This a digital story representing aspects that make up a literate environment for emergent and beginning learners.

1. Literate Environment
Analysis
ALICIA GILBERT LITERACY DEVELOPMENT PREK-3, READ 6706O-7
WALDEN UNIVERSITY INSTRUCTOR: GINA PINK

2. Getting to Know Emergent and Beginning Literacy Learners, P-3
Students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
-Anonymous

3. Getting to Know Emergent and Beginning
Literacy Learners, P-3
 Cognitive abilities:
 Phonemic awareness
 Oral vocabulary
 Phonics
 Vocabulary
 Fluency
 Comprehension
 Writing
 Non-cognitive abilities:
 Motivation
 Readers’ self concept
 Readers’ attitudes
 Readers’ interests
 Readers’ attributions
To get to know emergent and beginning literacy learners, educators must learn about students’
cognitive and non-cognitive abilities.

4. Getting to Know Emergent and Beginning
Literacy Learners, P-3
 Cognitive Assessments
 Emergent:
• Recognizing Rhyming Words: Do These
Rhyme? Assessment
• Oral Language Checklist
 Beginning:
• STAR Reading Computer-Adapted Reading
Test
• Spelling Inventory
 Non-cognitive Assessments
 Emergent:
• My Feelings about Reading Interest
Inventory
 Beginning:
• Elementary Reading Attitude Survey

5. Selecting Texts
When selecting texts, the complexity of a
text must be considered. There are three
components that decide the texts’
complexity. The qualitative measures
include text structure, language clarity and
conventions, knowledge demands, and
levels of meaning and purpose. The
quantitative measures to consider are
word frequency, sentence length, and text
cohesion. Finally, the reader’s motivation
and interest in the task must be
considered as well (Common Core State
Standards Initiative, 2012d).

6. Selecting Texts
Furthermore, teachers must also
consider the literacy matrix to
ensure a balanced approach of
literature, informational, pictures,
words, difficult and easier texts
are utilized. Selecting a variety of
texts is imperative to creating an
atmosphere conducive to higher
levels of learning (Laureate
Education, 2014a).
Linguistic
Semiotic
Hard
Easy
Narrative Informational
Literacy Matrix

7. Emergent Literacy Learner Lesson
 Common Core State Standards or other State/District Standards:
 Minnesota Science Standard of 1.4.3.1 Students will understand that plants and animals undergo a series of orderly changes during their life cycles.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.A Recognize and produce rhyming words.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.E Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.A Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most
frequent sounds for each consonant.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.D Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.1 and CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.9 With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations,
descriptions, or procedures).
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.10 and CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.2 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing
about and supply some information about the topic.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and
larger groups.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.2 Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions
about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood.

8. Emergent Literacy Learner Lesson
 Theme: Plant Life Cycles
 Learning Objectives:
 Students will verbally describe the process a seed undergoes to become a plant and continue the life cycle.
 Students will identify rhyming words in the poem “Little Brown Seed”.
 Students will produce new rhyming words from the word pairs in the poem “Little Brown Seed” by substituting
beginning phonemes of words.
 Students will actively participate in class discussions by asking and answering questions about texts read aloud.
 Students will write content-specific words in an alphabox grid.
 Students will demonstrate basic one-to-one letter-sound correspondence to write words in an alphabox grid.
 Students will verbally compare and contrast The Tiny Seed and National Geographic Readers: Seed to Plant to
complete a Venn diagram.

9. Emergent Literacy Learner Lesson
 Texts: The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle, National Geographic Readers: Seed to Plant by
Kristin Baird Rattini, “Little Brown Seed” poem by an unknown author, and Plants
(digital text from PebbleGo).
 Learning Activities:
 KWL graphic organizer
 Shared reading (Laureate Education, 2014r)
 Venn diagram comparing and contrasting texts
 Alphabox grid (Reutzel & Cooter, 2016)
 Playing with rhymes and alliteration (Reutzel & Cooter, 2016)

10. Beginning Literacy Learner Lesson
 Common Core State Standards or other State/District Standards:
 Minnesota Science Standard of 1.4.3.1 Students will understand that plants and animals undergo a series of orderly changes during their life cycles.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1 and CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.10 and CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.10 With prompting and support, read prose, poetry, and informational texts of appropriate complexity
for grade 1.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.1.A Recognize the distinguishing features of a sentence (e.g., first word, capitalization, ending punctuation).
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.2 Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and
larger groups.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.2 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1.J Produce and expand complete simple and compound declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory sentences in response
to prompts.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

11. Beginning Literacy Learner Lesson
 Theme: Plant Life Cycles
 Learning Objectives:
 Students will actively participate in class discussions by asking and answering questions about texts read
aloud in small and large groups.
 Students will read and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills to decode words in the “Little
Brown Seed” poem and National Geographic Readers: Seed to Plant.
 Students will write declarative sentences telling what they learned about plant life cycles using first word
capitalization and punctuation at the end of the sentence.
 Students will segment and blend words to accurately spell CVC words.

12. Beginning Literacy Learner Lesson
 Texts: The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle, National Geographic Readers: Seed to Plant by
Kristin Baird Rattini, “Little Brown Seed” poem by an unknown author, and Plants
(digital text from PebbleGo).
 Learning Activities:
 KWL graphic organizer
 Shared reading (Laureate Education, 2014r)
 Guided reading group ( Laureate Education, 2014k)
 Sequential segmenting strategy (Reutzel & Cooter, 2016)

13. Feedback From Colleagues and Personal
Reflection
Colleagues’ Feedback
 Informative
 Well organized
Personal Reflection
 Organized
 Concise
 Clear
 Easy to read

14. References
 Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2012d). Supplemental information for appendix A of the
Common Core state standards for English language arts and literacy: New research on text complexity.
Retrieved from
http://www.corestandards.org/assets/E0813_Appendix_A_New_Research_on_Text_Complexity.pdf
 Laureate Education (Producer). (2014a). Analyzing and selecting texts [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
 Laureate Education (Producer). (2014k). Guided reading [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
 Laureate Education (Producer). (2014r). Shared reading [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
 Reutzel, D. R., & Cooter, R. B., Jr. (2016). Strategies for reading assessment and instruction: Helping every
child succeed (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.