This document summarizes strategies for teachers to use to select appropriate texts and implement effective literacy instruction for students with different abilities and motivation levels. It discusses assessing students' literacy skills, selecting texts at the right level of difficulty, and using interactive, critical, and response perspectives to engage students. The goal is to create a balanced literacy environment that meets the diverse needs of all students.

1. Literate Environment Analysis
Presentation
by Kristin Davie
October 21, 2011
APP7 DavieK

2. This research allowed me to understand how vital it is for educators to become aware of student
likes, dislikes, motivation. and skill levels.
The better the teacher knows student the more likely they will be able to connect the student with
the texts appropriate for their learning (Laureate Education, Inc. 2010c)

3. Methods for determining literacy abilities
• Non-cognitive motivation- ERAS
(McKenna & Kear, 1990)
• Cognitive assessment- running records and
prior teacher assessment
• teacher listen for accuracy, fluency and
expression in student oral reading.
• During Guided Reading activities, the teacher
can listen as students predict, read and
confirm during reading activities
(Afflerbach, 2007).

4. 2). Text selection for low achieving, low motivated, and low income
struggling beginner readers (Duke, 2004).
• Informational Texts (Stephens, 2008).
•Teacher uses computer generated text to help motivate low achieving, low motivation ,
and low income students (Kleiman, & Peterson, 2004).
•Semiotic animations (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010g).

5. 3). Selecting text
•Choose a variety of non- fiction and fiction texts to make reading interesting for students.
• Semiotic to linguistic (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010a).
• Help prepare students for Fourth Grade transition (Sanacore, & Palumbo, 2009).
•Informational Text (Duke, 2004).
•Create literate environment that is balanced to meet the needs of all level of student
(Laureate Education, Inc., 2010a).

6. 4). Characteristics of text difficulty when selecting texts
•Size of print
•Sentence length
•Word size- syllables
•Semiotic content
•Word difficulty (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010a).

7. 5). Three Perspectives for instructional strategies (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010d).
• Interactive- Teaching students how to read, be reflective, and self-regulating.
•Critical- question, judge, and appraise text-Connect personal experience and background
knowledge to take ownership of new information.
•Response - allows student opportunity to experience from personal perspective

8. 6). Interactive Perspective
•Student thinking about reading strategies (Blakey & Spence, 2011)
• Over time- using thinking strategies will become student self-regulating (Blakey & Spence,
2011).
• Comprehension - Background knowledge-make predictions-question (Tompkins, 2008).
• Developing vocabulary comprehension- information text word games (Laureate Education,
Inc., 2010f).

9. 7). Critical Perspective
•Teach students to examine the text (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010b).
•Teach students to think critically about the text (Molden, 2007).
•Teach students to interpret text in conjunction with their own interactive perspective (Laureate
Education, Inc., 2010b).

10. 8). Response Perspective
•Provide relaxed and accepting classroom atmosphere- safe and open to individual student ideas
(Laureate Education, Inc., 2010e).
•Allows students to feel and react (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010e).
•Student include personal feelings and ideas (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010e).

11. •9). Incorporate reading and writing
•Class discussion
•Journal writing
•Artistic response (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010d).

12. References
Blakey, E., & Spence, S. (2011). Developing metacognition. Retrieved from Education.com
website:http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Dev_Metacognition/
Duke, N. (2004). The case for informational text. Educational Leadership, 61(6), 40–44.
Kleiman, G, & Peterson, K., (2004), Technology and Teaching Children to Read: What Does
the Research Say?, NIERTEC, Retrieved from http:// www. neirtec.org/reading_report/report.htm.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010a). Analyzing and Selecting Text. The
Beginning Reader, PreK–3. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010b). Critical Perspective. The Beginning
Reader, PreK- 3.Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010c). Getting to Know Your Students. The
Beginning Reader, PreK–3. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010d).Perspective on Literacy Learning. The
Beginning Reader, PreK-3.Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010e). Responsive Perspective. The
Beginning Reader, PreK- 3. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010f). Strategic Processing. The
Beginning Reader, PreK-3.Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010g). The Beginning Reader. The
Beginning Reader, PreK–3. Baltimore, MD: Author.
McKenna, M. C., & Kear, D. J. (1990). Measuring attitude toward reading: A new tool for
teachers. The Reading Teacher, 43(9), 626–639.
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.
Sanacore, S., & Palumbo, A., (2009), Understanding the Fourth-Grade Slump: Our Point of
View, The Educational Forum, 73:67-74
Stephens, K. E. (2008). A quick guide to selecting great informational books for young children.
Reading Teacher, 61(6), 488–490.
Tompkins, G. E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (5th ed.). Boston:
Allyn & Bacon