EDTE 301: INQUIRY PROJECT

1. EDTE 301: INQUIRY PROJECT By: Derrien Robinson

2. Central question • What strategies can be taught to support early primary students with literacy deficits?

3. Context: • Practicum school this year had a diverse student population • School split into “Literacy Groups” as a concentrated effort by faculty to improve poor literacy levels • Some students entered Kindergarten with a strong background in reading; many entered without ever having touched a book

4. Inquiry Process • 1. Research topic of early elementary literacy and brain development and read:a. Lundberg, Ingvar. "Development and Aging: Early Precursors and Enabling Skills of Reading Acquisition." Scandanavian Journal of Psychology 50 (2009): 611-616b. Senechal, Monique and Laura Young. "The effect of Family Literacy Interventions on Children's Acquisitio of Reading from Kindergarten to Grade 3: A Meta-Analytic Review" American Educational Research Association 78 (Dec, 2008): 880-907c. Posner, Michael, and Mary K. Rothbart. "Literacy". Educating the Human Brain. Washington; American Psychological Association. 2007. Print. 2. Informal Discussion of topic with Kristen Robinson, Masters in Education and Middle Years Literacy. a. Discussed teaching differentiated primary classrooms, and her observations about the topic. b. Discussed teaching tools for literacy & K. Robinson's Masters Degree Program findings.c. Discussed Smart Learning and how this teaching strategy is incorporated into the classroom. d. Viewed instructional materials used in K. Robinson's Grade 3 classroom.3. Explore the concept of teaching a differentiated classroom through reading Carol Ann Tomlinson's "Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom: Strategies and Tools for Responsive Teaching".4. Assume that teaching literacy is Brain Learning and that classroom instruction must be differentiated, and read literature on "Smart Learning" by Susan Close.

5. Article Review - “Development and Aging: Early Precursors and Enabling Skills of Reading Acquisition” • Article examines early literacy development in children from infancy • Discusses speech perception and speech production in infants and toddlers and phonological awareness in children over the years and early steps in communication and language development. • What I learned: Different experiences as well as different gene-environment interaction between children, complicated by other factors such as learning disabilities and motivation, create differentiated learners in literacy.

6. Article Review: “The Effect of Family Literacy Interventions on Childen’s Acquisition of Reading from Kindergarten to Grade 3: A Meta-Analytic Review” • Article reviews a number of studies that relate to family literacy interventions and discusses the perceived importance of parental involvement in reading and evaluates methods used at home, including: • Reading to children • Listening to children read aloud • Specific reading tutoring • What I learned: Providing parents with basic instruction as to how to assist children is effective with promoting literacy in K-3

7. Article Review: “Literacy” in “Educating the Human Brain” • Discusses how children form important connections and pathways in their brain related to literacy • Shows how specific early interventions can improve mental processing: more practice will lead to less effort required in decoding • What I learned: Brain development is important to the development of basic reading skills. More research is needed by educational professionals in this area.

8. Differentiated Classroom • Differentiated instruction is responsive instruction • Teachers must assess students individually: students have different needs • Not all learners in a class will be at the same level; not all learners learn the same • Goals are to make each student feel safe and powerfulencourage them make contributions to the class, and be challenged in their learning.

9. Informal Discussion with Kristen Robinson, Masters in Education and Middle Years Literacy • What is the reading level makeup of your current classroom? Are there any students without strong reading backgrounds? • What strategies do you use to assist struggling readers? • What is your experience with Smart Learning? • Any tips?

10. Reading in the Classroom

11. Using Smart Reading in the Classroom VISUAL AIDS HIGH-INTEREST BOOKS: GRAPHIC NOVELS

12. What do students need? • A program which addresses their ongoing development of orthographic knowledge • Reading comprehension strategies • Figure out a word: 1. Sound it out 2. Skip and read to the end of the sentence 3. Look at the picture 4. Ask someone

13. Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies • Day 1: Do a “Prediction Day” Look at the cover, read the title, look at the pictures, and make a prediction (what is the story about) • Day 2: Read your book • Use sticky notes to remember big ideas in the beginning, middle and end • Day 3: Re-read • Look for a way to connect your story to your real life experiences

14. “Making connections”

15. Tips • Chunk information by: Know, Wonder, Predict • Set Goals • Listen to children read daily – constantly try to “level up” • Making connections is key

16. Future implications for teaching • Parents / Guardians of early primary students should be educated about teaching basic literacy skills • Literacy skills should be practiced often to create brain pathways related to decoding and working memory • Teaching must be responsive; teachers must know their students and where each student is at and how they learn • Teachers must teach effective reading strategies and include the development of orthographic knowledge

17. Further Questions • More research is needed on how the brain develops literacy skills • There are other literacy education methods that I did not research: Guided Reading and Reading Power