A literate environment that fosters reading and writing by integrating foundation use of knowledge, use of instructional practices approaches, methods, and the appropriate use of assessments.

1. Literate Environment Analysis
Cynthia Booker
Walden University
EDU 6706 The Beginning Reader, Pre K – 3
Dr. Gina Pink

2. Getting to Know Literacy Learners, P-3
 As an effective literacy teacher you should know your literacy
learners. It is important to know what type of books they like to
read. Students should have access to a variety of books in the
classroom.
 Teachers can learn about their literacy learners if they talk to
parents, students, or use interest inventories.
 Research: Children tend to learn from their culture, language
and background in which they come from (Laureate Education,
(n.d. d). “Children’s understanding about the purposes of
reading and writing reflects how written language is used in
their community” (Tompkins, 2010, p. 112).

3. Literacy Learners Requirements
 Get to know your students
 Assess students to find cognitive and non cognitive
abilities
 Select Appropriate Texts
 Instructional Practices
 Interactive Perspectives
 Critical and Response Perspectives

4. Literacy Learners
Cognitive
 Developmental Reading
Assessments (DRA)
 The Developmental Reading
Assessment (DRA) an
assessment kit designed for
kindergarten to third grade
reading levels (Tompkins,
2010).
Non Cognitive
 Elementary Reading Attitudes
Survey (ERA)
 Classroom Observations
 Student Interview
 The Elementary Reading
Attitude Survey (ERAS) assesses
first grade through sixth grade
students on how they feel
toward reading at home and in
school (Tompkins, 2010).

5. Analysis of Literacy Learners
 In my classroom, I have found it very
vital to get to know my students. I
love all of my students equally so it is
very easy to get to know them.
Although on the first day of school I
give a interest inventory. I also give
a learning styles inventory. I send
letters home letting parents know
that they are welcome into the
classroom with my contact
information. On Meet the Teacher
night we discuss how well their child
has been learning in my class.
I also give my students cognitive
assessments to see where their reading
levels are. I do research and look into
their cumulative records. Students
have a chance as well to learn more
about me and where I come from. All in
all the assessments, observations, and
interviews have helped to drive
instruction. Creating lesson plans are
much easier when you know your
students reading level, likes and
dislikes.

6. Selecting Texts
 Effective literacy teachers motivate students as they
learn to have positive attitudes in their learning
environment. Students reading levels must be
identified before teachers can select text.
 “What readers know and do during reading has a
tremendous impact on how well they comprehend,
but comprehension involves more than just reader
factors: It also involves text factors” (Tompkins, 2010,
p. 290).

7. Selecting Text
 The Literacy Matrix is used to help identify what types
of books there are in the literacy arena.
 How all these text work or do not work with your
students? It is important to help students make sense
of the different text (Laureate Education, (n.d.a).
 How text will be used in the curriculum?

8. Selecting Text
• I selected text for the students that I used three different types of text for
my readers ( Narrative, Informational, Linguistic, and Semiotic).
Narrative Informational
“Muggie Maggie” “Ice Cream Cones for Sale”
(Clearly, 1990) (Greenstein, 2003)
“Biscuit” (Capucilli, 1996) “A Weed is a flower” (Aliki, 1965)
“Cam Jensen and the mystery “How a House is Built” (Gibbons, 1990)
of the Babe Ruth baseball” “Thank you, Mr. Falker” (Polacco, 1998)
(Adeler & Natti, 1982)

9. Interactive Perspective
• The goal of this perspective is to help students become readers , writers,
and strategic thinkers .
Lessons that are deemed effective uses strategies to help students
understand the lesson being taught.
“Helping children to read is a deeply rewarding experience for parents and
teachers who take pride as their children acquire effective reading skills and
reading strategies” (Afflerbach, Pearson, & Paris, 2008).
Comprehension and word recognition strategies are very important in
reading text. “Comprehension strategies can be important to a reader
because they have the potential to provide access to knowledge that is
removed from personal experience” (Stahl, 2004).

10. Framework for Literacy Instruction
Learners
Affective and cognitive aspects of literacy
learning
Texts
Text structures, types, genres, and difficulty
levels matched to literacy learners and literacy
goals and objectives
Instructional Practices
Developmentally appropriate research-based
practices used with appropriate texts to facilitate
affective and cognitive aspects of literacy
development in all learners
Interactive Perspective
Reading and writing accurately, fluently,
and with comprehension
Being strategic and metacognitive readers
and writers
Use a variety of informal and formal assessments
to determine areas of strength and need in literacy
development.
Determine texts of the appropriate types and
levels of difficulty to meet literacy goals and
objectives for
students.
Use instructional methods that address the
cognitive and affective needs of students and the
demands of the particular text.
Promote students’ independent use of reading
strategies and skills.
Critical Perspective
Judging, evaluating, and thinking critically
about text
Find out about ideas, issues, and problems that
matter to students.
Understand the learner as a unique individual.
Select texts that provide opportunities for
students to judge, evaluate, and think critically.
Foster a critical stance by teaching students how
to judge, evaluate, and think critically about
texts.
Response Perspective
Reading, reacting, and responding to text in
a variety of meaningful ways
Find out about students’ interests and identities.
Understand what matters to students and who
they are as individuals.
Select texts that connect to students’ identities
and/or interests and that have the potential to
evoke an emotional or personal response.
Provide opportunities for students to read, react,
and formulate a personal response to text.

11. Interactive Perspectives
Effective teachers use these different reading strategies to accomplish
different literacy goals.
During my lesson I used several different strategies that were
implemented such as KWL, SIWBS, Read aloud, journals, and double
entry journals.
The ultimate goal of the interactive perspective is to teach children
how to be literate learners who can navigate the textual world
independently (Laureate Education, (n.d. b).

12. Critical and Response Perspectives
Critical perspective teachers students how to look at text and examine the
text critically as they think about and judge. (Laureate Education, (n.d. b) .
Critical and Response perspectives must be taught and combined together
when teaching students. Responsive perspectives students must be able to
transform their mind, attitude or lifestyle.
According to Dr. Vaca, (n.d.e) reading and writing connection helps students
understand what they already know.
Students engagement in reading and writing together improves their
connection to the text.

13. Critical and Responsive Perspectives
In teaching this lesson I always remember to use
student motivation to encourage reading.
Students can relate to books that relate to their
likes instead of dislikes.
According to Dr. Almasi, (n.d. f) students must
become lifelong readers they must understand
the transformative power of text.

14. FEEDBACK
1. What insights did you gain about literacy and literacy
instruction from viewing this presentation?
2. How might the information presented change your
literacy practices and/or your literacy interactions with
students?
3. 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?
4. What questions do you have?

15. References
Afflerbach, P., Pearson, P. D. & Paris, S.G. (2008). Clarifying differences between
reading skills and reading strategies. Reading Teacher, 61 (5), 364- 373.
Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d. a). Analyzing and selecting text [Video
file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d. b). Critical perspective. [Video file]. Retrieved
from https://class.waldenu.edu
Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d. c). Interactive perspective: Strategic processing.
[Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d. d). Perspectives on early literacy. [Video
file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d. e). Response perspective. [Video file]. Retrieved
from https://class.waldenu.edu
Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d. f). Response perspective: Reading-writing
connection. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Stahl, K.A.D. (2004). Proof, practice, and promise: Comprehension strategy instruction in
the primary grades. Reading Teacher, 57(7), 598-608.
Tompkins, G.E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st Century: A balanced approach (5th
ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.