Task 3: Literacy Strategies

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

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

Before the Observation

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

In the school

Explain the task to your MST so she can try to highlight and include some
of the strategies/aspects you may need to consider
Decide what time(s) each day you will conduct this observation.
See if you can find out what the teacher plans to do each day by studying
his/her plans, and/or talking with them.
 LITERACY STRATEGIES

Observe your MSTs classroom and general practices you see around the
school. Discuss the areas below in context of what you observe in school and
support with a photo and a reference to reading when possible.
Describe the classroom environment.

The classroom is color full and its so comfortable for the students, and there are a lot
of the display board in the classroom and the teacher hangs the students works such
as worksheet, exam and their handcrafts works. Also, the classroom contains a lot of
the shelves on of them for the students books (English journal, English Notebook, Math
+ science notebook, Science vol 3, Journeys vol 3 and go math vol.3), They students
have a shelves they put in it all their stuff and there are two section one for the boy
and the other girls to put their bags. Also, there are four tables end each table six
chairs. Moreover, the teacher decorate the door with a big cupcake then she put
overall in the door mini cupcake with students Name so it's so color full also she hang
out classroom behind the door three files one of them for attendance the second one
for the English lesson plan, the third one for the Arabic lesson plan. Also, she decorates
the wall with numbers and letters, she put a lot of the charts on the walls and two
reward system one for the Arabic and the second for the English.
====================================================
=========================
Consider how the class is a print rich environment. What print can you see
around the room? (labels, captions, flashcards, headings, rules, instructions,
timetable, flash cards, etc) For each one you mention insert pictures and
state the purpose of each one.

1- Print rich environment: Time Table.

1- Picture : Down Below.
1- Purpose: The purpose of the table developed by the teacher in the classroom is to students to see it
and let students know what they have in this period. Also, be directed to students to see what class
they have. For example, when I sit with students waiting for the teacher to suddenly come to the other
teacher for another subject to come but it is time for English So, I noticed one student called Jana says
to the Arabic teacher we do not have Arabic see the Schedule so it's good to put the schedule in the
classroom.
 3- Print rich environment: Classroom rules.
2- Picture: Down Below.
2- Purpose: The purpose of the classroom rules that will remind the students
to be on good behaviour in the classroom and if one of the students do
misbehave she will point in the classroom rules that hang on the walls, also
this good strategy for control in the students.
2- Print rich environment: Flash Cards.
3- Picture: Down Below.
3- Purpose: The purpose of the flashcards that will help the students to
remember the words and that will help the low ability because the students
4- Print
will attractrich environment:
for the reading
cards because corner. contain pictures and it visual
the flashcards
4- Picture: Down
for the students. Below.
4- Purpose: The purpose of the reading corner that develops the students
reading because the teacher let the students read the story in each free time.
Also, they will know the new word from the story.

5- Print rich environment: calendar chart.

5- Picture: Down Below.
5- Purpose: The purpose of the calendar chart that will help the student to
know the date and month because the teacher does every day.
4 5
1 2 3

==============================================
=======================

Is there a variety of books and genres in the class?

Mention some. How are they displayed?

There are a lot of books in the classroom in the reading corner but the
teacher bring the books from the library and the type of the book that
teacher bring it is a picture book because in each page contain picture and
text sometimes she bring history story that link with the lesson. and she
displayed for the students in circle time also when she read the story for the
students she change her voice tone but sometimes she put the story on the
smart board and she have another strategy that displays the story its to put
the video story and when the reader read she stopped the reader and ask
the student question. And all the time when she does the reading she does
share reading and she let the students predict the event that in the story.
==============================================
======================

Describe the reading area in your classroom?

There is a corner in at the back of the classroom in this corner there is a

small shelves in the top of the shelves there is a card that written reading
corner, that the teacher put the students and these shelves contain Arabic
and English stories and most of the stories are picture book and all the
stories has good behaviour that will let the students learn something good
such as helping the animal. So the teacher uses the reading corner to let the
student read when the students have a free time or when they finish doing
task, exam and activity to not for lost the time for nothing and to not disturb
the other students while the other students working.
==============================================
======================

Does the teacher read to the children? How often? How

does she motivate them to read?

Yes, the teacher read for the students almost every day because of grade
one \ B every day they have two periods of English class, so she let the
student sit in circle area but before the class start, she brings the story from
the library and prepares for it. So before she starts reading she show the
students cover page and she asks them what do you think it will be about
and when she read the story she changed her voice tone. Moreover, she
motivates the students to read by telling them the important of reading and
she used different activity while she reading to let the students love reading.
Moreover, she let the students tell the story or what they understand from
the story for their parents so that on the next day the students tell for the
teacher the parents reaction so the students want to know other story so
this motivates them to read.

==============================================
======================
Describe the reading approaches have you observed?
Where do the children sit? How does the teacher
encourage participation?

Read aloud : The teacher let the students open English book page that
contains story so the students sit in groups so all the students open the
same page so the teacher read the first line then she let all the students read
together then when she finish the first page she let group by group read
aloud so if they all read by group she give them a money from class dojo if
she notice any students not reading she say for a whole class let listen to a
superhero Ahmed and she motivate them to participate in reading.

Shared reading: When the teacher does share reading she let the students
sit in circles area and she sit in the chair with the students and she use
picture book. Then she let them predict the event by looking at the cover
page and she also do the concept of print while she reading with the
students and she let them all participate when she ask question or let them
do something so if the students not participate she said who want to take
money answer me this question and she not finish reading until all the
students participate or not ask the students two-time to give other students
chance.

Guided reading: When the teacher let the students do guided reading she
let the group leader came and choose the story then the teacher give the
copy for a whole group so she make sure all the students read so each one
will read a page so she and the assisting teacher and I we monitoring the
students and the teacher chatting with them about the story and if they have
question or something they don't know in the story. And if some students
don't read with the students she talks to them and motivates them by money
class dojo.

Independent reading: Sometimes the teacher let the students choose the
story from the reading corner and let them read quietly alone so she walk
around the classroom to monitoring the student and she ask them if they
know these word or need help and if some student don't want to be read she
sit with them a chatting about something student like to let them reading
and she say if you will read I will let you play outside in playground five
minutes more. Also, I help the teacher when she monitoring the students.

==============================================
======================
Consider how the teacher reminds children of any
concepts of print when reading? (left-to-right, top to
bottom, punctuation, author, illustrator, etc)?

When the students read and the teacher notice they do something wrong she just
tell to them and give them another chance to correct it, for example, there are one
student called Rashid and he is from low ability students when he read he don't stop
when he see the full stop she say for the what we should do when we say comma or
full stop and let them read again and he say it correct.

==============================================
======================

How does the teacher teach phonics and word attack skills
to children? Describe a phonics lesson you observed and
mention how the children are scaffolded to recognise the
word and get the meaning.

When the teacher does with the student's phonics she put on the smart board a
PowerPoint and the PowerPoint contains letters so she say and the students repeat.
but when the principle come to observe Ms.Yara she say this a wrong way and she
let the teacher see who the way we do the phonics she put the phonics form and
put it on the smart board and she say a for apple and the sound a and like that then
she chooses different students and let them say the sound.

==============================================
======================

What comprehension strategies are the children learning/using?

the teacher use more than one comprehension strategies such as monitoring and
question so when I observed the MST she walk around and monitoring if they do
correct in their activity and tasks and she used a lot of the question comprehension
strategies such as open - ended the question and multiple choice questions. Also
after reading or when they do something she asks them a question.

==============================================
======================

Ask your teacher about special reading events carried out

in the school - e.g Book Character Day, DEAR Time, Book
Fairs, Extreme Reading competitions etc.
On the school, they didn't have any special reading event and I observed something
when there is some event about health or something the teacher will bring story or
sentence that link it to the event and let the students read.

==============================================
======================

Describe some types of writing activities or the method

the teacher uses for writing e.g emergent writing, copy
writing, dictations, etc ?

The teacher to develop students' writing skills allows students to write a paragraph
or sentence every day for a different subject like what they will do on holiday so
every day they give them a different subject and they make sure they write their
name, date and address at the top of the page. Moreover, she left a copy of the
vocabulary and gave them a spelling test on these words.

==============================================
======================

Some picture for the question one

 REFLECTION
Choose 3 best practices you observed during your time
in school. Reflect on these and consider why you could
implement these in a UAE primary classroom in the
future. Explain how these practices will affect student
learning and reading levels in a primary class.
When I observed the classroom I notice three important things, the first one how
the teacher develop the students writing skills by let them practice every day and
make for them a dictation that happens as a routine, The second thing how the
teacher develop the reading skills this one also as a routine so she do every day a
shared reading and some time she put a story on the smart board and she let
each student read the students and if the students read it correctly she give them
a money from the classroom dojo to motivate other students to read correctly. The
last thing that I noticed in all the school with teachers and principle it is how they
manage the time such as the grade one \ B they have an English then the bell
ring so the teacher before she prepare the students for the other class and she let
them take out their book for the second period. This teach the students how we
respect the time and to be on the time.

How you will used in future.

I will be used in the future three strategies I observed because that help the
students to develop their skills in the writing and reading and that so important to
let the students read and write in a good way and let them better and also if the
student is better that mean there teacher is good so, I would use it in the future.