Artifact 4

Competency 10.3- "Access resources for planning instruction available via
telecommunications (e.g., experts, lesson plans, authentic data, curriculum materials)."

Competency 11.1- “Use technology in the discipline/subject for learning and as a medium for communications- design and deliver lessons using technology resources on a selected discipline/subject”

Competency 11.2- “Use media and technology to present the subject so that it is comprehensible to others”

Competency 11.4- “Use technology to facilitate teaching strategies specific to the discipline”

Competency 12.5- "Organizational and management strategies that support active student involvement, inquiry, and collaboration ."

Competency 13.1- “Use media and technology to address differences in children’s learning and performances”

Alignment to INTASC Standards:
This artifact also aligns with the INTASC Standards because literature circles provide opportunities for different performance modes (INTASC Standard 3).They allow students to show their understanding in material they read through art, creative writing, and expressive thought.It helps to meet all learning styles of the audio, visual, and hands on so that students can use their strengths and express their weaknesses in reading through a variety of activities.Literature circles are designed to meet the needs of diverse learners and to keep students engaged in reading activities.This artifact is also a development of short and long range plans to cover different topics discussed in reading (INTASC Standard 7).Literature circles are also arranged for the purpose of reaching appropriate curriculum goals in literature and provide effective instruction for stressing reading ideas.Students can use the roles in literature circles to explore topics discovered in the reading and meet the different learning styles of all types of learners.They can choose activities to express their understanding of reading to meet a variety of learning styles.Literature circles allow the teacher to provide a variety of instructional strategies to make learning more than a lecture experience.It allows children to take a main role in the learning experience (INTASC Standard 4).Literature circles encourage problem solving, critical thinking, and performance skills in students' performance of knowledge. This artifact also uses interdisciplinary approaches to teaching students literature, vocabulary, genre, text content,and character analysis (INTASC Standard 1).

Context:
This literature circle artifact was created with Netscape Composer during my reading methods class in block.This literature circle is a fifth grade unit on Pioneers to incorporate literature into furthering student understanding of the expansion west.The literature circle provides instruction on activities that teachers can use to get students involved in leading instruction and actively learning about the literature. It provides activities, or jobs, to complete after reading a selection of books that tell about pioneers.It provides activities for readers of the fifth grade that range from 3^rd grade level reading to sixth grade level reading.The roles of the literature circle are activities thatwere learned in my literature class to get students involved in discussing the material that they read.The artifact was put on the internet so that it can be available for other teachers to learn how to do literature circles in their own schools in order to include many instruction styles into curriculum.

Impact:
This artifact meets competencies 10.3, 11.1, 11.2, 11.4, 12.5, and 13.1 because it uses media and technology as a way to make learning meaningful and comprehensible to students. Students and teachers can use media as a way of communicating assignment goals and what they have learned through the literature presented. Literature is an important part of every classroom. As an elementary school teacher, I plan to use literature circles as a way to actively engage students in books and use books to teach a variety of topics.I believe strongly in allowing students to lead discussion and be actively involved in literature.Therefore, I will use literature as an important element in my classroom to making learning a fun and valuable experience.