3. Educators must perform cognitive and
noncognitive assessments in order to
determine their students’ literate
capabilities.
4. Cognitive assessments focus on the skills and
strategies learned by students as they
develop and grow as readers.
Cognitive Assessments
DRA or WRAP assessment
Reading inventories
Anecdotal notes
Running records
5. Through the use of noncognitive assessments,
teachers can learn about a student’s
motivations, self concept, interest, and
attitudes (Afflerbach, 2007).
Noncognitive assessments
Student interviews
Teacher observation
Interest inventories
Student surveys
6. Before texts can be selected for instruction, the teacher has to
consider:
Student interest in topics
Reading instructional levels
Genre preferences
When students are interested in a topic, they will enjoy reading
books based upon it.
Fictional texts will present characters, a storyline, problems,
etc. That is for the students’ enjoyment.
The nonfiction texts will present facts and information about a
topic, giving students details about the topic of interest. That
will be a great addition to the background knowledge that they
may already have on a topic.
7. It is essential to have books from a variety of
genres in the classroom. Text today comes in
many forms, from printed books to digital
media. All of them have a place in the
literacy classroom (Laureate Education,
2014a).
8. Literacy Matrix Components
Narrative- fictional read alouds
Informational- nonfiction text with features and formats
Semiotic- text communicating messages with little or no words
Linguistic- very word oriented
(Laureate Education, Inc., 2014a)
9. Reading and comprehending texts involves a complex process. Because it is the
ultimate goal of reading instruction for students to be able to comprehend
what they read, as well as to learn and grow their knowledge from interacting
with texts (Reutzel & Cooter, 2016, p. 331).
The emergent literacy learner requires teacher-led instruction. They can
often recognize letters and words, and also make associations and connections
during their scaffolded reading lesson.
Referring to previously learned content and skills will benefit this learner, as
they can reflect back on prior knowledge that has been obtained.
I have been able to create a literate environment for my emergent literacy
learners based upon data collection during observation. These students would
definitely benefit from more intense and focused instruction with an emphasis
on phonics and word recognition.
10. Many teachers we know enjoy teaching students how to wield one of the
most powerful thinking tools: metacognition, or the ability to think about
your thoughts with the aim of improving learning. The good news for
teachers and their students is that metacognition can be learned when it
is explicitly taught and practiced across content and social contexts
(Edutopia, 2014).
The beginning literacy learner is more independent than the emergent learner.
They do not require teacher-led instruction or very much scaffolding. They
are able to use clues from the text along with strategies that have been
previously learned in order to decode and encode.
Beginning learners seek out teacher assistance only in the event that they
struggle and cannot figure something out. Emergent learners are very
dependent on teacher scaffolding and feedback. They engage heavily in
teacher-led discussions and lessons.
11. Afflerbach, P. (2007). Understanding and using reading
assessment, K-12. Newark, DE: International Reading
Association, Inc.
Edutopia. (2014). Metacognition: The gift that keeps
giving. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/
metacognition-gift-that-keeps-giving-donna-wilson-marcus-
conyers
Laureate Education (Producer). (2014a). Analyzing and
selecting text [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.
