Discussion+of+Student+Success

=Rubric=
 * < **Level 1** ||< **Level 2** ||< **Level 3** ||< **Level 4** ||
 * < Does not make connections with the text ||< Talks about what text reminds them of, but cannot explain or relate clearly to the text ||< Relates background knowledge/experience to the text ||< Uses background knowledge to enhance comprehension and interpretation. Makes text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections. ||

=**Student Success: Discussion**=

Overall Success
====Each student produced between one and four connections during the independent activity. Each student's connections were evaluated as a whole using the above rubric. Based on our student's artifacts, approximately 50% of our students performed at a Level 3 or above, while 50% of our students performed at or below a Level 2.====

1. Advanced/Gifted Students:

 * ====Accommodation: To accommodate our advanced students, the nature of the "Making Connections" activity is very open-ended; thus, our advanced students will be able to include additional details in their connections. The advanced students will have the opportunity to interpret the assignment, and they will be encouraged to venture beyond the minimum requirements.====
 * ==== Success: This accommodation was successful in that three of our advanced students chose to create four connections, while the remaining students created between one and three connections to the text. Furthermore, the connections that were made by the advanced students showed more depth of thinking, including a connection to the overall theme of the book (types of teams) as opposed to individual pages in the book. (See images 4 and 6 on the "success" slideshow of the artifacts page. ====

2. Students who have difficulty with writing:
 * Accommodation: Students will be able to choose to write or to draw their connections.
 * Success: This accommodation was successful in that our students clearly chose the option with which they were most comfortable. Four students relied entirely on writing (See Success images 2, 5, and 6), two students relied on writing and drawing (see Success images 3 and 4), and ten students relied solely on drawing (See Success image 1).

3. Learning-Disabled Students:
 * Accommodation: Explicit instruction and one-on-one interaction as much as possible; multiple examples
 * Success: This accommodation was somewhat successful in that, with the limited one-on-one interaction that was possible, the student performed on a Level 2 with direct support from the teacher. (See Success image 7)

Prevailing Misconceptions
1. Misconceptions Image 1
 * Students who performed at Level 2 or 3 exhibited some understanding that they are expected to connect their personal experiences to the text, however these students do not recognize that their experiences can be categorized.

2. Misconceptions Images 2 and 3
 * Students who performed at Level 1 did not exhibit an understanding of the strategy or of the activity. The students who performed at this level were either absent on Day 1 or sat at the same table. This indicates that some students did not have the necessary background knowledge to complete the individual activity and that a particular table of students may have been off-task when the instructions for the activity were provided, and the teacher did not notice that the students at that table were not understanding the material. These students reproduced the symbols that were drawn on the white board. These symbols were meant only as a guide to help students remember the three types of connections.

3. Misconception Image 4
 * Some students who performed at Level 2 or 3 were able to connect their personal experiences to the text, however they incorrectly classified their experiences. This shows a misunderstanding of the actual Text-Text, Text-Self, and Text-World system.