Diversity

International Literacy International Dyslexia Association Course/Artifact

Association

ILA Standard 4: Diversity IDA Standard A: Foundation Concepts about Oral Sped 639
and Written Learning
Diversity
Writing Unit
(artifacts 1&2)
SPED 638/
Differentiation
for a CSR
Lesson
Plan(artifact 3)

Synthesis of Assessment Standards

ILA Standard 4 attributes good teaching preparation to the professional’s understanding
and acceptance of the diversity of each student which ensures individuals are respected and
represented through democratic instruction. Students differ in terms of culture, religion, native
language, and skill. External factors such as social setting, environment, language spoken at
home and beliefs, or internal factors such cognitive or behavior deficits all create a diverse body
of students in a classroom. IDA Standard A acknowledges that literacy specialists are proficient
in pinpointing specifically where a particular student needs assistance with understanding that
the interruption in their language development may be due to aspects of cognition, behavior,
environmental, cultural, or social factors. Literacy specialists know the causal relationships
among component skills of oral language, reading, and writing and apply instruction to meet
needs of students at different points of language development. They use reasonable goals and
expectations for learners based on training in the field of literacy. Suitable goals and expectations
for academic outcomes are developed when the literacy specialist considers how a student’s
culture, home language, social, and environmental factors affect that student’s views and beliefs.
ILA standard 4 and IDA standard A respect that diverse students are approaching
learning with different background knowledge, beliefs, skill sets, and capabilities. Both standards
operate with the understanding that there are certain aspects of cognition, behavior, and
environmental factors that affect reading and writing which influences literacy development.
This requires educators to provide a curriculum that values and promotes diversity and includes
all individual students. ILA Standard 4 states that the diversity within society is viewed as a
strength that can open awareness versus a deficit that should be discouraged. Both standards
acknowledge that literacy specialists act in the best interest of students with reading difficulties
and provide support through genuine concern for students through well planned instruction that
addresses the individual’s diverse needs. Individualized plans address students with cultural
diversity as well as students with reading disabilities. Both standards require professional
educators to develop strategies that advocate for equality and acceptance of diverse students.
While ILA Standard 4 focuses on acceptance and respect for diverse students, the IDA Standards
A:2 and A:3 focus on internal and external factors, respectively, that impact how a student
learns.

Summary of Artifacts

Artifact 1 is a graphic organizer I used to develop a writing unit for SPED 639 ​Advanced
Fundamentals of Language and Literacy​. The writing unit is targeting middle school students.
The unit incorporated books whose characters represented cultures that are part of Hawaiian
communities. Through exploration and discussion of themes, the student’s are inspired to
connect and express themselves through written work. The writing assignment gives the student
2 choices. After reading the book ​Eyes of the Emperor ​by Graham Salisbury, the student could
write a persuasive essay that considers the traditional views of their family heritage and how
these views differ or align to the current values and beliefs within their community. They must
compare and contrast these two sets of views in a 3 paragraph essay. Alternatively, the student
was offered the option to write an informative report using at least two additional sources besides
the ​Eyes of the Emperor ​to explain some of the conditions and challenges faced by
Japanese-American citizens during the Second World War.

Artifact #2 shows a table that was submitted as part of a Diversity Writing Unit for the
SPED 639 class. I created a tiered activity that supports different student’s skill levels in a 6-8th
resource special education class. The beginning group will receive teacher support and guidance
throughout the activity, while the intermediate group will receive initial explicit instruction and
be provided with a model to follow. The advanced students will be given an exemplar and then
will work independently (or in pairs). All 3 groups are required to produce a 5 sentence
paragraph as a persuasive essay but receive varying levels of support in reaching their goal.
Levels of support include teacher instruction and guidance, modelling, exemplars to guide and
working in groups, pairs or independently.

Artifact #3 from SPED 638 ​Fundamentals of Language and Literacy​ is an excerpt taken
from a Reading Comprehension Toolkit assignment. It is the part of a lesson plan on
Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) specifically addressing differentiation. CSR is an
instructional strategy that teaches students how to collaborate in groups while monitoring
themselves. Before students collaborate in groups they receive direct instruction on
pre/during/post writing. The nature of CSR requires students to work in small groups of 4-6.
Teachers must be cognisant to group students wisely by considering many factors such as
individual personality types, cultures, language and differing skill levels. Differentiation is built
into CSR by a knowledgeable professional such as a literacy specialist or teacher.

Justification of Artifacts
​ iversity (ILA 4). Develop awareness, understanding and respect valuing
D
differences in our society.
Understanding and ability to explain other aspects of cognition and behavior that
affect reading and writing (IDA: A2).
Ability to define and identify environmental, cultural, and social factors that
contribute to literacy development (language spoken at home, language and literacy
experiences, cultural values) (IDA: A3.)

Planning skills for a writing unit based around ​diversity ​are demonstrated in my first 2
artifacts. The unit offers students’ the ability to choose a book they were drawn to reading based
on what resonates with them. The book choices represented different cultures that are part of
Hawaiian communities. The graphic organizer in artifact #1 represents first generation Japanese
who were Hawaiian born. Other books representing a variety of cultures are available to the
student in the unit. I attempt in the writing unit to reach students through representing not only
different cultures, but also different environmental and social situations (IDA A:3). For example,
regarding the ​Eyes of the Emperor​, a student may connect with the book because they have
Japanese heritage. Others may connect with this book because they find meaning through
alignment with being raised in Hawaii. Other possible connections could be based on themes
from the book such as generational gap. Careful planning and implementation of a diverse unit
such as this demonstrates my ability to create material that engage students (ILA 4). Literacy
Specialists must be aware of individual students who they work with and appreciate their
diversity. It is valuable for students to gain knowledge about one another regarding their
differing backgrounds and cultures. Highlighting our diversity in the classroom creates respect
and understanding.

My understanding of how to differentiate lessons to meet the diverse needs of students in

a classroom is apparent in artifact 3. Differentiating lessons requires the literacy specialist to
consider the current skill levels of students and to know why skill levels are impacted. These
factors may be internal factors such as a cognitive delay or a behavior disorder; or they may
come from external factors such as environment, culture or having English be their second
language. It is essential to know students well enough to understand that cognition, behavior, and
language may play a part in their current limitations. Literacy specialists know also that social
and environmental history and current factors also determine a student’s ability level. This
artifact demonstrates my ability to meet a student where they are presently performing and guide
them to grow.