1. LEARNING CONTEXT
The purpose of the Web-based story extension activities is to support
students who are in the beginning stages of reading and writing.
The activities are designed to scaffold opportunities for students to practice
literacy skills and strategies consistent with corresponding individual instruction, specifically, explicit instruction of decoding skills.
Each activity contains a teacher guide
with standards, product/performance, evaluative criteria, and procedure.
Concise and coherent alignment of these components, articulated in the
chart below, guides progressive planning for student attainment of the
learning standards.
| READING | WRITING | LISTENING/SPEAKING | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELA Standards (2) | Students will read accurately and fluently, using phonics and context cues to determine pronunciation and meaning | Students will create their own stories using the elements of the literature they have read and appropriate vocabulary | Students will take turns speaking and respond to others' ideas in conversations on familiar topics |
| Student Performance/Product | Read simple, brief stories | Create a Web-based story guided by "Wh" questions | Retell a story |
| Evaluative Criteria |
|
|
|
2. PROCEDURE
The Web-based story extension activities are designed for the classroom
with an online computer. They are meant to be used after the reading of
a decodable text connected to explicit, systematic instruction:
3. INSTRUCTIONAL/ENVIRONMENTAL MODIFICATIONS
Adjustments in the level of teacher/peer support as well as adaptations to
the keyboard can accommodate a range of student abilities. Grouping decisions
are determined by the level of support that individual students may need.
Activities can be completed with a teaching assisitant or the teacher.
4. TIME REQUIRED
Planning for the learning experience involves reading the decodable story,
identifying student outcomes and evaluative criteria related to the Standards, designing a connected
Web-based activity (2 to 4 hours if the structure of a Web site
is in place ("building" the site requires many hours of work over a period
of weeks). Instructional pacing is determined by student interaction. One
or two sessions (20 to 30 minutes each) will suffice.
5. MATERIALS & SUPPLIES
These activities require access to the Web. They can be created in Microsoft
Word or ClarisWorks and saved as an HTML document. Decodable storybooks
need to be available for the students.
6. ASSESSMENT TOOLS & TECHNIQUES
The following student learning is evident as a result of assesment
procedures:
7. STUDENT WORK
The examples of student work reflect the efforts of students with disabilities
who are in the beginning stages of reading and writing. Their
Web page documents are the result of carefullly scaffolded learning
experiences designed to move students to proficiency and independence.
8. REFLECTION
This learning experience supports just one of many recommended components of a
comprehensive approach to teaching early reading that includes [varied and
abundant printed materials, active learning, and the development of
written and spoken language through highly engaging activities
(Adams)].
The 1-1 teaching situation is ideal for students with intense
learning needs, for it provides the opportunity to dialogue with the student
as we work through the process and develop Web pages.
The implementation of the project enhanced two outcomes important to the learning of literacy skills and strategies : 1) fluency through familiar readings, and 2) the connection of reading to the writing process.
Additional Web-based literacy activities continue to be developed. The complete project is best viewed online @ http://www.cs.oswego.edu/~borgert/Story/welcome.html.