1. Literacy Literacy is the ability to use reading and writing for a variety of tasks both in and outside of school (Tompkins, 2010). The goal of literacy instruction is to ensure all students achieve their full literacy potential.

2. Getting to Know Literacy LearnersIt is not what we are teaching, rather who we are teaching (Laureate Education Inc., 2010). 3. Getting to Know Literacy LearnersAssessing both cognitive and non-cognitive aspects is crucial in teaching students because for students to become effective life-long learners they must have both the skill and the will to read (Johns & Lenski, 1994).Assessing the other is just as important as assessing a students cognitive abilities. Factors such as motivation, interest, and attitudes toward reading are helpful in improving a students ability to read. These assessments help fill the gap in a teachers understanding of high-quality teaching of reading, resultant student learning, and student growth that compliments cognitive achievement (Afflerbach, 2007).Activities for Getting to know Literacy Learners: Noncognitive: Me Stew Literacy Autobiographies Interest Surveys Cognitive: Repeated Readings (fluency) DRA (Developmental reading assessment Sight Word Assessments 4. Selecting TextTeachers must choose engaging text that appeal to students identities; cultural, community, gender, developmental (Laureate Education Inc., 2009). 5. Selecting Text Selecting text is a crucial part of reading. Selecting text that is too difficult can frustrate students while selecting a text too easy can lose the readers attention (Laureate Education Inc., 2010). Text must be engaging, at a students ability level and connect to their multiple identities for students to achieve success (Laureate 2009). * Dimensions of Difficulty* Readability Text Length Text Structure Size of Print Visual Supports *These dimensions of difficulty help teachers choose appropriate text for each student.Literacy Matrix: Helps to balance reading material presented to students. (Laureate Education Inc., 2009). Students need to be exposed to a variety of text and text structures. LinguisticNarrative+InformationalSemiotic (pictures, icons). 6. Literacy Perspectives InteractiveResponseCriticalAll three perspectives are key components in creating a literate environment (Laureate Education Inc., 2009). Once teachers know their students, they need to determine what theyre going to do with those texts, and for those students to help them become literate learners (Laureate Education Inc., 2009). 7. Interactive PerspectiveTeaching students how to read and become strategic processors and thinkers (Laureate Education Inc., 2010). 8. Strategic processing must be threaded through all Five Pillars of Literacy, (Laureate Education Inc., 2009).The Five Pillars include; phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, & comprehension. Each of these components is crucial for effective reading instruction (Allington, 2005).Teach students to be reflective and self-regulating, becoming independent readers that process text (Laureate Education Inc., 2009).*Students learn to*1. 2. 3.Choose most effective strategy when reading, Use different strategies for different types of text. Make predictions, visualize, make sense of text.Activities for teaching Interactive Perspective: Word recognition activities Comprehension activities(answering questions, story maps, diagrams). Interactive Read-Alouds Readers Theatre Choral Reading Interactive Writing activities 9. Critical PerspectiveTeaching students to critically examine text. To look at text from a different perspective (Laureate Education Inc., 2009). 10. In the Critical Perspective studentsActivities to incorporate Critical Perspective: Critical literacy is a way of beingAuthors Chairare required to look at text through a different perspective. Students look beyond the text (Laureate Education Inc., 2009).that challenges texts and life, as we know it. Critical literacy focuses on issues of power and promotes reflection, transformation, and action (Molden, 2007). Critical literacy encourages readers to be active participants in the reading process: to question, to dispute, and to examine power relations (Molden, 2007). Being able to have a discussion withothers about the different meanings a text might have and teaching the potentially critically-literate learner how to think flexibly about it.Open-Mind Portraits Question-AnswerRelationship activities 11. Response PerspectiveThis perspective gives students the opportunity to experience and respond to text (Laureate Education Inc., 2009). 12. Reading, reacting, and responding to text in a variety of meaningful ways. Students formulate a personal response to text (Laureate Education Inc., 2009). Students interests and identities are used to select text. The readers lived experiencesare primary importance (Laureate Education Inc., 2009). A student who is responsive to a book can be transformed by its message (Laureate Education Inc., 2009).Activities to incorporate Response PerspectiveGrand Conversations Reading Logs Hot Seat Double-Entry journals 13. Comprehension is the goal of reading; its the reason people read. Students must understand what theyre reading to learn from the experience, they must make sense of the words in text to maintain interest; and they must enjoy reading to become life long readers (Tompkins, 2010). 14. Resources Afflerbach, P. (2007). Understanding and Using Reading Assessment K-12. Newark, DE: International Allington, R. L. (2005). The other five pillars of effective reading instruction. Reading Today, 22 (6), 3. http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.orgJohns, J., & Lenski, S. (2009). Improving reading: strategies and resources . Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt. Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Critical perspective. Baltimore, MD: Author. Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Perspectives on literacy. Baltimore, MD: Author. Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Response perspective. Baltimore, MD: Author. Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Perspectives of literacy education. Baltimore, MD: Author. Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Research highlights . Baltimore, MD: Author. Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Literacy autiobiography. Baltimore, MD: Author. Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Engaging text. Baltimore, MD: Author. Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Strategic processing. Baltimore, MD: Author. 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. Reading Horizons . The five pillars of literacy. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.readinghorizons.com/research/five-pillars.aspx Stahl, K.A.D. (2004). Proof, practice, and promise: Comprehension strategy instruction in the primary grades. Reading Teacher, 57(7), 598-608. Tompkins, G.E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Reading Association. Retrieved from