This document describes a 3rd grade literacy instruction classroom. The teacher uses various methods including a morning message, sentence correction, read alouds, silent reading, guided reading in small groups, self-correction of work, research projects, poetry, home reading, journals, and notes/letters. Materials include books, papers, technology. Assessments include spelling tests, reading levels. Students are grouped by ability. The goals are for each student to find what they enjoy reading and see improvement. Literacy is incorporated whenever possible.

1. Instructional Inquiry
By: Christina Patrick

2. What to expect…
Take a look at what I learned about literacy
instruction while visiting a 3rd grade general
education classroom in the Fairport Central School
District! The class consisted of 23 students and was
taught by a teacher that had been in the district for
many, many years. She does not use “The Daily 5”
or “Café.” Instead, she uses her own method of
morning work, guided reading, and anything else
that seems to fit in during the day.

3. Literacy Instruction: Methods
 “Morning Message”
 Each morning when students come in, they are to read the morning
message on the Smart Board in the front of the room. It contains any
information about the day or anything they need to take care of.
 “Big 4”
 Each morning there is a sentence on a white board. The students need
to write it correctly, fixing the grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. on their
own papers. The teacher tries to incorporate spelling words they are
currently working on. They often have to finish the sentence in their own
ways.
 Read Aloud
 The teacher reads aloud each day during snack, after lunch, and during
any free time.
 The books are generally chapter books, but short picture books are fair
game if they are appropriate for the time of year, something they are
learning, etc.

4. Methods Continued -- 1
 Silent Reading
 Students are always allowed to read silently when they finish their
work early. It’s the best part of the day for some students!
 Guided Reading
 Five groups of 3-5 students based on reading level
 Different books/Activities
 Focus on different areas, such as
vocabulary, phrasing, fluency, comprehension, expression, etc.
 Self-Correction
 The teacher does not correct all work handed in for the students.
Instead, she marks what is wrong and then the students are
responsible for fixing the work and handing it back in. This allows
students to find their own mistakes and find the correct answer
instead of just having it given to them.

5. Methods Continued -- 2
 Research Projects
 Research projects are often incorporated into various content area
lessons, such as Science and Social Studies.
 Students have to find books based on their topics and use them to
find information/write about their topics.
 Poetry
 The topics are based on whatever they are learning at the time.
 The teacher uses them to find verbs, adjectives, nouns, etc. She also
uses them to find patterns, etc.
 All students stand and read them out loud simultaneously.
 Using poetry and reading it aloud helps with expression and
emphasizing important words/phrases.

6. Methods Continued – 3
 Home Reading
 Students are urged to read each evening.
 Whenever a student reaches 100 minutes, he or she gets a lunch pass
that can be redeemed for eating lunch in the classroom.
 Journals
 Students write in journals to respond to texts or other areas throughout
the day.
 The teacher is not always able to respond but does periodically when she
can.
 Notes/Letters
 This teacher ALWAYS has students write letters, thank-you notes, etc. for
anyone they are involved with. This not only helps the students form a
foundation for correct grammar and spelling, but also ways for social
writing in general. It gets students writing about things they are excited
about and happy to be involved in.

7. Literacy Instruction: Materials
 Large variety of books in a “library” with easy access for students
 Read aloud books that spark both boys’ and girls’ interests
 Poetry
 Based on whatever they are learning about at the time
 Papers, crayons, pencils, markers, etc. on hand
 Smart Board
 Spelling Lists
 Journals
 Scholastic Articles
 Regular Scholastic Book Orders
 F&P Kit

8. Literacy Instruction: Assessments
 Spelling Tests
 Pre-tests are Mondays, final tests are Fridays
 Ongoing informal assessments based on reading groups
and how much they are reading in general
 Unit assessments based on content areas
 School uses F&P to determine reading levels

9. Literacy Instruction: Grouping
 Small Group Instruction
 Divided into smaller groups for Math based on ability levels 
more advanced students do more advanced work
 Guided reading groups
 Students are grouped based on reading ability
 Groups are made up of 3-5 students
 Large Group Instruction
 Read alouds
 Used during Math, Science, Social Studies, etc.
 Students move to small groups when and if needed during
these areas

10. Literacy Instruction: Goals and
Expectations
 That each student finds his or her niche, what he or she
enjoys reading, and taking it further
 Seeing improvement in general
 High Expectations

11. Literacy Instruction: Values
 Literacy is a part of everyday life and therefore should be
incorporated whenever possible.
 Believes that there is always more to add to writing. No one
is ever “truly” done.

12. Home-to-School
Connection
 Students are encouraged to read every night
 Receive lunch tickets based on reading minutes
 Minutes are recorded in students’ planners
 Parents must sign/initial to confirm
 Newsletters are sent home on a regular basis with information to update
parents on current classroom news.
 Students are allowed to bring books home if they wish, but they are
responsible for returning them in a timely manner so others can enjoy them
as well.
 Frequent Parent Volunteers
 Planners to record assignments in
 Frequent phone calls or e-mails home, both positive and negative

13. Analysis of Texts
 Variety of books within the classroom, both fiction and non-fiction
 This teacher loves to read anything by Bill Peet in her classroom
(billpeet.net/)
 Chester the Worldly Pig is a favorite
 His books have creative words and phrases, silly stories, and amazing
illustrations
 Used throughout the school year as read alouds
 Gets students to know about an author that not many people know about, even
though he is incredibly successful
 Illustrated for Walt Disney
 Whole Group Read-Alouds
 Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville
 Allows students to listen to a story, gaining knowledge about how text should be
written and getting lost in the story without “butchering” it
 Does use some interaction to discussphrases and vocabulary

14. Analysis of Texts
Continued
 Poetry
 Used to learn about verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc.
 Students highlight them within the text
 Helps with reading with expression
 All students read at the same time
 Students look for patterns and word construction within the text
 Guided Reading Books
 Based on reading levels
 The teacher takes the opportunity to go over vocabulary, certain
phrases, etc.
 Example: “Needing something yesterday”
 Choice allowed for books

15. Analysis of Instructional Time
 Additional Teacher Instruction
 One of the reading teachers comes into the class on a regular basis
to give additional reading instruction. I observed one lesson in which
the teacher went over adding details to writing using the “(lettuce)
and red (tomato) paper. The moral was that there should be more
lettuce in a salad. The lettuce represents your thinking about what
you are reading, and the tomato is when you are just reading the
words of a text. Two students stood in the front of the room while the
teacher read a book. Whenever she was just reading the text, one of
them put the tomato in the bowl. When she stopped to think about
what they were reading, the other student put the lettuce into the
bowl.
 Teacher models reading and writing practices

16. Analysis of Instructional Time
Continued
 Guided Reading Groups
 Time is limited throughout the school day, and since this teacher does
not do The Daily 5 she just aims to meet with at least 3 reading groups a
day. During this time she has the students recap what they have read
thus far and then take turns reading aloud. During this time she does try
to mark down any miscues students make (informally) so she can
address them. This is then followed by comprehension
activities, vocabulary instruction, or writing activities. The teacher
frequently uses white boards and index cards to aid in her instruction.
 Whole Group Read-Alouds
 Students love to listen to the teacher read aloud. This is done on a daily
basis, and the time is used to get students engaged in reading. The
teacher does take some time to focus on phrases and vocabulary, as
well as comprehension and modeling fluency.

17. Considerations/Suggestion
s
From what I saw in this classroom it was clear that the teacher truly
cares about her students and their literacy instruction and learning. I love
that she encourages creativity and urges them to use their imaginations
and background knowledge in their work. Though I did like her “Morning
Work” time since it allows for students to finish old work and time to fit in
several subject areas, it would not be a bad idea to incorporate more of a
“Daily 5” feel to it. That way she can incorporate a greater focus on
comprehension and fluency since time restrictions only allow her to meet
with a couple guided reading groups a day. Another idea that I have seen
and done before is book clubs. If she were to incorporate them into her
instruction it would allow students to do reading activities without her
having to necessarily be with every single group at all times.

18. Considerations/Suggestion
s -- 2
In continuation, I would recommend that the teacher perhaps
focus her instruction on small groups a little more often. The
class seemed to have a pretty big variety of abilities, so by
meeting with small groups and giving them the attention they
need it would be beneficial for them.