Literacy: Phonemic Awareness and Phonics

Sheep in a Jeep is a great book to teach rhyming!

Graphophonics: the way readers translate letters to sounds

Goal of Reading: getting meaning from text. This requires the manipulation of complex processes

Interactive model of reading: Process goes from page > head > ... > page > head

National Reading Panel's 5 big focuses

1. phonemic awareness
2. phonics
3. fluency
4. vocabulary
5. comprehension

A Poem for Fun: When Tillie Ate The Chili
by Jack Prelutsky

When Tillie ate the chili,
She erupted from her seat,
She gulped a quart of water,
And fled screaming down the street,
She coughed, she wheezed, she sputtered,
She ran totally amok,
She set a new world record
As she raced around the block.

Tillie's mouth was full of fire,
Tillie's eyes were red with tears,
She was smoking from her nostrils,
She was steaming from her ears,
She cooled off an hour later,
Showing perfect self-control
As she said, "What tasty chili,
I should like another bowl."

Phonemic Awareness

• understanding how spoken language can be broken down into individual sounds (without seeing the letters)
  
• phoneme: the smallest meaningful unit of sound in spoken language, /h/ means h sounds
• serves as an umbrella concept for different sounds awareness

Phonics

• the oral and visual combination of sound and letter

PA and Phonics helps readers

• see the connection between what is said and read
• maniplate sound and letters
• understand how words work in reading and spelling
• *** They are the starter motors of reading comprehension

song: The sounds in the words are /c/ /a/ /t/, /c/ /a/ /t/, /c/ /a/ /t/, and the word is cat. (wheels on the bus)

Common types of Phonemic Awareness:

• isolating: hear and isolate initial, medial, or final parts of words, hear /b/ at end of cab.
• segmenting: pronounce each phoneme in order, /b/ /a/ /t/ comes from bat.
• blending: combine phonemes to make a word, /b/ /a/ /t/ makes bat
• manipulating: add/delete/replace souns to make new word, add a /t/ to 'an' makes ant

ELL students

• each lang has own phonemic structure
• learn the differences (both the student and teacher needs to learn them)
• differentiate instruction

Activity: Elkonin Box

• Insert: /sh/ /ee/ /p/
  
• good activity for learning sounds and chunks of sounds.
• can use either coins, markers, or actual letter cards/magnets/noodles

Tip: always use real words when teaching, but accept fake ones from kids if they understand the concepts.

literacy: The Writing Cycle

1. Prewriting (collecting/planning): generating ideas
   
2. drafting: 'getting it down'
   
3. revising: 'making it work'
   
4. editing: 'getting it right'
   
5. publishing: taking it public

Collecting Strategies:

• Create Lists: rules to live by, that's not fair, times that I needed courage, the best day ever, if I had three wishes, if I could talk to ... etc.
• Use list to make another list with see, hear, smell, taste, feel from one topic
• Borrowings and jumpoffs: everyone will start from one idea, can use a book, quote, song, art, etc.
• Punctum: take a foudn line and use a found picture, then write a scene. Use magazine cut outs and poems.
• Mindmapping
• Keep a 'thinks I love' heart handout where kids write out topics that they love. Kids can then go back to the topics if they have nothing to write about.
• Buddy journals: students choose a fake role, one person writes about something wanted, then the other writes why they can't have it (in character)
  

Literacy: Spelling

* Students need awareness of spelling based on experiences and explicit teaching
* ideas

• give individualized spelling tests
• use post-it notes to gather what words students need
• make spelling mini lessons bases on students needs (from above)

Notes from Reading Essentials (Regie Routman)

• Matters so the reader can make sense of the written message
• Set up the environment for teaching spelling, see pg 162
• Invented spelling leads to students understanding the spelling system versus becoming rote spellers
• Have high expectations, see spelling strategies chart, pg 163
• Use a word-wall effectively (make it yourself, make it flexible, hold students accountable), see 165-168

Literacy: Writer's Worshop

Why should we use Writer's workshop?

• Our lives are worth writing about (consider, what in your life is worth writing about, model your own material)
• Writing is a craft that can be taught
• Drama or trouble is the writer's friend (and is fun to write about)

3 things writers need

1. time
2. choice
3. response (from readers)

Structure:

1. mini lesson: let writers inside the teacher's head (5-10 min.)
2. independent writing: build stamina first! (20-30 min.)
3. conference during independent writing
4. sharing: can also share parts of pieces (5-10 min.)

Other tips:

• Build an environment where students feel safe to take risks bc this is where the best writing comes out
• Writers learn from each other
• Teach the writers, don't fix the piece of writing (Lucy Cox)
• Instead of "do this" say "look for this"
• call students writers
• kids need scaffolded support / framework
• publish often so kids know it's important
• to sustain momentum, use writing partners and remember that not everything needs to be published

Links:
An amazing link by Katherine, full of resources
writersworkshophelp.blogspot.com

lesson learned

Consider your students:

1. Give clear expectations of how to act and what you want students to do.
2. Be sure students understand content. Answer questions as directly and honestly as you can.
3. Take advantage of teaching opportunities. Depth, not breadth.
4. Visually be aware of who needs questions answered. (aka, look for raised hands)
5. If uncomfortable with content, try to honestly explain why, don't avoid subject matter of students' interest if it is applicable to your lesson plans.
   
6. Apply new concepts to what students already know.
7. Reach for higher bloom's taxonomy.
8. Use visuals reasonably.
9. Have a clear direction for the lesson. Inform students of this plan (especially helpful for global thinkers).
   
10. Always have a reason for what is being taught, discussed, or viewed. Make sure students have a task to apply meaning to what is being done in class.
    

Justice & Diversity: multicultural approaches

Four Multicultural Approaches:

1. contributions: discussing cultures based on holidays and heroes
2. additive: adding content, themes, and perspectives to curriculum. Can be a side bar to text or a small lesson, not necessarily integrated
3. transformative: interweaving multiple perspectives into curriculum to transform student's views
4. social action: getting kids to act for change. visit tolerance.org and the Southern Poverty Law Center
   

attributes of a transformational lesson:

• multiple perspectives
• more than one lesson
• balance individual and group work
• individualization: give many ways to demonstrate learning
• give many ways to access learning
• use many types of materials
• include a critical analysis of understanding cultural assumptions

"Only when the curriculum canon is transformed to reflect cultural diversity will students .. be able to attain the knowledge, skills & perspectives needed to participate effectively in today's global society." -James Banks

Some fun ways to deliver instruction:

• visual representation
• use tactile items from the class
• songs
• primary resources (remind kids that they are acting)
• physical recall
  

Literacy: 3rd grade

Magnets are used to track where students are in the editing process. Cups with sticks work well also.




























This is an adaptation of The Daily Five which is a structured independent lit. program.



















Other ideas from the classroom/teacher:

• have writing peer conferences (realizing they might not actually work til Feb.)
  
• let the "best table" pick select choice reading areas around the room
• have a "book recommendation lake" (see photo at top)
• post pictures of students reading
• put books in the front of the room for read aloud
• when starting off, use colleagues, ask them what they do for literacy, use their curriculum at first, then get creative and adapt it
• use craigslist for books/ teacher supplies, even post that you're a teacher and need stuff
• put a pleasant lamp at your desk: on equals "I'm busy and can't be interrupted"
  

Literacy: the basics

To foster lifelong literacy:

1. you need something worth writing and reading about
2. you need something to DO with what you read/write.
3. you need something to SHARE from what you read and write.

Three Cue System:

1. Meaning: prior knowledge, words within text/pictures, ask: does it make sense?
2. Structure: natural language, English grammar, ask: does it sound right in English?
3. Visual: sounds and symbols, ask: does it look right (or close to right?)
   

Random ideas:

• Have students write reminders to each other, especially if a student is out sick.
• Use this sentence starter: "If you want to know me as a reader, you need to know ..."
  
• Kiperpoof: can you read if you don't know the words?
• researcher: Guy t. Buswell: readers do active things while reading
• don't make kids read aloud
• Don't do anything your students can do themselves!
• Make a list of non-negotiables (below are ours)

Our Non-negotiable in Literacy

1. have independent reading time with choice books
2. do read alouds
3. celebrate student's work
4. ignite student's interest in reading
5. give time to read for pleasure
6. have a diverse library in the classroom with different forms of media
7. work together (teachers + students = ownership of learning)
8. share the love of reading and writing
9. have star of the week and focus on the name and history of child
10. organize books by category, not just levels
11. have a this day in history
    
12. have a comfy reading corner where students feel safe
13. integrate subject matter
14. be open to different types of books

Effective Readers: (Taken from Burke Reading Interviews in class. Make own list with students. This will help students have ownership of poster and show strengths)

• take time to think about what is read
• use context
• make connections
• use resources
• figure out what is or is not important
• are aware of strategies for reading
• talk about what's read
  

Read Aloud:

• Stories help us look at other people indirectly. Stories are the way we share ourselves with each other. We must begin with our hearts then 'it' will click with our heads.
  
• Give students something to look for: ex: what might this book mean for me?

Have a Tea Party

1. on small pieces of paper, read quote rom first chapter, think " what is going on in this book" (teacher types up a mix of quotes on fun paper)
2. Share and talk about th quotes and what you think the book is about
3. walk and talk (to as many people as you can) sharing more guesses about the book
4. journal what you think will happen
5. read the book!
6. ---- later: brainstorm issues that matter from the book, ex: this character wants to belong
   

Two Read Aloud Books:

Sister Anne's Hands is about the racism a child faces and how she learns from it. (picture book)


Rules is about a 12 year old girl and her 8 year old brother who has Autism. (chapter book)

Key Components of a Literacy Program Graphic Organizer