During and After Comprehension Mini Lesson #2

Reading Lesson Plan # 2 Comprehension Strategies Rationale: My MT pointed out the students (George and Wilma) that needed extra attention in comprehension, specifically for when they are reading silently to themselves and have to answer questions afterwards. Objective for this lesson (performance, condition, criteria): Students will learn about and utilize during- and after- reading comprehension strategies including: considering text organization, summarizing the text, checking understanding, and using fix up strategies. Materials & supplies needed: Maniac Magee. Copies of specific chapters they will read so they can both read at the same time. Pens/pencils and paper. Neufeld article.

Procedures and approximate time allocated for each event  Introduction to the lesson  (3 minutes)  ·       Who remembers what we talked about last week? Yes, before-reading strategies. Can you tell me some of those strategies? Well, we are going to add to those this time and take things one more step. ·       When you are reading (or during) there are a few more things that you can be thinking about that will keep your mind working toward comprehension. ·       We are also going to talk about a few more ways that will help you comprehend a story or your science textbook after you are done reading. I have seen you already use some of these summarizing techniques in your classroom. Can you explain some of the ways you have done this already? Is it the same or different for when you read literature in reading time to when you are reading for say, science or social studies? ·       After doing this, you will hopefully have a better idea at how to approach various texts that you read in the future. OUTLINE of key events during the lesson (15 minutes) ·       Just as it is so important to ask yourself questions before you start to read, it is equally important to ask questions while you are reading and after you are finished that will better help you remember what you have just read. What are some things you do now? ·       Consider text organization: Do I see any keywords associated with specific text structures? How is the text organized (enumeration, time order, compare and contrast, cause and effect, problem/solution)? ·       Summarize the text: Oral/written- stop and restate main ideas/points in your own words orally or in writing. Create a visual organizer that captures both the organization of the text and the main points or ideas. ·       Check your understanding: Is what I just read clear to me? Do I “get it”? What about the text is still fuzzy or unclear? Can I answer who, what, when, where, and why questions about the text? ·       Use fix-up strategies: what strategies could I use to help me better understand what I am reading? Reread part or all of the text, look ahead in the text, examine other resources on this topic, or seek help from another person (peer, teacher, parent). ·       Read the first chapter of Maniac Magee to model how to use these strategies. Think out loud to demonstrate how they will use these strategies. ·       Some guided practice: Go through each question of the strategy and have students come up with answers for the next chapter of Maniac Magee and from the science book. ·       Make a character web of Maniac using context clues. Also have them summarize the chapter after they draw a picture. Closing summary for the lesson (2 minutes) ·       Do you think you could remember some of these questions for the next time that you are reading? ·       Keep these strategies in mind because they apply to ANY class subject or when you are reading on your own at home. You will constantly use these strategies… I still use them today in college!! They are that important and worthwhile to practice and master. ·       I will take your papers right now to look over how well you were able to use our before reading strategies! Ongoing-Assessment: While students are working through the guided reading, I will have them write up answers to each question, or I will just take notes on what they say. Also, I plan to take notes on their participation during the mini lesson to gauge how well they are understanding the lesson and how they perform during guided reading. I can also follow up with my MT to see if they have shown any improvement with their comprehension, although I think they will benefit even more from the lesson next week.

Adaptations: Based on what you know about your focus students, what Academic, Social and/or Linguistic Support will be needed during the lesson? George will definitely require extra support during this mini lesson. He often has trouble in finishing homework assignments that require comprehension in any subject matter. I often have to go off into another room in the school to work one-on-one with him to provide extra help and remind him to stay focused. Since I have a history of working with him, our established rapport will have a positive impact on his participation. He may not be able to write out his answers during guided reading, so I might have to do that for him. George may also need extra support when he is reading on his own, which I often give my moving my finger along the words as he reads them. Wilma has a lot of energy and often rushes through her readings and assignments so that she does not fully comprehend anything. For her, I will need to remind her to slow down and that it is not a race- that the important thing is for her to remember the strategies and use them in the future. She will not have any problem writing down her answers or reading either text silently.

1st comprehension lesson reflection

The first thing I learned from my first mini lesson on comprehension is that I need to become more time conscious and realistic of my expectations during the lesson planning time. While I covered all the main points I had planned, I found that I was quickly running out of time to go over the before-reading comprehension strategies again when I had to get the two students back to their classroom. I keep reminding myself that when I have my own classroom, I can better plan mini-lessons around what the rest of the students are working on to ensure they are not missing out on other instructional activities.


Overall, I feel like my lesson was a success. The students were able to use the 4 main strategies (reading with a purpose, over viewing the text, activating prior knowledge, and making predictions about a random chapter in the science textbook and after I read the back cover of Maniac Magee. During that time, I encountered a teachable moment where I had to explain to the two students what a "racially divided" city was. By breaking down the word racially to talk about race (specifically blacks and whites) the students made connections to the objects that just so happened to be on the table. Taking the black pencil box and the white paper, Wilma moved them to separate sides of the table and triumphantly stated, "like this!! See they are divided by color". After they understood the connections, they were better able to predict how Maniac would be able to bring a divided town together.


Likewise, they seemed to catch on to the strategies of reading with a purpose and overviewing and how they were different depending on the type of text they are reading. It was beneficial to have the expository text next to the literary text so they could visually see the difference between them and realize how they differ. 


At one point, George asked me why we were going over this mini lesson. I told him because it never hurts to go over more strategies that will help us become better comprehenders. He was not convinced of this and further asked me what I struggled with when I was a student. Not even lying, I was able to tell him how I always had a problem with comprehension, but that through learning new reading strategies and practicing them several times, I could focus better and understand whatever text I was reading. This made both of the students feel much better and they started paying attention with more vigor. This experience highlighted the importance of sharing personal learning stories with children, because you never know which ones they will take to heart and use as inspiration for their own learning.


After telling them that we would be going over another lesson the following week and learning more strategies, they seemed very excited. Wilma even came up to me the following Monday to ask when we would be working together again. I am excited to further scaffold their comprehension capabilities by teaching during and after reading strategies that they can hopefully add onto their existing knowledge and use for future reading. I am also curious to see how well they will implement these strategies on their own; I wish we had more time with them to see the fruits of these lessons. I will have to stay in touch with my MT to see how well they are performing.

Reading Lesson Plan #1 Comprehension

Reading Lesson Plan # 1 Comprehension Strategies Rationale: My MT pointed out the students (George and Wilma) that needed extra attention in comprehension, specifically for when they are reading silently to themselves and have to answer questions afterwards. Objective for this lesson (performance, condition, criteria): Students will learn about and utilize before-reading comprehension strategies including: reading with a purpose, over viewing the text, activating prior knowledge, and making predictions about a literary and an informational text. Materials & supplies needed: Maniac Magee and their classroom science textbook. Pens/pencils and paper. Neufeld article.

Procedures and approximate time allocated for each event  • Introduction to the lesson  (3 minutes)  ·       The reason why we are here is to learn a few important reading strategies that will help us when we are trying to comprehend, say a book or story that we read in class during a reading lesson or your science textbook. These are two very different kinds of texts that require you to use several strategies to comprehend, or make sense of, what you will be reading. ·       For example, many times you have to read a little excerpt from a book for reading and then answer questions either out loud or written down. Likewise, you have to do this for science as well. Sometimes, you cannot use the same strategies for comprehending literature as you do from informational textbooks. ·       Today we are going to focus on specific ways that you can prepare for a text before you start to read. There are important steps that you need to take even before you think about reading that will help your mind get ready for whichever text is in front of you (be it literary or informational). ·       After doing this, you will hopefully have a better idea at how to approach various texts that you read in the future. • OUTLINE of key events during the lesson (15 minutes) ·       It is so important to constantly ask yourself questions before you start to read. This will jumpstart your brain for reading and put you in the right state of mind to comprehend. First we are going to look at the strategies and then use this chapter book and your science book and see how we would answer these questions. Ask students if they have some ideas of what questions they could ask before they read/ if they already use some strategies to get ready to read. ·       Read with a purpose: why am I reading this text? (To prepare for a class discussion, to write a report, to review before a test, for enjoyment) How should my purpose affect the way I read the text? ·       Overview the text: What does this text appear to be about? What are some of the major topics covered in the text? How is the text organized? (Enumeration, time order, compare and contrast, cause and effect, problem/solution) ·       Activate what you already know: What do I already know or think I know about this topic? ·       Predict: I think this text is going to be about… ·       NOW use literary book (Maniac Magee) to model to students how to use these strategies. THEN use science textbook to compare how the strategy applies to both texts. How come these strategies apply to both kinds of texts? Go through each question of the strategy and have students come up with answers. ·       Read the back cover, read the introduction or first chapter if necessary to be able to explain strategies. ·       For science textbook, breeze through the chapter, looking at headers, charts, vocabulary, etc. ·       Explain that preparing to read a new text is just as important as reading itself. ·       Some guided practice: Go through each question of the strategy and have students come up with answers for other chapter book and a different science chapter. • Closing summary for the lesson (2 minutes) ·       Do you think you could remember some of these questions for the next time that you are reading? ·       Keep these strategies in mind because they apply to ANY class subject or when you are reading on your own at home. Next week we are going to revisit these comprehension strategies and learn a few more important ones that we can use during and after reading. ·       I will take your papers right now to look over how well you were able to use our before reading strategies! Ongoing-Assessment: While students are working through the guided reading, I will have them write up answers to each question, or I will just take notes on what they say. Also, I plan to take notes on their participation during the mini lesson to gauge how well they are understanding the lesson and how they perform during guided reading. I can also follow up with my MT to see if they have shown any improvement with their comprehension, although I think they will benefit even more from the lesson next week.

Adaptations: Based on what you know about your focus students, what Academic, Social and/or Linguistic Support will be needed during the lesson? George will definitely require extra support during this mini lesson. He often has trouble in finishing homework assignments that require comprehension in any subject matter. I often have to go off into another room in the school to work one-on-one with him to provide extra help and remind him to stay focused. Since I have a history of working with him, our established rapport will have a positive impact on his participation. He may not be able to write out his answers during guided reading, so I might have to do that for him. George may also need extra support when he is reading on his own, which I often give my moving my finger along the words as he reads them. Wilma has a lot of energy and often rushes through her readings and assignments so that she does not fully comprehend anything. For her, I will need to remind her to slow down and that it is not a race- that the important thing is for her to remember the strategies and use them in the future. She will not have any problem writing down her answers or reading either text silently.

Reading Lesson Overview

George and Wilma are the two students that I will be working with for the mini lessons. My MT specifically chose them because they could benefit from the extra comprehension instruction, as they struggle in many subject areas.

George will definitely require extra support during this mini lesson. He often has trouble in finishing homework assignments that require comprehension in any subject matter. I often have to go off into another room in the school to work one-on-one with him to provide extra help and remind him to stay focused. Since I have a history of working with him, our established rapport will have a positive impact on his participation.

Wilma has a lot of energy and often rushes through her readings and assignments so that she does not fully comprehend the text. For her, I will need to remind her to slow down and that it is not a race- that the important thing is for her to remember the strategies and use them in the future.

After reading the Neufeld article, I had several strategies available to choose from. Therefore, I decided to break up my two mini lessons into instruction on comprehension strategies that take place before reading and then one will be on during and after reading. The article provides several questions that students can think about during the reading process that will provide extra comprehension assistance.

For example, before reading strategies include: reading with a purpose, over viewing the text, activating prior knowledge, and making predictions about a literary and an informational text. During and after strategies include: considering text organization, summarizing the text, checking your understanding, and using fix-up strategies.

I love Vocabulary!!

These are a few of the vocabulary words that I found from chapters 1 and 8 of Maniac Magee.

Tier 1: kid, name, reading, book, walk, run, town, life, address, orphan

Tier 2: maniac, buzzing, intercepted, punted, rescued, tattooed, legend, fascinated

Tier 3: scraggly, flap-soled, Children’s Crusade, unexpected turn, P & W high-speed trolley

I think the main words that are important for students to understand while reading this novel would be: name, run, address, orphan, maniac, buzzing, legend, scraggly, flap-soled, and unexpected turn. I chose these words because they are often repeated throughout the entire book (or at least variations of them). Several of the words relate to Maniac Magee himself or describe events happening in his life. For example, Maniac (which is not his real name) is an orphan who does not have an address. He is scraggly and has flap-soled shoes because he runs everywhere. After several unexpected turns in his life, he makes an impression on the town and becomes a legend as everyone is buzzing about the new kid in town. Having absolute confidence in the meaning of these few words helps paint a picture of Maniac and makes sense of everything else that happens to him throughout the rest of the story.

While thinking of the best ways to present these vocabulary terms to my students, a word wall keeps coming up in my head. While I understand the importance of word walls, I feel as though you need to provide several extension activities that highlight the importance of committing these words to memory. In the case of Maniac Magee, it would be good to draw a word poster or a word map to describe the words. This would be especially helpful with the tier 2 and tier 3 words. For example, knowing what a maniac is and its characteristics will help the students internalize an image of his character. Likewise, several of these words can be used to describe Maniac himself and thus knowledge of their meaning will give further insight to the character and give background information necessary that will help explain his actions later in the story. Students will hopefully notice that some of the words are very similar and can overlap in their descriptive nature (scraggly and flap-soled). I would definitely like to use a word map for buzzing and unexpected turn. Both of these words could be used to talk about multiple objects/ scenarios (for example, when comparing “the buzzing bee” to “the town was buzzing” or knowing that an unexpected turn can happen literally as when you are in a car or figuratively in your life). Taking the time to really learn the meaning of the words will aid the students in overall comprehension of the book.

The power of vocabulary knowledge in relation to comprehension is huge. As Tompkins says, “vocabulary knowledge and reading achievement are closely related: Students with larger vocabularies are more capable readers, and they know more strategies for figuring out the meaning of unfamiliar words than less capable readers do”. I was blessed with a childhood that was rich with vocabulary, and I am happy to say that having a vast repertoire of word knowledge has helped me immensely in comprehending the books I have had to read for school or simply those books I enjoy on the side.  I am constantly using Google to find the meaning of new words in order for me to comprehend difficult texts, and I don’t think that will change anytime soon. I hope that taking the time to make word posters/maps with my students will instill in them the same thirst for vocabulary knowledge that I was blessed to receive as a child.

What I Have Learned About New Literacies

I have thoroughly enjoyed working on this New Literacy project. I feel like I have gained so much knowledge about the concept of literacy itself as well as exposure to a variety of technology that I can use within my classroom to create a well-rounded literate environment. In the beginning of the semester, I found a definition of literacy that I mostly agreed with; it stated: To be literate in the 21st century one must have “the flexible and sustainable mastery of a repertoire of practices with the texts of traditional and new communications technologies via spoken language, print, and multimedia, and the ability to use these practices in various social contexts” [Anstey, M. (2002) Literate Futures: Reading p.15. Adapted from Literate Futures: Report, p.9]. Now that I have had time to explore my own literacy (numeracy) and my classmates’ as well, I realize the definition of literacy is more extensive than I could have ever imagined before. While most people would think literacy only relates to reading and writing, the term encompasses several aspects, including numeracy, emotional, cultural, visual, environmental, social, and political literacy. While thinking of all the components that go into literacy, it is easy to be overwhelmed thinking of how I can contribute to the establishment of a well-rounded literate classroom for my future students. However, after viewing the projects of my peers, I feel more prepared to tackle this challenge and be able to create a learning environment conducive to my students’ wide variety of needs. Luckily, now that I have been exposed to new technologies, I have seemingly unlimited opportunities with which to reach my students to develop literacy. With younger generations growing up with vast amounts of technology at their fingertips, I can stay one step ahead and utilize their background experiences to create the best opportunity for my students to become literate citizens in a global environment.

Effective literacy instruction can be achieved in several different ways in order to reach a variety of diverse students. The most important (and challenging) aspect of this has to be incorporating the vast amounts of topics that make up literacy. As I discussed above, my future students will be well-rehearsed in using technology on a daily basis; as a result, I will need to be an active “digital denizen” in order to use technology to teach my students to become well-rounded literate learners. Part of teaching students about technology is not just about using it, but how to use it effectively with purpose. This was one aspect of the New Literacy project that I thought was most beneficial. Not only did we choose to use a Prezi to explain numeracy, but we also gave an example of how teachers or students can use technology to aid in the presentation and understanding of mathematical information (and any other concept for that matter). Since children are constantly surrounded with new technology and interactive learning techniques, why not utilize that to make students more involved in the literacy learning process. An important aspect of having effective literacy instruction that uses technology is the actually teaching aspect- showing students how to use these digital media tools to aid in their learning and reflect their understanding (through presentations they create). If I were planning on using a Prezi to explain numeracy to my students, I think they would need a lot of scaffolding before they could begin. For numeracy, one of the aspects is being able to verbalize and explain your reasoning of mathematical concept; the students in my classroom, however, are not accustomed to a more social-oriented environment where they share ideas with peers about their personal understanding of a concept. Being able to transfer that understanding to the Prezi would require a lot of practice putting mathematical concepts into words. However, since my students do have experience working in groups on group projects, it would be easy to incorporate that cooperation onto the Prezi since multiple users can be on it one time. With that said, more scaffolding would be needed here involving planning their project out first since the Prezi is a very unique technology that has many different components and opportunities to present information.

While my group partially gave an example of using a Prezi to show mathematical literacy with fractions, I wanted to think of another instance where this technology could be used to teach or introduce another concept in math, while simultaneously having the students explore all the opportunities that the Prezi has to offer. That is why I am choosing to create a numeracy based Prezi where students will be introduced to the idea of how fractions, percents, and decimals are all related. While this first lesson will be more of an introduction to the Prezi in math class, students will later be responsible for showing step-by-step instructions of how to move from one to the other (ie. Show the steps of how to move from decimals to percents and vice versa).

Target area and rationale: Why/how would this area be needed for your learners to learn to use the technology to teach peers about the new literacy?

             Since my students will not have had experience with Prezi before this occasion, I thought it would be important to have an example to show them first. This lesson will be a way that they can first be exposed to the new technology in a way that reinforces ideas of numeracy, even if the students do not realize this at first. This will give the students an idea of what a Prezi can do, since they later will be asked to make one in a small group.

List your objective(s):           

Students will explore the relationship between fractions, decimals, and percents on a Prezi.

Working in groups, students will explore the introduction of the topic and then research their assigned process and decide how it should be presented on their own Prezi.

List the materials and supplies needed:

One computer per group.

Math textbook or materials that explain the process of changing decimals to percents to fractions and vice versa.

Outline of key events (use bullets):

·      Students will be shown how to access the Prezi.

·      Then they will have time to explore the presentation that I have put together that explain some of the basic concepts related to the big ideas (relationship between fractions, decimals, and percents).

·      Each group will then be assigned their specific goal with which they will be presenting via a Prezi.

o   For example, one group will have to create a Prezi that shows the steps involved in changing a fraction into a decimal and a decimal into a fraction.

o   Another group will show how to change a decimal into a percent and a percent into a decimal.

o   Lastly, they will show how to change a percent into a fraction and a fraction into a percent.

·      Students will need to also be able to explain their Prezi to their peers as they present, thus encouraging the social aspect of numeracy.

Closing summary:

All groups will be able to share their findings to the rest of the class and I will once again emphasize how all of these concepts are interrelated and it is important to know how they can easily switch between these three types of mathematical representations.

Ongoing assessment:

            Students will continue to work with Prezis. I think they will be especially useful when they can be used to show some sort of process within a unit or illustrate their understanding at the end of a unit. They will work together as that promotes social numeracy, with which students become more comfortable talking and discussing mathematical concepts out loud in hopes that they ideas will be further cemented in their minds.

Numeracy and the Prezi

Upon reading over the definitions of literacy posted by my classmates, I was struck by the large number of commonalities that existed between them and my own understanding of numeracy. Most significantly was in understanding that literacy and numeracy include several different concepts. According to the Crowther Report, “numeracy should represent the mirror image of literacy”. For example, just as literacy is not simply defined as reading and writing, numeracy is not just an understanding of numbers. It is much more than that. While numeracy does require knowledge of numbers and how they work, it also encompasses knowledge of how to use numbers to solve “school” and everyday mathematical problems. The What Does It Mean For School Mathematics article stated, “Analogously considering mathematics as a language implies that students not only learn the concepts and procedures of mathematics (its design features), but they must learn to use such ideas to solve non-routine problems and learn to mathematize (how to use/do math) in variety of situations (its social functions)”. The article furthered this idea by providing more details: “Learning to mathematize occurs as a consequence of building on prior knowledge via purposeful engagement in activities and by discourse with other students and teachers in the classroom”. I really liked how this definition was worded and how it tied the ideas of numeracy to that of literacy. This is a definition is really easy to understand and would be a good one to show students if you were planning to explain the concept of numeracy to students.

Also being able to verbally express your understanding of mathematical concepts and explanations is a social aspect of numeracy that is equally important. The New South Whales Education Department had an excellent example of a few of these ideas: “a numerate person should understand some of the ways mathematics can be used for communication, and this required the possession of two attributes: 

      being 'at-ease' with all those aspects of mathematics that enable a person to cope with the practical demands of everyday life

      the ability to understand information presented in mathematical terms”.

I really liked this definition in that it commented on how numeracy also involves communication. Many people forget about the social aspect of math, but since it is a key component of numeracy, it is important to consider. This is something that students in my placement seem to have a lot of trouble with. They will guess the correct answer, but when I prod them for further explanation they fall silent.  Since being able to communicate is an important part of numeracy, this is something that I would focus on in my future classroom.

             This was actually something that I had to be reminded of as I was researching numeracy. As a math major, I sometimes take for granted being able to verbally articulate my reasoning behind a certain mathematical topic. I forget that mathematics is not as easy for other people as it is for myself. Reflecting on how I have watched my students struggle in their attempts to explain their understanding, I am reminded that numeracy also involves being able to communicate your ideas, not just correctly solving a problem. This idea of numeracy as a means of communication is definitely a reflection of regular definitions of literacy. Being able to communicate your thoughts and ideas through various means is a foundation for all types of literacy.

Along with this idea of communication, I learned a great deal of mathematical literate discourse and how that relates to the definitions of numeracy. The article about this topic from the Wiki highlighted how this has to be something specifically taught to students. They must be shown the differences between everyday discourse and literate discourse that takes place in the classroom. It is during these times that teachers can emphasize proper discourse, especially about abstract ideas and concepts that will encourage students to become more complete in their mathematical prowess and thus be able to solve a much wider range of problems. The article stated, “to be regarded as mathematically literate, a person has to know both the “how” and the “when” of this discourse, that is, has to be able to use this discourse not only when the initiative comes from others, but also on her own accord, in any situation in which this discourse can be helpful”. Numeracy is all about having a well-rounded repertoire of problem solving skills, which can be used quickly and efficiently at the correct time. Likewise, the article goes on to say, “the more abstract the literate mathematical discourse, the greater its potential as a widely generalizable problem-solving tool”. How true and how I cannot wait to try this in my own classroom.

Another idea that was presented in my research, which also connects to the other definitions of literacy, included the benefits of using technology to increase mathematical literacy. “New technology allows for greater possibility for creating an engaging instructional environment that will promote mathematical literacy for all students”. How can we take advantage of this? Answer: in countless ways, for example the PREZI (I will get to that later). Using technology is a great way for students to learn and practice numeracy, and there are several online tools designed to help teach students this exact concept. Just like the other literacies, the definition of numeracy is constantly changing thanks to the ever-changing world of technology. It is time to start using these “new technologies” to better understand literacy. This is something that the students in my placement are somewhat familiar with. They do have opportunities when they can use computers during math, but mainly for them to take various placement tests and not to further their understanding of math.

I found a great quote that really sums up numeracy: “A mathematically literate person can thus be thought of as endowed with a toolkit that allows her to deal successfully with a wide spectrum of situations, including those she had never encountered before”.

Prezis are probably the coolest thing I have come across in a very long time. As an online, interactive, visually dynamic, and overall entertaining poster board, the prezi is an amazing tool for teachers and students alike. There are practically no limits on the amount of things you can do with them. I especially like how they can be opened to multiple users so that several different people can contribute to the finished product from virtually anywhere. Textboxes, shapes, charts, graphs, pictures, videos, and much more are all easily embedded onto the prezi board. The movement of the prezi itself brings each of the items listed above to life in an engaging manner. From experimenting with them already, I have definitely noticed that the prezi changes the way you read, write, listen, and view information.

 The biggest challenge thus far has just been familiarizing myself to the program and exploring the wide variety of options available. The prezi has so much to offer that it is very overwhelming at first. I had to make a few personal boards just to see how the different facets of the prezi work together to create the final product.

 I think that the prezi will be a unique twist on numeracy since most people would not consider an online presentation as a means of explaining mathematical literacy. However, with the tools available on the prezi, such as the ability to use shapes, graphs, and text, I feel as if it is already set up to be used as an additional instrument in shaping understanding of math. It will definitely be a challenge to decide how exactly to approach the math topic of our choice and how many details to incorporate. Also, as designers, since we choose the direction of the mathematical explanation, we may miss different ways that students might approach a typical project, which may lead to misunderstandings or gaps in students’ understanding. I think that a prezi could be most beneficial if it was used to introduce a topic or walk through the steps of how to solve a specific problem.

   Using a prezi to introduce a math topic would be similar to what students would see in print materials, such as their math textbook. Several examples and step-by-step procedures of how to solve problems would appear in both. The difference would be in the more exciting presentation of the prezi, which would be new and thus automatically more interesting than a textbook. The biggest issue with using a prezi with students would be the novelty of the technology, including the confusing set up and million options. Students would nee a lot of scaffolding and practice with the prezi before they would be able to create individual/ group presentations. If they were simply viewing the prezi for the first time, multiple views would be necessary in order for them to catch all the details presented on the board. If the students were very young, it might be beneficial to ease them into the prezi, perhaps by first introducing them to power point slides and then progressively move into the fast paced and more interactive world of the prezi.

      I am truly excited to use the prezi to try and explain numeracy. Students are often turned off to mathematics as being boring and grounded in rote memorization of facts and rules. Using the prezi would present math in a new way that would encourage students approach math differently as well. If students were to design a prezi in pairs or groups, collaboration and literate mathematical discourse would ensue as students worked together to talk through strategies as they were put onto the prezi. Giving students an abstract or multi-part problem would contribute to a growth in their overall problem solving skills as they explored several different ways to explain a given math topic. I hope that in completing this new literacies assignment I will not only learn a new technology that will become a great tool to my future teaching, but I will also gain a deeper understanding on what it means to be literate, especially as it pertains to numeracy.