Creating PreK-3 Literacy Environments

Channellle DeleyRead 6706:LIteracy DevelopmentWalden University 2016

Presentation Topics:What does a literacy environment look like?

How do I get to know my students and their needs?

How do I select appropriate texts to address the needs of my students?

How can I teach an emergent literacy learner?

How can I teach a beginning literacy learner?

What have I been learning?

What is a Literacy Environment:● A literacy rich classroom has the best interest of the child in mind.

● Providing students an opportunity to think critically and engage using reading, writing, speaking and listening strategies will develop skills necessary for the 21st century learner.

● Building upon the background knowledge and experiences of students, they learn to become active participants within their environments (Reutzel and Cooter, 2015)

● Teachers can gain information about their students by interacting with families, engaging with students, and using noncognitive and cognitive assessments.

What Does A Literacy Environment Look Like: Texts are selected using the Literacy Matrix and specifically target the developmentally levels of the students Instruction reflects aspects of the Framework of Literacy Teacher is responsive to students’ needs, interests and

considers motivational factors when planning instruction

Instruction incorporates “The Five Pillars” (Laureate Education, 2014a) - phonemic awareness - fluency - comprehension - phonics - vocabulary

Getting to Know Literacy Learners

Effective literacy instruction begins by the teacher gathering important information about each student in the literacy classroom.

Noncognitive assessments are used to measure the motivation, engagement, self-concept, agency, interest, and attitude of students

Cognitive assessments measure the literacy skills and strategies mastered by students (Afflerbach, 2012).

Assessments used for the Emergent Learner:

Noncognitive: ● My Feelings About Reading (Mariotti, n.d). & parts of the Writing Attitude Survey (Kear,

Coffman, McKenna & Ambrosio, 2000).

Cognitive:● Teacher Rated Oral Language Literacy (Reutzel and Cooter, 2015)● Metalinguistic Interview (Reutzel and Cooter, 2015)

Assessments used for the Beginning Learner:

Noncognitive:● Me and My Reading Profile (Marinak, Malloy, Gambrell, Mazzoni, 2015).

Cognitive:● Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment (2014) - Running Record ● Starpoint Phonics Assessment (Reutzel and Cooter, 2015)

How Do I Select Texts Using Hartman’s Literacy Matrix tool, as well

Janice Almasi’s level of Text Difficulty I was able to selectdevelopmentally appropriate texts. (Laureate Education, 2014b)

Informational Text Narrative Text: Informational with Semiotic properties with semiotic features * visuals * diagrams * illustrations READ - ALOUD INSTRUCTIONAL READ

Informational and Narrative Digital Text: *factual information * illustrations *illustrations Narrative with semiotic SHARED READ properties

INDEPENDENT LISTEN

Selecting TextsThe Literacy Matrix tool should be used to analyze and evaluate the appropriateness of texts used in a literate environment. I used this tool designed by Hartman (Laureate Education, 2014b) to ensure that I used a variety of texts that provided a variation of factors

Using “twin texts” (Camp, 2000) I was able to pair fiction and nonfiction books on the same topic to boost students understanding and enjoyment. Through read alouds, shared reading, guided reading and interactive listening using digital texts (Shanahan, 2013), students were learning critical reading and thinking skills necessary for 21st century learners.

Linguistic

Informational Narrative

Easy

Hard

Semiotic

Emergent Literacy Learner Lesson:

● Promoting strategic thinking and metacognition in reading and writing was the foundation of the lesson and I developed this through interactive read alouds and shared reading

experiences, using high-quality children's literature. ● When I considered the reading material to support higher level literacy development for my

emergent learner, I searched for texts with complex ideas worthy of discussion, well developed stories that offered rich and complex language use, and integration of visuals that

warranted deeper levels of processing skills.

Using the data from the noncognitive pre-assessment of my emergent learner, it was critical to stimulate the students’ interests and activate his prior knowledge. The power of using twin texts, read alouds, interactive shared reading and student interaction elicited meaningful literacy instruction in both whole class and small group learning environments.

● Through modeled expectations and effective questioning, students were encouraged to become active learners, critical thinkers and analytical processors. The emergent learner in

which I have been working with demonstrated that through small group instruction and interaction with other students, he was able to activate his prior knowledge, analyze text features, generate rhyme, summarize information from both a narrative and informative

text and expressive himself orally, while listening attentively to those around him.

Beginning Learner Literacy Lesson:Data from the Fountas and Pinnell cognitive assessment indicated that comprehension needed to be strengthened if the beginning learner was to become a successful reader and writer. Making predictions, accessing prior knowledge, developing questions associated to a particular topic, using text structure and rereading texts were strategies that were explicitly taught during the small group instruction through the use of informational and narrative texts. In order to stimulate the students’ interests and activate her prior knowledge, it was imperative that I start with a whole class read aloud using the story Bear Snores On

To promote literacy learners' strategic thinking and metacognition in the reading process, I had students organize supplementary data by comparing information from text to text after reading the informational text Hibernation. This instructional read encouraged students to activate their prior knowledge, make connections, ask questions and search for new information. By using effective writing strategies, the students discovered, refined ideas composed and revised with confidence while increasing their skills (Rog, 2007).

With an emphasis on interactive read alouds and small group shared reading experiences, students collaborated with each other, gained insightful information regarding the topic of study, and used interactive dialogue to share their knowledge

Beginning Literacy Learner

- whole class discussion- small group instruction - intentional modeling - interactive read aloud- shared interactive reading - guided reading - graphic organizers - Running Records:

comprehension analysis - guided writing - interactive writing

Emergent Literacy Learner

- whole class discussion- small group instruction - intentional modeling - interactive read aloud- shared interactive

reading - graphic organizers - interactive writing

Research -Based Practices

REFLECTIONWith an understanding that children have far less exposure to informational text than narrative text both in the classroom and at home, pairing two pieces of literature while focusing on the needs of students can be achieved through cognitive and noncognitive assessments. With an emphasis on interactive read alouds, small group instruction and shared reading experiences, students can collaborate with each other, gain insightful information and use interactive dialogue to share their knowledge.

Through digital media and writing activities, students transfer their knowledge into meaningful contexts which increases student motivation (Laureate Education, 2014c). Exposing students to valuable resources and selecting texts that increase student motivation, build important literacy skills, and lay the groundwork for students to grow into confident, purposeful readers is critical in the literacy learning environment.

Using the Literacy Framework as a planning tool ensures that literacy instruction prepares students with 21st-century literacy skills and provides educators with a focus on the essential literacy components including oral language, phonological awareness, concept of print, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Designing a literacy plan that incorporates all components using The Five Pillars would ensure that the classroom learning environment provides new ways of making the learning journey accessible for all learners.

REFERENCESAfflerbach, P. (2012). Understanding and using reading assessment: K–12 (2nd ed.). Newark, DE: International Reading Association

Camp, D. (2000). It takes two: Teaching with twin texts of fact and fiction. Reading Teacher, 53(5), 400–408.

Kear, D. J., Coffman, G. A., McKenna, M. C., & Ambrosio, A. L. (2000). Measuring attitude toward writing: A new tool for teachers. Reading Teacher, 54(1), 10–23.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2014a). The beginning reader [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2014b). Analyzing and selecting texts [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author

Laureate Education (Producer). (2014c). Thinking critically about text [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Mariotti, A. P. (n. d.). Using interest inventories with struggling and unmotivated readers. Retrieved from http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415802093/newsupdates/Interest-Inventories.pdf

Reutzel, D. R., & Cooter, R. B., Jr. (2016). Strategies for reading assessment and instruction: Helping every child succeed (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Rog, L. J. (2007). Marvelous minilessons for teaching beginning writing, K–3. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Shanahan, T. (2013). The Common Core ate my baby and other urban legends. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational- © 2014 Laureate Education, Inc. Page 8 of 8 leadership/dec12/vol70/num04/The-Common-Core-Ate-My-Baby-and-OtherUrban-Legends.aspx