Print this out and use it as a checklist.

NOTE: ALL FORMS OF CHEATING WILL RESULT IN LOWERING OF THE COURSE GRADE (INCLUDING A POSSIBLEGRADE OF F FOR THE COURSE) AND A REPORT TO THE OFFICE OF STUDENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES. VISIT THEIR WEBSITE AND STUDY ALL OF ITS PAGES CAREFULLY. SERIOUS CHEATING CAN RESULT IN EXPULSION FROM CAL POLY. READ ALSO MY PLAGIARISM WARNING.

Click here for formatting instructions.

Spelling/Reading

Examine a 1st or 2nd-grade spelling program by either Open Court or Houghton Mifflin. PERMITTED PUBLISHERS ARE Houghton-Mifflin; Macmillan/McGraw-Hill; Harcourt; SRA McGraw-Hill; or Pearson.

• IDENTIFY the publisher, GRADE LEVEL, and title of the package ON THE COVER PAGE OR AT THE TOP OF THE FIRST PAGE in the title of your paper.
• Examine the Teacher's Annotated Edition (TAE) and the associated Practice Book(s).
• Describe how a typical lesson (just a lesson, not a whole unit) in the TAE plays out (that is, all the activities surrounding a reading selection): What pre-reading work is there? What skills are focused on during the reading? (Much of this material is found in the margin areas surrounding the reading selection.) What are the post-reading exercises and activities?
• Evaluate the literacy package with regard to how well it conforms to recommendations for early-literacy training that were made in class, with regard to the two questions below. Remember that there will be different coverage in first vs. second grade; the second-grade materials assume that the first-grade material has been covered. You must report how the package deals with (or doesn't deal with) the points below. Divide your paper into sections with titles as given in 1, 2 below. For each of these topics, you must
  
• Say whether a linguist would approve of the way spelling/reading instruction is handled by the package. That is, compare the instructional approach of the package with what is recommended in class as a sound linguistic approach to language arts instruction. Be very direct about this: use language along the lines of "this part of the package conforms well - poorly - does not conform to linguists' recommendations" or similar language (use your own words; vary the expression).
• Explain why the package's approach would be judged positively or negatively by a linguist, using reasoning given in class and in the readings. Again, be direct: "A linguist would approve of this approach because ... " In this section, give details about the benefit of linguists' recommended teaching practices to children learning early literacy, and harm that might result if the linguists' recommendations are not followed.
• You must cite our readings (articles and textbooks assigned for the class) whenever they support a point you are making in your evaluation, and therefore have a bibiliography at the end of the paper. Use a recognized format: MLA or APA. If you don't know what this means, FIND OUT: Consult a college writing manual or the Writing Lab (10-130).
• If your paper does not evaluate the package in this way, it will not receive a grade above D.

HERE are the topics to evaluate:

1. Phonemic awareness. (Check for the phrase 'phoneme/phonemic awareness or phonological awareness' in the index or scope-and-sequence chart of the Teacher's edition; sometimes the phrase 'auditory discrimination' is used instead.) If you find phonemic awareness work, describe the kinds of lessons used. Include a photocopy of two such lessons (two only); please make them different kinds (for instance, a clapping exercise to divide words into syllables vs. a rhyming exercise). Refer to your samples in your paper; use them to illustrate how the package addresses various aspects of phonemic-awareness training. Many lessons in first and second grade combine phonemic awareness work with work on letters. Be sure to note in your description which part is which. Ask me for help if you're not sure. Click here for a review of phonemic awareness.

 
2. The phonics approach to spelling instruction. (Clues to this are phrases such as 'short vowel sounds', 'consonant blends', 'digraphs', 'phonograms' etc.; once again, use the index and the scope-and-sequence chart to find such material). Briefly describe the kinds of phonics lessons in the package, and include a photocopy of two sample exercises. Click here for a review of phonics.

Attach the sample lessons in the text of the paper after the relevant section; number them by hand. THESE DO NOT CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR PAGE COUNT; subtract them when figuring your page count.

Here are some questions to answer to help you evaluate the package:

• Which particular literacy/spelling skills does each practice support? Click here for a review of literacy/spelling skills.
• How does the recommended practice reflect what linguists have discovered about how children understand the phonological structure of words, their developmental progress in recognizing parts of a word, and their developmental stages of using the alphabet? How will the practices in the materials benefit students?
• How does the recommended practice foster independent and confident learning, rather than overreliance on sources outside the student's own mind, such as dictionaries?
• If your package does not use or conform to the recommended practices, what kinds of harm could result? How might student learning be hindered?

• Follow the formatting instructions: Don't risk losing points for simple things like incorrect margins or lack of page numbers.