Running head: FINAL PROJECT

C&T 740 Final Project

John B. Coffey

University of Kansas
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Final Project

Book Choice

Rita-Williams multi-award winning book One Crazy Summer (2010) was

selected for this project. The novel (published by Amistad) has drawn much praise and
recognition from critics, librarians, teachers, and students alike.
The subject for this project is a sixth grade girl reading at a fourth grade level.
She is an African American student, living in an urban environment. Her parents never
married, and her father lives in another city. She struggles with fluency, vocabulary
acquisition, and comprehension.
Swartz-Rettig and Hendricks (2000) note in their article that students are
motivated to read texts when they are able to pick the books they want to read (p. 608).
This sixth grade girl would be drawn to this book because it relates to family (something
girls enjoy reading about) and it has cover art, depicting three African American girls.
The authors cite in their article that subject matter and cover art are two of the most
important factors for students selecting books (Swartz-Rettig & Hendricks, 2010, p. 609).
My subject would also be interested in the characters and the language, which are both
influenced by the urban settings.
I would encourage this student to consider One Crazy Summer, after I took her
through the steps of finding a book listed in the article. I would create a simple graphic of
these steps, so she could use it to find any books of interest; however I think she would
enjoy this novel because it could be written about her own life. Delphine, the main
character, is an urban, African American girl, struggling to find her own identity through
the brokenness of her family.
Some may say that this book would be too challenging for my student because of
the vocabulary and subject matter, but Swartz-Rettig and Hendricks (2000) are very clear
that it is vital that teachers, whether special education or regular education [should] try
not to dumb down reading lists for students with special needs (p. 616).
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Theoretical Framework
The framework form Module 1 that would be used with this student would be
based in the theories of Constructivism. This sixth-grader will build her reading skills
through experiences and previous knowledge. As she reads each chapter of One Crazy
Summer, she will gain the experiences she needs to become a proficient reader. For
example, if she is taught certain prefixes for vocabulary, she will be able to use those
vocabulary skills each time she encounters new words. If she is asked to re-read certain
passages, she will gain confidence and fluency through practice.
Similarly, she will benefit from the principles of Engagement Theory, where she
will become more motivated to read because she is being given the choice to pick her
own novels. As she is given more choices, her fluency and comprehension will improve.
Readability
The Lexile level for this book is 750 (Lexile). The readability score is 91, making
it an acceptable choice for a struggling reader in the upper elementary grades
(Readability-Score.com).
This book may prove challenging because of some of the vocabulary and
generational slang, but this could be true of many novels. The content is mature because
it deals with prejudice, hatred, broken families, and violence, but Rita-Williams does a
favorable job writing for her audience; in other words, most students should be able to
handle it with some background knowledge. In the case of our subject, she should be able
to handle the mature topics, but she will need assistance with some of the vocabulary and
slang/dialect/jargon.
Vocabulary
One Crazy Summer has a wonderful assortment of rich vocabulary; however,
some of the words may prove difficult for the subject: perfectionist, revival, recite,
recreation, gawk, terminal, spectacle, and pout included. It is important that she is given
the tools she needs to understand/decipher the words.
Berne and Blachowicz provide many solutions in their article summarizing
teacher recommendations for vocabulary instruction. In the article they provide a list of
the most successful strategies. According to the authors, students excel most when they
learn word parts, such as prefixes, roots, and suffixes (Berne & Blachowicz, 2008, p.
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316). The subject would benefit greatly from learning these words parts and how to
reconstruct them to form new words. For example, if she learns that that the prefix re
means do something again, she is going to have a much better chance of
comprehending words such as revival, recite, and recreation.
In the article, the authors provide an example of a fourth grade classroom, where
students go on a scavenger hunt for prefixes and suffixes. This is an excellent strategy
that could be used with the subject. First, she will be taught the meanings of the different
word parts. Next, the scavenger hunt will be included (games are on the list of effective
strategies). Finally, the word parts will be added to a word wall for future use.
Even though it is not a popular strategy on the list, I would teach the subject how
to figure out the vocabulary words using context clues. Cloze readings could be an
effective tool of teaching this strategy.
Fluency
There are many worthwhile articles and opinions about fluency, but Samuels
article on repeated readings seems easily understandable, efficient, and effective over
time. My subject needs to improve her fluency skills, so I would have the subject reread
certain passages several times to gain fluency. According to Samuels (1997), the
procedure is fairly simple because it consists of rereading a short, meaningful passage
several times until a satisfactory level of fluency is reached. Then the procedure is
repeated with a new passage (p.404). If I have the subject read passages with different
characters in different settings, she will learn the importance of speed and intonation. For
example, a pugnacious Big Ma in New York is going to sound a lot different than
motherly Cecile in Oakland, so it should be a helpful and fun activity. As the re-readings
are used more and more frequently, the subject should gain speed in each subsequent
passage (Samuels, 1997, p. 404).
Comprehension
Young readers can often learn comprehension skills from both their older peers
and their classroom teachers; therefore, shared reading will be included in the plan to
help the subject becoming a better reader. Fisher, Frey, and Lapp (2008) argue that
modeling by proficient readers is a very important aspect of the reading process, which
includes comprehension, vocabulary, text structures, and text features (p. 551). I will
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include all of these parts into the curriculum, but I will need to use some outside
resources to make the shared reading experience more effective.
One Crazy Summer has many excellent characteristics, but it does not offer a lot
of variety with text features or text structures. Thus, it will be beneficial to include a
variety of related materials: photos, poems, charts, and documents on the Civil Rights
Movement. It will also be important to use a variety of methods for shared reading, so the
subject stays engaged. Similarly, Fisher, Frey, and Lapp (2008) note that shared reading
should be done everyday with individual time for practice afterwards (p. 55). Thus, each
lesson should begin with a shared reading of the novel, followed by individual practice
by the subject.
Writing
Writing allows a reader to demonstrate his or her understanding of the text. As the
subject reads One Crazy Summer, it will be essential that she writes-down facts and
opinions from/about the story. Frey, Fisher, and Hernandex (2003) explain that students
can summarize their thoughts about a text using a method called The Gist. This
procedure includes several steps that students can use to accurately summarize their
readings.
The sixth grader will be reading the novel each day, so she should have plenty of
opportunities to master this method. The first four steps of GIST include providing
students with the necessary text and background information. Once the text has been
read, the teacher asks students to write down one sentence for each passage read, until a
summary paragraph is obtained (Frey, Fisher, & Hernandex, 2003, p. 45). Once my
subject has completed a summary paragraph of each passage, we can discuss additional
facts and opinions about the reading. I would ask her to write a summary paragraph after
each chapter.
I would summarize One Crazy Summer as follows: First, three sisters (Delphine,
Vonetta, and Fern) fly from New York to Oakland to visit their negligent yet mysterious
mother. They arrive to find a mother who has little interest in them and wants them to
stay out of her way. The three girls must fend for themselves by eating Chinese food and
spending time at the Black Panthers community center.
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It is there that the girls begin to recognize that the Panthers have a social agenda
to help the community. Cecile (the mother) is heavily involved in the Panthers
movement, but her dealings remain a mystery to the girls. Delphine plans a trip for her
sisters to San Francisco, but they soon find that they are racial outcasts there, so they
happily return to Oakland. Unfortunately, their mother has been arrested for her work as a
publisher of poetry for the Panthers. The girls finally realize that their mother is a folk-
hero in the community, and they attend a rally for a murdered African American teenager.
Fern reads a poem on behalf of her imprisoned mother.
It is then that the girls and their mother finally bond; however, Delphine tells her
mother how hard it has been not having a mother-figure in her life. The girls then fly
back to New York with the hope of returning the next summer.
Assessments
As my student completes each chapter of the book, it will be important to assess
her progress and understanding. Many of the assessments will be formative; I will use
progress monitoring to ensure that she is mastering certain skills. As mentioned earlier,
she will be assessed on her repeated readings, to ensure that her skills are improving.
Daily feedback will be provided with each reading, in the form of verbal and written
exercises; however, I also want to help motivate my sixth grader to read at home. Choice
is important in the reading process, so it will be important to include both choice and
variety with the assessments. A book report and presentation about the text might be part
of the final assessment, but it will not be the only thing. Many different assessments
should be used throughout the reading process to measure different skills and ensure
accuracy.

Related Readings

One Crazy Summer allows readers to explore many different topics related to the
book itself, including civil rights, family structures, different cultures, growing-up, and
much more. There are many different mediums that could be used to explore these topics.
I would try and include some poetry into the curriculum. For example, Langston Hughes
would be a good choice. His poems could be compared and contrasted with the text or
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with Ceciles poetry. Similarly, music and videos from the time could be used as well.
There are many videos and interview about the Watts Riots that could be utilized because
the story occurs essentially in the same location and era.

Summary

One Crazy Summer would be an excellent choice for a struggling reader headed
towards middle school. It has themes that many students can relate to, while remaining
entertaining for pre-teens. It provides its readers challenging but interesting vocabulary,
and it has a variety of dialogues for building fluency. Overall, I would recommend this
text.

References

Berne, J. I., & Blachowicz, C. L. Z. (2008). What reading teachers say about vocabulary
instruction: Voices from the classroom. The Reading Teacher, 62(4), 314-323.

Fisher, D., Frey, N., & Lapp, D. (2008). Shared readings: Modeling comprehension,
vocabulary, text structures, and text features for older readers. The Reading
Teacher, 61(7), 548-556.

Frey, N., Fisher, D., & Hernandex, T. (2003). Whats the gist? Summary writing for
struggling adolescent writers. Voices from the Middle, 11(2), 43-49.
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Lexile. 2015. Retrieved from https://lexile.com/

Readability.com. 2015. Retrieved from https://readability-score.com/

Samuels, J. (1997). The method of repeated readings. The Reading Teacher, 50(5), 376-
381.
Swartz-Rettig, M. K. & Hendricks, C. G. (2000). Factors that influence the book
selection process of students with special needs. Journal of Adolescent and Adult
Literacy, 43(7), 608-618.
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