Module 2 Summary

The content of Module 2 concentrated on two topics, connections between reading and writing and differentiated instruction. Due to the nature of my students, I have much more practical experience in differentiation than writing instruction in the classroom. When watching the Story of Differentiation, I related to the classroom scenario that Tomlinson described; I have also had a class with students of highly varied cognitive skills and academic performance. I thought it was interesting how the concept of differentiation came about out of necessity and have also had to work to address the whole group with content, and then pull students individually to work on necessary skills.

            This differentiation can be accomplished through scaffolding, working within the zone of proximal development (Vygotsky) to gradually assist students to become independent in application. In regards to literacy instruction, this gradual release of control would be addressed in the planning and preparation stages. As you reflect on what the students can accomplish with assistance, you should notice that the strategies and approaches to reading that have been consistently modeled are gradually performed by the students independently. This is especially true in strategic reading lessons that are thoughtfully planned and implemented by purposefully grouping students with specific targeted reading strategies in mind to support fluency and comprehension. This kind of support will assist students to internalize relevant content and processes that will assist them with the necessary steps of problem solving.

             Chapter 11 of the Vacca text thoroughly explained how reading and writing are connected and skills develop simultaneously out of necessity. Because my students frequently demonstrate expressive language and fine motor delays, this is an area where we are behind their typically developed peers; it is only in the last couple of years that I have begun to experiment more with technology and different means for them to express themselves in writing. However, most of our writing still involves lots of modeling, shared writing, and sentence construction using a set of available words.

            The text offers many different ways to set up the classroom to encourage reading and writing, my favorite of which is the writing center. The writing center in my classroom stresses fine motor engagement over creative expression but as the students gain skills and develop independence, more avenues of creative expression are added. To develop writing skills socially, I loved the idea of the buddy journal; this type of communication gives a fun purpose to writing. Journals can also connect students to text instead of each other and different types of reader response journals are outlined in the chapter.

            Several strategies for motivating students to write were also outlined in the text; I particularly enjoyed “topics in my pocket” in which students place pictures, notes, or drawings in an envelope to use as inspiration for writing. This kind of thing would work well in my classroom where most of the students are visual learners. The most important portion of the chapter however, addresses the writing process and suggests strategies for classroom management of the writing portion of the day. It is supremely important to establish routine so the students will be prepared to write when they are expected to.   

Module 1 Summary

I have found that when using expository or information text during content area instruction, students complain about the difficulty level and the dryness of the text; this is consistent with what was stated in the text, slideshows, and video segments from Module 1. But now more than ever, thanks to the implementation of the Common Core standards, we are expected to integrate reading and language arts instruction into content areas using a variety of informational texts.

In chapter 14 of the Vacca text, the importance of selecting non-fiction text based on the factors that contribute to the difficulty level is stressed. These factors may be text-based, such as the vocabulary, text structure, and background knowledge provided, or they may be reader based, such as the linguistic capabilities and native language of the reader. For these reasons, it is necessary to assess a text’s readability using a formula such as Fry’s Readability graph, illustrated on p. 462, to obtain an estimate of the most appropriate reading level of the reader.

            Because I teach a kindergarten class of students with special needs, many of the materials we use are teacher adapted to include more visuals and interactive components for the students. Using the Fry Readability Test, I analyzed the reading level of an adapted book that I use when I read with my students about Groundhog Day. I found that due to the average length of sentences, 7.5 sentences for 100 words, and the average number of syllables, 110 per 100 words, the adapted text is on a second grade reading level. Because of the nature of the text being analyzed, and that it is a short, single text on a single topic, the portions of the Irwin-Davis Readability checklist related to text structure and teacher’s manual do not really apply. One area where the text could be improved is to add the verbal questions that are asked by the teacher to a section of the book and create space for summaries of the text. One specific area where the text is strong is the use of iconic aids such as illustrations and visuals.

However, the limitations of such readability assessments must be recognized, most of the assessments only take into account word length and sentence complexity. None of the reader-based factors such as motivation and culture that also contribute to text difficulty are accounted for. 

Because I understand the motivation to read fiction texts over non-fiction, I greatly enjoy integrating both types of text into content area learning; accessing both allows students to build schema and vocabulary, and motivates them to engage with the content. The models provided in the Vacca text provide a framework for implementing instruction using literature with non-fiction. Applying these frameworks and providing students with the appropriate strategies and tools for the specific type of text increases the chances for success with this model.