Shanda Vankirk

Throughout the semester I have created a literacy project for first graders over the topic
of plant parts and plant growth. The purpose of this project is for students to be actively engaged
and participate in a meaningful learning experience. The project includes a large variety of
instructional strategies, materials, and technology that will meet student needs and ensure their
learning and critical thinking. All the activities work together to give students a strong
foundation of the material. Therefore, this project meets the two indicators for this artifact.
Quality Indicator 1.2.5.1: Selects alternative strategies, materials, and technology to
achieve multiple instructional purposes and to meet student needs.
Each artifact of the project has its own strategy and together they allow students to
experience multiple strategies, materials, and technologies. The first artifact is the content text
set; which is a list of various sources that discuss plant parts and/or growth. It includes picture
books, newspaper articles, magazine articles, non-fiction texts, poems, graphics, and apps.
The next artifact is the word sort strategy. The word sort is intended to help students
determine what plants need to survive and the four major parts of a plant. This strategy allows
students to categorize the two topics and visually see the separation of the two.
The self-awareness chart is another important artifact. It helps students assess themselves
on how well they know the vocabulary words for the topic. Being able to teach students how to
monitor their learning is crucial and this strategy will certainly help them become more familiar
with self-monitoring.
Next, the QAR, Question Answer Relationship, strategy will make students think
critically about the specific questions asked about a text. Students need to think critically, even
in first grade. Giving them the opportunity to think for themselves and develop their own
conclusions on some topics is crucial in today's classrooms.

Shanda Vankirk
The graphic organizer strategy is another visual way for students to organize their
information. Students can complete their graphic organizer while they hear/read the vocabulary
words in a text. The theorist, Ausubal, believes that graphic organizers are a great way to
scaffold students and assist them in comprehending a text. I have included a graphic organizer
into my project for both reasons. The students will be able to better comprehend the text when
they are thinking about what they are reading a writing it down. Also, they are already being
given the actual graphic organizer, so they are being scaffolded.
Notetaking is another beneficial strategy used in this project. This activity will help
students identify the various stages of the plant life cycle. In this specific project, students are
able to express the information in their notes through pictures rather than writing.
The next artifact is the shared reading strategy. The shared reading activity will keep
students engaged in the picture book, The Tiny Seed, in which they will discover what plants
need to survive. Since first grade students aren't likely to read the text alone, this shared reading
with think alouds is very beneficial to them. They are able to hear the teacher model read; which
gives them the opportunity to hear fluent reading. Vygotsky's zones of proximal development
support this theory that students who are scaffolded will learn with the assistance of their teacher.
Finally, the last artifact is the performance tasks. These performance tasks are designed
for teachers to assess their students knowledge and understanding of the unit. Students will
make a poster that correctly identifies the four parts of a plant as well as the 8 stages of the plant
life cycle.
Quality Indicator 1.2.5.2: Engages students in active learning that promotes the
development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance capabilities.

Shanda Vankirk
Every student who participates in these activities/strategies will be active learners who
think critically, solve problems, and perform various skills and tasks. For example, critical
thinking occurs in the QAR, shared reading, and performance tasks. During the QAR activity
students are asked various questions at a variety of levels. They are gradually asked more
thought provoking questions as the discussion deepens. The first questions only ask for
information that is straight from the text, but eventually the questions asked aren't in the text and
students will gradually gain more responsibility to think critically in order to answer the
questions effectively. During the shared reading activity students listen to the teacher's think
alouds and they, too, make predications, ask questions, and think critically about the text they
are hearing. Finally, in the performance tasks students are asked more critical questions; such as
What do you think would happen if there weren't any plants on earth?"
Problem-solving is also demonstrated in this artifact. Students must problem solve
during the shared reading activity. Throughout the reading the must think about the problem,
why the seed couldn't grow on top of the mountain, but it could grow in the spring grass?
Questions like theses allow students to think about the problem and solution for plants and the
environment they need in order to survive.
Finally, students are asked to perform various tasks. The performance tasks are very
hands on, authentic activities that students will be able to perform after they have be given the
proper instruction. They will also perform the task of the word sort and the self-awareness chart.
Overall, this literacy project meets the quality indicators listed above. Students are active
learners who learn to think critically, problem solve, and perform tasks that show they have
mastered the content material. I believe that this literacy project includes the necessary
materials, strategies, and technologies for students to be successful.