Creating a Literate Environment

Creating a
Literate
Environment
By: Rodnicka Hill
EDUC-6706G-4
The Beginning Reader, PreK-3
Instructor: Dr. Martha Moore

“Learning to read and write is critical to a
child’s success in school and later in life.
One of the best predictors of whether a
child will function competently in school
and go on to contribute actively in our
increasingly literate society is the level to
which the child progresses in reading and
writing” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010b).

Cognitive Aspects of Learning
Assessment of the cognitive aspects of literacy affords teachers the
opportunity to make instructional decisions.
•Cognitive Assessment Tools Include:
– Running Records
– Observation
– Anecdotal Records
– Informal Reading Inventories
– Checklists
•Teachers:
– determine students’ reading levels
– monitor student progress
– diagnose students’ strengths and weaknesses

Non-Cognitive Aspects of Learning
Successful readers possess positive attitudes towards reading; they see reading as
something worth doing. Students who learn to read but choose not to after they
leave school have failed to realize the full value of reading (Afflerbach, 2007).
•According to Afflerbach (2012), there are 5 Basic Non-Cognitive
Characteristics that contribute to reading success:
–A student’s motivation towards reading
–A reader’s self-concept
–A reader’s attitude
–A reader’s interest
–A reader’s attributions

Non-Cognitive Aspects of Learning
• Non-Cognitive Assessment Tools Include:
-Reading Interest Inventory
-Motivation to Read Profile
-Reading Self-Concept Scale

Getting to Know Literacy Learners
(PreK-3)
Through observation of student reading, I was able to identify
students’ strengths and weaknesses regarding literacy.
• According to Tompkins (2010), there are 5 Pillars of Reading
Instruction:
-Phonemic Awareness
-Phonics
-Vocabulary
-Fluency
-Comprehension

(PreK-3)
• Everyone has experiences that shape how they see each
other as literate beings (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010e).
These experiences may be recorded as literacy
autobiographies.
• Everyone has a literacy autobiography that has shaped their
willingness and ability to learn.
• Literacy autobiographies are important because they provide
background knowledge and insight into one’s learning
experiences, both positive and negative.

An effective teacher understands the need to reach the whole student.
Becoming aware of students’ cultural background is important.
In addition, things that interest the child are essential.
•In getting to know students, selecting appropriate text will enhance a
student’s motivation to read. Students are more likely to read books
based on topics they find of interest. Through this research practice, I
became familiar with various tools that will help me gather data and
gain important insights about my students literacy development, both
cognitively and non-cognitively.
•Throughout this course, I learned of many assessments that allow
teachers to gather data, oral reading assessments and “Me Stew.”
(PreK-3)

Non-Cognitive Assessment
“Me Stew”
1.Give the students a paper bag and let them take it home.
2.At home, the students choose a few items that they love and are
very important to them.
3.These items have to fit inside the paper bag.
4.The students bring their bags to school the next day.
5.They share their bags and the student and teacher talk about why
these items are important to the students .
6.The teacher can then take this information and find books that are
of interest to that particular child.
(Laureate Education, Inc., 2010b).
(PreK-3)

“Comprehension is the goal of reading;
it’s the reason people read. Students
must understand what they’re reading to
learn from the experience, they must make
sense of the words in text to maintain
interest; and they must enjoy reading to
become life long readers”
(Tompkins, 2010).

Framework for Literacy Instruction
Learners
Affective and cognitive
aspects of literacy learning
Texts
Text structures, types, genres,
and difficulty levels matched
to literacy learners and literacy
goals and objectives
Instructional Practices
Developmentally appropriate
research-based practices
used with appropriate texts to
facilitate affective and
cognitive aspects of literacy
development in all learners
Interactive Perspective
Reading and writing
accurately, fluently, and with
comprehension
Being strategic and
metacognitive readers and
writers
Use a variety of informal and
formal assessments to
determine areas of strength
and need in literacy
development.
Determine texts of the
appropriate types and levels
of difficulty to meet literacy
goals and objectives for
students.
Use instructional methods that
address the cognitive and
affective needs of students
and the demands of the
particular text.
Promote students'
independent use of reading
strategies and skills.
Critical Perspective
Judging, evaluating, and
thinking critically about text
Find out about ideas, issues,
and problems that matter to
students.
Understand the learner as a
unique individual.
Select texts that provide
opportunities for students to
judge, evaluate, and think
critically.
Foster a critical stance by
teaching students how to
judge, evaluate, and think
critically about texts.
Response Perspective
Reading, reacting, and
responding to text in a variety
of meaningful ways
Find out about students'
interests and identities.
Understand what matters to
students and who they are as
individuals.
Select texts that connect to
students' identities and/or
interests and that have the
potential to evoke an
emotional or personal
response.
Provide opportunities for
students to read, react, and
formulate a personal response
to text.

Selecting
Texts
Teachers must choose engaging text
that appeal to students’ identities;
cultural, community, gender,
developmental
(Laureate Education Inc., 2010a).

Selecting Texts
• When selecting texts for classroom instruction, it is important keep
student needs and interests in mind, as well lesson objectives and
how we as teachers will achieve those goals
(Laureate Education Inc., 2010a).
• Using the Literacy Matrix, I was able to select appropriate text for
each of the outlined lesson objectives.
• There are 5 Dimensions of Difficulty that must be addressed before
texts is selected:
-Readability
-Text Length
-Text Structure
-Size of Print
-Visual Supports

Selecting Texts
• After assessing students, cognitively and non-cognitively, I
selected the following text to promote literacy and enhance the
lesson:
-Cavemice #3: Help, I’m in Hot Lava! by: Geronimo Stilton
-Italy by: National Geographic Kids Magazine
-Stopping a Toppling Tower by: Mary Kay Carson
-Welcome to Italy by: Meredith Costain and Paul Collins
• The selected texts were used to supplement the Scott Foresman
Reading Street Program. These texts were engaging for students.
They met all literacy goals established for the lesson. The texts
also provided motivation for students as they learned of a different
culture. In addition, the textual structures were properly aligned
with the Literacy Matrix.

Literacy matrix:
The literacy matrix is a two digital construct for analyzing and
selecting texts (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010a).
Narrative
Informational
Linguistic
Semiotic
Properly using the Literacy Matrix
(1)Text with no illustrations at all tells a
story that is linguistic and narrative
(Laureate Education, Inc., 2010a).
(2)Text that is made up of only pictures is
semiotic and narrative (Laureate
Education, Inc., 2010a).
Selecting Texts

According to Allington, R. (2005),
The Five Pillars of Effective Reading Instruction are:
(1) Phonemic awareness
(2) Phonics
(3) Fluency
(4) Vocabulary
(5)Comprehension

To teach students to become
critical thinkers, we must guide them
through the strategies in order to
independently navigate text
(Laureate Education Inc., 2010d).

Literacy Lesson:
“Interactive Perspective”
The goal of the Interactive Perspective of literacy instruction is
not only to teach students how to read, but how to become
strategic processors as well (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010c).
Activities for The Interactive Perspective:
•Word Recognition Activities
•Comprehension Activities
(Answering Questions, Story Maps, Diagrams)
•Read-Aloud Activities
•Reader’s Theatre
•Choral Reading/Partner Reading

When we examine a text critically,
we begin to think more deeply
about a text and that is vitally important
(Laureate Education, Inc., 2010d).

Literacy Lesson:
Critical Perspective
The critical perspective teaches students how to examine a text, think
critically about it, and judge that text (Laureate Education, Inc.,
2010d). The ability to think critically about text is essential (Laureate
Education, Inc., 2010d). The students will be involved in examining
who created the text, what perspective the author might have had,
what ethnicity, race, gender, or social status the author might have
had and how you can tell, etc.
Activities for The Critical Perspective:
•Author’s Chair
•Open-Mind Portraits
•Question-Answer Relationship Activities

Literacy Lesson:
Critical & Response Perspectives
The Response Perspective gives students the opportunity to experience
and respond to text (Laureate Education Inc., 2010e). During this
perspective, students identify how the story makes the reader feel. The
reader connects their feelings with feelings associated with the text by
relating to personal experiences.
Activities for The Response Perspective:
•Think-Pair-Share Activities
•Jot Notes
•Journal writing
– Drawing pictures
– Connection stems
– Multi-sensory approaches

References
• Afflerbach, P. (2012). Understanding and using reading assessment, K–12 (2nd ed). Newark, DE: International Reading
Association.
• Allington, R. L. (2005). The other five “pillars” of effective reading instruction. Reading Today, 22 (6), 3. Retrieved from
http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org
• Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010a). Engaging text. Baltimore, MD: Author.
• Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010b). Perspectives of literacy education. Baltimore, MD: Author.
• Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010c). Critical perspective. Baltimore, MD: Author.
• Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010d). Response perspective. Baltimore, MD: Author.
• Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010e). Getting to know your students. 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.
• Reading Horizons. The five pillars of literacy. (2011). Retrieved from
http://www.readinghorizons.com/research/five-pillars.aspx
• Tompkins, G.E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (Custom ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

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