Literate Environment Analysis Jennifer ScottWalden UniversityProfessor Donna BialahEDUC -6707-6, The beginning Reader, Prek-3

As Tompkins (2010) states, “The goals of literacy instruction is to ensure that all students achieve their full potential” (pg.5).

Creating a literacy environment

Utilizing a balanced literacy approach, students are presented with the opportunity to be successful literacy learners.

Students interests and academic levels are assessed to determine appropriate literacy learning activities and texts.

Texts are selected by taking into consideration the literacy matrix and the diverse needs of students.

The interactive, critical and responsive perspectives within the Framework for Literacy Instruction is utilized to facilitate literacy learning.

Researched based practices are implemented to create an optimal literacy environment.

Gaining feedback from colleagues from my professional learning community and parents will ensure student literacy success.

As Tompkins (2010) suggests, teachers use assessments to support instruction and it is an ongoing part of both teaching and learning.

Getting to Know Literacy Learners

Analysis of research based practice

Utilizing non-cognitive and cognitive assessments within the classroom provides valuable insight into my students academic skills, interests, and cultural backgrounds. This valuable information is used to guide my instruction

and adjust my lessons activities to provide a optimal literacy learning environment.

These assessments allow me to differentiate my instruction to provide small guided level reading groups and literacy activities to facilitate student literacy learning.

Non-cognitive and cognitive assessments utilized

Cognitive Assessments Running Records Spelling inventory Word recognition list Reading inventoryNon-cognitive Assessments Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (Johns, J. L. &

Lenski, S. D., 1994) Parent/Teacher Survey Informal interview

As Afflerbach (2007) mentions, we need high quality assessments that focus on the process and products of student reading. Assessment should allow teachers to better understand their students and adjust instruction for student learning.

Getting to know literacy learners

Research to support non-cognitive and cognitive

assessments

Selecting TextAs Douglas Hartman suggests, teachers need to select text based on the needs of students and strike a balance between narrative and informational text. (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).

Selecting Text Using a Literacy Matrix

Utilizing a literacy matrix , as mentioned by Dr. Douglas Hartman can allow an educator to select text for narrative and informational reading while defining the linguistic and semiotic attributes of a story (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).

Selecting Text Analysis of selecting text

Analyzing and select text according to the literacy matrix tool

Choosing text that ensure a balance in literacy instruction: narrative, informative and digital.

Using non-cognitive and cognitive assessments to match students reading levels and interests to text.

Text factors are considered when selecting text.

Selecting TextResearch to support selecting text

As Tompkins (2010) mentions, teacher select books that students can read at their instructional level to support students reading and their use of reading strategies.

In the article, “Reading adventures online: Five ways to introduce the new literacies of the Internet through children’s literature,” it suggests that online text provide opportunities for students to build their understanding of story structures and introduce new ways to develop online navigation skills (International Reading Association, 2006).

As Marzano (2010) mentions, the best teachers find texts that make their subject interesting with big ideas and clear performance goals.

Literacy Lesson: Interactive perspective

As suggested by Dr. Janice Almasi, the interactive perspective is teaching

students to be strategic processors and thinkers (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).

Literacy Lesson: Interactive Perspective

Framework for Literacy InstructionInteractive perspectiveReading and writing accurately, fluently, and with comprehension.Being strategic and metacognitive readers and writers.LearnersUse a variety of informal and formal assessments to determine areas of strength and need in literacy development.TextDetermine texts of the appropriate types and levels of difficulty to meet literacy goals and objectives for students.Instructional PracticesUse instructional methods that address the cognitive and affective needs of students and the demands of the particular text.Promote students’ independent use of reading strategies and skills.

Literacy Lesson: Interactive Perspective, Lesson Foundations

 

Lesson Foundations

Pre-assessment (including cognitive and noncognitive measures): The cognitive

assessments utilized- running records, word recognition and spelling inventory. The

non-cognitive assessments utilized - Elementary Reading Attitude Survey, parent

survey and teacher observation.

 

Curricular Focus, Theme, or Subject Area: The curricular focus is related to the

science common core standards. The theme is animal’s needs and environment.

 

State/District Standards: English Language Arts Standards RI.K. 10 Actively engage

in group reading activities with purpose and understanding, RI. K. 1. With

prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. RI. K.

4. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unknown words in

a text.

Learning Objectives: Students will use pre-reading strategies to identify and list

prior knowledge about night animals. They will identify and recall high frequency

words within the text. Students will read with purpose and monitor comprehension

by responding to questions. Then, students will write multiple sentences about

animals within the text.

Adaptations for ELLs, Students with Special Needs, and/or Struggling Readers:

Vocabulary picture cards will be used to clarify unfamiliar vocabulary within text.

Perspective(s) addressed in this lesson (Interactive, Critical, and/or Response):

Interactive, Critical and Response

Texts: Non-fiction text Night Animals by Terry Patterson from www.readingk-2.com

Other Materials/Technology/Equipment/Resources: Vocabulary cards, chart paper,

pens, response journals

 

Grouping structures (one-on-one, small group, whole class): Small group guided

reading instruction.

Lesson SequenceLesson Sequence

Learning Activities Assessment Opportunities

Introduction/Anticipatory Set

Teacher and students will brainstorm and list prior

knowledge about animals on a graphic organizer called a

circle map in black ink. Then, the teacher will frontload

targeted vocabulary (active, shines, dark, night, day)

with picture cards and high frequency words (some,

these, when, most, them, find) that are found in text to

assist in fluency and comprehension. Next, through a

picture walk students will make predictions about the

story and highlight key concepts. The teacher will read

the title and discuss cover illustrations and the language

patterns within the story. Prediction questions will be

asked: What do you think animals do at night? What are

the different places they might live? Finally, the

students will review reading strategies by referencing

previously taught strategies listed on a poster entitled

What good readers do.

 

 

The teacher will be able to access prior

knowledge of animals through teacher

observation. This information will be

beneficial to determine if students have

an understanding of text content and

high frequency words. Anecdotal notes

will be taken as teacher observes

students within the learning activities.

Building/Applying knowledge and skills

Building/Applying Knowledge and Skills

For the first read of the text through a small group

guided reading experience students will read the text

simultaneously using one to one correspondence. The

teacher will pause and ask inference questions about

the text: What makes night animals special? What do

these animals do during the day? Where do night

animals live? While they are reading, students will

monitor their reading for understanding of text. They

will clarify and identify difficulties with text by

restating, re-reading and reading on to check for

understanding. Teacher will provide support to

students with monitoring strategies and decoding

through prompt/praise support as needed.

 

 

The teacher will assess

student’s fluency, word attack

and use of reading strategies

as students read the text.

Through anecdotal records,

the teacher can re-teach and

adjust the following lessons to

meet the needs of students

within the group.

Synthesis/ClosureSynthesis/Closure

After reading the story, the students will discuss and

connect prior knowledge to new knowledge. The

teacher will ask students to retell the animals that

were in the story, where they live and how they live.

The new information learned about night animals will

be written on the circle map with a blue pen to

denote the new knowledge gained through reading

the text. Clarification will be made regarding

monitoring text and student’s understanding of

difficult vocabulary within the text. Students will

review the text and highlight with a yellow crayon

the high frequency words and targeted vocabulary.

 

 

Teacher will assess students

understanding of text and use

of reading strategies through

teacher observation and

anecdotal notes. If needed,

teacher will assess student’s

reading level and make

adjustments if needed for

future lessons.

Extension/Enrichment/Transfer of Generalization of knowledge

Extension/Enrichment/Transfer of Generalization of Knowledge:

Students will extend their knowledge gained through reading the text

about animals in their response journals. Students will write multiple

sentences about one animal that was within the text and draw a

picture. The responses can be shared in the small group during

independent reading time in the author’s chair.

 

 

Literacy Lesson: Interactive Perspective

Analysis Implementation of the components of the reading process

fostered the literacy development of students: Phonemic awareness, word identification, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension.

Five stages of the reading process is considered for literacy instruction: activating prior knowledge, reading, responding, exploring and applying.

Five types of reading are utilized for quality literacy instruction: independent reading, buddy reading, guided reading, shared reading and reading aloud to students.

Students utilize their metacognitive skills to reflect and have control over their reading and understanding of text.

Literacy Lesson: Interactive Perspective

Research that supports the Interactive Perspective

As Tomkins (2010) mentions, both reading and writing are a process that begin during pre-reading as students activate their background knowledge and preview the text, and it continues as students read, respond, discover and apply their reading.

As Johns and Lenski state (2004),”Our goal as teachers is to instruct students, both directly and indirectly, about which strategies are appropriate for a reading task, how to use the strategy, and how to determine the effectiveness of the strategy”(pg. 299).

As Dr. Janice Almasi suggests, the ultimate goal of the interactive perspective is to teach students how to be literate learners who can navigate the textual world independently (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).

Literacy Lesson: Critical and Response Perspectives

Dr. Janice Almasi suggests, students need to connect with text in life changing ways

and learning occurs when students are given opportunities to share their feelings and emotions about text they have read

(Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).

Literacy Lesson: Critical and Response PerspectivesFramework for Literacy Instruction

Critical PerspectiveJudging, evaluating, and thinking critically about textLearnersFind out about ideas, issues, and problems that matter to students.Understanding the learner as a unique individualTextsSelect texts that provide opportunities for students to judge, evaluate, and think critically.Instructional PracticesProvide opportunities fro students to read, react, and formulate a personal response to text.

Literacy Lesson: Critical and Response Perspectives Lesson Foundation

Lesson Foundations

Pre-assessment (including cognitive and noncognitive measures): The

cognitive assessments utilized- running records, word recognition and

expressive vocabulary test. The non-cognitive assessments utilized -

Elementary Reading Attitude Survey, parent survey and teacher observation.

 

Curricular Focus, Theme, or Subject Area: The curricular focus is related to

social studies. The theme of this lesson is about respecting people as

individuals and self-esteem.

 

State/District Standards: English Language Arts Standards RI.K. 10 Actively

engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding, RI. K. 1.

With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a

text. W.K.1. Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose

an opinion piece in which they tell a reader a topic or the name of the book they

are writing about and state an opinion or preference about the topic or book.

Learning Objectives: Students will activate their prior knowledge to

identify and list describing words about positive feelings about

themselves. They will recall key vocabulary and identify characters

actions within a text related to the theme of feelings and actions. Then,

students will choose a vocabulary word that describes something positive

about themselves as individuals and write multiple sentences and

illustrate.

Adaptations for ELLs, Students with Special Needs, and/or Struggling

Readers: Vocabulary picture cards will be used to clarify unfamiliar

vocabulary within text.

Perspective(s) addressed in this lesson (Interactive, Critical, and/or

Response): Critical and Response.

Texts: Narrative text called I’m Gonna Like me Letting off a little self-

esteem, by Jamie Lee Curtis & Laura Cornell. The text falls in the critical

and response perspective on the framework for literacy instruction.

Other Materials/Technology/Equipment/Resources: Vocabulary cards,

chart paper, pens, response journals

 

Grouping structures (one-on-one, small group, whole class): Small group

interactive reading instruction.

Lesson SequenceLearning Activities Assessment Opportunities

Introduction/Anticipatory Set

Teacher and students will brainstorm and

list prior knowledge about positive words

to describe themselves (I am…) on a

graphic organizer called a circle map in

black ink. Then, the teacher will frontload

targeted vocabulary (brave, sharing,

strong, friend, safe) with picture cards

that are found in text to assist in

comprehension. Next, students will make

predictions about the story as the teacher

reads the title and discuss the cover

illustrations of the story. Prediction

questions will be asked: What makes the

characters on the cover different? What

are some things that are the same about

the characters? What do you think they

are going to like about themselves?

 

The teacher will be able to

access prior knowledge

about vocabulary related

to caring and self-esteem

through teacher

observation. This

information will be

beneficial to determine if

students have an

understanding of text

content and the stories

message.

Building/Applying Knowledge and Skills

Building/Applying Knowledge and Skills

Through the interactive procedure the teacher will

read aloud the text with student involvement. While

reading the story to the students, the teacher will

pause and ask inference questions about the text:

What are some things that the characters like about

themselves? What are some of the words they are

using to describe themselves? What good things are

the girl and boy doing in the story for friends and

family? How do the characters feel about themselves

at the end of story? Why do they feel happy?? While

the teacher is reading and pausing to discuss the

text, she will monitor their understanding of text.

The teacher will clarify and identify difficulties with

comprehension by restating, re-reading and reading

on to check for understanding.

 

 

The teacher will assess students

understanding of concepts within

the lesson by utilizing

observations of student’s

interaction during the reading of

the text. Anecdotal notes will be

made to determine if students

connected to intended lesson

objectives.

Synthesis/ClosureSynthesis/Closure

After reading the story, the students will

discuss and connect prior knowledge to

new knowledge. The teacher will ask

students to retell the feeling words that

were used within the text and discuss

what the characters did in the story to

show that they were happy to be

themselves. Then, on the circle map

new information learned about feelings

will be added in blue ink to denote new

learned information about the topic.

 

 

Teacher will assess students

understanding of the lessons

concepts through teacher

observation and anecdotal

notes.

Extension/Enrichment Transfer of Generalization of KnowledgeExtension/Enrichment/Transfer of Generalization of Knowledge: Students will extend their knowledge gained through reading the text about positive feelings about being self-confident about who they are as individuals in their response journals. Students will write multiple sentences about themselves using the frame I am… and draw a picture to match the writing. The responses can be shared in the small group during independent reading time in the author’s chair. 

Literacy Lesson: Critical and Response Perspectives

Analysis of Critical and Response Perspectives

Chose quality text that evoke emotional discussion and responses about stories topics.

Carefully plan literacy lessons that implement the critical and response perspectives to give students an opportunity to think deeply about text.

Afford the opportunity for students to think critically about their place in the world as responsible members of society through responding to text.

Literacy Lesson: Critical and Response Perspectives

ResearchAs Tompkins (2010)suggests, teachers use grand conversations to have students share their personal responses and tell what they liked about the text. Students make connections between the text and their own lives or to other literature they have read.

As Dr. Janice Alamsi suggests, when students are allowed to respond to text they will understand, and grow as readers and as a person (laureate Education, Inc., 2010).

Feedback from colleagues and Family Members of Students

Questions What insights did you gain about literacy and

literacy instruction from viewing this presentation? How might the information presented changed

your literacy practices and/or your literacy interactions with your students?

In what ways can I support you in the literacy development of your students or children? How might you support me in my work with students or your children?

What questions do you have?

ReferencesAfflerbach, P. (2007). Understanding and using reading assessment, k-12. Newark, DE: International

Reading Association.Castek, J., Bevans-Mangelson, J. & Goldstone, B. (2006). Reading adventures online: Five ways

to introduce the new literacies through children’s literature. The Reading Teacher,59(7).

Johns, J.L. & Lenski, S.D. (1994). Improving reading: A handbook of strategies. Dubuque, IO: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). Selecting and analyzing text. In The beginning reader,prek-3. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). Critical perspective. In The

beginning reader, prek-3. Retrieved fromhttps://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/ Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). Perspectives on literacy. In The beginning reader, prek-3.

retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). Response perspective. In The beginning

reader, prek-3. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/Marzano, R. J. (Ed). (2010). On excellence in teaching. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree press.Tompkins, G. E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach

(5th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.