Student Profile: William

William is almost eleven years old who is barely three feet tall because he was born with a condition called dwarfism. William tells his friends that, "just like them, he'll finish school, go to college and have a regular future.  I just won't get much taller, that's all." William enjoys school and gets good grades, plays the xylophone in the school band and is even a member of the school safety patrol! His favorite subject is science and hopes to be a scientist someday, or a lawyer, or really anything that he has thought about being when he grows up. All of William's family is of average size. He has an eight year old brother and a baby sister. He is quick to point out to people that size is not an indicator of age or a person's maturity. Sometimes it is hard for him to be a little person when people don't believe that he is actually older then his brother. 

William is a smart boy. I think that because he already has a passion for science, it is would be important to make sure that Will has fun working on other subjects so that he becomes a very well rounded student. Since William is very proud of himself and understands his dwarfism, it is important to educate the other students in the class about his condition. Maybe William and his mother or father could teach the class about what being a dwarf means. This would help him be comfortable around the other students and it will help them to understand why William is different then them. This will also give William a chance to embrace his similarities and differences by informing other students about something that is close to him. 

New Literacies: What am I learning

I am choosing to research and learn about Visual Literacy.  Visual literacy involves using maps, diagrams, images, technology, gestures, and videos, among other things, to share literacy.  Previous to researching visual literacy my definition of literacy was very narrow in that I thought it had to involve text and writing.  But visual literacy makes learning more accessible in that it uses more universal images and symbols.  Under this context of literacy, language is not as much of a barrier so it opens the doors of communication.  It is widely used in electronic media in the form of pictures, video, maps, and websites.  I also think visual literacy takes the idea of being literature beyond the doors of a classroom.  Learning how to be a visual learner is useful in everyday life and is something we come in contact with all the time.  We are constantly reading symbols, seeing pictures, interpreting graphs or charts, and using gestures.

I am using an online cartoon building website called Toondoo to create my product.  This medium is perfect for visual literacy because it involves using pictures and images to communicate information.  I think using cartoons or graphics as a means of learning gives added support to people who might struggle with literacy, yet it still entails using some of the more traditional literacy skills such as reading and writing.  Working with this technology has showed me how difficult it can be to portray your ideas through visual images, but I also think it has been very helpful to me.  I am able to see a new way of looking at things and better understand how my perspective might be too narrow to communicate to a large group of people.  I need to choose images that everyone can understand, which is a lot like choosing a written text that everyone can understand as well.

Student Profile: Renaldo Rodriguez

Renaldo is an 11 year old who was born almost entirely blind.  He wears glasses that help him see outlines of very large objects, but he must walk with a cane.  His biggest pet peeve is when people treat him different for being blind because he just wants to fit in like everybody else.  He doesn't consider himself different and does not see his blindness as a disability.
I think for Renaldo he would need obvious visual supports during discussions so he is not at a disadvantage to the other students.  However, I think its important that the supports given to Renaldo are not distracting and noticeable so he does not stick out compared to the other students in his class.  Renaldo is so proud of who he is on the inside, but is so often treated differently by the other students because of his blindness.  To change the student's perceptions of him to reflect his own positive attitude I think the teacher could highlight Renaldo's abilities by making it a point to call on him when he knows the answer or giving him a chance to talk and relate to the other students.  Once his peers are able to see and appreciate his interests and who he is on the inside they will start to forgo the image of him as the blind kid.

Student Profile Support

Justin was in a car accident and has suffered a lot of brain damage. Some of the cognitive changes he has experienced are short-term memory loss, difficulty learning new information, impaired executive functioning (the ability to organize, plan, initiate, and terminate activities), occasional word-finding problems, and decreased attention abilities.  Emotional changes include lack of insight, inappropriate laughter, emotional ability, lack of emotional control, and difficulty tolerating chaotic situations.  Academically in the lesson he would need extra support with the post assessment written reflection. I might have Justine dictate to me his response so I could write it down for him, so he wouldn’t forget what he wanted to say.  Then after I have his thoughts written down he would be able to draw a picture to add to the assessment. Socially, I would have him sit in the front row during the read-aloud so he would be focused on the lesson, and I would have him sit next to me during the discussion.  This way he could be close to me and I could give him a pat on the back if he were to have an emotional outburst to show that it’s okay and he can calm down again.   Linguistically, during the assessment, I would try to have him share his thoughts during the discussion first so that he wouldn’t have to worry about forgetting what he had to say or what the initial question is.

What Do You Think Cases

            Based off of the readings it seems like the Lupita, the first child described from the case could benefit from puzzle activities to get caught up in the class.  Since she excels in Spanish, when she finishes these assignments early she should be encouraged to work on word puzzles and other activities that will help her acquire the academic skills she is lacking.  There are many fun literacy activities the teacher can send her home with so both Lupita and her grandmother can learn the new cluture they are living in.  I also think that the teacher should try to include her more in class.  Even though she is shy, maybe is she feels more like a member of the class by given a classroom job, she will feel more comfortable to participate.  Since she did such a good job of helping two of her classmates to figure out the puzzle, perhaps she should be a teacher assistant who helps out other students when she finishes her assignments early.  This role would definitely help her build more confidence to participate in class.

            The Jonathan, the second child from the case is definitely struggling with reading and mathematics.  Some sort of visual support could definitely help him.  From Leisa Breitfelder’s article, Quick and Easy Adaptations and Accommodations for Early Childhood Students, she states, “A visual support is a visually perceived stimulus that can assist an individual in comprehending information or demands” (Breitfelder, 2008, p. 6).  The article goes on to suggest that children with autism, ADD/ADHD, developmental disabilities, or students with a learning disability might struggle with this concept.  However, since Jonathan excels in many of the other subjects, I do not think he is necessarily at risk for one of those challenges.  In fact Jonathan sounds a lot like the child from the Marcus Gifted and Challenging article.  Marcus is a gifted child that excels in many subjects except writing. In the article the author’s suggest, “Allow children to use hands-on activities.  Some teachers let the children use a lot of objects for learning math…rather than just paper and pencil” (Kostelnick, Onaga, Rohde, & Whiren, 2002, p. 72). Jonathan’s teacher should bring more tangible objects into her assignments so he does not feel so pressured to do a lot of reading.  Also, many visuals on how to figure certain math problems will also help Jonathan with reading problems.

            The third child Eddie, sounds like he might have autism.  In the case, the teacher describes him to have an active imagination but appears to not be listening to any kind of direction or questions asked of him.  According to Breitfelder, “Children with autism are visual rather than auditory learners and they prefer picture communication verses written words.  When a teacher gives a direction and it is not followed, they may follow up with another verbal directions on top of another” (2008, p. 3).  This description seems to fit Eddie quite well.  Perhaps his teacher should provide him with step up step picture directions so he can better understand the directions in class.

            After going over all of the readings for the next class session, I realize how important it is to pay attention to my student’s behavior in class.  A lot of the time there are signs that will show that with a little tweaking of instruction, I can help them stay more attentive and better understand the class material.  It is important to never write a child off for not understanding.  It is usually on the teacher for not giving the child the proper attention he or she needs in class to do well.

Student Writing and New Literacies

Student #1

Student #2

For a couple of students in my placement, I posed the question, "what did you do at recess today?" I told them that I was going to have them finish the statement, "today at recess I did...." I first had them tell me what they did and then had them write it. Both students are in the "emergent spelling" stage of writing based on these samples.  The writing is accompanied by pictures that illustrates their interpretation of the games  that they played at recess. Having this picture with their writing helps us to know more about what they were trying to write about since they aren't at the stage where it is easy to do this.

Student #1 told me that he played "boys versus girls at recess." It was hard to get it all in the picture, but you can see that at the beginning of that student's writing he clearly wrote, "boys." I think that he intended to finish writing about what he did at recess. I have a feeling that he got distracted and bored at the activity in the classroom. Knowing this I think that student #1 is getting more into the "letter name-alphabetic spelling" stage.

Student #2 told me that at recess he "played." The writing that he provided shows that he is fairly good at forming letters, but seems to have simply copied what I wrote. (Today at recess I did...) When I asked him to write, he sat for a minute thinking of what to write and it seemed like he wanted to try to write that he played, but couldn't figure out how to spell or write it.

New Literacies Venn Diagram

Analyzing Student Writing Samples

Sample 1: Groundhog Day the Groundhog se hess shadi

 I would assess this student as being in the late Letter Name-Alphabetic Spelling stage to the early Within-Word Pattern stage (stage 2 to stage 3).   In this writing sample the student was able to correctly spell some more complex consonant patterns such as the initial blend in the word groundhog as well as the vowel diphthong ou in the word groundhog.  With this information it would appear the student is in the Within-Word Pattern Spelling stage.  However, the student did make some errors in identifying and spelling the short /i/ sound in the word his, which is a skill acquired in stage two.   If I were to design a literacy center to help this student I would spend a little time reviewing words with short vowel sounds and consonant blends until I knew that student was comfortable enough to move onto more complex spelling patterns acquired in the third stage of spelling development.  To practice those skills I would set up an open word sort center in which the student will group words based on the short vowel in that word.  To practice consonant blends a word sort could also be a good center.  I would make sure to monitor this students sorting so that I can point out the spelling patterns I want her to focus on.   

Sample 2: Mi bast fand aid I pad bjspa.

For this student I would definitely say they are in the Letter Name-Alphabetic Spelling stage.  She has a clear understanding of the alphabetic principle and in her spelling mostly identifies the prominent features in each word.  For example, in in the word best she correctly identified the initial consonant b as well as the final blend st. She seems to still need more practice with short vowel sounds and could probably benefit from reviewing high frequency words (example: my).  For this student I think I would set up a center that involves more explicit instruction with spelling CVC words and some CCVC/CVCC words with consonant blends and digraphs.  Using boxes to represent sounds and apply spelling patterns would be beneficial for this purpose.  For example, I might present the student with the word hen and have the student write it in the three boxes use to separate and pronounce each sound in the word.  This activity could be done with 3 and 4 sound words on a dry erase board so the student has the opportunity to practice with multiple words. 


Venn Diagram

Spelling Stages & New Literacies

Stage 2 example

            After reviewing some of my second graders writing I found that my students were mostly at stage 2 and stage 3 in their spelling development.  An example of a stage 2 student consisted of the child abbreviating some of the words in his writing as well as mixing up some consonant sounds.  For the word “good” the student cut off the ending and just wrote, “go” and for the word “over” the student wrote “owver”. Nevertheless, the student still shows signs that phonemes are represented in words and letters by correctly spelling high frequency words such as: my, mom, me, up, said, and can.   A literacy center where a student hears a variety of words from either a tape, or a computer, and then having the student write down the word they hear could help them practice writing down exactly what they hear when the word is pronounced correctly.  Then after each word is pronounced the student could have a minute or two to write down the word before the auditory recording of the word is spelled out.  The student would then of course be required to write the correctly spelled word (if they spelled the word incorrectly) over their spelling of the word.  This way the students can see where they are misspelling sounds.  This would also help the teacher evaluate the sounds in words that students have trouble with. 

Stage 3 example

             An example of a stage 3 student consisted of the child correctly spelling short vowel words like “he” and “in”.  The student also correctly spelled some long vowel words such as: said, saw, and arm.   However, the student struggled with the word “punch” by spelling it “poncht”.  The student also misspelled the word “trouble” by spelling it “chrobrl”.   I believe a literacy center involving common blends would help of the students in this stage of spelling.  The students could have a chart to look at with a variety of common blends and they would have to match a stack of cards with words written out consisting of these blends at the beginning of the word with the blends on the charts.  If some students finished this task quickly, they would then be required to write out additional words that they would have to come up with on their own that could fall under the blended sound categories.

New Literacies Venn Diagram