Literacy+Strategies

=Book Orientations:= Book orientations are a reading/literacy technique that can successfully prepare struggling readers for reading books independently (Briggs& Forbes, 2009). Book orientations are all about teaching students the skills they need to read books. I did a presentation on this topic last semester while I was doing a class called Literacy and Learning Difficulties. I found this strategy to be extremely relevant and versatile for students who have learning difficulties. Every book orientation will be different, depending on the needs of the student and the book that is being used. A basic outline of a book orientation would be to discuss the: (Briggs & Forbes, 2009) Book orientations need to be planned thoroughly beforehand by the teacher and tailored for specific students. Book orientations help to prepare students for the unknown in a book, by the teacher literally pointing something that they don’t know out – and explaining it (Briggs & Forbes,2009). Book orientations take place before the story is read by the student (and teacher, depending on what type of reading that is being done). A book orientation is for the teacher to point out anything that the student may come up against during the reading – allowing them to continue reading anxiety free.Students with a learning difficulty will feel safe to approach a new book because all of the unknown factors have been discussed earlier with a teacher. The book chosen by the teacher for a book orientation should be age appropriate, but also appropriate to the interests and levels of the student that the book orientation is for (Clay, 2005). There is no point discussing a book if the student is not engaged because they have no interest in it. Book orientations depend on the level of the student, which makes the age of the student not as important.
 * Title and cover illustrations
 * Story
 * Phrases of language the student may be unfamiliar with
 * Language that the student knows, but has been used in an unfamiliar way.

Briggs, C. & Forbes, S. 2009. Orientation to a New Book:More Than a Picture Walk. //The ReadingTeacher//, 62(8), pp. 706 – 709.

Clay, M. M. 2005. Pages 90 – 92. Literacy Lesson Designedfor Individuals Part Two. USA. Heinmann

RESOURCE BOX/ KIT. This resource box/kit introducing Letters, Sounds and Words can be put together by anyone who sees the benefit as each of the resources can be found in shops or made. It was put together specifically to support literacy skills in all young children, considering cultural and linguistic diversity as well as the vast range of ability. There is a variety of activities in the resource box that I have observed being used in education and care centres, so this resource has been designed around use by 3 - 4year olds but I believe it could be used for any age depending on need and ability. The importance is placed on INTERACTION, adult and child/ren. So care was taken to ensure that parents with low literacy skills could also support their children to learn. The learning outcome desired from this resource is that children will learn to recognise letters through a variety of learning experiences.

The following is the list of items and purpose behind their use. There would be 26 pictures in each set matching a letter of the alphabet.
 * The mirror:** For children to see the shape of the mouth, position of the tongue, when the sound is made of a letter or word, so you ask them to say the letter's sound or word whilst looking in the mirror. This activity acknowledges that children have different learning styles; modelling, imitation, auditory.
 * Sandbox and chalk board:** Some children can find it difficult to hold a pencil correctly, this should not stop them from being able to write. Using other mediums also demonstrates that writing exercises can be done anywhere there is sand or dirt. The Sandbox I used was a plastic container, about lunch box size with sand purchased from an Educational Resource catalogue. It is also a way to facilitate learning for children who learn through touch, or doing. The chalk board is handy too as it is another medium and mistakes can be rubbed out easily and not dwealt upon, children appear to enjoy this as well.
 * Paper and pencil:** This is for children who can mange writing, it can be a record of there learning, a place to practice or an opportunity to write their story.
 * The Alphabet:** A poster of the alphabet lower and upper case. Mine was A4 size and children copied straight from this or were asked questions using the poster.
 * Pictures of short phonetically sounding words**: I used Boardmaker for this and the cards were about the size of a credit card. They were a picture and the word, keeping it very simple. E.g A...ant. B....bat.For an Indigenous perspective you could include words like M.....Mob or F...Flag, with relevant picture of flag. Pictures from any country can be used to make it relevant for children with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The important thing is that the words contain the sound of the letter.
 * Pictures with more complex sound:** So another set of pictures with more complex sounds, maybe introducing ee, ou etc.
 * Short stories or poems:** These can be used to demonstrate how letters are used, provide relevance through stories or poems from different cultures as well as utilise the child's interest to pick the story. Encourage them to find letters within the page etc.

These are only some suggestions for the use of the resource, you may have more ideas.

References: Harrison. N. 2008. Teaching and Learning in Indigenous Education. Oxford University Press. Melbourne. Larkey. S. and Von Ess. G. The Early Years: The Foundations for ALL Learning. [|www.sue.larkey.com] Schickedanz. J.A.1999 Much More Than the ABCs.National Assocaition for the Education of Ypoung Children. Washington. DC.

__**COMPREHENSION**__ Reading the written text only occurs when the reader has comprehended what they have read. Some children are able to read every word on the page; however they can not tell you anything about what they have read and other children have difficulties reading the text and they lose meaning.

Comprehension strategies need to be taught in order for the reader to fully understand the text. There are many different ways to teach children skills and strategies to help them gather meaning and an understanding of what they are reading.

These strategies where developed by David Hornsby who has had over 30 years teaching experience and is considered a literacy guru among many teachers.

Read a short text aloud to students and use post-it notes with T-S, T-T OR T-W written on them. After reading go back to post-it notes and discuss why you put it there. Students can do it themselves during sustained silent reading.
 * __Connections – activating the children’s prior knowledge.__**
 * T-S (text to self)** – Students can make connections with their own life e.g having a baby brother that cries at nights and wakes you up.
 * T-T (text to text)** – Students can relate this text to another text they have read e.g similarities in books written by the same author.
 * T-W (text to world)** - students can relate to something they have done e.g they have been to Japan so they can recall on their personal memories.

After reading a text to the class ask the students these '4 H' questions and discuss their varying answers. ‘Four Hs’ of comprehension
 * __Questioning –questions clarify confusion.__**
 * Here** – did the author write it? Show me. (literal comprehension level)
 * Hidden** – did the author imply it? (inferential comprehension level)
 * Head** – would the author agree with me? (background knowledge)
 * Heart** – how do I feel about what I just read? (personal feelings)

You can use a wordless text, a single page from a picture book or a very descriptive text to help the students build a mental image. After reading or showing the students the text ask them to draw or paint the mental image they have in there head and include as much detail as they can.
 * __Visualization – children how visualize during reading have better comprehension.__**
 * Sketch-to-stretch**


 * __Predicting- question the text.__**
 * 1) Teacher reads aloud to students and thinks aloud about the questions that are forming in their head due to information the text is giving you. Teacher can write questions on a post-it note and stick to the page.
 * 2) Continue reading and placing post-it notes.
 * 3) When a question is answered by the text remove the post-it note. Keep it to refer to later.
 * 4) At the end of the text go over all unanswered questions and discuss them. Also discuss how the questioning process helped.


 * __Determining the importance in the text – justifying your thoughts.__**
 * During the reading each student has 4 pieces of paper where they write down 1 main point on each piece.
 * Once the reading has finished they find a partner and compare their main points.
 * Students then determine the 4 most important points and find another partner group to again compare points.

References:

Hornsby, D. (2011, July 4). //Handout from Professional Development.// Radford College: Canberra

Winch et al. (2010). //Literacy: reading, writing and children's literature//. Australia: Oxford university press.

__**Writer's Notebook:**__ Writer's notebook is a technique that I observed during mylast practical experience. Writer's notebooks are designed to create a safe place for students to write their thoughts and feelings down, not needing to worry about spelling and correct grammar (Harrell, Pepperell & Rynearson,2006). The writer’s notebook that I observed being used was a way for the students to think of different literacy ideas, based upon a picture that they had brought in from home. There were students in the classroom with different disabilities of varying levels. The writer’s notebook worked well with them, partly because what they’re writing about was a picture that they had chosen –giving them motivation to write about it. The other positive aspect that worked with these students was the amount of control the students had over their own literacy learning. They chose what they were going to discuss giving them power or ownership over what they were writing (Harrell, Pepperell & Rynearson, 2006). By giving the students a sense ofcontrol, they were also building their confidence. The students had to write under three headings about the picture that they had chosen;
 * I think...
 * I feel...
 * I wonder...

Writer’s notebook does not have to be used in this format, a student could discuss their thoughts about a poem, book or artwork – more importantly something that interests them (Harrell, Pepperell & Rynearson, 2006). Writer’s notebooks can be used with younger age groups, but in a more teacher directed way. The expectations from the teacher about a writer’s notebook would also depend onthe student’s levels and age group (Harrell, Pepperell & Rynearson, 2006). This is a technique that when used appropriately will give students endless motivation to write freely in an environment where they will not feel threatened.Eventually leading to an improved confidence level and positive attitude towards themselves as writers.

Harrell, T. Pepperell, K. Rynearson, A. 2006. The Writer’sNotebook: An Invitation to Self-Motivated Writing. Illinois Reading CouncilJournal; Summer2006, Vol. 34 Issue 3, p3-8, 6p. Retrieved from ESBC HOST on11/07/2011.


 * Writers with additional needs could embrace Comic Strip lessons **

[|Comic Strip Lesson Plan]

Any student with additional needs in the area of literacy, and particularly writing, could find it more engaging and fun to create comic strips. They could be writing without thinking it is something that it is a burden, as opposed to weekly journal writing that commences with 'On the weekend I...'. "Nowadays, children have to master many kinds of literacy’s, but comics have a unique claim on their imagination"(Mouly, p.12, 2011).

These lesson plans would be particularly suited to Grade 1 through to Grade 3. Mouly claims that "...comics designed for six to eight year old(s) have definite advantages over picture books, and can propel elementary (primary) school students into a lifelong love of reading"(p.13, 2011). There could be key descriptive words brainstormed and on display to be utilised in conjunction with their own imagination and vocabulary. Children could also be encouraged to include some of their spelling words from their own lists in their comic strips to enhance comprehension. This type of lesson seems endless with less guidance being provided as the children are older, also with the possibility of children being able to add to their strip with their own drawings and modifications.


 * Comics Provide Context
 * Comics Guide the Reader's Attention
 * Comics Help Readers Build Connections
 * Comics are an Interactive Medium
 * Comics Help Readers See Story Structure

Dempsey and Arthur-Kelly discuss how "...student's interests can be a powerful technique to promote interest and engagement"(2007) in the curriculum."Students with moderate (reading) difficulties will read if forced to, but do not usually read for pleasure..."(Foreman, 2008). Perhaps comic strips could be useful in promoting self-efficacy and enjoyment of reading for some of these students. "To build the foundation of their literacy, we can harness kids' natural ability to make sense of visual narratives"(Mouly, p.14, 2011).



References:

Dempsey,I., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2007). //Maximising Learning Outcomes In Diverse Classrooms//. South Melbourne, Australia: Cengage Learning. Foreman,P. (2008). //Inclusion in Action//. SouthMelbourne, Australia: Cengage Learning. Mouly, F.(2011). Visual Literacy. //Children &Librarians: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children//,9(1), 12-14. Retrieved from EBSCO//host//.

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