JuliaDiMarco

11/30/15
READ472
StudentAssessmentandLessonPlanning
Mypracticumexperienceisinan8thgradeEnglishandSocialStudieshybridclass.
DuringmypracticumIsitatmycooperatingteachersdesk,nexttoarambunctious8thgrader
whositsaloneatanotherteacherdeskthatstandsperpendicular.Thereare47otherstudentsin
theclass,andexcludingtwostudentswhositonacouchinthecorneroftheroom;heistheonly
studentnotsittingintablegroupswith4or5otherstudents.Heisaveryniceandhappystudent,
whoisveryloud,frequentlytalksoutofturn,andhasADHD,soisoftennoticeablyfidgety.You
cantellitishardforhimtonotyellouthisthoughtsastheycometohim,andheisoften
remindedtoraisehishand.Sittingclosetohimheoftenwouldsayhisanswerstome,soIgotto
knowhimquickly.Beingsuchanenthusiasticstudent,alwayseagertotalkanddiscussinclass,
andalwaysdonewithhisworkearly,Ihonestlyhadnoideahewasstrugglingsomuchin
reading.
This8thgradestudentfailedthe5th,6thand7thgradeVirginiaDepartment
ofEducationReadingSOL.ThecutscoresfortheSOLsareasfollows:
advanced,500600,proficient,499400,andfailing/basic399300.Thisstudent
receivedareadingscoreof281in5thgrade,318in6thgradeand278in7th
grade.Knowingthesescores,andknowingthatthisstudentiscomfortablewith
meandwouldbehonestwithme,Idecidedtogivehimthisattitudinalsurvey.
(FigureOne)Throughthissurvey,Iuncoveredthatoverallhedoesnothaveabadattitude
towardsreading,andthereisalotof2sand3sansweringthequestions.Afterhewasdonewith
thesurveywealsohadafewminutestodiscusshisanswers.ThemosthelpfulinformationIgot

fromthissurveyisthatheneedsmoreconfidenceinhisreadingandwritingskills,thatheprefers
writingnarrativesratherthaninformationalorsummarypieces,heprefersreadingfictionand
thingson/fromtheinternetratherthanbooks,andthatheisnotdoingmuchreadingoutsideof
school.Thisstudentisenthusiasticaboutlearning,andwantstoimprovehisreading.Withthis
informationthereareafewstrategiesIwouldimplementinmySocialStudiesclasstotryand
improveliteracynotonlyforhimbutalsoforthewholeclass.Thereisalsoplentythatthe
EnglishandSocialStudiesteachersaredoingforhimandtheirclassnowthatisvery

Figure One

impressive.
Ithasbeenclearthroughoutthatthisstudentreallylikesfictionalshortstoriesandbooks.
InbothEnglishandSocialStudiestheyhavereadmanyshortstories,andafterwardshewould
alwaystalk(eventhoughhewasnotsupposedto)aboutthemtomeduringclass.Iwould
probablytrytogivethisstudentabunchofengaging,mysteriousanddescriptivehistoricalshort
storiesbecausethatiswhatheseemstoenjoyreadingmost.Sincehesitsatateacherdesk,I
wouldevengoasfarasputtingastackofrelevanthistoricalstories,thatgoalongwithourunit,
rightinfrontofhimandhavinghimreadthemwhentheywalkintoclass,andafterhefinishes
hisworkearly.Iwouldalsolethimreadthemathome,insteadofhavinghimalwayshavingto
chooseanovelasfreeread.HavingADHDIcouldunderstandhoweasyitcouldbetolosefocus
inlongnovels,plusheisalreadyreadingnovelsinEnglishclass,whichcanbeconfusing.Not
onlywouldIhavehimreadingmorefiction,butalsowritingmorefictionwheneverIcould.
SocialStudiesisanawesomesubjectforstudentstowritesomehistoricalfictionpieces,like
diaryentriesorshortstories,whichwouldallowhimtoshowhiscreativeside,whilealso

readingandwriting.Includingassignmentslikethiswoulddefinitelybenefitnotonlythis
student,butalsoothers.
OneamazingthingabouttheclassroomthatIaministhatitisveryinterdisciplinary,and
thetwosubjectsruntogetherprettyseamlessly.ItiseasierforthesetwoL.A.andS.S.teachersto
collaboratebecausetheyareteachingthesameclassinthesameclassroomfor2hours.
However,anintertwinedcurriculumispossible,evenifyouareinastandardclassroom,ifyou
tryyourhardesttoworktogetherwithotherteachers,andtrytoplanliteracyassignmentsthat
makesenseandrelateinothersubjectsatthesametime.Forexample,thesetwoteachersdo
thingssuchas,haveaminilessononpersuasivewritinginL.A.,andhavetopickasideofa
currentissueandwriteapersuasivecurrenteventsummaryinS.S.inthesameweek.Orfor
example,whiletheyarelearningabouttheCivilRightsMovementinS.S.,theyarereadingA
RaisinintheSunbyLorraineHansberryinL.A.Whenlessonsarerunningacrossdifferent
subjects,itisverybeneficialtostudents,andhelpsteachersdoalotofliteracyscaffolding.
TheinteractivenotebookisalsosomethingIwouldimplementinmySocialStudiesclass
tohelpstudentsdomorehandsonandcreativelearning.Itisaplacewhenstudentswould
constantlybewritingandreflectingabouttheirlearning,aswellascreatingsketches,concept
maps,graphicorganizers,drawings,stories,andsomuchmore.Ihavelearnedallaboutthe
poweroftheinteractivenotebookinsuccessfulSocialStudiesteaching.Itsusealsohelpswith
literacybecauseSocialStudiesisnolongeraboutmemorizingthings,itsaboutapplying
knowledgeandcreatingthingswhichrequiresadeeperunderstandingofreadingmaterial,which
willhavetobepracticed,andallowsformorewritingpractice.

Andfinally,toincreaseoverallconfidenceinhisreadingandwritingskills,itcouldhelp
tohavemoreoneononetimetodiscussfeedback,especiallypositivefeedback.Hehasalotof
goodideasinhiswriting,anditwouldbebeneficialtonotonlysharehisfeedbackonpaperbut
toreinforceitinconversationeitherduringorafterclass.