Literacy Collaborative Framework

One of the most eye opening experiences of my life occurred in the second grade. I would have never thought that doing one simple assignment in elementary school could change my whole perspective on literacy. My understanding of literacy was sparked when I had read my first real book. I remember sitting down on the vividly colorful carpet day dreaming about playing Mario Cart on my Nintendo 64 while everyone was obediently listening to the teacher read a book out loud. It wasn’t that I did not know how to read or listen, I just didn’t care. Reading to me used to be tedious because I did not understand the purpose of it. I did not grow up with the luxury of my parents reading to me because they weren’t literate in English, so I had to figure out for myself why literacy is vital in everyday life. My ongoing learning experience with literacy can be traced back to one simple visit to library.

As per our conversation, attached please find Literacy Connections budget for our Adult Basic Literacy program in Orange County.

In the prior Literacy Action Plan, the material, resources, and information used and found were done for specific reasons. These reasons were found by using data from state assessments and district assessments from Okeechobee School District. Janice Greenberg stated “Tony Wagner goes on to say that children will need seven basic survival skills to succeed in the world that awaits them which are as follows: 1) Critical thinking and Problem Solving, 2)Collaboration across Networks and Leading by Influence, 3) Agility and Adaptability, 4) Initiative and Entrepreneurialism, 5) Effective Oral and Written Communication, 6) Accessing and Analyzing Information, and 7) Curiosity and Imagination” (Greenberg, 2011). These are also reasons why students should be proficient in reading and writing and why we have to write a Literacy Action Plan so we have action set into place to help our students achieve proficient scores in Reading and Writing.

It is reassuring to know you understand the urgency of the crisis Literacy Orange is currently under, and have taken a positive, first step to resolve the matter. We, at Literacy Connections, understand the current financial and staff problems you are facing and, for almost a year, have actively communicated and worked with Christine and other staff members in hopes of bringing the organization back to a stabilized and sustainable position. However, as you can imagine, this is no easy task. We will continue to try to approach this crisis with the sensitivity and urgency it requires.

This is an Inclusion Support Core Curriculum Project for reading. My goal is to align instruction in Language Arts & Literacy with the Common Core Standards. Each grade level in Middle School features standards that describe what students should know and be able to do to, in order to succeed at the next grade level. This document is organized into instructional units with key concepts and skills identified, that suggest the pacing guide highlights and identifies resources, instructional technology and assessment. These resources were selected to provide educators with the tools and guidance to enhance instruction and maximize student learning.

Mariksa Nieves, our Southern & Rural Coordinator, brought your agency, Abriendo Puertas, to my attention just a couple of weeks ago. Thank you for the informative description of the agency’s mission, vision and programs.

The Literacy Collaborative program strives to utilize purposeful, explicit, and guided instruction designed to ensure learner independence. The program provides opportunities for students to engage in authentic, collaborative, and holistic language acquisition through the use of high quality rigorous cross circular instruction. The program is structured within a framework that allows educators to create a dynamic learning environment that allows for flexible grouping, collaboration, and actively involving students in the learning process. Moreover, “teachers engage students in a selection of specified activities, including interactive read-aloud, shared-reading experiences, targeted vocabulary and phonics lessons, guided reading and writing

The shared book reading program is a teacher-directed literacy program designed to allow the educator the opportunity to model developing comprehension, alphabetics, and general reading achievement skills. The program aligns with the CCSS in that is focuses on the development of comprehension, alphabetics, and general reading skills. Furthermore, the program’s flexible design allows the teacher to utlize formative assessment to create targeted lessons focused on group and individual achievement (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012).. Additionally, teachers are encouraged to use open-ended questions as well as student’s background knowledge to engage leaners during the lesson. The program encourages the use of quality trade literature

This chapter opened my eyes to a variety of things to consider when students are learning to read and write. I never heard of these eight principles that lay the foundation for literacy instruction prior to reading this chapter. One prevalent theme in these principles is the idea of giving students some control over their learning through collaborative or independent assignments. I’m in favor of this because a classroom where the teacher is the central focus for instruction is boring.

Literacy Circles: Utilizing literacy circles urges students to verbally and illustratively identify with their thinking in regards to the reading arrangement through the association of their part. Literacy circles elevate students to imply their thinking through a blend of making structures, for instance, journals, diagrams, outlines, logs, and sketchbooks (Devick-Fry and LeSage, 2010).

Having a high level of self-efficacy is something that is very important to me as a literacy instructor.  Throughout my career, I have made an effort to plan effectively, try new methods and strategies that benefit my students, shown persistence and confidence and not been critical of my students when they make errors.  All of these behaviors tie in with a strong sense of efficacy as stated by Protheroe (2008). I have come to realize that having a balanced literacy program is the key to success for my students.   This comprehensive program provides all of the necessary skills for students to master written and oral language.  Being an upper elementary teacher, the students come to me at a wide variety of levels.  The best educators are able to create classrooms that have flexible routines that include small group instruction along with whole group instruction, centers, and opportunities for students to learn independently.

Interactive shared book reading is a practice that adults can use when reading with children, which are intended to enhance young children’s language and literacy skills (Phillips, Norris, & Anderson, 2008). This practice can be used in an individual, small group, school or center-based setting. Most of the environments where this practice is taking place, according to the WWC Intervention Report, are day care centers or HeadStart classrooms with children aged 3 to 5 and often minority racial groups of low socioeconomic status (Bochna, 2010). This is implemented by an adult reader reading aloud, making sure the students can easily see, and using different structured interactive techniques to engage the children

Shared reading is when the teacher and the students share the task of reading a difficult or challenging book. Teachers will often start with a book that is slightly challenging for the students and will usually read to the class while students read along with another copy of the book.

The client will increase use of meaning-based strategies during shared reading. Meaning-based strategies such as think alouds, incorporating background knowledge and making predictions, as well as re-reading, and making meaningful substitutions in order to improve

Over the years there have been many different types or ways to deliver reading instruction in the classroom setting. Teachers struggle to find the best thing for their students and what will benefit their students the most. Teachers have a hard time trying to figure out to make sure all their learners are met, they are working one on one with students who need and be able to manage classroom behavior. Two sisters Joan and Gail decided to come up with a framework that gives students choice and benefits their learning. Joan and Gail’s framework is The Daily Five and Café. Another popular framework is Literacy Centers. Researched in depth, the two frameworks have a lot in common but still some differences.