Artifact 5

Native Americans Literature Circle Unit: This artifact is reading unit for fourth grade that can be found on the internet. It contains three different levels of selected readings (on grade level, below and above grade level) with examples and the completed products of lessons.

Context
The literature circle was created on Netscape Composer as part of a group project that was completed during my Elementary Education block experience at ASU.

Impact
As a Teacher I will be able to access this unit on the web and use the texts and examples on the internet to introduce Literature Circles into the classroom. This particular unit is linked to other classmates and ASU block students work on other historical fiction subjects.

Alignment
I plan to access this web site when using the unit in my classroom. By creating a link to the page I show that I can get resources for teaching of the web (Tech. Competency 10.3). The web page will allow other teachers to access the information demonstrating how I can use technology as a medium for communication (Tech. Competency 11.1). The books were chosen to accommodate the needs of above, on and below grade level (Tech. Competency 13.1). The different activities within the unit like investigator would research on the web about the Native American topics addressed in the reading. The Artful Artist would illustrate the information being learned during the unit. These jobs give the student opportunities to locate information and use a variety of media to communicate (Tech. Competency 12.1). This artifact was designed to incorporate all students in reading Historical Fiction about Native Americans while still meeting the individual needs of the students. By offering three different book groupings that I show that I can involve all students at their appropriate reading level. The Literature Circles have different “jobs” for each student to do. These include every thing from investigating, drawing, writing, and speaking. There is an activity for every different learner (INTASC #3). The “jobs” that the student are to complete will be presented to their small group. Most require some form of question or topic from the reading that the students are to discuss and draw conclusions showing that I can create different instructional strategies that encourage students problem solving and critical thinking (INTASC #4). Each students with a job has a specific aspect of the lesson that they are to present to their group. The group depends on the individuals and the individuals depend on the rest of the groups in order to create a lesson that is a meaningful learning experience. The students must be self motivated a using the teacher as a facilitator, therefore the teacher doesn’t direct the group, but the group directs itself creating a learning environment that encourages positive interaction (INTASC #5). By having all the assignments for the students literature circle jobs on the internet the student will be able to use the media (World Wide Web) to foster active group collaboration in the classroom (INTASC #6).