Children's And Adolescent Literature:

Artifact Description
The artifact I have submitted is a text set on the theme of friendship that I
designed for use in our multi-age, grade 2-3 classes. I chose this artifact
because I feel it exemplifies my new understandings of range of text
complexity, using essential questions to guide instruction, and addressing
concerns that are close to the heart of the students I work with. The set
includes texts for teacher read aloud, as well as a variety of texts for
students to engage with as they explore the idea of friendship.
Professional Growth
While I was given a waiver for this course, I am continually honing my skills
and knowledge base when it comes to good literature for children and young
adults. My professional learning and growth in the area of childrens and
adolescent literature have continued throughout my years as both a
classroom teacher and an academic instructional coach, but I found that
once I began on the path for my 316 reading license - and began digging
deeper into the Common Core State Standards - I needed to be more
mindful of how I choose literature for my students, as well as how I
supported teachers I work with in a coaching capacity. Creating text sets
has become one area that I have improved in greatly, which is why I
included one example of a text set as my artifact. I developed this set with
another colleague in an effort to create more meaningful literacy experiences
for our students. As we developed a greater understanding of essential
questions, we developed a question to guide our work, and then gathered a
variety of texts and multimedia resources that students could experience
throughout the unit to help them learn more about what friendship means.
One of the most energizing experiences I had recently was being a guest at a
weekend-long symposium at UW-Whitewater where I was able to hear Gay
Ivey, Jill Castek, and others discuss their research on adolescent readers. My

eyes were opened to the need for increased student choice in literacy
selections and choices that have greater relevance to the lives of my
students; for the need for a range of texts that are culturally responsive; to
the value of content area integration; and to the need to explicitly teach,
model, and practice effective discussion skills so that students can cement
their learning through interactions with their peers.

I began to seek out

articles on adolescent literacy, as well as read more books by authors such as

Jim Burke, Donalyn Miller, and Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher. I also began
digging deeper into the ideas of close reading and using essential questions to
help students focus their reading and discussions. I have been able to share
these new learnings with fellow colleagues, both formally through
Professional Development opportunities, and informally through coaching,
modeling and support with individual teachers. I feel that the journey to be
an accomplished teacher in the area of childrens and adolescent literacy is
ongoing, and it is learning that continually excites me and sometimes
surprises me.
Understanding and Application of Standards
INTASC Standard #7 The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting
rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, crossdisciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community
context.
WI #7 The teacher organizes and plans systematic instruction based upon knowledge of
subject matter, pupils, the community, and curriculum goals.

I feel that I have a better understanding of the role of literature in childrens

development of language, vocabulary, and background knowledge. This is
reflected in the range of texts in the artifact text set. Culturally responsive
teaching in the large urban district is essential in meeting the academic
needs of all students through relevant texts and materials. In creating text
sets to be used with our intermediate students and connected to content
specific learning, I am much better equipped to create in-depth and diverse
sets for students to actively engage with.

INTASC # 4 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 accessible and meaningful for learners to assure mastery of the content.
WI #4 Teachers know how to teach. The teacher understands and uses a variety of
instructional strategies, including the use of technology, to encourage children's development
of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.

One area I feel I continue to grow in is having a deeper knowledge of the

progression of skills and knowledge from one grade to the next when it
comes to literacy instruction. Spending more time on the explicit use of
academic vocabulary, and honoring the struggle to let older students use
their toolkit of reading strategies before I jump in with help or answers.
Wait time, student discussion, student led connections with prior learning
are all areas I feel I have grown throughout the course of study for the 316.
INTASC # 5 The teacher understands how to connect concepts and use differing perspectives
to engage learners in critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative problem solving related to
authentic local and global issues.
WI # 5 Teachers know how to manage a classroom. The teacher uses an understanding of
individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that
encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.

Cooperative learning techniques, student-led group discussions, and an

invitation to more dynamic problem solving opportunities are ways to
maximize student learning around content through a variety of contexts.
Helping students to understand more than one perspective and make
judgments based on evidence from multiple sources will improve their
critical thinking abilities. This is more easily accomplished using essential
questions and text sets, than through a traditional textbook lesson.
Impact on Student Learning
Before I embarked on this learning journey, I was more text based in my
teaching. Questions were generated by myself or came directly out of the
textbook. As I continue to experience the value of purposeful discussions and
project-based learning, I see my students becoming more energized and

engaged in their reading. Students are now coming up with their own
essential questions within each unit, as well as building off the original
question to begin independent projects. Incorporating all genres of literature
into the science and social studies arenas has helped my students make
deeper connections between themselves and the world around them,
demonstrate greater understanding of content, and become more inquisitive
and self-directed in their learning as evidenced by their increasing
achievement scores on formative and summative assessments where the
average score percentage has risen from the mid-50s to the upper 70s.
Connecting science and social studies topics to literacy, students have
become increasing critical in their discussions about text. Listening and
speaking skills are improving, and students are more excited about their
research projects- both through the use of traditional texts and books as
well as through more refined searches using technology. Technology has also
played an important role in some of the ways students have chosen to
present their learning to their peers. They have become more critical
listeners, and are able to hear the critiques of their peers without angst. I
feel that my students have become more intellectual in their evaluations of
what they like and do not like, while before those types of discussions were
more opinions without any evidence to back up the opinion. More students
are engaged in the lessons and learning because their learning styles are
taken into account. They have become more self-directed, allowing me to
be more the facilitator than the director of learning. Students are
motivated to learn as evidenced by their increase in reading volume during
independent reading, and their willingness to communicate their learning in
a variety of formats, all of which include a written component.