Literate Environment Analysis

By:Taniesha Blake Walden University

Instructor: Dr. Bernice ParrottEDUC - 6706R – 3The Beginning Reader, Pre K -3

Literate Environment Analysis

Creating a literate environment does not only mean providing multiple texts for students to read.

It means creating an environment that promote, reading, writing, listening and speaking. In

Addition, students should be taught the necessary strategies that will help them to become

strategic thinkers, their response and develop an understanding of what they read.

Getting to Know My Students

Over the years I have always tried to get to know my students. However,

throughout this course I have learned that getting to know my students does not

only help me to understand them, but it also helped me to know what their interest

are and what will motivate them. I try to use both cognitive and non-cognitive

forms of assessments in order to plan effective lessons. Based on the results of the assessment activities I try to formulate small groups to

meet the needs of my students.

The media segment Getting to Know Your Students states, we

teach students which means we need to get to know them better, which means

really finding out about the whole child.” (Laureate Education Inc 2010 n.p) Very

often I use the KWL so that I can be better able to cater for my students academic

needs. I want to know what students know about a particular topic so that I can

make adjustments to my lesson plan where necessary. This method has helped me to recognize

my students strengths and weaknesses.

Selecting Texts

Thornly & Mcdonald (2002) states, “have found that students often ignore visual

images and do not always understand the significance of subject-related

illustrations, diagrams and graphs”. (p. 1) I believe that it is of significant

importance that I know my students in order to select the appropriate text that

meets their interest. Over the past several weeks with the information I have learned throughout

this course it helped me to think twice before selecting text which is appropriate for my students’

level of development, their interest and theme related.

The media segment Analyzing and Selecting Text states, you think about how you can analyze

text so you can be helpful to your students and there is a very simple tool called the literacy

matrix. (Laureate education Inc 2010 n.p) The Literacy matrix has given me fundamental steps

on how I can analyze text in such a way that it helps both me and my students the overall

distribution and type of text that is being used.

Interactive Perspective

I believe fluent reading is derived from developing both decoding skills and relating information

to prior knowledge. The media segment Strategic Processing states, the interactive perspective of

reading involves really not just teaching children how to read but how to become strategic

thinkers (Laureate Education Inc 2010 n.p) The interactive perspective is then one of the most

important aspect of literacy development as this is where students learn how to think

strategically. Thus, I use the KWL chart to help recognize that they can also link their prior

knowledge to new information.

Critical and Response Perspectives

A student’s response and how well they comprehend a text is very important to me. I try to ask

my students open-ended questions to see how they view the text and if they can actually predict

the author’s intentions based on the pictures they see on the cover or what they hear from the

first paragraph. It is not just understanding a text, it is also students’ response to a text that

motivates me as a teacher and assist me in the process of planning future lessons. The media

segment Response Perspectives states, we need to know what books have moved them, that

changes who they are. (Laureate Education Inc 2010 n.p) I want the text that I select to have a

positive impact on my students. I want it to leave a lasting effect that it make s them better

individuals not just in Pre K, but also in their later years..

Feedback from Colleagues and Family Members of Students

This course was very exciting and an eye-opener. It helped me to gather new information on how

to teach students to become strategic thinkers. I have now become more interested in getting to

know my students’ interest so that I can choose the appropriate text to meet their individual

needs. I also want when I select a text my students respond to it in a positive way. The weekly

resources and discussions helped me to make adjustments not only to my approach to teaching

reading but to also in creating a more effective literacy learning environment. This new

information I will share with some colleagues, parents and other family members at my school. I

want to know what new insights you have gained, how would it influence your approach to

literacy, how can I support you in your literacy development of your students or children and

what questions do you have?

Reference

Laureate Education Inc (Producer) (a) (2010) Analyzing and Selecting Texts [Video Webcast] Retrieved fromhttps://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2653379_1%26url%3D:

Laureate Education Inc (Producer) (b) (2010) Getting to know Literacy Learners [Video Webcast] Retrieved from: https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2653379_1%26url%3D

Laureate Education Inc (Produce) (c) (2010) Response Perspectives Retrieved from: https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2653379_1%26url%3D

Laureate Education Inc (Producer) (d) (2010) Strategic Processing Retrieved from: https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2653379_1%26url%3D

McDonald. P., Thornley, M., (2002) Knowing how to select appropriate texts (p. 1) Retrieved from: http://englishonline.tki.org.nz/English-Online/Teacher-needs/Reviewed-resources/Reading/Selecting-texts/Knowing-how-to-choose-appropriate-texts