This document discusses effective literacy instruction strategies for elementary students. It emphasizes the importance of teachers getting to know their students' individual interests, abilities, and backgrounds in order to select appropriate texts and incorporate interactive, responsive, and critical reading perspectives. The document also presents a matrix for analyzing texts based on linguistic, informational, semiotic, and narrative elements, as well as a second matrix to determine readability levels. Colleagues and parents provided positive feedback and requested additional guidance on applying the literacy strategies.

1. Michelle Doce-Mirassol
Dr. Martha Moore
Walden University
February 19, 2012

2.  Teachers need to create effective literate
environment.
 Students will become motivated readers and
writers.
 Educators need to incorporate key elements.
◦ Getting to know the students’
◦ Assessing students’ cognitive and non-cognitive abilities
◦ Selecting appropriate texts
◦ Incorporating the three perspectives
interactive
responsive
critical

3.  To create motivated learners, teachers must
get to know their students on a deeper level.
 Literacy development depends on a students
attitude towards reading and motivation.
Successful students are:
motivated
have positive attitude
(Afflerbach, 2007).

4.  Dr. Almasi stated educators must get to know
each students:
interests
hobbies
background knowledge
awareness of who they are as individuals.

5.  Assessments that are used to learn about
students’ skills, strategies, and literacy
development:
OBSERVATIONS CREATING A STUDENT STUDENT INTERESTS
PORTFOLIO OF WORK ON INDEX CARD
ERAS ALL ABOUT ME POSTERS ME STEW

6.  Select texts that are engaging and
appropriate levels for all students.
 Text that are to easy or difficult for
students will not be beneficial (Fielding,
1990).
 Students need background knowledge
and taught how to read informational
text.
 Twin text incorporate non-fiction and
fiction texts.
 Tumble Books online
Books that come to life
Books Selected
(Polisar, 1990)

7.  The matrix below helps teachers analyze and select texts. The text is placed in the
appropriate quadrant.
 The different quadrants are:
◦ Linguistic
◦ Informational
◦ Semiotic
◦ Narrative
Once books have been placed on the matrix that is on the left. Teachers then can place the book on their level of
difficulty on another matrix. This one is located on the right. Dr. Almasi (Laureate Education, 2011b) said a
books difficulty is based on their readability (sentence length, number of syllables, etc), text length, text
structures, size of print and visual support. Hard
Linguistic
Narrative Informational
Semiotic
Easy

8.  There are three instructional practices that
should be implemented when learning about
the students and choosing appropriate texts
◦ Interactive Perspective – Teaching children to be
strategic processors and thinkers
◦ Critical Perspectives – Teaching children how to
examine text; looking at text from different
perspectives
◦ Response Perspective – Teaching children how to
connect and respond to texts.

9.  Teaching students how to be literate learners who are self-regulating strategic
processors (Laureate Education, 2011b).
 When students read they are creating meaning that involves the reader, a text, and
cultural and social context (Tompkins, 2010).
 Teaching students comprehension strategies is critical for reading success.
Comprehension
Strategies Instructional
Strategies
Activating Schema
Discrete Trial
Creating Mental Images Word Hunt
Word Sort
Locate grocery item hunt (In school shelf and
grocery store)

10.  Students need to feel safe and comfortable to take risks to share their
thoughts and emotions (Laureate Education, 2011c)
 Students become detectives as they read.
 Critical perspective wants readers to understand their own history and
culture to be aware of connections between themselves and society. It
pushes readers to act on their new understandings of literacy and how it
plays into their life (Mulcahy, 2010).
Instruction Instructional
al Activities
Activities Response
Critical Perspectives
Perspective
Question Characters Wait time to respond
Response Journals
Answer “what if” Vocabulary Journals
questions
Altering story scenes

11.  My colleagues and student parents enjoyed watching my presentation.
 My colleagues very excited to see the literacy matrix and wanted me to make them a
copy so they can start using it in their classrooms.
 Presenting this information to parents and colleagues may bring new insights that I can
apply to my classroom.
 My student parents wanted me to further sit with them to explain the matrix and help
them go through a book to see where it falls on the matrix.
 Parents also wanted to know how they can help their children gain more in the three
perspectives at home. They wanted to make more of the school and home connection.

12. Afflerbach, P. (2007). Understanding and using reading assesment. Newark, DE: International Reading
Association
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011b). Getting to Know Your Students
[Webcast]. The Beginning Reader, PreK -3. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011b). Analyzing and Selecting Text [Webcast]. The
Beginning Reader, PreK-3. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011a). Critcal Perspective [Webcast]. The Beginning Reader,
PreK-3. Baltimore, MD
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011b). Response Perspective [Webcast]. The Beginning
Reader, PreK -3. Baltimore, MD
McKenna, M. C., & Kear, D. J. (1990, May). Measuring attitude toward reading: A new tool for teachers. The
reading teacher, 626- 639.
Polisar, B. L. (1999). Insect Soup. Retrieved from
http://www.childrenslibrary.org/icdl/BookPreview?bookid=polinse_010500
01&route=text&lang=English&msg=&ilang=English Scholastic. (2009). Incredible Insects. NY,
NY: DK PublishingTompkins, G. E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.T
Tumble Books . (2011). Retrieved from http://www.tumblebooks.com/library/asp
full_book.asp?ProductID=3925