EDTE 301: INQUIRY PROJECT

By: Derrien Robinson

What strategies can be taught to support early primary students with literacy deficits?

Central question

Practicum school this year had a diverse student population

School split into “Literacy Groups” as a concentrated effort by faculty to improve poor literacy levels

Some students entered Kindergarten with a strong background in reading; many entered without ever having touched a book

Context:

1. Research topic of early elementary literacy and brain development and read:

a. Lundberg, Ingvar. "Development and Aging: Early Precursors and Enabling Skills of Reading Acquisition." Scandanavian Journal of Psychology 50 (2009): 611-616

b. Senechal, Monique and Laura Young. "The effect of Family Literacy Interventions on Children's Acquisitio of Reading from Kindergarten to Grade 3: A Meta-Analytic Review" American Educational Research Association 78 (Dec, 2008): 880-907

c. Posner, Michael, and Mary K. Rothbart. "Literacy". Educating the Human Brain. Washington; American Psychological Association. 2007. Print.

2. Informal Discussion of topic with Kristen Robinson, Masters in Education and Middle Years Literacy.  a. Discussed teaching differentiated primary classrooms, and her observations about the topic.

b. Discussed teaching tools for literacy & K. Robinson's Masters Degree Program findings.

c. Discussed Smart Learning and how this teaching strategy is incorporated into the classroom.

d. Viewed instructional materials used in K. Robinson's Grade 3 classroom.

3. Explore the concept of teaching a differentiated classroom through reading Carol Ann Tomlinson's "Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom: Strategies and Tools for Responsive Teaching".

4. Assume that teaching literacy is Brain Learning and that classroom instruction must be differentiated, and read literature on "Smart Learning" by Susan Close.

Inquiry Process

Article examines early literacy development in children from infancy

Discusses speech perception and speech production in infants and toddlers and phonological awareness in children over the years and early steps in communication and language development.

What I learned: Different experiences as well as different gene-environment interaction between children, complicated by other factors such as learning disabilities and motivation, create differentiated learners in literacy.

Article Review - “Development and Aging: Early Precursors and Enabling Skills of Reading Acquisition”

Article reviews a number of studies that relate to family literacy interventions and discusses the perceived importance of parental involvement in reading and evaluates methods used at home, including:◦ Reading to children◦ Listening to children read aloud◦ Specific reading tutoring

What I learned: Providing parents with basic instruction as to how to assist children is effective with promoting literacy in K-3

Article Review: “The Effect of Family Literacy Interventions on Childen’s Acquisition of Reading from Kindergarten to Grade 3: A Meta-Analytic Review”

Discusses how children form important connections and pathways in their brain related to literacy

Shows how specific early interventions can improve mental processing: more practice will lead to less effort required in decoding

What I learned: Brain development is important to the development of basic reading skills. More research is needed by educational professionals in this area.

Article Review: “Literacy” in “Educating the Human Brain”

Differentiated instruction is responsive instruction

Teachers must assess students individually: students have different needs

Not all learners in a class will be at the same level; not all learners learn the same

Goals are to make each student feel safe and powerful encourage them make contributions to the class, and be challenged in their learning.

Differentiated Classroom

What is the reading level makeup of your current classroom? Are there any students without strong reading backgrounds?

What strategies do you use to assist struggling readers?

What is your experience with Smart Learning?

Any tips?

Informal Discussion with Kristen Robinson, Masters in Education and Middle Years Literacy

Reading in the Classroom

Using Smart Reading in the Classroom

HIGH-INTEREST BOOKS: GRAPHIC NOVELS

VISUAL AIDS

A program which addresses their ongoing development of orthographic knowledge

Reading comprehension strategies

◦ Figure out a word:1. Sound it out2. Skip and read to the end of the sentence3. Look at the picture4. Ask someone

What do students need?

Day 1: Do a “Prediction Day”

Look at the cover, read the title, look at the pictures, and make a prediction (what is the story about)

Day 2: Read your book◦ Use sticky notes to remember big ideas in the beginning,

middle and end

Day 3: Re-read◦ Look for a way to connect your story to your real life

experiences

Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies

“Making connections”

Chunk information by: Know, Wonder, Predict

Set Goals

Listen to children read daily – constantly try to “level up”

Making connections is key

Tips

Parents / Guardians of early primary students should be educated about teaching basic literacy skills

Literacy skills should be practiced often to create brain pathways related to decoding and working memory

Teaching must be responsive; teachers must know their students and where each student is at and how they learn

Teachers must teach effective reading strategies and include the development of orthographic knowledge

Future implications for teaching

More research is needed on how the brain develops literacy skills

There are other literacy education methods that I did not research: Guided Reading and Reading Power

Further Questions