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College of Education
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To be completed by Student
Name

Alana Cosgrove

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Student ID
Course Name

Literacy and Mathematics Education for All

Course Code

TECP313

Course Lecturer

Jo Fletcher

Assignment Number/Name

Literacy Assignment 1

Total Number of Pages (including this cover sheet)

Due Date

26/05/2016

1st time submitted

Re-submitted (if permitted)

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Yes

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if applicable

No

Declaration
I hereby declare that the attached assignment is my own work. I understand that if I am suspected of plagiarism or
other form of dishonest practice, my work will be referred to the Head of School under the terms of the General
Course and Examination Regulations Section J. Dishonest Practice and Breach of Instructions. Penalties may range
from denial of credit for the item of work in question, to exclusion from the University.
Signature Alana Cosgrove
Date 26/05/2016

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Lesson 1
Phoneme segmentation
Learning Intention Break words into sounds using phoneme segmentation.
WALT We are learning to break words up into sounds.
Opening
Discussion on the sounds different letters makes. Constants and vowels, short and
long eg, car, cat, bet, eat, pig, ice, hot, coat, up, cute
Can you think of some words with a short a,e,i,o,u sounds
long a,e,i,o,u sound
If struggling to think of words Ill say some words and student says if they are long or
short sounds.
Robot arms and voice.
fig, pig, big etc.
Development
Discuss blends of words eg th, sh, ch and the sounds they make. Student tells me
words that have the sound in it, if struggling Ill give them words and they tell me.
Student struggled identifying words. I said 2 words at a time and they told me which
word was correct.
Say a word out loud, then using your fingers count the sounds, use the blocks to help
you make the word. Eg,
Blocks to make up words
Red vowels
yellows blends
blue constants
orange vowel pairs
green constants blends
I want you to make the word cat, dog, big, on, chat, thin, blue etc. words getting
harder and identified from reading book for the week.
Closure
CVC dice to make words. Discussion on placement of sounds.
cat. c is the start sounds a is the middle sounds t is the end sound.

Make word
Resources
sheet on letter sounds
blocks with letters on them
Evaluation
I was surprised the student didnt know a lot of letter and blend sounds. After
discussing different sounds the student picked up phoneme segmentation very fast. I
believe this student is a visual learner. By having visual cues, and looking at the word
after they made it or wrote the word down, student realised which sounds they need to
change around to make the word correctly. This was more evident in everyday words,
and the student was becoming more confident with words with more sounds. The
student found using robot arms valuable, especially for words with more sounds.

Lesson 2
Learning Intention Identify positioning of sounds in words.
WALT We are learning to break words up into sounds
Opening
Spin a word
Spin a word and write down the words that make sense. Eg, b is on paper, and the
spinner landed on at. Make the word bat.
Development
Cups with letters on them with start, middle and end letters missing.
On clear cups add the missing letters.
Start with words missing the start sounds.
cups with in, at, ey on them
Student identify start sounds by placing clear cup over to make up words. Say word
out loud, sound word out. Eg, cat. C-a-t.
Teacher if I take the first sound away what sound is left?
Repeat with middle and end sounds.
Start with high frequency everyday words then move towards blends.
Laminated squares with letters and blends. Student makes words that will fit into the
squares. Words identified from reading book for the week.
Put specific blends and letters in front of students to make words.
Closing
Roll a dice. Each number represents a different letter or blend.
When each number is rolled student writes a word with that letter in as the first letter,
then move onto middle, then ending sounds. Move onto blends depending on
progression. After 5 rolls student write a sentence using the words they identified.
Student choose which sounds represented each number. When struggling to think of a
word, I say 3 words and they choose which word would be appropriate.
Resources
Spin a word
cups

Small whiteboard
Dice.
Evaluation
Student enjoyed spin a word having to create different words. They did this
confidently when made a real word however, was hesitant in saying if a non-word was
a word.
As finding out in my last lesson this student is visual learner, they did very well at
identifying the different sounds when he could see the words however, enjoyed
making words with the cups and was becoming more confident in doing so. When
moving into making words with the laminated squares, the student continued to use
robot arms after identifying the word didnt look correct to find the missing sounds.
Student improved a lot over this lesson becoming a lot more confident in making
words, and identifying the different sounds. They didnt want to finish, and wanted to
keep making words, and thinking of words when rolling the dice.

Lesson 3
Learning Intention Manipulate words to make another word.
WALT We are learning to change the sounds on words to make a new word.
Opening
On small whiteboard identify different sounds of words. Start, middle, end.
Development
I have pig, not write big, now write fig, now write fit, now write fip, etc what sound
did you change, start, middle, or end.
Write different words on whiteboard. Student underlines the different sounds in
different colours. Eg start in blue, middle in red, and end in orange.
Individually sound out the sounds that make up the word.
Keeping a first sound change the word
Keeping middle sound change the word
Keeping the end sound change the word
Im going to say some words, can you tell me what word has a different start, middle
or end sound.
Take away sounds.
Crazy sentence. Write a sentence using certain words. I choose 2 words, student
chooses 3 words. Didnt have time for this.
Closure
Which word has a different starting sound.
eg, bed, big, bad, mad.
Resources
small white board
Whiteboard markers
Evaluation

Student did very well in this lesson. They have a lot more confidence when sounding
out unknown words, using robot arms along with confidently identifying positioning
of sounds in words.

Lesson 4
Learning Intention Use of new sound and word knowledge when writing a story.
WALT We are learning to put our new word knowledge into use when writing a story.
Opening
Spin a word
Development
Write a recount focusing on spelling, and using the strategies we have been working
on. Eg, robot arms, or counting on fingers.
Closure
Share story and discuss mistakes made, along with progress from e-asTTle.
Resources
Paper, pencil or pen.
Evaluation
The student has improved a lot with sounding out sounds the sounds in words. This is
evident in this piece of writing. They are a lot more confident, without looking to the
teacher for help with unknown words.

Literacy is a vital part of any classroom programme. As a teacher we want all our
students to succeed and thrive in all curriculum areas, especially literacy. For this to
happen students must be motivated and engaged in their learning. In my classroom I
will implement a literacy programme that will benefit all learners, no matter what
their learning or social capabilities are, by scaffolding and enabling learning at an
appropriate level. For this to happen I will need to continue to grow my knowledge
on: different literacy pedagogies, all areas of literacy and effective resources. Literacy
needs to be set up in an engaging and motivating environment, where all students are
encouraged to participate and contribute their ideas and thinking. An effective literacy
programme covers: reading, writing, spelling and oral language. Teachers approach
and passion towards a subject shows through in their teaching practice as well as, and
most importantly, their knowledge. To be an effective teacher I must have a vast
amount of literacy knowledge to ensure my lessons and teaching is to a high standard
that benefit all students, especially priority learners. Therefore, I will set up my
literacy programme to ensure all students have the opportunity to succeed, specifically
catering for priority learners alongside all other students. Another vital aspect for
learners success is for teachers to build positive relationships with whnau, the
community and all students, as everyone plays a role in a students success.

A study undertaken in the United Kingdom discussed teachers who shared their love
for reading and literacy motivated their students to read for pleasure, and also
influenced their knowledge (Bisplinghoff, 2002; Commeyras, Bisplinghoff, & Olsen,
2003). This is also discussed by Dreher (2003), whom puts forth that teachers in the
United States who engage their students with books, results in the students being more

motivated to discuss and share what they have read with others in the class. I believe
its important for teachers to share their passion for literacy, especially reading with
priority learners to encourage and motivate them to engage in different types of
literature. Teachers can motivate priority learners through: guided reading, buddy
reading, read out loud sessions and regular visits to the library. Schools across
England found reading-for-pleasure pedagogy effective, as it promotes reading
support, motivation and provides time for students to talk about their books with
peers, along with ensuring time for reading individually in a supportive environment.
(Cremin, Mottram, Collins, Powell, & Safford, 2009). I believe this is especially
important throughout early years of school. Students experiences in the early years of
school have an effect on their attitudes and motivation throughout the rest of their
schooling. This is especially evident with reading, therefore, it is vital as a teacher I
ensure all my students have positive literacy experiences. (Hogan, Catts, & Little,
2005).

Along with reading, spelling is also a vital part in running an effective literacy
programme that caters for all learners and social needs in a classroom. I believe
reading and spelling intertwine. As discussed by Gillon, (2004) an effective
instructional practice in motivating young children in reading success is phonological
awareness. A students ability to spell and decode words, along with their knowledge
of sounds in words, influence the students ability to read and spell. I believe its
important that in the early years of school phonological awareness programmes
should be a crucial aspect of running an effective literacy programme. I will ensure I
implement phonological awareness programmes within my literacy schedule. With
limited phonological awareness students will struggle with reading and spelling

throughout their later years of schooling. Being disadvantaged during the early years
of school can have an effect on students confidence when it comes to preforming
literacy skills such as reading, spelling and writing throughout their lives. Younger
children are often motivated by extrinsic factors, however, after gaining more
confidence and succeeding in literacy, children move to intrinsic motivation factors as
they want to better themselves, for themselves (Fletcher, J., Parkhill, F., Faafoi. A.
and Taleni, T. 2010) In my classroom I will encourage children to become motivated
intrinsically for all literacy tasks and skills. I will do this by recording the students
progress in a way they can see their improvements over the term and year.

The ability to write is one of the most complex tasks children encounter when starting
school. Learning to write involves both sides of the brain, including hand eye
coordination. Students success early on with writing impacts their capability to
engage in all areas of literacy. As discussed by Mackenzie (2010), children have a lot
to learn about the writing process before writing can become an effective way of
communication like oral language, play and drawing, which they already understand
and can do when they started school. Children are more motivated to want to learn
how to write when it continues on to what they already know and has relevance to
their lives. As a teacher I will ensure my literacy programme engages all students,
especially priority learners, in a way they can incorporate skills they already know
and have mastered. Ill do this by allowing children to occasionally illustrate their
writing, along with sharing their writing with the class. Sharing writing out loud also
improves childrens oral language skills, as well as improving their confidence. In my
recent professional practice class, priority learners took pride in sharing their writing

with their classmates and took onboard peer feedback for positives and improvements
for next time.

Building strong school and home partnerships have a positive effect on all students
learning. Communication plays a huge role in students succeeding in literacy, as well
as all other areas of the curriculum. Different schools have different policies and
systems set in place for allowing parent involvement within the classroom. Many
schools believe they are encouraging parent involvement, however, parent
involvement is often: inviting parents to an open evening, sending home newsletters
informing parents about school events, board of trustee meetings, what is happening
around the school, and occasionally an email which often doesnt involve literacy
progression or concerns. As discovered by Hornby (2011), schools across England,
New Zealand and Barbadian all have a similar means of communication and parent
involvement. This included: parent information packs/booklets, parent evenings,
parent teacher interviews throughout the year, emails, phone calls and having an open
door policy where parents can have informal conversations with teachers about
students progression and behaviour before or after school. However, in Barbadian
parents are expected to go through the principal first before the classroom teacher, and
teachers are encouraged to call parents to inform them on students positive
achievement and behaviour. I believe it is important to have positive relationships
with all parents. This will be done by inviting them into my classroom as much as
possible and encouraging them to be part of their childs learning and success on an
everyday basis.
I believe it is important to build strong relationships with students whnau by
providing open communication and inviting them into the classroom. By doing this, I

as the teacher, know students are continuing to be supported in their literacy learning
outside of the classroom. The classroom teacher, principals, board of trustees and
other leaders around the school should be involved in building positive relationships
with students and whnau. This is a vital aspect for students success across all
curriculum areas, especially literacy. For students to do well in school, whnau and
the community need to be on board as successful learning continues outside of the
classroom. Learning is more meaningful and effective when whnau are involved in
the process and are willing to learn themselves. As discussed by Education Review
Office (2013). schools can engage with their communities when teachers and other
leaders around the school define what their students need to accomplish to be
successful in their learning.
As discussed in Ka Hikitia (2009) and by Senechal & Young (2008), Mori students
whnau play a big role in their tamariki achievement and success, along with
motivating their tamariki to learn. Throughout my teaching I will continue to strongly
value the importance of Whanaungatanga, and Wnanga, along with other Ttaiako
key competencies for Mori learners success (Ttaiako 2011). Therefore, I will
ensure I uphold positive relationships, and communication with all whnau and
students.

In my future classroom I will set my literacy programme up in a way that will benefit
all students through: spelling, reading and writing, including the community and
whnau throughout. I endeavor to continuously reflect back on my practice and
beliefs to ensure I am providing my students with an adequate opportunity to succeed.

References:

Bisplinghoff, B. S. (2002). Motivating children to read through literature. In J.

Fletcher, F. Parkhill and G. Gillon (Ed.), Motivating Literacy Learners in Todays
World: 17. Wellington: NZCER

Bromley, K. (2007). Best practices in teaching writing. In L. B. Gambrell, L.. M.

Morrow, & M. Pressley (Eds.), Best practices in literacy instructions (pp. 243 246).
New York: Guilford Press.

Commeyras, M., Bisplinghoff, B, S., & Olsen, J. (2003). Motivating children to read
through literature. In J. Fletcher, F. Parkhill and G. Gillon (Ed.), Motivating Literacy
Learners in Todays World: 17. Wellington: NZCER

Cremin, T,. Mottram, M., Collins, F., Powell, S., & Safford, K. (2009). Motivating
children to read through literature. In J. Fletcher, F. Parkhill and G. Gillon (Ed.),
Motivating Literacy Learners in Todays World: 14. Wellington: NZCER

Dreher, M. (2003). Motivating teachers to read. The Reading Teacher,56(4), 338-340.

Education Review Office (2013). Accelerating the Progress of Priority learners in

Primary Schools. Education Review Office retrieved from:
http://www.ero.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Accelerating-the-Progress-of-PriorityLearners-in-Primary-Schools-May-2013-web.pdf

Fletcher, J., Parkhill, F., Faafoi. A. and Taleni, T. (2010) Motivating Pasifika students
in literacy learning. In J. Fletcher, F. Parkhill and G. Gillon (Ed.), Motivating Literacy
Learners in Todays World: 99-110. Wellington: NZCER

Gillon, G. T. (2004). Phonological awareness: Motivating early literacy success. In J.

Fletcher, F. Parkhill and G. Gillon (Ed.), Motivating Literacy Learners in Todays
World: 54. Wellington: NZCER

Hogan, T., Catts, H., & Little, T. (2005). Phonological awareness: Motivating early
literacy success. In J. Fletcher, F. Parkhill and G. Gillon (Ed.), Motivating Literacy
Learners in Todays World: 53. Wellington: NZCER

Hornby, G. (2011). Parental involvement in childhood education: building

effective school-family partnerships. New York: Springer.

Mackenzie, N. (2010). Motivating young writers. In J. Fletcher, F. Parkhill and. Gillon

(Ed.), Motivating Literacy Leaners in Todays World: 23-31. Wellington: NZCER.

Ministry of Education. (2009). Ka Hikitia Managing for Success 2008-2012

Updated 2009. Wellington, New Zealand: Author. Retrieved from:
http://www.education.govt.nz/ministry-of-education/overall-strategies-andpolicies/the-maori-education-strategy-ka-hikitia-accelerating-success-20132017/

Ministry of Education (2011). Ttaiako: Cultural Competencies for Teachers of

Mori Learners. Wellington: Ministry of Education. Retrieved from:
www.minedu.govt.nz/theMinistry/EducationInitiatives/Tataiako.aspx

Senechal, M., & Young, I., (2008). The effect of family literacy interventions on
childrens acquisition of reading from kindergarten to grade 3: A meta-analytic
review. Review of Educational Research, 78(4), 880-907.