Kat Gross

Take Home Exam 1

Dr. Debbie Rowe
October 24, 2017

1. Overarching Question: What model of reading seems to guide the design of this
reading instructional program?
Although not a perfect encapsulation of Adam’s four-processor theory, I think that there
are many curriculum design elements in Journeys that reflect Adam’s theoretical lens.
2. Reading Cue Systems and Reading Processes:
a. What cue system/knowledge sources are targeted for explicit instruction or
teacher demonstration in the Journeys program? Cite examples from the
Journeys materials to support your points.
Adams (2006) model identifies four distinct processors (orthographic,
phonological, meaning, and context) that work simultaneously with one another
to achieve successful reading. Use of the phonological processor is explicitly
taught in the Daily Phonemic Awareness (Journeys, Unit 1, t-13) portion of the
lesson. In this particular lesson, students learn to identify beginning sounds in an
isolated word list. Learning phonemic awareness outside of a meaningful context
suggests that the design values phonemic awareness as a skill in its own right
worthy of explicit, focused instruction. Adams (2006) would support this focused
instruction as she explains that, “It is because of its difficulty for so many
children that solid attention to the development of phonemic awareness is so
vital a component of the preschool and primary classroom,” (p. 1239).
The interaction between the orthographic and phonological processors
are also evident in the curriculum’s phonics instructional component (Journeys,
Unit 1, t-16). In this mini-lesson, students learn though explicit instruction both
the sound (phonological processor) and spelling (orthographic processor) for the
short-a vowel and consonants n and d. Student begin by hearing a CVC word
which features a short-a vowel, segment the three sounds, and then blend them
back together. As students encounter multiple examples (proper nouns, nouns,
adjectives, prepositions) that all feature a short-a vowel, they learn letter-order
patterns that are likely to occur when they encounter a short-a vowel sound.
Adams (2006) would argue that explicit phonics instruction strengthens the
reader’s knowledge of “learned associations between and among individual
letters” (p. 1227) which then facilitates automatic word reading.
Use of the meaning processor receives targeted instruction during the
Introduce Words to Know portion of the Day 1 lesson (Journeys, Unit 1, p. t-20).
Adams (2006) argues that incidental vocabulary learning through single
encounters in meaningful texts is insufficient to provide children with
understanding of a large number of words. Direct instruction, she argues,
provides children with access to great word learning through exposure to words
in multiple contexts along with providing the words definition (p. 1233). The first
step in the vocabulary learning curriculum is to display the word and read it
 aloud, thereby activating its connection from the meaning processor to the
phonological and orthographic processors. Next, the teacher gives a definition
and then reads a sentence containing the word. The teacher supports the
supports in coming up with new sentences in which to use the word. Then,
students “engage with the word” by using the word in another context as they
discuss it with their peers. The vocabulary words are again referenced in the
anchor text What is a pal?, providing students with another exposure to the
word, strengthening the connection between their meaning and
orthographic/phonological processors.
Use of the context processor is evident in the teacher modeling of self-
correcting her initial reading of “meal” as “mall” in the teacher read-aloud of The
Lion and the Mouse (Journeys, Unit 1, p. t-14). The teacher’s manual directs the
teacher to intentionally misread the word “meal” as “mall” in the sentence, “One
day, a long time ago, a lion ate an excellent meal.” The teacher is instructed to
note that good readers “recognize words and read them correctly” and if they
read a word that doesn’t make sense, they go back and reread the word. The
design of this teachable moment reflects Adams beliefs that while using the
contextual processor to monitor for sense-making is important, it should not
“displace or supplant the information on the page,” (p. 1230). In line with her
thinking, the curriculum encourages readers not to simply guess the word or
think about what word would make sense but to return to the text and look
closely at the letters.
b. What cue systems/knowledge sources get the most instructional emphasis
when you look at the Journeys Day 1 lesson as a whole? Hoes does this
instructional emphasis reflect the identified model of reading?
The processors that seems to get the most instructional emphasis in Day
1 are the orthographic and phonological processers (both separately and
working in conjunction with one another). As stated above, the phonemic
awareness activity in the opening routines portion of the lesson stresses the
phonological processor. The interaction between the two processors is evident
in the phonics and spelling portions of the lesson in which children focus on
short-a vowel sounds and consonants n and d. The decodable reader, Dan and
Nan, provides exposure to these sounds/letters in the context of sentences but
not in a meaningful story. Even during the Teacher Read Aloud, the teacher is to
emphasize the importance of word reading in being a good reader, and the word
reading strategy of looking back at the letter emphasizes use of the orthographic
and phonological processors. The Day 1 lesson reflects Adams’ model by
emphasizing word reading as the key and precursor to good reading.
 3. Analyze texts from a “models” perspective:
a. Analyze the characteristics of the two texts read aloud by teachers.
The Lion and the Mouse (Unit 1, p. t-14)
 Fable: adds a layer of meaning because
the stories of the animals relates a larger
“moral” or lesson to be inferred.
 Aesop fable: fable with Western origin.
 No illustrations: makes the text more
complex for readers because they have
to visualize what is happening instead of
being able to use the illustrations to
support meaning. Emphasizes that the
meaning comes from the words of the
story (Adams).
 Contains dialogue between characters,
private thoughts of individual characters
(“How could a tiny mouse ever help him,
King of the Beasts?”), and narration from
a third-person narrator
 Tier 2 vocabulary (spare, dare, awaken,
suddenly, chuckled, gnawed, etc.)
 Contains the “language of books” (“one
day a long time ago”, “first you dare to
awaken me”)
My Colors, My World (Teachers’ Manual, xxiv)
 Realistic fictional narrative told from the
viewpoint of a child
 Consistent first-person narration.
 Contains both Spanish and English text
 Vivid illustrations that support
understanding (i.e. support student
understanding of what a mud pie is on page
12-13 of the text)
 Less frequent Tier 2 vocabulary (marigold,
cactus, shady, squishy, peeks, shade), more
frequent Tier 1 (swing set, house, pink,
brown, orange, blue, dark, sky, night)
 Contains language more similar to informal
spoken English (not “language of books”).
 Features a character of Latinx background,
which may or may not boost students’
background knowledge of a text.
 Layers of meaning not as deep, just about a
girl who finds the beautiful, colorful things
in life.

b. What parts of the reading process are developed through teacher read alouds?
Adams would suggest that the importance of accurate word reading is
supported by the texts read aloud by teachers. This is shown during the teacher
read aloud of The Lion and the Mouse when the teacher is to misread the word
“meal” as “mall” and model rereading. The comprehension questions (Unit 1, p.
t-15) that the teacher is to ask are all text-dependent questions, indicating an
underlying belief that the meaning of the text lies within the text itself. The
reading of The Lion and the Mouse develops students’ use of the context
processor. As Adams describes, the context processor and the knowledge of the
reader is supplemental to not superior to the information presented in the text
itself. The questions asked by the teacher allow for students’ background
knowledge/contextual understanding of the story as a whole to inform their
answers, but the questions do not promote student thinking well-beyond the
scope of the story and in connection with their own personal experiences. The
contextual processors and meaning processors are also developed in the teacher
read aloud of My Colors, My World. The teacher is to support students’
understanding of word meanings through use of context and rereading, again
 pushing textual support instead of reader background knowledge/conjecture
(Unit 1, p. xxiv).
c. Describe the characteristics of materials to be read by students.
Dan and Nan (Teacher’s Manual, p. t-19)
 Decodable reader featuring the short-a
vowel sound and consonants n and d.
 No meaningful underlying story
 Purpose of the text to practice targeted
decoding skills
 Simple illustrations that do not reveal
any more than what is stated in the text
 Contains capitalized proper nouns (Dan
Cat, Nan Cat)
 No conflict or major plot events.
 No Tier 2 vocabulary
What is a Pal? (Teacher’s Manual, p. t-20)
 Informational text
 Features photographs instead of
illustrations. Photographs depict diverse
populations of children.
 Features many sentences with the
predictable sentence structure “A pal
is/can”
 Contains the focus phonics letters (short-a
and consonants n and d)
 About a topic that first grade students are
familiar with (pals/friends) and interested
in
 Singular level of meaning (pals are good
friends you like to be with)
 No conflict or major plot events.
 No Tier 2 vocabulary (focus vocabulary
words in the text are fun, pal, pet, what)

d. How does the design of these student texts reflect the underlying model of
reading?
Certainly, Adams would approve of the Dan and Nan text selection.
Adams believes that in order to access meaning from texts, students must first
be able to crack the code through increasing skilled use of their
orthographic/phonological processors. She writes, “The only way for the visual
system to learn about the spellings of words is by devoting attention to
them…To this end, there may be no better means than encouraging a lot of
reading and rereading of interesting and beneath-frustration level texts,” (2006,
p. 1231). The Dan and Nan text is certainly beneath-frustration level and devotes
attention to particular letter patterns that support word reading. The anchor text
What is a Pal? is not particularly complex in terms of levels of meaning or
unfamiliarity to students. Thus, students can devote more of their cognition to
focusing on accurate word reading given that the comprehension cognitive load
is reduced. Additionally, the language in the text is not particularly complex (low
Tier 2 vocabulary) and even includes words that feature the focused phonics
patterns. Had the text been designed with richer language, it might have
indicated a greater focus on meaning making through reading, suggesting that
even if students couldn’t decode/recognize the words they would be able to
“guess” their meaning based on context/schema. The fact that the text was
 designed with highly decodable/less complex language suggests that accurate
word reading is a greater priority than meaningful comprehension.
4. The Journeys Overview discusses how these materials were designed to help students
meet CCSS related to text complexity and close reading.
a. Choose ONE of the texts read aloud by the teacher. Identify features that make
this text more or less complex. Do you think this text is appropriately complex
for first grade readers?
The Lion and the Mouse: Aesop’s Fable (Journeys, Unit 1, p. t-14)
RED=features that make the text more complex
GREEN=features that make the text less complex
Quantitative Measures  500L-600L Lexile level
 Falls in the 2-3 grade level band aligned with CCSS (CCSS Appendix
A, p. 8)
 Mean sentence length: 10.20 words/sentence
Qualitative Measures  Levels of Meaning and Purpose
(from Fisher & Frey, o Density and Complexity: single level of meaning but not
2014) explicitly stated in the text
o Figurative Language: limited use of figurative language
(King of the Beasts)
o Purpose: purpose is deliberately withheld from the reader
(fable genre)
 Structure
o Genre: Some children may be extremely familiar with the
fable genre (expect that stories have an underlying
meaning) while others may not be as familiar. The text is
consistent with the elements of the fable genre.
o Organization: plot is organized chronologically with clear
transitional language (one day, then, soon, far away, after)
o Narration: third-person narrator gives insight into the
thoughts of the lion and dialogue between the two animals
as well as vivid description
o Text Features and Graphics: has italicized words but no
illustrations to support the text
 Language Conventionality and Clarity
o Standard English and Variations: language is fairly standard
book language. For students with lower exposure to the
language of books/Tier 2 language, the language may be
more difficult
o Register: register is academic but appropriate for the age
of the reader
 Knowledge Demands
o Background Knowledge: there is some difference between
the readers’ lived experiences and those in the book but
 they are not so unfamiliar that readers could not
visualize/understand what is happening.
o Prior Knowledge: prior knowledge needed is
familiar/general knowledge
o Cultural Knowledge: uses familiar cultural references
o Vocabulary Knowledge: vocabulary features general
academic language but context is rich enough to support
meaning making
Reader and Task Although there is no information given about the reader
Characteristics characteristics of the students who would be receiving this lesson, the
task in which the text is situated is largely text dependent and requires
recall of important details and events from the story (Listening
Comprehension questions 1 and 2, Classroom Collaboration, p. t-15).
In Listening Comprehension question number 3, students are asked to
infer the lesson that the lion learns from the mouse, making this
question more complex than the preceding two. Lastly, the text is
read aloud by the teacher, which lessons the decoding difficulty
aspect of the text.
All in all, this text is appropriately complex for first grade students. Although many of the words
in the text are Tier 2 academic vocabulary and would be beyond students’ word recognition
abilities, the fact that the teacher will be reading the text aloud allows students to focus on
comprehension. The story’s genre of fable adds complexity in that the underlying single level of
meaning is not directly stated and must be inferred. However, the story features all the
conventional characteristics of a fable (personified animal characters who learn a lesson from
one another). Additionally, the third person narrator gives readers access to characters’
thoughts as well as dialogue and description.

b. In what way(s) is close reading incorporated into the lesson plans for Day 1?
What is your evaluation of close reading activities in these lessons?
Fisher and Frey (2013) offer several key considerations that are necessary
for a high quality close reading: (1) an appropriately complex text that is re-read
a number of times (2) text dependent questions that go beyond simple recall
(3) class discussions that reference text evidence (4) follow-up tasks that uses a
deep knowledge of the text in meaningful ways. Most of the texts read in Day 1
meet some but not all of these criteria.
Fisher and Frey (2013) Close Reading The Lion and My Colors, What is a Dan and
characteristics the Mouse My World Pal? Nan
Re-reading of a complex text (not re-read)  
Challenging text-dependent questions   
Evidence-based class discussions   
Meaningful, text dependent post-read 
activity
 Close reading is incorporated into the Day 1 lesson plans primarily in the
reading of the anchor text What is a Pal? The text is read a total of three times
across the Day 1-Day 3, allowing students to dig deeper into the
meaning/structure of the text. The first read focuses on “thinking through the
text” (Journeys, Unit 1, p. t-24). Students read the text for general meaning using
the targeted strategy of summarizing. The teacher asks guiding questions to
support students’ development of a deeper understanding. On page t-26, the
teacher asks, “What have you learned about pals? What words help you know?
What does the picture show that helps you know?” These questions require the
readers to first reflect on what they have learned. This question is not
necessarily of the caliber of text-dependent questions that Fisher and Frey
(2013) are talking about. Because friendship is a topic that most first grade
students have background knowledge of, they can answer this question without
having to rely on the text. The two follow up questions, however, increase in
text-dependency in that they require the readers to reference specific words and
aspects of the text’s photographs (text evidence).
The questions on pg. t-28 are also examples of the type of high text-
dependency that Fisher and Frey (2013) are talking about. In this example,
students engage with text-based conversations with each other to summarize
the text. The teacher also asks students to read deeper into specific relationships
depicted in the text (dog and boy; dad and daughter) and to make connections
between relationships in text that are not explicitly discussed, requiring students
to use their deep reading of the text to think deeply about the text’s meaning.
Lastly, the Day 1 close reading of What is a Pal? also requires student to
think about the author’s purpose (Journeys, Unit 1, p. t-30). The teacher is to ask
the students to think about why the author wrote this piece. This question aims
to connect the genre of the text (informational) with authors purpose: authors of
informational texts write to convey information about a topic.
The only real weakness of the close reading in Day 1 is the lack of a post-
reading activity that both draws on the text and is meaningful in stretching
student understandings. The activity in Day 1 is a Guided Summary of the story
using picture cards and sentence stems (Journeys, Unit 1, p. t-31). While this
activity does require text-dependent knowledge—which Fisher and Frey (2013)
say is critical—it does not push readers’ understanding beyond the story. Of
course, this activity occurs on Day 1 after the first reading so post-reading
activities after the third read of the text may offer a more meaningful
application.
5. Analyze the Journeys lessons from a sociocultural perspective (Gee):
a. If students participated in these Journeys lessons, what cultural model of
reading would they form? What would they think reading was like? What
purposes, values, attitudes about reading are part of this cultural model? What
reading roles are first grade students expected to take? What stances or
actions toward text are part of these roles? What reading roles are not yet
offered to first grade readers?
 The cultural model of reading that students form from participating in the
Journey’s reading lesson is one focused on reading as an act of decoding and
sense making that primarily revolves around the printed word. Readers
positioned by this cultural model come to see their personal experiences as
secondary sources of sorts, that can inform their meaning making and have
some value in the activity of reading, but are not more important than the
primary source, the text being read.
As students participate in isolated phonics, phonemic awareness, sight
word, and spelling instruction, students understand that accuracy in decoding is
valued in reading and that word reading accuracy is what gives them access to
text meaning. The role of a “good reader” is presented as one in which you read
words accurately and do not guess (Journeys, Unit 1, p. t14). Students are also
cast in the role of question answer-er. In every reading of Day 1, students
respond to teacher questions (some text dependent, some inference, some
about personal connections, author’s purpose, prediction, etc.), but they are not
yet positioned as questioners of the text.
The purpose of reading is one of finding out information from the text,
indicating a unidirectional model of meaning making. Students are asked
questions such as, “What do you think the lion learned from the mouse?” (p.
t15) and “What have you learned about pals? What words help you know?” (p.
t26). These questions, which get at the texts’ deeper meanings, convey that the
notion that the ultimate purpose of reading is to be able to answer questions
such as these: What is the text saying?
The cultural model of reading that students are presented also includes
the social language (Gee, 2003) of schooling, a more formal form of spoken and
written language that includes a great deal of specialized terms (plot, character,
genre, compare, retelling, summarize).

6. Analyze the Journeys lessons from a critical literacy perspective (Luke; Lewison,
Leland, & Harste):
a. Luke and Freebody propose a “Four Resources Model of Reading”. Which of
the resources are targeted for instruction in this set of materials? For each
“resource” you name, give a brief example or explanation that will let me
understand how the Journeys lessons support (or do not support) children’s
learning of that resource.
Four Resources Model Supported or Example from Journeys Day 1
(Luke, 2000) Not Supported
in Journeys
Coding Practices Supported One way that coding practices are supported in
the Day 1 lesson is in the phonemic
awareness/phonics section (Journeys, Unit 1, p.
t16-t17). Students are supported in becoming
“code breakers” (Luke, 2000) as they examine
 the short-a vowel sound and consonants n and d.
First students explore the letter sound, then map
the sounds onto the printed letter symbol, then
explore the letter sounds/print in the word
“Dan”, and then explore the letter sounds/print
in the sentence, “Dad and the cat sat with Tam”.
Here, students are learning how to crack the
print code through one-to-one sound mapping
(decoding).
Text-Meaning Practices Supported Students are supported in becoming text
participants in their reading of the anchor text
What is a Pal? (Journeys, Unit 1, p. t25). Prior to
beginning reading the text, students are asked
the essential question, “What is important about
being a friend?”, and are encouraged to make
predictions using their own experiences. This is
an example of drawing on cultural resources to
create meaning (Luke, 2000). Students are
supported in making meaningful connections
between ideas in the text as they consider the
ways in which the dog and the dad are both
being good friends (p. t28).
Pragmatic Practices Supported Students consider the author’s motivations for
writing the text on p. t30. In the Cross-Curricular
Connections box on the same page, students are
encouraged to think about ways they can use
this text to inform how they can not only be a
good friend but also be kind and respectful to
people who may not be their friends. This is an
example of the text-user orientation that Luke
(2000) discusses, particularly in regard to his
question, “What do I do with this text, here and
now?”
Critical Practices Not supported There is little consideration of reader positioning
or consideration of differing points of view in
Day 1’s lesson. For example, in the teacher read
aloud of The Lion and the Mouse (Journeys, Unit
1, p. t14-t15), a critical perspective could have
been taken by (1) analyzing why the lion—the
bigger/stronger—animal was depicted as having
power of the mouse—the smaller, weaker
animal (2) having students take the mouse’s
perspective in thinking about how he felt when
the lion said that he would not need his help.
 These questions would have introduced a
consideration of power dynamics and multiple
perspectives into this teacher read aloud.
Instead, the conversation focused more on text
details, retellings, and underlying moral.

b. Lewison, Leland, and Harste propose four dimensions of critical literacy. Briefly
describe an extension activity you might add to these lessons to help your
students begin to take a critical perspective. Name the dimension of critical
literacy that you are targeting in the extension lesson.

Dimension of Critical Literacy Considering Multiple Viewpoints

(Lewison, Leland, & Harste
(2008)
Description of Extension  Read aloud the book Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold
Activity  Do a shared writing about the colors of the little girl’s
world
 Have students compare and contrast the colors of the
two characters’ worlds (My Colors, My World and Tar
Beach).
o Which colors did they have in common? What is
different/unique?
o Were they inspired by the same things or
different things?
 People live in many different types of places. The girl in
My Colors, My World lived in a desert. The girl in Tar
Beach lived in a city.
o Where do you live?
o Where are some places that other people might
live?
o Do you think that every place has beautiful things
about it?
 What might you say to someone who says, “The
mountains are a terrible place to live. Why would you
ever want to live there?”
o How could you get them to understand that all
places have beautiful things about them?
Rationale This extension activity encourages students to take a critical
lens by having them take the viewpoint of someone from a
different background than them (i.e. the girl in My Colors, My
World and the girl in Tar Beach). The reading of the big book
My Colors, My World introduces students to idea of finding
colorful beauty in one’s environment. The reading of Tar
 Beach pushes students to take the girl’s perspective and
apply the idea of finding beauty to a different character from
an urban background. Students then note similarities and
differences, tying into the broader themes of shared
humanity and unique cultural perspectives. Finally, students
are challenged to practice standing up for different cultural
backgrounds by using what they learned in the two books to
change the mind of someone who is being close-minded and
only considering one way of life.

References

Adams, M. J. (2004). Modeling the connections between word recognition and reading. In R. B.
Ruddell & N. J. Unrau (Eds.), Theoretical models and processes of reading (5th ed., pp.
1219-1243). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2013). What's the secret to successful close reading? Strategic preparation
and follow up. Reading Today, 31(2), 16-17.
Gee, J. P. (2003). A sociocultural perspective on early literacy development. In S. B. Neuman &
D. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook of early literacy research (pp. 30-42). New York: Guilford
Press.
Lewison, M., Leland, C. H., & Harste, J. C. (2008). Creating critical classrooms: K-8 reading and
writing with an edge. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum. [Ch. 4, pp.61-73]
Luke, A. (2000). Critical literacy in Australia: A matter of context and standpoint. Journal of
adolescent & adult literacy, 43(5), 448-461.