Module 6-Assessment of Literacy Learning

Two articles

-“Tile Test: A hands-on approach for assessing phonics in the early grades” By Kimberly A. Norman and Robert C. Calfee

 -“Closing the Gap Early: Implementing a Literacy Intervention for At-Risk Kindergartners in Urban Schools” Colleen MacDonald & Lauren Figueredo 

Themes

Theme 1: High-quality instruction is critical in the earlier years.

- KELT program is unique in that the K tutors were provided with a specific curriculum based on the Ontario Ministry of Education kindergarten program and oral-language developmental continuum (Brailsford & Stead, 2006).

·        - Teachers need to identify the level of understanding students have about letters, sounds, words, and sentences, as well as the strategies they employ and their awareness of strategy use. Students’ responses provide valuable qualitative information that immediately informs instruction.

·       -  Providing consistency across the classroom by respecting the important connection to the kindergarten program and the philosophy of learning through themes. the K tutors received a month-by-month plan indicating the themes and the specific skills and concepts to be taught through these themes . 

Theme 2: Building blocks of phonological awareness 

-All children should possess independent reading skills like the young reader who imagines fish being pulled by an invisible thread while reading Swimmy (Lionni, 1973).

-Students’reflective talk supports conceptual understanding of English orthography because the talk mirrors their understanding— students become aware of what they know. This, in turn, facilitates the application of their knowledge and strategies to reading and writing across the curriculum (Vygotsky, 1978).

-Pre-telling is a prerequisite to retelling (Benson & Cummins, 2000). To retell a story successfully, students must be able to think sequentially by thinking backward to recall events and then thinking forward to put events in sequential order. Not only is retelling an important comprehension strategy but also it enhances language development and communication skills (Benson & Cummins, 2000). 

Research Project: "An Interactive Approach to Story Time and Language Acquisition in Preschool Aged Children."

"An Interactive Approach to Story Time and Language Acquisition in Preschool Aged Children."  

REFERENCES

Gahwaji, N. M. (2011). The effects of using interactive teaching programs on preschool children's literacy development: Case study. Journal of International Education Research, 7(1) Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1418218318?accountid=12793

Justice, L. M., Kaderavek, J. N., Fan, X., Sofka, A., & Hunt, A. (2009). Accelerating preschoolers' early literacy development through classroom-based teacher-child storybook reading and explicit print referencing. Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools, 40(1), 67-85. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/232589431?accountid=12793

RAVID, D., & TOLCHINSKY, L. (2002). Developing linguistic literacy: A comprehensive model. Journal of Child Language, 29(2), 417-47; discussion 453-7, 466-74. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/221336807?accountid=12793

Roberts, J., Jurgens, J., & Burchinal, M. (2005). The role of home literacy practices in preschool children's language and emergent literacy skills. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 48(2), 345-59. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/232342240?accountid=12793





Orlando Case Study

The support that educators give emergent reader can help build confidence in their abilities as well as foster and enjoyment for reading and literacy. Allowing the student to create their own meaningful experiences when reading stimulates and opens the door of opportunity to learn key components of literacy.  In Orlando’s case study, Orlando is a student who enjoys coming to school and is eager to learn. As the educator being able to include his love for drawing and he works well during small group activities I can incorporate theses attributes in the strategies to meet his goals.  

Comprehension is the ability to understand what has been read. Comprehension is important foundation to all emergent readers so they can begin to read with purpose and gain a better understanding of the text. The tips for implementation that were in the star sheet to help Orlando with comprehension are, predicting, summarizing, retelling, rereading and questioning. Since Orlando is a child that likes group activities, allowing him and a few children predict the story by scanning the pictures and speak on what they believe the story is about. If done in a smaller group setting Orlando can gain knowledge from his peers. Summarizing by shrinking of the paragraph can aid Orlando in understanding the main idea of what they are reading. This can help Orlando hone in on the “Who”, main chararacter and points of the story. Retelling allows the students to retell the story they have already listented to. Being able to utilize the “look back” strategy to encourage Orlando to physically look back and turn the pages to find the answer the questions that his teacher asks. Orlando will be able to gain confidence and excitement to read through rereading a familiar book to him or even during a small group activity.

Since Orlando enjoys drawing and allowing him to include drawing in his learning will make it fun for him. Since he does like to draw Orlando seems to be a visual learner. Graphic organizers will help him visualize the book in his own pictures. This strategy when implemented first as a small group activity that is teacher-directed will help him gain a good foundation. So I the educator after reading the story could use a graphic organizer and use language such as “can anyone draw for me, who is the main character in the book?” or “Where the characters in the mall or the woods? Can someone come draw what they think for me?” This can get the children moving and actively engage them in the story.

Repeated reading of a familiar text helps to increase reading fluency. A fluent reader has developed automatic word recognition skill, which allows more focus on comprehension. Studies show that children asked more questions and engaged in more dialogue when they listened to repeated readings of the same story. Pappas (1991) When implementing repeated reading, keeping the passage short allows the children to maintain their engagement and interest. Allowing time for group reading where the teacher reads the passage line-by-line as a model while students follow is a great way to model tempo of reading and build upon their understanding. Since Orlando is a very active child in the classroom and he likes to participate, maybe having the children act out the story they are rereading will engage him.

With the implementations of these above strategies Orlando should be on the right tract to meeting his 3 goals. One goal for Orlando to be able to read a passage that is on his instructional level and be able to retell main events. His practice with graphic organizers will help him master that goal. The second goal of Orlando being able to employ the comprehension strategies predicting, summarizing and questioning; his practice with all of the above in different settings will boost his confidence and allow him to feel comfortable when retelling and rereading. The last goal of Orlando being able to read a passage and retell the main components of the story; with his practice at graphic organizers and repeated reading will help him meet his goal. By the end of the year Orlando should be reading and comprehending on par with his peers. Will the help of the educators and plenty of support from his parents his emergent reading skills will blossom. 

Innovation Configuration tool

       Literacy is such a vital aspect of life and when introduced earlier on in life it can have a positive impact on children. In the article "Building Preschool Children’s Language and Literacy One Storybook at a Time” by Katherine A. Beauchat, Katrin L. Blamey, Sharon Walpole, talks about useful tool called the Innovation configuration tool. This tool is a form of implementation through shared reading with teachers and students that will actively engage students curiosity for reading. This partnership between students and teachers during shared story time opens many doors of literacy aspects to be received. Teachers can ask open ended questions and make intelligent observations that can make reading a story fun and exciting to a child in an early childhood setting. 

The main idea of this article is to demonstrate how literacy in early childhood can have a successfully established foundation. The article expresses a useful tool that can be implemented with planning from the teacher and provides a powerful lasting effect on the child’s learning. The Innovation Configuration tool or IC for short can serve as a means for engaging in reflective responses from the children after shared reading. 

The Innovation Configuration tool can be used in conjunction with planning a lesson or even used as an assessment method for teachers. IC allows teachers to set goals and track progress for a whole class or even by student. The potential language and literacy targets that teachers could introduce and track the progress of during shared storybook readings are oral language development, vocabulary development, comprehension development, phonological awareness and print awareness. The various exposures of these skills during the shared reading engages students’ curiosity when teachers do things like pause through the story and asking questions or making comments.  Modeling during this time is also very imperative. Holding the book the proper way as well as which is the correct direction to read.   Being able to highlight rhyming words or defining new words can enhance a shared story time. These enhancements allow the children to be comfortable and more likely to engage in a response fostering a better establishment of literacy in the preschool classroom.

Literacy Autobiography

“Twas the night before Monday and all through the house only one creature was stirring and it wasn’t a mouse, just a young girl eager to learn, a grin crept across her face with every page she turn.  Sitting under her covers and flash light in hand, traveling by reading to an uncharted land…” (Brittany Evans-Campbell adaptation of Clement Clarke Moore’s “Twas the night before Christmas”)

Reading has always played a significant role in my life as early as I can remember. From the exposure in the daycare that I attended with early sight words to my attempt in the first grade to read full pages of literature until now as an adult, reading novels at my leisure, each played a role in my love for reading.  I remember the first book I learned to read right before I entered 1^st grade. It was Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss. I was so excited to be able to read aloud on my own without having to wait for my mother or grandmother to read it to me. I read that book to everyone that I knew! It was a sense of accomplishment. I remember one day getting in trouble by my grandmother because I taunted my cousin who was a year older than me, but could not read the book like I could. I even offered to teach her.

As the contents of the books became more then 3 and 4 letter words my grandmother felt it necessary to invest in “Hooked on phonics”. This literacy tool was all the rave at one point in time and in order for me to stay ahead of the curve, my grandmother thought a nightly dose after my homework but before dance practice was the answer. So for majority of my elementary school career “hooked on phonics” was a part of it. Some days I enjoyed it, some days I tolerated it and some days I just did not want to be bothered. About the 6^th grade is when reading actually felt like a chore. I did not enjoy the selections that were given, I did not like the written assignments given, I did not want to do my extra lessons at home; I just wanted to dance, WAS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK? My love affair with reading started to dwindle and my passion for dance has taken over. Less time was had for leisure reading adventures; more time was placed in traveling with my dance team.

In high school a spark had ignited the flame that illuminated the words on the pages of books and back into my heart again. I truly believe that reading can transport you to another place and let you experience traveling and the journey to foreign lands through literature was amazing. In my world literature class reading works of great eastern philosophers, Lao Tzu and Confucius opened my eyes to a world that the urban area I resided in did not allow me to view from my window.  Novels such as “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest” by Ken Kesey spoke to my creativity.  Reading has always kept my mind actively engaged with the world as I see it and still prompts my curiosity daily. If it is an article online, in a magazine or a new novel or self-help book I pick up, reading has and will always take me on a journey, and who knows where I will land.  Are you ready for your next journey?