Literacy EnvironmentAnalysis

Kathryn R StuartWalden University

Literacy Development PreK­3 (READ ­ 6706R ­ 3)Dr. Phyllis McCullyJune 12, 2016

Getting to Know Emergent Literacy Learners

Characteristics-Beginning to understand concepts of print-Recognizes and names upper and lower case letters-Developing phonological awareness-recognizes phonemes, syllables, and rhyme -Beginning to learn sound/symbol relationships-Starting to read sight words and CVC words

Getting to Know BeginningLiteracy Learners

Characteristics-Developing an understanding of the alphabet,phonological awareness, and early phonics-Increased knowledge of sight words-Developing a much better grasp of comprehensionstrategies and word-attack skills-Recognizes different types of text-Recognizes that reading has a variety of purposes

Assessments Used forEmergent Reader

Cognitive Assessments Used-Student Oral Language Observation Matrix (SOLOM)

-MCLASS-Phonemic Awareness-MCLASS-Concepts of Print

-MCLASS-Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF)-Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF)

Assessments Used for theBeginning Reader

Cognitive Assessments Used-MCLASS-Comprehension

-Early Names Test-Phonics

Non-Cognitive Assessment-My Feelings about Reading

Selecting a Text

Linguistic

InformativeN

arrative

Semiotic

When selecting a text, it is useful to

use the Literacy Matrix tool

introduced by Dr. Douglas Hartman.

 Books are identified as linguistic­

word­oriented; informative­ gives

true facts; narrative­ tells a story;

and semiotic­ symbols and pictures

(Laureate, 2014).  Dr. Janice Almasi

adds another dimension to selecting

a text, which is text difficulty.

This includes readability, size of

text, text length, and visual support

(Laureate, 2014).

Text Used forEmergent Reader

Narrative/linguistic/hardback

Narrative/informationalhardback

Narrative/linguistic/digital

I chose the topic of pigs for my lessons.  In doing so, I chose a hardback and a digital that fit

the descripition of narrative/linguistic.  The other book I chose was a narrative/informational

text.  All books were chosen because they were engaging and simply written for better

comprehension.  Text size was large, and pictures were engaging.  It was easily readable,

and it was short.  I primarily chose these books to help with letter knowledge and sounds as

this was my student's area of needs based on her assessments.

Text Used for Beginning Reader

Narrative/Informational

Narrative/LinguisticNarrative/linguistic

I chose the topic of pigs for my lesson.  In doing so, I chose a hardback and a digital that

fit the description of narrative/linguistic.  The other book i chose was a

narrative/informational text.  All books were chosen because the text was larger, pictures

were engaging, the length was just right, and it was easily readable.  I primarily chose

these books to help with retelling key details and decoding skills­specifically CVCe words

as these were the areas of need based on my students assessments.

The Emergent Reader LessonThis is Reader A's first year in school.  She is a 5 year old Hispanic student who receives ESOLservices.  This student has many family difficulties, including poverty, divorce, and instability.  ReaderA started school with no letter sound knowledge, no number knowledge, and she could not write or tellyou the letters in her name.  At this point, she knows all but 4 letters of the alphabet, knows most of hersounds, is starting to sound out words, and is in the late­pre­phonemic stage of writing.  She has madegreat strides, but at this time is independently reading on Level 2 books.  Based on her assessments,she needs further instruction on letter knowledge and sounds.  She will be repeating Kindergarten atthis point.  

Skills and strategies addressed in the lesson-Fluency- through shared reading-Concepts of Print-through shared reading-Phonemic Awareness-knowledge of letters and sounds/more specifically rhymingwords, phoneme manipulation, and phoneme substitution-by making rhymingwords; identifying beginning and ending sounds; substituting initial sounds tomake new words-Writing- aids in comprehension and allows for practice matching letters tosounds when writing/labeling facts about pigs

The Beginning ReaderReader B is a 6 1/2 year old African American Kindergarten student, and he is the oldest in the classBased on recent MCLASS scores, he reads on a level 15 (98% on the non­fiction book).  He actuallyreads much higher, but he was not able to pass the written part of the reading comprehension forlevel 16.  For that part, because it is the level for end of 1st grade, the student must be able to writethe answers to the comprehension questions (district policy).  This student is extremely bright, butvery immature.  He has a father, who is very demanding, and a very, disabled three­year old brother. Based on the assessments I did, he needs further instruction on CVCe words and finding/writinganswers to comprehension questions.     

Skills and strategies addressed in the lesson

­Decoding skills­including CVCe words and compound words

­Strategies to use when looking back in a text to find key details when retelling

a story or recounting information

­Writing for a purpose

Reflection

Upon reflecting on my lessons, I noticed that the emergent and beginning readers needed

very similar instructional help, but to a different degree.  Both readers needed help with

strategic decoding skills.  These skills were different, though, because the skills needed

were based on the level of books being read.  

Through these lessons, I saw that the students writing tends to match their reading, so to

increase both, I must find ways to improve the student's literacy environment by

implementing lesson that include reading, writing, listening, and speaking instruction in

order to increase language development in reading.

References

Laureate Education (Producer). (2014). Analyzing and selecting texts [Video file]. Baltimore, MD:      Author.