Literacy Resource Toolkit

This section of my blog will serve as a place to collect some resources and thoughts on and for literacy as well as showcase some things I have done throughout my practicums.

Writing

Word walls! I love the idea of having a word wall for students to refer to when they need help spelling a word. I like the idea of adding to this wall as the year goes on. I also would like to have a weekly word that we could do a short lesson on that word, this could include spelling, origins and so on and then that could be our word of the week and we could add that word to the wall at the end of the week.

I love this text from Reggie Routeman, she has lots of good ideas when it comes to writing. I particularly like her ideas on student-led writing conferences and student-authored books for the class. I like these ideas because it allows the students to practice writing for an audience and get used to presenting their work in a safe and supported environment.

Phonological Awareness Activities: I like this idea of an activity for working on phonological awareness because it can help the students to understand the different sounds from each letter and how they come together to create a word. For this activity, students have to say each sound from each letter on their jumps in succession and once they jump out of the dots at the end they say the word. For example, if the student had to do “Cat” the student would start with the sound for c on their first jump, then “a” on their next jump then t on their last jump. When they jump out of the dotted area they would say “Cat”.

Reading

Daily 5: I have seen Daily 5 at work in a few different classrooms and I love the process of it and the outcomes it can have. For myself, my experience with reading in elementary school consisted of mainly reading to myself, buddy reading, and being read to through various activities. Coming from this I love that Daily five is explicit work for reading and writing that is structured. I have seen how well it has worked for some classes and I would like to try it out in the future. I also like that daily five can provide you with the opportunity to work with students in smaller groups for topics that can be more complex or tailored to them.

Literary circles: Gone are the days of a whole class novel study! I like literary circles because they not only allow you to create groupings of students based on their reading level but also interact with texts in a multitude of ways. You can present them with material that will work for them based on their needs. This type of structure also promotes discussion and sharing of ideas for students. Overall, I like this form of literature study because it gets the students to interact with texts individually, communally and critically while taking into account the diversity of learners. Below, is an excerpt from a study on the effects of literature circles that I thought was meaningful. (there is a link to full article as well)

“The second contribution of literature circles is their providing students with a social learning atmosphere. The students
in this study pointed out that literature circles provided them with “a quality educational and cultural atmosphere” that
could help them develop their skills of interpersonal communication, critical reading, and book reviewing. Besides,
unlike theoretical lessons, literature circles provided them with a hands-on concrete learning experience about book
reviewing, book discussions, and a teaching model for their teaching careers.” (Karatay ,9)

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1155611.pdf

Reading Power: Adrienne Gear

I love this resource from Adrienne Gear, she has a lot of great ideas on how to approach reading. I also like how she really views reading as an active thing and that there is more to reading than just that action. By this I am referring to things that happen pre-reading, during and post-reading that all go into the reading experience.

Oral Language

Sharing/ Talking Circles: I like sharing circles because it is a safe space for students to speak to the group. I have seen this be done with structured questions surrounding a certain topic such as honesty, respect and so on but the beauty of a sharing circle is that it could really go in any direction you want. Students do have the opportunity to pass if they do not want to speak but everyone has a chance to make their contribution to the circle and be listened to. Why I really like this is because since everyone has a chance to talk it can help ease that nervousness around speaking to the group as a whole over time.