When it comes to teaching literacy, there are many important components a teacher needs to consider. A literacy block/unit should incorporate reading, writing, speaking and listening experiences where students are provided with a number of different activities to reach their full potential. Literacy instruction should be accessible to all students regardless of ability level where they are provided with a rich learning environment, catering for individual needs and interests to ensure high levels of motivation, achievement and participation is evident.
My Future Literacy Classroom
Upper Years
Implemented Unit; Descriptive Writing Whilst on Teaching Rounds at Lara Primary School (2013) I planned and implemented a Descriptive Writing Unit.
Student progression and development was monitored through 1;1 conferencing, cross checking and a developed Travel Journal where students kept record of their entries. The unit allowed for students to use their imaginations by visiting a holiday destination exploring; Climate, animals, landmarks, tourist attractions and more. Each journal entry was presented via a different mode including email, postcard, letter and more by incorporating different technologies. The incorporation of ICT/Technology throughout this unit was particularly beneficial in engaging reluctant learners in the classroom.
Middle YearsDuring my first set of Teaching Rounds - Literacy Rotations were very different to that I have since experienced at other schools. In a grade 3/4 classroom, the 9-11 literacy block was broken up into an hours worth or writing and an hours worth of reading. Between 9-10 am, students engaged in both independent and reciprocal reading and from 10-11 am students were completing their writing by responding to the writing focus of the week (e.g. - transactional text). In this classroom, students took part in a lot of partner and group work along with sharing/reflection time which benefited the individual learning styles and needs of the students in this classroom.
As this school had limited access to Technology, a large part of the literacy curriculum was completed via pen to paper. Research was often done via paper based texts from the school library or printed worksheets/articles the teacher provided for the class. During my rounds I made great use of the classrooms Interactive White Board as another research tool for the students rather than always referring to text books which were boring and not stimulating. early yearsAlthough I have had minimal experience in the early years, I have done a lot of research and made plenty of observations about the type of learning that takes place in an early years literacy classroom. In order to be an effective teacher in an early years literacy classroom, teachers must have knowledge of;
In order to plan and cater for the diverse learning needs of students at this level, teachers must;
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The Daily 5
On my most recent practicum I was fortunate enough to experiment with 'The Daily 5' Literacy program. This program was created to encourage literacy independence in all students and enable them to have experience and experiment with the five different literacy centres of;
The Daily 5 teaches students to monitor their own literacy learning. However on my placement, rather than using The Daily 5, we used The Daily 4. Students spent 30-35 mins practising each literacy area as a class rather than rotating around in smaller groups and this was something students within this classroom were familiar with. During the rotations I was able to conference with individual students, monitor progress, complete PROBE testing sheets and hold teacher groups down on the floor. I found this program to be well thought out, inclusive and structured around the diverse needs of the students in my year 5/6 classroom. The Daily 4 was completed between the hours of 9-11 am each morning and was a familiar routine within the classroom preventing chaos and confusion. early years assessment
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