Rachel Schwager

Online Literacy Assignment

Written Component
LITR 630
ILA Standards
The International Reading Association Standard 1 focuses on foundational knowledge. Standard
1.2 specifically addresses the importance that teachers/educators understand the knowledge of the
profession and the changes that have taken place over time, including reading and writing development,
processes, and components (http://readoregon.org/standards/). My lesson and activity indicate that I
have a solid understanding of the content or knowledge required to effectively teach students how to
read and write. Technology is used throughout the lesson, addressing the fact that reading is no longer
restricted to paperback books, newspapers, and magazines but that many people read for information
and pleasure through the use of technology and the Internet. The students of this generation have grown
up experiencing technology via computers, Iphones, and tablets. My lesson teaches students how to
effectively search on the Internet, a literacy skill that is now required to be literate in todays society.
Standard 2.2 of the International Reading Association is centered around curriculum and
instruction. It states the need for teachers to use different approaches to learning in a variety of areas.
My lesson requires students to use skills of word recognition in relation to what keywords are important
for the purpose of their specific Internet search. After using effective keywords to produce quality
search engine results, it is important for students to decipher between various websites, therefore
requiring them to use word recognition skills. Students must use language comprehension skills to
effectively communicate their ideas and thoughts with their classmates during the activity. Students
must apply their strategic knowledge when working collaboratively with their group on the activity in
order to be successful. Lastly, the reading and writing connection is addressed throughout the activity as
students use the class Weebly to read the instructions and complete the interactive activity as a group.

Standard 2.3 addresses the importance of using different types of texts. The lesson uses a variety
of genres or texts, including narratives, expository, and poetry. During the I portion of the lesson the
students listen to a Think Aloud while I search for poetry written during the Holocaust with
descriptive language that depicts emotions, whereas the We part of the lesson focuses on searching for
narratives that are culturally relevant to the class population with clear character traits evidenced
throughout the book. Finally, the You part of the lesson or activity requires students to use the search
strategies learned to find expository text about food and animals.
Standard 4 of the International Reading Association addresses diversity. Sub-standard 4.2 of the
IRA specifically states that teachers enhance students knowledge of diversity by using various
instructional practices and curriculum. The lesson centers around how to use effective search strategies
while searching for poetry written during the Holocaust and narratives with characters from diverse
backgrounds.
Standard 5 focuses on the literate environment. Standard 5.1specfically states that candidates
create a classroom that promotes the use of a variety of text, including traditional print, digital, and
online resources. The students will be actively engaged in using digital print and online resources
throughout the lesson and activity. The classroom library will include traditional print with a variety of
genres. Students have the opportunity to visit the classroom library on a daily basis. In addition
students will be able to use traditional expository print to refer to as a reference when writing their
informational piece on the internal and external structures of animals (ELA and science standard).
ISTE Standards
During the activity portion of the lesson the students will be implementing Standard 1 of the
ISTE by using what they already know about computers and logging onto the Internet to access the
Weebly to generate the new process of using effective search strategies when researching a topic.

Standard 2 of the ISTE addresses the communication and collaboration aspect of technology.
The students are collaboratively working on the assignment using the class Weebly website. The
students must communicate effectively in order to determine the best phrases and keywords to search the
Internet. At the end of the activity the students will comprise all of the notes taken/their analysis into
one Word document which will then be uploaded to the class Weebly for assessment purposes,
effectively using a media format for communicating their understanding.
The students will be using Standard 3 of the ISTE when using the Internet to research/locate
information about their specific topics. In addition, the students must analyze and evaluate the
appropriateness of their phrases and keywords to locate information and make changes if necessary,
following the guidelines taught during the lesson (I and We portion of the lesson).
Standard 4 of the ISTE addresses the critical thinking and problem solving component used
when students are engaged with technology. My students will be using critical thinking skills when
collaboratively working together to assess the phrases and keywords given on the topic of food. They
must determine why the phrase or word was not effective (i.e. was it not concise or direct, etc.) if in fact
they determine it to be ineffective. They will be assessing and using problem solving skills when
determining whether the statement was specific, exact, direct, distinct, succinct, or concise. They will
work together to create one effective phrase or statement that follows the guidelines for effective search
strategies therefore providing a solution.
Kentucky Teacher Standard 6
This activity meets Kentucky Teacher Standard 6 (Demonstrates Implementation of Technology)
by the use of the Smart Board, computers, and the Internet for the majority of the lesson and the activity.
The lesson consists of using the Smart Board at the beginning of the lesson to introduce students to
effective strategies for searching topics online. The Smart Board will be used interactively by both

teacher and students during the lesson (I and We portions of the lesson). Students will be actively
engaged on the computer using the class Weebly to guide them through practicing effective search
strategies before using the strategies to search for information regarding their own topic. The students
will use what they have learned to search for information on how an animals internal and external
structures help them to survive in their environment.
Connection to Literature on Technology
The newly adopted Common Core State Standards engage students in critical thinking and
problem solving skills. However, the Common Core Standards dont address the growing need to be
technology literate in todays society. Sally Valentino Drew emphasize this problem in her feature
article titled Open Up the Ceiling on the Common Core State Standards: Preparing Students for 21stCentury LiteracyNow. Drew states that the standards fail to do enough to acknowledge the changing
nature of literacy and the Internet as a central text (2012/2013, p. 321).
The activity in which the students will be engaged requires the students to effectively access and
navigate the class website and the Internet to research information on how an animal uses its internal
and external structures to protect itself. This will require many essential skills that are not required
when reading traditional print text. Leu, McVerry, OByrne, Kiili, Zawilinski, Everett-Cacopardo,
Kennedy, and Forzani explain that being able to use a combination of technology, such as search
engines, texting, wikis, Google docs, Skype, and blogs, for example, equate to being literate (2011).
The lesson will focus on the students using a search engine as well as effective search strategies
to locate the information they need to complete the writing assignment addressed in the ELA Common
Core Standards. In an article published by the International Reading Association, Laurie Henry (2006)
describes two students who are working on a project about World War II with a focus on the US Navys
battles in the Pacific Ocean. She further informs readers that the students use the word war in the

Google text box which produced 94 million results. The students refine their search to World War II
after determining the first page of results did not include anything about World War II. This example
illustrates the need to teach students how to conduct an effective Internet search when researching a
topic. Henry (2006) identifies 6 skills or strategies that are important when searching the Internet. Be
specific, be exact, be direct, be distinct, be succinct, and be concise are essential phrases to remember
when thinking about the statement or keyword to use in the search engine text box. The lesson centers
around the students ability to use these 6 phrases effectively when conducting their research.
TPACK
The lesson and activity incorporates all components of the TPACK model. The students will be
engaged with technology through the use of the Smart Board, computers, the Internet, and the class
website. The Technological Knowledge (TK) of how to employ effective search strategies will be
explained and taught during the I portion of the lesson and reinforced during the We portion of the
lesson using ELA content from the Common Core State Standards, therefore connecting the TK and
Content Knowledge (CK) components of the model. The Pedagogical Knowledge (PK) component of
TPACK is connected to the already established TCK (Technological Content Knowledge) by the
implementation of scaffolded instruction during which the students engage in collaborative work.
Link to Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts
The lesson integrates the use of technology and the ELA standard W.4.2: Write
informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. In addition,
the lesson also connects the science standard LS1.A: Structure and Function: Plants and animals have
both internal and external structures that serve various functions in growth, survival, behavior, and
reproduction. The students will use the class Weebly to practice using search strategies before searching
for information on their animals internal and external structures that aid in their survival. At the end of

the unit the students will have used the Internet to search for information, evaluate and analyze searchengine results, and synthesize the information as well as communicate what they have learned through a
final writing piece.