Walden University Masters in Education Reading and Literacy Program The Beginning Reader, Pre K-3 (EDUC - 6706R - 6) Literate Environment Analysis Presentation Week 7 Christy Thompson

1. Literate Environment
Analysis
BY: CHRISTY THOMPSON

2. Getting To Know Literacy Learners, P-3
 It is very important that we assess our students and that we get to know them if
we want to meet their individual learning needs.
 First we must understand what reading is and how students develop if we are
going to assess their reading abilities properly.
 Reading is “a dynamic and complex process that involves skills, strategies, and
prior knowledge. It is also developmental in nature and consists of identifiable
components (word recognition, comprehension) that interact to make reading
successful” (Afflerbach, P., 2012).
 Students bring past experiences with them to the classroom and to learning to
read.
 If they have had a lack of exposure to reading they will most likely lack the
motivation to read. This lack of motivation and schema could cause them to
become a struggling reader.
 “reading development and success are influenced by motivation, self-esteem,
and prior reading experiences” (Afflerbach, P., 2012).

3. Selecting Text
 There are different types of text that students must be exposed to in order to be
successful.
 They must be exposed to a balance of each of these types of text.
 Different types of text fall onto a literacy matrix.
 Understanding text is very important to how a student handles what they are
reading.
 “What readers know and do during reading has a tremendous impact on how
well they comprehend, but comprehension involves more than just reader
factors. There are three important text factors: genre, text structure, and text
features (Tompkins, G, 2010, pg. 290).
 Teaching literacy and reading should encompass the best of two or more
researched based instructional strategies.
 “There is no one best way to teach reading and writing. Instead, teachers
create a balanced literacy program using two or more approaches”.
(Tompkins, G, 2010, pg. 324).

4. Literacy Lesson: Interactive Perspective
 Use books to teach across the curriculum
 Using a variety of books will teach students vital skills and strategies they will use
in all areas.
 In my science/reading lesson observing, listening, writing, labeling and the
informational book and narrative book exposed my students to different areas
of literacy and taught them how to use reading strategies in all content areas.
 The National Early Literacy Panel and Preschool Instruction: Green Lights,
Caution Lights and Red Lights it states “It is important to teach other content
areas and social skills along with emphasizing literacy. If not the students could
show difficulties and weaknesses in other content areas” (Paciga, K., Hoffman,
J. and Teaie, W. 2011).
 It is important to have my students talk and discuss what we are learning
throughout the lesson. Discussion is important so that I can observe and assess
my students but it is also important for language development.
 “Exposing preschoolers to additional language enhancements, ….will produce
marked differences in children’s expressive and/or receptive vocabulary skills
and they perform better on early spelling and decoding test and task”
(Paciga, K., Hoffman, J. and Teaie, W. 2011).

5. Literacy Lesson: Critical and Response Perspective
 I want my students to think critically about text. I want them to think about why the author
and illustrator wrote the book and why they drew the pictures they drew. I want them to think
about how the text made them feels, what did it makes them think of, how they can help. I
want them to think critically about the text and then take the time to respond to their
thoughts and feelings
 Assessing their understanding is crucial to their development and their success as a student.
However, it is equally important that we discussed the book and try to figure out what the
author and illustrators want us to know and how does it make us feel.
 “When students read they don’t try to figure out the author’s meaning as they read; instead
they negotiate an interpretation that makes sense to them based on the text they are
reading and their knowledge about literature and the world.” (Tompkins, G.E, 2010).
 We have to remember when we are teaching our students to think critically and respond to
the text they are reading that they will all have some different viewpoints.
 “Their interpretations are individualized because students bring different background
knowledge and experiences to the reading event” (Tompkins, G.E, 2010).
 it is especially important to teach students how to take risk and how to be willing to share their
thoughts and ideas when responding to text because that is when the learning occurs
(Laureate Education, Inc., 2010a).

6. References
 Afflerbach, P. (2012). Understanding and Using Reading Assessment, K-12 (2nd ed.).
Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
 Tompkins, G. E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (5th ed.).
Boston: Allyn & Bacon
 Paciga, K., Hoffman, J. and Teaie, W. (2011, November). The National
Early Literacy Panel and Preschool Literacy Instruction Green Lights,
Caution Lights, and Red Lights. Young Children, 50-57.
 Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010b). Response Perspectives.
[Webcast]. Retrieved from
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