Savannah Jarvis

March 25, 2014

Midterm

Part A: Oral Language Development Assessment

[First interaction: 2 minutes 30 seconds]

Ben: “The desert museum is coool!”

Liz: “What’s cool about it?”

Ben: “Animals. They actually- it’s actually really in the desert and real animals. All there is on

the trails, no all you can see is desert.”

Savannah: “How is it different from the other museums?”

Ben: “’cause it’s outside only. But there’s a few shops not outside.”

Savannah: “Have you gotten to go to their shows?”

Ben: “What shows?”

Liz: “You’ve seen the- seen the- [Ben] loves to talk to talk to people. You love to talk to the

people that show the rocks and the little animals. But we haven’t gone to like the um, what’s the

show that they do the flight, the uh, [indistinct talking] what’s it called, the raptor flight. Have

you done that? I don’t think you have. But he’s done- what’s the inside thing you really like?”

Ben looks confused.

Liz: “Do you remember? Right inside the door…”

Ben: “Snakes!”

Liz: “What else is right there?”

Ben: Pause. “Um, I don’t remember.”

Liz: “The aquarium. And the touch tank, right?”

Ben: “um hum”

[Ben’s junk house explanation: 3 minutes]

Savannah: “Show me your house that you made. I got to see you make part of it but then I had to

leave. Tell me about it.”

Ben: “So I had to put this through here, so it makes the door stay shut ‘cause this was in the

way.”

Savannah: “And how did you make your door stay on?”

Ben: “This!”

Savannah: “Well it is still attached to your house. How did you make it stay on to your house?”

Ben: “See this here.”

Savannah: “Okay. What are these?”

Ben: “They’re straps. To make it go up and down.”

Savannah: “And how did you get the straps to stay on?”

Ben: “Um”

Savannah: “What did you use to make them stay on?”

Ben: “Staples. You see right here? Staples.”

Savannah: “uh huh. Did you do the staples or did Ms. Leticia help you?”

Ben: “Ms. Leticia did them but I did the staples.”

Savannah: “Whose idea was it?”

Ben: “Mine.”

Savannah: “What’s inside your house?”

Ben: “Nothing, except some extra pieces.”

[Documentaries discussion: 10 minutes and 30 seconds]

Liz: (Ben is off in another room getting something to show me.) “He has been watching a lot of

NOVA and PBS and different documentaries. He spent a long time watching documentaries on

the Moai of Easter Island. Because, you know, there is the whole mystery surrounding how they

got there.”

Savannah: “yeah!”

Liz: “I’m not a big documentary fan, but his daddy is and he is. He’s also watched a lot about the

Egyptian pyramids – oh here he is. Can you tell - while you’re building your arch – tell Ms.

Savannah about the, um, Moai?”

Ben: “Yeah, secrets of Easter Island. It’s also in NOVA National Geographics.”

Liz: “And so what about it? What’s so mysterious about the Moai?”

Ben: “That they didn’t have human tools – modern day tools.”

Liz: “So what makes that arch work?”

Ben: “The keystone?”

Liz: “The keystone, yup.”

Ben: “THIS is what keeps the – this part from going (makes a loud avalanche sound).”

Liz: “Because of what?”

Ben: “The weight of the roof is so heavy ‘cause it’s actually real stone it would like if there’s no

supports it’ll fall.”

Liz: So what was happening to some of the old Gothic cathedrals?”

Ben: “Caving in. Drrrr PCSHH!”

Liz: “But what was the first thing that happened? They didn’t just automatically cave in. Do you

remember what happened; what they started to notice?”

Ben: “Cracks.

Liz: “In the…”

Ben: “Wall. Like if this was the wall, there’s these little cracks and it causes disruption. But if

the arch is pushing out, PCSH. That’s gonna – what happens to the arches.”

Liz: “He actually remembers a lot, that’s very detailed.”

Ben: “and there is actually modern day building.”

Liz: “Isn’t there a giant one over at the children’s museum that you and daddy built? Is it like…”

Ben: “there’s an arch there. And it was like ri ri ri.”

Liz: “You were able to run through.”

Ben: “hu hu pucsh!”

Liz: “it’s foam I hope, not stone.”

Ben: “Hard foam.”

[Indistinct talking]

Ben: “Like if this was the wall… (Crashes into wall making it fall everywhere)… It would just

cave in.

Savannah: “why are there flying magna blocks?”

Ben: “Well real magna blocks aren’t falling from the sky.”

Liz: “They’re not?”

Ben: “No.” (laughs) “Well the cathedrals are real.”

Savannah: Where are do some – do you know where they are?

Ben: “Like a – this is a Moai – Blah!”

Liz: “Did you hear Ms. Savannah’s question?”

Ben: “Yes. Uuuhhh. I don’t know.”

Liz: “Do you remember”

Ben: “No”

Liz: “Where were they in the video? Were they in Rome or Italy, England?”

Ben: “No, no, no, no, no. They were talking English.”

Liz: “Kay. They were speaking English, but that’s because the people who made the video were

people who spoke English. I can’t remember where the cathedrals were in the video. I think one

of them was in Great Britain.”

Savannah: “Did it go over a bunch of different ones that they had built?”

Liz: “I think they focused on one in particular that they had to go and restore.”

Savannah: “Oh okay”

Liz: “What was the name of the video, buddy?”

Ben: “Building the Gothic Cathedrals”

Savannah: “What else do you know about Cathedrals?”

Ben: I don’t know that much because I don’t watch it that often.”

Savannah: “Uh huh. What about other buildings?”

Liz: “Did you learn something about pyramids? You learned – how did they build the Moai?

How did they – what did they, they, they do to get the Moai where they were.”

Ben: “Hu huh u. (Making a pulling motion).”

Liz: “You have to describe with words.”

Ben: “Three ropes that make the Moai walk. Boom, boom, boom. (Hopping)”

Liz: “How do they do that?”

Ben: “They did not even have any legs. They were just like this”

Liz: “Where were the Moai”

Ben: “Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom”

Liz: “That’s actually how they move but what are the Moai?”

Ben: Sighs, “I’ll make a drawling. I’ll make a drawling.”

Liz and Savannah talk about Ben while he is in his room getting materials.

Ben starts drawing looks up and says, “This is what it looks like walking with no legs”

Liz: “And what is the material that the Moai is made of?”

Ben: Continues to draw “Rock”

Liz: “And is it heavy or light?”

Ben: “Really heavy”

Liz: “So how do they move it?”

Ben still drawing says, “These are actually ropes. I drawl the people pulling.”

Savannah: “Who are the people pulling it?”

Ben: “They’re the people who testing”

Liz: “They were the researchers, right?”

Ben: “And the hands actually grabbed on to there. And… people right here.”

Liz: “Do you remember what their hypothesis was about the Moai? Were they built – were they

built where…”

Ben: “On Easter Island”

Liz: “On Easter Island, but where – Were they built one place and moved to another”

Ben: “Yes”

Liz: “or built where they stood”

Ben: “They were built from a rocky corry (quarry).”

Liz: “And then”

Ben: “moved”

Liz: “And so the hypothesis is that they were moved, but they couldn’t figure out how, right?

And so what did they come up with?”

Ben: “A solution, they mighta used ropes.”

Liz: “You got it. And so once they came up with the hypothesis what did they do with it?”

Ben: “Test it.”

Liz: “You got it.”

Savannah: “Did they find something out when they tested it?”

Ben: “Well they tested three times, every day.”

Liz: “And what did they discover?”

Ben: “That they need three people on three ropes.”

Liz: “and did they work by themselves or did they – how did they move it?”

Ben: “I’ll show you”

Drawing…Liz and Savannah talking

Savannah: “What are these? Tell me about these.”

Ben: “Um, they’re point where the statue’s going. Like if the statue is – this arrow indicates it’s

going this way. And if the arrow is going right here, this arrow indicates it goes this way.”

The following is the picture Ben drew during the visit:

Analysis

In this last interaction with Ben, the Behaviorist theory can be clearly seen. “Skinner

defined language as the observed and produced speech that occurs in the interaction of speaker

and listener (Morrow, 2012, p. 98).” In other words language can be acquired through

environment and the words spoken around the child. If the child does not hear a word how will

they know to use it? The same goes for hearing words in particular contexts. The language that

Ben displays in this last interaction is displayed here because of their relevance to the words in

his life that he lives and sees each day. Some of the words Ben uses like “indicates” may be

words he hears in documentaries and has become part of his vocabulary.

The theory of zone of proximal development can also be observed in these few

interaction between Ben and his mother who gives him cues to be able to express his thoughts.

Sometime Ben will look to his mother in situations where he is unsure of his response. Morrow

talks about zone of proximal development by saying “Theoretically, the child can perform within

that range, but only with adult assistance (p. 100).” The mother, Liz says things like “And then”

to encourage more explanation and asks who, what, or where questions to provoke more

discussion about the particular subject at hand.

This child shows many purposes for using language, but in these particular instances he

uses language for heuristic and informative purposes. Most of his language in class is also for

these purposes. For example in the above sample Ben uses informative language to tell me about

the Moai of Easter Island and even uses visual language to express thought. Ben uses heuristic

language when he asks “What shows?” when talking about the desert museum. He takes

information he was given and asks questions about parts that are unfamiliar or questionable.

Ben would fall within the average 5 to 6 year old range of language that Morrow (2012)

states on page 106. For example children at this age know about 2,500 which I would say is

within Ben’s range of vocabulary at this age. In a span of about 15 minutes he spoke close to 250

words and definitely spoke more in the entire hour that I was in the home. Ben is also “extremely

articulate” in the way he speaks. When he does not know the word he is looking for he is able to

describe his thoughts in such a way that can be understood. The only sound that Ben struggled

with in our short conversation was the sound of qu- in the word quarry; typical at this age.

Part B: Socio-Cultural Knowledge

Ben’s family speaks only English in the home. The books and text they read are English.

I do know that Ben knows a few Spanish words because it is taught at the school. During this

Spanish lesson time Ben is an active participant and can talk about certain Spanish words.

Literacy throughout the home is expressed in daily reading of books, documentaries and

other videos, and writing in the form of “restaurant menus” and love notes. As I have visited

with the family I have seen some of these daily readings and the excitement Ben has towards a

new book. He has the knowledge of directionality of books; that they are read left to right and

top to bottom. As far as reading throughout the home each person seems to have their own

enjoyment of reading. Liz’s enjoyment comes through reading Newspapers and Atlantic

Magazine, while Mike’s (dad) enjoyment comes through National Geographic and cooking

magazines. Ben has his own enjoyment in books like books about how things work.

When it comes to writing in the house, Liz says she makes lists and writes emails and

letters. Both Liz and Mike have jobs that require a lot of write-ups and reports. Ben has begun to

express his writing in the form of pretend restaurant menus and love notes. Liz says that Ben

tries to spell words and writes in invented spelling (or as we call it in class, kid writing). For the

most part expression of ideas comes through drawing pictures and explaining those drawings.

When Ben speaks he is very fluent in his ideas and is able to speak with great

understandability. When talking, he usually uses descriptive words to express his thoughts along

with actions when he cannot think of the word he wants to convey. When being spoken to and he

does not understand a word, Ben communicates that he needs clarification. Ben has a fairly high

vocabulary probably due to the vocabulary spoken in the home like we have been discussing in

Literacy Development.

Overall, Ben has a variety of literacy areas that he works within to be an effective

communicator. He uses oral language and written language in a variety of contexts from

informational to play. While Ben does seem to favor some areas more than others, he does

develop in all areas. As he has gone through the year in the class he has grown in apparent ways

from no writing of words to sounding out the letters in familiar words.

Section A. General Summary and Description

At school we do events called Read-In which occurs once a week on a Thursday or

Friday. During this time children can sit with an adult who will read a book of their choice. The

adults include parents who choose to stay for this portion of the day and other volunteers such as

teachers and assistants in the room at the time. During Read-Ins I have observed Ben’s reading

and literacy skills. For example, Ben knows the proper way to hold a book. He views the book

from left to right. He has become very good at reading the pictures and doing picture walks.

Once he has read a fact from a book, he begins to think and reflect on it and may ask more

questions throughout the day.

As far as environmental print, Ben has picked up many signs. A few are the Panda

Express symbol, the Starbucks symbol, and the word “stop” from a stop sign. All of these are

familiar to him because of his family. About once a week he will get a treat from the Starbucks.

He sees stop signs on his way to school each day and while riding his bike. His parents often talk

to him about the things he sees and encourage conversations about his discoveries.

As an educator I feel that these conversations around print are important because I can

see the effect they have on a child’s mind. These conversations spark purpose for text for

children. In the case of Ben, he has realized that print has a purpose and he has asked to be taught

to read. Children’s minds are naturally inquisitive. They will come around to reading on their

own eventually, but only if it serves a purpose for them. I have found that each child has their

own reasons for wanting to read. Finding these intentions for reading can help each child find a

purpose for reading.

Section B. Using Data to Inform Instruction

Rationale: Ben has displayed that he is proficient in book handling skills. He can also Sound out

many words and identify certain words in a sentence. Ben has also explicitly expressed interest

in learning to read. With all of these facts present I believe he is ready to begin the road towards

reading. To start the process, he still needs to be able to recognize that each individual word has

a particular spelling and combination of sounds. Audio recordings of books are a great

independent activity for him to do. He can follow along in the book as the recording reads the

words. This way he has to pay attention to the words so that he keeps up with the book. Another

activity to move him along in the reading process is talking about two letter sounds such as “ea”

or “th” sounds. Talk about words that have those sounds. Have a word wall with those sounds.

Have him explore by having phonics cards.

Materials: CD player, Books with audio recordings of the books, phonics cards, paper, and

pencils

Phonics cards:

A EA R CH

T M EE N

P B TH CK

L I NK O

Examples:

EA T

Eat

T EA

Tea

Section C. Family and Community Literacy Event

The Community Literacy Event was something I had never done before, but something I

would love to do again. It provided children with a place to come and feel invited to engage with

literacy in a fun and meaningful way. In some ways this can be incorporated into the classroom

every day on a smaller scale.

What my group did was a station about staying in touch with families. We centered it

around family memories and ways we keep contact with people. This naturally lends itself to

literacy because we write letters, talk on the phone, send e-mails, and make photo albums. This

was also a great opportunity to hear stories that the children had. Photos are said to be worth a

thousand words and that is so true when talking to a preschooler.

Our goal for this canasta was to find and talk about ways in which families stay in touch

with each other. Since each of our case study families has some part of their family that lives out

of the state we chose this as our connecting piece. Each person had different ways of connecting

with family far away, whether that was by plane, email, or Skype. We were hoping to get stories

from children about times when they contacted their family and what they did. We used books to

spark conversation. When we read a book some of the children had a connection such as

Christmas time to the “Bringing In the New Year” book that had been read.

At our station we provided materials to create a photo album and write letters. The

materials included:

Plastic album covers

4 x 6 colored card stock

Stickers

Glitter glue

Glue sticks

Envelopes

Markers

Crayons

Glue sticks Stamps

Books at the table:

Daddy Is A Doodle Bug

Bringing In the New Year

Knuffle Bunny

The children who came stayed for a long time and we had the opportunity to talk to the

children as they enjoyed the exploration. Some of the children shared memories of writing cards

to their grandparents or aunts/uncles. Not many of the children were interested in making letters.

I believe this could be because of the technology we are now into. It is not as often now that we

write letters on a piece of paper and send it in the mail. We used to send bills this way,

communicate this way, and stay in touch. Now everything is electronic. An email is more

efficient and online payments are made. I think to have a stronger connection with this piece of

our center, an iPad message would have been more appropriate. I also understand that this was

not our first thought though.

Some photos from the event:

My case study child:

Instead of going to the Literacy canastas, my case study child and I went to a local toy

store/ book store for a story time. It was a time where children came with parents and we sat

outside in a circle on foam mats in the middle of a courtyard of the mall. The theme was bunnies

for the day. A woman who worked at the store came to read a few books and sing a few songs.

Ben sat in his mother’s lap most of the time and participated fully in the activities.

I think that while he was in the age range for this event, he was a little bored by the

mostly younger audience. Once he was able to explore the store on his own he was having fun

with stories and puppets and all of the things he could reach. At one point he picked up this

raccoon puppet and told a story about how he was lost in the forest that was my hair and how he

found food in a trash can. The story went on for about five minutes when his mom finally

chimed in with the story about when this really did happen one time. It was neat to see Ben retell

a story that was only sparked by a puppet.

This event showed me a lot about the relevance of a story to young children. To Ben,

bunnies meant nothing to him, he had no connection. As soon as he had something to connect

with, he was a story-teller. This will carry with me into my teaching when I am choosing stories

for my students to read. Nothing means more to them than when they can make themselves a part

of what they are learning.