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Literacy Centers

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Providing students many opportunities to develop and use their reading and writing skills cooperatively and independently in classroom centers is an important aspect of literacy instruction. Student needs and interests should be considered as the centers are planned and implemented to ensure high engagement and that the activities are appropriate for moving student learning forward. Here are 10 centers that I believe will be beneficial for my second graders:

  • Independent Reading
  • Write About Reading
  • Books Talks
  • Partner Reading
  • Genre/Author Exploration
  • Poetry
  • Fluency
  • Creative Writing
  • Writing for Everyday Life
  • Word Work

The classroom environment should be filled with a wide variety of text and offer student choice to help instill a joy and passion for reading and writing. My students are given a personal book box at the beginning of the year and they choose 5-7 books from the classroom library to keep in their book boxes, rotating them once a week (or more often) as they finish reading and need to choose new titles. Students also read and listen to books online through websites such as Storyline Online and Epic. Students will maintain a reading log of their independent reading texts and conference with me periodically to reflect on their reading habits. The Write About Reading and Book Talk centers will provide students the opportunity to share and respond to the texts they’ve read, helping them process what they’re learning. Students will be introduced to new books through whole group Interactive Read Aloud and Shared Reading lessons, by exploring various genres and authors in the genre/author exploration center, by sharing books with their classmates in the partner reading center and by watching and responding to their classmates Flip Grip videos created in the Book Talk center.

Students should engage in writing activities daily to increase their stamina and promote writing development. In the Write About Reading center, students will respond to books they’ve read and I will provide structure through the use of sentence stems until they’re ready to create original responses of their own. The Creative Writing and Writing for Everyday Life centers will be driven by student interests and student choice. A variety of writing materials will be available such as different sizes, types and colors of papers and writing utensils such as pencils, pens, colored pencils and markers as well as crayons. Students will learn that writing can be enjoyable and is an important life skill to learn so they can communicate effectively with people they encounter in their everyday lives.

My students were recently issued iPads by the district so I plan to incorporate technology into the centers by using the digital portfolio on Seesaw. Students will upload pictures of their activities, specifically in Word Work, then I can review their submissions to assess their learning. This data will help me know what skills need to be retaught to the whole group, small groups or individual students and how to adjust the activities I’m preparing and providing for students in the centers to more effectively meet their needs.

Social interaction increase the effectiveness of reading and writing instruction so providing appropriate and engaging centers for students of all ages is a valuable part of their literacy experience.

Listening: An Active and Thinking Process

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Listening is often lumped together with speaking instead of being considered by educators as an entity in itself. However, listening is an important part of language development and should not be overlooked by teachers as they plan and implement classroom instruction. As with reading, listening requires an active process in which students use their previous knowledge and experiences of the topic and the language to construct meaning from what they’re hearing. David Nunan (1990) refers to the listener as a “meaning builder” (Gibbons, 2015, p.184). Understanding the spoken words requires more information than just listening to the sounds and words that are said.

“Nunan (1990) has suggested that listening occurs in four types of contexts, which he set out as a matrix” (p.186). Listening can be one-way such as students listening to the teacher presenting a direct teach lesson or listening to news on the radio. It can also be two-way, in which two people take turns being the listener and the speaker. Two-way listening allows the opportunity for the listener to ask the speaker to slow down, repeat a portion of what he said or to ask clarifying questions. Both types of listening can take place in two different contexts—everyday conversation such as discussing the weather or a favorite video game and informative conversations like giving directions or listening to a lecture. For EL learners, two-way listening in the context of interpersonal topics is the easiest and one-way listening in an informational context is the most difficult.

Nunan’s listening matrix retrieved from SAGE Knowledge Chapter 5: The Importance of Active Listening by Ivannia Soto

Educators can help students learn to listen actively by engaging them in activities for the sole purpose of introducing how to listen, then providing specific activities for both types of listening: one-way and two-way listening. For example, have students be completely silent, close their eyes and listen. After a few minutes, give them the opportunity to share what they heard and discuss what active listening feels like. In the case of two-way listening, EL learners often don’t know how to ask the speaker to clarify what was said, to repeat themselves, or to provide more information. Teachers can assist EL learners by modeling and practicing phrases such as, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Could you repeat that?” and “Excuse me, I’d like to ask something” (p. 189). Creating an anchor chart with students and displaying it for reference is beneficial so using the phrases in class becomes a natural part of student learning. Teachers should ensure that all students know it is okay to ask questions or to ask for clarification.

Barrier games are effective for increasing two-way listening skills. Two students have a problem to solve, but they each have different information—photographs, illustrations, maps, or text to read. Instead of looking at each other’s materials, they solve the problem by explaining to each other what they see or read on their resource. This requires both students to speak with clarity and actively listen to each other for understanding. For more information on barrier games, see Chapters 3 and 5 in the book Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning (Gibbons, 2015).

To practice one-way listening, teachers can give students directions asking them to write specific words or drawing on a certain area of their papers such as “If you are a boy, write it (name) on the left. If you are a girl, write it on the right”. (p.194) Another activity Gibbons calls “Hands Up” involves giving students a list of questions before reading a text aloud to them and asking them to raise their hands when they hear information from the text that answers one of the questions. Providing students with a note-taking page that already has an outline or bullet points to listen for is a third way to practice one-way listening. The teacher tells students the topic they will learn about, gives them the outline, and asks them to listen for the specific line items listed on the outline. For example, if the teacher reads a books about animals, the outline might contain name of animal, habitat, food, and defense mechanism.

Gibbons also includes information for educators about teaching EL learners how to focus on the sounds of the English language. “One aspect of spoken English that some EL students may find hard to master is its stress system”. English is spoken with different pronunciations around the globe, so even EL students who have learned some English in their native country may not understand the English spoken in the classroom. Providing activities such as chants and raps will give students the opportunity to “focus on the rhythms, stress, and intonation patterns of English”. Other activities to help EL learners with how English sounds that Gibbons explained in Chapter 7 are: Minimal Pair Exercises, Say It Again, and Shadow Reading.

In conclusion, educators must regard teaching listening as a vital part of their instruction because learning to be an active listener is an essential aspect of language development. One way teachers can show students they value listening is to be active listeners themselves. Modeling listening strategies by paying attention to what students say and asking them for clarification when comprehension breaks down expresses to students the importance of listening.

References:

Gibbons, Pauline. (2015). Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning Teaching English Language Learners in the Mainstream Classroom (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann

Nunan, David. Listening Matrix. [Table]. Retrieved from https://sk.sagepub.com/books/ell-shadowing-as-a-catalyst-for-change/i193.xml

From Speaking to Writing in the Content Classroom

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In Chapter 4 of Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning, Pauline Gibbons contends that “spoken language and written language are better understood as a continuum rather than as two discrete forms of language” (Gibbons 2015, p.79). Language changes according to the context in which it’s being used beginning with a level that’s dependent on face-to-face spoken language and moving across a continuum to a written language from which a reader can construct meaning without having knowledge of the writer or being present in the moment the writer is explaining. In the lower level of spoken language, the speaker doesn’t have to use specificity because he can simply point or gesture using words such as this, that, or those because the audience is present to see where he’s pointing. As language moves across the continuum, the audience becomes further removed from the event so the need for specific vocabulary and grammar increases in order for the listener or reader to understand what’s being communicated.

When the audience doesn’t have any visuals to aid in comprehension, the speaker must use language that is closer to written language, describing their message in detail. “Chang and Wells (1988) refer to this more written-like spoken language as ‘literate talk’” (p.82) Engaging students in this type of literate talk serves as a bridge between speaking and writing in an academic register required in a school setting. Educators can intentionally plan activities that encourage students to move across the continuum so they can develop content vocabulary and apply their knowledge to their speaking and writing. The stages of these types of activities are listed below in an example lesson:

  • Stage 1–Doing an experiment: Prior to introducing specific content related vocabulary, students are put into groups to do an experiment with magnets. The directions include students explaining their experiment to the rest of the class. So as they work together, they discuss how they will report their findings. Through their discourse, students’ phrases and sentences become longer and more concise as they prepare what to say.
  • Stage 2–Introducing key vocabulary: Before students report to the class, the teacher introduced two key vocabulary words—repel and attract–while demonstrating using visual aids to increase student understanding.
  • Stage 3–Teacher-guided reporting: In this stage, the teacher assists students as they report to help them move from the face-to-face spoken language level up to the literate-talk level using the new vocabulary words that were introduced. “….the teacher begins the exchange by inviting students to relate what they learned, rather than with a known answer or display question.” (p.89) Wait time is critical during this stage. Students’ language usage will increase and extend if teachers give them thinking time by waiting three or more seconds to respond to what the students have said. Asking probing questions to extend students’ thinking and reporting is also an important part of this stage.
  • Stage 4–Journal writing: Giving students the opportunity to write about their experiences in their journals moves them further along the continuum between speaking and writing, closer to the academic level of writing used in school. Their writing should reflect the language that was used in the teacher-guided reporting and the journal entry will give them a foundation to build on later when they’re required to write a formal report detailing their knowledge of magnets.

Using these stages, including teacher-guided reporting, provides “authentic and meaningful context for students to develop the more academic registers of school” (p.92). The more traditional approach of teaching vocabulary is to introduce the key words prior to the lesson, to pre-teach the vocabulary. However, Gibbons believes that activating the students’ prior knowledge and giving them the opportunity to discuss the content with peers before teaching the new vocabulary provides a “cognitive ‘hook’ on which to ‘hang’ the new language”. (p.92) EL learners need to learn language in the context of the content areas they’re studying, not in isolated “pull out” classes that are separate from their learning and don’t provide opportunities for them to use the new language. Discourse opportunities provided by the teacher through intentional planning significantly impact EL learners’ language development. Students will not just pick up the language on their own without appropriate and effective activities that include structured classroom talk.

References:

Gibbons, Pauline. (2015). Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning Teaching English Language Learners in the Mainstream Classroom (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann

Engaging ELL Learners

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English language learners are faced with the challenge of learning a second language while also learning new skills and concepts in multiple content areas. One of the first and most important steps an educator can take to engage ELL students is to develop strong relationships with them by being sensitive to their culture. “Freire and Macedo (1987) admonish that teachers must value the experience and language of their students” (Cobb and Kallus, 2011, p.232). Stephen Krashen’s affective filter theory suggests that students learn a second language more effectively if they feel comfortable and safe. If teachers build rapport with their students and show them they care, ELL students are willing to take risks and push themselves to speak, read, and write in English at a greater capacity.

Educators can provide many meaningful opportunities to engage ELL learners in acquiring English language skills by intentional and thoughtful planning. Here are some strategies promoted by educational experts:

  • Collaboration among students, slower speech and clear enunciation, using visuals and demonstrations, targeted vocabulary development, connections to students experiences and using supplementary materials (Short and Echevarria, 2005)
  • Cooperative learning, instructional conversations, multi-sensory instruction, and guided reading strategies for listening and discussing content (Cobb and Kallus, 2011)
  • Print-rich environments, planning for multi-sensory input, vocabulary, role playing, and allowing time for reading and writing for curiosity and authentic purposes (Smith, 2004)
  • Choral reading, shared reading, paired reading, books with tapes, multi-cultural literature, language-experience approach, total physical response, narrow reading, reading aloud, and interactive writing with texts that support cultural awareness (Drucker, 2003)
  • Visuals, charts, graphs, time lines, Venn diagrams, and collaborative learning activities (DeCapua, Smathers, and Tang, 2007)
  • Building schemata, using a jigsaw strategy (students work with a group to become experts on one topic, then divide up and teach it to a different group), scaffolding by using teacher modeling, then group or partner work prior to independent work, and sheltered reading (provide a synopsis for students to read prior to the actual reading assignment)

Involving families of ELL learners is another meaningful step teachers can take to engage their students in the classroom. Educators should build good rapport with ELL students’ families through frequent communication and conferences. They should also be given opportunities to participate in and volunteer for school events. One way to develop a positive relationship with families is to take advantage of students’ funds of knowledge, which refers to “historically accumulated and culturally developed bodies of knowledge and skills essential for household or individual functioning and well-being” (Greenberg, 1989; Tapia, 1991; Velez-Ibanez, 1988). Students learn life skills from their immediate and extended family members through their home life experiences. For example, a student might help an aunt when he goes to work with her at a nail salon on a school holiday, spend time with an uncle on the weekends who is a mechanic and teaches him about car repairs, or learn about finances from his father when he pays bills in the evenings.

Educators can encourage family involvement by encouraging parents and extended family members of ELL students to participate in community or school-sponsored literacy events. The aunt who works at a nail salon can share how she uses reading and writing skills in her job. The student can assist her by providing translation or giving his perspective and explaining what he’s learned through his experiences helping her. Other parents or family members can do the same with their life experiences—connect with their child’s classmates and people from the community by sharing the ways they use literacy in their daily lives. Bringing in volunteers with a variety of cultural and language experiences demonstrates to the students and community that educators value their knowledge and skills. Furthermore, individuals from the community and families of other students can relate to and connect with the volunteers in meaningful ways that they might not be able to with school staff members due to their cultural differences.

In addition to providing an effective learning environment with research-based strategies and involving families of ELL learners, teachers also need to be positive and encouraging. Second language acquisition can be daunting for students and they need to know their teachers are in their corner. Giving verbal praise and reassurance to students on the difficult days shows ELL learners that teachers care and want to help.

References:

Cobb & Kallus (2011). Historical, Theoretical, and Sociological Foundations of Reading in the United

States. Pearson Education, Inc., Boston, MA.

Sociolinguistics and Psycholinguistics

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Knowledge of sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics can influence instruction so they are worth studying. A sociolinguist refers to a person “who studies variation within a language, or across languages with a view toward describing that variation or toward writing rules which incorporate it (rather than, as in the past, ignoring it)…” (Cobb & Kallus, 2011, p. 249). Instead of viewing and studying language as fixed and unchanged, the sociolinguistics view is that language changes depending on a variety of circumstances such as the speaker’s economic level, ethnicity, culture, age, sex, and the context in which it’s being used. Language is constantly unfolding and growing as the speaker’s needs and environment change. Another aspect of sociolinguistics is the belief that the study of language can benefit and influence other fields of study, including education. Psycholinguistics is a convergence of linguistics and psychology, the study of the psychological mechanisms that occur during language acquisition and use. “Linguistic analysis…shows that language has two levels—a surface structure—that is, the sounds or written representation of language—and a deep structure—that is, meaning” (p.266). Psychology provides understanding about the complex relationship between the two structures and the mental operations that take place when a person formulates meaning from language, either oral or written communication.

Understanding sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics can enlighten educators and provide assistance for reading instruction. Through sociolinguistics, teachers are aware that a student’s family background and culture, such as the education level of their parents and the expectations of their family or peers, will affect their language use. William Labov and William Stewart concluded that speech should be studies in communities versus in individuals and data should be considered on a continuum because people use language differently depending on their environments (Labov, 1966. Stewart, 1964). For example, a person uses a formal register in a professional work setting but switches to a casual register at home with family or when spending time with friends. These variations are also evident in reading and writing. Textbooks are written in more formal language than novels, for example. As reading teachers provide instruction to their students, keeping in mind these variations in language acquisition and use will help them provide effective instruction to students from diverse groups. Specifically, ELL students need instruction on the various ways that English is used in different contexts and registers so they can navigate the numerous settings in which they need to use English for listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Psycholinguistics studies also influence reading instruction because “it is becoming clear that reading is not a process of combining individual letters into words, and strings of words into sentences, from which meanings spring automatically” (p.267) Instead, the studies show that meaning is constructed through interaction with exposure to a wide range and large variety of texts. Children are already hard-wired to learn how to read and should be provided a multitude of opportunities to experiment with “written language that is both interesting and comprehensible” (p.267). Students are not passive learners of language, but are actively involved in the learning process by cognitively searching for information and making determinations about the information. When considering ELL students, teachers should be cognizant that much of their brain capacity is focused on using knowledge of their native language to understand English. They frequently have to translate back and forth between the two languages in order to listen, speak, read, and write in English. Teachers should provide aides such as gestures, visuals, vocabulary word banks, and extended wait times, for example, to ensure that the input ELL students receive is comprehensible and they can cognitively active in their learning. Educators should have an awareness of both sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics to increase their effectiveness in the classroom with all students.

Reference:

Cobb & Kallus (2011). Historical, Theoretical, and Sociological Foundations of Reading in the United States. Pearson Education, Inc., Boston, MA.



Orthographic Knowledge and Word Work in the Classroom

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Orthography, the conventional spelling system of a language, is an important piece of literacy development. “Becoming fully literate depends on fast, accurate recognition of words and their meanings in texts, and fast, accurate production of words in writing so that readers and writers can focus their attention on making meaning.” (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton & Johnston, 2016, p.5)  If students have poor orthographic skills then they will not be able to read and write fluently because they will have to frequently stop thinking about what to text means (or what they want it to mean when writing) to think about how to decode or spell words.

In the 1970’s, Charles Read (1971, 1975) and Carol Chomsky (1971) studied the way students were attempting to spell words and realized they were not just using random letters, but “inventing” spellings that could provide educators with a glimpse of their word knowledge development. Edmund Henderson and his colleagues at the University of Virginia conducted similar studies regarding students’ spelling at approximately the same time (Beers & Henderson, 1977; Henderson & Beers, 1980). “They determined that through an informed analysis of students’ spelling attempts, teachers can differentiate and provide timely instruction in phonics, spelling, and vocabulary that is essential to move students forward in reading and writing.” (p.5) Word study is what this type of differentiated instruction is called.

As students analyze and study the orthographic patterns of words, they start to make generalizations and see the consistencies of word parts in the English language. Students should be given ample opportunities to explore and manipulate words so they can develop understandings of the alphabetic, pattern and meaning relationships that words have with each other. For example, single sounds are sometimes spelled with multiple letters like the CVCe spelling pattern in some words with long vowels. As students work with groups of words that contain the CVCe spelling pattern, they will see the similarity between the words and can transfer that knowledge to their reading and writing when they encounter long vowel words. The same type of learning transfer occurs with meaning as students see the relationships between words that contain the same morpheme, or  unit of meaning, such as sign and signature or photo, photograph, photographer, and photogenic. (p.8)

To begin, teachers should assess students’ orthographic knowledge first using an inventory, to determine what they do correctly and independently, what they “use but confuse”, and what is absent in their spelling or what patterns are at their frustration level. (p.11) Children’s reading and spelling development occurs in stages, so using the inventory to determine each student’s individual spelling stage will help guide instruction. Teachers can create groups based on the students’ levels and assigned appropriate word study activities according to their knowledge within each developmental spelling stage.

From my experience administering and analyzing the Words Their Way primary spelling inventory to my second graders, here are a few changes I would recommend:

This student needs to use a pre-printed response sheet.
  • Provide an answer sheet with numbers and lines printed on it. I used notebook paper and modeled how set up the page with numbers, but many of my students were not successful which made reading their responses difficult for me to read.
  • Administer the inventory in small groups divided by ability instead of to the entire class at the same time. This change will benefit all students, but I think especially my struggling readers and writers could have experienced more success if I gave the inventory to them at the teacher table, adjusting the pace for the group as needed and discontinuing the assessment if they missed 5 or more words.
Analysis of student responses using the Words Their Way PSI feature guide sheet.

Analysis of the inventory using the feature guide (p. 324) provides detailed data on each student’s orthographic level and understanding within the level that is valuable for creating instructional plans. Using the information from the feature guide, I know what spelling patterns to hold students’ accountable for in their writing and what steps I need to take to move them forward to the next stage of spelling.

Student’s photo of her word sort submitted to her Seesaw digital portfolio.

Some suggestions for implementation in the classroom include:

  •  introduce and model the first few word sorts whole group so students can practice the activities with teacher guidance
  • group students with similar strengths and weaknesses, then have them work together in pairs on their word sorts during the week
  • use technology as a teacher’s aide by having students post to a digital portfolio while the teacher is working with small groups, then the responses are available whenever the teacher has time to check them and assess students’ understandings
    • students can take pictures of their sorts and upload them
    • record themselves explaining their thinking about their sorts
    • students can do speed sorts by timing themselves sorting the words twice, trying to beat their own time
    • teachers can record themselves administering spelling tests, then have students take the tests on their own at a literacy station
  • include oddball words to determine if students are reading and understanding the words or just sorting them visually
Student’s work for speed sort submitted to her Seesaw digital journal.

Word study should take place in literacy classrooms at every level K-12. Giving students a variety of opportunities to explore and “play” with words is vital for increasing spelling and vocabulary development, which students can then transfer to their reading and writing. Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton & Johnston propose: “The better our general knowledge of the system, the better we are at decoding unfamiliar words, spelling correctly, or guessing the meaning of words” (p. 6) Providing appropriate and engaging word study activities for students will set them up for future success in spelling, reading and writing.

Activating and Acquiring Schema

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Have you ever read a sentence or paragraph in isolation, not connected to a specific purpose or within a text, and it didn’t make sense to you? In Chapter 5 of Cobb & Kallus (2011), Richard C. Anderson used the following example taken from Bransford and McCarrell (1974) to demonstrate how a reader’s background knowledge affects comprehension:

            “The notes were sour because the seams split.” (p.98)

Did some questions come to mind as you read that? Perhaps you are wondering what notes? Why would notes have seams? What made the seams split? This sentence standing alone, without any frame of reference, might not make sense. But when Anderson adds the word “bagpipe” as a hint to the meaning of the sentence, understanding becomes clear to readers who are familiar with bagpipes. Schema refers to background knowledge, previous experiences and how they are organized in the mind. Since each reader has unique and personalized schema, the understanding drawn from the same text may not be the same. “Schema theory highlights the fact that often more than one interpretation of a text is possible” (p.100). When a student’s schema is activated prior to reading, there is a higher chance of comprehension and retention of the information presented in the text because the student has previous knowledge to connect with the new knowledge.

Listed below are the six functions of schemata which were suggested by Anderson & Pichert (Anderson, 1978; Anderson & Pichert, 1978).

  • A schemata provides ideational scaffolding for assimilating text information. It provides a niche, or slot for information. (Cobb & Kallus, 2011, p.101)
  • A schemata facilitates selection allocation of attention. It helps readers know what aspects of the text are most important and where to place their attention.
  • A schemata enables inferential elaboration. It helps the reader infer, or read between the lines, additional information that is not explicitly provided in the text.
  • A schemata allows orderly searches of memory. It provides the reader with a guideline or roadmap, so to speak, to follow as he pulls up previous experiences.
  • A schemata facilitates editing and summarizing. It helps the reader disregard unimportant information and compile a mental list of the main points.
  • A schemata permits inferential reconstruction. It assists the reader with making assumptions to fill in open spots or missing information. (Cobb & Kallus, 2011, p.102)

These functions highlight the importance of schema in regards to comprehension and how the lack of activating a student’s background knowledge might affect his understanding.

In Chapter 6 of Cobb & Kallus (2011), John D. Bransford comments on schema theory and suggests that educators should not only activate students’ schema prior to reading, but also assist children in acquiring new schema. Bransford uses an illustration about airports to demonstrate that some students don’t have enough background knowledge, so just activating what they have isn’t enough. If the text states that a woman doesn’t want to wear her silver jewelry to the airport, but doesn’t explain why, some students will assume it’s because she is afraid the jewelry will be stolen and others might think she doesn’t want to have to take it off to walk through the metal detectors. However, if students don’t have any personal experiences with airports, they won’t have any schema to activate so neither of those understandings will present itself. The teacher might tell students that airports have metal detectors, but what if a student doesn’t know what a metal detector is or doesn’t know how metal detectors are used at airports? Bransford says, “The point I want to emphasize is that the goal of this instruction is to help the child develop a more sophisticated schema rather than simply to activate a schema that already exists” (p.115). Teachers need to be intentional about helping students make connections between what they already know and the new information being presented. Consideration should be made for the diversity of the students in each class—cultural, economic, language, etc. These differences are factors in the types of background knowledge students will use to comprehend the text, so educators should provide assistance in acquiring new schema when necessary.

Children will not naturally synthesize what they read with what they already know. Teachers must provide appropriate questioning strategies to activate students’ prior knowledge to help them make the needed connections. In addition, it’s vital that teachers provide students opportunities to develop background knowledge before content is presented if the topic is not familiar to them. Also, for students to remember what they’ve learned, the information should be presented in a way that demonstrates relationships between the pieces of new learning instead of presenting each individual idea in isolation. In conclusion, understanding schema theory and applying that understanding to classroom practices is an active part of teaching reading since students’ comprehension is influenced and, at times, founded on their previous experiences and background knowledge.

Understanding Learning Theories

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Learning how to read involves complex and multi-faceted skills, so consequently teaching reading can be a daunting task. Educators who learn about the stages of child development, phases of language acquisition, effective instruction strategies and how to use available resources to provide engaging lessons may believe those are the only knowledge and tools they need. However, the metacognitive processes involved when a student learns to read and write are profound. Studying and understanding foundational learning theories of experts like Piaget, Vygotsky, and Skinner, for example, can provide valuable insight for educators and assist them when preparing learning environments and providing literacy instruction for their students.

Jean Piaget at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor
(Public domain image)

Jean Piaget (1955) studied young children and “determined that the cognitive ability of children evolved in four distinct and unique stages” (Cobb & Kallus, 2011, p. 166). Students in a typical classroom have a wide range of abilities and are at various levels of cognitive maturity. A teacher’s awareness of Piaget’s stages of development can be beneficial to help her determine if students who are struggling lack the necessary skills or if they’re not yet developmentally ready for the specific concepts being presented. In addition, Piaget’s constructivist theory predicates that knowledge is derived from the interaction that people have with objects. Each person constantly establishes awareness and insight by classifying what he knows, then configuring and re-configuring his knowledge. (Hertez, 2010) Educators with familiarity of the constructivist theory will understand the importance of providing students opportunities to explore and interact with text in order to create their own structures of knowledge.

Lev Vygotsky is another expert whose theories can provide valuable insight for reading teachers. Vygotsky’s social constructivist theory is based on the belief that “socially meaningful activity is directly related to the cognitive development theory that learning is directly related to the social interactions that occur within the learning environment” (Cobb & Kallus, 2011, pp. 167-168). This theory puts emphasis on students interacting with each other versus each student individually interacting with objects like Paiget suggested. Vygotsky felt that children need to make social connections with others in order to personalize and retain the learning. This could affect the way teachers provide literacy instruction because they can adjust the way they group students in small groups, triads, or pairs for cooperative learning activities, setting students up for success with intentional groups for social connections. Another important theory of Vygotsky’s that has been influential in education is the zone of proximal development, or ZPD, which is the “gap between the child’s level of actual development determined by independent problem solving and her level of potential development determined by problem solving supported by an adult or through collaboration with more capable peers” (Dixon-Krauss, 1996, p. 15) Educators should provide instruction within a student’s ZPD to allow the student to use what he already knows as a foundation upon which to build new knowledge through the support offered from peers or teachers. This strategy of teaching the student where he is first, then challenging him to build on new learning while the teacher adjusts her support based on his responses can help move his learning forward, constantly changing his zone of proximal development to a higher level.

Third grade students work together to identify story elements and create an anchor chart.

B.F. Skinner developed the theory of operant conditioning, which is based on the belief that a student’s learning behaviors can be controlled, or conditioned, by positive responses such as verbal praise or pleasant body language from the teacher like a smile. Skinner proposed that teachers should start out rewarding students with tangible prizes using a token or points system, then transition to personal approval when students are able to read fluently enough to experience personal enjoyment from reading itself. “Skinner’s theories regarding positive reinforcement radically changed the face of education, which, at the time, prided itself on rote learning and negatively punishing discipline” (Skinner, 1968). Teachers of literacy should be cognizant of how their responses to students’ attempts at reading and writing can influence the students’ confidence level and willingness to take risks to learn new skills. If they provide more positive responses to students, then it will encourage the students to increase their efforts. Also, students will view literacy activities as more enjoyable and want to improve.

In closing, studying educational theories from experts such as Piaget, Vygotsky, and Skinner can add depth and new insight to educators’ toolboxes, helping them improve their craft. Keeping these theories in the forefront of their minds while structuring their classrooms, preparing and implementing lessons, and interacting with their students can strengthen their overall effectiveness.

References:

Cobb & Kallus (2011). Historical, Theoretical, and Sociological Foundations of Reading in the United States. Pearson Education, Inc., Boston, MA.

Hertez, JM. (2010, October 4). Piaget on Piaget, Part 1 [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/I1JWr4G8YLM

autismvid. (2011, July 21). B. F. Skinner on education, Part 1, fragment 1 [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/cUzoa7Vv5sE

The Reading Process: Transaction vs Interaction

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A paradigm shift occurred in the 1970’s that affected the scientific view of humans’ relationships with nature. Previously, experts believed that people were separate from the objects they studied. However, “Einstein’s theory and the developments in subatomic physics revealed the need to acknowledge that, as Neils Bohr (1959) explained, the observer is part of the observation—human beings are part of nature.” (Cobb & Kallus, 2011, p.124) John Dewey and Arthur F. Bentley (1949) labeled this new view of the relationship between subjects and objects as a “transaction” to describe how the humans and their environments condition each other as parts of one system versus being isolated entities.

Louise M. Rosenblatt applied the theory of transaction to the reading process by describing how readers transact with text instead of interacting with it. Rosenblatt’s view is that a text’s meaning doesn’t lie within the text waiting for a reader to come and interact with it, but meaning is created when the reader and text come together in a relationship. The circumstances surrounding the transaction between reader and text, such as the reader’s goal and expectations, affect what meaning is gained. In addition, William James’ idea of “selective attention” factors into the reader’s relationship with text. Selective attention refers to the idea that humans are continually determining where to focus our attention by choosing to bring some of the input received by our senses to the forefront for closer contact with it and push others further away, kind of like putting a pot on the back burner of a stove.

As readers approach text, their previous experiences and knowledge as well as their current interests affect where they place their attention and how they transact with the text. The reader’s relationship with the text is ever-changing and ongoing while he reads. He is constantly evaluating the new information against meaning that has already been constructed, then determining which aspects of it should be integrated into the established meaning and which can be abandoned because they’re not needed. Rosenblatt states, “From a to-and-fro interplay between reader, text, and context emerges a synthesis or organization, more or less coherent and complete” (Cobb & Kallus, 2011, p.131).

Rosenblatt termed “stance” as the reader’s purpose which guides his selective attention. This stance affects which aspects of the text are pulled closer for further analysis by the reader or pushed away, out of consciousness. In the efferent stance, a reader focuses on information, such as directions, that must be remembered and used after the reading of the text ends. She gives an example of a man ingesting a dangerous liquid, then quickly searching on the bottle for the directions to guide him in saving himself (Cobb & Kallus, 2011, p.133). If the reader is using the aesthetic stance, he notices or even revels in “the qualities of the feelings, ideas, situations, scenes, personalities, and emotions that are called forth and participates in the tensions, conflicts, and resolutions of the images, ideas, and scenes as they unfold” (p. 133) Rosenblatt contends that readers don’t always take an efferent stance or an aesthetic stance, but that there is a continuum on which a reader’s stance falls depending on the circumstances of the transaction with the text on that particular day and time. Just as two readers will have different interpretations of text, the same reader may interpret the text in a different way if the relationship with the text is experienced under a different set of circumstances.

In closing, Rosenblatt’s view of reading as a transaction between the reader and the text differs from the interaction view in that the reader develops a relationship with the text. Meaning is believed to be construed through the reader’s choosing where to place attention, the reader’s stance and the reader’s interpretation of the text. The view of reading as an interaction between the reader and text suggests that the reader and text exist separate from each other, with the reader extracting the meaning from the text that has been there from the time it was written.

References:

Cobb & Kallus (2011). Historical, Theoretical, and Sociological Foundations of Reading in the United States. Pearson Education, Inc., Boston, MA.

Effective Writing Instruction in the Elementary Grades

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In their book Teaching Language and Literacy: Preschool Through the Elementary Grades (5th ed.), Christie, Enz, Vukelich, & Roskos (2014) promote teaching writing to elementary school students with a workshop structure. Teachers should allow 45-60 minutes per day for the writing workshop block and classrooms should be arranged to provide spaces for students to work on their writing independently, with partners or in small groups. This structure consists of an initial mini-lesson, then time for students to write while the teacher conducts individual student conferences, and finally a sharing time in which students read aloud a portion of one of their writing pieces for the whole class or a small group of peers.

Mini-lessons: The initial mini-lesson, also referred to as a focus lesson, is short and concise, lasting approximately 10 minutes. At the beginning of the year, these lessons teach students the structure of writing workshop and include topics such as peer conferencing, teacher-student conferencing, and classroom procedures for editing, proofreading, and publishing. Students are taught expectations for each of these situations including the type of support they will be offered by the teacher and their peers. After students understand the structure of the writing workshop and routines are in place, focus lessons should provide explicit instruction in three areas: qualities of writing, steps of the writing process and conventions of language.

  • Qualities of writing—Instruction should include setting a purpose to write, the characteristics of different genres, and how to analyze mentor texts for craft moves that students can mimic in their own writing
  • Writing Process—Students should be taught that the writing process is ongoing. Although, there are specific steps to writing (prewrite, draft, revise, edit, publish), authors move back and forth within the writing process steps frequently as they reflect on what they’ve written and revise to improve it.
  • Conventions of language—Teachers should provide instruction about “punctuation, grammar, usage, handwriting, capitalization, and spelling”. (p.323) State and district standards should be used as reference to identify which skills should be included in these lessons.

In addition to using state and district standards as a guide, the students’ writing itself should drive classroom instruction. Teachers should use data they collect from ongoing assessments of students’ writing during the year to determine what type of focus lessons are needed and adjust instruction accordingly.

Writing Time and Student Conferences: The bulk of the time in a writing workshop is allotted for students to write. During this time, each student works on what he needs so students will be doing a variety of activities within the writing process steps. For example, a few students may be working independently to generate topics for a new writing piece, some might be studying mentor texts to analyze the author’s craft and apply it to their writing, and others may be collaborating together on revising their pieces. While students are writing, the teacher conducts conferences with individual students to provide differentiated instruction. Christie, et al. suggest the following outline for teacher-student conferences:

  • Writer’s Intent: Initially, the teacher asks the student what he is working on to research his intent or direction in order to determine the writer’s goal and plan instruction during the conference.
  • Writer’s Need: The next step involves asking the student a few guiding questions to direct the conversation in a way that will help the student improve as a writer. The teacher needs to determine one or two aspects of the student’s writing ability to focus her instruction on for this specific conference.
  • Teach the Writer: During the teaching step, the teacher provides instruction to the student by showing him a mentor text that will help him improve in the specific area identified, referring him back to previous writings, letting the writer know something is confusing or missing, or perhaps asking questions to assist the writer in self-reflection. This teaching piece is very brief and should not be presented lecture-style, but delivered through conversation.
  • Writer’s Plan: In this last step, the teacher asks the student to articulate a plan, or what his next steps will be as a writer. The teacher may need to provide a sentence starter such as, “Now you’re going to…..” and wait for the student to respond.

Tracking teacher-student conferences by taking a few notes about the writer’s need, what instruction was provided and the writer’s next steps is beneficial. The teacher can use these notes to ensure she meets with all students regularly and to determine if the students are showing growth by following through with their stated plans as well as determining what focus lessons are needed by the majority of the class.

Sharing: The last 10-15 minutes of a writing workshop period consists of a group share time. Here are the different types of share sessions Christie, et al. presented in Chapter 10:

  • Share meeting—students share drafts while the teacher and students ask questions, some students may share specific strategies they’ve recently learned or tried in their writing
  • Writer’s circle—the class is divided into small groups and sharing is conducted within each small group at the same time which allows for more students to share in a small amount of time
  • Quiet share—students bring writing utensils and paper to the share time so they can write down questions or comments as the writers share their pieces (papers are given to the writer to review later)
  • Focused share—the teacher asks students to read a specific component of their writing piece such a their lead, their closing, or an example of descriptive language
  • Process share—students are asked to bring an example of a revision they made and explain their thinking about why they made the change
  • Celebration share—students share completed writing pieces as a celebration of their hard work

Some examples of what students might share are graphic organizers or lists in which they’ve generated writing topics and ideas, drafts they’ve started to show specific components of their writing such as sensory language or to ask for revision suggestions, particular phrases, sentences or paragraphs in which they’ve imitated a mentor author, or possibly a completed writing piece that is ready for publishing.

Teaching Mechanical Skills

 In Chapter 11, Christie, Enz, Vukelich, & Roskos (2014) suggest that even though students receive instruction for mechanical skills of writing such as spelling, grammar, capitalization, punctuation and handwriting through using editing checklists and teacher-student conferencing during writing workshop, these activities may not be enough. Explicit instruction is needed to strengthen mechanical skills for students to be successful writers.

Teachers should make spelling instruction a priority because spelling specialists believe that student exposure and exploration through writing is not enough (p.334).  Since students in the same classroom are on various levels, spelling instruction should be individualized. Teachers and students work together to select words that need to be practiced each week using the students’ recent writing as a guide. According to Shane Templeton and Darryl Morris (1999), the selected words should be “known as sight words” (p.336), should be words that students will use frequently, and at the primary level, the words should follow a consistent spelling pattern.  Since the class doesn’t have one spelling list for all students, the teacher is not able to administer weekly pre-tests and post-tests. Students will work cooperatively in pairs to complete the tests as well as studying together daily throughout the week.

When considering grammar instruction, teachers should be aware that research shows teaching the rules of grammar in isolation through drilling practices is not effective because students don’t make the connection between the worksheet practice activities and their own writing. (Hillocks, 1986) Students should be taught grammar through the use of authentic writing—mentor texts, teacher modeling, and students’ own writing pieces. Teachers should also help students understand that the structure of written language, just like spoken language, varies depending on setting, purpose, and audience. “For example, the grammatical structures used in writing a letter for publication in a newspaper are different from those used to write a letter to a grandmother.” (p.339) Punctuation and capitalization instruction should also be implemented through using mentor texts and students’ writing pieces. Teachers can instruct students editing skills through the use of checklists and modeling editing marks.

To support EL learners in the area of mechanical skills, teachers must provide a multitude of opportunities for structured conversations with their native speaking peers. Development of oral language in context will increase their understanding and use of the structures of grammar. Teacher modeling is also vital for ELLs in addition to giving students daily opportunities to write about topics of interest to them, experiences that are “in their wheelhouse” so to speak. Detailed feedback about their writing will assist ELLs with grasping the correct usage in English for grammar, punctuation and capitalization.

Reference:

Christie, Enz, Vukelich, & Roskos (2014). Teaching Language and Literacy Preschool Through the Elementary Grades (5th ed.).