Creating Effective Literacy Environments for Emergent and Beginning Literacy Learners

Arenia AmaroWalden University

Instructor: Dr. JamesREAD 6706R-1: Literacy Development PreK-3

Literate Environment Analysis

Part I: Getting to know emergent and beginning literacy learners, PreK-3

Part II: Selecting texts

Part III: Emergent literacy learner lesson

Part IV: Beginning literacy learner lesson

Part V: Feedback from colleagues and personal reflection

In order to create an effective literacy environment for emergent and beginning literacy learners, educators must first take the time to know their students (Laureate Education, 2014j).

Effective literacy teachers get to know their students by…● Assessing them before, during, and after literacy tasks (Reutzel & Cooter, 2015)● Assessing cognitive and affective aspects that impact literacy learning (Laureate Education,

2014c) One evidence-based practice I used to get to know my students in order to create a literate

environment:● The implementation of cognitive and noncognitive assessmentsThis practice helped me create a literate environment for my students by:● Informing my instruction by providing a holistic view of my students’ needs in the areas of

language development, reading behaviors, literacy dispositions, motivation, self-efficacy, and interests (Laureate Education, 2014c)

● Fostering student growth (Afflerback, 2012)● Facilitating timely and specific feedback (Afflerback, 2012) ● Providing immediate data to use for planning, implementing, and adjusting instruction

(Reutzel & Cooter, 2016)

Part I: Getting to Know Literacy Learners

Part I: Getting to Know Literacy Learners

Oral language: Informal Language Inventory (Reutzel & Cooter, 2016)

Concepts of print: Evaluación del desarrollo de la lectura 2 (Pearson, 2016)

Phonemic awareness: Rhyming Word Pair Task (Reutzel & Cooter, 2016)

Cognitive assessments used for my emergent literacy learner:

Part I: Getting to Know Literacy Learners

Reading attitudes: Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (McKenna & Kear, 1990)

Noncognitive assessment used for my emergent literacy learner:

Part I: Getting to Know Literacy Learners

Cognitive assessments used for my beginning literacy learner:

Reading comprehension: Evaluación del desarrollo de la lectura 2 (Pearson, 2016)

Reading fluency: Achievement Improvement Monitoring System (Pearson, 2016a)

Part I: Getting to Know Literacy Learners

Reading attitudes: Elementary Reading Attitude survey (McKenna & Kear, 1990)

Noncognitive assessment used for my beginning literacy learner:

Part II: Selecting Texts

One aspect in creating an effective literacy environment is the ability to select appropriate texts forinstruction (Laureate Education, 2014a).

Evidence-based practice I used to select texts:● The implementation of a Literacy Matrix to analyze and select texts (Laureate Education,

2014a)This practice helped me create a literate environment for my students by:● Identifying the types of texts I use during instruction to ensure a variety of texts are used● Helping me modify my practice to include more informational texts● Helping me select texts based on the learning goals and student interest (Laureate

Education, 2014a)● Helping me match text difficulty to students and goals● Helping me make better informed instructional decisions (Laureate Education, 2014a)

Informational

linguistic

semiotic

Narrative

(Laureate Education, 2014a)

(Marzollo, 2001)

(Gilda & Melvin, 2006) (Montes, 2016)

Narrative Informational Digital

Part II: Selecting Texts Texts for a kindergarten reading unit: What do Living Things Need to Grow?

Part III: Emergent Literacy Learner Lesson

When teaching emergent literacy learners, educators have to address many vitalliteracy skills such as oral language, vocabulary, concepts of print, phonemic awareness,alphabet knowledge, and comprehension (Laureate Education, 2014b; Reutzel & Cooter, 2016).Fortunately, there are many research-based strategies that can be implemented in order to addressthese skills (Reutzel & Cooter, 2016).

One evidence-based practice I used to create a literate environment for an emergent literacy learner:

● The implementation of a kindergarten reading comprehension strategy called ‘eagle eyes’This practice helped me create a literate environment for my student by:● Serving as scaffold to improve reading comprehension● Helping my student monitor her reading and comprehension (Afflerbach, Cho, Kim, Crassas,

& Doyle, 2013)● By helping my student be strategic and metacognitive in her thinking

Part IV: Beginning Literacy Learner Lesson

Beginning literacy learners tend to experiment with their existing literacy knowledge in avariety of ways. They also tend to demonstrate a match between reading, writing, and spellingdevelopment (Laureate Education, 2014b). In order to create en effective literacy environment thatmeets the needs of these students, educators can implement a variety of research-based practices toenhance their learning. One evidence-based practice I used to create a literate environment for an beginning

literacy learner:● The implementation of note taking while reading a text (Graham & Hebert, 2010)This practice helped me create a literate environment for my student by:● Improving my student’s reading comprehension (Graham & Hebert, 2010)● Connecting reading to writing ● Helping me address the reading achievement gap for my minority student● By helping my student be strategic and metacognitive in his thinking● Helping me address reading standards

Insights gained about the similarities and differences between the practices used with emergent and

beginning literacy learners when using digital stories

Similarities:-Address cognitive and affective aspects of literacy learning such

as vocabulary, comprehension, interest, and motivation-Supports instruction in a multi-sensory method while addressing

visual, kinesthetic, and auditory learning styles

Differences:-Emergent literacy learners require more modeling, thinkalouds, and scaffolding-Beginning literacy learners are more student-directed

Part V: Reflection

Insights about emergent and beginning literacy instruction in the different language domains:

● Every literacy learner needs to develop speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills● Cognitive and noncognitive assessments are necessary to assess a variety of skills,

attitudes, and dispositions in order to plan effective literacy instruction● A different level of support is needed for emergent and beginning literacy learners● The same research-based strategies can be used to enhance instruction for emergent

and beginning literacy learners

Part V: Reflection

Role of language development:● Enhances students’ overall literacy development● Promotes reading comprehension (Wren et al., 2015)● Increases students’ word base when writing (Rog, 2007)

My knowledge has been expanded by…

Part V: Reflection

● Learning about new activities and assessments that will enhance instruction for emergent and beginning literacy learners

● Learning about how specific research-based practices enhance learning for students in these two stages

● Understanding the importance of using a variety of texts and genres during instruction

My digital story can support social change in the area of literacy by:

Part V: Reflection

● Presenting evidence-based practices that will enhance students’ literacy development

● Promoting teacher self-reflection and action

● Presenting current research in the area of literacy development in a real-world manner

● Advocating for the implementation of research-based practices during literacy instruction

ReferencesAfflerbach, P., Cho, B.-Y., Kim, J.-Y., Crassas, M. E., & Doyle, B. (2013). Reading: What else matters besides strategies and skills? The Reading Teacher, 66(6), 440–448. 

Afflerbach, P. (2012). Understanding and using reading assessment: K–12 (2nd ed.). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Gilda, B., & Melvin, B. (2006). De semilla a planta: From seed to plant. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Graham, S., & Herbert, M. (2010). Writing to read: Evidence for how writing can improve reading. Retrieved

from https://www.carnegie.org/media/filer_public/9d/e2/9de20604-a055-42da-bc00-77da949b29d7/ccny_report_2010_writing.pdf 

Laureate Education (Producer). (2014). Literacy teachers make a difference [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2014a). Analyzing and selecting texts [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2014b). Assessing word knowledge [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author. 

Laureate Education (Producer). (2014c). Cognitive and noncognitive assessments [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2014j). Getting to know your students [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

ReferencesMarzollo, J. (2001). Soy una semilla. New York, NY: Scholastic.

McKenna, M. C., & Kear, D. J. (1990). Measuring attitude toward reading: A new tool for teachers. Retrieved from

http://www.bwgriffin.com/gsu/courses/edur9131/content/Reading_Attitudes_McKenna_Kear_1990.pdf

Montes, N. (2016). McGraw-Hill Lectura Maravillas: ¿Qué tiene Rita?. Retrieved from http://connected.mcgraw-hill.com/media/repository/protected_content/COMPOUND/50000582/71/43/Launch.html?mghApi=http%3A%2F%2Fconnected.mcgraw-hill.com%2Frd14t%2Fdynamic%2F1449079665%2FMGH_EBOOK_A

Reutzel, D. R., & Cooter, R. B., Jr. (2015). Teaching children to read: The teacher makes the difference. Boston, MA:

Pearson.

Reutzel, D. R., & Cooter, R. B., Jr. (2016). Strategies for reading assessment and instruction: Helping every child

succeed (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Rog, L. J. (2007). Marvelous minilessons for teaching beginning writing, K–3. Newark, DE: International Reading

Association.Wren, S., Litke, B., Jinkins, D., Paynter, S., Watts, J. & Alanis, I. (2015). The cognitive foundations of learning to read: A

framework. Retrieved from http://www.sedl.org/reading/framework/