You are on page 1of 39

Running Head: LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 28

Literacy Analysis on Najeel


Ashten J. Johnson
Michigan State University
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 2

I. Brief Background and Reason for Project Focus
In a general education classroom you will find are a variety of learners; students who enter a
classroom come with mixed literacy backgrounds, performance abilities, and learning needs.
Theorist Jean Piagets idea of schema supports this notion. He believes that a persons life
experiences provide them with a set of schema or skills. These skills can be altered or adapted as
a person experiences new things. (Carter, 2006). So often, struggling literacy learners have not
been given the life experiences needed to be provided with the proper reading schema, or skill
set. This skill set might include strategies to decode words, ways to look for context clues in
text, or ability to make and check inferences. The idea that all students enter a classroom with
different schema is shown in a research study done between two groups of students exposed to
new vocabulary. The students participating in the study were in the same grade but had
drastically different vocabulary sizes at the start of the year. Shefelbines research found that
6
th
-grade students with the poorest vocabulary knowledge at outset learned the fewest words
from context, even though they had the greatest room for improvement (as cited in Cain,
Lemmon, Oakhill, 2004, 672). This study confirms Piagets idea that all students have schema
whole pushing this notion one step further. At the start of the study, the researcher notices that all
students had a different size vocabulary. Now, if they had the same schema, their vocabulary
would be the same. Since they do not have the same vocabulary, Piagets theory of people have
their own schema is confirmed. What is interesting is that both groups went though the same
study but increased their vocabulary knowledge differently. They were provided the same life
experience but took something different out of it based on their ability to synthesis new
vocabulary from their prior knowledge.
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 3

Shelfelbines research paired with Piagets notion that we all have different schema explains
why we need to be able to differentiate instruction to help all learners.
Imagine being a struggling reader in a classroom where the teacher does absolutely no
differentiation. Struggling readers encounter a steady diet of too-challenging text throughout the
school day as they make their way through classes that present grade-level material hour after
hour. (Allington & Gabriel, 2012, pg. 10)
This struggling reader would not be able to develop the schema to grow as a literacy
learner because the text would be too advanced. This is why all teachers should know their
students literacy capabilities in their classroom through assessments and inventories at the
beginning of the school year.
As a fourth grade teacher, it is important to ensure that my literacy instruction is
challenging for all students, but not overwhelming. I want to make sure I have given every
student the tools to be successful in my classroom so they do not feel like they are drowning. In
this literacy study I want to see exactly what part of the text analysis process my student is
struggling in. Is it the level of text, the vocabulary, or the ability to decode meaning? I hope this
case study allows me to better synthesis the needs of my struggling literacy learner and give him
the support he needs.

II. Home and Family
The student I have selected to work with, Najeel, is nine years old and in fourth grade. He
was adopted, has an older and younger sister, and lives with a very supportive mother and father.
This student is below grade level in reading and language arts. His reading Lexile Level is 160
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 4

which would place him in the bottom 25
th
percentile for first grade based on the common core
state standards for text measurement.
Najeel was diagnosed with ADD in September and started taking medication in early
October. This medication has helped a little with his focus, however, he is still often in a daze. I
put Najeel through the Child Study Process when I had him as a second grader two years ago.
The teaching staff and I came to the conclusion, after multiple interventions, that he should be
tested for special education services. However, until recently, his parents would not give their
consent. Two years later, they have consented in allowing Najeel to be tested for a learning
disability. Until testing occurs, I hope this case study provides further insight into Najeels
reading ability and comprehension.
Najeels family is invested in his education and will complete homework with him. He
often goes to the library to pick out mystery books, his favorite type of reading material. He is
currently working on a book report on Neil Armstrong. His father reads him a chapter of this
biography every night and asks him comprehension questions. His father expressed his
frustration in Najeels lack of comprehension of the text. His family is more than willing to try
different comprehension strategies to help Najeel. Upon my suggestion, they are now telling
Najeel what questions they are going to ask him before they read aloud so he knows what to look
for. They are also letting him draw a picture of what he remembers from the chapter after
reading. Najeel definitely gets the support needed at home, something that does not always
happen with struggling learners. Najeels younger sister loves to read which makes Najeel upset
and frustrated that her reading ability is so much stronger than his. His parents tell me that
instead of going home and saying, Amy is so cute, he will comment on how smart the girls are.
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 5

These comments show Najeels primary focus is his academic success. Najeel really wants to do
well in school and puts fourth one hundred percent effort all the time.
III. Emotional Climate
I believe that our classroom is a very literacy rich classroom. We have four bookshelves
filled with books from Lexile Level 100 1,000. Students are given monthly book projects
which focus on a different book genre. With these book reports, students provide information
about the book in varied ways; a board game, a brochure, mystery bag, etc. Students also are
placed in Literacy Circles based on their reading level. In these groups, students will read a book,
ask each other questions, and practice their oral fluency. Students are also encouraged to add to
our Wonder Words chart any new words they learn in their Lit. Circle groups. In Social
Studies, we make a giant poster that is filled with questions the students wonder about at the start
of each unit. I then fill the top of all of our bookcases with books from our schools library
geared towards each particular unit. Students are encouraged to rifle through the books to find
answers to their questions. Once they find the answer, they will post their response on a post-it
note.
Najeel rarely picks a new book from our classroom library. When he does, it is always in
his reading level and is typically non-fiction. He will keep the same book for two weeks at a
time. I often observe him flipping through the pages and looking at the pictures. When he comes
to an exciting picture he will raise his hand and want to know what it is. I always point to the
caption and read what it says. Najeel is interested in information in books, but does struggle
when locating the information he is looking for (like the captions to explain a picture). In terms
of our monthly book reports, Najeel always has parent help with these. Najeels projects look
well done but reflect his parents time and effort, not his own. During Literature Circles Najeel
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 6

will participate but will often have to be reminded by his group members to follow along. Najeel
does better when he uses his finger to follow along with the text but will not do this unless asked.
He will ask questions with the rest of the group. Najeel never goes out of his way to do any extra
learning in the classroom. He will not add words to our Wonder Words chart or our Social
Studies Poster.
Najeel was asked questions in an Informal Reading Inventory Child Interview which
showed his interest in writing and lack of interest in reading. It was interesting that the type of
reading he dislikes were, Dora the Explorer, baby books which are in his reading level. It can
be shown from the interview the lack of skills Najeel has in restating a question or using varied
vocabulary. His answers are choppy, to the point, and not filled with detail. (Appendix A)

IV. Literacy History
Najeel has struggled with academics for most of his life. Najeel is adopted, his mother
was a drug addict and was using while she was pregnant with Najeel. Najeels parents are not
sure if this plays a factor in his cognitive struggles. Najeels kindergarten teacher struggled with
the idea of retaining him, but in the end, did not. Najeels first grade teacher did not have much
communication with Najeels family and said nothing about his progress academically. I had
Najeel in second grade and began the RTI process with him. We got as far as requesting parent
consent for Special Education testing. However, his parents did not want him to be tested.
Najeels third grade year involved being pulled out by para professionals for small group
instruction as much as possible; and the third grade teacher was working with Najeels parents to
get them to better understand his struggles. Finally, with Najeel back in my class, he is currently
being tested for Special Education Services. It has been many years since this initial idea was
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 7

brought up to his parents. I know they want the best for him. However, it did take them awhile to
realize that this testing was only going to help give us some answers and not label Najeel.
Najeels family does care about him academically. They just started an after school
daycare service which I think helped boost their willingness to get Najeel tested for special
education services. They realize that Najeel is not at the same academic level as the rest of his
peers. Najeels family is invested in his education. They will often come into my classroom at
the beginning of the day to talk and for emotional support. I know that Najeels mother often
cries when trying to complete homework with Najeel because of how much he struggles with it.
His parents seem to be doing the best they can do. The fact that they come in the classroom to
get new strategies to help him shows the value they place on education.
Najeel does tell me that he would rather be playing with his older sister than reading. He
says he is more like his older sister, they both do not like reading. His younger sister, a second
grader, loves to read and is already at a higher reading level than Najeel. I know that this does
hurt Najeels confidence and it is something that he struggles with. He often talks about is older
sister being the reader of the family. His parents also express how upset he gets when his little
sister can easily sound out words that he cannot sound out.
Najeel currently works in a small group setting for Tear 1 support two days a week. He
really enjoys working in this small group and is currently working on reading fluency. He reads
books in this group setting that are at a second grade level. He also is in a special reading
vocabulary group that meets two days a week. This group focuses on vocabulary words that are
in the reading section of the standardized test the school takes three times a year.

V. Tests Given and Summary of Test Results
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 8

Since Najeel struggles with comprehension (based on his parent input and my own
evaluation of classroom work) I knew that I needed to see where he fell in terms of
comprehension. To best help Najeel with text comprehension, it was important that I use the
most appropriate text for his reading level. Najeels reading MAP test results, a computer based
standardized test given to every student in the fall, generated a low Lexile Level score that
placed him at a first grade level. The tests I chose to give intended to validate or refute his
computer based Lexile Level and pin-point the major issues Najeel has with text comprehension.
The first test administered was the McCracken Word Recognition Test. This test consists
of different word lists based on grade ability. The student must read the list aloud. As the student
reads, the proctor marks the correct words or any miscues they have. The data is collecting,
putting the student into one of three categorize for this grade level ability sight word list. The
frustration level means the words are incomprehensible to the student, the instructional level is
where the teacher should focus guided instruction for the student, and finally the independent
level are the words the student can read on their own. The frustration and instructional level are
then determined based on the errors made. Word recognition from a 90-100 percent is a students
independent level, 70-89 percent is a students instructional level, and anything less than 69
percent is a students frustration level.
After administering the McCracken Word Recognition Test Najeels instructional level
put him on bar with the average word recognition of a beginning of the year third grader
(Appendix B). Najeels miscues were mainly from not applying long vowel cues or dipthongs.
The second assessment given was an Informal Reading Inventory (Appendices C-I). This
inventory asks the student to orally or silently read a passage as well as listen to one read by the
proctor. The oral passage allows the proctor to track oral reading miscues such as omissions,
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 9

substitutions, additions, mispronunciations, and words which required support. Unlike the sight
word test, Najeel was required to read sentences. This oral fluency had a different scoring scale
than the McCracken Word Recognition Test to gauge a readers independent, instructional, and
frustration level. Students scoring between a 97-100 percent on a passage where considered to be
at their independent reading level. Students scoring 96-90 were at their instructional level.
Finally, any score below 89 percent showed students at their frustration level. Each passage has
five comprehension questions the student must answer afterwards. These comprehension
questions are based on inferences, vocabulary knowledge, and explicit information found in the
text. The independent comprehension reading level is met with errors of one point or less. The
student is at instructional level with 1 errors or two errors. Finally a score of 2 errors or
more puts the student at a frustration level for comprehension. The passages are all grouped by
grade level instructional ability. This is a beneficial test because it is meant to target the area of
comprehension Najeel might be struggling with but also shows any contradiction he might have
in how he best comprehends text which is based on how the text is provided to him (orally,
visually, or both).
Since Najeels McCracken Word Recognition Test put him at an instructional level of a
beginning of the year third grader, this is the group of passages I started with. Najeel was first
asked to read a passage orally. When he did, he made 21 errors. His word recognition in the
context of this passage gave him a score of 83 percent, frustration level (Appendix B). Najels
errors were many substitution issues. He did not use any strategies to sound words out. This
contradicted the McCracken Word Recognition Test previously given to Najeel. Furthermore,
Najeel was only able to answer two out of the five comprehension questions correctly for this
oral passage placing him at a frustration level for comprehension. Since the third grade level
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 10

passage already proved to be at Najeels frustration level, I did not want him to read a third grade
passage silently. However, I did want to see if he could answer the third grade comprehension
questions if a third grade passage was read to him. After listening to the passage, Najeel got the
vocabulary question correct, half of an inference question correct, and half of a question drawing
on factual information from the passage. With two points, Najeel was still at a frustration level
for comprehension, even with the additional support of oral reading (Appendices C & D).
Based on the results of these two tests I decided to regress to the end of the year passages
for second graders. The oral passage Najeel read put him at a 97 percent for oral fluency, which
was an independent reading level. His comprehension question answers put him at an
instructional level. Najeel got all three of the inference questions correct. He really struggled
with the vocabulary question, What does the word dish mean in the story? answering
washing dishes and the factual question, What will the astronauts on the spaceship do every
night? which he answered talk a long time instead of cook dinner. The way he answered
this factual question did not draw on any information from the text, but references his schema on
what he knows people do at night (Appendix G). Based on the way Najeel answered the
questions, he seems to be able to make connections to his prior knowledge easily but struggles
when it comes to using newly presented factual knowledge. When Najeel read the next passage
silently to himself he got a comprehension score that put him at a frustration level for
comprehension. He answered two of the inference questions correctly and received of a point
for his response that asked him to give factual details from the text (Appendix H). Finally, when
I read the passage to Najeel he got a score of two, which put him at a frustration level as well. He
was able to answer two questions correctly (Appendix I)
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 11

Since Najeel proved to be able to read the second grade level passages independently I
decided not to give him any lower level passages. When I provided Najeel with written material
during our lessons I was able to make sure they were at his reading level, which was an end of
the year, second grade level. Najeel proved from the assessments that he does better with
comprehension when reading a passage orally. Thus, I made sure that Najeel read everything
with me aloud during the lessons, including directions for any assignments given to him. Najeel
has shown that his comprehension is greater this way. The tests also showed that Najeel is often
able to create inferences when asked questioned about a given text but does not use the text to
answer questions. Finding meaning in text, especially in the context of vocabulary and factual
information was our focus of our lessons together.
After our lessons were completed, I gave Najeel post-assessments to check his
knowledge in using the text to answer comprehension questions (Appendix M & S). These post-
assessments were either created by me or were short stories that I got off of the internet. Najeel
was asked to return to the text and either highlight the section that answered the comprehension
question or provide details from the text that told him his answer. Najeel was able to do this
perfectly each time. His only struggle was the lack of detail he gave when it came to the
assessment on character traits. Najeel told me that, Cinderellas step-sisters were mean because
they made her do stuff instead of stating exactly what they made her do.
VI. Lesson Plan Matrix
Lesson Foci/Date

Objectives Instructional materials On-going assessment
Pre-Assessments
Sight Word Test
10/15
- McCracken Word
Recognition Test

- McCracken
Word
Recognition
Test (Appendix
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 12

B)
Pre-Assessments
Oral Fluency and
Comprehension
Evaluation
10/17
- Informal Reading
Inventory
- Informal
Reading
Inventory
(Appendices C-
I)
Meaning-in-text
11/13/12 and 11/14/12
The student will
answer comprehension
questions by finding
the answer in the text.
RL.4.1 Refer to details
and examples in a text
when explaining what
the text says explicitly
and when drawing
inferences from the
text.
- Highlighters
- Second grade level
passage
- Comprehension
questions
- Formative:
Short story,
Ants, with
highlighted
marks
Appendix (M)
Characters analysis
11/28/12 and 11/30/12
The student will
describe a character in
a story by giving two
explicit details from
the story to back up
each character
attribute.
RL.4.3 Describe in
depth a character,
setting, or event in a
story or drama,
drawing on specific
details in the text
- Second grade level
text
- Character Web
Graphic organizer
- Highlighters
- Formative: Cry
Baby story with
answers
highlighted
(Appenix S)

VII. Reflections on Differentiated Literacy Lesson Plans
These reading instructional lessons did make a meaningful contribution in Najeels
ability to comprehend text. During the pre-assessment, Najeel never looked back at the text when
I asked him comprehension questions. He simply gave me his answer, which was usually wrong
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 13

and based on an inference. Najeel did not use any strategies to find his answers. After our
lessons, Najeel realized how looking back in the text help you guarantee that you have the
correct answer. Najeel also learned this specific strategy for text comprehension questions can
also be applied when analyzing character traits. This can be proven by the references Najeel
makes to the text in all post-assignments (Appendix C) or in the use of a highlighter on the text
to prove his answer. These strategies are things that Najeel has not applied previously to his
reading or comprehension.
To support Najeel in the lessons I made sure that Najeel read the text orally, which was
his strength in his ability to comprehend text as shown from the pre-tests. I also provided Najeel
with a slew of different colored highlighters. This made the task of looking for answers in the
text more fun while giving Najeel a better visual to see where the answer he chose was in the
text. It also brought him to the realization that comprehension questions do not always going in
order of text location. For example, question number 1 might ask you something that can be
found at the end of the start while question number 2 might ask you something about the middle
of the story.
I think it was beneficial for Najeel to work one-on-one with me while learning the
strategy of looking back in the text for answers to comprehend the text and answer questions
appropriately. These lessons were set up for direct-instruction. This was important because
Najeel was never taught how to look within text to find answers. Participating in a teacher talk
seemed to help him realize that it is alright not to know the answer and looking back in the text is
fine and encouraged. This direct-instruction was presented in a gradual release method until
Najeel was finding answers all by himself in the text.
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 14

For our character analysis lessons Najeel completed primarily partner work after direct
instruction. At this point, Najeel was already aware of the need to use the text in order to answer
comprehension questions. Aware that Najeel might still need guidance in using the text for a
different purpose, specifically character traits, he was paired with a high achieving student.
During the lesson he needed to be reminded to use the text to prove his character traits. His
struggle was mainly due to the abstract component of the lesson. (Appendix R). He had to figure
out a characters traits based on how the character acted, looked, how they talked, or what they
thought in the story. Najeel relied on his partner to complete the task and rarely wrote down
answers. When he was asked how he found his character trait, he could not explain it.
If I were to teach the use of finding comprehension questions in texts again I would use a
book instead of a short story. With the short story, Najeel was able to skim the passage again and
again to find the correct answer to the comprehension question, which was our goal. However, I
think I would also like to focus on Najeels memory of where that information might be located
in the text. With a book, Najeel would be forced to use picture clues or his story order memory to
locate the answer to his comprehension question in the text. I would also like to incorporate non-
fiction books into my lesson plans since these are the books that Najeel often picks out from our
classroom library. I could also have incorporated a mystery passage into the lesson since that
would be a strong motivator for Najeel. As stated in the background information about Najeel,
mystery books are his favorite.
By providing Najeel with passages based on his reading level, I was able to teach him a
reading strategy that was not overwhelming for him because he only had to focus on the strategy,
not the difficulty of the text. While completing the character analysis lesson, I used group work
which has always proved to be a motivator for my students and provide students with the
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 15

opportunity to talk about what they are doing. I also used direct instruction and teacher talk in all
of my lessons. This strategy helps the reader learn what they should be thinking while reading
and answering questions. Basically, the teacher is modeling how they want their student to think.

VIII. Recommendations to Teachers and Parents/Caregivers
It is apparent from working with Najeel that he will flourish in an environment that
allows him to learn new reading strategies while reading material at his own reading level. The
struggle with Najeels comprehension is often due to the fact that the text is above his reading
level. Najeel will continue to benefit from as much one-on-one instruction as possible as well as
teacher modeling. Najeel learns through others examples.
Najeel does not always flourish when paired with higher level students. He will often
allow that student to do all of the work and not put in the effort he would normally put in when
completing an assignment on his own. Najeel also struggles with self esteem issues and shuts
down when he knows he is being helped.
Najeel truly does his best when given direct expectations in a one-on-one learning
environment. This is partly because Najeel feels the pressure to do well and partily because he is
away from the classroom distractions. Najeel likes being praised for a job well done. This praise
will only increase his determination to complete a task accurately. Najeel wants to do well and,
although he always gives it one hundred percent effort when working by himself, he seems to do
better when he has an adults supportive words cheering him on.
The idea of referring back to text to answer comprehension questions should continue to
be reinforced. This idea needs to be expanded to other subject areas as well. Within time, it is the
hope that Najeel will see how beneficial it is to take the time to look back in the text to answer
questions.
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 16

Najeel should also continue to practice reading aloud. He can practice reading a passage
over and over until he becomes a more fluid reader. It would also be beneficial to tape record
Najeel reading aloud and then play that tape as Najeel follows along in the text. He might then be
able to see the insertions or omissions he makes.
I know that Najeel will continue to grow academically if he is reminded of his reading
strategies, continues to be supported in a one-on-one setting whenever possible, given literature
at his reading level, and taught in a positive learning environment.
IX. Appendices of work
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 17

Appendix A

LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 18

Appendix B


LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 19

Appendix C

LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 20

Appendix D

LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 21

Appendix E

LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 22

Appendix F


LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 23

Appendix G


LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 24


Appendix H

LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 25

Appendix I

Running Head: LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 28
Appendix J

1 RL.4.1 Refer to details and
examples in a text when
explaining what the text says
explicitly and when drawing
inferences from the text.
Direct Instruction: one-on-one

- How do you answer comprehension questions?
- Today, we are going to learn a strategy to help us out. We are
going to read text and only answer questions when we can
highlight where we found them in the text. Ready?
- Practice your thought process with a text and how you found
the answer.
- Read Favorite Sports with student and have him practice
strategy
- Give student pointers and helpful hints.
- Have student read Ants for assessment on ability to answer
comprehension questions.
Favorite Sports

Ants

Highlighters


Exemplar: Reading
Measurement Topic: Comprehension
Educational Objective: o RL.4.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text
says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

Length of Unit:
1 days
Running Head: LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 28














Appendix K
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 29

Appendix J.


Appendix K.



















Appendix L
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 30




Appendix M
Running Head: LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 28
Appendix N




Exemplar: Reading
Measurement Topic: Literary Response and Analysis
Educational Objective: o RL.4.3 Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or
drama, drawing on specific details in the text
Vocabulary: Protagonist, antagonist, physical traits, personality traits
Higher-Level Questioning: How would this story change if written from ______ point of view?
Do all stories have a protagonist and antagonist?
Can multiply causes have the same effect?

Length of Unit: 3 days
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 32

1 RL.4.3 Describe in depth a
character, setting, or event
in a story or drama, drawing
on specific details in the text
Direct Instruction and Release to Individual Work
- Do now: Write down four ways that someone could describe
you.
- Go around the room and have students share their Do Now,
write some traits on the board (write physical traits in one color
and personality traits in another color. Tell students that they
have just identified their character traits. See if students can
guess why the traits are in two different colors.
- Tell students that today we will be looking at characters
physical and personality traits in order to determine whether
they are the antagonist or protagonist of a story.
- Define protagonist (leading hero in a story, the main
character(s) in a story- Guide students in identifying popular
protagonists in movies and on TV. How are they all similar?
What makes a character a protagonist?
- Do the same for antagonist (the character who causes
conflict for the protagonist in a story.)
- Read Little Red Riding Hood, figure out who the protagonists
were (Hansel and Gretel) and who the antagonists were
(mother and witch).
- Show students example sheet of physical traits and personality
traits. What traits did our protagonists and antagonists share?
Fill out one copy of the gingerbread man sheet for each
character (four total) as a class. Discuss similarities between
protagonists and antagonists.
- Read -Jack and the Bean Stock to students. Have students fill
out gingerbread man worksheet. Picking the protagonist and
antagonist of the story. Discuss physical traits and personality
traits of each that they chose.
-Gingerbread Man
worksheet (1 for each
student)

-Little Red Riding Hood

-Jack and the Bean Stock

-Physical Traits and
Personality Traits list.
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 33

2 I can identify character
traits based on the
characters thoughts,
words, appearance, and
actions.
Full Group Instruction: Direct Instruction and Partner Work
-Do Now: Show picture of an individual on the ELMO. Have students
list personality and physical traits of the person in the picture.
-Discuss how it is easier to describe a character/determine physical
traits when you can see a picture. Additional clues/information is
needed to determine personality traits. What kind of clues could be
helpful?
-Pass out Thoughts, Words, Appearance, Actions handout to
students. Read aloud Julius, the Baby of the World by Kevin Henkes.
Complete handout as story is read in full group. Use information
gathered to help students determine physical and personality traits for
Lily.
Have students work in partners with their own book by Kevin Henkes.
-Picture of any individual
-Thoughts, Words,
Appearance, Actions
handout
-Traits handout
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 34

3 I can describe a
characters feelings,
whether stated explicitly
or implicitly

One-on-one instruction
-Introduce the terms explicitly and implicitly in relationship to
characters feelings. (Show handouts on ELMO to define both terms)
Have students record the terms in their ELA notebooks
-Explain to students that today we are going to read sentences from a
story or a short passage and we are going to have to choose how that
character feels just based on what is happening in that sentence. For
instance, yesterday I got stuck in traffic and called my mom and was
complaining about how I was stuck in traffic for a long time. I went on
and on about how I was so tired after a long day at work and all I wanted
to do was go home and have dinner. Class, how was I feeling? Was this
stated implicitly or explicitly? If I wanted to state it explicitly what
could I have said? Im frustrated..etc.
Read The Baseball Game/Making a Difference passage with student
and answer questions as you go by highlighting information about
characters found in text.
Assessment: Have student read Crybaby sheet out load and highlight
answers in text.
-Crybaby
-The Baseball Game/
Making a Difference




Running Head: LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 28
Appendix L.
Appendix O
Running Head: LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 28

Appendix P
Running Head: LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 28























Appendix Q
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 33























Appendix Q.
Appendix R
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 34






Appendix S
LITERACY ANALYSIS ON NAJEEL 35

References

Abt, J., Banicki, J., Bartolino, N., Branoff, C., McMahon, V., & Roberts, J., (2004). Informal
reading inventory.
Allington. R. L., & Gabriel. R. E. (2012). Every child. Every day. Reading: The CoreSkill, 69(6)
10-15.
Cain, K., Lemmon, K., & Oakhill, J. (2004). Individual difference in the inference of word
meanings from context: The influence of reading comprehension, vocabulary knowledge,
and memory capacity. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96(4) 671-681.
Carter, D. (2006). Great thinkers: Jean Piaget Training Journal, 64. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/docview/202946563/fulltextPDF/139EFF1
D17D1E2748DE/4?accountid=12598
Finkle, Andrew. (N.D.) Favorite Sports. Retrieved from www.havefunteaching.com
Henkens, Kevin. (1990). Julies, baby of the world. New York, New York. Greenwillow Books
Neahaus Education Center. (2006). Ants. Retrieved from www.readingteachersnetwork.org

You might also like