1. Creating Effective
Literate Environments
By: Amber Macauley
Walden University
S

2. Educators can create effective literate
environments by focusing on four main
aspects:
S Getting to know students
S Selecting texts
S Focusing on the Interactive Perspective
S Providing critical thinking and response
opportunities

3. Getting to Know
Students
“ It is not what we teach
but who we teach.”
- Dr. Janice Almasi
S

4. In order to get to know students, educators must
address the cognitive and non-cognitive aspects of
each student. Doing so creates a complete picture
of student ability level, interest and motivation
toward reading and learning.

5. Cognitive Assessments
S Reading Inventories
S Includes word lists, reading passage, series of comprehension
questions, and offers retell (Afflerbach, 2012).
S Running Records
S Assess fluency
It is crucial to provide assessment within instructional level
to avoid frustration and provide an accurate account of
what students CAN do!

6. How does this create a literate
environment within my classroom?
S Able to identify ability and current stage of reading
development of each student, which directly affects
instructional decisions.
S Have identified that my students range from the transitional
to the advanced stages of reading development.
S Assists with identifying specific needs of each student
within the five pillars of reading (phonemic awareness,
phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension).
S Example: After administering a running record, I discovered
that many students were struggling with decoding CVVC
words.

7. Non-cognitive Assessments
S ERAS- Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (McKenna
&Kear, 1990)
S Assessment focuses on motivation to read and personal
interests
S Appealing to young students through the use of cartoon
characters.

8. How does this help create a literate
environment within my class?
S Discovered that many struggling readers actually do have
a strong motivation to read and drive to improve.
S Revealed personal reading interests which includes lots
of nonfiction topics.
S Addresses confidence level and how students feel about
reading aloud in class compared to other students.
S As a result, I am able to adapt activities to keep students
within their comfort zone.

9. Selecting Texts
S

10. While selecting texts, focus on:
S Readability
S Length
S Background Knowledge
S Student Interest

11. And……..
Select and chart texts throughout each quadrant of Dr. Hartmen’s
Literacy Matrix (Laureate Education, 2012a). This ensures that a
variety of text is provided based on genre and format. A degree
of difficult must also be considered when charting texts.
It is crucial to incorporate lots of informational text throughout the
early literacy years to avoid the “Fourth Grade Slump”. This
ensures that students are prepared in identifying and utilizing
differing informational text structures and features (Laureate
Education, 2012b).

12. Literacy Matrix
Linguistic (word oriented)
Quadrant
1
Quadrant
2
Narrative Text
Informational Text
Quadrant
3
Quadrant
4
Semiotic (other than
words: pictures, icons)

13. How does this help create a literate
environment within my classroom?
S Able to select and provide texts on a variety of levels
ensuring that instruction is provided within the student’s
Zone of Proximal Development as identified by Vygotsky.
S Incorporate narrative, informational, and web based
literature which can provide pictures, video
documentaries, and music.
S Pay attention to cognitive and non-cognitive aspects
when selecting each text.

14. Interactive Perspective
“ The ultimate goal is to teach
children how to be literate
learners who can navigate
the textual world
independently”.
-Dr. Janic Almasi
S

15. The
Interactive
Perspective
is the actual
process of
teaching
students how
to read.
S It provides an intense
instructional interaction
between the student and
instructor.
S Students are taught to
be metacognitive
learners. In other words,
they continuously think
about how they think and
learn.

16. How does this help to create a literate
environment within my classroom?
S Can provide direct reading instruction in a variety of ways
to meet student needs. This includes:
S Read Alouds, Shared Reading, Guided Reading, Think
Alouds, modeling, and scaffolding instruction (Tompkins,
2010)
S Providing these types of instruction allows my students to
engage in extended discussion and practice applying
new skills with guided support.

17. Critical and Response
Perspectives
“Students need to be willing to
share ideas. That’s where
learning occurs”
-Jackie Stablewski
S

18. These perspectives…
S
are crucial for literacy of the 21st century.
S
provide opportunities for students to think critically about a text and
respond to text through a variety of formats. This allows students to
make new connections to the world around them.

19. Rosenblatt (1978) identifies this
connection as a transaction with the
text and presents the following
analogy.
Two clay balls, representing reader and
text, collide. This interaction not only
changes their course, but leaves a
mark, forever changing their identities
(Laureate Education, 2012c).

20. How do I address the critical
perspective within my classroom?

21. How do I address the response
perspective within my classroom?

22. References:
Afflerbach, P. (2012). Understanding and using reading assessment, K–12
(2nd ed). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012a). Analyzing and
selecting text [Video webcast]. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012b). Informational text in
the early years [Video webcast]. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012c).Response
Perspective [Video webcast]. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com
McKenna, M. C., &Kear, D. J. (1990). Measuring attitude toward reading: A
new tool for teachers. The Reading Teacher, 43(9), 626--639.
Rosenblatt, L. (1978). The reader, the text, the poem: The transactional
theory of the literary work. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University
Press.
Tompkins, G. E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach