Assessments
The motivation assessment is an excellent method of determining a student’s motivation and identifying their interests and preferences, going beyond reading. The initial stages of the survey help to paint the child’s general interests, and then transition into reading-related questions. This information can be helpful for teachers, as it can help to tailor lessons towards student preferences, use the best methods to engage in reading activities, and challenge their thinking. In this survey, the student seems to enjoy both being read to and reading, but within some social context, such as with a teacher or family. The student also seems to enjoy humorous stories and dislike scary stories, informational books, and using the computer. The assessment is administered by simply giving it to the student, both individually and as a group; questions can be read verbally for younger students.
The QRI-6 assessment is meant to evaluate reading abilities at different levels, focusing on oral reading accuracy, rate of reading, and reading comprehension. It is administered individually to students, with the instructor providing directions at each section, observing the student, or asking questions. The assessment is meant to stop if the student reaches the level one above their actual grade level, even if they are independent. The student’s results indicated some pronunciation and reading rate issues due to an accent. She struggled with some vocabulary, which may have been due to misinterpretation of subtle phonetical differences, but her reading comprehension was largely appropriate.
Instructional Plan
The instructional plan will focus on the children’s book The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith. It is a critically acclaimed book that is appropriate for the primary reading level.
- Introduce the book, making the reference to the original story of the “Three Little Pigs.” Indicate that this is a comical and sarcastic take on the story. Explore the basics of comedy as a concept and in writing.
- Read the book together – part is read by the instructor and periodically, some pages by the student or students if multiple in a class.
- Write down vocabulary words from the book, go over pronunciation and meaning.
- Since the story revolves around different materials that houses are made out of, the technological component consists of using the computer with the student/class to find information on basic materials used in buildings (wood, brick, cement) and find pictures, making a simple presentation in PowerPoint or similar application. Guiding the student through each step.
- For the multi-sensory component, bring a very small sample of straw (or some similar soft material), a piece of wood, brick, and other material. Asking the students to touch it and discuss each material’s hardness and stability. Making the connection to the story, discussing how because straw is soft, the wolf blew it away easily, but brick is hard, so nothing happened.
- Wrap up the lesson with conclusions and a humorous note.
Post Assessment
The post-lesson assessment will focus on objective measures of identifying if lesson learning goals were met and subjective reflection on the motivation of the students. The students’ motivation can be observed, as much without bias as possible, on their involvement in the lesson, participation, and attitude. A short quiz can be given the day after the lesson to test comprehension. Fluency is measured during the lesson in the process of reading and working with vocabulary words, which can also be tested during the quiz in a literary context. Using a quiz in post-assessment can also be used in terms of ELL testing to determine comprehension and language skills.
The UDL guidelines are met with this lesson plan. Representation of the story is done both visually through the book and images, as well as auditory, listening to the reader. There are clarifications of language by writing out and working with vocabulary words. Comprehension is activated by drawing the connections between the building materials lesson and the story. Engagement is demonstrated by selecting a funny story which is the student’s preference. Furthermore, the method of reading the story was applied, which best fits their liking of both listening and reading themselves periodically. The student was challenged by using the computer for a complex task under guidance, which also fostered collaboration. Physical action was implemented through the use of different mediums in the lesson ranging from reading to digital to physical examination. Students are encouraged to participate both via reading and discussion, such as making the connection with the building materials.
Standards
One standard employed in this lesson is LAFS.3.SL.1.1, which is to engage in a range of collaborative discussions, including one-on-one, collaborative, and teacher-led on age-appropriate topics, building off other ideas and expressing individual thoughts (Florida Department of Education, n.d.). The lesson offers several opportunities for discussion both with the teacher-led discussion and among students.
Reflection
Assessments such as the motivational evaluation and QRI-6 can be highly helpful in identifying preferences and strengths and potential weak areas of a student. However, that provides beneficial information for the instructor, which can then adapt. As in this lesson, a funny story was chosen to generate engagement along with a range of activities that both addressed the strengths (enjoyed reading socially) and weaknesses (using computers). The language components were engaged through reading and fluency practice, as well as emphasizing key vocabulary words that may be new to the student. Overall, the informal assessments help instructors to better know and understand their students in a wide range of contexts, so if they are struggling with something in language proficiency, it can be recognized and addressed much more effectively.
Reference
Florida Department of Education. (n.d.). LAFS: Language Arts Florida Standards. Web.