This document discusses creating a literate environment for students through various methods. It recommends getting to know students' cognitive and non-cognitive abilities through assessments, selecting engaging texts, and incorporating interactive, critical, and response literacy instruction. Specific strategies are outlined, such as using reading assessments, guided reading lessons with questioning, and activities promoting critical thinking like character analysis and questioning the author. The goal is for students to develop reading, writing, and independent learning skills through a supportive literacy environment.

1. Creating A Literate
Environment
Kamorra Crafton
Walden University
EDUC 6706

2. Why is it important to create a
literate environment for students?
A literate
environment
helps in the
development of
readers and
writers who are
successful and
motivated.

3. How can I create a literate
environment?
• Get to know my students
• Access their cognitive and non-cognitive
abilities
• Select engaging and appropriate texts
• Incorporate the three main instructional
practices on literacy learning: interactive,
critical, and response perspectives.

4. Getting to Know Literacy Learners, P-3
• Knowing the literacy background
of your students is an essential
part of teaching. A look into their
literacy background helps with
the planning of effective lessons
and the implementation of
various strategies. As teachers
we deal with a diverse group of
learners who have different
cultural backgrounds and
academic levels. Understanding
how they feel about reading and
writing as well as their strengths
and weaknesses provides the
gateway into helping students
build a strong literacy
background.
All teachers have the
responsibility to
guarantee that the
literacy atmosphere
fosters a students’
development in their
literacy skills (Laureate
Education, Inc., 2010).

5. What I used as means of getting to
know my students?
• I used two different
reading assessments to
gain more information
about the literacy
background of my
students: the
Elementary Reading
Attitude Survey and the
Scholastic Reading
Inventory (Tompkins,
2010).
• The Elementary Reading Attitude
Survey is a “tool that can be used
with relative confidence to
estimate the attitude levels of
students and initiate informal
assessment efforts into the role
attitude plays in students’
development as readers”
(McKenna & Kear, 1990). This was
a non-cognitive assessment tool.
• The Scholastic Reading Inventory
is a “unique computer-adaptive
assessment program for grades 1
-12 that reports students’ reading
levels using Lexile scores”
(Tompkins, 2010, p. 81). This was
a cognitive assessment tool.

6. Other assessment tools to use:
• Literacy Autobiographies
• Observations
• Conversations
• Qualitative Reading
Inventory-4
• DIBELs Oral Reading
Fluency Assessment
• Running Records
• Developmental Reading
Assessment(DRA)

7. Selecting Texts
An essential part of creating a literate environment
involves selecting appropriate and engaging texts
for a diverse group of learners. When selecting
text, teachers should consider readability, text
lengths, text structure, size of font, and visual
support (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d). Students
should have the opportunity to experience a
variety of different texts, including printed and
digital. Knowing the students’ reading interests as
well as their reading levels helps teachers in the
selection of texts that best supports their
learning styles.

8. Rhyming Words Frenzy!!!
• The following texts were selected for an emergent and
beginning 1st grade reader to give them more assistance with
rhyming words. Both texts were fit to meet each student’s
instructional level and correlated with the rhyming word unit
being taught in their class. Emergent Reader Beginning Reader
Hop on Pop by Dr.
Suess
Online Texts: Zac the
Rat and Gus the
Duck on
www.starfall.com
I Am Not Going To
Get Up Today by Dr.
Suess
Online Text: When I
Grow Up by Becci
Sundhagen found on
http://sundhagen.co
m/babbooks/grow/i
ndex.html

9. Interactive Perspective
“The ultimate goal of the interactive perspective
is to teach children how to be literate learners
who can navigate the textual world
independently” (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d)

10. Instructional Activities Aligned With
The Interactive Perspective
• KWL charts
• Book Talks
• Word Sorts
• Guided Reading
• Shared Reading
• Interactive Read-Alouds
• Reader’s Theater
• Choral Reading

11. Interactive Perspective Lesson Overview
To incorporate the interactive perspective, I implemented a guided reading lesson with two groups of 1st
graders on rhyming words. Each group was given a different text to read.
Pre-activating strategy: Students participated in an interactive rhyming word game on the Promethean board
where they were asked to identify sets of rhyming words. This allowed me to informally assess their
previous knowledge of rhyming words.
Before Reading: a new book was introduced to the students and a brief summary was provided. I then guided
the students in a picture walk through the book, allowed them to make predictions, and introduced
essential vocabulary words from the story.
During Reading: Students were instructed to read the book softly to themselves at their own pace while I
checked for fluency and word recognition. I asked questions from the text to check for comprehension.
After Reading: Students participated in a short word activity where they were asked to create sets of rhyming
words with magnetic letters. Students were also asked to recall rhyming words from the story.
Lesson Extension: I taught a short whole group guided writing lesson that was centered around sentence
structure and organization of ideas. I gave the students an ample amount of time to practice writing
sentences and then they were asked to create a story that consisted of different rhyming words. Each
group was given an assignment fit to meet their instructional level.
• Emergent Readers: Write a story that includes at least 3 sets of rhyming words and draw a picture to
match your story.
• Beginning Readers: Write a story that tells how you feel when you don’t want to get up. Include at least
5 sets of rhyming words. Draw a picture that goes with your story.

12. Critical and Response Perspectives
An important part of literacy involves allowing students to
examine text from the critical and response perspective.
“Critical literacy focuses on issues of power and promotes
reflection, transformation, and action. It encourages readers
to be active participants in the reading process: to question,
to dispute, and to examine power relations. It also asks us to
second guess what we believe is true, ask harder and harder
questions, see underneath, behind, and beyond the texts, see
how these texts establish and use power over us, over others,
on whose behalf, and in whose interest” (Molden, 2007).The
response perspective, in addition, is closely aligned with the
critical perspective of literacy. It allows students a chance to
personally and emotionally connect to various texts (Laureate
Education, Inc., n.d).

13. Activities To Promote Critical Thinking
and Reflecting
• Analyzing Characters
• Questioning the Author
• Response Journals
• Discussions
• Dramatic Response
• Subtext Strategy
• Bookmark Strategy (Molden, 2007)
• Story Reporting (Molden, 2007)

14. Critical and Response Perspective:
Lesson Overview
To incorporate the critical and response perspectives, I extended a lesson previously done with two
groups of 1st graders on rhyming words.
Pre-activating strategy: Students participated in the game of “four corners.” I chose four corners in the
room and put a different word family in each corner. I then gave each student an index card
containing a three or four letter word and students were instructed to go to the corner that
contained a group of words that rhymed with the word on their card. As students ventured to
various spots in the room, I was able to quickly assess their understanding of rhyming words.
Lesson: I reread the selected text (Hop on Pop by Dr. Suess for emergent readers and I Am Not Going To
Get Up Today by Dr. Suess for beginning readers) and asked them to clap when they heard rhyming
words. Afterwards, we reviewed vocabulary words from the story.
Incorporation of Critical and Response Perspectives: I displayed some of Dr. Suess’ books for students
to see and lead them in a grand conversation of various books written by him. I allowed students to
discuss their reactions and feelings about different Dr. Suess books they’ve read previously at home
or at school. Students also participated in a questioning the author activity where they were
guided in analyzing the text and developing queries. Their responses were recorded on chart paper.
Lesson Closure: The closure part of the lesson consisted of a guided writing lesson that was done later
that day during their writing period. I modeled sentence structure and organization of ideas on the
board for all students to see. I also showed the students examples of writing pieces that did not
meet the standard, those that did meet, and some that exceeded the standard. A sample rubric was
shown as various writing pieces were discussed. Afterwards, students were given a chance to revise
their writing pieces from the previous lesson while Mrs. Wright and I walked around to assist
students when needed.

15. References
Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Changes in literacy education.
[Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Analyzing and selecting
text [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Interactive perspective:
Strategic processing [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://class.waldenu.edu
Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Response perspective. [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://class.waldenu.edu
Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Perspectives on literacy learning. [Video file].
Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Molden, K. (2007). Critical literacy, the right answer for the reading classroom: Strategies to
move beyond comprehension for reading improvement. Reading Improvement, 44(1),
50–56.
McKenna, M. C., & Kear, D. J. (1990). Measuring attitude toward
reading: A new tool for teachers. The Reading Teacher, 43(9),
626–639.
Tompkins, G. E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced
approach (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Walden University lesson plan template. [Lecture notes]. (n.d.) Retrieved from
https://class.waldenu.edu
Walden University framework for literacy instruction. [Lecture notes]. (n.d.) Retrieved from
https://class.waldenu.edu