KSELA6: Assessment and Adaptation of Literacy Instruction - The importance of individualizing the literacy program to address the needs and strengths of learners; a variety of valid and efficient language arts assessments appropriate for different purposes; the observable characteristics of a variety of reading and writing difficulties; strategies for modifying literacy instruction to support the needs of individual learners, including English Language Learners (ELLs)
Evidence 1: "The Cafe Book: Engaging All Students in Daily Literacy Assessment & Instruction"
Boushey, G., & Moser, J. (2009). The Cafe Book. Portland: Stenhouse.
Description: The CAFE system is an acronym for Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency and Expand vocabulary. The system includes goal setting with students, posting goals on a whole-class board, developing small group instruction based on clusters of students with similar goals, and focusing whole class instruction on emerging student needs.
Analysis: This book details many strategies to individualize literacy instruction. Children should be grouped by reading level and not necessarily age. Teachers can read stories while children follow along. Repeated Reading is another effective strategy. Children continue to read the same text over and over until they can read the selection with only three to six errors.
Evidence 2: "Literacy's Beginnings: Supporting Young Readers and Writers"
McGee, L., & Richgels, D. (2008). Literacy's beginnings: Supporting young readers and writers (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
Description: This book offers an integrated approach to reading and writing instruction keyed to the five typical developmental stages through which most children pass: awareness and exploration, experimenting readers and writers, and conventional readers and writers in early, transitional and self-generative phases.
Analysis: This book indicates that teachers working with English Language Learners should be aware of the four phases of oral language development as they acquire a second language. These phases include preproduction, early production, speech emergence and intermediate fluency. During each of these stages, teachers can provide various methods of literacy instruction and books to ELLs. For example, during stage 1, teachers should provide letter books and label books to students with instruction in survival words through the lense of dramatic play. To aid in literacy instruction, teachers should also learn about the students home culture including cultural expectation.
Evidence 3: Inservice October 2014
Description: During this workshop we learned about literacy as it relates to the Common Core, and how to use the Common Core standards to make reading and writing more complex.
Analysis: While in this training we were introduced to a tool that instructors can use to assess pre- and post-unit knowledge. We were taught how to create "How to Be..." poems. Students make a list of facts known about the given topic and then order those facts for best effect. Each line of the poem should begin with a verb as well. Children can create these poems at the beginning and end of a unit to identify new knowledge and understanding that has been gained.
