This document provides an analysis of assessments and literacy lessons used with beginning readers. The author uses cognitive assessments like running records and writing samples, and noncognitive assessments like student interviews and surveys to understand students. Lessons incorporate interactive strategies like read alouds, guided reading, and KWL charts. Critical and response strategies include journaling, questioning the author, and connecting to personal experiences. Feedback is solicited from colleagues and families on insights gained and how the information could impact practices.

1. LITERATE ENVIRONMENT
ANALYSIS
Bethany Scanlon
EDUC-6706R-8 The Beginning Reader, PreK-3
Instructor Dr. Bernice Gregory
October, 2011

2. GETTING TO KNOW MY LITERACY LEARNERS
“THE SECRET OF EDUCATION IS RESPECTING THE PUPIL”.
-RALPH WALDO EMERSON
As a teacher, I use both
cognitive and noncognitive
assessments to gather
evidence of student learning
and interests. I then
evaluate the outcomes and
use the data to guide my
instructional decisions
(Stiggins, 2005).

3. GETTING TO KNOW MY LITERACY LEARNERS
(CONTINUED)
Examples of Examples of
Cognitive Noncognitive
Assessments: Assessments:
 Dynamic Indicators of  Student Interviews
Basic Early Literacy  McKenna & Kear’s
Skills (DIBELS) (1990) Elementary
 Developmental Reading Attitudes
Reading Assessment Survey
 Student Work  Student Journals
Samples
 Classroom
 Running Records Observations
 Reading Inventories

4. GETTING TO KNOW LITERACY LEARNERS:
RESEARCH: ANALYSIS
In order to provide appropriate instruction, it is important that I am
aware of the different reading skills and strategies my students possess
(Afflerbach, 2007).
To assess my students “cognitive” reading
development, I administered what Fountas and
Pinnell (1998), refer to this as “shorthand
observation”. I chose to perform a reading inventory
in the form of a running record. This assessment
allowed me to efficiently validate the students' reading
levels, check their fluency, and find weaknesses in
comprehension. I also collected a writing sample that
allowed me to see what developmental stage of
writing each student was in. Both gave me great
insight into each child’s abilities and unique academic
behaviors.

5. GETTING TO KNOW LITERACY LEARNERS:
RESEARCH: ANALYSIS (CONTINUED)
Conducting these assessments gave me the
opportunity to evaluate a group of students with
abilities that I typically do not work with. I combined
the data that I obtained from the DIBELS and past
DRA’s, with my observations and information from the
running record assessment.
Doing this allowed me to make proper instructional
decisions about future lessons that I would use with
these young learners. I was able to review the groups
strengths and weaknesses and design activities that
met them at their own instructional level.

6. GETTING TO KNOW LITERACY LEARNERS:
RESEARCH: ANALYSIS (CONTINUED)
If teachers have an “awareness” of who their students are, then they can
address insecurities and encourage student success (Laureate Education Inc.,
2010a).
To assess the “other” or the “noncognitive”, I chose to do an
activity in which I filled a backpack with 6 items that represented
me as an individual and my personal interests. I shared a little bit
about each item, and then asked the students to consider what
they would include in their backpack. The students and I
conversed as they drew pictures and wrote simple sentences
describing their interests, beliefs, concerns and even fears.
Students enjoyed having the time to talk about themselves and
appeared to be very comfortable doing so.
Having this type of information is crucial to understanding the
learner as a whole. Having this knowledge, allows me to make
better decisions on how to make my lessons more exciting and
meaningful and effective.

7. SELECTING TEXTS:
CONSIDERING THE LITERACY MATRIX
“We have a responsibility as teachers
to provide students with a wide range
of literacy experiences that  The “Literacy Matrix” is a tool
demonstrate the ways we read and that should be used to
write” (Castek, Bevan-Mangelson and analyze and determine the
Goldstone ,2006). appropriateness of a text
(Laureate Education Inc.,
More Words 2010b)
 Teachers should provide
students with texts that can
be placed in each quadrant of
the matrix
 Other factors to consider:
 Length
 Readability
 Vocabulary
 Format (sentences and
print)(Laureate Education Inc.,
More pictures 2010)

8. SELECTING TEXTS FOR BEGINNING READERS
:PUMPKIN THEME
 It's Pumpkin Time, by Zoe Hall
 Pumpkin, Pumpkin, by M. Hillert
 The Pumpkin Patch, by Elizabeth King
 The Biggest Pumpkin Ever, by S. Kroll
 I Was a Pumpkin, by Marci McGowan
(www.marcias-lesson-links.com)
 The Life Cycle of a Pumpkin: Teacher Tube

9. SELECTING TEXTS FOR BEGINNING READERS
:PUMPKIN THEME (CONTINUED)
Why did I choose these texts?
• Students are highly motivated by the subject and exploration of the
seasonal theme
• The books allow students to identify and learn about different “text
factors” (Tompkins, 2010).
• The books are semiotic (developmentally appropriate) and use
pictures to promote understanding
• Both the narrative and the informational activate background
knowledge
• The books are appropriate for each student because the books
coincide with their current, cognitive development.
• The books are engaging, use familiar sentence structures and
incorporate simple, sight words and descriptive pictures.
• The books and online texts encourage students to “interact with text”
participate in discussion and make personal inferences (Castek,
Bevan-Mangelson and Goldstone ,2006) .

10. LITERACY LESSON:
INTERACTIVE PERSPECTIVE
The goal of the interactive perspective is to help students become good,
independent, strategic learners (Laureate Education Inc.,2010c).
Examples of Interactive Perspective Teaching Methods:
Read Aloud Guided Reading K-W-L Charts
Grand Conversations Word Walls
I encouraged my students to strengthen their metacognition or “think about
their thinking” by creating a word recognition and reading comprehension lesson
using poem “Pumpkin Pumpkin”(www.canTeach.ca)and the book “It’s Pumpkin
Time” by Zoe Hall.
Students participated in “spelling cheerleading” in order to learn sight words
found in the poem. According to Rogers (1999 pg. 110) a strategy and approach
like this “integrates visual, auditory, and kinesthetic modalities that aid in
retention and understanding” and can truly benefit struggling readers.
Students completed KWL charts to help them retain and recall the information
they read. Doing this activity helped them
map their thinking” and increased reading comprehension.

11. LITERACY LESSON:
CRITICAL AND RESPONSE PERSPECTIVE
We need to provide our students with experiences that allow them to
be “transformed” by text (Laureate Education Inc., 2010c).
Examples of Critical & Response Perspective Teaching Methods:
Journaling Hot Seat Open-Mind Portraits
Questioning the Author Grand Conversation
To encourage my students to deepen their thinking ,I created a lesson in which
my students had to identify different character’s emotions and point of views.
Each student had to complete what Tompkins (2010 pg. 449) refers to as an
“Open Mind Portrait” using the book “Voices in the Park” by Anthony Browne
(1998). This strategy that allowed my students to activate both “critical thinking”
and critical reading” skills, while evaluating the text. During this activity, I
observed the students evaluating the text and reasoning with their
understanding. They discussed their ideas, as they reviewed the text, drew
their pictures and wrote descriptions.

12. LITERACY LESSON:
CRITICAL AND RESPONSE PERSPECTIVE
(CONTINUED)
To reinforce the “Response” perspective ,I had to find a book that my students
could relate to and discuss their “text-to-self” connection (Tompkins, 2010).This
is why I chose to use the book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good,
Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst (1987). I chose this book because the theme is
easy to comprehend and is one that all three students could share a similar
prior experience. Each student was required to draw a picture and write a few
sentences describing their bad day, edit the work and share their story with
their peers. This activity allowed students to genuinely “transact” and respond
to the text in a meaningful way (Laureate Education Inc.,2010d).
This responsive strategy was exciting for the students! It was evident that it
strengthened their overall comprehension and their ability to recall the
important details of the story.

13. FEEDBACK FROM COLLEAGUES AND
FAMILY MEMBERS OF STUDENTS
Would you please take a few moments, and
respond to the following questions?
1. What insights did you gain about literacy and
literacy instruction from viewing my
presentation?
2. How might the information presented change
your literacy practices and/or your literacy
actions with students?
3. In what ways can I support you in the literacy
development of your students or children? How
might you support me in my work with students
or your children?
4. What questions do you have?
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!

14. REFERENCES
Afflerbach, P. (2007). Understanding and using reading assessment, K–12. Newark, DE: International Reading
Association
Castek, J., Bevans-Mangelson, J., & Goldstone, B. (2006). Reading adventures online:
Five ways to introduce the new literacies of the Internet through children’s literature. The Reading
Teacher, 59(7), 714–728.
Fountas, I. C., & Pinell, G. S (1998). Word matters: teaching phonics
and spelling in the reading/writing classroom. Portsmith, NH: Heinemann.
Hillert, M.(Author), & Shutz, S. (Photographer). (2005). Pumpkin, pumpkin.
[Web]. Retrieved from http://www.starfall.com/n/fiction- nonfiction/pumpkin/load.htm?f
Hall, Z. (1999). It's pumpkin time. (pp. 1-40). Scholastic Paperbacks.
King, E. (1996). The pumpkin patch. (pp. 1-40). Puffin.
Kroll, S. (1993). The biggest pumpkin ever. (pp. 1-32). Cartwheel Books.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010a) Getting to Know Your Students.[Webcast]. Baltimore, MD: Dr.
Janice Almasi.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010b) Analyzing and Selecting Text.
[Webcast]. Baltimore, MD: Dr. Douglas Hartman & Dr. Janice Almasi.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010c). Perspectives on Literacy Learning.
[Webcast]. The Beginning Reader. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010d). Response Perspective [Webcast]. The Beginning Reader
(PreK-3). Baltimore, MD.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010e). Critical Perspective [Webcast]. The Beginning Reader
(PreK-3). Baltimore, MD.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010b) Reading Inventories.
[Webcast]. Baltimore, MD: Dr. Peter Afflerbach.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010c). Virtual field experience: Strategic
processing. [Webcast]. The Beginning Reader. Baltimore, MD: Author
McGowan, M. (1999). I was a pumpkin. Marcia's Lesson Link.
Retrieved from http://www.marcias-lesson-links.com
McKenna, M. C., & Kear, D. J. (1990). Measuring Attitude toward Reading: A New Tool for Teachers. Reading Teacher,
43(9), 626-39. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Tompkins, G. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (5 th ed.).Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.