Angela Eckerle



IV Literacy History

Chris recalls in elementary school going to his carpet square and listening to his teacher reading a book aloud. His teacher would point to the word as she was reading it, and she would use lots of emotion to express the text to the class. In middle school he began completing book reports where he was asked to choose a book from a selected list then summarize what he had read to the class in a speech or PowerPoint presentation. He also remembers his teachers asking him to keep a journal and that he would have to do weekly writing prompts as well as keep a running list of vocabulary terms he would need to know for his weekly quizzes.

Chris explained that now he is in high school they have focused more on the literary devices within text, with some vocabulary exercises. Most of Chris’ experiences with challenging literacy work were within English classes because he felt the teachers would give the most help on how to better his work. He has worked in his social studies class on essays and projects, but felt that his teachers did not care about how the writing came across but more so if the facts were present and correct. He also explained that when a teacher used a graphic organizer, See Think Wonder, or any other visual representation, he was able to better understand the text. Chris believes he struggles the most with comprehending what he has just read. He feels he can figure out the meaning of words through context clues or looking the definitions up online, but often has to reread information in order for him to process it correctly. Chris has to work hard in school but has always been at grade level in all subjects.

Chris’ parents have played a huge role in his educational experience. He can recall many times that his mother would come in and work with students in his class or volunteer for holiday parties. His father is present at all of his athletic events and has even helped with coaching when needed. According to Jeynes (2012), parent involvement is significantly related to students’ academic success (Gambrell & Mandel Morrow, 2015). Chris remembers completing workbooks on spelling and reading that his mother bought him, and being read bedtime stories from both of his parents. When he was beginning to learn how to read, he would be required to read the bedtime stories and his parents would help sound out the word if struggled. At home his family expects all homework to be completed. His parents do not currently have specific routines for literacy other than if Chris needs help during homework involving this type of work. His parents are willing to be involved in his academic success and Chris knows that if he does not uphold to his parents expectations of doing well in school, there will be consequences.

V. Assessments Given and Summary of Test Results

For the pre- and post-test I used Turner’s Graph of the Week template to assess the student’s understanding of different types of graphs and their use of vocabulary terms. I used the same template and questions for both tests but different graphs in order for the student to analyze something they have not seen before. The Graph of the Week is a math driven writing prompt that allows me to help students to begin making connections between math and writing. With the Common Core we are required to have our students analyze, interpret key features, and construct viable arguments and this prompt allows the students to begin feeling comfortable when writing in math class. Writing is to be intertwined within mathematics and is an important tool to formatively assess student understanding and progress over time (Urquhart, 2009). To assess the student writing my focus was primarily with the fluency of the key terms in order to lead to comprehension with various types of graphs. Students first recognize words, but in order for students to comprehend the information it must be bridged by fluency to create the sense of meaning (Samuels & Farstrup, 2011).

The pre-test given to Chris had nine different questions and two types of graphs. I only asked Chris to read through the directions carefully and take all the time he needed in order to complete his first assessment. The assessment gave questions that asked about the topics of the graph, axes, trends, predictions, etc. in order for the student to express their thoughts on what is being communicated to them. As seen in Figure A1, Chris took each of these questions and numbered them and only answered the specific questions. His answers were short with little to no explanation, and he did not compare the two graphs but analyzed each separately. Chris did pay attention to the units provided on the graphs and what the graph was representing but his writing was very choppy and uneasy to follow what was guiding his answers. The work provided was below average and his answer missed the standards that were present in this assessment.

Before giving Chris feedback on this assessment, we completed lesson 1 shown in figures A2-A5. With the results from the pre-test, I decided to gear the lesson towards defining the key features of a graph using the acronym TAILS (Title, axes, increments, labels, scale). Using this acronym helps students first look at the important outlying details that are often overlooked. A majority of the questions in the pre-test ask about these details, and in order to help Chris better analyze the graphs, we needed to go back and address the word recognition of these key terms.

In lesson 1, Chris was also required to recognize TAILS (figure A3) in 7 different types of graphs (figure A4) and explain why some graphs might not uphold our new definitions (figure A5). After we completed lesson 1, I went over the feedback I gave Chris on the pre-test. He knew he should have written more, but didn’t know how to express his own thoughts when answering the questions when there is specific information provided. This helped me create lesson 2, where Chris needed to make predictions with various types of graphs, which is shown in figures 6-9. Chris found two of his own graphs (figure A7) and completed a Venn diagram (figure A8). He first was required to identify the TAILS of each graph, but the second step was to explain any interesting information he saw from the graphs individually. At the end of the lesson I asked Chris to pick one graph and make a prediction (figure A9) for the future using his prior knowledge with the graph to help support his thoughts.

When Chris first sat down to complete to post-test he stated that he was going to explain more for each question and try harder to make predictions. In the post-test (figure A10) Chris was asked to use a graph on Projected Payroll in 2013 for the Major League Baseball teams, with the exact same assessment questions and prompt as the pre-test. I used a graph about sports and money because it was similar to the two graphs in lesson 2 that he chose. Chris identified TAILS within his writing, and correctly explained what they were on the graph. He also explained what the graph could have done better to help the viewer in terms of labeling the x-axis. Chris did not identify key, independent, or dependent, which are terms that I as the teacher did not require him to identify, as I should have in lesson 1 or 2. He made predictions and used his prior knowledge in order to support why a team might have the highest payroll. Chris completed the post-test by recognizing the key characteristics, thoughtfully explaining why he believes these features where present, and made inferences using his prior knowledge based on the information provided. Chris has shown great improvement from his pre- to post-test. However, he can improve by learning to step away from just answering the questions provided and being able to analyze the graph on his own.

VI. Lesson Plan Matrix

|Lesson Foci/Date |Objectives (include including performance, |Instructional materials (what|On-going assessment (to |

| |conditions, and criterion. State the Common Core |will use to deliver the main |measure attainment of |

| |State Standard at the end of each objective. |objectives of the lesson) |objectives) |

|7/11/16: |TAILS acronym for graphing |Definitions worksheet (TAILS)|Teacher will assess through |

|Defining Characteristics | | |questioning, and through |

|of a Graph |CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSF.IF.B.4 |7 graphs cut out: |analyzing student work |

| |For a function that models a relationship between |Pie chart |during self-reflection |

| |two quantities, interpret key features of graphs and|Histogram |prompts at the end of the |

| |tables in terms of the quantities |Bar Graph |lesson. The teacher will |

| |Interpret different types of graphs and explaining |Pictograph |look for application of |

| |what makes one graph more valuable than another |Correlation |TAILS and if it was used |

| |CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP3 Construct viable arguments |Line Graph |correctly and on the |

| | |Area Graph |student’s own terms. |

| | | | |

| | |Lined Paper for the sorting | |

| | |of the seven graphs | |

|Lesson Foci/Date |Objectives (include including performance, |Instructional materials (what|On-going assessment (to |

| |conditions, and criterion. State the Common Core |will use to deliver the main |measure attainment of |

| |State Standard at the end of each objective. |objectives of the lesson) |objectives) |

|7/12/16 |CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSF.IF.B.4 |Venn Diagram |Teacher will assess through |

|Comparing |For a function that models a relationship between | |questioning, and through |

|Different types |two quantities, interpret key features of graphs and|Computer for the student to |analyzing student work |

|Of graphs using |tables in terms of the quantities |find graphs |during self-reflection |

|Key characteristics |CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP2 Reason abstractly and |(Two graphs) |prompts at the end of the |

| |quantitatively. | |lesson. The teacher will |

| |CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP3 Construct viable arguments | |look for use of TAILS but |

| |and critique the reasoning of others. | |primarily focus on the |

| | | |predictions made and if |

| | | |prior knowledge is |

| | | |supported. |

VII. Reflections on Your Literacy Lesson Plans

In the first lesson (Figure A2) Chris learned about the key characteristics of a graph in the form of TAILS; title, aces increments, labels, and scale. Chris was given a graph and was asked what he thought TAILS meant, which he was able to figure out the title and even defined the word himself. He struggled identifying the rest of the acronym, so I asked Chris to identify things he thought to be interesting on the graph. Through this conversation Chris stated the there where numbers on the x and y-axis and that it was a bar graph, showing his prior knowledge of middle school standards. We then defined the rest of TAILS, key, trend, independent and dependent. I originally was going to have him just define these terms, but since he already explored the graph I decided to have him apply the definitions to the graph of the definitions worksheet (Figure A3). This decision was largely part to Chris already exploring the visual that was provided when trying to define TAILS for himself, I thought it would be best to make a connection with the vocabulary that we was previously trying to make a connection. According to Gambrell & Morrow (2015, p. 207), using visuals such as graphs is an important part of instruction for students to learn vocabulary.

When Chris completed his vocabulary he was asked to organize seven different graphs (Figure A4) into two piles of those that fit the definition of TAILS and those that did not. Chris made three piles, ones that had TAILS, graphs that did not have all of TAILS, and one that he questioned. I then asked Chris to write about the graphs that he labeled non-TAILS, and identify what part of the definition they were missing. While he was writing, I noticed the third pile and saw it was a pictograph and began thinking of questions to ask when he completed his writing. When finished I asked Chris to explain to me what he wrote, he showed a great understanding of the definitions that he previously learned by identifying three graphs that did complete TAILS. In Figure A5 he explained what graphs did not uphold the definitions, but felt that it was unfair to identify graphs 4 and 5 because it dealt with the title and y-axis labeling. He explained that even though they did not uphold TAILS he felt that they were still good graphs, but could understand that with graph 4 that it lead to a misunderstanding when not labeled because people could assume wrong, which is why he beliefs some people purposely do this because they are bias. After seeing how Chris correctly applied TAILS, I then asked about his third pile and why there was only one graph in it. He stated that there wasn’t a y-axis at all and didn’t know how to interpret it, so I asked him to write about it which he wrote the same statement. I wish I had asked him to explain if having the y-axis matter for this graph why or why not? I feel I would have gotten a better response for him, because he thought I just wanted him to write this versus explain more about why it is or is not important to have all of TAILS. In the wrap up of the lesson I asked Chris to write about one of the graphs that he had correctly defining TAILS. In figure A5 he explained all of the TAILS correctly for what the definition was but did not explain what they were on the graph, but rather how it was the one that easily showed all of them. I believe Chris was beginning to implement the definitions but was not making a connection to the graph of what each of the TAILS were for this specific graph. If within his explanation he was to elaborate more on each of the individual definitions I feel he would have shown comprehension of the vocabulary but he only showed the key terms implying that he was not making the connections with the visual to show a concrete understanding. From this lesson I was able to focus my questioning style better after working side-by-side with Chris in order to formulate lesson number two, and ensure that he could show comprehension.

During lesson two (Figure A6) we used a Venn diagram in order to compare two graphs to have Chris better illustrate his comprehension of the vocabulary. Chris was able to choose the two graphs that we were comparing in order for him to take ownership of the material. By giving choices it increases the motivation of the student and raises the enthusiasm of learning (Gambrell & Morrow, 2015 p. 71). Once giving Chris the Venn diagram (Figure A8) and looking over his two graphs chosen (Figure A7), I asked him to write out the key characteristics of each graph. Chris asked if he could explain the TAILS of each. I thought this would be a great start, but asked him to make sure he explained what each part of TAILS was present on the graph. To my surprise Chris excelled with the previous day’s vocabulary and identified each part of the TAILS correctly on the individual graph. By Chris showing this on the Venn diagram it showed that he was beginning to comprehend the vocabulary by applying it to different graphs on his own. He asked if he could see his notes sheet with the definitions and said that he completely forgot about the key and trend, so he continued writing on his Venn diagram. This was a key piece of feedback that I gave him from his writing prompt from lesson one (Figure A5), and he took the feedback provided and explained more about these definitions. Once he finished this I asked him to continue looking at the individual graphs and write about anything he found interesting. He wrote a sentence or two for each graph and looked up. I was expecting him to write more about these graphs since he chose them, but I then asked him to try to make a connection between the two graphs. He made a connection about money and sports, but did not say much more than that. I wish I would have guided him more with the similarities and asked more questions to him, because I felt that he was beginning to lose interest I decided to end with an exit slip (Figure A9). In the exit slip I asked Chris to choose one of the graphs and make predictions about what would happen in the future. Chris chose the total earnings by sport graph in Figure A7, and explained that since the graph was created in 2013 he predicted many of the players would not be present on an updated graph. He also predicted that the amounts earned would be greater today than when this graph was created. Chris showed that he began to interpret the graph and began to look at the fine details such as the players that are now retired. He started to look at the bigger picture in order to make his prediction by looking at the list of athletes, but did not support his claims or explain why he believes the earnings would be higher today. This shows that Chris has begun to look at the graph and begin to develop a deeper understanding of what is presented by paying attention to the retired players and trying to make these predictions. Although he still was unsure how to support his predictions with reasoning from the graph by him stating that the amounts would be higher if the graph were current. I feel that if I were able to ask him more questions after he wrote this prediction statement that he would have been able to support or explain to me his thoughts as to why he made these predictions, but again he decided to just answer the question prompted.

Once giving him his feedback on the final day I reminded him that he was going to take his “post-test” (Figure A10), and it looked similar to his first task that I asked him to complete (Figure A1). Before he started the worksheet I asked him to first look over the graphs and then write down his thoughts, and that the questions were just to help him if he was stuck. When Chris began looking over the worksheet I didn’t see him look at any of the questions nor number them like he did his first time through. He began writing in complete sentences the TAILS of the graph titled Projected 2013 Payroll (Major League Baseball) and even corrected a label for people that may have not known much about baseball. He then began making inferences about the graphs, which shows that he needed help on what to write about so he used the guided questions of the worksheet (Figure A10). Once he completed this he made a prediction based on the prior knowledge he developed from the graph presented. This shows that Chris was able to apply the vocabulary we learned in lesson 1, interpret interesting facts from reading the trends of the graph, and make predictions while using prior knowledge. All of these skills were addressed within the lessons proving that scaffolding the process of interpreting the graph was successful for Chris based on his final assessment with a concise response.

Chris showed growth from the pre-test (Figure A1) to the post-test (Figure A10), just by looking at the two you can notice the difference from numbered responses to a complete paragraph response. He also shows an understanding about the vocabulary learned in lesson one (Figure A3) by implementing these terms within each sentence, showing he was comprehending the terms and applying them to the graph. He also was creating predictions and supported them which is something that we worked on in lesson two (Figure A9), and he was able to make connections with the graph provided to support his claim. I believe this shows that the instruction made meaningful contribution to Chris’ reading process based on the growth shown in Figure A10. I believe I was best able to support Chris by seeing what he needed help with after the first lesson and implementing the Venn diagram in lesson two to help him sort out the definitions for different graphs. I also believe that allowing Chris to take ownership of finding his own graphs helped me find the graph about sports for the post-test (Figure A10), in order to help motivate him during the writing prompt and access TAILS that he learned from lesson one (Figure A3). By giving Chris constant feedback during each lesson, helped him focus in on these aspects at the beginning of the new lesson. For example in lesson one when I explained he only addressed TAILS, and not key, trend, independent and dependent, he focused on defining all of these in the Venn diagram (Figure A5 and Figure A8). When I addressed the he did not connect his prediction to any prior knowledge or the graph (Figure A8), he made sure to address this in his final write up on the post-test (Figure A10).

If I were to be given another opportunity to teach this lesson with this student I would try to find more resources for Chris to explore data. Meaning that he really enjoyed sports and money, so I would work harder on finding resources that he could reference to because he was more willing to describe the graphs and make predictions when he was interested. I would also like to utilize the technology available

VIII. Recommendations to Teachers and Parents/Caregivers

IX. Appendices of Work

Figure A1

[pic]

Figure A2

| |

|Outline for a Daily Lesson Plan |

| |

|Date: 7/11/16 |

|Objective(s) for today’s lesson: Define the characteristics of a graph |

|Rationale Students will use the characteristics of graphs to interpret the data; students will be given different types of graphs to implement|

|these definitions. |

|Materials & supplies needed: |

|Definitions worksheet, 7 graphs sort, notebook paper |

|Procedures and approximate time allocated for each event |Academic, Social and Linguistic Support during|

|• Introduction to the lesson 3 minutes |each event |

|The teacher will ask the student to identify the key characteristics of the graph. The teacher| |

|will then explain that if a student can understand the characteristics of the graph it will | |

|help give meaning to the data so the student can better analyze the information provided. |Allows student to make predictions |

| | |

|• OUTLINE of key events during the lesson 30 minutes | |

|Teacher will introduce the term TAILS: Title, Axes, Increments, Labels, Scale | |

|Student will try to create definitions for each and the teacher will help clarify definitions | |

|on their graph worksheet. | |

|10 minutes | |

|The teacher will also add in the terms: Key, trend, independent, dependent |TAILS is a mnemonic device for students to |

|Student will try to create definitions for each and the teacher will help clarify definitions |identify parts of a graph |

|on their graph worksheet |Teacher will help with vocabulary in order for|

|10 minutes |students to become fluent when analyzing |

|Once all definitions are created the student will be asked to sort the 7 graphs to see which |graphs |

|fit the definition the best and which graphs are missing parts of the definition of TAILS and |Teacher will help with appropriate definitions|

|the additional key terms. |but encourage students to use their own words |

|The student will then be asked to write why the chosen graphs do not uphold TAILS and to |in order for them to take ownership |

|explain what Part of TAILS it does include. |Teacher will help when a student asks or if |

|When the student finishes the teacher and the student will go over each of the graphs to |the teacher feels they are on the wrong track.|

|explain why the student sorted them as they did. |Teacher will ask probing questions in order to|

|10 minutes |push the student to clarify with their new |

| |vocabulary. |

| | |

|• Closing summary for the lesson 10 minutes | |

|Teacher will wrap up the lesson by asking the student if they believe the non-TAILS graphs are | |

|still good representations of the information? | |

|Teacher will ask for a choral answer of what are the key characteristics of a graph | |

|The teacher will ask the group to identify one of the TAILS graphs and explain in their own | |

|words what each of the characteristics is, and why they are important to the graph. | |

| |Teacher is looking for students understanding |

| |of TAILS and if there are any misconceptions |

| |to address |

| |Review the definition |

| |Teacher will ask students to use as much of |

| |the vocabulary learned and defining in their |

| |own terms in order to assess understanding |

|Assessment |Academic, Social, and Linguistic Support |

| |during assessment |

|The last bullet point will be the assessment for the student for the teacher to see if they can|Teacher assesses fluency skills during final |

|correctly define the key terms from class as well as express their explanations in their own |question and checks for understanding from the|

|words without using the definition verbatim. |student summary. |

Figure A3

[pic]

Figure A4

Figure A5

[pic]

Figure A6

| |

|Outline for a Daily Lesson Plan |

| |

|Date: 7/12/16 |

|Objective(s) for today’s lesson: Compare different types of Graphs using key characteristics (TAILS) |

|Rationale Students will identify types of graphs, interpret the information, and justify their reasoning supported by the data provided. |

|Materials & supplies needed: Venn Diagram Worksheet |

|*Student will provide two graphs |

|Procedures and approximate time allocated for each event |Academic, Social and Linguistic Support during|

| |each event |

|• Introduction to the lesson 5 minutes | |

|The teacher will ask the student to search for two different types of graphs of their choosing |Motivates the student to take ownership of |

| |their learning by choosing their own |

| |information to research. |

|• OUTLINE of key events during the lesson 20 minutes | |

|Teacher will ask why they choose these graphs and begin having a conversation of why the | |

|student believes that these are interesting or important to them. | |

|Teacher will then provide the student with the Venn diagram and ask the student to place the |Teacher begins to connect with the student and|

|two graphs onto the paper with on at the top of each circle. |find their interests |

|The teacher will then ask the student to write out the key characteristics of each graph into |Organize student thought |

|the circles, if necessary the student can use the previous days worksheet. | |

|The student will then explain any interesting facts they see within the graphs. The teacher | |

|will read over these explanations and ask for the student to support these findings with prior |Connect to the fluency activity from the |

|knowledge or predictions. |previous lesson on interpreting/identifying |

|Teacher will then ask the student to make connections between the two graphs, first by key |key characteristics of graphs. |

|characteristics, then by interesting facts |Student is able to connect with the graph and |

| |interpret why they believe the graphs data is |

| |connected to real life and how it affects them|

| |Teacher helps a student interpret how |

|• Closing summary for the lesson 10 minutes |different types of graphs can relate and even |

|Teacher will then ask student to turn over the assignment and will focus on one of the graphs |be presented in different forms. |

|and will begin writing in complete sentences what, what predications can they make for the | |

|future based on this graph. | |

|The teacher will then ask the student to write one thing they learned from today’s activity and| |

|one question/confusion they still have | |

| | |

| |Allows the teacher to guide the student into |

|• Transition to next learning activity |prediction making for the post assessment |

| |Student can identify what they have learned |

| |and teacher can interpret what the student |

| |still needs additional support with. |

|Assessment |Academic, Social, and Linguistic Support |

| |during assessment |

|Based on the information the student provides on the back of the Venn diagram worksheet the |Teacher assesses fluency skills during Venn |

|teacher can see where the student has misconceptions. The teacher is also informally assessing|diagram work and checks for understanding from|

|throughout the entire assignment when asking questions during the Venn Diagram activity. |the student summary. |

Figure A7

[pic]

Figure A8

[pic]

Figure A9

[pic]

Figure A10

[pic]

X. Bibliography

Gambrell, L., & Mandel Morrow, L. (Eds.). (2015). Best Practices in Literacy Instruction (5th ed.). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Kohler, B., & Alibegovic, E. (2015, March). Assessing for Learning. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 20(7), 424-433.

Samuels, S.J. & Farstrup, A.E., Eds. (2011). What Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction (4th edition). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Standards for Mathematical Practice. (n.d.). Retrieved July 06, 2016, from

Turner, K. (n.d.). Graph of the Week. Retrieved from

Urquhart, V. (2009). Using Writing in Mathematics to Deepen Student Learning. Retrieved from

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