NAME: Madison Goshdigian

EDU 417: Applications of Literacy and Language Arts

The objective for this assessment is to measure your evidence-based knowledge, skills, and strategies related to teaching English
Language Arts in the elementary classroom. You may use your course materials and the Internet but you may not use a search
engine to ask the questions and please do not use any form of AI for this assessment. You need to complete at least 13 of the items
(you must complete #10) and ARE encouraged to present complete ideas and may use bullets.
1. Identify a grade level
between 3rd-6th grade and Have you ever been stuck in an airport with four strangers on a quest for a missing cat?
one book that you read for
your Literature Library that No?
you would recommend to a
student. Pitch the book in a Grounded by Aisha Saeed, Huda Al-Marashi, Jamilah Thompkins Bigelow, and S.K. Ali
few sentences to encourage follows the story of five characters who meet unexpectedly and work together to uncover the
a student to read it. Avoid mysterious disappearance of a cat named Snickerdoodle.
providing a summary of the
book.
2. Students in your 4th grade
classroom are organized 1. How are the characters’ identities shaped over the course of the book?
into reading groups each 2. What experiences do the characters survive through in the story?
reading a different book but 3. How do the characters react to these experiences?
all the books have themes 4. How would you categorize these characters into survival types based on the events that
of survival and identify. happen in the story?
Generate at least 5 5. What is the role of the characters’ identity in their reaction to survival? How does their
questions that all students personality and characteristics shine through in these events throughout the book?
may be able to answer that
are not book specific and
would likely generate
discussion to help the
students define different
types of survival and how
identify impacts survival.
3. A CCSS 5th grade writing
standard is CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.W.5.2 Write
informative/explanatory
 texts to examine a topic
and convey ideas and
information clearly and
one of the sub-standards is
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.2.A
Introduce a topic clearly,
provide a general
observation and focus, and
group related information
logically; include
formatting (e.g.,
headings), illustrations,
and multimedia when
useful to aiding
comprehension.

Describe how you would

identify, plan and teach
students to address this
skill. You may connect this
to one of the
nonfiction/information
books you read for your
Literature Library.

4. At least 3 students in 3rd

grade are struggling to
summarize texts that they
have read as part of ELA
instruction. Provide an
explicit list of steps that
you might use to teach
them how to summarize
 written material.
6. For this Craft and Structure
CCSS ELA Standard, write
3 objectives that would
support the standard.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.5
Explain major differences
between poems, drama, and
prose, and refer to the structural
elements of poems (e.g., verse,
rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g.,
casts of characters, settings,
descriptions, dialogue, stage
directions) when writing or
speaking about a text.
7. Pick a grade level (3rd, 4th,
5th, or 6th) and recommend a When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed is an excellent read aloud
read aloud that is a
window, mirror, and/or
sliding glass door (Sims-
Bishop, 1990). Justify your
response and estimate
about how many days the
read aloud will last until the
book is finished.
9. In 5th grade the focus is on
1. Students will identify major differences between poems, drama, and prose by
comparing and contrasting their structural elements using a venn diagram format.
2. Students will apply their knowledge on the major differences between poems, drama,
and prose by matching different passages to their respective category and justifying
their response using key details drawn from their structural elements.
3. Students will compose a written poem that outlines the structural elements of a poem
format (e.g. verse, rhythm, meter).
option for 5th grade because
- It serves as a window for students into the diverse perspective of a young refugee,
Omar, who’s growing up in a refugee camp in Kenya with the goal of seeking an
education and resettling to America
- A mirror for students who either are refugees themselves or have a family history of
ancestors who were refugees that resettled in America
- A sliding glass door into the opportunity for students to learn about first hand
experiences of refugees and refugee camps that are very prevalent in the world around
us
I would estimate that the book would take about 14 days to read aloud since there are 17
chapters and there would need to be additional time within the lessons to build schema and
cover essential vocabulary to promote strong comprehension of the content.
 US History and you want
to use ELA instruction to
support students’ learning
about history. How might
you use a multidisciplinary
approach to integrate ELA
and social studies? Think
about content, skills, and
strategies.
11. You are teaching in a 6th
grade classroom and you
believe that some students
lack the fluency they need
to be able to focus on
comprehension of fictional
texts. What might you do
to determine what the
students need in order to be
able to be fluent?
13. Design an assessment to
measure students’ ability to
write a short (3-5
paragraph) response to
identifying theme(s) in a
- Content: incorporating a historical fiction book into ELA instruction would be
beneficial in creating a bridge between ELA and supporting students’ learning about
history
- Skills: you can embed skills such as analyzing maps, interpreting timelines,
researching characters, and connecting events from the past to the present to build
historical knowledge of the subject while also building schema and aiding in
comprehension of the text
- Strategies: strategies such as constructing timelines of the story events, researching the
time period or using maps to display the setting that the text takes place in, researching
and using characterization of the major figures presented in the text, using prediction
strategies to connect the past to the present
- I would provide emphasis on text structure and features of fictional stories to help
students build comprehension
o I would determine if students are able to understand plot structure to see if that
is what’s preventing them from comprehending the text entirely
 I can provide students with a graphic organizer that demonstrates the
plot structure (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action,
resolution), define the terms used to describe plot elements, and allow
students to use the graphic organizer to improve fluency with text
structure which can improve their comprehension of fictional texts over
time as they become more familiar with it
o I would also provide students with a venn diagram that outlines the distinct
differences between fiction and non-fiction texts and the key details between
the two genres. This can help students decipher between the two genres and
know which genre and text features to pay attention to while they are reading
 text that they read and
discussed. You may choose
a specific text and/or a
more general text.
15. Rewrite the following
objectives so that they are A. Students will read chapter 1 of the book We Dream of Space
relevant and measurable within their small literacy group.
and likely to guide B. Students will compose a list of detailed directions for their chosen
instruction. recipe.
a. Students will complete C. Students will apply their knowledge of polar bears to demonstrate
the reading. their understanding of why this species lives in the tundra.
b. Students will write D. Students will build on the key details identified in Grace Lin’s
directions. TedTalk “The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf”
c. Students will show to justify why the story When Stars Are Scattered serves as both a
their understanding. window and mirror for young readers to include in their
d. Students will watch a bookshelves.
TED Talk on E. Students will collaborate with partners to discuss and record ideas
storytelling and then into their graphic organizer on story elements.
read a story. F. Students will plan and formulate a detailed outline to support the
e. Students will work in composition of their research paper.
pairs to complete the G. Students will generate topics in preparation for their research
graphic organizer. project.
f. Students will complete H. Students will assess and modify their partners essay to appeal to
the outline. an audience of elementary students.
g. Students will
brainstorm ideas for
writing topics.
h. Students will revise a
piece of writing for an
audience.
17. A parent writes you stating
that their child should not I believe that graphic novels are real literature that combine written word with complex images
be reading graphic novels to highlight aspects of stories (setting, characterization, feelings/emotions) that would not as
 because they are not “real
literature.” Write a
response to the parent to
defend graphic novels.
19. You are teaching 4th grade
and your colleagues tell
you that you need to have
students read silently for
20 minutes a day. What are
your thoughts?
14. As an elementary teacher
ELA teacher, how might
you use AI to support your
teaching?
16. In thinking about student
teaching, describe at least
one activity that you
learned this semester that
you might use to help
students demonstrate
comprehension.
18. Readers and Writers
Workshops models of
instruction DO NOT have
the evidence to prove that
it is effective. Describe
your experience with these
easily been picked up on as opposed to solely written literature. I have also found that students
tend to be engaged with graphic novels because it reinforces what they are reading with visuals
to improve comprehension of what is happening in the text.
I don’t believe that silent reading is an effective strategy for improving students’
comprehension strategies. Instead, I will have the students vote on a particular book they want
to read together as a class, and we will use those 20 minutes a day dedicated to reading a
passage of the book aloud and developing reading strategies to build comprehension practice.
I would use AI as an effective tool to generate ideas for engaging activities that can be added
to my lessons or influential differentiation strategies to better support the diverse learners in
my classroom. AI could also be used to help me build practice worksheets on different
strategies that students can take home for additional support in developing their skills outside
of the class.
Having students collaborate to create educational/informational posters on a particular topic
could be an effective activity for students to demonstrate comprehension of the text and to
possibly expand the text into a real-world connection. Using Canva or Padlet would be an
effective tool that allows students to collaborate together, gather digital resources, and display
their information in a creative format. I would love to incorporate this into future activities and
even print out the educational posters to display in my classroom or outside of my classroom
to inform other students/teachers in the school on topics my students felt passionate about
researching/writing about.
 models and/or a more
evidence-based set of
approaches to supporting
literacy development.
20. You have received $250
from the PTA for your
classroom and you have
chosen to spend it on items
to support literacy in your
classroom. How will you
budget the money? What
will you purchase?
Hip, Hip, Hooray, YOU are on your way to being an elementary teacher. 
- Developing a reading corner or flexible seating to motivate students to want to read
more during their free time
- Diverse writing materials such as colorful pens, markers, writing boards, computers,
keyboards to help increase student motivation for writing
- Educational posters and anchor charts that reinforce reading strategies, comprehension
strategies, vocabulary, “I can…” affirmations for reading
- Diverse books to add to my classroom that serve as windows, mirrors, and sliding glass
doors for my students
o Some examples depending on the grade level
 Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga
 When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed
 We Are All Connected: Todos Estamos Conectados by Gabi Garcia and
Natalia Jimenez Osorio
 Etta Extraordinaire by Roda Ahmed, Charnaie Gordon, and Chloe
Burgett
 Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson