Literate Environment Analysis Presentation

1. Literate Environment
Analysis
Sarah Wydler
EDUC-6706R-1
The Beginning Reader Pre K-3
Walden University
Cindee Easton
Fall Semester, October 2014

2. Introduction:
Creating A Literate Environment
In the video Changes in Literacy Education Dr. Douglas
Hartman discusses three important components that
teachers must consider when planning for literacy
instruction. These components, which can be found in the
Framework For Literacy Instruction include the Learners, the
Texts, and the Instructional Practices. Teachers must also
incorporate the three perspectives found in the
framework; Interactive Perspective, Critical Perspective,
and Response Perspective. (Laureate Education, n.d. a)
In the following presentation I will demonstrate
how I use research based practices in order to
create a literate environment in my classroom
while addressing the learners, texts, and use of
instructional practices along with the three
perspectives as detailed in the framework.

3. Introduction:
Creating A Literate Environment
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.

4. I. Getting To Know
Literacy Learners, P-3
 Analysis One of the ways that I get to know my learners is by
completing a variety of cognitive and non-cognitive
literacy assessments. Using both cognitive and non-cognitive
assessments allows me to get the big
picture about a student’s abilities, skills, attitudes,
and motivations. Using all of this information
combined affords me the opportunity to create the
best possible literacy environment for my students.

5. I. Getting To Know
Literacy Learners, P-3
 Cognitive
One type of cognitive assessment I use with my students at
the beginning of the year is the BPST (Basic Phonics Skills
Test II, 1997). This assessment provides me with data on my
Kindergartners letter recognition, consonant and vowel
sounds, as well as blending and segmenting of words.
 Non-Cognitive Aspects
One type of non-cognitive assessment I use to get to know
my students is the Elementary Reading Survey. (McKenna &
Kear, 1990). This assessment allows me to get a better
understanding of my learners reading history, home life, and
motivations to read.

6. I. Getting To Know
Literacy Learners, P-3
 Research
Getting to know my learners through both cognitive and non-cognitive
assessments helps me to develop a strong literacy environment in my classroom,
Cognitive- In the text Understanding and Using Reading Assessment K-12 it
states “Reading Inventories, whether commercially published, teacher
developed, or accompanying reading intervention programs, can offer rich
information from which we infer stutents’ reading strengths and challenges.”
(Afflerbach, 2012, pg. 40).
Non-Cognitive- In the text Understanding and Using Reading Assessment K-12
It states “Our use of assessment materials and procedures that focus on ‘the
other’ in reading helps fill in the gap in our understanding of how students
are challenged and how they may develop. The information compliments
what we know about students’ cognitive achievement.” (Afflerbach, 2012,
pgs. 186-187).

7. II. Selecting Texts
 Analysis
In my classroom I strive to select texts that are appropriately leveled, cover a
wide range of topics and interests, include both narrative and informational
genres, have the correct level of difficulty for the chosen activities, align to the
standards, help students meet their individual and grade level goals, and can
relate to students cultural backgrounds and life experiences. The Literacy
Matrix (shown below) helps me to ensure that there is balance and coherence
in my literacy program. It provides me with a model I can use to determine
whether a text falls into one of the four quadrants in the matrix.
Literacy Matrix

8. II. Selecting Texts
 Research
In the video Analyzing and Selecting Text it states that in order to meet the
goals of each of our students in our classrooms, teachers must use a rage of
texts from narrative based to informational, as well as texts that range from
being more linguistic to more semiotic. (Laureate Education, n.d., b)

9. III. Literacy Lesson:
Interactive Perspective
 Analysis
Teaching my students to be strategic, metacognitive learners can be a
challenge at the Kindergarten level. However, using strategies such as
explicit modeling and scaffolding can increase my students success in
using these higher level skills when reading and writing. When students
are explicitly taught these strategies and when to use them, they will
eventually gain automaticity and ultimately a greater understanding of
what they are reading.

10. III. Literacy Lesson:
Interactive Perspective
 Research
In the video Interactive Perspective: Strategic Processing, Dr. Janice Almasi
describes how teacher must not just teach children how to read but how to
become strategic, metacognitive thinkers in terms of how they are going to
attack a text. Children must use these strategies across all of the five pillars
of reading including phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, comprehension,
and vocabulary. (Laureate Education, n.d.c)

11. IV. Literacy Lesson:
Critical & Response Perspectives
 Analysis
Critical Perspective- Thinking critically about texts allows students to examine
them from multiple perspectives including the authors purpose for writing the
text and or including specific details. In the text I Can Read About Johnny
Appleseed my students were able to determine the author’s purpose for writing
about Johnny Appleseed.
Response Perspective- The Response Perspective allows the student to have a
personal connection with the text. The students in my class acquired the
necessary knowledge about apples through several activities and books that
they were able to make several connections with the content of the new text I
can read about Johnny Appleseed. Therefore my students were able to respond
with their thoughts and feelings about the new story.

12. IV. Literacy Lesson:
Critical & Response Perspectives
 Research
Critical Perspective- In the video Critical Perspective Dr. Janice
Almasi explains that by teaching our students to examine texts
critically they will be able to see them from multiple perspectives,
evaluate their validity, and discover the author’s intent or purpose.
(Laureate Education, n.d.d)
Response Perspective- In the video Response Perspective Dr. Janice
Almasi discusses allowing students to have a transaction with a text
rather than a reaction. As educators we want or students to be
changed or transformed by a text. Our goal is for our students to
personally and emotionally respond to text. (Laureate Education,
n.d.,e).

13. Closure
Teachers must consider all of the components of the
Framework for Literacy Instruction including the 3
perspectives; interactive, critical, and response as well
as the 3 main components; the learners, the texts, and
the instructional practices. I have gained a greater
understanding of these components during this
course, and I now feel confident in my ability to
incorporate all of these literacy components in order to
create an effective literacy environment in my
classroom.

14. Questions to Consider
 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?

15. References
Afflerbach, P. (2012). Understanding and Using
Reading Assessment K-12 (2nd ed). Newark, DE:
International Reading Association
Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.) (a). Changes
in Literacy Education. [Video File]. Retrieved
from https://class.waldenu.edu
Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.) (b).
Analyzing and Selecting Text. [Video File].
Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.) (c).
Interactive Perspective: Strategic Processing.
Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.) (d). Critical
Perspective. Retrieved from
https://class.waldenu.edu
Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.) (e).
Response Perspective. Retrieved from
https://class.waldenu.edu
McKenna, M.C., & Kear, D.J. (1990), Measuring
Attitude Toward Reading: A New Tool For
Teachers. The Reading Teacher, 43 (9), 626—
639.