ED 225 Final Project

Kindergarten
Comprehensive Literacy Plan
By Luz Renteria Gomez
May 6, 2014

May 6, 2014
Dear Interview Team,
Within the attached literacy plan, I will be demonstrating my beliefs and knowledge
about literacy learning at the kindergarten level. I would like to thank you all for reviewing this
plan and for considering me for this position. It is my hope that through this literacy plan, you
will notice take note of my understanding of literacy learning. As well as what I believe works
best in terms of teaching kindergarten aged children literacy. My beliefs on teaching literacy
come mostly from the two theorists, Lev Vygotsky and Brian Cambourne.
In the following literacy plan, I will be covering a lot of the knowledge I have gained
about how children learn; as well as the ways I feel it is best to teach. My plan will be following
the set order that I was given for this project. In my written plan, I will include my personal
philosophy about teaching literacy and how it relates to the theorists that I mentioned prior. I will
also be talking about the range of readers and writers that could possibly be in a regular
kindergarten classroom. Also in my written plan, I will be talking about my role as the teacher of
said kindergarten classroom. That includes the assessments I would use in my class, the
concepts/strategies that my class would be learning, and the components that are built into the
instruction in the classroom. Within the classroom design portion of my literacy plan, I will
create a floor plan of an ideal kindergarten classroom and explain how it would support my
students in their learning. Finally, at the end of this literacy plan, you will find a Self Reflection
as well as a set of goals I have made for myself. In my Professional Development Plan, I will
address areas of strengths and areas for improvement in the future. Again, thank you very much
for this opportunity, and I hope to speak with you in person soon.
Sincerely,

Luz Renteria Gomez

TASK 1: WRITTEN PLAN

A. Philosophy/beliefs about literacy learning
In terms of literacy learning, my belief is that a student is not supposed to learn on their
own. If you give a child a book, teach him what the letters look like and what they sound like, he
will learn the letters and the sounds, but not how to read them. Or even less, how to comprehend
what he is reading. It takes time, patience, and a lot of support for students to learn not only
how to read well, but to be able to enjoy it as well. Through this frame of mind, I began to think
about my own philosophy of teaching literacy to young children. In my classroom, I do not wish
to be the hand that does all the work for the students. Nor do I want to sit back and watch as the
student does all the work. Instead, I want to be a teacher whom is available to give instruction,
demonstrations, facilitate practice, and give support when necessary. I would also be create an
environment that is open to social interaction between the students and myself; allowing for
room to share ideas and organize thoughts. It is my belief that this is how children learn literacy
best.
Being an effective teacher is a difficult job, and as we know, it includes many different
things. The same goes for being an effective teacher of literacy. I believe that understanding how
children learn is one of the most important things we as teachers can do in order to effectively
teach literacy. As teachers, we wouldnt be able to do our jobs right without knowing how it is
that children grasp the information that we are teaching. Every teacher has a different idea or
theory in mind when they think of how children learn literacy bestthis is their philosophy.
My philosophy of teaching literacy is based on both the student centered Sociolinguistic
Theory and the Constructivist Theory of learning. As I mentioned before, understanding how

children learnespecially how they learn to read and writeinfluences the instructional
approaches that teachers use. The four learning theories that are most widely used in education
include: Sociolinguistics, Behaviorism, Constructivism, and Cognitive/Information Processing.
Each theory has its own unique set of characteristics and applications in a classroom.
Behaviorism is the only one of the four theories that is Teacher-Centered. The rest are StudentCentered, meaning that the work revolves around the students needs rather than the teachers.
The theory of Behaviorism really focuses on observable changes in behavior.
Behaviorists believe that behavior can be learned or unlearned and that the teacher is more of a
supervisor and provider of information; making it teacher centered that way. Through incentives
and rewards, students are able to show some kind of response actions to the teaching. Some of
the most common applications of Behaviorism include Basal readers, minilessons, and repeated
readings (Tompkins, Figure 1-1 Overview of the Learning Theories , 2010). Teachers use explicit
teaching of skills in a preset order; each skill meant to build off the last one learned. Information
is presented in small steps and reinforced until students master each step and are able to continue
onto the next one (Tompkins, 2010).
The Cognitive/Information Processing Theory compares the mind to a computer
specifically in the way that information moves through different processing units (Tompkins,
Becoming an Effective Teacher of Reading , 2010, p. 11). These theorists view reading and
writing as meaning making processes; also recommending integrating the two parts of literacy.
Through the Cognitive/Information Processing Theory, teachers understand that each students
reading interpretations are individualized and that they are strategic in their reading and writing.
Most of the instruction that goes into teaching through this theory includes graphic organizers,
guided reading, grand conversations, interactive writing, and reciprocal questions (Tompkins,

Figure 1-1 Overview of the Learning Theories , 2010). Many of these components will be
explained later on in the literacy plan.
The Sociolinguist Theory is one of the two theories that I have based many of my beliefs
on. This theory is based on the belief that oral language provides the foundation for learning to
read and write (Tompkins, Becoming an Effective Teacher of Reading , 2010, p. 8). This theory
really emphazises the importance of language and social interaction on learning. Specifically
viewing reading and writing as social and cultural activties. This means that the activities are
authentic and meaningful to students in the context of school and in their community as well.
The teachers role in the sociolinguistic theory is to scaffold students learning through culturally
responsive teaching practices. Some of the most common applications for this theory include
literature circles, shared reading, buddy reading, reading and writing workshops, and author chair
(Tompkins, Figure 1-1 Overview of the Learning Theories , 2010).
Lev Vygotsky is one of the best known sociolinguists that believed that students use
language to learn as well as to communicate and share experiences with others (Tompkins,
Becoming an Effective Teacher of Reading , 2010, p. 8). Perhaps it is because throughout my
experience as a student, I was able to get the most out of a lesson when it involved social
interaction that I have based much of my philosophy on Vygotskys ideas on teaching literacy.
Even as a shy person myself, hearing others discuss the material that was being taught was
helpful in getting my thoughts clear and focused. For that reason and for Vygotskys many ideas
on scaffolding and the zone of proximal development, I would say that I really support Vygotsky
and his theory when it comes to teaching literacy. I believe as Vygotsky does that language helps
to organize thought and is the first real connection we have as people to literacy.

One of the main parts of the sociolinguistic theory is the idea of scaffolding a child to
help them reach their Zone of Proximal Development. Scaffolding is a support given during the
learning process which is built to support the needs of the students. Instructional scaffolding is a
process rather than a tool that is designed to promote a deeper level of understanding (Tompkins,
2010). Scaffolding is the provision of specific supporting tools and resources to help a student
grasp a new concept or skill. Things like templates, guides, resources, receiving advice from a
teacher, having a new skill modeled, or even being coached through something are all scaffolds
that are used to support a student in his learning. Once a student finds himself in a position to
continue without the scaffold, it is taken away. If a student is able to develop their own way to
use the learning strategies, come up with their own ideas, and demonstrate that they understand
the skill being taught, and then the scaffolds become less and less useful to the student. This type
of support can take many different forms other than templates and guidelines. It could be key
questions asked by the teacher, documents from students, or even outlines done together.
Scaffolding is one of the ideas that the sociolinguistic theory really centers itself around.
Vygotskys idea of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is another part of his theory
that I found interesting. In this theory, Vygotsky says that when a student is doing work that is at
his exact level, he is no longer learning that skill or concept. If the student is doing work way
above his level, then he is struggling alone and is not learning. A students Zone of Proximal
Development is right at the area where they are doing a challenging but manageable task
(Tompkins, 2010, p. 8). If it is something they understand, but still need some help from a more
expert other, than they are in their zone. In the case of a student in a classroom, the more expert
other is someone within their community of learners that has more knowledge on a subject than
them. Generally, a teacher is the more expert other in a classroom. However, other students may

take on that role the more that they are engaged with the material. Therefore, even another
student can be a scaffold for a child if talking things through helps. More challenging tasks done
with the teachers scaffolding are more conducive to learning, (Tompkins, 2010, p. 8).
Vygotskys theory and his ideas on learning literacy were very helpful in building up my
own philosophy of learning. I have always thought of learning as an extensive process. While it
can be tedious for the teacher just as much as for the student, I think that if both are willing to go
that extra mile, so much more can be achieved. Using Vygotskys ZPD means that I as the
teacher would do a lot more assessments to make specific learning plans for each student.
Through assessments, guided reading and writing groups, it is possible to get each student
working in their own ZPD. I have come to find through different experiences and through my
own research that assessments are a fantastic way to lead instruction in a classroom with students
of all different ranges in reading and writing. Through assessments, it becomes clear what the
group as a whole needs help on as well as what could be a manageable but challenging task for
each of the individual students.
As a teacher, I will definitely be incorporating a lot of the sociolinguistic theory into my
classroom in many different forms that will be talked about later. I support this theory for its
belief that language is a way to organize our thoughts and our first connection to written
language. The ideas of scaffolding and the Zone of Proximal Development make it easier to
differentiate instruction when it comes to the wide range of students that one could have in a
kindergarten classroom.
The final of the four educational theories that I also believe is very effective in teaching
children to read and write is the theory of Constructivism. This theory describes students as
active and engaged learners who construct their own knowledge (Tompkins, 2010, p. 5). In this

theory, there is a lot of emphasis placed on prior knowledge and being able to build off of that.
Constructivists believe that learning is something that the brain just does naturally. Unlike in the
behaviorists, constructivists believe that the teacher is not a dispenser of knowledge, but instead
they engage their students in experiences that allow them to construct their own knowledge.
Through this theory, students are seen as curious and generally the more motivated students are
more successful (Tompkins, 2010, p. 6). The theory of constructivism also gives more chances
for collaboration rather than competition since the students are working off one another to create
their newfound knowledge. The main applications that are seen with constructivism include:
literature focus units, K-W-L charts, reading logs, thematic units, and word sorts (Tompkins,
Figure 1-1 Overview of the Learning Theories , 2010). These are all actvities that allow for
students to engage in their own curiosities.
Brian Cambourne was one constructivist whose theory of learning really caught my eye
and made me realize that there are a lot of things that can go into being an effective teacher of
literacy as well as an effective learner of literacy. Brian Cambourne developed the eight
conditions of learning. Cambourne came to develop these conditions in a very interesting way.
He spent about three years observing children doing the one thing that almost all people
subsequently end up learningto talk. This was one complex learning experience that everyone
goes through unless there are certain conditions missing. Cambourne defines the conditions in
his theory as being particular stated of being (doing, behaving, creating), as well as being a set
of indispensible circumstances that co-occur and are synergistic in the sense that they both affect
and are affected by each other (Cambourne, 1995, p. 184). Together, all of the conditions enable
language to be learned. These conditions are things that are seen in children learning to speak
their native language. The idea that Cambourne had was that if these conditions were present in a

school setting, then students would be able to learn in the same way that they had when learning
to speak.
One of the conditions that needs to be present for learning to occur is Immersion;
referring to a state of being surrounded by what is being learned (Cambourne, 1995, p. 185). In
terms of language, young children are immersed in languagepeople talking to them and
around them. As I mentioned before, Cambourne noticed that learning was not occurring when
certain conditions were not present. In the case of deaf children, sometimes they do not learn to
speak because they were not able to be immersed in the language. The same goes for feral
children who were not immersed in language and therefore did not successfully learn it
(Cambourne, 1995, p. 184).
Demonstration is another one of the conditions that should be present in a learning
environment. Cambourne believes that students should be able to observe, or see, hear, witness,
experience, feel, study, and explore the things that are being taught to them through
demonstrations (Cambourne, 1995, p. 185). As learners of the spoken language, we all heard at
least one person speak before we were able to do so ourselves. That was a demonstration of what
words sound like, how to say them, and even when to say them. In a classroom, demonstrations
are the way that students are learning what is being taught and also how to respond to different
thingswhich is why being a teacher also means being a role model.
The condition of Engagement is something that cannot happen without immersion or
demonstration, but neither can the other two conditions be efficient without having the student be
engaged. Potential learners must first engage with the demonstration that immersion provides,
(Cambourne, 1995, p. 185). Engagement requires participation from the students as well as
immersion in the subject and a willingness to take a risk while participating. In learning to talk,

children have to be engaged in what is being said to pay attention to the way the words work or
to what is being said. Similarly, in a classroom, if a student is not engaged in what is being taught
or said, then they will not be as immersed as they could be.
The fourth important condition for learning is Expectation. These are the important
messages that we as a childs significant other (parents, teachers,family and friends)
communicate to them as learners. As children are learning to talk, they receive messages from
the people around them that they are expected to learn to talk (Cambourne, 1995, p. 185). No one
questions that they wont, or that they cant do it because it is too difficult. With the expectation
comes results. This condition of learning has become a very engrained part of my personal
philosophy of teaching literacy to children. If we tell the students that they are expected to learn
to read, then they wont have any reaosn to question it. However, if we tell them that there is a
chance they might not be able to do it, then they as people, will begin to question themselves and
their abilities.
The condition of Responsibility refers to the things that the students decide to engage
with while they are learning (Cambourne, 1995, p. 185). For example, we as teachers could teach
children everything under the sun, but it is ultimately up to them what they will choose to engage
with and retain. This goes along with the idea of constructivism including a lot of child
curiousity (Tompkins, Figure 1-1 Overview of the Learning Theories , 2010). In learning to
speak, children hear all kinds of talk at once. They arent only shown language only they can
understand. Instead they come to learn all kinds of language conventions at once. When this is
translated into a classroom, we have to remember to teach to all levels and with high
expectations, hope that the students will take responsibility and choose to engage with what they
need to be engaging.

Approximation is the sixth condition of Cambournes Conditions of Learning. Just like

when babies are beginning to talk, children learning to read an write have to have a safe place to
approximate. When young children are beginning to talk, we dont make them wait until they can
speak fluently and eloquently before we allow them to try; baby talk is their approximation at
language (Cambourne, 1995, p. 185). The same goes for young children learning to read and
write. We should not have them wait until they can write perfectly; instead we need to allow
them to practice and to show what they can do without fear of being reprimanded for it. The
child needs to understand that it is okay to make mistakes and that they will be fixed with more
approximations.
Employment is the condition that includes the practicing of the lesson being taught. For
children to approximate, there need to be chances for authentic employment. When talking about
learning to speak, children need to learn how to speak with others in social situations and
environments, but they also need a chance to practice on their own (Cambourne, 1995, p. 186).
This same thing can be translated back to a classroom. When students are learning something
new, they need to be able to socialize with other people in order to gain more conventional forms
of the subject. However they should also be able to do well on their own in order to really
understand it. Both of these kinds of opportunities need to be provided by the teacher.
Finally, Response is the final condition that needs to be present for learning of any kind
to occur. This condition is all about feedback. When a baby is learning to talk, feedback is
always important. When they talk in baby talk and an older more expert other responds with
the conventional way of speaking, they begin to understand that what we are saying is more
correct (Cambourne, 1995, p. 186). With students in a classroom, they need to understand
whether their understanding of a subject is correct or not. This is provided by either another

student who has a better grasp of the material or the teacher. The more expert other is
providing the missing pieces of information for the student.
After going through all of those theories, the conclusion is that out of the four possible
theories of education, my philosophy is based on the sociolinguistic and constructivist theories.
My personal philosophy for teaching literacy is that a student is not supposed to learn on their
own. They are also not supposed to have everything done for them. In my classroom, I want to
be the teacher that is there to give instruction, give examples, facilitate practice, and scaffold
students in a way that is beneficial to them. Going along with that as well, I believe in creating a
social environment in the classroom where everyone is free to express their thoughts on the
material to help organize their thoughts. My philosophy is based on the sociolinguistic and
constructivist theories of Vygotsky and Cambourne. Through social interaction and guidance, I
believe that I can maximize the amount of students whom I can help in their learning process. By
ensuring that the eight conditions of learning are present in my learning environment, then I can
be even surer that the students will have their best chance in grasping what I am teaching.

B: Range of reading and writing behaviors

Within one kindergarten classroom, there could be a very wide range of reading and
writing behaviors. Each class is different and could include students at different levels within
each scale, but this is a general overview of what some of the ranges could be in a kindergarten
classroom.
Writing Behaviors
According to Tompkins, there is a different set of stages that readers go through as they
learn to read and write. For both reading and writing, young students go through three stages:
Emergent, Beginning, and Fluent.

During the emergent stage of reading and writing, young children are beginning to
understand that print holds a message and that they can communicate that way. It is during the
beginning stage that children start using phonics to crack the alphabetic code to help them
decode and spell unknown or tricky words. It is also during this stage that children begin
recognizing high frequency words (words that they can read and spell in an instant). In the fluent
stage of reading and writing, children can read and write fairly automatically. They know a lot
more high frequency words, they can organize their thoughts into longer, detailed stories
(Tompkins, 2010, p. 117).
Reading Behaviors
Emergent Readers can:
-

notice environmental print

show interest in books
pretend to read
use picture cues and predictable patterns in books to retell the story
reread familiar books with predictable patterns
identify some letter names
recognize 5-20 familiar or high frequency words
develop book handling skills
(Tompkins, Figure 4-2: Young Children's Literacy Development)

Beginning Readers can:

-

identify letter names and sounds

match spoken words to written words
recognize 20-100 high-frequency words
use beginning, middle, and ending sounds to decode words
apply knowledge of the cueing systems to monitor reading
self-correct while reading
read slowly, word by word
read orally
point to words when reading
make reasonable predictions
(Tompkins, Figure 4-2: Young Children's Literacy Development)

Fluent Readers can:

-

identify most words automatically

read with expression

read at a rate of 100 words per minute or more
prefer to read silently
identify unfamiliar words using the cueing systems
recognize 100-300 highfrequency words
use a variety of strategies effectively
often read independently
use knowledge of text structure and genre to support comprehension
make inferences
(Tompkins, Figure 4-2: Young Children's Literacy Development)

Writing Behaviors
Emergent Writers can:
-

distinguish between writing and drawing

write letters and letter-like-forms or scribble randomly on the page
develop and understanding of directionality
show interest in writing
write their first and last names
write 5-20 high-frequency words
use sentence frames to write a sentence
(Tompkins, Figure 4-2: Young Children's Literacy Development)

Beginning Writers can:

-

write from left to right

print the upper-and lowercase letters
write one or more sentences
add a title
spell many word phonetically
spell 20-50 high-frequency words correctly
write single-draft compositions
use capital letters to begin sentences
use periods, question marks, and exclamation points to mark the end of
sentences
can reread their writing
(Tompkins, Figure 4-2: Young Children's Literacy Development)

Fluent Writers can:

-

use the writing process to write drafts and final copies

write compositions with one or more paragraphs
indent paragraphs
spell most of the 100 high-frequency words

use sophisticated and technical vocabulary

apply vowel patterns to spell words
add inflectional endings on words
apply capitalization rules
use commas, quotation marks, and other punctuation marks
(Tompkins, Figure 4-2: Young Children's Literacy Development)

It is very possible that within one classroom, you could have a student that is in the emergent
stage of reading and another that is a very fluent reader at the beginning of the year; the same
goes for writing. Over the time that a child is in any given stage, there are certain things that they
will be accomplishing as far as reading and writing go.
During the Emergent stage, children accomplish these things in reading and writing:
-

developing an interest in reading and writing

acquire concepts about print
develop book handling skills
learn to identify the letters of the alphabet
develop handwriting skills
learn to read and write some high frequency words
(Tompkins, 2010, p. 118)

During the Beginning stage, children accomplish these things in reading and writing:
-

learn phonics skills

recognize 20-100 high frequency words
apply reading strategies, including cross checking, predicting and repairing
write five or more sentences, sometimes organized into a paragraph
spell phonetically
spell 20-50 high frequency words
use capital letters to begin sentences
use punctuation marks to indicate the ends of sentences
reread their writing
(Tompkins, 2010, p. 119)

During the Fluent stage, children will accomplish these things in reading and writing:
-

read fluently and with expression

recognize most one-syllable words automatically and can decode other words
efficiently
use decoding and comprehension strategies effectively
writes well developed, multiparagraph compositions
use the writing process to draft and refine their writing

write stories, reports, letters, and other genres

spell most high-frequency and other one-syllable words correctly
use capital letters and punctuation marks correctly most of the time
(Tompkins, 2010, p. 125)

Though it is simple to look at these indicators of where a child could be in a classroom

and say that they are behind or ahead, that is not what these stages are for. Rather than being a
way to determine random levels, these indicators help teachers understand what a child needs to
know to be moved on to the next stage or skill. To know what to teach next, we need to know
what the children already know and what they NEED to learn in order to better instruct them and
scaffold them correctly.

C: The role of the teacher

Assessment
As a teacher in a classroom with students who are literally just learning to read and write,
it is important to have a way to find out what level they are in throughout the year. From the
assessments that are used in a classroom, it is easier to create an instructional plan that teaches
the important literacy concepts, skills, and strategies necessary for the students success in
literacy. This is done through informal and formal assessments. An informal assessment is one
that is performance driven rather than data focused. These kinds of assessments are what should
be used to inform instruction; whereas formal assessments have data to support the conclusions
that came from the test. Generally, formal assessments are standardized measures to compare
students across grades, schools, and other states. (Weaver). In my own classroom, I would be
willing to use all assessments assigned by the school district, but there are a few that I would
definitely insist on using in a kindergarten classroom.

Due to the importance of reading and knowing the students as readers, I would say that
running records are first on my list of important formal/informal assessments. These are a critical
part of learning about a student as a reader. Running records are used while a child is reading a
new book, or one they have just recently been introduced to; depending on their previous level,
the teacher can decide which is more beneficial for the record. As the student is reading, the
teacher either has the same book, or is looking at the students copy and making detailed,
practiced notes of how the child is reading. Any words added, substituted, or omitted at noted in
the record. You get to listen in closely to how they are reading, the things that they use to support
them and the things that they ignore.
Running records can be done quickly while listening to a child read during the day and
can even become a part of a routine for either the student or the teacher so that it doesnt seem
like a test. When used this way, running records are an informal way of assessing a students
progress in reading. However, this assessment could also be used more sparingly; only during
specific times of the year to compare to others or to previous assessmentsmaking it more like a
formal assessment. Either way, running records are a good way to give students a response as
it is defined by Cambourne. During a running record, a student might be showing signs of only
using the pictures to tell a story, and so the teacher could make a teaching point at the end of the
assessment about that. This gives the students something to focus in on and engage with while
they are reading.
Running Records are one of the six observation surveys developed by Marie Clay. These
tasks were designed for systematic observation of young children as they learn to read and write
(Clay). Stressing the fact that most of the readers and writers in a class are likely to be coming in
with only some knowledge of letters and words, I would say that it is important to assess students

on Letter Identification. This assessment is literally like what it sounds likestudents are given a
sheet with all 26 letters on them in both capital and lowercase forms and asked to identify each
letter. The students can say the letter name, make the letter sound, or say a word that starts with
that letter; all of the answers are recorded. This assessment helps in determining the students that
are having a hard time; usually with writing because they confuse letters or dont recognize them
at all. Having this kind of knowledge can inform a teacher as to why a student cant write as well
or gets confused in their reading.
On sort of the same level, sight words are a huge part of reading at a kindergarten level.
Generally, most of the books written for emerging and developing readers include mostly sight
words. This is why it is important for students to take the Word Reading Observation Survey.
Similar to the letter identification assessment, this survey has a list of words that the students
should be able to read by the end of kindergarten easily. Again, just like any assessment, this
helps tailor the teachers instruction. If there is a large need for more work on sight words, then I
as the teacher can be sure to make more practice time for that. Through sight words, students
build confidence in what they are reading and writing, which makes this assessment very
important.
The fourth assessment of Marie Clays Observation Surveys is the Concepts about Print
assessment. Marie Clay took an interesting approach in creating this assessment to learn about
the kinds of things young children know about the way print works in a book. Marie Clay created
a set of books that specifically go with this assessment, however any book can be used to test the
concepts that every child should know. This assessment is generally administered at the
beginning of the school year, sometimes halfway through, and at the end as well. If a book is
upside down, the students should be able to know how to flip it back. There are many things in

this assessment which are important to know as a teacher; whether or not your students
understand certain concepts.
The Writing Vocabulary Observation Task is an assessment that might not be able to be
administered until later in the school year when students have built up a better repertoire of
words. The idea of the assessment is to have students write in a blank square, all of the words
that they know. This assessment can be used before and after learning sight words to see the
improvement, or to see how much more work on sight words should be done as well as how
much work needs to be done with phonics. This is also a good way to assess students
directionality concepts in writing. You can watch to see whether they write things with a return
sweep, or if they are writing all over the page.
Finally, the Hearing and Recording Sound Words Task is one that would probably be
administered after having done a lot of phonological work throughout the year. This assessment
has students listening to the teacher dictate a lesson, and they have to record it on their sheet.
There are a certain amount of phonemes in each sentence and a rubric saying how many
phonemes need to be spelled correctly to have students be in certain stanine groups. With this
assessment, you can see the kinds of sound/symbol relationships being made by the student, and
some print concepts too. Spacing, directionality, punctuations are all things that would show up
in this assessment.
Aside from Marie Clays Observation Surveys, there are MANY other formal
assessments that can give important information to help assess students in different areas. One
important assessment that is used in many schools to assess for phonological and phonemic
awareness is the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS). There are three different
PALS assessments being used in Wisconsin Public Schools, with the kindergarten version of the

assessment, students are being assessed on their rhyme awareness, alphabet knowledge,
knowledge of letters sounds, spelling, and concept of word.
Rhyme Awareness- Students are given a target picture and three other pictures. They
have to choose one that matches with the original target picture.
Beginning Sound Awareness- Students are given a target picture and three additional
pictures. They are asked to find the picture with the same beginning sound as the
target picture.
Alphabet Knowledge- Students are asked to name the 26 lower-case letters of the
alphabet.
Letter Sounds- Students are asked to produce the letter sounds of 23 upper-case letters of
the alphabet as well as three consonant digraphs (ch, sh, th).
Spelling- Students are asked to spell five consonant-vowel-consonant words.
Concept of Word- Students are taught a rhyme in advance. The students concept of
word is assessed using a picture sheet of the rhyme through pointing and word
identification in the context of a small book format and then in a word list.
(PALS)
Like I mentioned before, there are a lot of different formal assessments that different
places require schools to administer to students and some that are chosen by the teachers
themselves. The assessments that I mentioned here are the ones that I would definitely try to
incorporate into my own classroom if possible. However, aside from formal assessments, there
are also a lot of different ways to assess students in a classroom informally.
Anecdotal notes are a good informal assessment to use in the classroom. If I am walking
around conferring with students about their work, then I should keep some kind of notes to
remember important things about each student. If I happen to give a teaching point during a short
conference with a student, then I should remember that and have that recorded so that I can do a
follow up. This type of assessment provides a good foundation for preparing specific instruction.
Checklists are also a nice informal way to see what concepts, skills, or ideas students are
grasping well individually. That way, if I see that the entire class is missing one big concept, then
I know what I need to teach. The same goes for collecting work samples. By looking at the

things that students are doing individually, I can see what they need individually and as a whole
group. Usually, assessments both formal and informal are used to create groups for guided study.
Another way to assess students is to do so with rubrics or guides that lay out a scale for
what the reading and writing should look like. A good example of this kind of assessment is the
K-5 Writing Development Scale created by the Wauwatosa School District. This scale is a good
way to assess a students individual writing piece.
According to the Wauwatosa School District, the range of students in a kindergarten classroom
can be measured through a developmental writing scale. For assessing a students writing, this
kind of holistic scale can be used to see the stage of writing being exhibited.
In a kindergarten classroom, the earliest stage that is seen in the writing process is called
the Prewriter stage. Within this stage, there are four different steps that show the characteristics
of the prewriter stage. Throughout this whole stage, much of what the writer is writing revolves
around the picture that they draw (if they draw one)
Step One: Picture Writing
- Student can deliver a message through a picture
Step Two: Scribble Writing
- Writing is shown through scribbles, lines, and scrawls, or even as a picture
- There are no recognizable letters
- The writer can read their own scribbles and tell a story
- Some knowledge of directionality is shown in the writing (writing left to right)
Step Three: Mock Writing
- Writer begins making letter-like forms; trying to imitate writing they have seen
- Many times, it is a mixture of real letters and drawings
- Sound/symbol relationships are few or none
- The letters/drawings are typically all over the page
Step Four: Random Letter Writing
- Letters begin to look strung together
- Beginning to use more real letters and sound/symbol relationships
- Possibly includes correctly spelled words.

The next stage in the writing development scale is the Emergent writer stage. There are
only three steps within this stage. In this stage, sentences are generally very short and have a lot
of repetition. The writing is not completely invented spelling, but its also not completely
conventional spelling either. With big ideas, writers are more able to write freely, creatively, and
independently. They are more willing to take risks.
Step One: Writing Awareness
- Writers able to show concepts of letters and words
- Contains all real letterswith/without spaces
- Some sight words could possibly be seen (words that are known automatically)
- By using dominant consonants and some vowel sounds, writer shows evidence
of some sound/symbol correspondence
Step Two: Stylized Sentence Writing
- Writer will write sentences around the things that he/she already knows (known
words, repetitive phrases, sentence beginnings)
- Writer uses words from the environment in writing
- Message is now contained more clearly in the writing and can be read over time
Step Three: Conventional Writing
- Writer begins to gain control of the conventions of writing (spelling, spacing,
punctuation, capitalization, grammar)
- Sentences are short, and simple, with some repetition
- There is both invented and conventional spelling
The third stage is the Developing writer Stage. There are three different steps within this
stage of writing development. Throughout this stage, writers are becoming much more aware of
their final product and their drafts turn out more detailed.
Step One: Early Transitional
- Writers voice begins to come through in their writingsometimes inconsistent
- Sentence structure begins to varysome structure to the story
- Organization of material becomes more chronological rather than just a response
to the story itself
- Length of text increases
- More use of mechanics and conventional spelling of high frequency words
Step Two: Mid Transitional
- Organization of writing is better structured (step by step)

- Writer uses a few transitions (after, then, last, next), and varies sentences more
- Voice is more constant throughout writing
- Writer begins to describe objects as well as use more relevant details
- Conventional spelling patterns are used more accurately
Step Three: Late Transitional
- Writer could begin to take a creative approach to their writing
- Sense of voice and audience is evident and constant throughout the writing
- Accurate use of conventions of writing and spelling
- Writer is using descriptive language, interesting vocabulary, and may include
paragraphs
Finally, the last stage that would generally be seen in a Kindergarten classroom is the
Independent writer stage. At this stage, the writer has internalized the kinds of good questions
that good writers ask themselves. They have also internalized the writing process; realizing that
the audience expects to see a correctly written piece of writing.
Independent Writing
- Writer shows a strong and well developed sense of voice and audience
- The details are supportive and relevant to the story in descriptive language
- Sentences are interesting and written correctly
- Writing delivers its messagecreating and impact or evoking further thinking
- Accurate use of conventions of writing: introduction, conclusion, paragraphs
- Writing could include more than one point of view
(K-5 Developmental Writing Scale ).
That is one way to assess a piece of writing. One way to assess a students reading ability
is to assess them using a Patterns of Development in Reading checklist like the one created by
the Greendale School District. This is a kind of checklist that teachers can use while observing
students reading independently.
Emerging readers:

become aware of print

read orally, matching word by word
use meaning and language in simple texts
hear sounds in words
recognize name and some letters
use information from pictures
connect words with names
notice and use spaces between words
read orally
match one spoken word to one printed word while reading 1 or 2 lines of text
use spaces and some visual information to check on reading
know names of some alphabet letters
know some letter sound relationships
read left to right
recognize a few high-frequency words
(Greendale School District, Patterns of Development in Reading)

Beginning Readers:
-

knows names of most alphabet letters and many letter-sound relationships

use letter-sound information along with meaning and language to solve words
read without pointing
read orally and begin to read silently
read fluently with phrasing on easy text, use the punctuation
recognize most east, high frequency words
check to make sure reading makes sense, sounds right, looks right
check one source of information against another to solve problems
use information from pictures as added information while reading print
(Greendale School District, Patterns of Development in Reading)

Fluent Readers:
-

read silently most of the time

have a large core of known words that are recognized automatically
use multiple sourced of information while reading for meaning (cues)
integrate sources of information such as letter-sound relationships, meaning
and language structure
consistently check to be sure all sources of information fit
do not rely on illustrations but notice them to gain additional meaning
understand, interpret and use illustrations in informational text
know how to read differently in some different genres
have flexible ways of problem-solving words, including analysis of lettersound relationships and visual patterns
read with phrasing and fluency at appropriate levels
(Greendale School District, Patterns of Development in Reading)

It is very important to be able to pull all kinds of information from an assessment, but it is
equally as important to know what to do with that information as well. As a teacher, I cant just
look at a Concept about Print assessment and say whether or not my student is a good reader. The
same goes with any assessment. It takes a lot of observation and a lot of assessing to get a large
picture of a student and their skills and weaknesses. It is very important though to be able to
make a decision about instruction from the assessments that are taken on students. It is no use if I
know that Suzy cant distinguish bs and ds but I cant give any kind of instruction on it.
Instruction is obviously just a big a part of teaching as assessment is, and therefore has to be
tailored to the students well and also be effective to the way that I personally teach.
In my opinion, there are many ways that a person can teach. Aside from the nice/mean
teacher idea, I think there is the sociolinguistic teacher vs. the constructivist teacher vs. the
behaviorist teacher. My personal philosophy of teaching literacy pushes me toward the
sociolinguistic and constructivist theories, and therefore makes my instruction very social,
engaging, and oral based. During my research and studies, there were theorists beside Vygotsky
that really caught my attention. Don Holdaway matched Vygotskys theory the most and
therefore matched my own philosophy as well. Holdaways model is in a way, simple and
connects with the type of teaching that I would like to do. Like I mentioned before as well, the
theorist that caught my attention most when it came to classroom environment was Brian
Cambourne.
Through all of these theorists, it becomes evident that there needs to be differentiation
among students in a classroom. Especially when the ranges can be so varied, there needs to be a
way for the teacher to work with students of similar ranges together and offer each student the
right kind of scaffolding that will get them to their Zone of Proximal Development. This can be

done through small group work and even one on one intervention when necessary. It is important
that the teacher is aware of the range in abilities even within a small group to be able to really
differentiate instruction for each student.
Through scaffolding, students have easier access to the information that they are trying to
grasp, but are not being given the answers completely. In a kindergarten classroom, things like
modeling how to read a book during a shared reading time could be a scaffold for students who
are not aware of how print works on a page. Word walls are scaffolds for students just learning to
write new words, as well as for students learning to read those new words. In a kindergarten
classroom, as students are just beginning to learn all forms of literacy, mostly everything
includes or is a scaffold. It is a tool used to get the students into their personal Zones of Proximal
Development.
When talking about instruction of literacy in a kindergarten classroom, Holdaways
natural learning model is very well matched with Vygotskys model of learning. Both sort of talk
about a gradual release of responsibility. This model was originally presented by Pearson and
Gallagher. This framework involves having students move around from being highly supported
to independent as they master a skill or topic. As the teachers degree of control begins to get
lower, the students end up being more and more responsible for their own learning.
In Holdaways theory, the first step in a literacy lesson is Demonstration of the material,
which would most likely a strategy or skill being taught with a new book. The teacher would in
some way demonstrate the way that the strategy is used and even explain why we use it as
readers. In this stage of the theory, I as the teacher would be doing a lot of thinking out loud to
model my thinking as the more expert other--simply meaning that I am the more
knowledgeable one on the topic, therefore I am teaching. In this case, the learner would be the

audience and he/she would only watch the demonstration. This stage is similar to Vygotskys I
do, you watch phase of his theory.
The following phase of Vygotskys theory is I do, you help; which matches well with
Holdaways next stage in his model, Participation. During this stage, there is no real set audience
as the student is beginning to participate with the material by asking questions and becoming
engaged with the material. In terms of a balanced literacy component, this would be a good time
for an interactive read aloud. That encourages a lot of participation from the students rather than
just the teacher talking about and interacting with the text. The teacher would promote student
participation, answer questions, and still offer a high amount of support for the learners as they
are grasping the material.
The third stage in Holdaways model is the Role Play/Practice step where the child would
interact more closely with the materialin this case a book or a piece of writingand
familiarize himself with it and the skill/strategy that was taught. The teachers job at this point
would include being supportive of the actions and arranging the environment to provide this
opportunity. In Vygotskys terms, this is the You do, I help phase of his model. The learner is
self-regulating and the teacher is invisible to the student, but still available to help if needed.
The final step in Holdaways natural learning model is the Performance step. In
Vygotskys terms, this is the final step of You do, I watch. During this stage of the learning, the
student is the performer and the teacher is the validating audience, encouraging, supporting and
sometimes rewarding the student. The students only job is to share, perform, and display their
competence.
These are all of the components that I find extremely important in teaching literacy to
really young students. In terms of the gradual release of responsibility, the farther down the

models the students go, the less support they are receiving from the teacher. The teacher usually
starts off modeling a skill or strategy. Through this part of the learning, the student participates
by listening and being engaged to the demonstration. It is in the next stage that the student begins
to pick up more responsibility. That is during the sharing part of a lesson. This is when the
students are beginning to practice or participate in the learning. The teacher continues to
demonstrate but also includes ways for the students to be involved in the lesson. For this stage,
an interactive read aloud or writing is very useful as it gives students a chance to really interact
with the text in a way that is still highly supported. During the last two stages of the gradual
release, the teacher is really starting to pull back from the student as they begin to use scaffolds
instead of the teacher as a support system. The teacher is only guiding before the students can
finally apply what they have learned to their reading or writing.
Through all of the assessments, the teacher can get a good idea of the kinds of help that a
student needs. Through my own philosophy, my instruction would be based a lot on Vygotsky
and Cambournes ideas about scaffolding a student into working independently and allowing a
student to be engaged in their own learning. It is in this way that I think that a student can really
begin to grow and learn all of the important concepts that they need to know before moving on to
more advanced things in first grade.
Concepts/Strategies
Those concepts and strategies that a child need to learn by the end of Kindergarten are
what all of the theories and learning models were created for. They were created in order to make
the teaching of those literacy concepts, skills and/or strategies easier to teach, more effective, and
ultimately, more understandable for the students. All of those things that young children need to
learn before successfully completing kindergarten are the things that will assist them in being

able to read and write proficiently as they continue on their learning path. There are some general
goals that kindergarten literacy learners need to know and be able to demonstrate. These are the
things that make up the reading and writing processes and show that they are meaning making
processes.
(Gomez, What kindergarteners need to know and be able to do: concepts/skills/strategies)
Those are:
Oral Language/Vocabulary Development
A strong oral language base is the foundation for learning to read. Understanding how
language works and how letters are strung together helps children decode and spell words that
they might not know. The more words a child knows, the more he/she has to build from when it
comes time to learn new vocabulary from old words. Generally the same kinds of assessments
that are used to teach vocabulary may also be used to assess it. One effective instructional
strategy for teaching oral language and vocabulary development is analytic vocabulary
instruction. This really just means giving clean explanations and definitions of new words. In a
classroom, this would probably look like a list of spelling words that the students would analyze,
use, and compare to one another. Another strategy is anchored word instruction. This means
making children pay close attention to the sounds and visual features of new words. Also, the
teacher would provide opportunities for active analysis of the meaning and context of the new
words.
Phonological Awareness
Phonological Awareness is the understanding that words are made up of sounds. This is
the more inclusive term that encompasses phonemes, syllables, and rimes. It is through

phonological awareness that children are encouraged to stretch out the sounds in words and
represent each sound with a letter or group of letters.
Phonemic awareness is a big, important part of phonological awareness and something
that I think is very important for students as both readers and writers. Being phonemically aware
means that a child understands that speech is made up of a lot of individual sounds rather than
just one. As students become more phonemically aware, they are able to split words up into
different parts, take out parts, add new ones, and even rhyme words with others. This is
important for students as readers because it means that they can expand their knowledge of
words and read with more fluency and accuracy. As writers, it does the same thingexpands
their vocabularyfor their writing. While trying to spell unknown words, students who are
phonemically aware can isolate the phonemes and try to spell each one out to spell the full word
(Tompkins, 2010, p. 146).
According to Gail E. Tompkins, there are five phonemic awareness strategies that
children should be able to apply with their spoken words. Those are: Identifying sounds in
words, categorizing sounds in words, substituting sounds to make new words, blending sounds to
form words, segmenting a word into sounds.
The strategies Tompkins mentions of blending sounds to form words and segmenting a
word into sounds helps students in figuring out that words have more than one part. This in turn,
helps with both spelling when they are trying out a new word and reading when they come
across an unknown word and are forced to stretch it out to read it.
The strategy of identifying sounds in words that Tompkins mentions is related to
identifying a specific sound in the beginning, middle, or end of a word. By being able to find the

sounds in certain parts of the word, it means you are listening to each sound in the word and are
aware of what the first, middle, and last parts are.
Categorizing Sounds in Words is usually assessed by picking out a word from a list that
does not match the others with similar sounds in the words. Substituting Sounds to Make New
Words helps students learn to take out a sound from a word and put in a different one to make a
new word. For example, by changing the beginning sound, we can change ban to tan. This is a
skill that could be useful for expanding vocabulary and finding new words that are already a little
bit familiar. Sounds you already know can become words you didnt know you already knew.
(Tompkins, 2010, p. 147)
Concepts About Print
Concepts about Print is the idea that print carries a message and that is an understanding
that kindergarteners have to come to before they can succeed in reading and writing. Some of the
specific concepts within this larger concepts include:
Constancy: the understanding that print says the same thing every time you read it
One-to-one correspondence: recognition of the match between indiv. Spoken words and
written words
Directionality: understanding that English print is read top to bottom and left to right
print features: the difference between print and pictures, words and spaces, uppercase
and lowercase letters, punctuations marks
parts of a book: identification of title, author, cover, front, and back of a book
concepts of first and last or beginning and ending
(Gomez, 2014)

The teaching of this specific concept is really embedded in the balanced literacy approach
that I will be talking about in the next section of this plan.
Letter Names
Letter knowledgenaming letters automatically. This goal is meant to not only be
knowing the names of the letters, but being able to name them correctly with speed. The
instruction for this concept should be embedded in meaningful print. Meaning that it is also one
of the main things learned through the components of balanced literacy. (Gomez, 2014)
The Alphabetic Principle/Phonics
The alphabetic principle is met when the student understands that there are predictable
and consistent relations between written letters and spoken soundsthe combination of letter
knowledge and phonological awareness. This means that the student has to understand the
connection between letters and sounds. That each letter makes a sound (sometimes more than
one) and that together, they can make different sounds. This is an important concepts for a reader
and writer to understand much like the other concepts. Without this, then stretching out words
becomes impossible to even comprehend.
There are a few different approaches to the alphabetic principle. The synthetic approach
starts by teaching the individual sounds and then how to blend them into words. The Analytic
approach teachers whole words first then the component sounds within the words are analyzed.
Finally, the Analogic approach teaches students to apply word parts hey know to help in
identifying and writing new words. The Phonics part is simply the name for the set of rules that
govern how the letters go together in words. Phonics is taught through introducing letters,
sounds, and patterns with immediate application in writingthrough the components of
balanced literacy.

Name Writing
Name writing is an exposure that is repeated and reinforced over and over in many
different settings. This skill helps to explore print, use symbols to represent ideas, connect those
symbols to sound, combine letters into words, see words used as separate entities. One effective
instructional strategy connected to name writing is having a name wall. Seeing as how names are
the first words that many children learn to write, they become very accustomed to seeing and
writing those letters. The idea of the name wall is that by using something that everyone is
familiar with, they can learn to manipulate those letters as well. Each students name is put up
one at a time and used for instruction. Rather than teaching all the letters separate, this gives the
letters an actual purposemaking it more engaging for the students since they are being used in
meaningful words rather than in isolation. This is an excellent tool for systematic instruction and
reinforcement of the sounds and structures of letters and words. It also reminds students that
alphabet letters are used for reading and writing our names as well as other words.
Early Good Reader Strategies
There are quite e few good reader strategies that every kindergartener should know and
be able to demonstrate while they are reading. Some of the good reader strategies include:
Operating on print: being aware of conventions/concepts of print such as:
-directionality: understand that English is read left to right, top to bottom
- where to start reading
- return sweep
- one to one correspondence: recognize every word said orally should match up
with the text
- parts of a book: knowing where to find the title, author, title page, cover, etc.

- print features: understand the difference between print and pictures, words and
spaces, uppercase and lowercase letters, punctuation marks
- constancy: understand that every time you read print, it says the same thing
(Rog, 2011)
Self-monitoring: There are three cueing systems that readers use when they read. There
is the Semantic Cueing system (Meaning) which makes the reader ask, Does this make
sense? They have to use the pictures, context, their own background knowledge and
experiences to figure it out. The second cueing system is the Syntactic Cue System
(Structure/Syntax). This makes the reader ask, Does it sound right? For this, the reader
has to use his knowledge of English, natural language, book language, and grammatical
knowledge. The last cueing system is the Graphophonic Cue System (Visual) This makes
readers ask, Does it look right? For this cue system, the reader needs to understand
conventions of print, phonics, word chunks, sounds and symbols, and have at least some
phonemic awareness to be able to read and SEE whether or not a word was read
correctly.
When readers self monitor, they are using all of that information to monitor what they are
reading and making sure that they are using them all correctly.
Searching for cues: Readers search for cues from the reading in the three cueing systems
to be sure that what they are reading is making sense in the context of what they are
reading.
Cross-checking: when readers get to a word and they know they said or read it wrong,
they check all of their cue systems to make sure everything is matching up.

When

reader cross check, they have to stop and try to work out whether or not things make
sense, sound right, and look right. From there, they
Self-correct and are able to go back and read the text accurately.
Comprehension Strategies
Aside from being able to read the text accurately and fluently, good readers need to be
able to understand what it is that they are reading. That is where the comprehension strategies
come in. Just like with the good reader strategies, there are many comprehension strategies.
Some of which are:
Making connections: reader can make personal connections with the text by using
background knowledge and prior experiences. There are three main types of connections
that can be made while reading. Those are:
- Text-to-self: connections made between the text and the reader through personal
experiences
- Text-to-text: connections made between the text being read and another text that
was read prior
- Text-to-world: connection made between the text and something that is
occurring or has occurred in the real world.
Questioning: teacher prompts students with questions to deepen comprehension and
create connections
Inferring: forming an educated guess using background knowledge, context, picture
clues, and evidence derived from the text

Synthesizing: students thinking begins to change as they read new information. Good
readers re-evaluate their old ideas about things they know and form new knowledge or
strengthen old ideas.
The Writing Process
The writing process is a series of five stages that young writers go through as they are
composing. These stages are set up let as a linear process and more as a cycle that students go
through as they write. The Key features of the writing process are:
Stage 1: Prewriting
- choose a topic
- consider the purpose for writing
- identify the genre the writing will take
- engage in rehearsal activities to gather ideas
- use a graphic organizer to organize ideas
Stage 2: Drafting
- write a rough draft
- emphasize ideas rather than grammatical correctness
Stage 3: Revising
- reread the rough draft
- share writing in writing groups
- make substantive changes that reflect classmates comments
- conference with the teacher
Stage 4: Editing
- proofread the revised rough draft
- identify and correct spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar errors
- conference with the teacher
Stage 5: Publishing
- make the final copy
- share the finished writing with an appropriate audience
(Tompkins, Figure 2-4 Key Features of the Writing Process, 2010)
Types of Writing
Students need to understand that there is more than one type of writing. As good writer,
we dont only do writing in the classroom during a specific time. There is functional and

compositional writing. Functional writing is writing that serves a purposeit is useful to

complete some kind of task. Some examples of functional writing include lists, letters, notes,
speeches, and recipes. Compositional writing on the other hand is made to achieve a reaction to
something. Whether it is an informative paper or a poem, it is eliciting some form of a response.
Compositional writing can provoke further thinking about the information provided or it can
bring forth an emotional response. Some examples of compositional writing include persuasive
papers, opinion papers, poems, narrative papers, and informative papers.
Instruction
In literacy, getting each student working in their own zone of proximal development
through one lesson plan can be a lot easier than it seems like at first. By using the balanced
literacy approach, students get to access their own leveled text through the same strategies that
are being taught through the components of reading and writing. For example, if I were to model
how to use picture clues in the large text during a shared reading, emerging readers can use that
strategy in their attempt to understand the text. While at the same time, beginning or developing
readers could use the same strategy while trying to get more information from the text about the
imagery. All students in all ranges of reading could use the same strategy in their own level
reading books. With a little more scaffolding as well, it is not as daunting of a task to get all
students working within their own zones of proximal development.
The Balanced Literacy approach to education integrates various kinds of literacy
instruction. With assessment based planning at its core, balanced literacy is characterized by very
explicit skill instruction using authentic texts and lessons (Balanced Literacy , 2014). The main
method of progress through a program of balanced literacy is through the Gradual Release of
Responsibility. All of the components of both reading and writing are built around this release of

responsibility. As the student begins to learn more of a concept, skill or strategy, the
responsibility of grasping that new knowledge shifts from the teacher to the student. This model
was created mostly based on Lev Vygotskys scaffolding model that moved from explicit
modeling and instruction to the student ultimately becoming independent in their work (I do,
you watch).
Aside from Vygotsky, the balanced literacy approach also fits well with Cambournes
Conditions of Learning. It is through the gradual release of responsibility that there is time,
room, and the right kind of instruction to apply all eight of the conditions of learning.
Demonstration occurs when there is still high support from the teacher and later, when the
student is almost completely in control, they are gaining responsibility of their learning and
beginning to approximate and gain responses from it.
For both reading and writing, there are five levels of support that make up the balanced
literacy approach. For both reading and writing, they are Modeled, Shared, Interactive, Guided,
and Independent.
Modeled: Highest level of teacher support
(I do, You watch) Vygotsky
[Demonstration, Immersion, Expectation, Low Responsibility, Engagement]
Cambourne
Reading
The teacher reads aloud to the class, modeling how good readers read fluently and
accurately, with expression in their voices. The teacher does this by thinking aloudtalk
about her/his though processes while reading the book. Well, Ive been out in the cold
for a long time before, and I remember it was cold. I wonder if this person is cold as

well. This gives the students a look into the brain of a reader and also immerses them in
the language of readers.
The books used for a modeled reading are generally too difficult for the students
to read by themselves; but since the teacher is reading, it does not matter. Even when the
students do not understand fully a meaning of a word or a spelling, they still have
something to approximate.
Writing
Teacher writes in front of the students, creating the message, the text itself, and
thinking aloud about the kinds of writing strategies and skills good writers use. This is
also showing the students that writing is an important and meaningful activity that
grownups do outside of school. Modeled writing may be used to teach minilessons about
process, conventions, or style, including choosing a topic and adding details, stretching
out words, placing punctuation marks, and asking a writing partner for help.
EXAMPLES:
- Keep a Topic In Your Pocket: envelope with ideas for writing
- What Is a Detail?: retelling with details
- Sticky Dot Details:dots at the ends of details to know how many you add
- Bubble Gum Writing: stretching words out to spell them when you dont know
how to
- Capital Letter Word Sorts: sorting words by capital and lower case letters in front
- Morning Message: A daily literacy routine that teachers use to teach literacy
concepts, strategies, and skills.
- Children reread the teachers message about what will happen in the
day; counting letters, words, sentences in message.
- It follows a predictable pattern

Students learn best when they are being involved in the writing and when they are able to talk
about their work with the teacher and one another. Vygotskys theory of the gradual release of
responsibility is completely relevant in this case. At the point of modeled writing and reading,

students are still being highly supported by the teacher. They are not yet in their zone or proximal
development either because they are just starting to learn the strategy, skill or concept.
Depending on the way its done, during the morning message or during a modeled reading,
students might just be in their ZPD because it could be something they have already learned but
are not completely familiar with yet. This type of teaching approach fits my belief of how
children learn best. I agree with Vygotsky in that students need to be supported and scaffolded
until the teacher can begin to release the responsibility to the student. Talking about Cambourne
as well, at least half of the conditions of learning are present in the way that the demonstrations
are happening, the expectations being set for what a good reader sounds like and what a good
writer thinks about. Also, with so many examples and repetition, immersion is definitely
happening with just a low amount of responsibility on the student still since the teacher is really
supporting a lot.

Shared: Some Responsibility given to students

(I do, You help) Vygotsky
[Immersion, Demonstration, Expectation, Moderate Responsibility, Some
Approximation, Engagement] Cambourne
Reading
The teacher uses a text big enough that she/he and the students can read the book
together. The things that could possibly be used for a shared reading are:
- Big books

- Poems
- Pocket charts
- Language Experience Charts
- Interactive Charts
The students follow as the teacher reads the actual text and they join in if the teacher has
specific things planned; or they begin to join in the reading during one of the many
rereads. During the first reading, the students focus on understanding and appreciating
the story as the teacher models fluent and expressive oral reading, sometimes thinking
aloud. During subsequent readings, the teacher draws students attention to the print and
how it works. Together, the class also tracks print, and highlights graphophonic elements.
The next several times, students gradually chime in with the teacher as they become
comfortable and familiar with the text.
These are also books that the students cannot read by themselves, which is why
shared reading lends itself to focusing on letter and word studies:
-

Hunt for specific letters, words, and text features

Cover a word with a sticky note and have others guess the word
Highlight specific words or letters with removable highlighting tape
Underline or circle words or letters with waxed string
- Teacher can show students to manipulate letters, words, and sentences within a
text
- Text matching
- Work with the words
- Work with letters and sounds
The entire idea of shared reading is based on the theory that students have to

interact with the thing they are trying to learn. Shared reading is not just a lesson; it is a
shared event between the students, the teacher, and the text. This part of balanced literacy
is at an in between stage when the students are not just being read to anymore. In the

middle of the gradual release of responsibility, shared reading seems party like a read
aloud and partly like guided reading. Teachers are not carrying the workload alone and
students are not doing it by themselves either. It is truly a shared process. With a shared
reading, there is still a lot of the sociolinguistic theory that comes through with the turn
and talks, and the interactions between the students and the text. It is another form of
interacting with the teacher and the text for the students. At the same time, there is also
some of the constructivist theory coming through in terms of the engagement that the
students are showing with the text.

Writing
The teacher and the student create the text together. The teacher does the actual
writing of the text, student help with composing the message. The text they develop
become reading material. Teacher can have students share the pen by spelling familiar
letters, or words. This is a good way to draw students attention to capitalized words,
letter patterns, periods, and other language features. It is important for the students to see
the teacher transform spoken words into print in front of them. It demonstrates that there
is a relationship between the sounds and letters. Also shows the process that expert
writers usemaking it accessible to the students.
Alternative idea to a group chart: Record one idea from each student (usually
done in small groups). Students see their exact words turned into text. Using the
Language Experience Approach to shared writing, children create individual booklets
either on their own or through a collaborative process with the class. For a collaborative

book, teacher writes whatever the students dictate and they draw on it as a class. Revisit
the chart for students to read their own responses and those of others
Interactive: Moderate/Low Support
(I do, You help) Vygotsky
[Immersion, Demonstration, Expectation, Moderate Responsibility, Approximation,
Engagement, Response] Cambourne
Reading
The teacher is a guide that has to set context to what the students are listening to
or reading. The teacher has to select rich literature that extends the students knowledge
of literature, language, and the world (multicultural literature, fiction, and nonfiction
texts). The teachers role is to preview the text and prepare a lesson with points of
discussion, places to stop and have students interact with the text or one another, and
vocabulary words to teach or clarify. Each read aloud has to serve a clearly articulates
purpose and be modeled with fluency, expression, and animation
During an interactive read aloud, the teacher stops periodically to think aloud and
question the students about specific things to focus them on the text. Some think aloud
prompts are things like:
I wonder.
This reminds me of.
I dont understand.
Oh! Now I get it.
Im thinking that
I predict that
I used to think.but now I think.
The teacher also rereads the text multiple times with the class. The first reading is
an intro to the book with fluent reading, clarification of vocabulary, modeling analytic

comments, and big idea questions for discussion. The second reading includes more
pauses, giving student a chance to approximate as they respond to the teachers prompts.
On the third reading, the teacher would probably lead a guided reconstruction of the
story. Having the students recount information and engage in the discussion. Again, this
is a lot of engagement on the part of the students, which is why the support level of the
teacher begins to go down since they have been scaffolded enough at this point that they
should be able to respond to prompts and questions with deep thoughts. To make sure that
students are being active participants in the reading, the teacher has to create
opportunities for the students to interact with the text. There has to be premeditated
moments/parts in which the students have to turn and talk to their partners about
predictions, feelings, or knowledge. The teacher should also prompt students to make
connections to their independent reading and writing.

Writing
Teachers and students create the text and share the pen to do the writing on chart
paper big enough for the class to see. Interactive writing is used to write class news,
predictions before reading, retelling stories, thank you letters, reports, math story
problems, and many other types of group writing. This is a good way to showcase the
different types of writing. Through interactive writing, the class could create a lot of
functional writing, but also fun narrative stories.
Again, like in shared writing, the teacher can choose to have students write whom
she/he knows will be able to spell conventionally. The teacher can also help students to

spell words conventionally if she/he believes that they will not be able to do it on their
own. This is why at the interactive level, there is still a moderate amount of support. The
teacher and the students talk about writing conventions as they are cooperatively
composing the message on the big chart paper. The children learn concepts about print,
letter sounds relationships and spelling patterns, handwriting concepts, and capitalization
and punctuation skills. There should always be reference materials on the walls and
nearby the area during an interactive writing for students who need that scaffold to assist
in the group writing.
By going through Modeled writing, shared writing, and then interactive writing,
the teacher is beginning to give more of the control over to the students as they begin to
write more and more on their own. As far as Holdaway goes, in the stages of interactive
writing, students are still practicing and role-playing along with the teacher; since the
teacher is still around to prompt, correct and explain. When students are able to practice
on their own during their independent writing time, they really begin to show their own
approximations of what they are learning and practicing with the teacher.
Guided: Moderate/Low Support
(I help, You do) Vygotsky
[Immersion, Demonstration, Expectation, Moderate Responsibility, Approximation,
Engagement, Response, Use/Employment ] Cambourne
Reading
The teacher plans and teaches reading lessons to small groups using instructional
level books. The groups are made by the teacher according to both formal and informal
assessments. Groups can change all the time. One time the group might be a bunch of

students who need help on a specific strategy. Another time, groups could be split up by
the leveled books that they are reading, in order to get practice reading fluently and
accurately in their own levels. The focus of the guided reading is on supporting and
observing students use of strategies. If a teacher can catch a problem or misused strategy,
then she/he can correct it right away.
During a guided reading, there are a few steps to making it effective for readers
that really need support with a certain strategy. First, the teacher must select a text that
supports the students growth in whatever the focus of the group is; and she must be
prepared ahead of time with questions and teaching points. Next, the teacher sets the
purpose by bringing up prior knowledge and connecting it to the current lesson. Talk
about the cover, what the children do or dont know about the story. After that, the group
can take a story walk through the book, having conversations and getting an idea of the
story without reading it completely. Before letting the students do their own individual
reading, do a strategy reminderletting them remember what they are meant to be
practicing. Have students read the story to themselves in whisper voices so that the
teacher can listen in, prompt, correct, and assist. When the children finish the story
(might not be in that one day), discuss the story as a groupwhat they liked, didnt like,
what strategies they used. If needed, this is the place to reteach.
This is the time when the students are in their Zone of Proximal Development.
Since they are reading books at their instructional level and are working on strategies that
they are struggling with, this is when they are learning the most. Which is why this is
where I would be doing my best teaching. Finally at the end of this unit if guided
reading, the group would have a discussion in response to the text. They would have a

chance to reread to themselves or in pairs. Even having activities for them to do could be
beneficial.
Writing
Guided reading groups are usually held during the writers workshop while other
students are writing independently. Teacher plans and teachers lessons on writing
procedure, strategy, skill, and students participate in supervised practice activities. Just
like with the guided reading, the activities planned for the children would be solely based
on the levels they are in and the groups they are placed in. If the groups are separated by
student that need help with a certain strategy, then that is what the teacher would focus in
on with that group of students.
Just like with the guided reading, this is really the time for the teacher to catch
any wrong approximations or confusions because during the guided portion of the
balanced literacy approach, students are at their Zone of Proximal Development.
Whenever students are working on a concept, skill, or strategy that is not fully mastered,
they are in their zone. In guided writing, the students are employing the things that they
have learned in the minilessons and through their own independent writing in writers
workshop.
Independent: Lowest Teacher Support
(You do, I watch)
[Immersion, Expectation, Responsibility, Approximations, Use/Employment, Response,
Engagement] Cambourne
Reading

Students choose and read self selected books on their own. Teacher goes around
and conferences with as many students as possible to monitor their process. An example
of a good independent reading time is a Readers Workshop. During this time, students
can go back to their areas after having seen some kind of minilesson. During the reading
workshop, students apply the strategies/skills taught in the minilesson. They reread the
books that they get in their book boxes multiple times so that they comprehend the story
completely. The idea is that they are applying a new strategy each time.
During this independent reading time, students are finally able to employ the
skills that they are learning in all of the other components of literacy. By using the skills,
and with the teacher going around and conferencing, they get a response on what they are
doing well and what they could do next.
Writing
The students use the writing process to write stories, informational books, and
other compositions throughout the whole year. The teacher monitors the students
progress through conferences during the workshop time and through observations from
afar. An example of a good independent writing time is a writers workshop. The
structure of a Writing Workshop is fairly simple. First there is some kind of minilessons
ten minutes or lesswith an explicit teaching point. This could be one of the
components of the balanced literacy approach, or it could be a reading of a book with a
focus on the authors word choice.
After the minilesson, the students go off to do their own independent work time
with the instruction that was just given. This is the students private work time. This is
also the time for the teacher to conference with students and do small group work (guided

reading). During this time, the teacher is able to give students feedback that Cambourne
believes is so very important. This way, they learn what they are doing well.
After independent work time in both a readers and writers workshop, there is
generally always a Teacher Share Time. This is a time when the teacher gets to point out
good strategies she/he saw being used as well as some things that maybe should be
corrected right away. For example, if the teacher noticed that no one was able to find sad
emotions in their books even though there were many, she/he might go over the lesson
one more time. If the teacher found one student doing extremely well, than she/he might
bring them up to share instead.

Throughout all of these levels of literacy, there is one component that stands firm among
all of these different instruction components; Minilessons. A minilessons is just what it sounds
like; it is a lesson with one or two focus objectives that last about ten to fifteen minutes.
Modeled, shared, and interactive reading and writing could all be minilessons throughout the
day. They could also be minilessons within a reading or writing workshop to give students a
focus.
The general architecture of a minilessons should almost always be the same. There
should be some kind of connection to either a past lesson, some ongoing unit of study, a students
work, or an experience outside of school. After the connection has been made and explored, then
there should be the teaching point. This should always be presented verbally as well as visually if
that is the case of the lesson. Along with the verbal presentation, there should be some kind of
demonstration or model of the teaching point. The following part is extremely important. This is
where you add in the active engagement. There could be time to try out the skill or strategy with

a text, or there could be time to plan their work out loud. Even imagining trying the skill or
strategy is engaging. Once that is over, then the teacher makes a final link to ongoing work
whether that is the following activity or not.
The point of the balanced literacy program is really the fact that not one of these
components can be effective on their own. Each part supplements the other and offers necessary
parts of instruction. Not only that, but assessments are also a very important part of the balanced
literacy approach. None of the planning and instruction could be prepared to be beneficial to the
students if there were no standards of what the child should now or what they already know. All
of the pieces of this puzzle have to be in place for the program to work and be the most
beneficial to the student. Just like all eight conditions of Cambournes conditions of learning
need to be present, all components of balanced literacy need to be present in a classroom to see a
real success with the students.

TASK 2: CLASSROOM DESIGN

As previously mentioned, Vygotsky was not the only theorist whose ideas caught my
attention during my initial research. Brian Cambourne and his eight conditions of learning were
also very intriguing when it came to the classroom environment that I want to have. The
conditions he described are the foundations for learning that should be executed in all aspects of
the classroom.
Immersion is the condition that states that the learner should be surrounded by learning
experiences in the classroom. That includes but is not limited to anchor charts, different sorts of
reading material, and even the lessons that are taught can be included in immersion. Among
those lessons, there should always be demonstration. This means that the teacher models not
only in a lesson, but also the behaviors that she expects from student formally and informally.

Going off of that even, there is the condition of expectations. Setting the expectation at all times
that the students can and will learn is just as important as telling them what sounds each letter
makes.
Another important condition of learning that Cambourne talks about is responsibility. By
that, he means that each learner gets to choose the things that they will try out past the things that
are taught in the classroom. They have the choice of what to learn outside of class, and as the
teacher, I must set that as a sort of responsibility. Of course, when students begin to try to new
things, there will always be misunderstandings and mistakes. This is why Cambourne says that
approximation is another important condition that promotes student literacy learning. It is
important for students to know that they can approximate behaviors at their own levels. They are
not required to understand a concept right away and they have room to approximate as a way of
getting it right. That actually also goes straight into Cambournes condition of employment. This
is the condition that means giving students the opportunities to use and practice the things that
they are learning. They can do this alone or with others.
Just like with anything, if you are doing something new, you like to get feedback on
whether you are doing well or not. That is what the response condition is all about; getting
feedback from the teachers about your progress in a topic or subject. Finally, there is the
condition of engagement where learners have to actively engage in the literary experiences that
the teacher offers. A learner is more likely to be engaged in a lesson or a literary activity if all of
the other conditions are present.
These conditions can be seen in the physical environment of a classroom, the teacherstudent interactions and the routines of the everyday classroom. As I have not had my own

classroom yet, I do not know the exact set up of my room, but I do have a faint idea of the things
that I want in it.

Through the sketch, it seems a bit crowded and that can definitely be arranged in a real
classroom, but the main components are present. The reading area, the meeting area, group
tables, clustered desks, the teachers desk away from the main areas in the room. The
bookshelves, the designated homework area, and the main meeting area in front of the
chalkboard.
I am no kind of artist, nor am I good at making visually understandable floor plans. Even
though it is not in my classroom design, all of the walls would be covered in reading material.
Throughout the year, we would be, as a class, creating many anchor charts and different readable
materials that will be hung on the walls of our classroom. Aside from the things we write as a
class in modeled and shared writing times, there will also be word walls, name walls, and
different reference materials for the students available on the walls. This is one of the most
important ways to make sure a student is immersed in language. Sometimes without noticing it,
the students will have no other choice but to look at the walls and read what is on them. Seeing
the conventional spelling of things, the way the letters look, and even the punctuations, students
begin to soak it all in.
For the rest of the physical environment of a classroom, I would start off with the
arrangement of students desks. For any sort of sociolinguistic learning to happen, there needs to
be plenty of social interaction. This can happen throughout the day, and so it is easier to work
with students when they are already in groups or there is a large meeting area to work in. For that
reason, I would have desks in clusters or tables for the students to work on. The large meeting
area could be a large rug in the room used for shared reading or sharing that is done throughout
the day. This meeting place would be an area for sharing or communication between me and the
students.

The reason that in my sketch I have two different meeting areas and a reading area is
because as a student, you get used to the places where you learn. If you read in one place, then
you become comfortable reading in that place each time. If you are used to talking in one area,
then having only one area for such open communication makes the transition into a quiet area
more clear. Since it is such a physical motion as well, it becomes clear the kind of learning you
will do in one area as opposed to another. This is one way to show expectations to students of
what they should be doing where, and what is expected of them in those areas. That is why
within my design of my classroom; there are a lot of different places to do all kinds of different
work. It is in those big meeting areas where I would most likely be doing the bulk of my
instructional demonstrations for the students.
For example, the meeting areas and the students desks would be serious working areas as
opposed to the play and centers area. Play is a developmentally appropriate and essential part of
a kindergarteners day. In my play area, I want to have a lot of different things available for
dramatic play and literacy learning within that. For example, a nice kitchen area would be nice
and within that, a recipe book, a few notebooks and writing utensils for making up recipes. If
there were a house area, a notepad for grocery lists, chores, or art projects would be a good way
of incorporating literacy into a play area, but still keeping it fun. Obviously that area would have
a lot of wall storage space to keep all of the blocks, puzzles, props, and toys available to play
with during the dramatic play time of the day. My idea is that there would be cupboard like areas
all around the room to keep supplies, and play materials; since there are would hopefully be a lot.
For the teacher however, I only designated a corner in the room for the desk. It can be
distracting if there is a large desk in the middle of the class or even in a very looming place over

the students. Since most of my instruction includes going around and talking to students anyway,
there is no need for my desk to be front and center.
Finally, one last requirement I would have for my classroom is a small library. Having
books available all the time is a luxury that unfortunately not all students have. Therefore, I
would like to have a system of personal books for each student and special books of interest as
well. Through this small library, students are able to choose what kinds of things they will
engage with and what they will make themselves responsible for learning about with my help.
The books that the students pick out for their own book boxes would be kept separate in the
book box area near the teachers desk.
The idea of each student having their own pile of books is in a way to get the students to
feel responsible for picking out the books that they want, but also to make sure that they are not
wasting time getting up and getting books every two minutes when they finish one. Instead, the
students learn to read and reread a book to practice their fluency. This is also another form of
immersion for the students. Like I mentioned, not all students will have access to books all the
time, and therefore this might be the only place where they get to be so immersed in literature,
and so I want to make it as comforting, interesting, and accessible as possible. Which is why
there would be as many bean bags and small couches in that area as physically possible.
The interactions between teachers and student are another important factor in a
classroom. My personal philosophy is that I will be a support system for the students, and
therefore I feel that my interactions with them during class are important; as are the routines that
I set up for them in the class. By setting up a routine that allows for reading time, sharing, and
work, I feel like the interactions would mostly occur when I would be doing lessons. Giving
instructions, doing shared/group readings, and then allowing for work time, I feel as though

those would be the largest group interactions. This to me seems like enough as long as the
students feel as though they can interact freely with me and their peers. In the end, I want my
classroom environment to show that I give my students the opportunities to experience literacy in
different ways.

TASK 3: SELF REFLECTION AND GOAL SETTING

There are many places where I need to improve as a kindergarten teacher. In order to
become an effective teacher of literacy, I think I can pull out a lot from the assessments, but I
think I need to work on doing more with that information that I get from them. Even if I know
that a student needs help with identifying letters, I want to practice coming up with good
personal instruction that would help with that problem. Rather than just having one solution for
all of a students problems, I would like to have different options for instruction. This of course
will come with more practice as well as continued work with more experienced colleagues.
Another place where I can improve as a teacher is in my knowledge about exceptional
learners. In this literacy plan, I acknowledged that I would have a wide range of abilities in my
classroom, but that all included learners that could physically write and read with the right
instruction. However, it is possible that I will have students with learning or physical disabilities.
I want to become more informed about different disabilities as well as how to instruct as normal
as possible and be as effective as possible for that student and for everyone else.
Finally, I think that one place that I really need to develop in is my ability to diagnose and
instruct in the classroom. While I have the confidence to teach a lesson that I prepare ahead of
time, I feel as though I would need to further practice my ability to teach a lesson on the spot if I
am noticing a lot of problems with the students in the classroom. This could occur a lot

especially during a reading or writing time. If I notice that many of the students are mixing up
words or jumping from page to page, then I will have to model the correct behavior. The biggest
thing here that I want to practice is my ability to instruct directly to a need that I see. This as well
as conferencing and teaching on the spot to individual students are things that I personally do
know how to do, but wish to practice more and get more comfortable with. Luckily, this is
something that can come to flourish with more practice and more experience in a real classroom.
I am confident that with the strategies that I talked about and the different theories that I plan to
incorporate into my classroom, I could be an effective teacher of literacy.

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