2. What is a Literate
Environment?
A literate environment is a community of
learners, comprised of teachers and
students, that work together to
strengthen literacy skills.
According to Angelillo (2008), “Together students
and their teacher create their classroom
community, and the type of community they create
strongly influences the learning that takes place”
(as cited by Tompkins, 2009, p. 16).
3. Why is a Literate Environment
Important?
A literate environment is important for
teachers and students alike because it
supports individualized instruction
that is much needed in the classroom.
To create this type of environment, teachers must
focus on the learners, texts, and instructional
practices they choose (Laureate Education, Inc.,
2009b).
4. How is a Literate Environment
Created?
Getting to Know the Creating and
Literacy Learners implementing lessons
based on student needs
Assessing students and interests
through cognitive and
non-cognitive Promoting critical
assessments to thinking and student
determine strengths, response to various
weaknesses, interests texts
and motivations
Selecting engaging, Supporting students in
level appropriate texts becoming
metacognitive learners
5. Framework for Literacy Instruction
Learners Texts Instructional Practices
Affective and cognitive aspects Text structures, types, genres, Developmentally appropriate
of literacy learning and difficulty levels matched to research-based practices used
literacy learners and literacy with appropriate texts to
goals and objectives facilitate affective and cognitive
aspects of literacy development
in all learners
Interactive Perspective Use a variety of informal and Determine texts of the Use instructional methods that
Reading and writing formal assessments to appropriate types and levels of address the cognitive and
accurately, fluently, and with determine areas of strength difficulty to meet literacy goals affective needs of students and
comprehension and need in literacy and objectives for students. the demands of the particular
Being strategic and development. text.
metacognitive readers and Promote students’ independent
writers use of reading strategies and
skills.
Critical Perspective Find out about ideas, issues, Select texts that provide Foster a critical stance by
Judging, evaluating, and and problems that matter to opportunities for students to teaching students how to
thinking critically about text students. judge, evaluate, and think judge, evaluate, and think
Understand the learner as a critically. critically about texts.
unique individual.
Response Perspective Find out about students’ Select texts that connect to Provide opportunities for
Reading, reacting, and interests and identities. students’ identities and/or students to read, react, and
responding to text in a variety Understand what matters to interests and that have the formulate a personal response
of meaningful ways students and who they are as potential to evoke an emotional to text.
individuals. or personal response.
(Walden University, 2011).
6. Getting to Know your Literacy
Learners.
Before planning lessons, it is critical for teachers to know their students,
not only on an academic level, but a personal level as well. Teachers
must analyze information received from cognitive and non-cognitive
assessments to create lessons that will best meet each student’s needs.
Through assessing and analyzing, I was able to address the needs of my
students, while planning for their interests and motivations.
• “Understanding how students • “When the teachers see clear
learn, and particularly how they areas of interest there is the
learn to read and write, opportunity to gather resources
influences the instructional to try to meet individual
approaches that teachers use” students’ needs within a
(Tompkins, 2010, p. 5). context that is already
motivating and interesting to
the student” (Afflerbach, 2007,
p. 162).
7. Getting to Know your Literacy
Learner
Example of cognitive Example of non-cognitive
assessment: AIMSweb assessment: Elementary
Reading Curriculum Based Reading Attitude Survey:
Measurement:
8. Creating Textual Arrangements-
Selecting Engaging Texts
The goal for creating an appropriate textual arrangement is
selecting engaging texts based on the needs of each individual
student (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009a).
• Selecting engaging and • Textual arrangements
appropriate texts helped me
to create and improve my are an excellent tool for
literate environment. teachers to use to
Through focusing on enhance and build
student needs and interests,
I was able to locate texts that student knowledge on a
were level appropriate but topic (Laureate
held student interest. The Education, Inc., 2009f).
texts were successful in
building student’s
knowledge of certain topics.
9. Framework for Selecting
Texts
Dr. Hartman provides a
literacy matrix that assists
teachers in selecting
appropriate texts based on
their student’s needs. Dr.
Almasi extends the matrix
by adding text difficulty.
Text Difficulty Concerns:
Readability
Concept Density
Text Length
Structure
Font Size
Visualizations
10. Textual Arrangement
The textual arrangement I
created was based on a story
from the reading basal series.
The story A Weed is a Flower:
The Story of George
Washington Carver, served
as the basis of the
arrangement. The students
showed interest in reading
nonfiction texts, so I
expanded the arrangement
based on student interest.
The remaining texts
addressed were nonfiction or
realistic fiction.
11. Online Texts
Technology is changing and shaping the classroom
everyday. To address these technological advances,
teachers must teach students how to become literate
through using technology.
• “The Internet is • The online text I used in my
textual arrangement was a
rapidly changing what media text. Through accessing
it means to be multiple forms of texts,
literate” (Tompkins, teachers will insure that
students are gaining multiple
2010, p. 7). enhancing experiences. The
online text can be located at:
http://video.nationalgeographic.
com/video/news/history-
archaeology-news/mlk-day-vin/.
12. Interactive Perspective
Learners Texts Instructional Practices
Affective and cognitive Text structures, types, Developmentally
aspects of literacy genres, and difficulty appropriate research-
learning levels matched to based practices used
literacy learners and with appropriate texts
literacy goals and to facilitate affective
objectives and cognitive aspects
of literacy
development in all
learners
Interactive Perspective Use a variety of informal Determine texts of the Use instructional
Reading and writing and formal assessments appropriate types and methods that address
accurately, fluently, and to determine areas of levels of difficulty to the cognitive and
with comprehension strength and need in meet literacy goals and affective needs of
Being strategic and literacy development. objectives for students. students and the
metacognitive readers demands of the
and writers particular text.
Promote students’
independent use of
reading strategies and
skills.
(Walden University, 2011)
13. Interactive Perspective
The Interactive Perspective of teaching
focuses on teaching students multiple
strategies for reading.
More importantly, this perspective
teaches students to be metacognitive
about the strategies they are using.
Being metacognitive about reading means
knowing that some strategies work well with
certain texts and being able to choose the
correct strategies based on the text(Laureate
Education, Inc., 2009e).
14. Interactive Perspective
Instructional Practices
To incorporate the Try these other
interactive perspective interactive
into my teaching, I instructional practices:
used a KWL chart.
The students used the Book Talks
KWL chart to activate Guided Reading
their prior knowledge. Interactive Writing
After completing the Making Words
charts, the students Minilessons
were not only ready Think-Alouds
for the lesson, but
Word Ladders
they were excited to
begin as well. ○ (Tompkins, 2010)
15. Critical Perspective
Learners Texts Instructional Practices
Affective and cognitive Text structures, types, Developmentally
aspects of literacy genres, and difficulty appropriate research-
learning levels matched to based practices used
literacy learners and with appropriate texts
literacy goals and to facilitate affective
objectives and cognitive aspects
of literacy
development in all
learners
Critical Perspective Find out about ideas, Select texts that provide Foster a critical stance by
Judging, evaluating, and issues, and problems that opportunities for students teaching students how to
thinking critically about matter to students. to judge, evaluate, and judge, evaluate, and think
text Understand the learner as think critically. critically about texts.
a unique individual.
(Walden University, 2011)
16. Critical Perspective
The goal for the critical perspective is to
provide students with an opportunity to
think deeply about what they are
reading.
Students using this perspective use skills such as
evaluating, analyzing, and making judgments
(Laureate Education, 2009c).
17. Critical Perspective
Instructional Practices
To incorporate the Try these other critical
critical perspective instructional practices:
into my teaching, I Double-Entry Journals
used Questioning the Open-Mind Portraits
Author. Questioning Question/Answer
the Author promotes Relationships
critical thinking by Questioning the
having students Author
analyze the text to Reciprocal
determine the author’s Questioning
purpose for writing. (Tompkins, 2010).
18. Response Perspective
Learners Texts Instructional Practices
Affective and cognitive Text structures, types, Developmentally
aspects of literacy genres, and difficulty appropriate research-
learning levels matched to based practices used
literacy learners and with appropriate texts
literacy goals and to facilitate affective
objectives and cognitive aspects
of literacy
development in all
learners
Response Perspective Find out about students’ Select texts that connect Provide opportunities for
Reading, reacting, and interests and identities. to students’ identities students to read, react,
responding to text in a Understand what matters and/or interests and that and formulate a personal
variety of meaningful ways to students and who they have the potential to response to text.
are as individuals. evoke an emotional or
personal response.
(Walden University, 2011)
19. Response Perspective
The response perspective focuses on
providing literacy experiences based
on the teacher’s knowledge of the
individual student.
Teacher’s must provide literacy experiences that
relate to students’ interests and reading levels
(Laureate Education Inc., 2009d).
20. Response Perspective
Instructional Practices
To incorporate the Try these response
response perspective in instructional practices:
my teaching, I had Reading Logs
students complete an Double-Entry Journals
Elementary Reading Grand Conversations
Attitude Survey. After Learning Logs
reviewing the results, I
Quickwriting
planned a lesson based
○ (Tompkins, 2010)
on the students’ needs
and levels.
21. References
Afflerbach, P. (2007). Understanding and using reading assessment, K–12.
Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Laureate Education, Inc. (2009a). Analyzing and Selecting Texts [Webcast].
The beginning reading, PreK-3. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (2009b). Changes in Literacy Education.
[Webcast]. The beginning reader, PreK-3. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (2009c). Critical Perspective. [Webcast] The
beginning reader, PreK-3. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (2009d). Response Perspective. [Webcast]. The
beginning reader, PreK-3. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (2009e). Strategic Processing. [Webcast] The
beginning reader, PreK-3. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (2009f). Textual Arrangements. [Webcast] The
developing reader, 4-6 grades. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Tompkins, G. E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach
(5th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Walden University. (2011). Framework for literacy instruction. Minneapolis,
MN: Author.
