This document provides guidance on creating a literate classroom environment. It discusses three essential parts: getting to know literacy learners through non-cognitive and cognitive assessments, selecting appropriate texts using a literacy matrix, and using interactive, critical and response instructional perspectives. Specific examples are provided for each part, including a "Me Stew" activity to learn about students' interests, choosing family-themed texts, and focusing a lesson on becoming knowledgeable readers. The document emphasizes the importance of understanding individual students, selecting a variety of texts, and engaging students through different instructional approaches.

1. Literate Environment Analysis
A Guide to Creating a Literate Environment
By: Kellie Dowdy
EDUC 6706: The Beginning Reader, Pre K-3
Walden University
Instructor: Cindee Easton

2. A literate environment is great for teachers to have in their classroom. To
create a literate environment I have found using the Framework for Literacy
Instruction is a great guide. The Framework for Literacy Instruction is
important for teachers to become familiar with to help them become effective
literacy teachers. In order to create a literate environment there are three
essential parts:
• Learners - Getting to know literacy learners
• Texts - Selecting Appropriate Texts for learners
• Instructional practices -Using interactive, critical, and response perspectives
in literacy instruction (Walden University, 2013).
In a literate environment, each perspective requires a teacher to be cognizant
of planning for the learners, the texts, and the instructional practices
(Hoffman, 2011).
How do you create a literate
environment?

3. Getting to know each student will be beneficial to the teacher in
knowing which literacy stage the students are in. An effective
literate environment will provide learners with affective and
cognitive aspects of literacy learning (Walden University, 2013).
Affective aspects of literacy learning are simply observing students’
interests, attitudes, and motivation that contribute to their success
in reading (Afflerbach, 2007).
If a teacher has a student’s interest at heart, finding out more about
the student will allow the teacher to make a connection with the
student (Laureate Education, Inc., 2007c).
Realizing all students’ motivations, interests, and attitudes will allow
a teacher to get to know all students; this is one essential part of
the literate environment(Laureate Education, Inc., 2007c).
Why should you get to know your
students?

4. To begin my experience of discovering the students’ literacy development, I used a non-
cognitive assessment. I started with a non-cognitive assessment as a way of getting to
know more about each student. The assessment I used was the “Me Stew” activity.
“Me Stew”
This learning resource is an activity that allows the students to bring objects in a brown
lunch bag to class that describes their interests or likes (Laureate Education, Inc., 2007c).
During this activity I observed all of the students in the group love being around their
families. Each student had a different reason for loving his or her families. I completed
this non-cognitive assessment as well. I completed the assessment so the students would
have the opportunity to learn more about myself. The students need to learn more about
their teacher so they feel comfortable with them, learn about their teacher’s interest to
understand why they did things in the classroom (Laureate Education, Inc., 2007c). So
through this assessment I found out that the topic of families would engage them in their
literacy learning.
Getting to Know Literacy Learners,
Pre K-3 (Non-cognitive aspect)

5. Literacy
Autobiographies
Running Records
Developmental
Reading
Assessment (DRA)
Students’ Work
Samples
Observations
Getting to Know Literacy
Learners, Pre K-3 (Cognitive aspect)
Another way to assess literacy learners is to give them a
cognitive assessment. The following are examples of cognitive
assessments.
These assessments are ways teachers monitor
students’ learning every day and use the results to
make instructional decisions (Winograd & Arrinton,
1999).

6. As a teacher, it is important to broaden my thinking to
include a wide range of text. I have found the Literacy Matrix
to be helpful in selecting text for students. The Literacy
Matrix analyzes text a teacher has selected for the class
(Laureate Education, Inc., 2007a). The matrix is designed as a
quadrant consisting of four areas:
• Narrative
• Informational
• Linguistic – describes if a text is word oriented
• Semiotic – the text does not have words, uses pictures
(Laureate Education, Inc., 2007a).
How do you select text for learners?

7. Linguistic
InformationalNarrative
Semiotic
Literacy Matrix

8. Here are the texts I chose while working with my small group
of literacy learners. All the texts are about families.
Selecting Texts

9. When a teacher is taking an interactive perspective to
teaching, he or she is taking the time to make sure their students
are reading fluently (Laureate Education, Inc., 2007c).
The interactive perspective helps teachers to be metacognitive
about using this strategy. This strategy is focused on choosing
the most appropriate strategy of phonics with students and
choosing the appropriate text for students (Laureate
Education, Inc., 2007c).
When using the interactive perspective in a lesson, the main goal
is for teachers to teach the students how to be knowledgeable
learners who can investigate the textual world on their own
(Laureate Education, Inc., 2007c).
As a teacher, I want to focus on helping my students become
such knowledgeable learners who seek informational text for
answers.
Literacy Lesson: Interactive
Perspective

10. When a teacher is taking a critical and responsive perspective to literacy
instruction, the teacher is taking the position for ensuring students think
about an author’s text in a deeper and personal perspective.
The critical perspective in literacy instruction allows the students to examine
the text from different views, think critically about the text, and make
judgments about the text (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011a).
In the critical perspective, students will read about a text about a given
topic and will examine the text by thinking about why the author wrote the
story the way they did (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011a).
In the response perspective, the students are allowed to personally connect
with the text (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011b). Students should think about
the text and respond to the text by relating with the text (Laureate
Education Inc., 2011b).
Through these two perspectives, I have learned that students can respond
to how the text relates to them personally and students can think critically
how the message the author is conveying in text.
Literacy Lesson: Critical and
Response Perspectives

11. Afflerbach, P. (2007). Understanding and using reading assessment K-12. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Hoffman, B., (2011, September 22). Framework for literacy instruction: 3 perspectives. Retrieved from http://mylearningspringboard.com/framework-for-
literacy-instruction-3-perspectives/
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2007a). Analyzing and selecting texts. [Webcast]. The beginning reader, prek-3. Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011a). Critical Perspective [Webcast]. The beginning reader, pre k-3. Boston: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2007b). Getting to know your students. [Webcast]. The beginning reader, prek-3. Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2007c). Interactive perspective: strategic processing. [Webcast]. The beginning reader, prek-3. Baltimore:
Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011b). Response Perspective [Webcast]. The beginning reader, pre k-3. Boston: Author.
Sweeney, J. (2000). Me and My Family. New York, New York: Crown Publishers, Inc.
Walden University. (2013). Framework for Literacy Instruction. Retrieved May 8, 2013 from
https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DC
ourse%26id%3D_551764_1%26url%3D
Winograd, P., & Arrington, H.J. (1999). Best practices in literacy assessment. In L.B. Grambrell, L.M. Morrow, S.B. Neuman, & M. Pressley (Eds.), Best practices in
literacy instruction (pp. 210-241). New York: Guilford Press.
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