30 A.M.

This session took place in a Sunday school classroom.

Description:

During this reading session, I will provide Devin with a short reading titled An Indian

Custom that I found in a book on gutenberg.org. While he is reading I will have him pick four or

five vocabulary words that he does not understand the meaning of. Once he is finished reading I

will provide him with blank vocabulary cards in which I will write down the words that he does

not understand the meaning of. After I hand Devin back the vocabulary cards, I want him to

write down what he believes is the definition for each word, what he believes its characteristics

are, write or illustrate an example, and to write non-examples for that particular word. Once he

has completed each of the vocabulary cards I will have him look up each of the words in the

dictionary and have him compare his definition to the actual definition. Finally I will have a

brief discussion about what he has learned from the reading and from creating his own definition

using the vocabulary cards.

Reference:

C., S. (1905). An Indian Custom. . In Chatterbox, pp. 16 – 18. The Project Gutenberg eBook.
(2006, December 15).
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20117/20117-h/20117-h.htm#A_BOYS_HEROISM.

Reflection:

For this reading session, I provided Devin with a short story titled An Indian Custom, and

had him read through it. While he was reading through this reading I asked him to pick out

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between four and five vocabulary words that he did not understand and that he wanted to figure

out the definition of. After he finished reading, I asked him to tell me which words that he did

not know the meaning of. These words were bizarre, camouflage, chronology, and enthusiastic.

For this reading assessment I wrote down these four words on blank vocabulary cards; and asked

Devin to write down what he thought was the definition, what he believed was its characteristics,

write or illustrate and example, and to write non-examples for each word. After he completed

his own definition for each of the four words, I had him look up the words in a dictionary so that

he could see the comparison between his definition and the actual definition.

After he compared the two definitions for all four words, I had a brief discussion with

Devin to see what he thought about the reading and from creating his own definition using the

vocabulary cards. During our discussion I found out that Devin really liked the reading even

though it was challenging to read. He also really liked creating his own definitions for each of

the four vocabulary words and stated that “it gave me the opportunity to learn more about these

different words by having me figure out the meaning on my own without the aid of a dictionary

until the very end.”

I found this type of reading strategy was really engaging with Devin and believe that it

will be a great one to use in my future classroom. For this assessment strategy I will have my

students read one reading or I will provide multiple readings for my students to choice from. For

the actual vocabulary card assessment it will remain unchanged because I will have my students

pick out four to five vocabulary words from the reading that was provided or they chose; and

have them create their own definition for each of the words. The only thing that I will change

with this reading assignment strategy is that I will have each student turn and talk with another

student by having them discuss about they have learned from creating their own definitions for

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these vocabulary words. After the discussion I will have the students compare their own

definitions to the dictionary’s definition.

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Session Four – Annotation:

Session Four.

Annotation.

Sunday July 16, 2017 at 10:00 A.M.

This session took place in a Sunday school classroom.

Description:

For this reading session I will provide Devin with a reading titled A Hundred Years Ago

that I found in a book on gutenberg.org that has a copyright has already expired and is free for

teachers to use easily in the classroom. For this reading assessment I will have Devin read the

reading all the way through without taking any notes. After he has read this short reading I will

have him reread the reading again while having him make notes through the process known as

annotation. Once he finished making his notes I will have a conversation with him about what

he thought about the reading and what he had learned from using the annotation style of note

taking.

Reference:

Clarendon. (1905). A Hundred Years Ago: True Tales of the Year 1805. In Chatterbox, pp. 16 –
18. The Project Gutenberg eBook. (2006, December 15).
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20117/20117-h/20117-h.htm#A_BOYS_HEROISM.

Reflection:

During this reading session I had Devin read a short story from a book that I found on

gutenberg.org titled A Hundred Years Ago. For this particular reading assessment I had Devin

read this short reading all the way through without taking any notes. Once he was finished

reading I had him take a one minute breather so that he could absorb what he just read. After

that brief pause I gave Devin a brief demonstration how to take annotation style notes. Once he

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felt comfortable using this style of notetaking, I had him reread the short story again while

having him annotate the reading.

Once he finished his annotation on the reading we had a conversation about what he liked

about the reading and what he learned from using an annotation style of notetaking. During the

conversation Devin explained that this was a difficult story for him to read and understand what

the author was trying to tell him. He also told me, “For the next session, can you let me bring in

a National Geographic magazine so that I can choice an article that I want to read.” So I made a

compromise with Devin and allowed him to choose the next article for one of the reading

sessions. When I asked him about what he thought about the annotation style of note taking, he

explained that “this type was ok, but it is not a style of note taking that I am familiar with in my

high school.”

What I learned from this type of reading assessment is that this type of notetaking is a

good way to introduce students into taking great notes. The one thing that I would change about

this type of assessment is that I plan on introducing different styles of notetaking during the

beginning of the semester and I will have the student choice which style of note taking that they

find easier to use while they are reading different types of reading resources throughout the

remainder of the semester.

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Session Five – Retrospective Miscues Analysis:

Session Five.

Retrospective Miscues Analysis, (Conservatory Session).

Sunday July 16, 2017 at 10:30 A.M.

This session took place in a Sunday school classroom.

Description:

For this session I will provide Devin with a miscues analysis assessment by having him

read a short story from a book that I found on gutenberg.org so that I can understand where he is

struggling in his reading. While he is reading, I will record Devin reading the story and have

him pause several time during the story. After he has read the entire story, I will have him listen

to his recording and have him compare it to the actual text so that he can see if notices any

mistakes that he had made. Afterwards, I will have a conversation with Devin about what he has

noticed between reading the story aloud and to comparing what he heard in the recording.

Reference:

Heath, H. (1905). Wonderful Caverns. In Chatterbox, pp. 16 – 18. The Project Gutenberg
eBook. (2006, December 15).
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20117/20117-h/20117-h.htm#A_BOYS_HEROISM.

Reflection:

After completing this analysis on retrospective miscues, it gave me an insight about how

students struggle when they read. By seeing where Devin was struggling in his reading, it will

give me a general idea about where many of my students are to be struggling at in their reading.

Before I started this reading session, this type of reading analysis was a new type of concept that

I did know learn about until I took this class.

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 During this reading session, I had Devin read a short story from a book that I found on

gutenberg.org titled Wonderful Caverns. While he was reading the story aloud, I recorded him

so that he could listen to it later in the session. During the reading, I had him pause twice so that

he could absorb what he had just read before moving on to the next section. After he finished

reading, I had a brief conversation about what he thought of the reading. During our

conversation, Devin stated that “I really thought this reading was pretty interesting, but there

were a few words that I stumbled with that I need help clarifying.” I responded, by telling him

that I will have listen to the recording of what he just read and have him compare it to the actual

text to see if you can notice any other mistakes before I help pronounce any of the words that

you are having trouble with.

While Devin was listening to himself reading the story, he began to notice that he was

skipping several small words, like a, are, be, in, is, it, of, the, and to. I would put an X over these

words so that he could see which words that he was skipping. I also circled the words that he

was having trouble pronouncing so that I could help him pronounce them during our final

conversation. During our final conversation, we talked about how he was skipping certain words

during the reading and he wanted to know, “how can I solve these mistakes so that I do not

repeat them when I am in my high school classes.” I explained to him that he needs to continue

practicing in his reading and read more than just two short books a week that he told me in the

interview I had with at the beginning of this project. Afterwards, I helped him pronounce these

tricky words that I sometimes have trouble with pronouncing.

For this particular analysis, it would be kind of difficult for me to actually use it in the

classroom because there is no way that I can cover all of my students. What I can do with this

analysis is to observe my students over the course of several weeks or months to see where my

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students are struggling in their reading. After my observation, I can choose a few students who

really need the extra help and use this type of reading strategy during several after school

sessions. By helping these few students, it will help them gain the confidence that they need to

continue practicing in their reading which later prepare them for other readings in their other

high school classes and for readings that they will come across in adulthood.

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Session Six – Split-Page Notetaking:

Session Six.

Split-Page Note Taking

Sunday July 23, 2017 at 10:00 A.M.

This session took place in a Sunday school classroom.

Description:

For this reading session I will let Devin pick out a short reading from the National

Geographic magazine and have him read the article all the way through. Once he has read the

short reading, I show Devin how to use another form of notetaking called split-page notes. Once

he is comfortable using this style of notetaking, I will have him reread the article and have him

take notes using this other style of notetaking. Once he is finished writing his notes I will have a

brief discussion with Devin about what he thought about the reading and using the split-page

notetaking.

Reference:

Synnott, M. (2017, July). The Last Honey Hunter. In National Geographic, 232(1), 80 – 97.

Reflection:

During this reading session I gave Devin the opportunity to pick out a short reading

article from the National Geographic magazine and I asked him to read the article all the way

through without taking any notes. Once he was finished reading, I had him take a one minute

breather so that he could absorb what he just read. After that brief pause, I gave Devin a brief

demonstration how to take notes using the split-page style of notetaking. Once he felt

comfortable using this style of notetaking, I had him reread the short story again while having

him take notes using this other method.

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 Once he finished his notetaking on the reading, we had a brief discussion about what he

liked and disliked about the short story and what he learned from using the split-page style of

notetaking. During the discussion Devin explained that this was a very interesting story about

people who hunt for a rare type of honey. He was also very glad that I kept my promise to bring

in a National Geographic magazine and allowed him pick out which article that he wanted to

read. He also told me that “I really enjoyed using this style of notetaking because it made it

easier for me to make connections between the main ideas in the story to other points in the

story.”

What I learned from this type of reading assessment is that this type of notetaking is

another great way to introduce students to take great notes. The one thing that I would change

about this type of assessment is that I plan on introducing different styles of note taking during

the beginning of the semester and I will have the student choice which style of notetaking that

they find easier to use while they are reading different types of reading resources.

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Session Seven – Questioning the Author:

Session Seven.

Questioning the Author.

Sunday July 23, 2017 at 10:30 A.M.

This session took place in a Sunday school classroom.

Description:

For this reading session, I will use the same story from the National Geographic

magazine that I used for the split-page notetaking assessment. For this particular reading

assessment I will have Devin answer questions that I provided and have him come up with his

own questions that he has about the article. Once he has answered the questions, I will have a

discussion with Devin about how he answered these questions and to provide me with any

questions that he has about the story.

Reference:

Synnott, M. (2017, July). The Last Honey Hunter. In National Geographic, 232(1), 80 – 97.

Reflection:

During this reading session, I provided Devin with the same story from the National

Geographic magazine that I used in the last reading session titled The Last Honey Hunter.

Because this story was still fresh in Devin’s mind; for this particular assessment I will provide

him with a variety of questions that I wanted him to answer about the story. Once he finished

answering these questions, I had him write down any questions that he had about what he learned

from this short story.

After Devin was finished writing, I had a discussion with him about how he answered

these different questions and what he thought about the story. During our discussion we talked

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about what message the author was trying to tell its readers. Devin responded by stating “he is

try to tell me how so people in the country of Nepal rely on rare honey to make money feed their

family.” I also wanted to know if there were any words or phrases from the reading that he had a

hard time understanding. Devin wrote down this particular phrase that I found fascinating

because it teaches both about the culture of another country. (Synnott, 2017). “He murmurs a

Kulung mantra meant to appease the bees and the spirts that inhabit this cliff.” (pp. 87). After

talking with Devin, the main reason that he wrote down this particular phrase was because he

could not understand why this honey hunter wanted to please the gods that protected the bees.

Towards the end of our discussion I asked Devin if could make any connections between

the reading to what he was learning in school. His response was “the connection that I made

from this reading is how some people do add jobs feed their families, like the Mexican

immigrants working at a local farm.” To conclude our discussion, I asked Devin if he had any

questions that he had for the about the story or for the author. He stated “Why did this area of

the world to write this story?” and “Are their any other bee hunters in the world you can write a

story about?”

After reading his responses, I noticed that he was having trouble writing his sentences

because he was not writing down some words to make his sentences complete. This can be

added to the retrospective miscues analysis assessment that I did a few sessions ago. What I

learned from this reading assessment is that this is a great way to get my future students to ask

and answer questions, which will help them learn more about what they are reading. I would

also change a few things in this assessment by having the students answer different types of

questions along with having them write down any questions that they have. I will also have the

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students turn and talk with another student to share their ideas about the reading and what they

wrote down to answer the questions.

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 Section III

Connecting Practice to Course Readings:

After conduction A Profile of a Reader with Devin, it has opened my eyes on what I will

see in the classroom with my future students. It also gave me the opportunity to learn more

about a student by them individually. By focusing on an individual student for this assignment

this summer, it gave me the chance to work with a student one-on-one. This type of task is going

to challenging for me once I start teaching because it going to be hard to work with my students

individually, but will only become easier through my many years to knowledge & practice.

One of the things that I learned from Daniels & Zemelman (2004) in Reading for Real, is

that teachers need to focus of different types of thinking strategies as tools that will give our

students the opportunity to understand what they are reading. (pp. 4). I agree with Daniels &

Zemelmam, because without using these types of teaching strategies as helpful tools in the

classroom, it will make it very challenging for a teachers teach their students. When it comes to

teaching reading & and writing in the classroom, so many teachers believe that this type of

teaching strategy should be taught by the English teacher. From what I have discovered in

EDRD 731 & 732 is that this stereotype is completely false. Every single teacher in each of the

different content areas are teaching different reading & writing strategies in the classroom

whether they realize it or not; because without teaching these type of strategies in the classroom,

you are sending the students down the wrong path where they are not learning the vital critical

thinking skills that they will need later in life.

In secondary education, especially at the high school level, so many teachers assume that

their students have already learned the vital tools to complete their course work with ease.

According to Smith (2006), as teachers, “we tend to overlook that the majority of children grow

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up in a world in which they are surrounded by print . . .” (pp. 19) and we assume that our

students should already know the basic fundamentals of reading. What I learned from Dr. Vic in

EDRD 731 & 732, is that it is not always the case. If teachers learn to build a community in

their classroom by learning to understand and see where their students are in their learning

development, then that will allow the students to gain the confidence that they need to speak up

to ask their teacher or classmates for help. According to Daniel & Zemelman (2004), teachers

“need to make (their) classroom a community, a place where students feel safe to take the risks

involved in learning, where they see it connected with their lives, and where they help and learn

from one another instead of working only as isolated individuals.” (pp. 167). I also concluded

from this powerful statement that without this classroom community, many of the students,

especially the shy & quiet one will continue to keep to themselves making it harder for the

teacher to understand why they are struggling in the classroom.

When it comes to teaching in the classrooms, the possibilities are endless. Teachers’ use

a variety of different types of teaching strategies that may include using the textbook, other types

of reading resources, different types of assessments, use of technology, and much-much more.

By having the students make the critical connections between all of these different types of

resources, according to Feathers (1993), the students are learning to link all of this new

information they are being taught in the classroom to their preexisting knowledge. (pp. 79).

Once I start teaching social studies to my future students, I want to see that they are

understanding how these connection improve their learning capabilities, and I will assist my

students when they are struggling. Also, (Wormeli, 2006) “students achieve more when they

have a clear picture of (what) the (teacher’s) expectations” (pp. 21) are.

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 Assessment, is also another critical way that teachers’ use to see what their students

already know and what areas they are struggling in. When most students & teachers see when

you mention the word assessment, they visualize standardized testing, unit tests, quizzes, and

essays. From what I have learned in EDRD 731 & 732, assessment is broken down into two

main types: formative and summative assessments. Throughout each class period in a given

week, I discovered that successful teachers use basic formative assessments the majority of the

time and rely on graded types of summative assessments for a small portion of that remaining

class time. According to Tovani (2011), teachers need to use formative assessments as a

learning tool to help them determine each of their students strengths and weaknesses; and “adjust

their instruction (by) giv(ing) targeted feedback so that students can improve their performance.”

(pp. 13).

This can also be driven further when you bring up the subject of standardized testing.

For so many students, standardized testing it the one thing that they fear towards the end of the

year. What so many students don’t realize is that they have to take these standardized tests when

they prepare for college, like the SAT, ACT, and GRE. According the Kohn (1999),

administrators are just judging the student on what they already know instead of seeing how they

perform in the classroom. (pp. 73). That is why as a future teacher we need to strive towards

teaching our students the best that we can so that they can learn for what the future holds.

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 Section IV
Classroom Layout:

The classroom layout in any school is a way for a teacher to express how they are going

to teach their students. The most common classroom layout that teachers use is to have the

student’s desks arranged into rows. From what I have learned from EDRD 731 & 732 is that this

type of classroom layout is considered part of the factory teaching model. As I prepare to

become a future social studies teacher, I plan to stray away from the factory teaching model and

teach my future students by using the community teaching model. As part of my classroom

layout, I plan on using a horseshoe desk arrangement as the main type of desk arrangement, but I

will also use a two circle arrangement for a Fishbowl activities, and arranging the desks into

groups of four for Jigsaw & group activities.

To make sure that I cover all of my student’s reading needs while trying to make sure that

I am covering the content standards for social studies. I plan on using primary & secondary

reading materials so that they can have the opportunity to look at original documents and have

them make connections to what historians have written about these documents. I would also use

historical fiction novels as a way get my students read something creative so that they can use

their creativity to make connections between the fictional world and the real world. The one

thing that I remember Dr. Vic telling my class in EDRD 732 this past spring, was “that she had a

variety of books that she had collected for her classroom that she use for student independent

reading time.”

When it comes time for me to assess my students, I plan on using more formative

assessments than summative assessments because it is a great way for the teacher to check in

with their students. A great way to accomplish checking in with your students is the use of

binary grading, which I learned from Dr. Vic in EDRD 732 “which is a great way to make sure

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that the students are on task with the use of check marks.” By using these check marks, you as a

teacher are setting your expectations for your students which most teacher explain to their

students during the first week of class. This will allow your students to come up with their own

expectations that they want to achieve in the classroom, which will help them set their goals

when they are working on summative types of assessments.

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 Section V

References

Daniels, H. and Zemelman, S. (2004). Reading For Real. In Subject Matters: Every Teacher’s
Guide to Content-Area Reading. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, pp. 1 – 18.

Daniels, H. and Zemelman, S. (2004). Building a Community of Learners. In Subject Matters:

Every Teacher’s Guide to Content-Area Reading. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, pp. 167
– 181.

Feathers, K. (1993). Making Connections. In Infotext. Markham, Ontario: Pippin, pp. 79 – 93.

Kohn, A. (1999). Getting Evaluation Wrong: The Case Against Standardized Testing. In The
Schools Our Children Diserve. NY: Houghton Miflin, pp. 73 – 92.

Smith, F. (2006). Learning To Be A Reader. In Reading Without Nonsense. NY: Teacher College
Press, pp. 11 – 22.

Tovani, C. F. (2011). Assessment: It Doesn’t Have to be the Enemy. In So What Do They Really
Know?: Assessment That Informs Teaching and Learning. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.

Wormeli, R. (2006). Principles of Successful Assessment in the Differentiated Classroom. In

Fair Isn’t Always Equal. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.

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 Section VI

Self-Grading Rubric

Profile of a Reader Rubric

55 points

Name: Kevin Wallace

Criteria Does Not Always Meet Meets Expectations with Meets Expectations
Expectations Conditions (2-3)
(4-5)
(1)

Project is organized as per the syllabus
description; the writing is organized.
Score: 3 - 4
Not all sections are included; not
all sections are comprehensive;
some organization of ideas
however, some parts choppy and
not fully developed.
All sections are included and
most sections are
comprehensive; most paragraphs
are organized individually and
most paragraphs connect
smoothly and proceed logically.
All sections are included and are
comprehensive; Sound organization.
Every paragraph is organized and
paragraphs are linked with transition
words and proceed in a logical and
organized fashion;

38
Conventional language usage; use of APA
Score of 2 – 3
Background Information on learner
Score of 3 – 4
Interview; analysis and reflection
Score of 4
The 7 sessions with learner - The Reading
Conference - compulsory session on reading
conference; analysis and reflection
Score of 4
Some errors in spelling and
grammar; Evidence of some
knowledge of APA
Includes incomplete
information/traits about learner
that may influence instruction and
planning; does not maintain
anonymity of school and student
Lacks either /or the transcription
or thick description; analysis and
reflection missing or lacking
substantive details
Lacks either /or the transcription
or the thick description; analysis
and reflection missing or lacking
substantive details
39
Only 1-3 errors in spelling and
grammar; Evidence of good
knowledge of APA.
Includes detailed
information/traits for the most
part about learner that may
influence instruction and
planning; maintains anonymity of
school and student with minor
deviations
Evidence of either transcription
or thick description; analysis and
reflection, for the most part
detailed but some sections lack
depth
Evidence of either transcription
or thick description; analysis and
reflection, for the most part
detailed but some sections lack
depth
Error free; Solid command of the use
of APA
Includes highly detailed
information/traits about learner that
may influence instruction and
planning; maintains anonymity.
Transcription or thick description is
thoughtful and fully developed and
useful in future lessons; analysis and
reflection are substantive throughout
Transcription or thick description is
thoughtful and fully developed and
useful in future lessons; analysis and
reflection are substantive throughout
The 7 sessions with learner – The MARSI –
compulsory session using a diagnostic tool to
assess reader strategy use; work samples;
analysis and reflection
Score of 4 – 5
The 7 sessions with learner – The Miscue or
Retrospective Miscue – compulsory session
using a diagnostic tool to assess reader
comprehension; work samples; analysis and
reflection
Score of 3 – 4
The 7 session with learner - The remaining 4
Sessions – strategic reading/writing
engagements; demonstration of best
practices learned from course; work samples;
analysis and reflection
Score of 5
Connecting theory to practice: A
comprehensive understanding; references
Limited evidence of using a
diagnostic tool to determine
learner needs and teaching next
steps; limited or no work samples
included; analysis and reflection
not included or thin
Limited evidence of how to use
this diagnostic tool to determine
learner needs and teaching next
steps; limited or no work samples
included; analysis and reflection
not included or thin
For the 4 lessons, limited evidence
of instructional design related to
the strategic use of
reading/writing in the content
area; limited demonstration of a
clear understanding of best
practices learned from course;
limited or no work samples;
analysis and reflection missing or
lacking substantive details
Some exploration and
understanding of connections to
and conclusions about theory and
40
Considerable evidence of using a
diagnostic tool to determine
learner needs and teaching next
steps; some work samples
included; analysis and reflection
adequate
Considerable evidence of how to
use this diagnostic tool to
determine learner needs and
teaching next steps; some work
samples included; analysis and
reflection adequate
For the 4 lessons, considerable
evidence of instructional design
related to the strategic use of
reading/writing in the content
area; considerable
demonstration of a clear
understanding of best practices
learned from course; a variety of
work samples included; analysis
and reflection adequate
Considerable exploration and
understanding of connections to
and conclusions about theory
Extensive evidence of knowledge of
using a diagnostic tool to determine
learner needs and teaching next
steps; variety of quality work samples
included; analysis and reflection
substantive
Extensive evidence of how to use
this diagnostic tool to determine
learner needs and teaching next
steps; variety of quality work samples
included; analysis and reflection
substantive
For the 4 lessons, extensive evidence
of instructional design related to the
strategic use of reading/writing in the
content area; extensive
demonstration of a clear
understanding of best practices
learned from course; variety of
quality work samples included;
analysis and reflection substantive
Consistent exploration and
understanding of connections to and
conclusions about theory and
 practice; 1-4 or no references to and practice; 5-6 references to practice; 7-10 references to course
course materials course materials materials
Score of 4
Setting up a classroom; knowledge of how Limited understanding of : how to Considerable understanding of: Comprehensive understanding of:
adolescents read; support needed to move set up a literacy classroom; what how to set up a literacy how to set up a literacy classroom;
them forward; assessment and evaluation of support learners need; how to classroom; what support learners what support learners need; how to
students assess and evaluate students as need; how to assess and assess and evaluate students as
readers/writers evaluate students as readers/writers
readers/writers
Score of 5
Profile of a Reader Rubric Rubric not included (0 points) Rubric included with scores and Rubric included with scores and
justification but not always justification that is, for the most part,
consistent (1-3 points) exemplary (4-5 points)
Score of 5

Reflection:

During this project I have really learned a lot from what I will see in my student’s reading and writing. As I scored myself in

this assignment I ranked most of the different criteria around a score of 3 – 4 because I felt confident that they were exceptional but

not completely perfect. Because I was suppressed on time because I work almost 35 hours a week at my full-time job and were taking

other classes here at USC this past summer, it made it difficult for me to get this project completed. That is why scored myself

between 3 – 4 on most of the criteria. The one thing that I scored myself the lowest on would be the spelling and grammar errors. I

41
am not perfect, and even when I proof read something several times, I cannot always catch every mistake; that is why I scored myself

between 2 – 3.

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