Written Component

Provide information on the following in your paper submitted in week 8:

Audience/Readers (characteristics of the imaginary readers for whom this e-book is

intended including age of students, phase of word learning (Ehri & McCormick, 1998) of

this population, comments about fluency, level of vocabulary knowledge and

comprehension issues). The goal is to create a book that these students could read on their

own. These e-books are not intended to be books appropriate for reading aloud. As you

know, books designed for reading aloud would be different for the same population of

readers.

This electronic book is intended from students in 2nd or 3rd grade, ranging from ages

7-10 (if students have been retained). I embedded a lot of sight words that students should

have learned prior to second grade. I also embedded 3rd grade high frequency words for

second grade students that may be reading above grade level. To better ensure we are

teaching fluent readers, the text has a lot of sentence interrupters, different punctuation,

and longer phrases. To better promote language development, students are introduced to

tier 2 words (domain specific vocabulary terms). This text is specifically crafted for

students with a malnourished vocabulary schema. This text is for students who can

proficiently read sight words and Fry phases prior to reading this text. Students are taught

through reading coaches in the e book, how to use context clues to decode an unknown

word. I have included many thinking points and check in questions so students can monitor

their comprehension while reading the text. I included reciprocal teaching strategies as well
as having students activate their prior knowledge to better ensure comprehension of the

text.

Topic of this informational book and reason for selection

The topic I chose is animals in the desert and their adaptations. I chose this because in

second grade students are introduced to different habitats. I also know that in third grade

in science students learn about animal adaptations to different seasons. I had the

opportunity to focus on this topic during the summer and I just became so engaged with

animals in the desert. Commonly, when students think about animals in the desert the one

and only animal they think of is the camel. For this reason, I purposely did not include

camels in this text. Furthermore, in fourth grade in science students learn about inherited

physical traits and learned behavior. I also know that boys and girls are interested in

animals. This topic can also spill over into other contents areas such as math and art.

Common Core State Standards addressed in this book for each reading component as

noted below.

Craft and Structure:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject
area.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.5
Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries,
indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.6
Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or
describe

Key Ideas and Details:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.1
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate
understanding of key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.2
Identify the main topic of a multiparagraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs
within the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.3
Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or
steps in technical procedures in a text.

Key Ideas and Details:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.1
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to
the text as the basis for the answers.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.2
Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the
main idea.

Craft and Structure:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.4
Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a
text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.5
Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate
information relevant to a given topic efficiently.

E-book features created to support the intended readers

The ebook has reading coaches in place to encourage and motivate students while they are

reading. I thought that students will be able to remain engaged without the supervision of

an adult through interaction with an avatar.

Provide a brief explanation of what you did to address the following. Provide at least one

professional reference to support the decisions you made for each.

Print features (e.g. font, spacing, layout)

I made sure I chose large font for my ebook. I didnt want students having to be right in

front of the computer screen to see the words. For the layout I chose to do all text on page

and have the photograph to correspond with the text on the following page on the right.

For example, the page about foxes was in page 8 and the photograph of the fox was on page

nine.

Word recognition address decisions related to both sight words and decodable

words given the phase of word learning (Ehri & McCormick, 1998) of the students

Many of the words I used in this text, besides the domain specific vocabulary, were 1st and

2nd grade sight words. The words selected had spelling patterns students should already be

familiar with.

Fluency (Did you do something to model fluency, provide extension activities to

support fluency, etc.?)

Vocabulary (What words did you include to stretch the vocabulary knowledge of

your students on this topic and what did you do to support them thinking about

what you learned in the Vocabulary module and professional readings and using the

features of CAST Book Builder? (boldface print, use of context, elements of the e-

glossary)

Adaptation, venom, poisonous, constriction, environment, and desert. I put these words in

boldface print and highlighted it.

Comprehension (What strategies did you do to build in to support the

comprehension of your students? Think strategies you learned in C&T 741,

 information presented in the week 7 module (e.g. Say Something) and in

professional readings. Be sure to address what you did to address the following. (See

Module 7 for ideas.)

o Activate prior knowledge

Students first response to reading upon seeing the title page is writing a list of things

they KNOW about the desert.

o Support a students comprehension in the During phase of reading

Students are asked to compare and contrast a king snake and rattlesnake.

Students are asked about new learning once they learn that a desert is not based on

temperature.

Students are given clues by avatar on how to decode unknown words.

Students are coached through text by interactive avatar.

o Follow-up in the After reading phase

Students are encouraged to take their learning to create a brochure and teach

others about desert animals adaptation which would focus on common core

listening and speaking standards.

o Other supports for comprehension of informational books (e.g. headings,

captions, etc.)

I used headings, caption, photographs, and font features.

References

Cambourne, B. (1995). Toward an educationally relevant theory of literacy learning: Twenty

years of inquiry. The Reading Teacher, 49(3). 182-190.
Santoro, L. E., Chard, D. J., Howard, L., Baker, S. K. (2008). Making the very most of classroom

read-alouds to promote comprehension and vocabulary. The Reading Teacher, 61(5), 396-408.

Hoffman, J., Collins, M. F., and Schickedanz, J. A. (2015). Instructional challenges in

developing young children's science concepts: Using informational text read-alouds. The

Reading Teacher. 68(5), 363-372.

Applegate, M. D., Applegate, A. J., & Modla, V. B. (2009). Shes my best reader; She just cant

comprehend: Studying the relationship between fluency and comprehension. The Reading

Teacher, 62(6), 512-521.

Brabham, E., Buskist, C., Henderson, S. C., Paleologos, T., & Baugh, N. (2012). Flooding

vocabulary gaps to accelerate word learning. The Reading Teacher, 65(8), 523-533.

Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2013). Comprehension at the core. The Reading Teacher, 66(6), 432-

439.

Matloch, B., & Horsey, M. (2013). Living inquiry: Learning from and about informational texts

in a second-grade classroom. The Reading Teacher, 66(6), 475-485.

http://bookbuilder.cast.org/view.php?op=view&book=115499&page=1 (Links to an
external site.)Links to an external site.

My book is called "Surviving in the Desert". It is an informational text explaining to

second and third graders students how different animals adapt to living in the desert. My
e book includes text features such a headings, captions, as well as bold and highlighted
words. My text focuses on vocabulary building and comprehensions. My e book has a
lot of stop points for students to either make a connection or do a check in question to
monitor comprehension while they read the text. My ebook includes an extension
activity which allows students to share information in this text with others.
Being that I really wanted to focus on vocabulary development, I actually did not do a
glossary. I allow for the coaches in the ebook to help students decode and work through
the text by using text evidence and their background knowledge.