Reading is a gift that I have remained grateful for beyond an educational setting. My Elementary school teachers led me to knowledge that has allowed me to explore foreign places, imagine amazing situations and discover mysterious events, all through literacy skills. My passion for reading has given me an ability to broaden and deepen my understanding of the world, as well as myself through reflective thought. Each student should be able to read for academic and pleasure purposes. In order to lead students to the highest chance of reading success, I believe it is essential that literacy instruction addresses all 5 pillars of literacy. Through working with kindergartners, I realized that many young learners struggle with one of the most important pillars: phonemic awareness. English language learners and students receiving speech therapy are hindered from developing their phonemic awareness, so it is important to consider their individual needs for instruction. Students should be able to identify and manipulate phonemes. Phonics involves hearing sounds and matching them to letters, or letter identification. The lower level learners in my kindergarten class required additional Response to Intervention to succeed in letter identification. Vocabulary, another pillar, helps students to think and understand more deeply. Comprehension is furthered by vocabulary knowledge, as well as fluency. One of my favorite strategies for fluency development is Reader’s Theatre. Readers Theatre integrates many methods used to improve oral reading fluency such as modeling, echo reading, buddy reading, choral reading, and repeated reading through providing an authentic context for rereading, as well as integrating the arts. Art and technology integration are essential components of literacy instruction. Technology should be utilized to promote technology literacy, which is important for modern students who are part of a technology-based, interconnected world. Extracting meaning from text and thinking critically about it (comprehension) is a necessary life skill for the workplace, academic and social achievement. To teach the 5 pillars of literacy, technology and the arts should be integrated to engage students and prepare them for a future involving reading. A multitude of assessments should be utilized in determining student’s literacy abilities. The Running Record with Miscue Analysis is an amazing way to track student progress over time and identify specific areas of weakness for students. I believe that students should be provided with comfortable testing conditions, individualized attention and choice in their literacy assessment. For the DRA, the students I worked with enjoyed the opportunity to pick which book they read. During Daily 5 centers, choice becomes another essential classroom factor to promote engagement. Clearly, choice is also important in literacy instruction and assessment. Students should be given the opportunity to complete performance tasks, oral reports or create new demonstrations of learning to display higher-order thinking and their knowledge. Traditional testing does not always indicate student’s ability to apply what they have learned. Testing and instruction should also consider student’s learning styles and preferences. By appealing to student’s sense of sight with visual aids, adoration of movement and desire for music, instruction will appeal to almost any student, regardless of achievement level. To give a child the gift of literacy, you have provided them with a tool that they will cherish and utilize for the entirety of their lives. Written April 13th, 2016
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