Reading and Literacy Project Description

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Reading and Literacy Project
Assignment Description and Rubric

Mode: Team with individual component(s)

updated 8-24-09

RLP Dashboard

Purpose of this Assignment
We believe that self-directed reading is a critical avenue contributing to quality of life and lifelong learning. A primary aim of all media specialists should be to encourage reading in students as a part of most instructional activities and media center programming. To support this aim, media specialists must have a broad understanding of children's literature, the reading process, and how to encourage leisure reading in students. They must construct a personal reading philosophy, based upon study and reflection about the role of reading as a part of lifelong learning. At UGA, you will enroll in one or more children's literature classes within the Language and Literacy Department, and we are lucky to have highly regarded scholars and teachers in that field for your benefit. The purpose of this assignment is to ensure that you integrate the knowledge you gain in this external class to your job, within the framework of competencies set out by AASL. You will also reap the benefits of your own lifelong reading of children's literature and possible knowledge of the reading process from teacher preparation and experience within this project. While we do not expect you to become a reading specialist or to participate in direct literacy instruction, we encourage you to think about literacy and reading connections in relation to any curricular objective you address in your role as instructional partner. We believe that almost every learning standard can be enhanced by related literature (both fiction and nonfiction). Finally, understanding some basic concepts about reading instruction and knowing some student support strategies will greatly enhance your ability to contribute to student achievement.

AASL Competencies

This assignment is designed to provide direct evidence that candidates meet AASL Standard 1.2 and supports 1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 3.1, 3.3. The primary aim of your project should be to encourage leisure reading among your students.

Task

This project may take one of several forms. Choose one that fits your interests and work assignments:

Reading Promotion Project, such as a program you would do as part of media center programming
Collaborative unit, complete with all typical components, ready to be implemented (may be combined with unit in another class; this may be difficult to tackle if you've not written units before)
Technology product, such as a Web Quest or online mini-course
Roll your own: some other format that fits the requirements

Ideally, this is a project that you will carry out sooner or later. The basic idea is to create a thorough, ready-to-implement project or unit plan that contains all of the intellectual elements necessary to begin. For example, you should submit the plan, supporting research, to-do lists, etc., but you do not have to make the posters or worksheets, etc., that might eventually accompany the project.

Competencies

Here are the specific competencies addressed by this assignment. Make sure to include evidence for each of the following somewhere in your Project:

Basic knowledge of the reading process: we don't expect you to be able to carry out primary reading instruction unless you already certified to do so. However, as a media specialist, you should understand the most common approaches to reading pedagogy (including phonics, whole language, reader's/writer's workshop, guided reading, plus any other namebrand programs used in your school such as Reading Recovery or Rigby Literacy). You should know how to support these pedagogies, and how their use in the school affects the library media program. Also, you should know some strategies for one-on-one immediate help, such as knowing when it might be appropriate to supply a tough word to a struggling reader (or not). Further, you should understand important reading concepts such as phonics, comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, and so on. Demonstrate application of some concepts and strategies, and take care to do so correctly (according to your research).
Familiarity and continuously evolving appreciation of reading materials for children and youth: keeping up with annual developments is important.
Knowledge of major trends in practice and research for teaching reading: As a media specialist, you must be flexible enough to adapt programming to any new educational trend, gleaning out the sound and relevant elements of each. Ideally, you will participate on leadership committees that decide which trends to adopt. In this project, you should identify any dominant teaching emphases or programs from your target school and incorporate them into your plan, or make efforts to harmonize with them.
Multiple formats of materials to match the needs of diverse learners
Strategies to promote leisure reading
A personal life as a reader; the ability to model for learners what readers talk about and how reading is beneficial throughout the lifespan.

You must present evidence for each competency listed above. In addition, you must provide the following minimal set of elements. The alignment of competencies within these elements is according to your choice.

Cover Sheet (fill in the template)
Brief description of target school and its media center learning environment; include school mission or goals, and align this project with that mission. Include demographic sketch (sub-groups and special learner clusters), and dominant teaching approach of faculty.
A lesson plan, presentation, or web page intended to describe the project for colleagues or instruct your learner audience; this element should present the parameters of the project, program, or unit
List of relevant curricular objective(s) (usually Georgia Performance Standards, but other curricula may be appropriate)
Research: Synthesis of current and foundational reading research literature that addresses the specific topic, along with full scholarly references; suggested minimum number of citations: 10. To clarify: the focus here should be on reading pedagogy research.
Reading List: Annotated bibliography of reading material for children or youth that fits the situation, including some very current material (last year or later); annotations should include bibliographical information, brief description, and explanation of item's role in project. Rule of thumb: 25 items.
Survey of at least three formats to carry the reading material, including examples and rationales for using them along with how they would benefit different kinds of learners. Address major sub-groups in your target school, such as special education populations and ESOL learners.
List and description of one or more strategies to promote leisure reading as a part of this project
Each group member should compose a Personal Reading Philosophy that sets forth your understanding of the role of reading in life as an educational target, and describing the contributions personal leisure reading have made to your own life. Also, include a plan for how you will keep up with relevant children's literature throughout your career as a media specialist.
Finally, each group member should individually reflect on this project, addressing (at minimum) progress on the AASL competencies and group process.
Make sure that each of the 6 competencies listed above are represented somewhere in the project as a whole.

Example sketch (fictional)
As media specialist at my middle school, I plan to sponsor an intensive event that will promote reading in the short term while encouraging lifelong reading, with the goal of broadly supporting reading achievement and incorporating Information Literacy Standard 5. I researched many different programs, including Read Across America Day, Accelerated Reader, and several unique programs sponsored by local media specialists. I read research about how these programs might help or hinder literacy instruction, lifelong learning, motivation to read, and the like.

In the end, I decided to sponsor a team to participate in the Georgia Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl this year. I learned about this program through the Georgia Library Media Association. It seems to encourage reading through team competition while promoting collaboration among team members, and requires students to read books on the Georgia Children's Book Award lists. I will construct a brief presentation, using a synthesis of the research supporting student achievement in support of curricular objectives, to pitch this program to my principal. Once I have her approval, I will "market" the program to the school, using book fair money to cover the minimal expenses that arise along the way.

I will work on purchasing as many of the books as possible through state funds and explore other avenues of borrowing or funding copies of the books. I have begun studying the books that are included on the reading lists, familiarizing myself with the authors and themes of the books so that I could promote them throughout the school. I plan to infuse these books into many different lesson plans, book talks, morning videos, and displays, explaining how I enjoyed them and how they relate to life and learning. To serve some of our under-represented groups of children, I plan to explore audio versions of these books and the availability of titles in Spanish. I will recruit the team and several parent volunteers, and coach their weekly after-school meetings (or supervise their coaching by volunteers). I will approach our community business partner for possible sponsorship, because this company likes to become involved in projects like this. I hope to host a school-wide pep rally for the team, and two "play-along" events that encourage non-team students to read the same titles. We will work on sportsmanship for winners and losers to make the experience a wholesome one regardless of the outcome. I hope to see and overall increase in circulation, especially of fiction books; I will evaluate the project through student and teacher surveys and a follow-up meeting with my principal.

The above is merely an outline of a project, nowhere near fully developed. Other kinds of reading promotion projects might be an author visit; summer reading program; a book club; and the kind of project where students read books for a goal, like a read-a-thon or to see the principal do something silly. There are hundreds of great examples on the Web. Take any idea you like (citing the source, of course) and develop it to the specifications of this assignment.

Submission Format

Assembling the main RLP file:

In the front of the project, insert the Cover Sheet. (Copy and paste into your document - remember that this may change your page numbers.) (However, you should construct this cover sheet near the very end of the project.)
Use prominent headings, corresponding to the Elements list, and following that sequence as much as possible.
Insert the rubric at the end. Have each team member assess the project, and initial having done so within the rubric.

Submit this main RLP file as one piece (if possible) to the ELC dropbox.

One team member should submit the file in the dropbox.
Name the Project file in this pattern: maryann-liz-justine-rlp.doc (use each team member's name in the filename). If you are using Office 2007, please save "down" as .doc, not .docx.
The team member submitting this file should add his/her own Reflection in a separate file (see below).

Each team member should create an individual file containing the Reading Philosophy and the Reflection.

The Philosophy is individualized, and the Reflection is your private chance to discuss group dynamics and individual learning accomplishment.
Each team member should submit this single document to their own dropbox.

Name the file like this: maryann-rlp-reflection.doc.

Team members should post the entire project (except the Reflections) to their own assignment pages. Philosophies may be included here.
I apologize for the complexity of this submission procedure overall - I have good reasons! Once you understand how this works, it will be very similar for each assignment in the future.

Guidelines and Hints

Groups of 2 or 3 work best. This project will be extremely difficult to do as an individual, unless you have already completed significant portions of it as a part of a media specialist job. Please consult me if you need to differ from the recommended group configuration -- I am usually willing to negotiate.
I would rather you thoroughly plan a small project or unit than sketch out an ambitious effort that overextends your resources.
You need not reinvent the wheel here, because plenty of creativity will be involved in adapting the ideas of others to your target school. There are zillions of great reading promotion projects out there -- described on the Internet and in professional journals. With proper credit given to the original authors, you may adapt any of these ideas to your local school.
A catchy theme is a really good focal point for a reading promotion project.
You are required to produce an organized plan. The suggested Headings help with this, along with the Cover Sheet.
Beware of overly emphasizing individual competition and/or extrinsic motivation. While these may work as motivational elements in small doses, it is much better for the development of a child to emphasize collaboration (perhaps working together to win a competition) and intrinsic motivation. Competition is adversely motivating to many learners (because there can only be one winner). Rewards (candy, prizes) are okay in limited amounts, but activities (free time, play time, visiting time, parties, reading time, etc.) are better. Emphasize the delight of doing fun things or helping others over materialistic desires.

Evaluation Rubric

Maximum: 25 points

Criterion	Unacceptable	Acceptable
All components included: []Cover Sheet []brief target school description: demographics MC learning environment school mission +/or goals dominant teaching approach of faculty []element that presents parameters of project or project outline []curricular objective(s) []research synthesis []reading list, in the form of an annotated bibliography []multiple formats x 3 (one per format) []leisure reading promotion strategies []1 rubric with group self-assessment (don't forget individual elements below) Value: 4 (does not duplicate values elsewhere)	Something is missing	All components present, complete, and properly aligned with requirements []Materials in at least 3 formats to address the needs and interests of diverse readers and learners
1.2 Literacy and Reading: knowledge of the reading process familiarity with reading material for children and youth current major trends in reading material multiple formats strategies to promote leisure reading personal enjoyment of reading lifelong habit promotion Value: 6	[]Little or no evidence of knowledge of the reading process, or evidence is unconvincing []Little evidence of familiarity with reading material for children and youth []No current titles included in reading bibliography (this year and/or last) []Contains one or more errors in professional knowledge	[]Evidence of knowledge of the reading process: including documented reading of theory, some reflection, and some application; concepts correctly represented and properly applied []Evidence of familiarity with reading material for children and youth: titles are appropriate for purpose; titles are explored for their relationship to project purpose []Awareness of major trends in reading material for children and youth: current titles included []Variety of strategies to promote leisure reading: you plan to apply different strategies for different types of readers/learners []Models personal enjoyment of reading (MS models own reading enjoyment directly to students) []Promotes habits of lifelong reading
1.4: Stimulating learning environment (relationships among facilities, programs, and environment that impact student learning) and 3.3 Educational Leader (enhancement of school improvement efforts) Value: 2	Little or no evidence of awareness of the impact of the climate of the library media environment on learning	[]Clear identification of relationship(s) between this project and specific student learning objectives - project relates to specific learning objectives []Support of school mission and/or goals (this means that mission and/or goals of school must be identified)
2.1: Knowledge of learners and learning: supports the learning of all students, including those with diverse learning styles, abilities, and needs Learner characteristics Learner motivation and interest Sound instructional design Value: 3	[]Little or no evidence of knowledge of learner characteristics, learning processes, or exceptionalities []Link among student interest, learning, and achievement is not established []Over-reliance upon extrinsic motivation or individual competition	[]Includes accommodation(s) for the major exceptional "sub-group(s)" in the school []Learning activities are instructionally sound []Includes proactive strategies for engaging student interests
1.1: Efficient and ethical information-seeking behavior (personal information literacy of candidates; interaction with learning community to access, communicate, and interpret intellectual content) and 3.3 Educational leader: (current educational trends and issues) Style: APA 5th ed. Value: 6	[]Little or no evidence of the research process []Unaware of basic trends and issues in education []Problems with referencing or unethical use of intellectual property []Ignores or contradicts dominant educational approach in target school	[]Research indicates personal information literacy []Research is adequate to support the project (10 sources minimum, or enough to cover the subject - whichever is more) []Research is appropriately synthesized and packaged for the intended audience []Referencing is proper and complete - including inline citations []Articulates relationship of SLM program with current educational trends and important issues []Incorporates or harmonizes with dominant educational approach in target school
Mechanics: errors do not detract from effective communication. Format presentation and organization Value: 2	[]Errors frequently interrupt evaluator's ability to absorb content []Elements to be viewed by the community have embarrassing or unprofessional errors []Disorganized; hard to find required elements	[]A few minor errors []Items meant for viewing by learners, co-workers, and parents are nearly perfect []Organized; headings included and/or labels applied to required elements []Clear
Individual elements: []Reading philosophy Place of reading in personal life Personal habits connect to lifelong learning []Reflection group process (private) progress toward AASL competencies (Neither need to be lengthy) Value: 2 To be graded individually and privately	Vague or superficial	[]Describes the place of reading in personal life []Connects personal reading habits to lifelong learning []Each group member reflects upon group process []Each group member reflects upon personal progress toward AASL competencies
Total	.	.

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http://it.coe.uga.edu/~mfitzger/6300/reading-literacy-project
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8/24/09: added overview graphic w/ audio. Changes for 2009: installed "Dashboard" in effort to stitch together distributed parts; added dominant teaching approach as required piece of school description; cover sheet: put mission and how met mission together; changed vocab: res citations vs reading list items ('"annotation" had been used for both)
Update Log: 9/17: added FAQ link; 8/29: created Cover Sheet; 8/18/08: refreshed for 2008 (switched from tags to cover sheet).
2007: 12/18/07: revised according to feedback from Fall07
10/4: clarified submission details. 10/3: submission details. 9/23: added tag list (bf); 9/5: typo; 9/4: typo, tag guideline. 8/21/07: updated for Fall07; minor changes only
10/31: fixed table width to print easily; 10/12: added our negotiated stipulation of 25 items on the annotated bib. 9/14: minor clarification
8/16: posted, announced. 8/21: under alumni review. 9/7: alum review complete; rubric anchor.

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