Assess The Importance Of Literacy In The Classroom

A literacy rich environment is essential for any emerging reader. Emerging literacy reflects "children's natural growth and awareness of print in the environment" (Genisio & Drecktrah, 1999, p. 227) and therefore the environment has to contain suffient enough manifestations of this print and other literacy material presented in an attractive way without overwhelming the child. "Clearly, literacy-rich environments are of value. They allow children to practice literacy behaviours and language in ways that make sense to them" (Roskos & Neuman, 1994, p. 264).

As a future teacher of a fast-changing generation that searches restlessly for new interests, I believe that old and new must meet to keep the basic values of a balanced literacy. Focusing on prior knowledge, collaborating with colleagues, peers, families, and community, creating connections with our surrounding, and empowering students’ learning style throughout the process of gaining knowledge of reading and writing. Foremost, my personal philosophy of teaching literacy is based on constructivism and sociolinguistic, where hands on experience and guidance are priority in an informational world. To facilitate a child’s acquisition of literacy skills , as I plan for literacy instruction for my future classroom, I will take into consideration

“The more you read, the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” This is how Dr. Seuss thought of reading, and I think of it in much the same way. Literacy is everywhere and influences us every day, therefore, it plays a major part in each of our lives. I believe that reading is an interactive activity in which learning happens, or as Clay (2001) defines it, “…a message-getting, problem-solving activity” (p. 1). Reading is the process through which one reads information and from doing so, constructs meaning about the material. The more exposure and practice one has with reading, the more knowledge one gains. In this paper, I will begin by discussing my own personal educational philosophy, then continue by stating and explaining four of my beliefs about the reading process and the research that is found to support each of them before sharing the remaining questions I have about literacy. I am an existentialist, and a strong supporter of a balanced literacy approach. My beliefs about literacy come from these foundations and perspectives that I embrace. For students to be successful in their literacy development, I believe that identity acceptance in the classroom is crucial, instruction for all students must be differentiated, direct and explicit instruction is at times necessary, and vocabulary is a significant component in the ‘Big Five’ of children’s literacy development.

Activities that we do to promote the learning of literacy are, story sacks, role play,

For this assignment, I completed a survey to assess my school’s literacy program by using a survey that was adapted from by Patty, Maschoff, & Ransom (1996) to analyze the instructional program and the school’s infrastructure. To be able to answer my survey, I needed to go colleagues of mine in the English Department and to my administration to help with these questions. Being a math teacher, we hardly ever discuss the literacy and the students’ acquisition of it in our department meeting during staff development days. Since I am not truly current with literacy acquisition in education, I am hoping to understand more from this process so I can help all my students. I want them to be able to read texts related to math and find

Students work independently or within groups during center time which allows teachers to differentiate instruction according to student’s needs. Literacy centers give students control of their literacy tasks while providing the teacher time to work in small groups and focus on specific skills. “Choice is an important feature in making literacy work stations successful” (Diller 2003). Using Big Book’s as a literacy work station in the classroom provides students a place where they can practice reading new text and reread familiar text previously taught.

During my West Middlesex observation, based on Balanced Literacy changed my vision in the classrooms of Mrs. Wiles 3rd grade room and Mrs. Hall reading specialist room. Some of the elements from each classroom emphasizes rich-environment such as; lighting, seating areas, different chairs for each student (yoga balls, spiral stools, and crates), pillows around the room, and furry carpets. Incorporating these arrangements in the classroom increase the child’s thinking and learning process.

Most of the other students in her 2nd grade classroom are able to read classroom text and complete work independently. They also read books for enjoyment on their own. The reading time in her classroom consists of a block during which the teacher works with small groups and the children are expected to work quite independently when they are not working directly with the teacher. The class uses a trade book format and this is utilized across the curriculum. Students are provided with short skills building lessons in large and small groups. Most of the time spent during explicit reading instruction is targeted to helping students develop reading fluency.

Educators are charged with not only teaching the content of their subject, but also responsible for creating a learning environments that fosters communication, engagement, and reflection so that the students will be prepared for their future careers and learning. Creating a classroom that fosters reading and writing is one way to engage students while promoting that they reflect on the material and communicate their understanding or misconceptions of the content. In order to form a literacy-rich classroom educators need to increase the amount of time students interact with all forms of print and literacy and the classroom environment is an essential key to setting the precedent and model behaviors that will make students more successful and capable of high level learning. (Tyson, 2013)

Creating a literacy-rich environment is one of the key elements of supporting children’s literacy development. Literacy-rich classrooms tend to look quite different than the traditional classroom, covered in pre-made posters and arranged with individual desks in rows, and instead, allow for teachers to design their classrooms with their students’ needs in mind. According to an article on the Sadlier School’s blog, all elements in a classroom must be meaningful, intentional, purposeful, and engaging when creating a literacy-rich classroom. This means that classroom design is created in a way that it provides frequent opportunities to be exposed to text via environmental print, instruction, and hands-on learning as well as encouraging communication and collaboration (Sadlier School, 2017).

My philosophy of literacy is centered on providing a learning environment rich in authentic literature, instruction that is engaging, fun, and balanced, collaborative, and also involving families in the child’s education. My ultimate goal of literacy instruction is to help children become lifelong readers and writers by providing the skills necessary to comprehend, construct, and make meaning of text, speak, and write. (Torgesen, 2002). According to the National Reading Panel, there are five essential components that must be taught in effective reading programs: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. (Reading Horizons). According to Konza (2014), reading instruction should be changed to six foundational reading elements, adding oral language and early literacy. I also believe that early literacy should be

Encourages children to read familiar stories independently by relating illustrations to the text. (Vukelich & Christie, 2004, p.8)

After reading and learning about literacy for the past month, I have come to understand a bit more about how I was brought up as a student. For a majority of my high school career, there were not many teachers that seemed to bring literacy into their content areas; however, there was one particular teacher that I took in my senior year for a Film Literature class that was significantly different than the others at my school. To begin with, his classroom setup extraordinarily different than any regular teacher’s classroom. It was broken down into three sections, also known as “families”. There was a section with regular desks, a section of couches and bean bag chairs, and a section with stools and podiums. Throughout the school year, we would rotate “families” and spend about a month in a different section. From my teacher’s point view, this was to exhibit different learning styles as we would be sitting in different areas of the room as well as on a different seat in various orientations. It allowed the workspace to remain adaptable and the orientation of the “families” left opportunities for easier group discussion and activities. In addition to the “families”, from basic bookshelves, to plastic containers, cardboard boxes, and even a tree stump, there was a plethora of books stored in various areas of the room. Furthermore, the entire room was covered in a wide variety of posters and had mobiles dangling from the ceiling. There was almost no wall to be seen.

Good reading habits are the key to the success of all the lessons at school. Reading is an individual effort that is sensitive to information needs and the development of science. Reading is an activity that involves physical, mind, and emotion. Therefore, reading habits among students become indispensable in learning activities. The role of students in building reading habits is necessary. Students are required to have awareness in reading

I believe all children can learn to read in a classroom that is integrated with differentiated instruction and has a safe and engaging learning environment which is rich with a variety of literature to light that spark in the children to want to learn. I will make an effort to get to know my children in order to be able to provide a classroom library with nonfiction books to inform the inquiring mind, picture books for the artistic mind, and fiction books to entertain. All books will be chosen based on their curiosity, interest, personal connection, and learning profile, in order to attract and enchant the young readers into going back to the book area again and again.