Literacy in a Fourth Grade Classroom
Literacy in a 4th Grade Classroom: A Comprehensive Literacy PlanKirstin WhiteAlverno CollegeSpring 2012Dear Alverno Elementary Interview Team,I would like to take this opportunity to share with you my literacy plan for a fourth grade classroom. I am submitting to you my plan, which involves a written literacy plan, my classroom design and how it supports my written plan, my self-reflection, and goal setting for myself as an on-going learner in a professional development setting. Enclosed is the written plan of what I believe literacy learning is in a theoretical sense, as well as what it should look like in a fourth grade classroom.Sincerely,Kirstin WhiteTask A: Philosophy/ Beliefs about Literacy LearningI believe that an effective teacher of literacy should understand the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the disciplines that are being taught. In addition to this the teacher must understand how to create a balanced literacy approach for her students. By doing this the teacher is creating learning experiences that make subject matter meaningful and memorable to all students. I believe that literacy is learned best in a social setting that encourages social interaction and collaboration between students and teacher. In addition I believe that literacy is best learned is a classroom environment that is unthreatening, safe, unbiased, and welcoming. I feel that the most effective way to do this is to understand and use specific theories within a classroom setting. I believe that Vygotsky’s Sociolinguistic Theory is a theory that can be easily implemented into a classroom setting, specifically when instructing literacy. It is important for a teacher to understand that children need to be assessed and provided with literacy materials that are appropriate to their learning needs. The teacher does so by identifying the individual student’s Zone of Proximal Development. To do this the teacher must also understand the Gradual Release of Responsibility. In addition to Vygotsky’s Sociolinguistic Theory I believe that Piaget’s Constructivism Theory and Freire’s Social Justice Theory are exceptional theories in helping children learn literacy. I believe that to properly teach literacy to children a teacher must understand and be able to effectively use Vygotsky’s sociolinguistics and scaffolding methods. To do this the teacher must be able to work with each student individually to understand and identify the students Zone of Proximal Development. This is when the student is being taught on a level that is not too easy, but not too hard. It is just challenging enough to keep the student engaged. It is extremely important that while the teacher must use scaffolding, the teacher also must understand the Gradual Release of Responsibility, or how to remove the scaffolding. Scaffolding is an extremely useful tool when teaching balanced literacy, the teacher must plan various support structures for each students and know when and how to use those structures, as well as how to remove them at an appropriate time. Scaffolding is a tool that helps move a student from assisted performance to independent performance. When using scaffolding the teacher does not change the task, it is just made easier through assistance from an expert other. For example, a teacher will model the thinking that readers do, and eventually the student will be able to do that thinking on their own. The teacher uses the gradual release of responsibility to help students become independent in their learning. There are different methods that are related to scaffolding, these include external mediators, private speech and written language, and shared activity. The teacher and student work together to create external mediators, which are temporary reminders of what the teacher wants the students to learn. External mediators are a tool to help trigger student’s mental processes, for example objects, physical actions, or verbal cues work as guidelines to direct student thinking.Private speech and written language is another scaffolding tool that teachers use to help direct student thinking. The components of private speech include social external, for example, thinking-aloud or connections that the teacher makes. Private speech moves from social external or the teacher’s voice, to private speech, and then to private internal which eventually is the student’s voice in place of the teacher’s voice. This is a way to direct the teachers guided instruction into the student’s independent thinking. In the written language component of scaffolding the student uses written language to represent the learning on paper. This is done to enhance student learning and understanding. For example, the teacher may provide charts for students to take notes on while reading, or have students reflect on what they have read through a reading journal. The final component of scaffolding is shared activity. By participating in a shared activity students are making genuine connections, participating in authentic learning activities, and are allowing memory to be shared. Examples of this include group work, field trips, read alouds, or discussing with a partner a reflection on a reading. The scaffolding methods are an important tool when planning and implementing literacy instruction. I believe that the teacher should remove the scaffolding method by using the Gradual Release of Responsibility. This is done by providing explicit instruction that is direct, where the teacher is giving students what they need to know, and modeling and demonstrating for her students the thinking that she is doing. The teacher then would move onto shared instruction, this would include the teacher using student’s thinking to expand on the lesson. To be appropriate explicit instruction and shared instruction should be no more than fifteen to twenty minutes. After explicit and shared instruction the teacher should gradually release the responsibility of learning to the children by spending time having students participate in guided practice and eventually independent practice. During guided practice the student is working on their own, while the teacher is assisting as needed. It is important for the teacher to understand and be able to identify each of her students Zone of Proximal development while working with individual students, as well as small groups during guided practice. A teacher must be able to adapt to meet the needs of each child, and does this by using assessment to determine a lesson that is appropriate for the child. For example, the teacher will create a task that is not too easy, yet not too hard for the child to complete. In addition it is important that during guided practice the teacher acts as a coach to help the student understand the lesson. Once guided practice is no longer needed, the student will move to independent practice and work on their literacy concept on their own without the teacher’s assistance. The Scaffolding Theory highlights that language helps to organize thought and that student’s use language to learn, as well as to communicate and share with others. I feel that as an effective literacy instructor a teacher must understand this theory and know how to use it within her classroom. I feel that it is important for students to work together, and interact socially with one another, in order to learn first on a social level, and then on an individual level. In a classroom setting, this aspect of the sociolinguistic theory is best presented and implemented when working in small reading groups, where the students are allowed to communicate about what they have read, or share personal writing with peers. By doing this I feel that children will remember best from what was communicated within the group setting, as well as learn to use their peers as a resource when and if needed. Vygotsky found that students are able to accomplish more when they have help from an adult or expert other rather that what they are able to do on their own. By using scaffolding in the classroom students will then be able to reach the greatest level of potential development. I feel that if teachers present literacy beginning with a challenging book, giving her students the highest level of support by modeling reading and writing. For example, by reading aloud and writing in front of students which provides solid demonstrations will gradually lower support, which includes demonstrations such as, shared reading, or reading books and writing together. In this area the student would help the teacher but the teacher would still be performing most of the instruction. This lower support would also include interactive reading and writing, as well as guided reading and writing. The teacher would use this scaffolding method until the student is able to independently perform reading and writing on their own. I feel that by using scaffolding to teach literacy to children is very effective and can greatly impact how successful a child is in learning literacy. In addition to Vygotsky’s sociolinguistic and scaffolding theory, as well as understanding how to understand and use the Zone of Proximal Development, and the gradual release of responsibility, I believe that it is important to understand and use Piaget’s constructivism theory while teaching literacy. Piaget believed that children learn by continually interacting with the world around them, and working to solve the problems that are presented. Piaget believed that learning occurs through taking action to solve problems. This means that the Constructivist Theory views a child’s thinking as developing as gradual growth of knowledge, then intellectual skills, formal skills, and finally logical thinking. This can be defined as accommodation and assimilation. Assimilation does not require a great deal of adjustment, through assimilation students add new information to our background knowledge, or reinterpret experiences so the information will fit in with the background knowledge. Accommodation happens when a child is introduced to new information that conflicts with existing knowledge, the child with accommodate the new learning in order to ensure that what is inside their head conforms to what’s in the real world. This means that in literacy learning students build on their prior background knowledge and accommodate their thinking to allow for new understandings. I believe that children and learners are extremely curious, and a teacher can build on that curiosity to create engaging lessons that assist students in constructing their own knowledge. If the students are actively engaged in their learning they will begin to construct knowledge through relating it to what is already known. Like the sociolinguistic theory the constructivist theory promotes collaboration between students and teacher. I feel that because of this, students can learn from each other, and therefore build on their personal knowledge and gain background knowledge on various literacy topics. I believe that if students are personally engaged in literacy it will promote not only their level of motivation, but their success in literacy. In addition to Vygotsky theory of sociolinguistics and Piaget’s theory’s of constructivism, I believe that teaching social justice is an important theory to use in the classroom, especially in teaching literacy. Freire believed that to have an effective learning environment the teacher must promote socioeconomic equality, this helps to lessen boundaries including race, class, ability, language, appearance, sexuality, and gender. There are many beneficiary aspects of social justice, for example it promotes respectful relationships among learners, which creates cooperative group work and diverse group interactions. This helps aid in effective literacy learning, as well as supports the sociolinguistic and constructivist theory. I believe that to be an effective teacher, the instructor must understand how children learn best, and I personally believe that Vygotsky’s sociolinguistic, and scaffolding theory as well as a firm understanding of the importance of teaching in a student’s Zone of Proximal Development, and the use of Piaget’s constructivism theory, as well as teaching social justice are best used in a classroom setting. There are many unique ways to implement and use these theories, to teach children literacy and I believe that incorporating all into each daily lesson plan is the top way to benefit each and every student. Task B: Range of Reading and Writing Behaviors In a typical fourth grade classroom there are a diverse range of reading and writing behaviors, and with that a diverse number of students come a diverse culture of learners. It is important to understand that each student will be at a different stage in their reading and writing development. In a fourth grade classroom there will be a range of student development in terms of reading and writing.The range of reading and writing behaviors in a fourth grade classroom will depend on each individual student. This means that in a fourth grade classroom it is possible for students to range from Emergent readers and writers to Advanced readers and writers. While there can be a broad range of abilities in terms of reading and writing in a fourth grade classroom, most students will be at the range of Self Extending reading and writing, and Advanced reading and writing. There are unique characteristics of each range, which help the teacher identify and plan instruction for each student. Emergent readers are still becoming aware of print, and read orally matching word by word. In addition to this Emergent readers use meaning and language in simple texts, and hear sounds in words. Emergent readers can use information from pictures, and will connect words with names, as well as notice and use spaces between words. An Emergent reader will read orally, and match spoken word to one printed word while reading one or two lines of text. A reader at this stage will read left to right, recognize a few high frequency words, know names of some alphabet letters, and read left to right. It is important for a teacher to support an Emergent reader with simple stories that contain 1-2 lines of text. An Emergent writer will write their name from left to right, write alphabet letters with increasingly accurate letter formation, hear and represent some consonant sounds at beginning and ends of words. In addition to this an emergent writer will also label drawings, establish a relationship between print and pictures, remember message represented with words, write words phonetically, write a few easy words accurately, and communicate meaning in drawings. It is important to support and Emergent reader with texts that have simple labels and sentences with approximated spelling. After a student masters an Emergent writer stage, they will become Early writers. An Early writer will demonstrate the ability to write known words fluently, write left to right across several lines, and write twenty to thirty words correctly. An Early writer will also use letter-sound and visual information to spell words, approximate spelling of words, form almost all letters accurately, compose two or three sentences about a single idea, and will begin to notice the author’s craft and use techniques in their own writing. Students at the Early writer stage will write about familiar topics and ideas, remember messages while spelling words, consistently use spacing, and reread their writing. To properly support an Early writer a teacher should provide students with texts that contain one or more sentences around a single idea of a few pages, with some conventionally spelled words. A student who is in the Early reader stage will know names of most alphabet letters and many letter sound relationships, use letter sound information along with meaning and language to solve words, read without pointing, read orally and begin to read silently. In addition to this Early readers’ will read fluently with phrasing on easy texts and use the punctuation, recognize most easy high frequency words, check to be sure reading makes sense, sounds right, looks right, and check one source of information against another to solve problems. Early readers will use information from pictures as added information while reading print. A teacher will support a student at the Early reader stage by providing students with texts that are longer books with high frequency words and supportive illustrations. After students master the Early writer and Early reader stage, the student will then demonstrate a Transitional writer and Transitional reader stage. A student who is a Transitional writer will demonstrate the ability to spell many words conventionally and make near accurate attempts at many more, work on writing over several days to produce longer, more complex texts, produce pieces of writing that have dialogue, beginnings, and endings, and develop ideas to some degree. A Transitional writer will also employ a flexible range of strategies to spell words, consciously work on their own spelling and writing skills, write in a few different genres, demonstrate ability to think about ideas while encoding written language, use basic punctuation and capitalization skills, and continue to incorporate new understanding about how authors use language to communicate meaning. A teacher would support a Transitional writer by proving the student with texts that ate longer with several ideas, with mostly conventional spelling and punctuation, as well as simple sentence structure.A Transitional reader will read silently most of the time, have a large core of known words that are recognized automatically, use multiple sources of information while reading for meaning, integrate sources of information such as letter-sound relationships, meaning and language structure. A Transitional reader will also consistently check to be sure all sources of information fit, will not rely on pictures but will notice them to gain additional meaning, understand, interpret, and use illustrations in informational text, know how to read differently in various genres, and have flexible ways of problem solving words, which includes analysis of letter sound relationships and visual patters. Transitional readers will read with phrasing and fluency at appropriate levels. To support a Transitional reader a teacher should provide students with texts that contain many lines of print, and books that are organized into short chapters, as well as a wider variety of genres, and more difficult picture books. Once a student reaches mastery of the Transitional writer and Transitional reader phase, that student will become a Self-Extending writer. It is important for a teacher to understand that most students in a fourth grade classroom will show characteristics of Self-Extending writer skills. Self-extending writers will spell most words quickly without conscious attention to the process, proofread to locate their own errors, recognize accurate parts of words, use references of apply principles to correct words, and have ways to expand their writing vocabularies. Self-Extending writers will understand way to organize informational writing (for example, compare/contrast, description, temporal sequence, cause/effect), develop a topic and extend a text over many pages, develop pieces of writing that have voice, use what they know from reading texts to develop writing, recognize and use many aspects of the writer’s craft to improve the quality of their writing, and write for many different purposes. In addition to this Self-Extending writers will show a growing sense of the audience for their writing, and critique their own writing and offer suggestions to other writers. A teacher should support a Self-Extending writer by providing the student with texts that contain a variety of genres, conventional use of spelling and punctuation. Texts that provide more complex sentence structures, development of ideas in fiction and non-fiction, and use a variety of ways to organize non-fiction. A Self-Extending reader will read silently, as well as reading fluently when reading aloud, use all sources of information flexibly in a smoothly orchestrated way, sustain reading over texts with many pages, which require reading over several days or weeks. Self-Extending readers will enjoy illustrations and gain additional meaning from them as they interpret texts, interpret and use information from a wide variety of visual aids in expository texts, analyze words in flexible ways and make excellent attempts at new multisyllable words, and connect texts with previous texts read. As a Self-Extending reader reads they have systems for learning more about the reading process as they read so that they build skills simply by encountering many different kinds of texts with a variety of new words, and are in continuous process of building background knowledge and realize that they need to bring their knowledge to their reading. Self-Extending readers will become absorbed in books and begin to identify with characters in books and see themselves in the events of a story. A teacher will support Self-Extending readers by providing students with texts that contain a wide variety of long and short texts, as well as a variety of genres. Once students achieve mastery of Self-Extending reading and writing skills, they proceed to the Advanced writer and Advanced reader stage. Like the Self-Extending range, most children in a fourth grade classroom will demonstrate characteristics from an advanced writer and advanced reader stage. Advanced writers will demonstrate an understanding of linguistic and social functions on conventional spelling and produce products that are carefully edited, write almost all words quickly, accurately, and fluently, use dictionary, thesaurus, computer spell check and other text resources, as well as understand organization plans for these resources. Advanced writers will also demonstrate the ability to control a large body of known words that constantly expands, demonstrate a large speaking and listening vocabulary as well as knowledge of vocabulary that is used often in written pieces, notice many aspects of the writers craft in texts they read and apply their knowledge to their own writing, critically analyze their own writing and that of others, and write for a variety of functions in terms of narrative, expressive, informative, and poetic. It is common for Advanced writers to write in various persons’ and tenses, write for different audiences, and write about a wide range of topics beyond the present time, known settings, and personal experiences. A teacher shows support of an Advanced writer by providing a variety of texts that are made of long and short compositions, a wide variety of purpose and genre, literary quality in fiction and poetry, and a variety of ways to organize informational text. Advanced readers will demonstrate the ability to read silently, and read fluently when reading aloud, effectively use their understandings of how words work, employ a wide range of word solving strategies, including analogy to known words, word roots, base words, and affixes, acquire new vocabulary through reading, use reading as a tool for learning in content areas, and constantly develop new strategies and new knowledge of texts as they encounter greater variety. A student who is an Advanced reader will develop favorite topics and authors that form that basis of lifelong reading preferences, actively work to connect texts for greater understanding and finer interpretations of text, consistently go beyond the text read to form their own interpretations and apply understandings in other areas, and sustain interest and understanding over long texts read over long periods of time. Advanced writers tend to notice and comment on aspects of the writers craft, and read to explore themselves as well as philosophical and social issues. A teacher provides support of an advanced reader by providing a wide range of texts with a variety of genre and for a range of purposes. As children read in a fourth grade classroom they are working to sustain reading and expand meaning. In sustaining reading the student is solving words, monitoring and correcting, searching for and using information, summarizing, maintaining fluency, and adjusting to different types of reading. When student is is processing reading in terms of expanding meaning they are predicting, making connections that are personal, worldly, and to the text, inferring, synthesizing, analyzing, and critiquing. In a fourth grade classroom there will consistently be a diverse range of development in terms of learners. As a teacher of literacy it is important to understand the characteristics of each reading and writing stage, and how to best teach a student who demonstrates those characteristics. It is also important to understand that many students will be demonstrating characteristics from a few different stages at one time. As a teacher of literacy in a fourth grade classroom it is important to understand that there will be students demonstrating many of the previously listed range of reading and writing behaviors. Task C: The Role of the TeacherThe teacher plays an extremely predominate role in developing an effective literacy learning environment for her students, as well as planning optimal instructional experiences that address the diverse needs of students in a fourth grade classroom. Throughout this portion of my plan I will highlight how I will identify those diverse needs, and how I plan to address them in my literacy learning environment. I will address student needs using assessment, various concepts and strategies, and explicit instruction. Assessment:To understand how to best teach my students I will use a variation of literacy assessments. Each assessment will help me to plan for literacy instruction in my classroom and to differentiate instruction as needed. As a teacher of literacy in a fourth grade classroom I will use a variety of continuous assessments, these assessments include performance assessments, assessing comprehension, amount, kind of, and quality of reading. In addition to this I will use continuous writing assessments, which include the use of rubrics, spelling, frequently used words, developmental spelling analysis, writing records, writing checklists, amount and type of writing, and a literacy portfolio.To properly assess students in their reading development I will use a various number of assessment strategies. I will use a number of authentic assessments, these assessments will be continual, will help to form my teaching, will be integrated into the curriculum, will be developmentally and culturally appropriate, incorporate self-evaluation, and invite students to actively collaborate. I feel that when students are part of the assessment process they are invested in their own success, are inspired by the progress they have made, and are focused on their future learning goals. Specific assessments I will use to assess and evaluate student reading include running records, conferencing with students using benchmark books, and assessing student fluency. The running record is a tool used to analyze student’s oral reading for processing strategies. Running records can be taken on any text that a student is reading. While assessing the student the teacher will perform the coding and analysis while the child reads, and later reflect on the child performance, looking for patterns. Running records help to assess reading behaviors and helps to identify books that will be appropriate for the student’s reading level. Running records should be administered about three times throughout the year, specifically at the beginning, middle, and ending of the year. Another way I will assess student development will be through the use of conferences with benchmark books. This assessment is administered using short stories, and short texts. To administer the assessment a student will be invited to have a pre-conference in which I will introduce the text and give directions to the students to then read the text silently, and write a response. After this is complete the student will then have a short conference with the teacher to discuss the reading and response. After the initial conference, the student and teacher will have a follow-up session where the student’s written response and text will be discussed, the student will then read orally while the teacher code’s the reading behavior for analysis. This assessment is designed to show student reading behaviors, accuracy, reading levels, and comprehension. Conferences with benchmark books should be administered three to four times throughout the school year. Assessing student fluency requires students to use language systems, and is not necessarily at a fast pace. Fluency is evidence to the teacher that the reader is accessing the deeper meaning of the text; and is associated with rate, accuracy, and scores on comprehension tests. To properly assess a student’s fluency it is essential that the student have a text that is appropriate for their reading level, meaning the student can read the text with 90-100% accuracy. Measuring a student’s fluency can be administered anytime that the teacher listens to a student read aloud. A tool that can be used when measuring fluency is to provide students with a rubric that is written in words that are appropriate for the student, for the student to reflect on their own fluency. Running records, conferences with benchmark books, and assessing student fluency are three assessments that I will use throughout my literacy instruction as a teacher of reading in a fourth grade classroom. Another important aspect of assessment of literacy is assessing student writing. It is important to assess student writing to focus on the conventions of writing: grammar, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, organization and development of idea’s the writer’s craft in terms of voice, word choice, use of language, and the student’s interests and attitudes towards writing. To assess student writing I will use rubrics, take writing records, and keep a literacy portfolio. Rubrics are used to assess student writing by assessing content and conventions. To assess content means to assess the organization of the text and aspects of the writers craft; while assessing conventions means to assess spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, capitalization, punctuation, ect. Rubrics help to develop insights into the process of writing, and what specifically will be assessed on various student writing examples. Assessing student writing with rubrics should take place three times a year, specifically in the beginning, middle, and end of the year. A different writing assessment tool I will use in a fourth grade classroom will be to take writing records. I will do this as an integrated part of my writing program by encouraging the use of writer’s notebooks to assess student progress. This helps to show how students are collecting and expanding on ideas, how language is used, literary techniques, genres, creative ideas, and how students develop their ideas into writing projects. In addition, depending on how often student use writer’s notebook, the writer’s notebooks helps to demonstrate the amount of writing that students are producing. Once students have written in their writers notebooks, they will create various writing projects. These projects will be stored in final draft forms along with drafts of previous writing stages. Writing projects help to assess the final draft for content and conventions, but the evolution of student’s writing offers assessment data, revision strategies, and provides an idea of what the student knows about spelling and other conventions. The literacy portfolio is an additional tool that I will use to assess student writing. I will use the portfolio to present student work over time, to demonstrate the student’s writing progress. Student work will be collected at various times throughout the year, and filed into the student portfolio. It is important that students be part of the portfolio selection process. A literacy portfolio helps to assess a range of writing projects over time, the level of writing the student is able to do, highlight student growth and progress, and demonstrates the student’s ability to use knowledge in content areas. The literacy portfolio also helps to encourage self-reflection by asking the student to write rationale’s for their portfolio selections, for example, why a writing example was chosen and reflections on growth as a writer. I feel that using literacy portfolios as an assessment tool will help me to understand my student’s developments as a writer, and therefore plan appropriate writing instruction.Literacy assessments are an extremely important tool in helping a teacher to understand a student’s developmental level in reading and writing. Assessments also help to form instruction, by giving the teacher an idea of where her students are in their learning needs. In addition to this assessments tell the teacher if the teaching is effective to student learning. Concepts/strategies:To have an effective literacy program for fourth grade students, there are many different concepts and strategies in both reading and writing that must be addressed. In a fourth grade classroom students will be developing reading concepts and strategies that include learning the many purposes of reading and writing, and learning to read in the fullest sense by developing decoding skills. This means that fourth grade students will learn the concepts of reading voluntarily and often, to have confidence as readers, read to improve their lives, collect books and refer to them. In addition to developing concepts and strategies in reading, fourth grade students must also develop writing concepts and strategies. Writing concepts and strategies include learning to write in the fullest sense, meaning that students will develop in writing voluntarily and often, write in a wide variety of genres, use writing as a tool of thinking, communicate on personal and professional levels, and draw literary knowledge as a resource for writing. In reading specific concepts and strategies include teaching students to have confidence in themselves as readers, present themselves as readers to others, read to become informed on a wide range of topics, and read to improve their lives. Additional concepts and strategies include, reading to have satisfying and rewarding vicarious experiences, reading to expand their world beyond here and now, collect books and refer to favorites multiple times, and recommend books to others. Students will also work to talk with others about what they have read, know authors and illustrators, genre’s, and styles, develop preferences and constantly expand them, reflect on their own reading, make connections between and among things they have read, and think critically about what has been read. In addition to learning the previously listed concepts and strategies, students will work on strategies that are appropriate for their developmental reading level. Students will work to broaden their writing abilities by developing in the functions of mature writing. Students will develop in writing purposes, including informational, advice, or instructing others. Students will develop the strategy of writing free flowing ideas, and expressive writing, poetic writing in terms of using written language as art, and blending functions as students create unique pieces of writing.Additional writing strategies include, writing for an audience. As student develop strategies in writing for an audience they will learn to write for many different audiences, writing for self, writing to the teacher, for a variety of readers, or for a public only the student can imagine. Students will also develop concepts and strategies in terms of writing in different genres. This is a critical skill that writers develop; it is the ability to determine the appropriate form to write their ideas. Genre’s a fourth grade student will develop in include functional writing, narrative writing, informational writing and poetic writing.In addition to developing concepts and strategies in reading and writing an intermediate fourth grade student an effective literacy program fosters active responsible learning. This helps students begin to use literacy as a tool that gives them power to find the information they need to express their opinions, and if needed take positions. In addition to this a child at a fourth grade level can be independent, which means they can take part in managing their own learning, and following their own interests. Students are continuing to develop cognitively when in fourth grade, and because of this they are beginning to be able to move from concrete to abstract thinking, have developed an egocentric perspective to a social perspective. Also, a fourth grade student will move from narrowly defined ideas about time and space to a more complex understanding. Fourth grade students will also develop a more complex understanding of human motivation, and move from simple concepts to higher order thinking. Because of this cognitive development students are able to further develop and expand literacy concepts and strategies. Instruction:To create an effective literacy program, I believe that it is best to present literacy in a three block framework. This helps to manage time effectively while also helping students to expand their reading and writing capabilities. In addition to this a three block framework helps students to develop in depth knowledge in the literacy content areas. There are many different ways to promote literacy learning each with a unique purpose to enhance students learning. The components of balanced literacy instruction help to facilitate the development of the literacy concepts, skills and strategies. The components of a balanced literacy program in terms of reading include interactive read aloud, shared reading, guided reading, literature circles, and independent reading. The purpose of interactive read alouds in a fourth grade classroom allows students to experience a variety of quality texts in different genres. In an interactive read aloud the teacher reads and the students listen. While conducting an effective interactive read aloud the teacher pauses at significant points to ask students for comments and allow time for brief discussions. During an interactive read aloud the teacher share’s her own thinking to demonstrate how experienced readers engaged with and think about texts as they read on their own. An interactive read aloud involves students by engaging them in stories, and gives an opportunity for students to discuss a variety of high quality genres. While conducting an interactive read aloud the teacher should be showing her enthusiasm for literature, which helps to create lifelong readers. Another component of balanced literacy instruction is shared reading. In a shared reading both the teacher and student have a copy of the same text or the text is visible to all students. The students follow along while the teacher reads the text aloud, and may invite students to join in or to take over the reading on occasion. Shared reading instruction helps students become more familiar with the details of print and helps students to comprehend texts that are beyond their current ability on an individual level. Shared reading also helps students to develop in text word analysis and punctuation. It is best to teach shared reading using short dramatic stories or poems, and can enhance student confidence. Guided reading is another important component of balanced literacy instruction. Guided reading is instructed in small groups for students who are reading the same text. The group reads at the same reading level, demonstrate similar reading behaviors, and share similar instructional needs. Guided reading groups are temporary and change as students are assessed. During a guided reading session a text is selected by the teacher and the students read it silently and independently. While students usually read silently, on occasion individual students will be chosen to read orally at regular intervals; which are followed by a brief teacher-student conference. Teaching points in guided reading instruction depend on student needs, and helps to develop student processing system for reading increasingly challenging texts. Another component of a balanced literacy program is the use of literature circles. When using literature circles as a form of instruction the teacher and students set up assigned reading tasks and agree on meeting times. Students will engage in in-depth discussions about texts they have read. During a literature circle the teacher is generally with the group for discussion, while the students take turns facilitating the discussion. Literature circles helps students to develop in finding a deeper appreciation and understanding of literary texts, as well as developing personal responses. Literature circles can be conducted in small groups as well as whole class instruction and provides teaching through routines for discussion, demonstration, summarizing, and devising various response. When students participate in literature circles they will collaborate on decisions about texts and meeting times, read the text prior to meetings, engage in group discussions, take turns in facilitating the group, and participate in longer projects related to literature. The final component in the reading portion of a balanced literacy program is independent reading. During independent reading time students independently read a variety of texts and prepare the occasional written response. The teacher will provide daily mini-lessons and confer with students to help support and assess reading and to create future instruction. Individual reading is often followed by sharing and evaluation. Independent reading focuses on developing individual reader’s tastes and interests and to broaden student experiences in a variety of texts. A teacher uses independent reading as an opportunity to teach through book talks, minilessons, conferring, and sharing with students. While participating in independent reading students will read silently, provide written responses, and discuss books with the teacher and peers. The second essential component of a balanced literacy program is writing instruction. Writing instruction in a fourth grade classroom consists of shared writing, guided writing, independent writing, and word study. During a shared writing lesson the teacher will share the task of writing to help students expand literacy understanding. Throughout a shared writing activity the teacher and students work together to first discuss and then to compose a common text related to an experience they have had or something they are studying. The teacher writes during this activity usually displaying the message on an easel, chalkboard, or overhead. Guided writing is the second component in the writing instruction portion of a balanced literacy program. During guided writing the teacher works with small, temporary groups of students to provide explicit teaching based on student needs. Groups can be formed by the teacher based on student needs, or by students who are identifying their specific writing challenges. Throughout guided writing the teacher explicitly and efficiently works with students to teach the writers craft, strategies, and skills. The main focus of guided writing is to develop student’s understanding of the writing process, develop writing skills, and strategies. Guided writing also enhances student development in writing clear communication, how to write in different genres, and to use technology to produce writing. The third component in writing instruction is independent writing. A teacher introduces independent writing by providing a minilessons based on the needs of the writers. During the lesson students will engage in the writing process, using a writer’s notebook, or drafting, revising, editing, or publishing a piece of work. During independent writing topics can be self-selected or assigned, and the teacher confers with individual students to support writing and address needs. An independent writing session allows time for students to confer with their peers and is usually followed by group sharing and evaluation. Independent writing helps students to understand what writers do and how they make a place for writing in their lives. It also helps students to develop and understanding of the writing process, skills and strategies, writing in different genres, and use technology to produce writing. Word study is used in literacy instruction to help student learn the rules and principles of phonics and spelling. An approach to integrating word study into literacy instruction can be done by presenting a mini lesson on spelling or phonics, asking students to apply the minilessons by manipulating letters or words, sharing and discussing words and how they work, and introducing a systematic way of studying spelling words. Word studies also help students to share and discuss words and how they work, and helps to introduce a systematic way to study spelling. The teacher presents a word study in a five day cycle, each day focusing on a particular spelling pattern, rule, or concept. Each day a minilessons is presented with a clear statement that is highly focused. Students are invited to create examples of words that will illustrate each principle taught. An effective teacher of literacy understands how important a balanced literacy approach helps to create an appropriate literacy learning environment. It is important to include each component of instruction to fully support student development in reading and writing. This is done through interactive read aloud; shared reading mini-lessons/shared writing mini-lessons; guided reading/guided writing; literature circles; independent reading/independent writing; and word study. Task II: Classroom DesignIn the above picture, is an example of my classroom design. This design supports my literacy beliefs in relation to the sociolinguistic theory, constructivism theory, social justice, and the way that I plan to teach concepts and strategies, assess students, and instruct literacy. My design displays many specific areas that I will highlight further to demonstrate my classroom munity Meeting Area:The community meeting area will be a meeting place where the whole class can learn as a large group. This will be an open space with a carpet, cushions for students to sit on, chairs to be arranged in a circle, ect. There will be a place for books to be displayed. The meeting area will also contain easels, a white board, and dry erase markers so charts or visual aids can be made during mini lessons and large group instruction. Small Group Meeting Area:The small group meeting area will be two areas where small groups can meet for literature circles, guided reading, guided writing or any other small group task. These areas are positioned near the classroom library, leveled books, word study area, and writing supply area for easy access to materials. In addition to this there will be two small group work area’s so multiple groups can work at one time. Conferring Area:The conferring area will be an area where the teacher can work with individual students, and students can work with one another. Most of the time I will confer with students at their own desks, but a space designated to just conferring will take place in a corner of the community meeting area. Students will know and understand that if they need to talk with another student during a silent work time, that this will be the area they will go to for conferencing to speak in a soft voice as they work together. Library:The library will contain most of the classroom collection of books. The books will be displayed attractively and there will be several comfortable chairs and cushions that the student can sit on during independent reading times. Books will be labeled and organized so students know which books are available to them at all times. Leveled Books:Leveled books will be contained in the small group meeting area, close to the classroom library. These books will be clearly labeled for guided reading in various containers that students will be able to select and read independently. The leveled book area will also contain short stories and articles that students will be able to read. There will be an area of leveled books that are appropriate for student use and guided reading, and an area of leveled books that are available just to the teacher. Technology Area:The technology area will contain computers for student use. There will be a specific routine for computer use, and will be an area where students can work independently or in partners.Social Studies Area:In the social studies area there will be a display of maps, photographs, and different kinds of charts that students can use as resources in social studies development. In addition to this the social studies area will contain various books and software related to literacy that will be stored on labeled storage boxes for easy student access. Science and Mathematics Area:The science and mathematics area will contain resources including magnifying glasses, measuring devices, thermometers, and other inquiry tools. In addition to this the area will include hands on mathematics materials, math books, and science books will also be stored in labeled boxes for easy access. The second small group meeting area will be in the mathematics and science area so small groups can work in the area.Writing Supply Area:The writing supply area will contain a variety of materials that are easily accessible to students. Some materials that I will have in the writing supply area include: various sizes and kinds of writing paper, correction tape, pens, pencils, colored pencils, markers, and crayons, dictionaries and thesauruses, scissors, glue sticks, tape, and rulers. These supplies will be available in labeled containers for easy access.Word Study Area:The word study area will be an area for storage of student word study notebooks, letter clusters and word manipulative, dictionaries, thesaurus, wall displays and interactive wall charts. Materials should be stored in an organized manner, and there should be enough supplies to use in both the writing supply area and word study area simultaneously. Student Work Area:The student work area will be the student’s home space. This space will be where the student can sit and work independently or in small groups. Each student will have a desk with individual storage spaces for various materials, such as reader’s notebooks, writer’s notebooks, writing folders, and books that are currently being read. The design supports the sociolinguistic theory by encouraging social interaction among students, small groups, and conference areas. In addition it provides a large group meeting area. Students will be encouraged to develop on a social level, then on an individual level and will have multiple opportunities to learn in a social environment. Along with supporting Vygotsky’s sociolinguistic theory, my classroom design supports Piaget’s constructivist theory by arranging the classroom to provide students with work area’s to support specific academic development, making lessons more engaging. The design also supports collaboration through student interaction by having student independent work area’s close to one another, small group meeting areas, and a large group meeting area. This design will help students learn from one another, build on their personal knowledge, and gain background knowledge in various topics of literacy, which will help create student success. In addition to supporting the sociolinguistic theory, and the constructivist theory, my classroom design also supports the theory of social justice. By creating an effective learning environment I am helping to promote respectful relationships among learners, by providing cooperative group work areas and diverse group interactions. In addition to this I will promote socioeconomic equality, and equality among race, gender, ability, class, language, appearance, and sexuality. By creating a positive classroom community and displaying an appropriate classroom design I will be promoting social justice within my classroom. The classroom design is a direct reflection of my theory in how to teach literacy, which is influenced by the sociolinguistic, constructivist, and social justice theories. It demonstrates my connections to classroom practice for teaching literacy, and enforces how I will teach the concepts and strategies of literacy, literacy instruction, and assess student development. Task III: Self Reflection and Goal Setting:As an ongoing learner, and future teacher of literacy I am always creating goals for myself as a future educator. Three goals I have identified with through designing this literacy plan include, investigating how to work with students at different literacy levels at the same time, deepen my understanding of the assessment process, and developing in my understanding of the social justice theory. I have the goal of investigating how to work with students at multiple learning levels because I feel that as a teacher of literacy this is an important tool that teachers must have. Teachers must know how to differentiate instruction, and this is a tool that can be used in large group instruction in terms of teaching children in their zone of proximal development.The second goal I have determined for myself is the goal of deepening my understanding of the best ways to assess my students. I feel that I currently understand how assessments are useful, but I would like to further deepen my understanding of the different types of assessments and which assessments work best for different literacy activities. The third goal I have set for myself as an ongoing learner is the goal of understanding the social justice theory. I feel that I understand the basics of the social justice theory, but would like to further my understanding of how to present it in my classroom, and how to introduce it to my future students. My literacy plan is a direct reflection of my beliefs about how to teach literacy. I feel that this plan best describes how I would implement literacy instruction in a fourth grade classroom to a diverse number of learners, in a diverse setting. This plan demonstrates my explicit beliefs, and a demonstration of how this plan would be put into practice. Thank you for taking the time to view my plan, and I hope to be considered as a candidate at Alverno Elementary.Sincerely,Kirstin White ReferenceFountas, I. C., & Pinnell, G. S. (2001). Guiding readers and writers: teaching comprehension,genre,and content literacy. portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.Tompkins, G. E. (2010). Literacy for the 21th century: a balanced approach (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.The reading process: what do we want out students to know and be able to do? (2012) Robin Gleason.Guided reading, literature circles (2012) Robin Gleason.Clay. (1985)Reading strategies of good readers. (Reprinted from course handout).Fountas & Pinnell (2012)Three block framework. (Reprinted from course handout).Fountas & Pinnell (2012). Changing characteristics of readers over time. In The primary literacy video collection. (Reprinted from course handout).Heinemann (2005). Guided reading skillful teacher principles for teaching strategies (reprinted from course handout). ................
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