Goodwin, B. (2011). Don’t wait until 4th grade to address the slump. Educational Leadership, 68(7), 88–89.
The unfortunate occurrence of the “4th Grade Slump,” which has bothered educators for decades, is covered in Goodwin’s article. He contends that students move from reading for learning to reading to learning as they enter the fourth grade. He claims that when students need to switch from accessible to more challenging material, they suddenly start to perform worse in their academics. He says that students may have trouble adjusting to the material because they must devote much of their working memory to tasks.
As William noted, “The difficulty is that there is only so much room in working memory, and if we try to put too much stuff in there, we lose the thread of the… story we were trying to follow.” This lessens their ability to comprehend the material effectively (Goodwin, 2011, p. 88). As a result, according to Goodwin, to address the 4th-grade slump, teachers must be more aware of reading difficulties in their classes and develop lesson plans that specifically address the gap in need. This will allow students to have more mental capacity for comprehension. This article will be beneficial in my research paper because it will help to show why the suggested intervention is necessary.
Graham, A. T., Renaud, G. A., Rose, M. M., & Rok, K. (2017). Service learning: The bridge to engagement, empowerment, integration and learning for students with exceptionalities. Currents in Teaching & Learning, 9(2), 60–71.
The use of service learning as a strategy to improve classroom engagement and learning for students with disabilities and exceptionalities is covered in this article. The authors offer data and plans for gathering additional information and a bridge model to show how to use service learning in inclusive settings. In order to improve learning outcomes for students with exceptionalities, they describe their model as a way to engage them by leveraging their strengths.
They also discuss how this approach can assist students in developing personalized education plans that will help them achieve their specific goals. “I teach in the hopes of turning content into rocket ships – Tribulations, into telescopes, so a child can see their potential from right where they stand” (Graham et al., 2017, p. 68). This quotation emphasizes the significance of developing relationships between educators and students with special needs and the authors’ belief that teaching can be effective and transformative. This source is beneficial for my research because it offers a strategy for addressing the gaps in learning in the ELA standards by giving teachers a model that encourages engagement and individualization. This source also proves that service learning can improve cognitive engagement and learning, which could be used to back up the suggested lesson plan in the study.
Wixson, K. K., & Valencia, S. W. (2014). CCSS-ELA Suggestions and cautions for addressing text complexity. Reading Teacher, 67(6), 430–434. Web.
This article discusses the significance of comprehending and incorporating text complexity into the English language arts (ELA) curriculum. According to the authors, “the Reading standards place equal emphasis on the sophistication of what students read as well as the skill with which they read” (Wixson & Valencia, 2014, p. 1). They point to individual assessments such as reading comprehension, discussion, working through exercises, and other assignments as the best way to accurately measure student proficiency in various skills.
Regarding increasing text complexity and standards-based instruction in the classroom, Wixson and Valencia suggest utilizing strategies such as small groups or station time. For example, one station could focus on helping fourth-grade students review a standards-based concept or skill they struggled with. In contrast, another station may focus on introducing or further exploring a standards-based concept with students who mastered it faster.
They also recommend incorporating more student practice with text-dependent questions to aid students in increasing their components of proficient reading, such as building knowledge, analyzing, and applying their understanding. This article offers a practical approach to helping teachers and administrators ensure that students are adequately prepared for the ELA curriculum and standards-based testing. The resource supports my argument by offering a valuable, research-based strategy for filling learning gaps in the ELA Common Core Standards.
Deane, P., Sabatini, J., Feng, G., Sparks, J., Song, Y., Fowles, M., O’Reilly, T., Jueds, K., Krovetz, R., & Foley, C. (2015). Critical English language arts (ELA) practices: Linking learning theory, assessment, and instruction. ETS Research Reports Series, 2015(2), 1–29. Web.
This study presents a framework for integrating scenario-based assessment (SBA), evidence-centered design (ECD), and assessment of, for, and as learning the English language arts (ELA) structure for students in kindergarten through grade twelve. The concept of critical practices, which heavily draws from constructivism’s learning theory, serves as the framework’s cornerstone (Deane et al., 2015). This paper also enables the design of assessments that replicate the fundamental strategies that underpin both instruction and evaluation. Assessments, models, and learning progression can be developed using the CBAL ELA self-paced program to track and evaluate student progress.
Furthermore, this research paper is a fantastic source of trustworthy information because it referred to the Common Core Standards and was published in an ETS Research Report Series. My thesis statement, “How can addressing learning gaps within the ELA Common Core Standards help students to succeed in ELA instruction and standardized testing,” can be supported by this resource. The use of assessment tools to help identify learning gaps in ELA instruction is covered in detail in this research report. This source offers techniques for using assessment tools to identify learning gaps in ELA instruction and suggestions for how to close those gaps, which can help support my thesis and argument.