2. Getting to Know Literacy Learners, P-3
Using different types of assessments and tools helped a great deal when it came to getting to know the student’s
backgrounds, home environment language, interests, values, and motivations. Creating a literate environment was very
important and necessary to keep the students motivated and engaged. Knowing where children are and meeting them
where they are developmentally determines what kind of instruction each child needs (Tompkins, 2010). Through
observations and conservations the students preferences about books vary. Learning children and how they read
fluently, comprehend text, retell stories, decode words and understand print are all important in a child’s classroom
environment. When a teacher is knowledgeable about these things he/she can better help students get to where they
need to be. Using informal assessments can help teachers make better informed decisions about what is appropriate
for each student and provides new insight as to what new strategies need to be put into place if something is not
working.
3. Selecting Texts
When children are interested in a book that they like they are motivated to read and will share their thoughts and
feelings about it. When children are provided with texts from all genres they are exposed to and have a better
chance of having learning experiences that can last a lifetime. Providing children with books about different
situations, books that relate to them and books that display different characteristics expose children to the world
and differences around them (Tompkins, 2010). When books were placed in different areas in the classroom and
discussion held the students were using their prior knowledge to help them make sense of the new information they
read and heard. When children can relate to a story they heard or something someone else shared with them they can
be more engaged and participate in the lesson. I have noticed that the books that the children were interested in
really influenced their thinking and helped them understand things about the natural world as well. When there were
words that the children came across they used their phonemic awareness skills to help them pronounce unfamiliar
words and sounded out words according to the pictures. The books that were put out in the classroom also motivated
the children to write sentences and come up with their own stories (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.).
4. Interactive Perspective
When the lesson on the interactive perspective was taught the students were sharing their prior knowledge about
the topic and used what they already knew to help with understanding where the author was coming from. From
reading interesting parts of the book, the children were able to connect and respond with their own experiences from
the past. By doing a book walk the children were able to use clues and figure out what they were suppose to be
discussing and how they would apply the new information learned (Laureate Education, Inc. n.d.). From looking at the
students faces and how they responded let me know that they were thinking and processing the new knowledge
gained. From the books that were read as a group the students were making predictions, summarizing the story and
making conclusions. The students were so engaged and shared what they know which helped someone else understand
what the book was about. The books that were placed in the class were interesting and so motivating that the
children were asking more questions, making predictions, and retold parts of the story that they liked.
5. Critical & Response Perspective
When the lesson was taught, the students used their prior knowledge about the topic to think about what they
already knew and thought about ways that they could use the knew information learned. They immediately
remembered what they already knew about characters and the setting of a story. The children were asked lots of
questions and was given ample enough time to give their responses. From the new skills that the children learned they
were able to make predictions and inferences (Laureate Education, Inc. n.d.). During the discussion the students
shared the new information learned and shared their interests about the topic. Many of the children mentioned that
they never really gave the outside environment much thought until we read a story together. From this perspective
the children learned how texts work and learned how they fit into the world in which they live. The children were able
to relate to their own experiences and share how they felt about the story in which it was written. From this story
the children shared other stories that they were familiar with that related to this one. By asking questions the
students mind’s were being stimulated and they were thinking at a higher level.
6. References
Laureate Education, Inc. (n.d.) Analyzing and selecting text [Video file]. Retrieved from http://class.waldenu.edu
Laureate Education, Inc. (n.d.) Interactive perspective. [Video webcast]. Retrieved from http://class.waldenu.edu
Laureate Education, Inc. (n.d.). Critical perspective. [Video webcast]. Retrieved from http://class.waldenu.edu
Tompkins, G.E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (5th ed.) Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
