There are certain things that make learning to read becoming and literate better for our students. Look at the slide show to learn what some of them are.

1. WHAT DOES A LITERATE ENVIRONMENT LOOK LIKE? A good variety of Books Fully engaged , Happy students Fully Engaged and Happy Teacher Many and Varied Opportunities to Learn Parent Participation

2. The Elements of a LiterateEnvironment KNOWING OUR LITERACY LEARNERS SELECTING TEXTS PERSPECTIVES INTERACTIVE CRITICAL RESPONSE

3. Assessment Non Cognitive Observation in pairs activities, small and large group Attitude Motivation Conversation Behaviors during reading (following along with the finger, fidgeting, nervousness…) Cognitive Reading skills Vocabulary Phonemic Awareness Phonics Fluency Comprehension Writing

4. Reading Readiness Activities Dr. Donald Bear suggests: Teach a ditty: Sam, Sam the baker man, washed his face in a frying pan. (or one like it). Memorize it Students follow along and read words as teachers repeats it Students show that they know where they are! (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010) Success in this activity indicates that the student is ready to progress.

5. Selecting Texts Literacy Matrix Dr. Douglas Hartman taught us to chart text characteristics and compare students abilities to the text characteristics. I can chart characteristics of books- In a continuum that shows: Linguistic (word oriented) to Semiotic (Picture oriented) Narrative (story) – Informational (Subject Text) Difficulty level (Laureate Education, Inc. 2010).

6. LITERACY PERSPECTIVES

7. INTERACTIVE PERSPECTIVE Characteristics of the Interactive Perspective Include: Age and ability of the students Working on word skills Vocabulary Spelling Phonics Sight Words – Word Bank/ Word Wall

8. Other Interactive Activities: Read Aloud Shared Reading Emphasis on the Five Pillars Teacher Models reading behaviors Emphasis on words Emphasis on sentence making sense

9. Shared Reading Word plays Alphabet Books Predictable Texts Rhymes Good Reader Behaviors Activate Prior Knowledge Review Cover Make Predictions based on the title of the book Dr. Katherine Stahl, (Laureate Education Inc., 2010).

10. CRITICAL AND RESPONSE PERSPECTIVE

11. Critical Perspective Ask Questions – Who created the text? What perspective might the author have? Was the author male or female? What is the race, ethnicity or social status of the author?

12. RESPONSE PERSPECTIVE METHODS OF RESPONDING TO TEXT Journaling Dramatic Response Artistic Response Multi sensory Response Provide quiet time to respond. Use multisensory experiences. Dr. Janice Almasi (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010)

13. Change the approach to change the perspective! Consider our students when choosing a perspective to focus on.

14. MY GOALS MY GOAL FOR MY STUDENTS IS THAT THEY WILL: * Develop the ability to use reading and writing for enjoyment and to learn and remember information. *SEE THEMSELVES AS SUCCESSFUL LIFELONG LEARNERS AND READERS