Literacy Development

Stages of Literacy Development & Example Activities/Strategies

ELL students especially in the upper secondary grades are faced with a challenging task when it comes to developing literacy skills. The reason being they have to play “catch-up” to their English speaking peers in both grade-level literacy skills and content (Howard, 2012). Dr. Krashen and Dr. Collier (ACE, 2014) thematic units and interdisciplinary lessons provided the structure and focus for sheltered instruction. Thematic, interdisciplinary instruction also allow for ELL students to simultaneous work on multiple areas of grade level content which enhances the students’ ability to generalize their skills across the board. Thematic and interdisciplinary instruction also provides repetition of knowledge and vocabulary that ELLs need to acquire a second language. Depending on a student’s developmental literacy stage: emergent, early, or transitional/fluent (ACE, 2014) a teacher can determine the intensity of scaffolding and supports needed for a student to achieve the grade-level objectives. In the following assignment, each of the three stages of literacy development will be explained and an example reading or writing activity/strategy will be provided for 10th grade students leaning physical science and English/ language arts.

Grade level: 10th

Content Areas 1 and 2: Physical Science & English/Language Arts

Theme: States of Matter 

Emergent Stage:

The Emergent stage of literacy is the beginning stage where students develop and understanding of print and non-conventional literacy behaviors (Haggard, 2014). In this stage students learn to track print (left to right, top to bottom) and use pictures and visuals (beginning and ending letters of words) to make meaning (ACE, 2014). Emergent students also: understand written words obtain a message, may pretend to read, turn the pages of a book, start matching spoken words with print, start naming and writing letters, and may make scribbles as they pretend to write (Bankstreet College of Education, 2011). Haggard (2014) encourages the following strategies for students in the emergent stage: teacher talks, storybook readings, phonological awareness activities (identifying and sorting sounds of language), alphabet activates, support for emergent reading (appropriate books, teacher read alouds, and conversations about new vocabulary), support for emergent writing (label pictures, write using invented spelling, and writing modeled by the teacher), and shared book experiences. Students in the Emergent stage benefit and have the most success comprehending: simple narratives, eight to sixteen pages long, with simple text (high-frequency words with common beginning and ending letters) in the first person present tense (one to two sentences per page) with lots of visuals and repetition (ACE, 2014).

Reading/Writing Strategy Activity For Emergent Stage:

After reviewing five of the content related vocabulary and their definitions in the students’ native language, students will then practice saying and clapping out the syllable of each word. This will first be done as a class and then the students will practice in partners. Students will then be asked to write down any letters they hear in the order they hear them. The teacher will then revile the actual spelling of the word so the students can see if they identified any of the sounds and letters correctly.

Early Stage:

The Early stage of literacy is the middle stage where students can recognize spelling patterns, use structure and letter sounds together, and self-correct when reading orally (ACE, 2014). Students in the Early stages also: pretend to read write, match spoken and written words, know letter names and sounds, know reading needs to make sense, know the meaning of some punctuation (capital letters and periods), can recognize some sight words in multiple context, use the knowledge of letter sounds to spell words (not always correct), and students begin to re-read their own writing (Bankstreet College of Education, 2011). Students in the Early stage benefit from reading: long narrative or informational text (16-24 pages long) containing dialogue and repetition, with high-frequency words with common phonemes (ch, sh, ing) and rimes along with pictures that match the text (ACE, 2014). Beneficial strategies for this stage are: shared and guided readings or repetitions and predictable text, pictures that match the text, teachers modeling reading through read alouds, sight word activities, encourage students to write by sounding out the words, and discussing and retelling stories in small groups or with a partner (Bankstreet College of Education, 2011).

Reading/Writing Strategy Activity For Early Stage:

Together as a class the teacher will read short poems about the different states of matter (pictures will be supplemented by the teacher if they are not already present). Each student will be given a copy of the poem to follow along with as the teacher reads. Then in partners, the students will reread the short poems and circle any words that rhyme. The students will then discuss the sound that makes the words rhyme. Then as a class different pairs of partners will share the rhyming words they found.

Transitional/Fluent Stage:

The Transitional/Fluent Stage is the third and final stage of literacy development. Students in this stage can read and identify text from different genres in addition to: creating story and character maps, take notes, organize data in to charts, and retell what they read through writing (ACE, 2014). Transitional/Fluent stage readers benefit from: text from a verity of genres (short chapter books with 20 lines per page) containing longer sentences of new content and minimal pictures (ACE, 2014). Beneficial strategies for this stage are: repeated readings, reading with others, written compression activities and discussions (Helman & Burns 2008), creating a timeline, making connections to background knowledge, practice inferring meaning, making predictions, and self-monitoring reading and writing (Manyak, 2007).

Reading/Writing Strategy Activity For Transitional/Fluent Stage:

After reading pomes about the different states of matter (solid, liquid, gas) in partners, each pair of students will create a graphic organizer identifying all the defining examples and the characteristics of a: solid, liquid, and gas. Independently students will then choose to write a short poem or story about the characteristics of each state of matter or a personal experience of converting one state of matter to another. Then again in pairs, students will share their short story or poem.

Why Identify Which Stage of Literacy Development Students Are In? 

As a teacher it is important to be able to identify which stage of literacy development each of my students is in: emergent, early, or transitional/fluent (ACE, 2014). Knowing the stage of development of each of my students, will allow me to implement the most effective strategies and keep each student feeling successful and motivated. ELLs are faced with challenging task of developing content and language skills in a short amount of time. Again this is why it is important to utilize thematic units, interdisciplinary lesson and sheltered instruction so language acquisition and grade-level content can be taught simultaneously.

Predicting Reading Success

Cardenas-Gagan, Carlson, and Pollard-Duradola (2007), state phonemic awareness skills in either Spanish or English can help predict reading success in both Spanish and English. Many know this to be true for English, but not the part that if a student demonstrates successful phonemic awareness skills in Spanish that that served as a good indicator they would be a successful reader in English and Spanish.