How to create a literate environment in the classroom

1. How to Create a Literate
Environment
Created by: Abbie Austin

2. Getting to Know Literacy
Learners
Before you can create a literate environment
you must know your students:
Who is the child as a reader?
What are their interests and experiences?
What is their motivation and attitude
towards reading?

3. Getting to Know Literacy
Learners
To know your students you must collect data from
both cognitive and noncognitive assessments.
Noncognitive Assessments
Cognitive Assessments
(motivation, attitude, perception as a
(reading skills)
reader)
Elementary Reading Attitude Survey
DIBELS (Good, R. H., & Kaminski, R.
(McKenna & Kear, 1990).
A., 2007)
Assessing Motivation to Read
Developmental Reading Assessment
(Gambrell, L. B., Palmer, B. M., Codling,
(DRA) (Beaver, 2006).
R. M., & Mazzoni, S. A., 1996)

4. Selecting Texts
Selecting appropriate texts for students is essential. Students need a
balance of different types of books. One way to help in selecting books
is to use the Literacy Matrix (Laureate Education Inc., 2010).
Linguistic - word oriented
Easy Other important factors to
consider when selecting texts:
Narrative
Informational Readability
Hard Text Length
Semiotic - picture oriented
Text Structure
Size of Print
Visual Supports

5. Interactive Perspective
The interactive perspective involves teaching students how
to read.
Students learn to become strategic and metacognitive
readers and writers.
Students learn to use comprehension strategies such as:
making connections, using background knowledge, mental
images
The key to this perspective is the instructional techniques
that are used.
You must first explain, model, and use reading strategies.

6. Critical Perspective
The Critical Perspective teaches students to
critically examine text.
When students think critically about a text they
are thinking about the purpose or the text,
perspective of the author, and different points of
view (Laureate Education Inc., 2010).
Some activities to think critically about a text are:
book talks, grand conversations, open-mind portraits,
and interactive read-alouds (Tompkins, 2010).

7. Response Perspective
The Response perspective teaches students to
respond to text.
Students need to be exposed to literacy
experiences that will affect them personally
and emotionally (Laureate Education Inc., 2010).
Some ways to respond to a text are: response
journals or reading logs, grand conversations,
and book talks (Tompkins, 2010).