Term

Spring 2021

Capstone

Capstone Project

Degree Name

MALED

Facilitator(s)

Trish Harvey and Julia Reimer

Content Expert

Cassandra Hansana

Abstract

As students transition to middle and high school, opportunities for student choice within curriculum become limited, and there is a need for students to have authentic literacy and decision-making opportunities. Key influences during research of this project include Kelly Gallagher, Gail Boushey and Joan Moser, and Linda Gambrell and Lesley Mandel Morrow’s Best Practices in Literacy Instruction. Research indicates that benefits of literacy centers include fostering engagement, literacy skill growth, opportunities for small-group instruction, and developing student autonomy. The curriculum designed for this project took the form of student choice literacy centers. The purpose of this project was to design weekly literacy centers to implement in a seventh grade English Language Arts classroom in order to increase student engagement and autonomy; these improvements then further develop student literacy skills. These centers include at least one activity from each of the following categories: vocabulary, fluency/listening, digital literacy and print concepts, choice reading, choice writing, research, and missing work. There is also small-group instruction for completing needs assessments and to provide supplemental instruction for students identified with reading struggles. This project has students complete a portfolio assessment at the end of term, including tracking cards that indicate their practice at all of the centers throughout the term. This portfolio includes pieces that the student identifies as showcasing their abilities in a variety of literacy skills. These literacy centers are meant to encourage students to be curious and engaged learners.

Project Type

Curriculum

Keywords

Curriculum, Literacy, Motivation, Centers

dc_type

text

dc_publisher

DigitalCommons@Hamline

dc_format

application/pdf

dc_source

School of Education Student Capstone Projects

Included in

Education Commons

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