1. Literate
Environment
Analysis
Using research based practices to
create a literate environment for
beginning readers
Mackenzie Svelmoe
Walden University
Dr. Pam Fitzgerald
The Beginning Reader pre K-3 6706R-2

2. Getting to know literacy
learners
 In order to create a
literate environment,
the first goal of the
teacher is to get to
know her students.
This goes beyond an
interest inventory.
We need to talk to
kids and really know
who they are
(Laureate Education,
n.d.b)

3. Getting to know literacy learners, P-3:
 Young children move through three stages as they
learn to read and write: emergent, beginning, and
fluent (Juel, 1991). I worked with three emergent
students that are about to begin kindergarten. Their
names are Ryan, Chase, and Nate. All three students
are almost 5 years old.
 Children gain an understanding of the
communicative purpose of print and develop an
interest in reading and writing during the emergent
stage (Tompkins, 2010).
 In order to know what motivates my student’s, I
assessed their cognitive and non-cognitive aspects
of literacy to understand the whole child by meeting
with each student one-on-one. We discussed their
interests and I observed how they interacted in the
classroom. I also assessed their letter knowledge

4. Getting to know literacy learners, P-3:
Examples of cognitive
assessments:
 Reading
inventories
 Dynamic Indicators
of Basic Early
Literacy Skills
(DIBELS)
 Letter Identification
Assessments
Examples of non-
cognitive assessments:
 Elementary Reading
Attitude Survey
(McKenna & Kear,
1990)
 Motivation to Read
Profile (MRP; Gambrell,
Codling, & Palmer,
1996)
 Classroom
observations
 Interviews with students

5. Getting to know literacy learners:
Analysis
 I used a letter identification resource provided by my district
to assess each student’s level of letter identification. I
observed that Nate and Ryan knew all of their letters.
Chase still had 4 letters that he could not identify. I would
like to include an intervention strategy to help Chase
identify all 26 letters of the Alphabet.
 I used the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (EARS) to
assess each students motivation to read. I used this survey
because I felt the images of Garfield would be easy for the
students to relate with. The ERAS is used for students K-6, so
there were questions on the survey that didn’t apply to pre-
K emergent readers. I left out those questions during the
survey. In future assessments, I may need to supplement a
survey that better meets the needs of pre-K emergent
learners.
 Once I evaluated the developmental level of my students
and understood what motivated them, I used this
information to create individualized lessons to meet the
needs to meet the needs of each student.

6. Getting to know literacy learners:
Research
 I used the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey to
assess the students’ attitude toward reading.
 Wixon and Lipson acknowledge that “the
student’s attitude toward reading is a central
factor affecting reading performance”.
 Motivation can serve as a facilitator of students’
reading achievement and that increased
motivation to read is an outcome of effective
instruction and learning. Simply put, motivated
readers are willing to persevere when reading is
challenging (Afflerbach, 2012)

7. Selecting Text
 Choosing text that is
appropriate and
interesting to the
students is helpful in
keeping the student
motivated.
 Using a literacy
matrix allows us to
look at how we can
use text to help our
students (Laureate
Education, n.d.c)

8. Selecting Text
 Along with including fiction and informational text
to build up literacy programs, technology is an
important addition to deepen understanding and
interest. When we use the Internet in our
classrooms for teaching and learning, we extend
opportunities for all students to acquire these skills
and strategies. New literacies build upon the
foundational literacies we have always taught in
school (Castek, Mangelson, & Goldstone, 2006).
 The texts I selected for my students that are
appealing and motivating include:
 Non-fiction: Nelson, R. (2014). Baseball is fun!
Minneapolis: Lerner Publications.
 Fiction: Hill, S., & Grogan, J. (2010). Strike three,
Marley! New York, NY: Harper.
 Web Book: Baseball A B C. (1885). New York:
McLoughlin Bros.

9. Selecting Text:
Analysis
 I reviewed my initial interactions with each student to
determine what their interests were and if any of their
similar interests overlapped with each other.
 I noted that there was a great emphasis on including
informational texts with daily literacy instruction. I
wanted to select texts for my beginning readers that
connected to their interests.
 Their mothers had stated that they had all played t-
ball. I decided to create a theme around baseball to
include their interest in sports and to give them
foundational information about the sport that could
help them better understand the game better.
 I selected texts to keep them engaged during
instructional time.
 A goal for this lesson was to have students be excited
about reading informational, fiction, and online texts.
By using their background knowledge, I wanted to
pique their interest in using these different texts.

10. Selecting Text:
Analysis
 These texts about baseball appeal to the
cognitive aspect to the group of learners
by using a topic that they all have
background knowledge in.
 Using the ABC book, is a beginning level
book that is easier for emergent readers.
This will also increase their foundational
knowledge of letter identification.
 The non-cognitive aspect that appeals to
this group of learners is using a topic that
will be motivating and positive for these
students because they have an interest in
sports, and they have all played t-ball.

11. Selecting Text:
Research
 Using fiction and nonfiction trade books as twin texts in an
elementary classroom is an authentic way of introducing
content material into the curriculum. Twin texts are two
books, one fiction and one nonfiction, on the same topic.
Teachers who use fiction and nonfiction texts together may
be rewarded with students who are excited about learning
(Camp, 2000).
 Realizing young children are naturally curious, primary-level
teachers spend much of the school day answering their
questions and reading books aloud in daily lessons as they
connect to students background knowledge and enrich
their vocabularies. Both of these practices can be
improved by including informational texts, which can also
provide teachers with valuable resources (McMath, King, &
Smith, 1998).
 In addition to exposing young students to informational
texts, teachers must also teach them how to read it (Duke,
N., 2004).

12. Literacy Lesson: Interactive Perspective
 Interactive perspective use
instructional methods that
address the cognitive and
affective needs of students
and the demands of the
particular text.
 Interactive perspective also
promote students'
independent use of
reading strategies and skills
(Framework for literacy
instruction).

13. Instructional Practices for Interactive
Perspective:
 Shared reading lesson
 Grand Conversations
 Interactive Read-Alouds
 Making Words
 Word Study
 Word Work

14. Literacy Lesson: Interactive Perspective
Analysis
 I chose to teach a lesson to increase comprehension in a
shared reading lesson. I also picked a word to study to
increase their understanding of the text. Students develop
a large stock of words that they recognize automatically
because it’s impossible for them to analyze every word
they encounter when reading or want to spell when writing;
these recognizable words are called sight words (Tompkins,
2010, pg. 189,).
 In order to have the three emergent readers get a head
start for kindergarten I selected a high-frequency word that
the students would encounter at the beginning of the year.
I chose the word the because it is a word that is very
common and also one of those words that cannot be
phonetically sounded out.
 I used a song to help the students with spelling the word
the. The students were very involved with singing the song,
and followed along as I pointed to the words.
 The students were able to recall the song when writing the
word independently.

15. Literacy Lesson: Interactive Perspective
Analysis Cont.
 I introduced the book that we would be reading by activating
students prior knowledge of super heroes, and I mentioned to them
that the last time we all got together; each student revealed that
they liked super heroes. That is why I chose the book Super Hero
ABC by Bob McLeod. The boys seemed to be excited with the text.
 We looked at the cover, and I asked what they thought the book
would be about. Nate mentioned that it would be about
superheroes and I praised him for participating. We talked about
the author and I shared with them that I had a copy that was
signed by the author. They thought that was pretty exciting!
 I did a short picture walk to show them how the book was set up
and that every letter had its own superhero.
 I pointed to the text as I read, and the students were able to
identify rhyming words. They would also stand up to point to the
word the when they saw it in the book to give them deeper
comprehension of the word.
 After the book, we did word work with the word the. We wrote the
word in a sentence and then cut it apart and put it back together.
 This type of word work may have been a little too difficult for
emergent readers. In the future, I may want to write the sentence
for them or have a sentence for them to copy.

16. Literacy Lesson: Interactive Perspective:
Research
 Teachers of the youngest readers can
enhance comprehension instruction during
teacher read-alouds using techniques like text
talk (Stahl, 2004).
 Teaching students to activate relevant
background knowledge, to filter irrelevant
background knowledge, and then use the
text to make meaningful connections and to
expand their existing knowledge base can be
important steps leading to independent
reading comprehension (Stahl, 2004).

17. Critical Response
 Critical response allows
teachers to select texts that
provide opportunities for
students to judge, evaluate,
and think critically.
 Instructional strategies foster
a critical stance by
teaching students how to
judge, evaluate, and think
critically about texts
(Framework for literacy
instruction).

18. Literacy Lesson: Critical and
Response Perspective
 The texts I chose to use for my lesson include:
 Candell, A., & Curto, R. (2005). Mind your
manners in school. Hauppauge, NY. Barron's
Educational Series.
 Hennessy, B.G. (1992). School Days. Scholastic
books. New York. Puffin Books.
 Howe, J., & Imershein, B. (1994). When you go
to kindergarten (Revised/Expanded ed.). New
York: Morrow Junior Books

19. Instructional Procedures for
Critical Response:
 KWL Charts
 Language Experience Approach
 Learning Logs
 Question Answer Relationships
 Journaling
 Dramatic Response
 Quiet Time to Respond

20. Literacy Lesson: Critical and Response Perspective
Analysis
 All three students are starting Kindergarten in the fall, so I
selected texts that would introduce them to the idea of starting
school. I wanted to ease any apprehension they may have
about starting school.
 I chose to use an interactive read aloud to promote a
respectful attitude toward routines in the classroom.
 I began the lesson with a video that uses the alphabet to build
self-confidence and positive attitudes called The ABC Song by
positively kids (www.positivelykids.com). I chose this as an
introduction to get them excited for learning, and I felt it built
the student up in a positive way.
 To introduce the topic of starting school and going to
kindergarten, I read a book called When you go to
kindergarten by Howe, J., & Imershein, B. (1994).
 I had a piece of chart paper on the small whiteboard that had
a KWL chart on it (Tomkins, 2010, p. 441). We used this to state
what we knew about kindergarten, what we wanted to know
about kindergarten and in the end, what we learned about
kindergarten. KWL charts can be difficult to use in kindergarten
because when you get to the what I want to know, students
can have very random questions. However, KWL charts gives
students the opportunity to ask questions that may not be
addressed in the text. The KWL chart is useful in helping students
activate their background knowledge (Tompkins, 2010).

21. Literacy Lesson: Critical and Response Perspective
Analysis cont.
 A book that I found that promoted reflection about
students’ own habits and attitudes, as well as those of their
friends is Mind Your Manners in School ( Candell, & Curto,
2005). Throughout the story I used key phrases that
promoted meaning for the students (Durand, Howell,
Schumacher, & Sutton, J., 2008). Some of the key phrases
that I used included: think about what this could mean.
What would you do? What might happen next? What story
can you find in this picture? Why is this important to the
story? (Durand, Howell, Schumacher, & Sutton, 2008).
 After asking these key phrases, it is important to allow time
for reader response. Reader response is a written or verbal
response that encourages students to explore thoughts and
feeling about text (Newton, Stegmemeier, & Padak, 1999
pg. 12).
 We finished the lesson with drawing a picture of what the
book meant to them. Each student was able to clearly
draw a picture that presented a situation from the book.
For example, Chase drew a picture of himself picking up
blocks off the classroom floor when it was time to clean up.
I dictated their response at the top of the paper.

22. Literacy Lesson: Critical and Response Perspective:
Research
 Teachers use KWL charts to activate students’
background knowledge about a topic and to
scaffold them as they ask questions and
organize the information they are learning
(Ogle, 1996).
 The critical perspective (Tompkins,2010)is
important in teaching students to examine
the text from multiple perspectives. It helps
readers to critically evaluate the text and
make judgments about the validity or veracity
of the text. This can be helpful for student’s
21st century skills and evaluating websites for
credibility (Laureate Education, n.d.b).

24. Feedback from colleagues and family
members of Students
 What insights did you gain about literacy
and literacy instruction?
 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?

25. References:
 Afflerbach, P. (2012). Understanding and using
reading assessment, K-12 (2nd ed.) Newark, DE:
International Reading Association.
 Candell, A., & Curto, R. (2005). Mind your manners in
school. Hauppauge, NY. Barron's Educational Series.
 Castek, J., Bevans-Mangelson, J., & Goldstone, B.
(2006). Reading adventures online: Five ways to
introduce the new literacies of the Internet through
children's literature. Reading Teacher, 59(7), 714–728.
 Gambrell, L.B., Codling, R.M., & Palmer, B.M. (1996).
Elementary students’ motivation to read (Reading
Research Report No. 25) Athens, GA: National
Reading Research Center.
 Howe, J., & Imershein, B. (1994). When you go to
kindergarten (Revised/Expanded ed.). New York:
Morrow Junior Books.
 Hennessy, B.G. (1992). School Days. Scholastic books.
New York. Puffin Books.

26. References:
 Juel, C. (1991). Beginning Reading. In R. Barr, M.L. Kamil, P.
Mosenthal, & P.D. Persons (Eds.), Handbook for reading research
(Vol. 2, pp. 759-788). New York: Longman
 Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.a). Critical perspective.
[Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
 Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.b). Getting to know your
students. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
 Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.c). Analyzing and selecting
text [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
 McLeod, B. (n.d.). Super Hero ABC's
 McMath, J.S., King, M.A., & Smith, W.E. (1998). Young Children,
questions and nonfiction books. Early Childhood Education Journal,
26(1), 19-27.
 Nelson, R. (2014). Baseball is fun! Minneapolis: Lerner Publications.
 Ogle, D.M. (1986). K-W-L: A teaching model that develops active
reading of expository text. The Reading Teacher, 39, 564-570.
 Tompkins, G. E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced
approach (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
 Wixon, K.K., & Lipson, M.Y. (in press). Reading diagnosis and
remediation. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.