2. Today’s classrooms are filled with diverse groups of
students, who enter elementary school with a wide
range of abilities and literacy experiences. In order
for teachers to be able to provide students with a rich
literacy experience they must poses a deep
understanding about child development and how
children learn (Laureate Education, 2009).
Literacy
books experiences
technology
Print rich
environment
conversation
3. Getting to know learners
Literacy learning is influenced by students’ sociocultural and school-
related factors (Nieto & Bode, 2008). Student’s self perceived
competence, task value (Gambrel, Palmer, Codling, & Mazzoni, 1996) and
whether they sense we as educators value and respect them
(Kottler, Zehm, & Kottler, 2005) have great impact on students’
achievement. This trust between student and teacher is important for
assessing cognitive abilities and non-cognitive information about
students’ skills, strategies, motivation, attitude, and interest.
4. Non-Cognitive form of assessment:
I begin each year with an “All About Me” poster, and a parent/child
information sheet. I feel beginning the year with activities for both students
and parents, help me get to know each child for who they are as a person and
student (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). These activities let parents and
students know that I really value them as people, and conveys to parents that I
view their child as a unique human being, not as a product to be tested and
managed (Nieto & Bode, 2008).
Cognitive assessments:
Student reading surveys as well as cognitive assessements such as
running records are assessments I use to help me create a balanced
literate environment. Determining the goal and focus of a survey, can
help teachers target student’s perceived efficiency in academic subject
areas or help to guide instruction or student/teacher interactions
(Signal, 2011).
5. Selecting Texts
Becoming a reader is a gradual process that begins with a student’s first
interactions with print. There is no fixed point at which students become
readers. Instead, they bring with them; an understanding of their spoken
language, knowledge of the world, and experiences in it, in order to make
sense of what they read (National Council of Teachers of English, 2012).
With the increasing diversity in our schools, we can no longer assume that
the lives and the literacy worlds of our students are the same (Purcell-
Gates, 2007). In order to provide my students rich literacy experiences, I
must have an understanding of my learners, their interests, and any
background knowledge.
6. Selecting Texts
When beginning the unit of study on Harriet Tubman, I
make sure to include many forms of literature. I like to
use the Reading Rainbow video of the reading Follow the
Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter (1988) (Reading
Rainbow, 1993) to help my students have a greater
understanding of slavery, the underground railroad, and
life during Harriet Tubman’s time. I also begin reading
aloud one story from the American Girls Collection; Meet
Addy (Porter, 2000). This story depicts the life of slaves
in 1864, helping to understand words such as equality and
perseverance. Reading aloud is a powerful tool for use
with language learners, it produces a strong English
language model and can reduce any anxieties the student
may have since they can listen and comprehend through
the use of voices, and illustrations (Herrell &
Jordan, 2008).
7. Utilizing the Literacy Matrix (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009) helps
to ensure I am exposing my students to various texts to foster their
independent reading skills. The read aloud, and video reading as well
as a wide variety of literature at various levels of difficulty related to
this unit fit within the semiotic-narrative portion of the Literacy
Matrix (Laureate Education, Inc. 2009).
Things to consider when choosing
reading materials for students:
8. Literacy Perspectives
Critical
• Interactive perspective involves teaching students to read and think
about the reading process
• Critical perspective focuses on examining and analyzing the content
and structure of text
• Responsive perspective allows students to respond to text in
personal and meaningful ways (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009).
9. Interactive Perspective
Guided reading group lessons lend themselves to the interactive
perspective; teachers using reading assessments to determine
the appropriate instructional level for students. It allows for
teachers to focus on the individual needs of those students in
each group.
During guided reading I use choral readings of the books we are
working with. This provides my ELL students with valuable oral
reading practice. They learn to read more expressively and
thus, increase their reading fluency (Tompkins, 2010).
The use of interactive read-aloud can be a powerful tool for
teaching, as it produces a strong English language model;
students can listen and comprehend due to voice, illustrations
and gestures (Herrell & Jordan, 2008).
10. Critical Response
Interactive read-alouds model how to make meaning from text
(Durand, Howell, Schumacher, & Sutton, 2008).
Wondering about why the author did something, what the characters
might be thinking, or how the plot might have proceeded differently, gives
students the opportunity to approach a text from a variety of points of
view.
subtext strategy (Clyde, 2003) involves students using drama to help
them imagine what characters might be thinking. This enhances students’
ability to make personal connections, develop inferencing skills, and
understand multiple perspectives.
using the fictional story of Meet Addy, An American Girl, provides my
students with multiple opportunities to not only respond to the text, but
also to think critically about the era that Addy grew up in, the racial issues
and discuss the character’s life. Reading from a critical stance adds
dimension to students’ understanding, with critical literacy, and can span
across the curriculum, beyond teaching and learning to everyday
experiences (Molden, 2007).
11. Response Perspective
Deemphasizing mechanics in written responses, students can be
encouraged to write and share more (Laureate Education, Inc.
2009).
Reading aloud fictional texts provides my students with
opportunities to listen, react, and respond to the text.
Utilizing read-aloud and to expose my students to the cultural and
racial differences of the time period of Harriet Tubman will allow
for me to foster the critical perspective of literacy.
Many of these fictional texts will provide opportunities for my
students to read, react and formulate many personal responses to the
texts (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).
12. References:
Clyde, J. A. (2003). Stepping inside the story world: The subtext strategy—a tool for connecting and comprehending. The Reading Teacher,
57(2), 150–160.
Durand, C., Howell, R., Schumacher, L. A., & Sutton, J. (2008). Using interactive read-alouds and reader response to shape students’
concept of care. Illinois Reading Council Journal, 36(1), 22–29.
Gambrell, L. B., Palmer, B. M., Codling, R. M., & Mazzoni, S. A. (1996). Assessing motivation to read. The Reading Teacher, 49(7),
518–533.
Herrell, A.J., Jordan, M., (2008). 50 Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners. Pearson Education. Prentice Hall
Kottler, J. A., Zehm, S. J. & Kottler, E. (2005). On being a teacher (3rd). Thousand Oaks, CA Corwin Press Laureate Education, Inc.
(Executive Producer). (2009b). 6: Getting to know your students [DVD]. The beginning reader, PreK–3. Baltimore, MD:
Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). Analyzing and selecting text [Videocast]. In The beginning reader, PreK–3.
Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011b). Informational text in the early years [Videocast]. In The beginning reader, PreK–3.
Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). 2: Perspectives on early literacy [DVD]. The beginning reader, PreK–3. Baltimore,
MD: Author.
13. National Council of Teachers of English. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/positiononreading
Nieto, S. & Bode, P. (2008). Affirming diversity the sociopolitical context of multicultural Education. Boston, MA: Pearson Education,
Molden, K. (2007) Critical Literacy, the right answer for the reading classroom: strategies to move beyond comprehension for reading I
improvement. Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6516/is_1_44/ai_n29345150/pg_2/?tag=content;
col1
Porter, C. (2000). Meet Addy an American Girl. The American Girls Collection. Pleasant Company Publications, WI.
Purcell-Gates, V. (2007). Real-life Literacy Instruction, K-3: Handbook for Teachers. Retrieved from
http://authenticliteracyinstruction.com/img/HandbookK3.pdf
Reading Rainbow. (1993). Follow the Drinking GourdSeason 11, Episode 6.
Signal, M. (2011). How to Create Attitude Surveys for Students. Retreived from http://www.ehow.com/how_8707345_create-attitude-
surveys-students.html
Tompkins, G. E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
