1. HOW DO I TEACH
LEARNERS AT THE PREK-3
LEVELS?
By: Ashley Bush

2. GETTING TO KNOW EMERGENT
AND BEGINNING LITERACY
LEARNERS
1. Assessment is very important for teachers when getting to
know their emergent and beginning literacy learners. According to
Reutzel & Cooter (2016) there are five principles a teacher can
follow. They are:
a) Find out what children can do
b) Your assessment informs instruction
c) Be prepared and gather your assessment tools in advance
d) Analyze students’ assessment results using if-then thinking
e) Document students growth in reading over time

3. ASSESSMENTS…
Assessments can be formative or summative.
They can also be criterion-referenced reading assessments
They can be norm referenced reading assessments.
Make sure your assessments are reliable and have validity

4. ASSESSMENTS USED FOR MY
LITERACY LEARNERS
Emergent Literacy Learner
1. The Reutzel-Cooter Auditory
Discrimination Test
2. Story Retelling Evaluation
Guide: A Listening
Comprehension Assessment
3. Recognizing Rhyming Words:
Do These Rhyme?
Beginning Literacy Learner
1. Observation
2. Story Retelling Evaluation
Guide: A Listening
Comprehension Assessment”
3. The Early Names Test

5. SELECTING TEXTS

6. A LITERACY MATRIX
A literacy matrix is a tool to help teachers evaluate texts (Laureate
Education, Inc., 2014a).

7. EMERGENT LITERACY LEARNER

8. BEGINNING LITERACY LEARNER

9. LITERACY LEARNER
LESSON’S

10. EMERGENT LITERACY LEARNER
LESSON
-I began the lesson with a KWL chart about tadpoles and frogs
-I read the story From tadpole to frog with my emergent literacy
learner
-When the story was over, we completed our KWL chart
-Next, the student completed a graphic organizer about the life cycle
of a frog
-According to Reutzel & Cooter (2016), readers who understand and
can identify the organizational patterns or text structure an author
has used in producing an informational text tend to remember and
recall more from their reading than other readers who do not.

11. BEGINNING LITERACY LEARNER
LESSON
-Discussion with the student about a persons basic needs in order to
grow
-Discussion of the science terms air, food, water, and shelter
-Word web titled “Animal Needs”
-Reading of Baby animals by Hannah Wilson and Nicki Palin
-Completion of word web
-Student drawing of her favorite animal and its basic needs
According to Reutzel & Cooter (2016), when preparing to teach
informational texts, teachers must first prepare the reader. There are
many ways to accomplish this, for example activating, building, or
correcting misconceptions in prior knowledge in relation to the topic
of the text.

12. REFLECTION
With my emergent and beginning literacy learners, I know that both of my
students are able to read and write. However, my beginning literacy learner
can read fluently, while my emergent reader needs a little more assistance.
Both students loved animals, so that is why I chose informational texts about
animals and related the lesson to their science standards
Beginning readers, point to the words they read, move their lips or read out
loud when they read to themselves, and read one word at a time word-by-
word (Reutzel, & Cooter, 2016).
It is suggested that we teachers give informational text early on (Laureate
Education, Inc., 2014m).
Assessment of students is important
Find students where they are in their learning, and help them get to where
they need to be

13. REFERENCES
Laureate Education (Producer). (2014m). Informational text in the
early years [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: author.
Reutzel, D. R., & Cooter, R. B. (2016). Strategies for reading
assessment and instruction: Helping every child succeed (5th ed.).
Boston, MA: Pearson.