Oral Language | Reading | Writing
Meet Mary
Mary is a 15 year old 9th grader in a medium sized Midwest town. Born in Mexico, Mary and her two brothers moved with her parents to the United States and have resided in the U.S. for four months. She and her family lived in different states, but they eventually settled in the Midwest.
Mary loves that people in the United States are really calm and it tends to be quieter in the city. In comparison to Mexico, Mary finds that the traffic rules are much better than Mexico. Some other differences that she acknowledges are the styles that people wear compared to her former school’s emphasis on wearing uniforms.
Mary thoroughly enjoys art and can identify with its beauty. One of her favorite artists is Frida Kahlo. She loves that Kahlo made such a huge impact in Mexican art with her boldness and feminine work. Because of this passion, Mary loves art and history. She wants to someday become a history teacher or work in a museum. She is currently exploring her options for college so that she could be ready to apply next year.
With Mary’s English language proficiency level being a 1.5 (WIDA), in order to build her English vocabulary and proficiency, her teachers encourage her to converse more with others and increase her reading. She enjoys learning and has made many friends at her current school. Mary receives 1 period of ESL instruction a day, and all other courses are mainstream courses taught by teachers without any specialized training or certification in working with ELLs.
Reading Samples
Directions: Download and print the Running Record Forms below. Complete the form as you view the videos of the student’s reading below. Review the comprehension Q&A’s. Then complete the Running Record Evaluation Google Forms below.
Reading Comprehension Questions and Answers
1. Who is Charles Darwin?
[Correct Answer: English naturalist who developed the Theory of Evolution]
Mary: “He is the, [long pause] for the theory of evolution. He is, [pause] sciences? Scientific?
2. What was his job?
[Correct Answer: English naturalist, or scientist]
Mary: “He is, [pause] sciences? Scientific?”
3. What does the Theory of Evolution state?
[Correct Answer: Life forms have changed over time, or evolved, from simpler to more complex forms.]
Mary: “Uh, the animals, I think it’s like the animals, the monkey, no, yeah, like the monkey and the animals, it’s the evolution.”
4. What does Darwin’s mechanism of Natural Selection work?
[Correct Answer: Individuals that are better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce than others of the same type. Organisms that are less well adapted are likely to become extinct.]
Mary: “Um, like the … like the mom, an animal, have a son or daughter, and they have … they have son, son, son, and this the, the reproduction, natural selection, that’s it. Reproduction.”
Reading Comprehension Questions and Answers
1. What is DNA?
[Correct Answer: It is your body’s unique information.]
Mary: “Like, uh, if you and me are family, we have the same DNA. It’s like your body unique information.”
2. What kind of information is in your DNA?
[Correct Answer: Instructions for making everything in your body.]
Mary: “Information on, uh, …. oh, hair …. I don’t know to say it … uh, red, … ,sangre [Spanish for blood], teeth …. eyes”
3. Where is DNA in your body?
[Correct Answer: Everywhere.]
Mary: “Where? In all …. like the hair, your nails. ”
4. What does DNA make?
[Correct Answer: A pattern.]
Mary: “Um … it can make the family same.”
5. How come no one in this world is exactly like you?
[Correct Answer: My DNA makes me unique.]
Mary: “Um … I have different hair, different eye, yeah.”
