A summary of how I have worked to create a literate environment in my first grade classroom

2. Introduction
What is a literate environment?
What components do you look for in a literate
environment?
Learners
Texts
Instruction
All components are influenced by a particular
perspective

3. Getting to Know Your
Literacy Learners
What I did
Running Record
Motivation to Read Survey (McKenna & Kear, 1990)
McKenna, M. C., & Kear, D. J. (1990). Measuring attitude toward reading: A new tool for teachers. The Reading
Teacher, 43(9), 626-639. Retrieved from the Education Research Complete database.

4. Getting to Know Your
Literacy Learners
Why I chose these assessments
Authentic
Afflerbach: “focuses on an intact act of reading and
provides both reading process and product
information “ (2004, p. 40)
Tompkins: “collect valuable information about the
strategies and skills students use to decode words
and construct meaning “ (2010, p. 88)
Afflerbach, P. (2012). Understanding and using reading assessment, K–12. Newark, DE: International
Reading Association.
Tompkins, G. E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn &
Bacon.

5. Getting to Know Your
Literacy Learners
Why I chose these assessments
Non-cognitive aspect
Motivation to read
Attitude about reading
Academic
Recreational

6. Getting to Know Your
Literacy Learners
What I discovered
Running record
Ladybug
Firefly
Grasshopper

7. Getting to Know Your
Literacy Learners
What I discovered
Motivation to Read Survey (McKenna & Kear, 1990)
Ladybug
Firefly
Grasshopper
McKenna, M. C., & Kear, D. J. (1990). Measuring attitude toward reading: A new tool for teachers. The Reading
Teacher, 43(9), 626-639. Retrieved from the Education Research Complete database.

8. Getting to Know Your
Literacy Learners
How this impacted my instruction
Background knowledge
Mini-lessons
Phonics sounds (soft “c” and “g”)
Using context clues
Reading out loud

9. Selecting Texts
Linguistic
Informational
Narrative
Semiotic
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Analyzing and selecting text. The
beginning reader. (Video Webcast).
The beginning reader, prek-3. Baltimore: Author. Retrieved
fromhttps://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flaunch
er%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_4210429_1%26url%3D

10. Selecting Texts
Unit Overview
When I grow up, I want to be a …
Narrative, informational, online texts
“Twin texts”
Variety of reading is important
Using the matrix, you can keep your selections in
balance

11. Literacy Lesson:
Interactive Perspective
What is the interactive perspective?
How often is it used in my first grade classroom?
Why is it important for learners?
Dr. Janice Almasi- 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, Inc.,
2010)
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Interactive perspective: Strategic processing. (Video Webcast). The beginning reader,
prek-3. Baltimore: Author.
Retrieved
fromttps://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%
3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_4210429_1%26url%3D

12. Literacy Lesson:
Interactive Perspective
Lesson Plan: Careers
Focus: Understanding informational text features
Lesson Outline:
• Four groups/career choices
• Read informational text, highlighting features
• Create informational text using features
• Assessment data

13. Literacy Lesson:
Interactive Perspective
 What I learned
 “Instruction that emphasizes reading to learn and sharing
information with others has proven effective in increasing students’
engagement, application of strategies, and comprehension” (Duke,
2004, p. 43)
 What I would change for next time
 What I felt went really well
Duke, N. K. (2004). The case for informational text. Educational leadership, 61(6), 40-44.

14. Literacy Lesson:
Critical and Responses Perspectives
What is the critical perspective?
What is the response perspective?
Why are they important to teach from?
“If there is any hope to be found, it might well be in the
realization that we can still create cultural niches where
the children (and we ourselves) can develop as critically
literate beings who are going to keep trying to make the
world a better place” (Leland, Harste, & Huber, 2005, p.
268).
Leland, C., Harste, J., & Huber, K. (2005). Out of the box: Critical literacy in a first-grade classroom. Language Arts, v82 n4, p257268.

15. Literacy Lesson:
Critical and Responses Perspectives
Lesson Plan: Ruby Bridges and Amazing Grace
Focus: Understanding author purpose and multiple
perspectives
Lesson Outline:
•
Small group: Ruby Bridges from multiple perspectives
(Subtext strategy)
•
Whole group: Amazing Grace from multiple perspectives
•
Journal Response: “I admire Ruby and/or Grace because…”

16. Literacy Lesson:
Critical and Reflective Perspectives
Student Summaries:
I admire Grace because she believed in her
self.
I admire Ruby and Grace because they stand
up for her self.
I admire Grace because she didn't giv up.
I admire Ruby and Grace because thay
showed perseverance! (Firefly)
I admire Ruby and Grace because I can do
anything if I want.
I admire Ruby because she was not and nevr
was scared.
I admire Ruby because she was the first one to
go to the white school. (Ladybug)
I admire Ruby because she is cool.
I admire Grace because he has knfdins
(translated: confidence).
I admire Ruby and Grace because they didn’t
listen to other people.
I admire Ruby and Grace because they dident
lesten wen uther people sad thet they cant.
I admire Ruby and Grace because they shod
prsuvirin’s. (Grasshopper)
I admire Ruby and Grace because they would
be good friends together.

17. Literacy Lesson:
Critical and Reflective Perspectives
 What I learned
 What I would change for next time
 What I felt went really well

18. Helpful Resources
Stepping inside the story world: The Subtext
Strategy- A tool for connecting and
comprehending (J.A. Clyde, 2003)
Using interactive read-alouds and reader
response to shape students’ concept of care
(Durand, Howell, Schumacher, & Sutton, 2008)
Out of the Box: Critical Literacy in a First-Grade
Classroom (Leland, Harste, & Huber, 2005)

19. Feedback
What insights did you gain about literacy and literacy
instruction from viewing this presentation?
How might the information presented change your literacy
practices and/or your literacy interactions with students?
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?
What questions do you have?

20. Special Thanks To
My amazing students, in particular Grasshopper,
Firefly, and Ladybug
My instructor, Dr. Bernice Gregory
My colleagues, both through Walden University
and Pearl Creek