A literacy-rich classroom provides students with a variety of texts and learning materials to enhance their language development. Elements of such a classroom include visual displays, labeled supplies and areas for reading, writing, listening and representing ideas through art. Daily read-alouds and guided reading sessions introduce students to new ideas and vocabulary. The classroom is designed as a comfortable environment to engage students in literacy.

1. Creating a Literacy Rich
Classroom
By: Ashley Presley and Tania Molina

2. We love
Literacy!!
A “literacy-rich” classroom provides
students with a wide variety of texts that
include oral, print, and other media
communication. The classroom is
designed to not only enhance the language
learning process but also in order to
create a warm and comfortable transition
for any student immerging into a new
language.

3. Elements of a Literacy Rich
Classroom:
♥ The classroom has Visual Appeal with attractive posters,
charts and "word-walls" at students’ eye-level.
♥ Classroom has labels with words and pictures on all
supplies, materials, learning centers and objects.
♥ List of classroom rules is posted (using pictures, words,
objects and photographs)
♥ Students’ names have been posted on all desks, cubbies, and
supplies ( this allows the student to feel welcome and
comfortable and that the classroom actually belongs to them)
♥ Areas of the room devoted to materials and equipment to
encourage writing, viewing, and representing through art and
drama.

4. Elements Continued…
♥ A large and accessible Reading Center where students
have immediate access to a variety of printed materials ( age
appropriate books, poetry, dictionaries, menus, recipes, labels, signs,
printed directions, student work, alphabet displays)
♥ An Audio Center where students are exposed to music or story
CD’s for a variety of written text and sounds.
♥ Student-published books will be on bookshelves, student
artwork and other representations will be displayed, and works-in-progress
will be evident.
♥ Student-made books or posters that display
photographs with captions provide a record of past shared
experiences and successes.
♥ A Writing Center which offers a variety of media such as:
(letter stamps, large writing charts, graphs, pockets charts,
enlarged recipe cards, write-on boards)

5. A Wall on which to display important texts,
high-frequency words and newly learned
vocabulary. Many teachers begin their word
wall by adding the name of all the students
which helps students feel important. Word
walls enable students to have an easy visual
reference to every day words and vocabulary
to which they can use in their written and oral
language. Teachers should add words to wall
along with the students every week.

6. Creating the essential elements
of Promoting literaCy:

7. Environmental
Print
Word Wall

8. An inviting reading environment helps to stimulate
children’s interests in books and reading. By
arranging the furniture and materials in a
comfortable, accessible manner, children will want
to spend more time looking at books either alone or
with peers in the reading center.

9. Reading Centers are
not only designed
for Learning but for
Fun!

11. Reading Center Furnishings
 Soft, comfortable chairs, such as bean
bag chairs, giant pillows or a small foam
couch
 Child-sized rocking chair
 Stuffed animals to “read with a friend”
 Small table with two or more child-sized
chairs if room permits
 Bookshelves, bins, or boxes which allows
books to be seen at students’ eye level

12. Story Felt Board
Audio
Reading
Center

13. Reading Center Materials and
Equipment
 Head sets, tape recorders, CD players, and recorded books
 Story Felt board and flannel story pieces
 Magnetic board and magnetic story pieces
Writing Center Materials
Writing Tools- Plain and colored pencils, markers,
crayons, erasers, stamps, glitter glue, scissors, tape and
ribbon for book bindingVariety of Paper- lined, plain,
white, colored, paper stapled together as a book, memo
pads, journals, and envelopes.
Materials that Support Writing- lists of the children’s
names, wipe able writing boards, magnetic board and
letters, laminated poster board pieces flannel board,
letter tiles and blocks, alphabet chart, old magazine

14. A literacy-rich environment is important for all students
but the most beneficial literacy experience for
students at all grades is to be read to daily.
Read-aloud and Guided Reading sessions
introduce students to the world of texts beyond their
own reading level and give them access to ideas,
places, and characters they might otherwise never
meet. They also help students become familiar with
story language and text structure.
Students who have been read to will adopt and adapt
to the language of books when they write, retell a
story, share information, represent a character or
event, dramatize a scene, or create a storyboard.

15. Guided Reading and Read Alouds
Pre-Reading (Introducing the Book):
Parts of a book- Front Cover, Back, Spine, Pages
What is a title? Where can I find it?
What is an Author? Where can I find the Author?
What is an Illustrator?
What do you see on the front cover?
What do you think this story will be about?
What genre do you think this story will be?

16. Reading the Story
The first read through:
Read story aloud to students. Throughout the story, stop every once in
a while do the following:
• Ask prediction questions… what do you think will
happen next?
• Questions about the character. What do you
think the character is feeling at this point in the
story?
• Questions about the setting of the story.
• Read a page and ask students if they heard an
unfamiliar word.
• Go over the word and its meaning. Use an
illustration if needed and then re-read the
sentence to reaffirm students understanding.

17. Post- Reading:
 After reading lead a discussion to reflect student
comprehension
 Ask questions about the parts of the story, what
events happened in the beginning, middle and the
end.
 Create a story map with class which will include all
the story elements: Title, Author, Setting, Main
Character, Main Idea, and Resolution
 Have the students create an alternate ending to
the story
 Reflective Writing in Journals

18. Buddy
Reading
Silent Reading

19. Choral Reading

20. Modifications for Multi-
Level Readers:
Student Created Text
Using a big book or picture book with large illustrations, cover all
the text allowing students to invent ideas and sentences before
reading the story. Afterwards they can compare their thoughts
with what was actually written. Also, covering parts of a sentence
to where students may guess the word or ending is a great
decoding strategy that enhances comprehension.
Echo Reading
Students will mimic or echo repetitive lines through out the story
to participate in the read aloud experience.
Student- Recorded Audio
Create a tape recording of various students reading parts of a
story or parts of a character to play aloud in reading center.

21. Dramatizing the Story
Students are natural actors, so using drawings, puppets are
recyclable costumes are a fun way of allowing the students
to live out the story.
Word Study
Find unfamiliar text with students. Clap out syllables and
first sound out the word, then act out or illustrate the
meaning. Discuss if the word may fit into a word or rhyming
family ( cat, bat, sat). Add the newly learned vocabulary to
the word wall display.