Finn Vocabulary Development

This strategy will help improve Finn’s spelling and vocabulary development. Making words is also a great strategy for Finn to do at home with his family. Finn can take a list of words home, whether they are from the word wall or vocabulary words and make his own words at home. The family can work on one word per day, and look for different spelling patterns and graphophonic cues. Finn and his parents can even create a mini word wall at home to showcase all the words Finn has learned.

Another mini lesson, can consist of learning how to edit a piece of writing. The planning stage and the draft stage should focus on developing ideas, adding detail and important information. Once Finn has completed his draft and he has revised his writing, the
editing stage can be introduced (Morrow, 2015, p. 282). Provide an editing checklist that Finn can use to look at punctuation, underlining unfamiliar words, and highlighting words found in the word wall. Have Finn go back to his writing and highlight all the punctuation at the end of the sentences. Then tell Finn that after every punctuation the next letter should be a capital letter and to circle the capital letters. The editing checklist can be done with the whole class or with small groups which will help improve the mechanics of their writing.

The very own words strategy looks at developing vocabulary; not only does this strategy support Finn, it can also benefit the vocabulary development of the whole class (Morrow, 2015, p. 154). Finn would be encouraged to look at topics that interest him such as his hobbies, favorite books, and other topics of interest. Finn would write his word of interest on cue cards and have a file or box to store his words. Because we are focusing on what interests Finn, this can be an engaging and motivational strategy. This activity can be done at school and at home. Finn can use words of interest from the activities he has done at home and even share his very own box with his family to show the development of his vocabulary. Encourage the class to use their very own words in their writing and to identify them by underlining the words. Morrow (2015) states that, “They can discuss consonant and vowel sounds, blends, digraphs, and structural elements such as prefixes and suffixes, as well as phonic generalizations that may be evident” (p.155). The very own strategy is a great strategy because it involves the students interest and they have control of what words they want to add to their collection making their learning more meaningful.

Strategies to Develop Strengths

The dialogue he created for his characters not only showcases their personalities, but also demonstrates Finn’s understanding that stories must have dynamic characters, a setting, and a dialogue. Finn has already met a portion of the specific outcome 2.1 in the program of studies through his focus on using ideas from stories he has read to support his writing. In order to reach his writing potential, Finn needs to focus on “story reading by saying words and narrating stories as his teacher reads” (Morrow, 2015, p. 206) and placing a greater emphasis on the use of graphic organizers and charts to help him add more depth to his characters and setting (Morrow, 2015, p. 206). Graphic organizers are an important tool that help Finn organize his thoughts on paper. They are a guidance he will need as he continues to work through his writing career. Finn may use the graphic organizers as a tool that can help him create a book of his own, which he may revise and edit through writing workshops orchestrated by his teacher at school (Bainbridge, 2013, p. 382).

Participating in an environment based on the social constructivist theory will help Finn develop as a better writer and reader.
In such an environment, Finn would engage in activities such as choral reading and retelling stories (Morrow, 2015, p. 206). It is important for Finn to work on both his reading and writing at the same time because “children do not learn language in isolation” (Bainbridge and Hayden, 2013, p. 134). Finn cannot improve his writing without working on his reading, and vice versa. He needs to have the opportunity to develop both skills in an open environment in which he is encouraged to use his funds of knowledge as he interacts with his peers. Finn should be encouraged to read to a reading buddy, and explain his ideas and knowledge. Reading with a reading buddy is an important activity that will support Finn’s literary development, as it requires the reader to derive “meaning from text” (Bainbridge, 2013, p. 217). Unless Finn understands the details behind and the plot of the book The Origami Yoda, for instance, he will find himself incapable of explaining it properly to his peers. A focus on Finn’s writing and reading skills will help him develop a greater understanding of the details required in his writing
process.

There are many useful assessments that are both authentic and useful tools that can be used to help determine Finn’s understanding (Bainbridge, 2013, p. 398-402). Running records, a literary portfolio, anecdotal notes, and a product based assessment are some of the authentic ways that can be used to further advance Finn’s skills as a writer and as a reader. In a running record, Finn’s teacher would look for miscues in his reading and make notes of them. She would do an analysis for accuracy, and then ask comprehension questions to support Finn’s understanding for learning. In the literary portfolio, Finn’s teacher can collect samples of his writing and self-assessment evaluations to note his progress and improvement. She can jot quick notes about Finn’s questions and observations in the anecdotal records she may keep with her. Jotting down quick notes will also let her know about Finn’s approach to writing, and provide details she may not note otherwise. If the teacher decides to have Finn create a book, then she can also use that product to measure Finn’s progress and development.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the strategies that will be implemented to develop Finn’s literacy knowledge are based on meaningful and interest based approaches. Finn is a great story writer and focusing on strategies that will improve his writing skills such as graphic organizers, and working on his reading by doing choral reading and retelling stories will improve both his oral and written language skills. Also engaging Finn’s family in his learning at home by using strategies such as making words, very own words, word walls and retelling stories to his family will create that rich literacy environment at home. Implementing these literacy strategies along with a social constructivist approach with the class and small groups will also help students improve in their literacy. Performing authentic assessments to determine Finn’s learning progress will allow his learning needs to be met.