Sheena Brieske

Literacy 798
9-28-16

ILA STANDARDS FOR READING PROFESSIONALS

Reflection and Self-Assessment
Assignment Directions:
For each of the ILA Standards and their subcomponents, you will:
Rate yourself based on your knowledge, skills, and dispositions.
Write a sentence or brief paragraph reflecting on each. Entries might include stating your beliefs, providing examples, or
setting goals.
o Give a sense of why you rated yourself the way you did and what you would need to do to move from where you are
at.
Date your entry.
Revisit the entries at least once during your graduate program and add a new rating or a reflective sentence or two. Leave
your initial entries, and make any additions distinguishing it from the previous entry. This provides you and others insight
into your growth process.
Rate yourself on each component using a 1-5 scale.
1 = As a literacy professional, I have very little knowledge/experience/proficiency in this area.
2 = As a literacy professional, I have some knowledge/experience/proficiency in this area, but I need to increase
my skills and understanding.
3 = As a literacy professional I have an average amount of knowledge/experience/proficiency in this area.
4 = As I literacy professional, I have greater than average knowledge/experience/proficiency in this area.
5 = As a literacy professional, I have a great deal of knowledge/experience/proficiency in this area.

Standard
ILA STANDARD 1
Foundational Knowledge
1:1 Understand major
theories and empirical
research that describe the
cognitive, linguistic,
motivational, and
sociocultural foundations of
reading and writing
development, processes and
components, including word
recognition, language
comprehension, strategic
knowledge, and readingwriting connections.

Rating
3

Explanation

After my experience in my Reading 316 courses, I gained more knowledge in research

supporting literacy development. However, I have not taken specific research-based
classes that would provide me with more knowledge.
My experience in my undergraduate studies have helped me learn development at the
birth to 3 year old level, because my minor was Early Childhood Education.

1:2 Understand the

historically shared
knowledge of the profession
and changes over time in
the perceptions of reading
and writing development,
processes, and components.

While teaching over time, it is evident that the profession changes over time. Reading
and writing have shifts of best practices. When I first started teaching, basals were used
for instruction. Then guided reading was used in my district. Now I am teaching using
guided reading and a comprehensive literacy framework, in combination with the Daily 5
classroom management system.

1:3 Understand the role of

professional judgment and
practical knowledge for
improving all students
reading development and
achievement.

As educators, our classroom experience is extremely valuable. I have learned many

lessons in my seven years in elementary classrooms, due to further developing my
instruction. I have taught using basals, guided reading, Daily 5, and comprehensive
literacy.

Standard
ILA STANDARD 2
Curriculum and
Instruction
2:1 Use foundational
knowledge to design or
implement an integrated,
comprehensive, and
balanced curriculum.

Rating

Explanation

3/4

I rated myself in between a 3 and 4, because my district is having all staff receive
training on the comprehensive literacy model by our literacy coaches. I have had
minimal training, but it is an ongoing goal for my district. Each year, a new teacher at
every grade level is trained as the model classroom. I hope to be selected for the next
school year.

2:2 Use appropriate and

varied instructional
approaches, including those
that develop word
recognition, language
comprehension, strategic
knowledge, and readingwriting connections.

With a balanced literacy framework, all types of language development are supported. I
am gaining more knowledge in shared reading and shared writing this year.

2:3 Use a wide range of

texts (e.g., narrative,
expository, and poetry) from
traditional print, digital, and
online resources.

I have accumulated many resources that contain these ranges of texts. I am integrating
much more poetry this year than in the past, since rhyming is a foundational skill
needed at the first grade level.

Standard
ILA STANDARD 3
Assessment and
Evaluation
3:1 Understand types of
assessments and their
purposes, strengths, and
limitations.

Rating

Explanation

By using standards-based grading, I have become much more aware of assessments and
scoring students appropriately. I have had to revise company-series assessments to
give students opportunities to prove they are at a 4 level.

3:2 Select, develop,

administer, and interpret
assessments, both
traditional print and
electronic, for specific
purposes.

Print assessments are the ones I am most familiar with, and electronic assessments are
less common in my primary level classroom. I used more electronic assessments when I
taught fifth grade, but that was three years ago, and technology changes a lot in a short
amount of time. Google Classroom is an outlet I would explore if I taught at the higher
levels.

3:3 Use assessment

information to plan and
evaluate instruction.

I analyze assessments and value formative assessments to help guide my instruction.

When possible, I try to triangulate data for larger assessments and focus areas.

3:4 Communicate
assessment results and
implication to a variety of
audiences.

Standard
ILA STANDARD 4
Diversity
4:1 Recognize, understand,
and value the forms of
diversity that exist in society
and their importance in
learning to read and write.

Students value timely feedback, so I keep my students involved in their learning. This
year I would like to have students graph their reading levels and progress. I
communicate clearly with parents about assessments as well.

Rating

Explanation

By moving around grade levels quite a bit (four different grades in eight years), I have
learned expectations and proficiency levels for each grade level. I have worked with a
variety of abilities within those grade levels (special education, English Language
Learners, and gifted and talented).

4:2 Use a literacy curriculum

and engage in instructional
practices that positively
impact students knowledge,
beliefs, and engagement with
the features of diversity.

I use my districts scope and sequence and the Common Core State Standards as I plan
and teach literacy lessons. I often adapt lessons, choose literature, and create writing
prompts that appeal to my students interests and are relatable for them.

4:3 Develop and implement

Personally, I understood this standard as a way of saying differentiation. I differentiate

strategies to advocate for

equity.

Standard
ILA STANDARD 5
Literate Environment
5:1 Design the physical
environment to optimize
students use of traditional
print, digital, and online
resources in reading and
writing instruction.

daily in school. There is a large span of abilities and comprehension levels in a

classroom setting, and develop and revise lessons and student practice to fit student
learning abilities and levels.

Rating

Explanation

4/5

I am well on my way to a five in this area, but I am not quite there yet. There is always
room for improvement. I love integrating technology and catering to different learning
styles, so I include a variety of media and lessons in my classroom.

5:2 Design a social

environment that is low-risk,
includes choice, motivation,
and scaffolded support to
optimize students
opportunities for learning to
read and write.

4/5

Choice has always been important within my classroom. Students perform much better
when they have choices. My students work at different paces, too, so sometimes
different work is required. Sometimes work needs a simple modification. I do what I can
to help my students be successful each day.

5:3 5.3 Use routines to

support reading and writing
instruction (i.e., time
allocation, transitions from
one activity to another,
discussions, and peer

Routine is an important part of the day. I am still getting used to my districts adoption
of Linda Dornes balanced literacy model, but I found myself using a lot of her
components already in my lessons.

feedback).

5:4 Use a variety of

classroom configurations
(i.e., whole class, small
group, and individual) to
differentiate instruction.

4/5

I meet daily with whole and small groups. I try to confer with each student in reading
and writing every other week.

Standard
ILA STANDARD 6
Learning and Leadership
6:1 Demonstrate
foundational knowledge of
adult learning theories and
related research about
organizational change,
professional development,
and school culture.

Rating

Explanation

I am aware of these areas, but I am not fully sure of the related research behind them.

6:2 Display positive

dispositions related to their
own reading and writing and
the teaching of reading and
writing, and pursue the
development of individual
professional knowledge and
behaviors.

During read-to-self-time, in my classroom, I often read a book on my own for a few

minutes. It is important for students to see my appreciation for literature. My students
also know I am in graduate courses and work hard outside of the regular school day.

6:3 Participate in, design,

facilitate, lead, and evaluate
effective and differentiated
professional development
programs.

3/4

I have shared teaching tools with my new team this year, some that I acquired and
some that I designed.

6:4 Understand and

influence local, state, or
national policy decisions.

I follow policies and decisions on a regular basis.