This document is a presentation about creating a literate environment for early readers. It discusses assessing students using tools like the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey to learn their interests and reading levels. The presenter selects texts on topics students enjoy, like animals, and uses strategies like read-alouds and interactive writing to engage students at different levels. Students also participate in critical literacy activities like rewriting stories from different perspectives.

1. My Literacy Learners
…and our activities

2. My Presentation
 Literate Environment Analysis Presentation
 Janet Smith
 Walden University
 Instructor Williams
 The Beginning Reader, PreK-3, EDUC-670G
 February 13, 2012

3. Getting to know your literacy
learners
 Literacy is the ability to use reading and writing for a
variety of tasks both inside and outside of school
(Tompkins, 2010). Reading is the main learning activity
undertaken by children in their first years of school.

4.  In order to create a literate environment, teachers must
get to know students in their classroom. The better a
teacher knows the students, the better he or she can
effectively teach them.

5. How do I learn about my
students?
 1. Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS)
 ERAS are a researched tool to estimate the attitude
levels of students to find out the role attitude plays in
the development of readers (McKenna, 1990). Using
ERAS, I discovered that my students enjoy books about
animals. Also, most of my students prefer to read in
partners instead of alone.

6. How do I learn about my
students?
 2. Developmental Reading Assessment
 Students should be assessed at regular intervals to
determine their reading levels and progress (Tompkins,
2010).

7. Selecting Texts
 To build students’ literacy development, a teacher should
choose texts that engage them in literacy learning
(Laureate Education, 2010).
 Three such texts are:
 Informational
 Narrative
 Websites

8. Selecting texts
 In our quest to gather information about cats, we read
Charlie Anderson (narrative), Baby Animals
(informational), and http://kids.cfa.org. Much to my
delight, I discovered that my students thoroughly
enjoyed the informational book. At least half of all
books read in the classroom should be informational
(Laureate Education, 2010c).

9. Selecting Texts
 All texts can be measured by the Literacy Matrix
(Laureate Education, 2010b). The Literacy Matrix helps
to balance reading material presented to students
(2010b). Students need to be introduced to a variety of
text and text structures.
 Three aspects measured by the Literacy Matrix are:
 Easy or difficult?
 Informational or narrative?
 Linguistic or semiotic?

10. Interactive Perspective
 The ultimate goal of the interactive perspective is to
teach students to be literary learners who can navigate
through a text independently (Laureate Education,
2010f). Read-alouds give teachers a wonderful
opportunity to engage learners in the interactive
perspective. The focus is on enhancing students’
comprehension by engaging them in the reading process
before, during, and after reading (Tompkins, 2010).

11. Interactive Perspective
 Read-alouds conducted in small groups are the most
effective. This allows students an opportunity to connect
to the story by responding to the text and asking
questions in a small setting (Laureate Education,
2010c).

12. Steps to an interactive read-
aloud
 1. Pick a book.
 2. Prepare to share the book.
 3. Introduce the book.
 4. Read the book interactively.
 5. Involve students in after-reading activities.
 The most important element is how teachers engage
students while they are reading aloud (Tompkins, 2010).

13.  My students and I read Charlie Anderson in small
groups. First, we activated our background knowledge
about cats. I initiated their meta-cognition by
recording their knowledge about cats on chart paper.
Next, the students were engaged during reading
through conversation (Tompkins, 2010). Students who
actively engage in these strategies are more likely to
understand and recall more of what they read (Stahl,
2004).

14. Interactive writing
 An interactive read-aloud can be followed up with an
interactive writing. The text is composed by the group,
and the teacher guides students as they write it word by
word (Tompkins, 2010). It is an important instructional
procedure to use with English learners (2010).

15. Critical perspective
 The critical perspective allows students to think critically
to examine text from multiple perspectives (Laureate
Education, 2010d).

16. Critical Perspective
 After reading Charlie Anderson in our small groups, we
completed a writing activity. My students used a
technique called “switching”. Switching is a component
of critical literacy that can help show biases in the text
as well as make the reader more aware of the author’s
intention (Molden, 2007).

17. Critical Perspective
 In the story of Charlie Anderson, the main characters
were two sisters. I asked my students to switch the
gender of the main characters to boys. Then they
rewrote the story from that perspective.
 The students had a fantastic time manipulating the
story. They told me they felt like real authors! My
English language learners completed this activity with
me in an interactive writing.

18. Response perspective
 The response perspective supports students as they
engage with text in life changing ways (Laureate
Education, 2010e). Teachers need to find out about
students’ interests and identities and select texts that
connect to them (Tompkins, 2010).

19. Response Perspective
o They ERAS I gave to my students
provided me valuable
information. I discovered that
most of my students enjoy stories
about animals. This topic should
engage my learners and keep
them interested in the lesson.

20. References
 Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010a). 1: Getting to know your students

[DVD]. The beginning reader, PreK–3. Baltimore, MD: Author.
 Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010b). 1: Analyzing and selecting text
[DVD]. The beginning reader, PreK–3. Baltimore, MD: Author.
 Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010c). 1: Developing language and literacy

[DVD]. The beginning reader, PreK–3. Baltimore, MD: Author.
 Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010d). 1: Critical perspective

[DVD]. The beginning reader, PreK–3. Baltimore, MD: Author.
 Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010e). 1: Response perspective

[DVD]. The beginning reader, PreK–3. Baltimore, MD: Author.



21. References (cont’d)
 Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010f). 1: Interactive perspective

[DVD]. The beginning reader, PreK–3. Baltimore, MD: Author.
 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. Reading Teacher, 43(9), 626-639.
 Stahl, K. (2004). Proof, practice, and promise: Comprehension strategy instruction in the
primary grades. Reading Teacher, 57(7), 598-609.
 Tompkins, G. E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (5th ed.).
 Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
