Creating A Literate Environment

Kamorra CraftonWalden University

EDUC 6706

Why is it important to create a literate environment for students?

A literate environment helps in the development of readers and writers who are successful and motivated.

How can I create a literate environment?

• Get to know my students• Access their cognitive and non-cognitive

abilities• Select engaging and appropriate texts• Incorporate the three main instructional

practices on literacy learning: interactive, critical, and response perspectives.

Getting to Know Literacy Learners, P-3

• Knowing the literacy background of your students is an essential part of teaching. A look into their literacy background helps with the planning of effective lessons and the implementation of various strategies. As teachers we deal with a diverse group of learners who have different cultural backgrounds and academic levels. Understanding how they feel about reading and writing as well as their strengths and weaknesses provides the gateway into helping students build a strong literacy background.

All teachers have the responsibility to guarantee that the literacy atmosphere fosters a students’ development in their literacy skills (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).

What I used as means of getting to know my students?

• I used two different reading assessments to gain more information about the literacy background of my students: the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey and the Scholastic Reading Inventory (Tompkins, 2010).

• The Elementary Reading Attitude Survey is a “tool that can be used with relative confidence to estimate the attitude levels of students and initiate informal assessment efforts into the role attitude plays in students’ development as readers” (McKenna & Kear, 1990). This was a non-cognitive assessment tool.

• The Scholastic Reading Inventory is a “unique computer-adaptive assessment program for grades 1 -12 that reports students’ reading levels using Lexile scores” (Tompkins, 2010, p. 81). This was a cognitive assessment tool.

Other assessment tools to use:

• Literacy Autobiographies• Observations• Conversations• Qualitative Reading

Inventory-4• DIBELs Oral Reading

Fluency Assessment• Running Records• Developmental Reading

Assessment(DRA)

Selecting Texts

An essential part of creating a literate environment involves selecting appropriate and engaging texts for a diverse group of learners. When selecting text, teachers should consider readability, text lengths, text structure, size of font, and visual support (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d). Students should have the opportunity to experience a variety of different texts, including printed and digital. Knowing the students’ reading interests as well as their reading levels helps teachers in the selection of texts that best supports their learning styles.

Rhyming Words Frenzy!!!• The following texts were selected for an emergent and

beginning 1st grade reader to give them more assistance with rhyming words. Both texts were fit to meet each student’s instructional level and correlated with the rhyming word unit being taught in their class. Emergent Reader Beginning Reader

Hop on Pop by Dr. Suess

Online Texts: Zac the Rat and Gus the Duck on www.starfall.com

I Am Not Going To Get Up Today by Dr. Suess

Online Text: When I Grow Up by Becci Sundhagen found on http://sundhagen.com/babbooks/grow/index.html

Interactive Perspective

“The ultimate goal of the interactive perspective is to teach children how to be literate learners

who can navigate the textual world independently” (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d)

Instructional Activities Aligned With The Interactive Perspective

• KWL charts• Book Talks• Word Sorts• Guided Reading• Shared Reading• Interactive Read-Alouds• Reader’s Theater• Choral Reading

Interactive Perspective Lesson OverviewTo incorporate the interactive perspective, I implemented a guided reading lesson with two groups of 1st

graders on rhyming words. Each group was given a different text to read.

Pre-activating strategy: Students participated in an interactive rhyming word game on the Promethean board where they were asked to identify sets of rhyming words. This allowed me to informally assess their previous knowledge of rhyming words.

Before Reading: a new book was introduced to the students and a brief summary was provided. I then guided the students in a picture walk through the book, allowed them to make predictions, and introduced essential vocabulary words from the story.

During Reading: Students were instructed to read the book softly to themselves at their own pace while I checked for fluency and word recognition. I asked questions from the text to check for comprehension.

After Reading: Students participated in a short word activity where they were asked to create sets of rhyming words with magnetic letters. Students were also asked to recall rhyming words from the story.

Lesson Extension: I taught a short whole group guided writing lesson that was centered around sentence structure and organization of ideas. I gave the students an ample amount of time to practice writing sentences and then they were asked to create a story that consisted of different rhyming words. Each group was given an assignment fit to meet their instructional level.

• Emergent Readers: Write a story that includes at least 3 sets of rhyming words and draw a picture to match your story.

• Beginning Readers: Write a story that tells how you feel when you don’t want to get up. Include at least 5 sets of rhyming words. Draw a picture that goes with your story.

Critical and Response Perspectives

An important part of literacy involves allowing students to examine text from the critical and response perspective. “Critical literacy focuses on issues of power and promotes reflection, transformation, and action. It encourages readers to be active participants in the reading process: to question, to dispute, and to examine power relations. It also asks us to second guess what we believe is true, ask harder and harder questions, see underneath, behind, and beyond the texts, see how these texts establish and use power over us, over others, on whose behalf, and in whose interest” (Molden, 2007).The response perspective, in addition, is closely aligned with the critical perspective of literacy. It allows students a chance to personally and emotionally connect to various texts (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d).

Activities To Promote Critical Thinking and Reflecting

• Analyzing Characters• Questioning the Author• Response Journals• Discussions• Dramatic Response • Subtext Strategy• Bookmark Strategy (Molden, 2007)• Story Reporting (Molden, 2007)

Critical and Response Perspective: Lesson Overview

To incorporate the critical and response perspectives, I extended a lesson previously done with two groups of 1st graders on rhyming words.

Pre-activating strategy: Students participated in the game of “four corners.” I chose four corners in the room and put a different word family in each corner. I then gave each student an index card containing a three or four letter word and students were instructed to go to the corner that contained a group of words that rhymed with the word on their card. As students ventured to various spots in the room, I was able to quickly assess their understanding of rhyming words.

Lesson: I reread the selected text (Hop on Pop by Dr. Suess for emergent readers and I Am Not Going To Get Up Today by Dr. Suess for beginning readers) and asked them to clap when they heard rhyming words. Afterwards, we reviewed vocabulary words from the story.

Incorporation of Critical and Response Perspectives: I displayed some of Dr. Suess’ books for students to see and lead them in a grand conversation of various books written by him. I allowed students to discuss their reactions and feelings about different Dr. Suess books they’ve read previously at home or at school. Students also participated in a questioning the author activity where they were guided in analyzing the text and developing queries. Their responses were recorded on chart paper.

Lesson Closure: The closure part of the lesson consisted of a guided writing lesson that was done later that day during their writing period. I modeled sentence structure and organization of ideas on the board for all students to see. I also showed the students examples of writing pieces that did not meet the standard, those that did meet, and some that exceeded the standard. A sample rubric was shown as various writing pieces were discussed. Afterwards, students were given a chance to revise their writing pieces from the previous lesson while Mrs. Wright and I walked around to assist students when needed.

ReferencesLaureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Changes in literacy education.

[Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.eduLaureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Analyzing and selecting

text [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.eduLaureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Interactive perspective:

Strategic processing [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Response perspective. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Perspectives on literacy learning. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Molden, K. (2007). Critical literacy, the right answer for the reading classroom: Strategies to move beyond comprehension for reading improvement. Reading Improvement, 44(1),50–56.

McKenna, M. C., & Kear, D. J. (1990). Measuring attitude toward reading: A new tool for teachers. The Reading Teacher, 43(9), 626–639.

Tompkins, G. E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Walden University lesson plan template. [Lecture notes]. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Walden University framework for literacy instruction. [Lecture notes]. (n.d.) Retrieved fromhttps://class.waldenu.edu