Literate Environment Analysis Presentation

Leslie Riccard

Walden University

Dr. Davenna Williams

EDUC-6706G-9

February 14, 2012

Today’s classrooms are filled with diverse groups of students, who enter elementary school with a wide range of abilities and literacy experiences. In order for teachers to be able to provide students with a rich literacy experience they must poses a deep understanding about child development and how children learn (Laureate Education, 2009).

bookstechnology

conversation

Print rich environment

Literacy experiences

Getting to know learners

Literacy learning is influenced by students’ sociocultural and school-related factors (Nieto & Bode, 2008). Student’s self perceived competence, task value (Gambrel, Palmer, Codling, & Mazzoni, 1996) and whether they sense we as educators value and respect them (Kottler, Zehm, & Kottler, 2005) have great impact on students’ achievement. This trust between student and teacher is important for assessing cognitive abilities and non-cognitive information about students’ skills, strategies, motivation, attitude, and interest.

Non-Cognitive form of assessment:I begin each year with an “All About Me” poster, and a parent/child information sheet. I feel beginning the year with activities for both students and parents, help me get to know each child for who they are as a person and student (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). These activities let parents and students know that I really value them as people, and conveys to parents that I view their child as a unique human being, not as a product to be tested and managed (Nieto & Bode, 2008).

Cognitive assessments:Student reading surveys as well as cognitive assessements such as running records are assessments I use to help me create a balanced literate environment. Determining the goal and focus of a survey, can help teachers target student’s perceived efficiency in academic subject areas or help to guide instruction or student/teacher interactions (Signal, 2011).

Selecting TextsBecoming a reader is a gradual process that begins with a student’s first interactions with print. There is no fixed point at which students become readers. Instead, they bring with them; an understanding of their spoken language, knowledge of the world, and experiences in it, in order to make sense of what they read (National Council of Teachers of English, 2012).

With the increasing diversity in our schools, we can no longer assume that the lives and the literacy worlds of our students are the same (Purcell-Gates, 2007). In order to provide my students rich literacy experiences, I must have an understanding of my learners, their interests, and any background knowledge.

Selecting Texts

When beginning the unit of study on Harriet Tubman, I make sure to include many forms of literature. I like to use the Reading Rainbow video of the reading Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter (1988) (Reading Rainbow, 1993) to help my students have a greater understanding of slavery, the underground railroad, and life during Harriet Tubman’s time. I also begin reading aloud one story from the American Girls Collection; Meet Addy (Porter, 2000). This story depicts the life of slaves in 1864, helping to understand words such as equality and perseverance. Reading aloud is a powerful tool for use with language learners, it produces a strong English language model and can reduce any anxieties the student may have since they can listen and comprehend through the use of voices, and illustrations (Herrell & Jordan, 2008).

Utilizing the Literacy Matrix (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009) helps to ensure I am exposing my students to various texts to foster their independent reading skills. The read aloud, and video reading as well as a wide variety of literature at various levels of difficulty related to this unit fit within the semiotic-narrative portion of the Literacy Matrix (Laureate Education, Inc. 2009).

Things to consider when choosingreading materials for students:

• Readability and instructional level vs.

frustration level• Visual supports enhance

not distract a reader• Print size does not equal

difficulty• Length of text matches

length of reader’s skill

Literacy Perspectives

• Interactive perspective involves teaching students to read and think about the reading process

• Critical perspective focuses on examining and analyzing the content and structure of text

• Responsive perspective allows students to respond to text in personal and meaningful ways (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009).

Guided reading group lessons lend themselves to the interactive perspective; teachers using reading assessments to determine the appropriate instructional level for students. It allows for teachers to focus on the individual needs of those students in each group.

During guided reading I use choral readings of the books we are working with. This provides my ELL students with valuable oral reading practice. They learn to read more expressively and thus, increase their reading fluency (Tompkins, 2010).

The use of interactive read-aloud can be a powerful tool for teaching, as it produces a strong English language model; students can listen and comprehend due to voice, illustrations and gestures (Herrell & Jordan, 2008).

Interactive Perspective

Critical ResponseInteractive read-alouds model how to make meaning from text (Durand, Howell, Schumacher, & Sutton, 2008).

Wondering about why the author did something, what the characters might be thinking, or how the plot might have proceeded differently, gives students the opportunity to approach a text from a variety of points of view.

subtext strategy (Clyde, 2003) involves students using drama to help them imagine what characters might be thinking. This enhances students’ ability to make personal connections, develop inferencing skills, and understand multiple perspectives.

using the fictional story of Meet Addy, An American Girl, provides my students with multiple opportunities to not only respond to the text, but also to think critically about the era that Addy grew up in, the racial issues and discuss the character’s life. Reading from a critical stance adds dimension to students’ understanding, with critical literacy, and can span across the curriculum, beyond teaching and learning to everyday experiences (Molden, 2007).

Response PerspectiveDeemphasizing mechanics in written responses, students can be encouraged to write and share more (Laureate Education, Inc. 2009).

Reading aloud fictional texts provides my students with opportunities to listen, react, and respond to the text.

Utilizing read-aloud and to expose my students to the cultural and racial differences of the time period of Harriet Tubman will allow for me to foster the critical perspective of literacy.

Many of these fictional texts will provide opportunities for my students to read, react and formulate many personal responses to the texts (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).

References:Clyde, J. A. (2003). Stepping inside the story world: The subtext strategy—a tool for connecting and comprehending. The Reading Teacher,

57(2), 150–160.

Durand, C., Howell, R., Schumacher, L. A., & Sutton, J. (2008). Using interactive read-alouds and reader response to shape students’

concept of care. Illinois Reading Council Journal, 36(1), 22–29.

Gambrell, L. B., Palmer, B. M., Codling, R. M., & Mazzoni, S. A. (1996). Assessing motivation to read. The Reading Teacher, 49(7),

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Herrell, A.J., Jordan, M., (2008). 50 Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners. Pearson Education. Prentice Hall

Kottler, J. A., Zehm, S. J. & Kottler, E. (2005). On being a teacher (3rd). Thousand Oaks, CA Corwin Press Laureate Education, Inc.

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National Council of Teachers of English. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/positiononreading

Nieto, S. & Bode, P. (2008). Affirming diversity the sociopolitical context of multicultural Education. Boston, MA: Pearson Education,

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Porter, C. (2000). Meet Addy an American Girl. The American Girls Collection. Pleasant Company Publications, WI.

Purcell-Gates, V. (2007). Real-life Literacy Instruction, K-3: Handbook for Teachers. Retrieved from

http://authenticliteracyinstruction.com/img/HandbookK3.pdf

Reading Rainbow. (1993). Follow the Drinking GourdSeason 11, Episode 6.

Signal, M. (2011). How to Create Attitude Surveys for Students. Retreived from http://www.ehow.com/how_8707345_create-attitude-

surveys-students.html

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