Amanda Estes
April 22, 2008
Inquiry Project
Community Analysis
I am student teaching at Harry S. Truman High School, which contains grades 10,
11, and 12 and is located in Levittown, Pennsylvania. The students come from 3
different middle schools and 9 different elementary schools. Originally the 9th grade was
included at Truman, but it was removed a few years ago due to overcrowding and out of
control behavior (the teachers have said that having the 9th grade here made even the
seniors more immature). The hallway traffic was so bad that there were one-way
hallways. The school is still a bit too crowded, but it's manageable.
The school is located in a semi-urban area. Although Philadelphia is almost an
hour away, Truman faces some traditionally urban problems, such as a high drop-out rate
and attendance problems. The school itself is located in a residential area about 15
minutes from Route 1. The area doesn’t seem much different from the suburban district
where I went to high school, but there are subtle differences: the security guards that
roam the hallways, the poorly maintained baseball field, and the homeless person who
lives right down the street from the school. In terms of the students, about 39% of them
receive free or reduced-price lunch, and there are many ESL classes. There is a high
population of students whose families have recently immigrated from Liberia and India.
The students are highly influenced by their socio-economic situations. Most, if not all, of
my students have after-school jobs. Some work as many as 40 hours a week, in addition
to attending school. Therefore, many students do not do much homework. Soon after I
started at the school, my cooperating teacher told me that she rarely gives homework
because the students do not have time for it, since they have jobs and long hours.
Additionally, there is not much parental involvement. Teachers often call home and do
not get much of a response. Several of my students have told me about trouble at home,
such as drug-addicted parents, alcoholic parents, and parents who have several jobs.
These various factors, as well as the issue of parents who may not speak English, all
contribute to the problem with parental involvement at the school. This is not true for all
students of course; there are some parents who are highly involved in their children’s
education. However, they are the minority.
Some of the wealthier students who do not need to have jobs are able to
participate in after-school activities. Unfortunately, many of my students do not have
time for extra-curricular activities because of their long work hours. For the students
who work only on weekends or not at all, extra curricular activities are popular,
depending on which activity it is. The theater program is very good; it has been chosen
to pilot new musicals like Rent, Les Miserables, and Beauty and the Beast. Many
students participate in the theater programs, especially those in honors classes. The
music program is not as well developed—the marching band is extremely small relative
to the school’s size. However, there are several bands from which students may choose,
including a Jazz Band (after school) and a Concert Band (taken as a class). Many
students participate in sports as well. The football field was recently redone for $2
million. However, the baseball field has been neglected, which is a source of controversy
within the school. The school sends mixed messages about the value of activities. It
gives more support to certain programs while nearly ignoring others. Student experience
of these activities are determined by their individual backgrounds—some students are
able to take advantage of the programs while others have to work every day and thus are
ignored and forgotten by the school’s various programs.
The resources that are available in the classroom are outdated, but improving.
This reflects the mixed messages of the extra-curricular activities. The school is in a
phase of transition. The current principal is trying to make improvements to the school
and its reputation. Currently, there is only one permanent computer in our classroom,
and the teacher is allowed to use it. Until very recently, the only student computers were
in the library and a few computer labs. Most of these computers are somewhat up to
date, but they must be reserved if a class wants to use them. Additionally, the internet
service is not very reliable. However, there have recently been many improvements in
the technology at the school. Apple has awarded Truman with a grant called Classrooms
for the Future. All the teachers now have new Apple laptops, and all English and math
rooms now have Polyvision boards, which are similar to SmartBoards. The school also
purchased six carts with thirty new Apply laptops each. Three are for the math
department and three are for the English department. Now that the novelty has worn off,
the teachers are realizing that three carts for about fourteen teachers is not adequate.
None of us are able to use the laptops as often as we would like, but they are still better
than nothing. The students love having the laptops. Some of them do not have
computers at home, so it may be their only opportunity to have this technology.
I chose to work with the workshop class for my inquiry project. This class,
formally called the “English Proficiency Workshop,” consists of 12th graders who failed
the state assessment last year. The class is more racially mixed than any of my other
classes. Although the curriculum has been simplified by including fewer texts that are
easier than those in other classes, many students are failing or barely passing. If they get
below a C this year, they won’t graduate. Nevertheless, many students neglect to hand in
their work on a regular basis. Only one student has an IEP. Although this course is
labeled as a workshop class, it is actually structured like a regular class. The only
difference is that for the first two marking periods, the curriculum focuses on writing.
The third marking period focused on reading nonfiction, and the fourth semester was
devoted to fiction. There are 19 students in the class. Twelve are boys, and seven are
girls.
This class is my most diverse class, although all the students are native English
speakers. Generally, these students are of a lower socio-economic class than those in the
honors or gifted class that I teach. A few of them participate in the work-study program
and leave school to go to work right after sixth period ends. Many of the others are not
involved in co-curricular activities, although a few of them are on sports teams. In terms
of post-graduation plans, a few students have already been accepted to four-year colleges.
Several students plan to go to community college, while many do not have plans for
further education. The students in the class, depending on their specific situations, are
facing different types of post-graduation lives. Nevertheless, they all hate being in this
course. They know that it is a lower-level class, and they know that not too much is
expected of them. Their only desire is to pass the class so they can graduate. They know
that most of the curriculum is determined by people who are not present in the classroom,
so they are frustrated with the material and the rigidity of the course. As I entered their
classroom, they were all comfortably passing and content to perform at a minimal level in
order to earn their passing C averages. They were not prepared for the high expectations
with which I approached the course.
Student Profiles
The two students that I have chosen to focus on for this study are John and Jane.
John is one of the hardest-working students in the class. He is above average grade-wise
in this class, but he is still below average compared with my other classes. John enjoys
reading, but only on his own with books that he chooses, which include fantasy and
science fiction. He sometimes has trouble with motivation in school, but he is still one of
the better students in the class. He is white, like most of the students in the class. Jane,
however, is one of just three African-American girls in the class. She tries in class and
has a positive attitude, but she remains a low-achieving student. Both of these students
have a good attendance and homework record, which is part of why I chose them.
However, this means that there are many other students who do not do work outside of
class, and in that respect these two students are above average. I also wanted to have one
Caucasian student and one African-American student, because this is my most diverse
class and I wanted the project to reflect that fact. Although I did select students of
different races, I think that the more important factor is the two students’ individual
motivation. Most of my students are on a similar socio-economic level, no matter what
their race. These two students have had the same education, so I do not believe that race
will affect the results as much as other factors such as home life and details of which I am
not aware. I chose these students mostly because they are two of my most motivated
students in the class.
Baseline Assessment
For my inquiry project, I wanted to discover how to help my students explain an
author’s purpose. I planned the baseline assessment so that I could see how well they
responded to an open-ended question about the author’s purpose.
My baseline assessment consisted of an editorial and one open ended question. I
gave them a two-page packet. The first page contained the editorial, which was from The
New York Times website, and the second page was the open ended question. The
editorial suggested that high schools start later and cited evidence that teenagers need
more sleep than previously believed. However, it also described reasons why most high
schools are reluctant to change their start times, such as after-school activities that would
be forced to run later and later if the start time was moved back. I chose this article
because I knew that it would connect with the students’ own lives, and I hoped that they
would have a strong reaction to it. I decided to use one open ended question so that I
would be able to analyze the students’ responses—what they came up with on their own
without being prompted too much by me. I was looking for direct evidence and support
from the article, which is why I wrote “How can you tell?” as part of the question.
I gave the baseline assessment as an opening activity early in the third marking
period. The students had spent the first two marking periods concentrating on writing.
The coursework is rigidly controlled by the district, including school-wide assessments
and specific assignments designed for the workshop class. Therefore, the third marking
period was the first time that the class actually focused on reading. Up until this point,
any reading that the students had done was only discussed on a basic plot level. There
had been no discussion about the author’s purpose, and the students had not had practice
doing close reading. This type of assignment was very different from anything they had
done before. Their classwork usually required them to know the basic idea of a text, not
to think about why it was written or about any other higher level of thinking. As a result,
most students wrote very basic answers on this assessment. They did not comment on the
complex nature of the issue addressed in the article. Instead, they oversimplified the
information. Only two students addressed both sides of the issue. Also, most students
didn’t explain how or why they knew the purpose. They didn’t use examples or details
from the text. Their writing and understanding was surface level only. They did not
show any evidence of a connection with the articles, but instead their answers were dry
and unemotional.
My two students both performed at average levels. John’s answer was only two
sentences, which was one of the shortest in the class. His answer was basic and did not
address the complexity of the issue. He did not explain how he arrived at his answer—he
was very vague. He did not attempt to provide evidence—he merely wrote “you can tell
by reading what the author is writing.” Clearly, he needs some practice with close
reading and citing evidence from the text. However, I do believe that he is capable of
writing more. He is proficient in talking about what he reads. Therefore, his brief and
basic answer does not truly reflect his abilities, as far as I can tell.
John’s response:
Jane’s answer was considerably longer. She took more time in describing the purposes of
the story, but she did not describe the contrasting viewpoints. She did not attempt to
explain her ideas or to show how she came up with her answer. Therefore, she did not
provide any evidence from the text.
Jane’s response:
Both of these students need more practice doing close reading and explanation. I
plan to do some modeling and guided practice to show how good readers use details from
the text as they answer a question. To accomplish this, I will model how to read an
article and how to find details that show the author’s purpose and then give them some
guided practice through a handout that contains another article.
First Lesson & Assessment
I taught the first lesson of my inquiry project on February 8, 2008. My goal was
to guide the students through a reading of an article and then to scaffold their learning by
giving them a guided reading sheet for another article. I passed out an article that I had
typed up with several comments and examples of my interior thought process as I read.
This article was an editorial about illegal immigrants that I found on the New York Times
website. During my modeling, I wanted to show them what good readers do as they read.
I read this first page out loud as the class followed along. The next page of the packet
contained a different article, an editorial about smoking, with boxes added in throughout.
The boxes contained guided phrases and questions that would help my students fill in the
empty space according to their thoughts about the article. Finally, I added another such
editorial with similar boxes. This second editorial was written in response to the earlier
article about cigarettes, and it presented a sharply contrasting viewpoint. I wanted the
students to look at the details in order to assess the overall purpose of the article.
This was a pretty traditional lesson; it included modeling and guided practice
based on handouts. The students worked hard and were engaged in the class work.
However, many of them did not finish the packet. I decided to let them finish the packets
over the weekend. I also gave them the assessment to work on for homework, but since it
was a Friday and they rarely have homework on Fridays I planned to allow time for it on
Monday. This turned out to be an appropriate decision. The students came in on
Monday and worked on the assessments at the beginning of class.
The assessment consisted of two short editorials that were written in response to
an article which we had read for the baseline. I was excited to find them since they
connected so well to the earlier work. I gave the same question for both articles—“Please
explain the author’s purpose for writing this article. Give specific evidence to show how
the author achieves this.” This question was almost the same as the question on the
baseline, except for the second sentence. I wanted to prompt the students a little bit more
in terms of the specificity that I was looking for. The two editorials that they had to read
were short and to the point. I didn’t want to make this a task that would take a long time.
I just wanted to see what they could do with the strong opinions that were in the articles.
The overall results of the assessment were varied. Most students wrote basic
answers. They did not analyze the author’s tone or language. However, almost every
student provided some evidence in their answers. That was an improvement. Many
neglected to specify that the authors were trying to persuade the reader. They just said
that the authors were stating information. A few students (four) did say that the authors
were using persuasion and facts to convince the reader. Six students did not identify the
persuasive purpose and instead said things like “the author’s purpose is that students
aren’t getting enough sleep.” Six students only stated facts and evidence from the article
and did not comment on the overall purpose of it.
My two focus students, John and Jane, both gave short and basic answers to the
questions. Jane used similar language in both her answers—“address the issue”—which
does illustrate the understanding that the articles focus on controversy. However, this
phrasing does not specifically say that the author is persuading the reader. Jane does say
that the author gives reasons for students sleeping in class, and she gives an example of
one reason. However, she does not say anything about the author or how the author came
to believe in these reasons for the problem. She also only gave one piece of evidence, the
presence of electronics, while the author also named lack of a good breakfast as another
important reason for sleeping in class.
Jane’s response:
My other focus student, John, gave an answer that was almost as brief as the
answer to his baseline. He did vaguely identify the persuasive nature of the article—“to
show that students do not get enough sleep.” Then he listed two major reasons why
students do not get sleep—“either because they stay up all night, or school is just too
early.” He has a basic understanding of the article, and probably a deeper understanding
than his answer implies. Both he and Jane would probably be able to talk about the
article well, but when writing and responding to just one question, they do not look at the
reading on a deeper level. John did not discuss the author’s background or include details
to explain the author’s argument. Clearly both of these students needed some guidance in
order to be able to write on a deeper level.
John’s response:
These students had not improved significantly since the baseline. They did give
vague reasons for their answers, but they still weren’t including details. As I thought
about my next lesson, I wanted to try a couple of things. First, I wanted to help them find
a topic sentence. I reasoned that if the students could locate the topic sentence of an
article, they would be well on their way to summarizing the author’s purpose (since the
topic sentence itself would probably identify this purpose). I also wanted to discuss tone.
I believed that if the students could analyze the tone of the words that are used, they
would better understand why the author chooses those words and what purpose he/she is
trying to achieve by using them. Finally, I needed to help them identify when an author
is being persuasive and when he/she is merely being informative. After analyzing the
results of my assessment, I was not yet sure how I would achieve this.
First Lesson Materials: (see following pages)
February 8, 2008
Topic: Analyzing an Author’s Purpose and Argument
PA Standards:
R11.B.3.1.2 Analyze positions or arguments for evidence of statements of facts and
opinion.
R11.A.2.6.1 Identify and/or describe intended purpose of text.
Objectives:
All students will complete a guided practice sheet, and in doing so they will find
specific evidence that an author uses to accomplish a purpose.
1. All students will be able to identify an author’s purpose for writing a
nonfiction piece.
2. Some students will be able to carefully analyze this purpose.
Materials: guided practice sheets, assessment sheets
Motivation: 5 minutes
Students will take 5 minutes to finish the reflections from yesterday and then the
work will be collected.
Procedure:
1) Motivation: 5 minutes
2) Modeling: 5 minutes
The teacher will pass out the packets and then model the reading of the first
editorial which is on the front page. The information in the text boxes will be
read out loud throughout the reading of the editorial itself.
3) Guided practice: 20 minutes
Students will work in partners to complete the rest of the packet, which contains
guided practice for finding more evidence in the text.
4) Assessment (closure): 15 minutes
The students will complete the two-page assessment. This will be done
individually and handed in at the end of class.
Name _____________________________________________
Finding and Analyzing the Author’s Purpose
Ms. Rosales seems eager to turn the illegal immigration debate into one of racism and
bigotry.
These words bring about negative
emotions like anger, and connecting
Ms. Rosales to these emotions indicates
that the author has a big problem with
Ms. Rosales’ previous article.
This issue is not about race, ethnicity, or even politics.
“not” sets up the contrast between
this author’s opinions and Ms.
Rosales’ article
Instead, it is about twelve million people who chose to ignore our laws and enter this
country illegally. Regardless of country of origin, all of these people broke the law with
tacit approval of our federal government.
Here is the author’s personal opinion about the
problem. “Ignore” is the strong word that he uses
to explain what the illegal immigrants are doing.
It should be boiled down to an enforcement issue. If someone breaks our laws, they
should be punished and not rewarded, as many on Ms. Rosales's side would want.
Ms. Rosales fails to cite how illegals place an enormous burden on our health,
education, penal and economic systems. She chose to completely ignore George Borjas's
finding that American-born males' wages have been suppressed 4% since 1980, and
continue to be suppressed, due to illegal immigration.
Here the author uses the logical
persuasion technique. He provides
statistics and evidence to prove his
point about the damage that illegal
immigrants are doing.
Use of a
This country was built on the backs of legal immigrants. Their contributions are to be
metaphor
lauded. However, in 2008, it is the collective back of the American taxpayer that is
to make a
breaking from the burden that illegals are placing on our country.
point
Shame on Ms. Rosales for injecting race and ethnicity into this debate.
Mark Fratella Goes back to the emotional topics
Sterling Heights, Mich. of race and ethnicity to make a
strong point at the end of the piece.
Guided Practice
“Whether Here or There, Cigarettes Still Kill People” Feb. 4
Tobacco was the cause of approximately 100 million deaths in the last century and is
projected to be responsible for one billion deaths world-wide this century.
Type of persuasion:
Tobacco remains the leading preventable cause of death in the world. Its use is
associated with 15 types of cancer, as well as heart and lung diseases, and there simply is
no demonstrably safe way to smoke or chew tobacco.
Type of persuasion:
It is disturbing that PMI plans to introduce new products, including one with higher
nicotine levels, into developing countries. Nicotine is addictive, and higher nicotine
content will make it even easier for youth to be addicted and harder for smokers who
want to quit to do so.
Effect of language on the reader:
Addicted children and adults may help PMI's bottom line, but they will hurt the
bottom line of countries around the world as smoking-related illnesses are costly and
claim entirely too many lives.
Use of language in the closing sentences:
Overall purpose or argument being made:
Evidence and tactics used:
Lay Off Tobacco Firms; Smoking Is a Legal Choice (criticizing)
Perhaps it should come as no surprise to me that you published three letters lambasting
Philip Morris for its new overseas business plan ("Whether Here or There, Cigarettes Still
Kill People," Feb. 4). Use of language to make an opening statement:
What is the author’s opinion?
Anytime a tobacco company makes any attempt to increase its profit there is an outcry of
"murder" and "negligence" from all corners.
Word choice: what effect do these words have
on the reader and why?
Let's just set the record straight: Any person who is presently smoking is making a
personal choice to participate in a behavior that is well publicized to be hazardous to
one's health.
How does this point support the author’s argument?
I refuse to accept the idea that companies like Philip Morris should cease to exist. Do
these letter writers honestly believe that cigarettes shouldn't be made at all? Should they
be outlawed? Word choice:
Purpose and effect of the rhetorical question:
At some point personal choice needs to enter the equation.
Effect of final statement:
Does it convince you:
Jeremy Siegel
Washington
Name: _____________________________________________________
Directions: These two letters were written to The New York Times in response to “Are
You Up Yet,” the article about sleepy high school students that we read earlier in
the week. Read them and answer the questions that follow. Be as complete in your
answer as possible.
Re “Are You Up Yet?” (editorial, Feb. 1):
I was often frustrated by the sleepiness of my students.
As a former project arts coordinator and art teacher in a New York City high school, I
learned two important things relative to this situation: When I confronted one parent of a
child who fell asleep in my class almost daily, I found out that when he went into his
bedroom for the night he entered a room that was fully equipped with a computer, TV,
DVD player and so on. And when I mentioned to the mother the idea of removing such
equipment, I was met with a most astonished gasp.
On another occasion, when I was quizzing my students early one morning on issues that
they had learned in my class, I suddenly realized that only one hand kept going up. I
finally asked the class how many students had eaten breakfast that morning. You guessed
it! Only one, the student who kept raising his hand.
Sleep deprivation is definitely an issue. On the other hand, what I learned as a result of
my inquiries definitely adds further layers to a complex and most vital issue.
Vivian Bergenthal
Scarsdale, N.Y., Feb. 1, 2008
Please explain the author’s purpose for writing this article. Give specific evidence to
show how the author achieves this.
To the Editor:
You review the recent evidence that teenagers, especially high school students, are
programmed to sleep past 7 a.m. and frequently fall asleep in school, especially in early
classes when school starts at or before 7:30; and that school districts proposing later
starting times sometimes face opposition, especially from team coaches who fear less
time or later times for after-school practice.
I was a team physician for a top local high school for 20 years. The majority of coaches
with whom I worked realized that the health and education of their players were their
primary concern.
The few who believed that athletic team performance was more important than academic
performance belong in another business.
Lonnie Hanauer
Millburn, N.J., Feb. 1, 2008
Please explain the author’s purpose for writing this article. Give specific evidence to
show how the author achieves this.
Second Lesson & Assessment
My second lesson of the project took place over a week after the first one. In the
interim, we had been reading many other texts, both as a class and individually in weekly
article assignments. For their weekly article assignments, students were asked to define
the author’s purpose. However, the classroom readings and activities did not focus on the
author’s purpose, but instead were based around skills like thinking aloud and
questioning. As I prepared the second lesson, I wanted to remind students about finding
a topic sentence, reading closely for strong words and their tone, and identifying
supporting details that the author uses to support his or her ideas.
I used modeling, guided practice, and then independent practice, in that order.
For my modeling, I used an editorial from The New York Times website. I read it through
aloud once and then went back over it, identifying the topic sentence and explaining my
reasoning. I had the students underline the topic sentence on their own copies of the
article. Next, I pointed out some strong words that the author used to support the topic
sentence. I explained the tone of the words and why I chose to look at them. I explained
that some words are stronger than others, and gave them examples of other strong vs.
weak words, such as awesome & good, brilliant & smart, and humongous & big.
During the guided practice, we looked at another article from the New York Times
website; this one compared Senator Obama to a Mac and Senator Clinton to a PC. We
read it as a class and then looked at the same aspects of the text—the topic sentence, then
a few strong words that were used as support. Students volunteered their answers during
this time. They underlined the strong words and the topic sentence on their copies of the
article.
The rest of the class period was spent on partner practice. Students received a
copy of a double-entry journal sheet. They were able to choose from several different
editorials. Then they worked with partners, finding the topic sentence and identifying
strong words. They were expected to explain the reason for choosing the strong word.
One disadvantage to this sheet is that it was not used in other parts of the lesson, so
students were not completely sure how to fill it out. They required a lot of guidance as
they worked. The benefit of this sheet was that it forced them to read closely and to think
about the words that the author was using. I found that students were not really aware of
what “tone” meant. I could have taught an entire lesson just on that one topic. It seemed
that the students did not have as much background information as I hoped. However, I
tried my best to explain the ideas of topic sentences and tone, and this lesson gave them
some practice.
Lesson Materials Follow
February 20, 2008
Topic: Reading Closely for the Author’s Tone
PA Standards:
R11.A.2.6.1 Identify and/or describe intended purpose of text.
Students will identify the main purpose of the text.
R11.B.3.3.3 Analyze and evaluate the author’s thesis and logic of the author’s argument.
Students will have to closely look at the text for the points that the author makes to
support the argument.
Objectives:
All students will be able to identify the topic sentence which contains an author’s
main argument.
All students will be able to choose words and phrases that the author uses to
further the argument.
All students will be able to identify the tone of these words and phrases.
Materials: double-entry journal handouts, examples of editorials
Motivation: What is the difference between being persuasive and being informative?
Answer this question in notebook. Anyone who volunteers an answer will receive one
extra credit participation point.
Procedure:
1. Motivation: 5 minutes
2. Modeling an analysis: 5 minutes
Pass out the example editorial. Read it aloud once, then read it again stopping to
analyze language. Look for the topic sentence, then strong words that are used to support
it. Analyze the tone of these words and how this tone fits in with the argument.
3. Guided practice: 7 minutes
Turn to the next example of writing. Have student volunteers read through the piece,
and then as a class search for the topic sentence. Next ask for example of strong words
and phrases, and have students underline them. Ask about the tone of these words and
whether it fits with the rest of the argument.
4. Partner Practice: 20 minutes
Partners will choose an editorial from those that are provided, and then they will
complete the handout, choosing effective words and writing down how they work with
the argument of the piece.
5. Closure: 5 minutes
With a good 5 minutes left in the period, bring students back to a full class setting and
ask how this process is helping or possibly hindering them. Is it helping them focus on
the details?
Homework: Finish the sheets if they haven’t been completed in class.
Name: ________________________________________ Date: ____________________
Analyzing the Author’s Argument
Name of my article: ____________________________________________________
The topic sentence is ___________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
I know this because _____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Directions: Complete the double-entry journal below. On the left side, write strong
words or phrases that you find in the writing. On the right, write down how you think the
words work with the argument. Does it support the argument that the author is trying to
make? Write down at least 5 different words/phrases.
Word or Phrase Comments
(Why the author used it, how it works
with the argument)
Assessment
The assessment that followed the second lesson was a quiz that took place the
next day. It consisted of a short editorial that was found in the local newspaper about a
local event. I knew that the students would connect well to it because it took place in a
nearby town and because it concerned normal everyday people. After the students read
the article, they underlined the topic sentence and wrote down five examples of strong
words. There was also a question that was similar to previous assessments, “What is the
author’s purpose for writing this article?” I added “Give two examples of how the author
gives support for his/her argument. (possible ideas: word choice, use of persuasive
techniques)” to encourage as much description as possible.
In general, the students were successful with the topic sentence and selecting the
strong words. However, they did not, as a whole, connect the strong words to the
author’s purpose. They were less vague, and they showed evidence of close reading, but
the answers were not too thorough. The assessment could have been improved by
blending the two questions and instructing students to use the strong words in their
answers.
John did not answer the question completely. He did give a very concise and
accurate sentence that summarized the author’s purpose—“to show that 911 operators do
not respond as quick as they should.” He added one example of the supporting detail
about “her desperate call.” However, he did not identify other details or use specific
words as examples of supporting details. Clearly, John knew the main idea of the
passage, but he did not support his example; his answer does not show evidence of close
reading. His answer is an improvement from the first lesson’s assessment because he
provided one detail from the text to support his concise evaluation of the purpose.
John’s response:
Jane’s answer is longer and wordier than John’s, and she demonstrates a similar
understanding of the main purpose. She uses a strong verb, “persuade.” She says that the
article shows that the cops may not respond to a 911 call in time, and “you might die
before they come to your help.” However, she does not provide any examples that
support her ideas. She does not use any specific details from the article, and she does not
even reference the major event that takes place in the article. Jane’s answer was not
really an improvement from her earlier answers. It is just as vague as the other ones, and
although she did choose strong words in the article to write about in the other questions
of the quiz, she does not use this close reading strategy in her answer. Jane has not had
enough practice answering short answer questions and providing examples from the text.
Jane’s response:
Example assessment follows
Name: ____________________________ Date: ___________________________
Quiz Directions: Read the article below. Underline the topic sentence. Underline 5
strong words that the author uses to support the argument. Answer the questions that
follows the article.
Galling grievance
Bucks County Courier Times
They should be fired. That was the near-unanimous response from the citizens we talked
to about the 911 dispatchers who were on duty when Brenda Orr's call for help last month
went unattended for almost a minute. Some police and fire officials believe the delay in
answering the 911 distress call may have prevented them from reaching Orr, who was
bedridden, in time to save her life.
But not only will the 11 dispatchers and four supervisors keep their jobs despite their
failure to answer Orr's desperate call in a timely way, they have filed a union grievance in
response to the slap on the wrist they did receive — mere disciplinary letters.
They ought to be grateful that they're still employed. Instead, their thoughtless protest
stands as an insult to Orr's grieving family and a galling example of how government
workers are insulated from the real world. Indeed, thanks at least in part to something
known as “sovereign immunity,” they are probably safe from any legal action as well.
Sovereign immunity, which has been handed down from English common law, can be
loosely translated as “the king can do no wrong.” What that means, according to Bucks
County attorney John Benson, is that “so long as those 911 operators were acting in the
capacity of their duties as county employees, they can't be sued for any mistake made
while doing their job.”
Benson said sovereign immunity is a good thing, since it “allows employees of state and
local governments to do their jobs without fear of being sued.” In that respect, it is a good
thing. However, we think there can be some legitimate question raised as to whether the
county 911 operators and supervisors who allowed Brenda Orr's call to go unanswered
for six rings and then put her on hold were really acting in their capacity as trained 911
dispatchers.
A trained dispatcher, after all — one who clearly understands the importance of his or her
job and the possible life-and-death nature of every call — would not let a phone ring half
a dozen times. A supervisor, charged with the responsibility of seeing that every call is
handled professionally, would not let a phone ring half a dozen times. As for the word
“hold,” it should not ever be uttered in a 911 dispatch office.
Write down your 5 examples of strong words and/or phrases that the author uses. For
each example, write down why you chose it—does its tone have an effect on the reader?
Does it help support the author’s argument?
1) __________________________
Why: _________________________________________________________________
2) __________________________
Why: _________________________________________________________________
3) __________________________
Why: _________________________________________________________________
4) __________________________
Why: _________________________________________________________________
5) __________________________
Why: _________________________________________________________________
What is the author’s purpose for writing this article? Give two examples of how the
author gives support for his/her argument. (possible ideas: word choice, use of persuasive
techniques)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Analysis & Conclusion
My students improved their answers on the assessment questions, but they were
still not up to my desired level of performance at the end. They showed evidence of
closer reading than before, but they did not use the language of readers. They cited broad
examples of plot and content, but did not use the specific language of the text in their
answers. My two focus students were similar in their levels of progress during the
lessons.
John and Jane have gone through school with not too much expected of them.
They do what they need to do to get by, although Jane is a little more motivated in
school. John, however, does much more reading outside of school than Jane, so he is
more comfortable with reading in the classroom. He probably could have passed the
state assessment if circumstances had been different. Jane is so quiet that she could
easily slip through the cracks. However, during my experience in their classroom, I have
asked them, as well as the rest of the class, to do more higher-level work than has been
previously expected of them. John and Jane have both adjusted well and have kept up
with the workload, but some of their classmates have not been as successful.
John’s answers on the assessments became more developed compared with his
original baseline piece. He realized that he needed to include more information in order
to accomplish the task that was set for him. His answers became slightly longer, but they
were also more detailed. His grasp of the main idea remained the same, because he
always had an idea of the author’s purpose. Although he was not as specific in his final
answer as I wished my students to be, he was accurate and his answer was appropriate.
He was able to write a topic sentence and some evidence to support this topic sentence.
He is similar to many of my other students who wrote as little as possible for the baseline
but then extended their answers for the later assessments.
Jane’s answers remained more static than John’s. She wrote around the same
amount for each assessment, and she gave general examples as support for her answers.
Her final assessment answer did not really answer the question, as she did not provide
two examples. Jane, like John and the other students, was able to locate five strong
words in the text, but she did not use that information in the answer. Jane is able to talk
about the writer’s purpose accurately, but she does not pinpoint the reasons behind it or
use specific words from the text to support her answers.
In terms of the lessons that I taught, my greatest regret is that I did not spend more
time on the concept of the author’s purpose. I should have introduced the topic, given
some background on why finding the author’s purpose is important and relevant, and
allowed the students to practice it more throughout the weeks of the project. They would
have benefited from more direct practice, even if it was through independent homework
assignments between the actual lessons. Finding the author’s purpose could have been an
entire unit rather than just three lessons. The students would have improved significantly
through an extended study of the subject. In general, I should have given them more
direct instruction about the exact type of written answers I was looking for rather than
trying to guide their reading and expect them to improve their answers.
The students in this workshop class need more specific and carefully constructed
instruction and practice than I imagined before I started teaching them. The lessons
taught them how to read texts, but they did not reflect the assessment questions enough
for the students to make a connection. For example, the students learned how to choose
strong words from the text, but they did not make the connection to the author’s purpose
on their own. There should have been a lesson devoted to understanding how the strong
words affect and are used in the author’s purpose. Another lesson should have focused
on the types of answers that were needed to answer the assessment questions. This lesson
would have taught students how to summarize the author’s purpose and how to add
details from the text to support their claims about what the purpose was. During this
lesson, I would have modeled an answer to the question that I used for my assessments,
as well as a rubric that clearly explained my expectations for the answers. This type of
lesson and instruction would have improved the answers that students gave for the
assessment questions.
My lessons did have their faults, but they also had advantages that did help the
students. The students were guided through their reading in different ways, and the
lessons forced them to read more closely than they usually did. The class did improve
their writing, and the lessons helped them as they read a genre with which they were
unfamiliar. The focus students provide a good example of the rest of the students’ work.
They did not become experts in writing about the editorials, but their responses as a
whole did improve. I have not answered my original question completely—there is
always room for improvement. Additionally, I believe there were a number of factors
that affected their level of achievement, including the types of lessons, the timeline of the
lessons, and the students’ backgrounds. However, I have learned a lot about my teaching
methods and about how to help my students find an author’s purpose in a piece of
writing.