This document discusses literacy instruction and assessment. It provides information on getting to know literacy learners through interest, motivation, and cognitive/noncognitive assessments. It discusses selecting texts based on linguistic features, readability, and other factors. The document also outlines the interactive, critical, and response perspectives for literacy lessons and provides example activities for each.

1. Literate Environment
Analysis
by Jacki Rayburn
Walden University
EDUC 6706: The Beginning Reader
Instructor: Cindee Easton

2. Getting to know literacy learners
Overview
Find out about their:
• Interests
• Motivation
• Background knowledge
• Identities
Example: “Me Stew”
(Laureate Education, Inc., 2010b)

3. Getting to know literacy learners (cont)
Cognitive Assessments
• Used to assess level of cognitive development, strengths
and weaknesses (Afflerbach, 2012)
Examples:
• Reading inventories
• Running records
• Observations
• Paper/pencil tests
• Oral assessments
• Performance tasks

4. Getting to know literacy learners (cont)
Noncognitive assessments
• used to assess motivation and attitude for reading
Examples:
• Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (Mckenna &
Kear, 1990)
• Motivation to Read Profile
(Gambrell, Palmer, Codling, Mazzoni, 1996)
• Interest Inventories
• Conference with student
• Observations

5. Selecting texts
Linguistic (words)
Narrative Informational
Semiotic (pictures)
It is important to locate texts
according to this matrix to ensure all
literacy needs are being met (Laureate
Education, Inc., 2010a)

6. Selecting text (cont)
Additional factors for selecting texts:
•Readability
•Length of text
•Size of print
•Visual supports
(Laureate Education, Inc., 2010a)

7. Selecting text (cont)
Texts chosen for reading group:
•Narrative- Miles & Miles of Reptiles: All about
Reptiles (Rabe, Ruiz & Mathieu, 2009)
•Informational- Reptiles & Amphibians (Mugford &
Dunlop, 2007)
•Online- Private I. Guana (Laden, 1995)

8. Literacy Lesson: Interactive
Perspective
The Interactive Perspective sets the goal of teaching
students to become strategic readers and thinkers
(Laureate Education, Inc., 2010d)
•Phonemic Awareness (Laureate
Education, Inc., 2010c)
•Comprehension

9. Literacy Lesson: Interactive Perspective
(cont)
• Students learn to be reflective and self-regulate
reading strategies
• Students learn to use different strategies bases upon
the type of text (e.g., narrative, informational)
• Students learn to set a purpose, make predictions and
visualize
(Laureate Education, Inc., 2010c)

10. Literacy Lesson: Interactive Perspective
(cont)
Activities:
• Guided Reading
• K-W-L Charts
• Word Sorts
• Word Wall
(Tompkins, 2010)

11. Literacy Lesson: Critical and Response
Perspectives
Critical Perspective
• Students can critically examine text
• Who created the book?
• Why?
• What perspective did the author write from?
(Laureate Education, Inc., 2010b)

12. Literacy Lesson: Critical and Response
Perspectives
Response Perspective
• Students can experience and respond
• Have an emotional reaction and response to the story
(Laureate Education, Inc., 2010d)

13. Literacy Lesson: Critical and Response
Perspectives
Activities for critical response and response perspectives
• Shared reading
• Grand conversations
• Interactive read-alouds
• Think-pair-share
• Response journals
(Tompkins, 2010)

14. Feedback
•What insight did you gain about literacy and literacy instruction
from viewing this presentation?
•How might the information presented change your literacy
practices and/or your literacy interactions with students?
•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?
•What questions do you have?

15. References
Afflerbach, P. (2012). Understanding and using reading assessment, K-12. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Gambrell, L. B., Palmer, B. M., Codling, R. M., & Mazzoni, S. A. (1996). Assessing motivation to read. The Reading Teacher, 49(7), 518--533.
Laden, N. (1995). Private I. Guana. Retrieved from www.storylineonline.net
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010a). Analyzing and selecting text [Video webcast]. Retrieved from
https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype
%3DCourse%26id%3D_1959547_1%26url%3D
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010b). Getting to know your students [Video webcast]. Retrieved from
https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype
%3DCourse%26id%3D_1959547_1%26url%3D
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010c). Interactive perspective: Strategic processing [Video webcast]. Retrieved from
https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype
%3DCourse%26id%3D_1959547_1%26url%3D
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010d). Perspectives of literacy learning [Video webcast]. Retrieved from
https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype
%3DCourse%26id%3D_1959547_1%26url%3D
McKenna, M. C., & Kear, D. J. (1990). Measuring attitude toward reading: A new tool for teachers. The Reading Teacher, 43(9), 626--639.
Mugford, S., & Dunlop, K. (2007). Reptiles and amphibians. New York: Priddy Books.
Rabe, T., Ruiz, A., & Mathieu, J. (2009). Miles and miles of reptiles. New York: Random House.
Tompkins, G. E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (5th ed.).
Boston: Allyn & Bacon.