Section 3 Part 3
Section 3 Part 3
Introduction
This fifth artifact is an author study presentation of Jon Scieszka that I designed using the
SMART Board notebook software. This presentation was created as an assignment for the EDU
571: Technology for the Elementary Classroom course at Medaille College. It consists of three
activities based on three books written by Scieszka. Each activity relates to a different subject
matter (the first is mathematics, the second is science and the third is social studies/ ELA). The
presentation uses a variety of interactive tools and engaging activities offered by the SMART
I selected this project as an artifact for a few reasons. First, I believe that it showcases my
ability to plan interesting and interactive lessons for different types of learners while still meeting
knowledge of the literary world through this presentation, while featuring multidisciplinary
activities, with the assistance of technological tools. This is also a great method to make informal
assessments on my students’ retention and understanding of the proposed lessons associated with
each activity.
focused on collaborative learning. This should be beneficial for students since it enables them to
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better reach higher order thinking and should increase their retention aptitude of the learning
material.
How does this artifact provide evidence of your preparedness for a career in education
This artifact was selected because it provides students additional tools that enhance the
learning experience for different types of learners. Indeed, Flemming encourages educators to
implement differential learning in their classroom in order to appeal to those learners. Providing
learning activities through the use of a medium, such as the SMART Board notebook, which
enables the students to stand and move to the front of the class to complete activities individually
The use of visual aids, graphics and tactile/ interactive activities will also be very
appealing to Visual learners as well as ELL students. The use of these types of activities
integrated in various lessons enables educators to meet the UDL model standards by providing
additional ways to reach students, which should, as a result, help to bridge the achievement gap
As previously mentioned, this presentation also enables students to part take in more
collaborative learning and group activities. Indeed, Vygotsky believed that students learned and
retained knowledge better when they are part of learning activities that include a sociocultural
approach (McLeod, 2018). Students learn from their environment and their peers, through
various interactions especially ones with MKOs (McLeod, 2018). These types of activities will
not only make the learning more engaging, but it will also enable the students to deepen their ties
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I believe that this artifact demonstrates my preparedness for the field of education by
components to my lessons.
I also believe that this presentation reflects my ability to understand different teaching
principals and how to integrate them in a way that can appeal, engage and accommodate
What are the appropriate curriculum and professional standards used for this artifact?
The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s)
he or she teaches and creates learning experiences that make these aspects of the discipline
4(g) The teacher uses supplementary resources and technologies effectively to ensure
Principle 2: Educators create, support, and maintain challenging learning environments for all.
Educators apply their professional knowledge to promote student learning. They know the
curriculum and utilize a range of strategies and assessments to address differences. Educators
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develop and implement programs based upon a strong understanding of human development and
learning theory. They support a challenging learning environment. They advocate for necessary
resources to teach to higher levels of learning. They establish and maintain clear standards of
behavior and civility. Educators are role models, displaying the habits of mind and work
necessary to develop and apply knowledge while simultaneously displaying a curiosity and
enthusiasm for learning. They invite students to become active, inquisitive, and discerning
Members are dedicated in their care and commitment to students. They treat students equitably
and with respect and are sensitive to factors that influence individual student learning. Members
Professional Practice
Members apply professional knowledge and experience to promote student learning. They use
appropriate pedagogy, assessment and evaluation, resources and technology in planning for and
responding to the needs of individual students and learning communities. Members refine their
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New York State P-12 Common Core Learning Standards
Mathematics activity
Solve problems involving measurement and conversion of measurements from a larger unit to a
smaller unit.
1. Know relative sizes of measurement units within one system of units including km, m, cm; kg,
g; lb, oz.; l, ml; hr, min, sec. Within a single system of measurement, express measurements in a
larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Record measurement equivalents in a two-column table.
Science activity
NYS P-12 Science Learning Standards; Grade 5: Structure and Properties of Matter5-PS1-3
[Clarification Statement: Examples of materials to be identified could include baking soda and
other powders, metals, minerals, and liquids. Examples of properties could include color,
Assessment does not include density or distinguishing between mass and weight.]
RL.4.3 Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific
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R.L.4.9 Compare and contrast the treatment of similar themes and topics (e.g., opposition of
good and evil) and patterns of events (e.g., the quest) in stories, myths, and traditional literature
Students will demonstrate how academic knowledge and skills are applied in the workplace and
other settings.
Mathematics activity
Measurement Sense:
- estimate, measure, and record length, height, and distance, using standard units (i.e., millimetre,
Measurement Relationships:
- describe, through investigation, the relationship between various units of length (i.e.,
Science activity
Ontario Curriculum science standards; Grade 4: Understanding earth and space systems, rocks
and minerals
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1.1 assess the social and environmental costs and benefits of using objects in the built
2.3 use a variety of criteria (e.g., colour, texture, lustre) to classify common rocks and minerals
Ontario curriculum social studies; Grade 4; A3. Inquiry: Understanding Context: Characteristics
of Early Societies
3.6 - identify and describe some of the major scientific and technological developments in the
ancient and medieval world, including some from at least one First Nation and one Inuit society
DOE Claims
Claim 1: Medaille College graduates know the subject matter in their certification area(s)
Claim 2: Medaille College graduates meet the needs of diverse learners through
CAEP Standards
appropriate progression level(s) in the following categories: the learner and learning; content;
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Standard 1.4 Providers ensure that candidates demonstrate skills and commitment that afford
all P-12 students access to rigorous college- and career-ready standards (e.g., Next Generation
Science Standards, National Career Readiness Certificate, Common Core State Standards.
4. Innovative Designer
Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by
2. Leader
Educators seek out opportunities for leadership to support student empowerment and success and
2c. Model for colleagues the identification, exploration, evaluation, curation and adoption of new
3. Citizen
Educators inspire students to positively contribute to and responsibly participate in the digital
world. Educators:
3a. Create experiences for learners to make positive, socially responsible contributions and
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3b. Establish a learning culture that promotes curiosity and critical examination of online
5. Designer
Educators design authentic, learner-driven activities and environments that recognize and
5a. Use technology to create, adapt and personalize learning experiences that foster independent
6. Facilitator
Educators facilitate learning with technology to support student achievement of the ISTE
6d. Model and nurture creativity and creative expression to communicate ideas, knowledge or
connections.
7. Analyst
Educators understand and use data to drive their instruction and support students in achieving
7b. Use technology to design and implement a variety of formative and summative assessments
that accommodate learner needs, provide timely feedback to students and inform instruction.
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International Literacy Association Professional Standards
Element 5.2
Candidates design a social environment that is low risk and includes choice, motivation, and
scaffolded support to optimize students’ opportunities for learning to read and write.
Standard 2:
Beginning special education professionals create safe, inclusive, culturally responsive learning
environments so that individuals with exceptionalities become active and effective learners and
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N.B. This Artifact can be found on the Author study page of my Weebly website.
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Artifact #6: Literacy assessment
Introduction
assessment was created as an assignment for the EDL 650: Assessment and Evaluation of
Literacy Technology course at Medaille College. This literacy assessment is composed of three
evaluated the student’s spelling abilities, reading fluency and reading comprehension. The
assessment highlights the student’s strengths and weaknesses for each assessment and develops a
I selected this assessment as an artifact for a few reasons. First, I believe that it showcases
my ability to assess students using various assessment tools and methods as well as to monitor a
problem areas and to plan interesting and engaging activities that will help them progress in
approach based on the student’s needs. It also features the use of various instructional strategies
in order to better reach the student’s understanding and application of the subject matter.
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How does this artifact provide evidence of your preparedness for a career in education
This artifact was selected because it provides methods to assess and improve students’
literacy abilities. Indeed, “Vygotsky argued, that language is the main tool that promotes
thinking, develops reasoning, and supports cultural activities like reading and writing" (Neff,
nd). This means that an educator’s instructional strategies should promote and help develop a
student’s understanding and correct application of all aspects of language and literacy. As a
result, educators should assess student’s literacy levels often, create activities to address their
In addition, educators should also learn to reassess their teaching strategies based on the
student’s progress. Indeed, this assessment demonstrates that the teacher proposes a variety of
teaching methods to the student in order to address the issues encountered. The educator also
mentions the need for reassessment in order to monitor the student’s growth, but also to assure
that the proposed teaching strategies are successful. Indeed, a teacher should be flexible in their
especially when it comes to literacy since every student’s struggle will be different.
The use of visual and auditory aids, graphics, manipulatives, physical activities and other
sorts of learning tasks that “engage [the students’] interest and stimulate their thinking” (Ontario
Government Services, 2013,13), can also be very compelling to Flemming’s diverse types of
learners. It is also important to note that these strategies which are helpful for one or a group of
I believe that this artifact demonstrates my preparedness for the field of education by
featuring my ability to assess students using various assessment tools and methods and to
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monitor a student’s progress in order to obtain a true picture of their abilities. It also
demonstrates my aptitudes to identify a student’s problem areas and to plan interesting and
engaging activities that will help the student progress with these difficulties.
based on the student’s needs and to use various instructional strategies in order to better reach the
Finally, I also believe that this assessment reflects my ability to understand different
teaching principals and to demonstrate how to integrate them in a way that can appeal, engage
and accommodate different types of learners while still meeting the curriculum standards.
What are the appropriate curriculum and professional standards used for this artifact?
Standard # 6 Assessment
The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to engage learners in their own
growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher’s and learner’s decision making.
6(g) The teacher effectively uses multiple and appropriate types of assessment data to identify
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New York state code of ethics for educators
Principle 5: Educators collaborate with parents and community, building trust and respecting
confidentiality.
Educators partner with parents and other members of the community to enhance school programs
and to promote student learning. They also recognize how cultural and linguistic heritage,
gender, family and community shape experience and learning. Educators respect the private
nature of the special knowledge they have about students and their families and use that
knowledge only in the students' best interests. They advocate for fair opportunity for all children.
Professional Practice
Members apply professional knowledge and experience to promote student learning. They use
appropriate pedagogy, assessment and evaluation, resources and technology in planning for and
responding to the needs of individual students and learning communities. Members refine their
Students will demonstrate how academic knowledge and skills are applied in the workplace and
other settings.
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DOE Claims
Claim 1: Medaille College graduates know the subject matter in their certification area(s)
Claim 2: Medaille College graduates meet the needs of diverse learners through
CAEP Standards
appropriate progression level(s) in the following categories: the learner and learning; content;
7. Analyst
Educators understand and use data to drive their instruction and support students in achieving
7b. Use technology to design and implement a variety of formative and summative assessments
that accommodate learner needs, provide timely feedback to students and inform instruction.
7c. Use assessment data to guide progress and communicate with students, parents and education
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International Literacy Association Professional Standards
Element 3.2 - Candidates select, develop, administer, and interpret assessments, both traditional
Select or develop appropriate assessment tools to monitor student progress and to analyze
instructional effectiveness.
Administer classroom and school-based assessments using consistent, fair, and equitable
assessment procedures.
Interpret and use assessment data to analyze individual, group, and classroom performance
and progress.
Collaborate with other teachers and with support personnel to discuss interpretation of
assessment data and their uses in responding to student needs and strengths.
Element 3.3 - Candidates use assessment information to plan and evaluate instruction.
Use assessment data to plan instruction systematically and to select appropriate traditional
Use assessment data to evaluate students’ responses to instruction and to develop relevant
Collaborate with other reading professionals to modify instruction and to plan and evaluate
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Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)
Standard 4:
Beginning special education professionals use multiple methods of assessment and data sources
Standard 5:
Beginning special education professionals select, adapt, and use a repertoire of evidence-based
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Marie-Hélène Cordeau
Medaille College
EDU-650
Julie Eldridge
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I. Basic Data
a. Student name: Julia
b. Student grade/ stage of development: Grade 4
c. Type of assessment analyzed:
i. Words their way (spelling)
ii. Reading Records (Fluency)
iii. Basic Reading Inventory (BRI) Performance Booklet (Sight word
recognition and Comprehension)
In order to test fluency, I used the Words Julia did very well for the first 6
their way assessment. Since they do not columns of the assessment.
offer a Grade 4 or higher evaluation I She is confortable with digraphs
provided the 3rd Grade Spelling Inventory and blends as well as using long
assessment. This assessment showed the and other vowel patterns in
student’s ability to not only correctly words.
spell the words said to them, but to also She also did fairly well with the
identify the areas that the student may derivational words.
struggle the most in spelling these words.
Student’s difficulties:
In order to test fluency, I used the BRI Julia was able to read each text
Performance Booklet Form A passages with the proper intonation and
and applied the Reading Records grading expression.
techniques. She used proper grammar and
The texts assessed are A5414, A8595 and punctuation throughout her
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A6867. This assessment evaluated the reading.
student’s oral reading accuracy, pace, She stayed focused on the text
expression and punctuation. and did not seek assistance from
the educator when she
encountered difficult words.
Even if she slightly struggled with
certain words, Julia was able to
read at a great pace each text.
They were all read under 1 minute
and 20 seconds.
Julia read the Grade 4 text with
perfect accuracy. The Grade 5
level text only had minor errors,
which demonstrates that Julia
read with great accuracy even
above her grade-level.
Student’s difficulties:
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correct when needed.
Student’s difficulties:
For the Grade 5 assessment, Julia
was able to self-correct the words
rehearse and century.
For the Grade 6 assessment, Julia
was able to self-correct the words
whimper and pulp.
However both in the Grade 5 and
6 assessments, Julia seemed to be
making some mistakes by saying
a variation of the words. For
example she said “employment”
instead of “employ” or
“graduation” instead of
“graduate”.
For the other words said
incorrectly, Julia resorted in a
word that she knew that was close
to the written word. And example
of this would be “steam” instead
of “seam”.
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she was unsure of.
Student’s difficulties:
Julia did not seem to have many
difficulties with the
comprehension aspect of this
assessment.
Indeed, even if she read the Grade
level 6 text at an Instructional/
Frustration level, she was still
able to answer the comprehension
questions at an Independent/
Instructional level.
For the comprehension questions
she had incorrect or partially
incorrect, were mostly related to
the areas in the text that she
struggled reading. It was difficult
for Julia to fully understand the
text, when she did not know the
words.
I conducted a few assessments with Julia in order to determine her literacy level and
abilities. Julia was very compliant and eager to participate in the various assessments
presented. Throughout the process, she exhibited confidence in her abilities and did not
seem to get discouraged in areas she had more difficulties with. She successfully and
fluently read and understood words and texts above her grade level. The two areas that
would require the most attention would be spelling (especially syllables & affixes) as well
as sight words recognition, which is the ability to read the grade level words rapidly and
accurately. Based on these facts, my instructional plan will be created in order to address
these problem areas.
When assessed, Julia demonstrated some difficulties with spelling correctly the words
read to her by placing the letters in the correct order. She especially struggled with
syllables & affixes section of the assessment. One way of improving this aspect of the
spelling is to use a morphemic analysis. Indeed, words their way suggest using “ the
meaning of prefixes, suffixes, and base words to help [students] determine the meaning of
a word. It is critical to model and reinforce this strategy and to give [the students a lot] of
practice using this strategy”(Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton & Johnston, 2012, 241). For this
approach there are a variety of activities and anchor charts educators can offer their
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students. I noticed that some of the mistakes Julia made the most where when to repeat
letters. I would offer students activities such as “when do you double?” containing the root
words, the suffix that needs to be added and the student has to spell the correct word that
comes from the two (an example can be found in Appendix A). This activity can be done
independently or in small groups depending on the student’s learning preferences. Another
activity that is easily modeled and great for students, are double consonant words foldable
(an example can be found in Appendix B). This should appeal and engage all students but
especially students who are visual and kinesthetic learners.
For sight words recognition I believe that a few techniques would be helpful for
Julia. Creating word walls in the classroom would be a great way to make the words
accessible and visible every day for the students. The teacher and the student (in this case
Julia) should work together to develop the word wall. Specific colors could be applied in
the background to differentiate easily confused words. In order for the words to come
naturally and quickly to Julia, enough practice should be provided. I propose to do this in a
series of activities such as the wheel of fortune wall (see Appendix C) and word up game.
In both instances, I will start by modeling the behavior for the students and then will
separate them in groups in order for them to do the activities. Both games offer students the
opportunity to either recognize the sight word by seeing the number of letters the context to
place them in or a definition of the word. These activities paired with independent work on
properly reading and writing sight words should target the skill Julia needs to improve on. I
also propose to do sporadic reassessments in order to measure the progress Julia has made.
Finally it is also important to remember that the word wall list needs to be built upon
regularly in order to assure students are always challenged and grow.
IV. Reflection:
I also enjoyed the oral presentation format. I thought it was a nice change from all
the written assignments we had to do in our other classes. I also enjoyed seeing what my
fellow educators observed, some of the issues their students were faced with and the tools
and activities they suggested in order to assist these students in improving those skills.
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Finally, I would have to say, that there were a few difficulties in conducting this
assignment. The assumption that everyone had easily access to students of elementary
school age was my biggest challenge. Being a student that does not work in education, it
was difficult for me to find a student within the right age group that I could see on a regular
basis. I also found it difficult to use the same student throughout the semester. The final
point I would like to mention is that most of the assessments provided (such as the Words
their Way) were mostly focusing on younger students rather than all elementary school
grades. Having a student of a higher-grade level made the writing of this final assessment
plan a bit more challenging.
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References:
Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton & Johnston. (2012). Words Their Way, Chapter 7. Retrieved from:
https://wordstheirwaybookclubreview.weebly.com/the-syllables-and-affixes-stage.html
Education Alberta. (2019). Making sense of universal design for learning, Retrieved form:
https://education.alberta.ca/media/464638/video-discussion-guide-4-making-sense-of-universal-
design.pdf
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Appendix A
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Appendix B
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Appendix C
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