Task 3: Literacy Strategies

Objective: To observe literacy strategies in action over 4 weeks.

Procedure
 This task is intended to be implemented over the four weeks.
 For this task student should:
 record examples of practices and/or strategies that they observe- e.g phonics, guided reading,
Sustained Silent Reading, graded readers, literate-rich, print-rich environment,
 take photos and/or video recordings (if the school and the MST give permission)
 ask questions about and reflect on best practice observed

Before the Observation

Pre TP classes

• Discuss/review any relevant content from Learning to Read and Write, Section 2 “Readers & Writers
in the Making” pp27-99
• Neuman, S., Copple, C. and Bredcamp, S. (2000). Learning to Read and Write. Washington:
National Association for the Education of Young Children.
• (Neuman, Copple & Bredcamp, 2000, 56)

In the school

 Explain the task to your MST so she can try to highlight and include some of the strategies/aspects
you may need to consider
 Decide what time(s) each day you will conduct this observation.
 See if you can find out what the teacher plans to do each day by studying his/her plans, and/or talking with
them.
After the Observation - Reflection
Choose 3 best practices you observed during your time in school. Reflect on
these and consider why you could implement these in a UAE primary classroom
in the future. Explain how these practices will affect student learning and
reading levels in a primary class.

1. Reading Levels: All students in the classroom are at a certain level in reading. The
levels are labelled using a color band e.g. Lilac, Pink, Lime. Each color represents a
different level. The levels are from 1 to 30. Those who exceed all levels are able
to read freely and can choose whichever book they would like to read. The way
that the levels are decided is that the teaching assistant regularly takes some
students out of the class and gives them a test. She has them read a short book
that is in their current level and then a book that is a level higher. She then
checks their comprehension. I found this to be a very organized and great way to
follow up with students and see each students level. When students are
evaluated in this way regularly, then there’s a lower chance that they will fall
behind and not get the attention needed for them to move up a level. In order
for a less knowledgeable student to move up a level, they need the proper
assistance and guidance from a more knowledgeable other (MKO). This guidance
is what allows them to leave the zone of proximal development and become
independent. (Christmas & Kudzai & Josiah, 2012) Without guidance, learners
aren’t able to successfully reach higher levels of learning. I believe that this way,
students in a primary class get the most out of reading and will be able to read
more complex books by the time they reach secondary school.
2. Handwriting: Students have handwriting class for 15 minutes each week. During
the class, students are taught to write in joined handwriting. They are given
words to write and they need to copy them off the board. The teacher then goes
around and sees that nobody is facing any trouble and corrects their mistakes
when needed.

3. Writing & Feedback: Throughout the few weeks, I’ve seen the students use various
writing techniques, methods and styles. They have included different forms of
sentences, sentence openers and speech. Some of the things they wrote include
a pitch and short stories. Some students were lacking detail in their writing and
they would only write short sentences. However, after receiving feedback on
what and how to improve, they added much more to their work. The classroom
teacher would mark their books by using highlighters. Green highlighter indicates
that the correct technique was used, while Pink refers to a part of the writing
that needs more work or is missing something. Then, the teacher adds comments
on how students can improve. Otherwise, she writes a positive remark. These are
all ways the teacher uses to scaffold the students and in a way, she’s not directly
giving them the information, rather, she hints on how they can improve for them
to make these choices independently and this pushes them to become
independent learners.
 LITERACY STRATEGIES

Observe your MST’s classroom and general practices you see around the school. Discuss
the areas below in context of what you observe in school and support with a photo and a
reference to reading when possible.
Describe the classroom environment.
The classroom is organized and everything in the class is labelled, such as sections that have stationary and
books. There is a white board, where the teacher usually does most of the explanations. There is a smart
board and a projector that the teacher uses to show videos and pictures. There is a bookshelf where the
books are kept, some of which are the dictionaries, thesauruses and story books. The seating area consists
of five groups and each table has a bowl that has pens, pencils, highlighters, rulers and so on. The way the
students are seated supports the idea of cooperative learning. According to Arends cooperative learning
aims to achieve outcomes such as academic achievement, tolerance, acceptance of diversity and
developing social skills. (Arends, 2015) Having students sit in groups is a useful way in providing them with
fun and active hands on activities. It’s easier for students to discuss their answers and share ideas.

The area where the teacher does most modelling Classroom seating arrangement
and teaching.

Cupboards where books

are kept.
Consider how the class is a print rich environment. What print can you see around the
room? (labels, captions, flashcards, headings, rules, instructions, timetable, flash cards,
etc) For each one you mention insert pictures and state the purpose of each one.
Posters:
There are posters such as ‘What to do if I’m stuck.’, which instructs students on the proper attitude
to have when they don’t know what to do.

Bulletin Boards:
On the bulletin board, there are different posters about topics that the students have studied, in
which the teacher can refer back to and remind the students of. On the other side of the board,
there are samples of the students’ work.
Labels:
There are labels that specify what the things in the classroom are. For example, scissors, rulers,
glue sticks and white boards. Everything is in a specific container or shelf and it is clearly labelled.

Map:
There is a poster of the world map, followed by another poster showing the countries flags.
Students look at these posters when they enter the classroom and some of them would discuss
their own countries and where they are on the map and what flag belongs to it. It’s a good way to
get the students discussing and recognizing countries on a map.
Is there a variety of books and genres in the class? Mention some. How are they
displayed?
There are different stories and multiple genres such as myths, fiction and non-fiction (dictionaries,
books about science). They are all displayed on a bookshelf in the classroom in which students can
pick out books from and read during free time.
Book storage area

Non-fiction Fiction

Describe the reading area in your classroom.

The area where the books are displayed is next to the door of the classroom and it’s within
students’ reach. The books are organized and there is a large variety. Sometimes students would
borrow books from the library and have their own book to read. There is no particular reading area
in the classroom. Students do their reading in their seats. After reading, instead of getting up and
putting the books back when the lesson is about to start, students pile up th e books they have in
the middle of their table.
Does the teacher read to the children? How often? How does she motivate them to read?
The teacher reads to the students during class. This happens about once a week or every two
weeks. The teacher would move around the class as she reads aloud a chapter or two from a book
and students listen attentively. The teacher is always asking students who have nothing to do or
have finished with their work to grab a book and read. Students are found reading every free time
they have. I believe this is due to how much the teacher encourages them to read. As stated by
Kiefer & Tyson; teachers might not have control over students’ reading out of school, but they can
manage to fit in some reading time during the school day. Students who are given time to read
books that they choose every day might lead them to become life-long readers. (Kiefer & Tyson,
2006/2014) From what I’ve noticed, even students who don’t usually enjoy reading would pick up a
book and read during free time or silent reading. It doesn’t necessarily need to be an educational
book or a story book. Some students might like to read books that are non-fiction and have facts
that are written in an entertaining way. I find that having a large variety of these types of books
keeps all students engaged, even those who don’t particularly enjoy reading.
Describe the reading approaches have you observed? Where do the children sit? How does
the teacher encourage participation?

Read aloud Independent reading

Students have a copy of the book.
They sit in groups and follow along as
the teacher reads. The teacher would
stop reading occasionally and ask
students questions to ensure
comprehension. One strategy I’ve
observed is the teacher asks students
to infer why something happened.
Students share their own ideas as to
why something happened.
This type of reading occurs in between
classes or during free time. The teacher
asks students to grab books; whether
their own or from the bookshelf in the
class and they read silently in their
seats.

Consider how the teacher reminds children of any concepts of print when reading? (left-to-
right, top to bottom, punctuation, author, illustrator, etc)
When the teacher is about to read, she announces the title of the book as well as the author. She
explains that this book is written by that person, while the illustrations are done by another artist.
The students write all sorts of different sentences and sentence openers in which punctuation is
needed. So, the teacher is constantly modelling writing on the white board while us ing
punctuations such as commas. She reminds students that after writing sentence openers i.e.
fronted adverbials, a comma is needed afterwards.
How does the teacher teach phonics and word attack skills to children? Describe a phonics
lesson you observed and mention how the children are scaffolded to recognise the word
and get the meaning.
Whenever the students are stuck on a word, whether it’s the spelling or meaning; the teacher asks
the students to get a dictionary and find the word. Afterwards, they fix their spelling or share the
meaning they found of the word.

What comprehension strategies are the children learning/using?

Students use comprehension strategies such as:
5 senses: while the teacher reads, she asks students to imagine what senses they might experience
while in the setting of the story. This allows students to visualize and imagine what the place in the
story looks like and it makes it more meaningful.

Inferences: the teacher reads a passage from the story then stops and asks students why they think
a character performed a certain action or why they feel a certain emotion. The student make
inferences based on the events or what they think. According to Crawley students are activating
their thinking by using inferences to comprehend information. (Crawley, 1991/2012) When
students are inferring, they are connecting their own knowledge with what is written by the author,
which allows them to link their previous learning with the text.
Ask your teacher about special reading events carried out in the school - e.g ‘Book
Character Day’, DEAR Time, Book Fairs, ‘Extreme Reading’ competitions etc.

The school holds plays that are based off of a book. The students dress up in costumes from the
story and act out the different roles. They also have book fairs, such as the Magrudy book fair in
which students can browse and buy books.

Describe some types of writing activities or the method the teacher uses for writing – e.g
emergent writing, copy writing, dictations, etc

Copy writing: This type of writing is used during the handwriting class in which students are given
words to write and they copy them off the board in joined handwriting. This teaches them how to
write in cursive and they must use this style of writing in their English writing tasks.
Dictation: The students have spelling tests every week. The teacher reads words to the students
and puts them in a sentence for them. The students are allowed to ask for repetitions and a
definition of the word. After the dictation, the teacher spells out the word and students swa p
spelling books and check each other’s work.
References

Arends, R. (2015). Learning to Teach. New York City: McGraw-Hill Education.

Christmas, D., Kudzai, C., & Josiah, M. (2013). Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development Theory: What
are its Implications for Mathematical Teaching. Greener Journal of Social Sciences, 371-377

Crawley, S. J. (2012). Remediating Reading Difficulties. New York City: McGraw-Hill.

Kiefer, B. Z., & Tyson, C. A. (2014). A Brief Guide: Charlotte Huck's Children's Literature. New York City:
McGraw-Hill.