Literacy+Research


 * Helpful Research to Aide your Literacy Teaching, Tutoring, and Learning:**

Alexander, P. A., & Fox, E. (2004). A historical perspective on reading research and practice. In R. B. Rudell (Ed.), Theoretical models and processes in reading (Vol. 5th Edition, pp. 33-68). Newark: International Reading Association.
 * Article:**
 * Topic:** The history of the study and practice of reading
 * Purpose:** To position the transformations of reading study and practice within a historical framework.
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * **//Era of Conditioned Learning (1950-1965)://** //During this time period, teachers were heavily influenced by the behaviorist theory. Learning was considered a trainable behavior, and teachers believed in a transmission model.//
 * **//Era of Natural Learning (1966-1975)://** //During this time period, language was viewed as an innate and natural process where it is developed through meaningful use,//
 * **//Era of Information Processing (1976-1985)://** //During this time period, research in education took a cognitive psychological viewpoint, where students were thought to learn by constructing their knowledge through their prior knowledge. A readers' knowledge base was thought to be powerful, pervasive, individualistic, and modifiable. There was a heavy focus on the learner's individual mind.//
 * **//Era of Sociocultural Learning (1986-1995)://** //During this time period, group learning took the place of the emphasis on the individual mind. Research sought to capture the shared understanding of the many, rather the individual. Learners were thought to learn best through a sociocultural collaborative effort. Knowledge was recognized as having multiple forms.//
 * **//Era of Engaged Learning (1996-present)://** //From 1996 until now, research and teaching has been focused on the ability for students to construct their own knowledge, based upon their prior knowledge, and are active in their own learning.//

The authors' of this article, starting in 1950, trace the evolution of educational research and practice. They break each time period down by dominant learning theories and practice, rival views during those time periods, how they have changed, and what research has disappeared and reemerged from time to time.
 * Methodology:**

Coming from an undergrad background in education, I have already had the opportunity to learn about the history of educational theory. However, I thought it was interesting how Alexander and Fox went through each time period of educational research and practice as a concurrent and ever changing event, rather as a blip on the radar of history. Many of these theories were shaped, transformed, recycled, and then reappear here and there. I think its important to know that educational theory is still changing, and will probably always continue to change.
 * Reflection:**

Barton, D. (1994). The social basis of literacy. In D. Barton (Ed.), Literacy: An introduction to the ecology of written language (pp. 33-52). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
 * Article:**
 * Topic:** The social basis of literacy
 * Purpose:** To explain the social theory of literacy as a system to represent the world to others and ourselves.
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * **//Literacy event://** //an occasion when a person 'attempts to comprehend or produce graphic signs', either alone or with others.//
 * **//Literacy Practice://** //the general cultural ways of utilizing literacy, which people draw upon in a literacy event.//
 * //"People have different literacies which they make use of, associated with different domains of life." P.38//
 * **//Domains://** //different places in a persons life (i.e. home, school, church, etc.) where different literacies are used.//
 * //"Peoples Literacies are situated in broader social relations" p.41//
 * //"Literacy is based upon a system of symbols" p.45//
 * //"Literacy is a symbolic system used for representing the world to ourselves"//
 * //"We have awareness, attitudes and values with respect to literacy and these attitudes and values guide our actions." P.47//
 * //"Literacy has a history" p.49//
 * //"Literacy events and practices have a social history" p.51//

I find it interesting that literacy is viewed so differently in social, critical, and cognitive lenses. One of the most interesting points that I saw in this article was that Barton recognized different literacies that are used within different domains. Although I agree that there are different literacy practices and events, I see them as pieces to a more cohesive understanding of literacy. As I was reading this article I began to wonder whether or not it was possible to have a social perspective of literacy without having a social or sociocultural perspective on learning as a whole. I thought this article was very interesting, I just keep wondering about what implications a social perspective of literacy would have on my teaching.
 * Reflection:**

Englert, C.S., Raphael, T.E., Anderson, L.M, Anthony, H.M., Stevens, D.D (1991). Making Strategies and Self-Talk Visible: Writing Instruction in Regular and Special Education Classrooms. American Educational Research Journal, 28(2), 337-372.
 * Article:**

Reading and writing measures were administered to students in 8 sessions all together (4 in September, 4 in May). The reading measure was presented first so there could be no bias about the writing measure having influence over the initial results. 183 fourth and fifth graders from 12 different school participated in the study. These students were from low SES neighborhoods and represented a variety of ethnic groups. 128 students were from regular classrooms, and 55 students were identified as having a learning disability. Two comparison groups were formed within the regular education students. There were 67 regular education students in the experimental group and the rest of the regular education students were within the control group. 33 of the 55 students labeled with an LD were in the experimental group, and 22 of them were placed in a control group. Students in the experimental groups were given a CSIW (cognitive strategy instruction and writing materials. Although I do agree that writing is certainly a process that involves different skills and "inner language," I think that using a system like the CSIW is not the best way to teach writing. Such a system is a means to teach writing, but not the writer. However, I do agree that there are not enough writing interventions being performed in special education classes. I also believe that there is not enough writing being done within any classroom, and writing, like reading, depends on practice. I do think that the results show that the writing process does need to be taught within the classroom. However, I think that writing should be approached from an angle that is not so structured and uniform.
 * Topic:** The effects of an instructional emphasis on student and teacher dialogues
 * Purpose:** To examine the impact of dialogic instruction on students' expository writing, text structure processes, and self regulated learning.
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * **"POWER":** //refers to the acronym used to describe the writing strategies used to develop inner language. These strategies include planning, organizing, writing, editing, and revising.//
 * **//Inner Language://** //the dialogue one has with him/herself has about the text and its content, the writing process, and the process of encountering a problem with a text and figuring it out on their own.//
 * **//Scaffolded Instruction://** //is where a teacher gradually releases the responsibility of learning until the student is eventually responsible for his/her own learning.//
 * **//Metacognitive knowledge://** //is essentially how someone is thinking about his or her own thinking.//
 * Methodology:**
 * Reflection:**

Hart, B. & Risley, T. R. (2003). The early catastrophe: The 30 million word gap. American Educator, 27, 4-9.
 * Article:**


 * Topic:** Differences in vocabulary development with relation to a child's SES
 * Purpose:** To determine what was going on differently in low SES versus high SES homes, that affects a child's development and growth of vocabulary.
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * There is a strong correlation between a child's SES and his/her vocabulary development.
 * Children in higher SES families hear about twice the amount of words in an hour from their parents, and are hear many more affirmatives, or encouragements, than children of low SES. This has a strong correlation to the vocabulary growth of children.
 * An exposure to more vocabulary at an early age will have a positive lasting effect.

42 families were observed once a month for 2.5 years. 13 families were high SES, 10 were middle SES, 13 were lower SES, and 6 were on welfare. Verbal and social interactions between the parents and children were recorded.
 * Methodology:**

I really never thought about SES having such an affect on vocabulary growth as these results show. The problem with such striking results is that poverty is a vicious cycle, and the only way out of poverty is to get an education. It's sad that kids from low SES families come to school already behind students who are privileged. What is also amazing to me is how quickly the gap widens between various levels of SES. What I don't really understand is why kids' parents' from low SES families discourage their children more than they encourage them. Although I can understand why this would have the affect it does on vocabulary acquisition, I can't wrap my finger around exactly why SES is such a determining factor in the amount a kid is discouraged. Heath, S.B. (1982). What no bedtime stories means: Narrative skills at home and school. Language and Society, 11, 49-76.
 * Reflection:**
 * Article:**


 * Topic:** The sociocultural effect on literacy events, behaviors, and acquisition
 * Purpose:** To understand the way different cultures "take" knowledge from their environments.
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * A child's culture determines his environment, and his environment affects the way he takes meaning from books.
 * Each culture had a different literacy events and practices which effected the way the children learned in schools.
 * Knowing more about the benefits and limitations from each culture's literacy practices can help schools determine ways to help all students become successful learners of literacy.

This is a comparative study of language patterns in three literate communities in southeastern United States. These communities, although similar geographically, their cultures are very different between the various communities. Literacy events and practices were studies in each of this towns at home and at school in order to determine how students from different literate cultures construct meaning from a given text.
 * Methodology:**

What I really liked about this article was that it didn't simply put a negative umbrella over the literacy practices of the communities that had lower SES. I thought it was very interesting how meaning was constructed differently in each of the communities. Although we can attempt to change literacy practices in our nation, the fact of the matter is that our nation is so diverse that there will never be a single answer to teaching literacy because we have so many cultures and subcultures within our country. What I did not like about the article was that it provided very little information on how data was recorded and it also made it seem like every person within each respective community participated in the very same literacy events and practices.
 * Reflection:**

Jiménez, R.T., Smith, P.H., & Martínez-León, N. (2003). Freedom and Form: The Language and Literacy Practices of Two Mexican Schools. Reading Research Quarterly, 38(4), 488 **–** 508.
 * Article:**


 * Topic:** Literacy practices and language use within two Mexican schools
 * Purpose: "** To examine how language and literacy were used by teachers, students, and administrators in two Mexican schools to contribute a broader understanding of culturally and historically conditioned notions of literacy in general." P.488
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * Mexican-Spanish is appraised through colonial and neocolonial lenses
 * **//Hypercorrection://** //is the modification of one's spoken or written language in ways that actually depart from conventional usage because of a perception that one's use of language is deficient.//
 * //Students and teachers in Mexico give a lot of attention to the appearance of their written work.//
 * //Spanish and indigenous literacy practices heavily influence Mexican Literacy practices today.//
 * //Jimenez proposes that the freedom of student conversation within the indigenous classroom is a way to empower them, because they are often marginalized within Mexican society.//

Students were observed in two different schools in a small Mexican city over a period of six months. Data was collected through classroom observations, teacher and administrator interviews, school-produced documents, and publicly displayed texts. One of the schools observed had a high population of indigenous students, mostly from working class families. The other school was filled with students from middle to upper class. The data was collected from 34 classroom observations from anywhere to one hour to an hour and a half.
 * Methodology:**

I think that it is very important to understand the literacy practices of various cultures, especially when teaching students who come from different cultures. I also agree that we do need to give voice to students who are marginalized. Although some of the observations were very informative, I thought that the research was not adequate enough to make a case for changing unjust social arrangements. The data seems to be displayed erratically and there seem to be too many variables to plead anything but singular school cultures. They seemed to have spent much more time in Centro Telpochcalli than the other school, which makes their comparisons very weak. Although I understood the case they were making, the research did not seem like it provided much evidence for anything.
 * Reflection:**

UTF Stanovich, K. A., & Stanovich, P. (2003). Using research and reason in education: How teachers can use scientifically based research to make curricular and instructional decisions. Retrieved from http://www.nifl.gov/publications/html/stanovich/.
 * Article:**

Stanovich & Stanovich explain what scientifically based research is, and how/why teachers within the classroom should use it.
 * Topic:** How to apply education research to instructional practices.
 * Purpose:** To explain how teachers can use scientifically based research to make curricular and instructional decisions within the classroom.
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * "As professionals, teachers can become more effective and powerful by developing skills to recognize scientifically based practice and, when the evidence is not available, use some basic research concepts to draw conclusions on their own" p. 2
 * "Scientific thinking in practice is what characterizes reflective teachers…" p. 4
 * "Source credibility: the consumer protection of peer reviewed journals" p. 7
 * In order to be considered scientifically based, research needs to be able to be replicated.
 * **//Empiricism://** //is the practice of relying on observation. p.11//
 * **//Falsifiability://** //the criterion of whether a problem is "testable" p. 13//
 * //Objectivity is crucial//
 * **//The principal of connectivity://** //with relation to teaching means that if a teacher wishes to try a new method that has no evidence behind it, he should first see if he can connect the idea behind this method to the research based consensus of that particular curricular area.//
 * Methodology:**

I thought that this article was very informative, and did a good job explaining the logistics behind scientifically based research. I think as educators we do often forget to use research as a tool to help us develop curriculum. Too often are educators caught in trends, or practices that hold little to no supportive research. I understand however, that as a teacher there are so many things going on that it could be hard to keep up on current research, let alone conduct your own. However, every teacher should be knowledgeable in scientifically based educational theory at least somewhat. I also think that if your instructional techniques are not working, it should be time to head back to the drawing board, which means doing more research. The more we know about student learning, and proven instructional strategies, the better.
 * Reflection:**

Street, B. (2000). Literacy events and literacy practices. In M. Martin-Jones & K. Jones (Ed.) Multilingual Literacies: Comparative Perspectives on Research and Practice. Amsterdam: John Benjamin's, 17-29.
 * Article:**
 * Topic:** Literacy Events and Literacy Practices
 * Purpose:** Street argues for a more concrete and refinement of the usages of terms such as literacy events, literacy practices, literacy patterns, and literacy strategies. He also attempts to analyze the social contexts of these terms in literacy, and to get theoretically from accounts of literacy events to literacy practices.
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * //Literacy practices vary with cultural context//
 * //"One cannot simply line up a single literacy with a single culture" p. 19//
 * //Literacy practices attempt to handle the events and the patterns of activity around literacy by linking them socioculturally.//
 * //"You can photograph literacy events but you cannot photograph literacy practices" p. 21//

By bringing together various perspectives of definitions between various fields, Street combines them to form a more cohesive outlook on what literacy events and practices are, especially within a social framework. I think Street does a good job explaining the process of observing a literacy practice in order to conceptualize it within literacy practices. I agree that literacy events and practices differ from culture to culture. This has to be taken into account in any classroom, especially in a classroom full of diverse learners.
 * Methodology:**
 * Reflection:**

Warby, D. B., Greene, M. T., Higgins, K., & Lovitt, T. C. (1999). Suggestions for translating research into classroom practices. Intervention in school and clinic, 34 (4), 205-211, 223. § //Title// § //Abstract// § //Evidence of research// § //Method// § //Identification of consumers// § //Concluding statements// § //Interpretations of findings// § //Procedures// § //Modifications// § //References// · //"The ability to access and interpret directly from primary sources of educational research empowers the educator.//
 * Article:**
 * Topic:** Using Research in Classroom Practices
 * Purpose:** To mediate an understanding between educators and researchers, and to help formulate more of a symbiotic relationship between the two.
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * **//Universal Translation Format://** //provides a method for translating research into practice. It includes the following components://

Authors explain the components of UTF as a means for an educator to be able to connect research to his classroom practices.
 * Methodology:**

I think one of the most important things the article describes, with regards to the application of UTF, is for educators to distinguish between educational theory and opinion. Although opinion based research can be of use sometimes, I think it is always best to rely more so on the empirically based data as a means to justify teaching practices. UTF is a very straightforward method and I think it would be very beneficial to use UTF as an educator because then you can always go back and see the research you conducted as well as its classroom implications.
 * Reflection:**

Jones, K. (2000). Becoming Just Another Alphanumeric Code. Pp. 70-90.
 * Article:**


 * Topic:** Literacy practices of welsh farmers at a livestock auction in accordance to the bureaucracy that they are subjected to.
 * Purpose:** to show the processes of globalization and disembedding as characteristics of contemporary society and, specifically, literacy practices of a bureaucracy.


 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * //Text articulation, negotiation and inscription are ways people mediate textual bureaucracy//
 * //"Writing and literacy practices have been central to achieving administrative and managerial purposes since the earliest historical times (Goody 1977)." p. 72//
 * //"Texts embody and mediate the conceptual and categorical order of a bureaucratic system." p. 88//

Jones looked closely at how the auction was set up bureaucratically and how it was mediated and interpreted linguistically through talk and texts. She recorded verbatim what was said between the farms and the bureaucratic mediator, in both welsh and English. She also collected some of the forms filled out by the mediator in English, which he had translated from welsh. By comparing bureaucratic theories and laying out a historical framework, she is able to position the farmers within that framework.
 * Methodology:**

It was interesting to think that even these old welsh farmers would be influenced so greatly by the EU. They needed to understand very specific bureaucratic lingo in order to be able to sell their cows. Stan demonstrated a very essential link to these literacy practices by being an interpreter for the bureaucracy. It is unfortunate to think what would happen to those poor farmers if Stan were not there to mediate for them. I could easily understand how one could be marginalized because of the use of bureaucratic literacy practices.
 * Reflection:**

Silin, J. (2003). Reading, Writing, and the Wrath of My Father. Reading Research Quarterly, 38(2), pp. 260-267.
 * Article:**


 * Topic:** Teaching literacy as a tool to engage students in their own learning as well as a means to define themselves.
 * Purpose:** To use autobiographical research to expose his own struggles with reading and writing, and how he was able to finally engage himself in his own learning and use reading and writing as a means to define himself.
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * "Literacy, and by extension the curriculum as text, becomes pleasurable when it exceeds social utility, leaves behind the familiar and the well rehearsed, and moves into uncharted territories where loss, discomfort, playfulness--even sexuality--can be fully expressed." p.261
 * "The development of language, and by extension reading and writing, is a central part of this progressive, linear story in which we are ever more civilized, skilled at managing the process of substitution through which our "natural" instincts are managed." p.263
 * "Rather than enter the bleakness of an abyss, we can, together with our students, turn toward the world." p.265

Silin retraces his own struggles with literacy as a means to explain that the only way he was able to become a reader and a writer was to come to terms with himself first, explicitly his homosexuality. He urges teachers to turn their efforts towards helping students understand themselves, each other, and the world through reading and writing. I agree with Silin that teachers should make an effort to use literacy as a mode of expression both inside yourself and out. Teachers often get caught up in teaching skills and strategies, instead of realizing that our students have their own stories to tell, and their own learning to engage in. Obviously it would not be feasible to always have assignments, which allowed such expression, but I do believe it is essential for individuals to have their own voice as writers. I do not entirely agree with Silin (2002) when he says "Here I extrapolate that schools need to make a larger place for pleasure, for reading and writing texts that speak to and from the body about things that really matter to teachers and students, including sexuality." (p.267) I agree with everything except the sexuality part. I'm not saying I think that students' expressing themselves in writing about sexuality is wrong; I just would not feel comfortable reading something so personal.
 * Methodology:**
 * Reflection:**

Yoon, J.C. (2002). Literacy Practices in Dark Times: A Reflective Memoir. //Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy,// 45(4), pp. 290-294.
 * Article:**
 * Topic:** Literacy as a means for empowering individuals to take action for freedom
 * Purpose:** To enlighten readers about his struggle with using literacy as a means for social change and encouraging others to do the same.
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * //"The act of reading as a means for cultural consciousness and social change is a process of reconstructing our awareness of self, others, and the world by engaging in a societal context that cannot be separated from our authentic lives." p.292//
 * //"Reading without a context denies the possibility that resistance to societal inequities can change those inequities (Giroux, 1993)." p.292//

Yoon uses a combination of personal experience and related research in attempt to persuade the reader that reading should not be done out of context, and should be used as a means to empower people.
 * Methodology:**

I thought Yoon's article was very moving. We may have many problems in our educational system, but our country grants us the freedom to read whatever we want. I think our students should all read for purpose, not merely for schoolwork or for pleasure. Although we are safe in our own country, the globalization of the world brings us closer and closer to each other all the time. I suppose I wouldn’t want every one of my students to become a radical activist, but everyone should understand that knowledge is power, and knowledge is attained through reading. There is so much that needs to be changed within our state, country, and more importantly the world. Flannigan, K. (2007). A concept of word in text: A pivotal event in early reading acquisition. Journal of Literacy Research, 39 (1), 37-70.
 * Reflection:**
 * Article:**


 * Topic:** The concept of word in text in relation to early reading acquisition
 * Purpose:** to prove that a child's concept of a word in text is essential to early reading acquisition.
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * **//Concept of word in text://** //A child's ability to match spoken words to written words while reading connected text.//
 * //"To read children must be able to match spoken words to printed words." p. 42//
 * //The study found that a child's concept of a word in text is://
 * //An important developmental milestone in early reading acquisition//
 * //A robust kindergarten predictor of later reading achievement//
 * //An early reading skill that teachers can directly assess to inform instruction//


 * Methodology:** Flanigan attempted to replicate Morris's (1993) study. He tested the validity of Morris's (1993) model using a cross tabulations procedure and the Guttman scale analysis. 56 kindergarten students from two different school participated in this study. The majority of the students were white, and middle to upper middle class. All assessments were made within a two-week period. The five measures that made up the assessment were beginning consonant awareness, concept of word in text, spelling, phoneme segmentation, and word recognition.


 * Reflection:** Although this study was successful, Flanigan admits that there needs to be more research conducted in this area. I think that it only makes sense that a child will learn to read easier if the teacher is pointing to the words so that he is able to match those words to the words written on the page. I remember my mother reading to me when I was little and she would always point to the words as we read along, and I was reading before I ever went to kindergarten. I thought this was a very interesting study and look forward to seeing a longitudinal inquiry into this topic.

Lundberg, I. (2006). The c **hild’** s route into literacy: A double-tracked journey. In A. McKeough, L.M. Phillips, V. Timmons, & J.L. Lupart. (Eds.) Understanding Literacy Development A Global View (pp. 13-30). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. [CHAPTER 2 IN TEXT]
 * Article:**
 * Topic:** Early Reading Acquisition: Decoding/word recognition vs. comprehension
 * Purpose:** To explain why reading is particularly difficult for some children to learn
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * //Infants learn a great deal about the sound organization of their native tongues in a very short span of time//
 * //In order for children to learn to read, they need to understand the alphabetic principle//
 * //Reading is not natural like oral language; direct instruction is needed//
 * //Phonemic awareness can be taught without teaching letters or reading//
 * //The way a child interacts with a caregiver has strong correlations to the secure attachment and sensitivity the child is shown during infancy//
 * //There are strong correlations between a child's early success in reading and the amount of storybook reading he received during the preschool years//

Lundberg describes several aspects of early reading acquisition and early child development, and examines briefly the corresponding research in order to determine why reading is so hard for some children to learn.
 * Methodology:**


 * Reflection:** I thought it fascinating that humans are wired genetically to produce language. Since the concept of writing is invented and unnatural, its amazing that people see children as "struggling" who have difficulty beginning to read. Phonemic awareness is also a very interesting concept because if you are teaching this without reading or alphabet instruction, it is no wonder why children have trouble. Language does not sound like it is broken up into multiple phonemes unless you already know the concept because you already know how to read. So to a child who cannot read yet, it has to be difficult to think that a word like "bug" actually has three different phonemes in it.

Weigel, D. J., Martin, S. S., & Bennett, K. K. (2005). Ecological influences of the home and the child-care center on preschool-age children's literacy development. Reading Research Quarterly 40 (2), 204-233.
 * Article:**
 * Topic:** Early childhood language development at home and child-care environments
 * Purpose:** To compare the influences of home and child-care centers with preschool-age children's literacy and language development.
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * Children develop literacy through a rich context of direct and indirect influences
 * Expanding on Bronfenbrenner's (1979) research, they investigated the interrelationships among the various contexts when studying children's development.
 * A parent's level of literacy has been associated with a child's literacy and language outcomes.
 * A child's literacy and language development is associated with home and child-care environments in varied and multifaceted ways.
 * Children perform better when parents and teachers model literacy behaviors and actively engage them in literacy and language activities.

85 families and 56 child-care providers participated in this study. Parents, children, and teachers filled out a questionnaire about the literacy environments at home and at the child-care centers. Then, one year later they completed a follow up assessment questionnaire. Results were compared.
 * Methodology:**

I would have to assume that the child-care center's learning environment must be highly correlated to the child's language and literacy development (as I already know the home is), especially with the amount of parents who work and leave their children with day care providers. I think that no matter where a preschool age child is, his environment will probably always affect his language and literacy development, and definitely after multiple exposures to the same environment.
 * Reflection:**

Nicholson, T. (2006). How to avoid reading failure: Teach phonemic awareness. In A. McKeough, L.M. Phillips, V. Timmons, & J.L.   Lupart. (Eds.) Understanding Literacy Development A Global View (pp. 31-48). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. [CHAPTER 3 IN TEXT]
 * Article:**
 * Topic:** Teaching Phonemic Awareness
 * Purpose:** To define phonemic awareness and it's implications for early reading instruction
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * **//Phoneme://** //the smallest unit in language that can be represented by sound//
 * **//Phonemic Awareness instruction://** //teaching how to analyze sounds within spoken words, not written words//
 * **//Gough-Kastler-Roper Test of Phonemic Awareness-//** //strongly recommended//
 * **//Meta-analysis://** //looking at the large weight of evidence instead of getting bogged down in particular studies//
 * //There are 40 phonemes in the English language//
 * //Lip-popper technique- possible teaching strategy//
 * //Once a child has at least some phonemic awareness, instruction on phonics can begin//
 * Reflection:** "So there is a possibility that phonemic awareness is a result of learning to read rather than a result of phonological awareness instruction by itself." (p.40) I found this quote to be very interesting because it kind of contradicts the idea that phonemic awareness is essential in learning to read. If you can learn to read without first learning phonemic awareness, than what is the point? I guess what I am trying to say is that if you can learn to ride a bike without training wheels, what would be the point of putting training wheels on your bike? I know he says after that to use meta-analysis, but I'm not exactly convinced that phonemic awareness is something that needs to be taught in order to learn to read.

Pressley, M. & Hilden, K. Teaching Reading Comprehension (2006). In A. McKeough, L.M. Phillips, V. Timmons, & J.L. Lupart. (Eds.) Understanding Literacy Development A Global View (pp. 49-65). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. [CHAPTER 4 IN TEXT]
 * Article:**
 * Topic:** Teaching reading comprehension
 * Purpose:** To explain the history and significance of reading comprehension and well as ways to teach it.
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * //There was a great deal of research in reading comprehension and teaching reading comprehension in the latter part of the 20th century.//
 * //It is critical that learners learn how to decode because reading doesn't work if the reader doesn't know the words//
 * //Teaching vocabulary skills increases comprehension//
 * //Students should be taught words they are likely to encounter again//
 * //The more one knows the better and more certain comprehension will be.//
 * //Read, Read, Read//
 * Reflection:** I found it interesting that reading comprehension was no a prevalent idea in education until after the 1970s. When you look at the national standards and the state standards, the word comprehension or comprehend is plastered all over them. One thing I couldn't stand about senior English class in high school was memorizing SAT vocabulary. Perhaps it is different because the authors are talking about early development, but most of the words we had to learn and then regurgitate were words that I have never encountered again. One of the things I do keep seeing over and over again in reading research, is that one of the fundamental pillars of reading acquisition is to READ! When I eventually get my own classroom, it is my goal as an educator to create a literate culture within it, and to do so I am going to try and fill my classroom with as many books as I possibly can find.

Helman, L.A. & Burns, M.K. (2008). What does oral language have to do with it? Helping young English-Language Learners acquire a sight word vocabulary. The Reading Teacher, 62 (1), 14-31.
 * Article:**

Dail, A. R., & McGee, L. M. (2008). Transition to kindergarten: Reaching back to preschoolers and parents through shared summer school. Childhood Education, 13, 305-310.
 * Topic:** Teaching ELL students by teaching sight-word vocabulary
 * Purpose:** To explicitly explain how reading teachers can also be language teachers to ELL students to develop sight word vocabulary that will help them understand meaning in texts.
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * **Why a sight word vocabulary is important:** By developing a sight word vocabulary, or the ability to recognize words instantly, students are able to more easily read texts for meaning, and are also able to more easily learn new words from context.
 * **Relationship between oral language proficiency & acquisition rate of sight words:** Students with a higher level of oral proficiency were shown to have a higher acquisition rate than students with limited oral proficiency.
 * **Teacher support in learning sight word vocabulary:**
 * //A) teachers differentiate instructional activities in reading to support the language level of their students//
 * //B) language development activities embedded within skill instruction//
 * //C) students are given multiple opportunities in their schools day to read high-frequency words in connected texts//
 * Methodology:** Burns & Helmen (2008) conducted a study in three elementary schools in an urban district in the midwestern United States. The participants were 43 ELL second grade students, with a Hmong speaking background. By comparing students Language Assessment Scale-oral (LAS-O) scores with their sight word accuracy (a method developed by Burns in 2001).
 * Reflection:** I found their results very interesting even though I feel that it is only logical that a student who can speak English with high proficiency would recognize more sight words than students with limited oral proficiency. Nonetheless, I think it is extremely important that teachers work with ELL students daily with language development activities. The more comfortable a student is with speaking English will help him or her to learn those sight words more proficiently. Sight word identification is extremely important to any reader, and our ability to scaffold and teach students high frequency sight words is extremely important to our students' success.
 * Article:**


 * Topic:** Preparing Pre-K students for their transition to Kindergarten through a shared summer school
 * Purpose:** To explain the methodology and results of a transitional Pre-K to Kindergarten Summer school, and the effects such a program has in making the transition to Kindergarten as smooth and easy as possible.
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * **Small group Instruction:** Used games and activities to teach important skills that will be needed in Kindergarten such as learning the alphabet, phonemic awareness & letter-sound relationships, expanding language and vocabulary, and basic math and science concepts.
 * **Morning Message:** It is a common activity in Kindergarten and first grade to teach concepts about print. During the summer program, they found that by coauthoring the morning message was not only influential to the development of print awareness and literacy concepts in school, but also at home with parental-child literacy interactions.
 * Methodology:** Qualitatively follows the progress of this program over 2 summers, with five preschool teachers and four kindergarten programs, and 60 students who were about to enter kindergarten.
 * Reflection:** I think that this program is great because I feel that preschools may prepare them for the skills necessary to pass a kindergarten screening, they often do not go beyond that. A program like this helps to prepare children more adequately, by giving them direct instruction on skills that will not just make the transition easier into kindergarten, but provide students with a more solid base of prior knowledge. I think a program like this is especially important for children who may be entering kindergarten with a much lower vocabulary and knowledge base due to lower socio-economic or other factors outside of school.

Chandler-Olcott, K. & Kluth, P. (2009). Why everyone benefits from including students with Autism in a literacy classroom. The Reading Teacher, 62 (7), 548-557. Pikulski, J. J., & Chard, D. J. (2005). Fluency: bridge between decoding and reading comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 58 (6), 510-519.
 * Article:**
 * Topic:** The benefits of having autistic children in your classroom
 * Purpose:** To not only explain why autistic children benefit from inclusion in regular classes, but how every student in the classroom benefits from their presence.
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * **Literacy instruction for autistic students:** The authors say that the best place for students with autism to learn literacy skills and strategies for life is in an inclusive classroom with same-aged peers. A growing body of research supports that the inclusions of children with autism benefits their literacy development.
 * **Benefits for everyone from Autistic inclusion:**
 * Conceptions of literacy expand
 * Multiple ways of participating in classroom life are valued
 * Instructional planning focuses on outcomes, not activities
 * Teachers are positioned as inquirers.
 * Methodology:** Qualitatively explains through various case studies and studies how the inclusion of autistic children benefits everyone within the classroom.
 * Reflection:** As a firm believer in the benefits of inclusion, I found this article both informative and relevant. I think that often times people approach inclusion as a means to benefit inclusive students without having to hinder the instruction of the other students. From Chnadler-Olcott and Kluth's view, inclusion benefits not only the other students, but also the teacher as he or she becomes an inquirer from their addition to the classroom. I feel that this viewpoint should serve as the ideology behind every classroom, where inclusion can never hinder and can also serve to benefit everyone within the classroom.
 * Article:**

· **Nine Step Program to develop fluency:** o **1)** Building the graphophonic foundations for fluency, including phonological awareness, letter familiarity, and phonics.   o **2)** Building and extending vocabulary and oral language skills. o **3)** Providing expert instruction and practice in the recognition of high- frequency vocabulary   o **4)** Teaching common word parts and spelling patterns o **5)** Teaching, modeling, and providing practice in the application of a decoding strategy   o **6)** Using appropriate texts to coach strategic behaviors and to build reading speed o **7)** Using repeated reading procedures as an intervention approach for struggling readers   o **8)** Extending growing fluency through wide independent reading o **9)** Monitoring fluency development through appropriate assessment procedures   Duke, N. K. (2000). 3.6 minutes per day: The scarcity of information texts in first grade. Reading Research Quarterly, 35 (2), 202-224.
 * Topic:** Teaching fluency
 * Purpose:** To expand the definition of fluency to include comprehension, as well as explain strategies for teaching fluency. This is because fluency a necessary for high levels of reading achievement.
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * **Ehri's Four stages of reading development**
 * **//Pre-Alphabetic://** //Children attempt to translate the unfamiliar visual forms of print into familiar oral language through visual clues in print.//
 * **//Partial Alphabetic://** //Children understand and begin to utilize letter-sound relationships.//
 * **//Fully Alphabetic://** //Children are able to blend letter-sounds together to pronounce words accurately, and begin to recognize sight words.//
 * **//Consolidated Alphabetic://** //Children recognize whole words instantly and also recognize patterns within words which will help them learn new words.//
 * Reflection:** I thought that article was very explicit in explaining the author's nine step program to fluency, but nonetheless I still found the aspect of defining fluency confusing. Fluency is something we are all expected to teach, but as the article suggests, it does not really seem as if there is a common consensus among all educators what fluency actually is. I do see a need to expand the definition to include comprehension because what good does speed reading accuracy do for anyone if you can't understand what you are reading.
 * Article:**


 * Topic:** The lack of information texts utilized in first grade classrooms
 * Purpose:** To not only demonstrate that there is a lack of informational texts in first grade classroom, but that these texts are just as important in helping students learn to read, as well as understand writing forms and genres.
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * **Informational texts:** The author defines them as having the following features:
 * A) a function to communicate information about the natural or social world
 * B) an expectation of factual content
 * C) timeless verb constructions
 * D) generic noun constructions
 * E) technical vocabulary
 * F) classificatory and definitional material
 * G) comparative\contrastive, problem\solution, cause\effect, or like text structures
 * H) frequent repetition of the topical theme
 * I) graphical elements such as diagrams, indices, page numbers, and maps

Hamilton, M. (2006). Understanding the everyday: Adult lives, literacies, and informal learning. In A. McKeough, L.M. Phillips, V. Timmons, & J.L. Lupart. (Eds.) //Understanding Literacy Development A Global View (pp. 137-150). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. [CHAPTER 8 IN TEXT]// o **Participants:** Who o **Settings:** Where reading practices take place o **Activities:** what readers do with texts o **Domains:** spaces that organize particular areas of social life and the literacy associated with it   o **Resources:** Cognitive Skills and Knowledge · **Vernacular Literacy:** literacies related to the 'mother tongue' language. They are learned informally and are rooted in contexts and everyday purposes and networks. · **Institutional Literacy:** Rooted in formal schooling in institutions such as schools, churches, etc. Purcell-Gates, V., Degener, S.C., Jacobson, E. & Soler, M. (2002). Impact of authentic adult literacy instruction on adult literacy practices. Reading Research Quarterly, 37(1), 70 – 92.
 * Methodology:** Descriptive, observational study of 20 first grade classrooms in 10 schools districts around Boston. Students ranged from very low to very high SES backgrounds. Each class was visited four full days over a school year. All observations were recorded around use\presence of informational texts in the classroom.
 * Reflection:** As a child, I had two favorite books and both of them were informational. I had a book on sharks and a book on dinosaurs. If you had pointed to a picture of any of the sharks or dinosaurs in the pictures I could have told you it's name and probabl a little about each one. I see informational texts as not simply a means to learn about which you don't already know about, but kids really do find a lot of things interesting. No one can deny the curiosity of a child, so informational texts are a great way to feed that hunger for knowledge that all children have. I think the author makes a very valid and scary observation about the lack there of regarding these types of texts.
 * Article:**
 * Topic:** The social framework of adult literacy
 * Purpose:** To explore the relationship between the lived experience of literacy and learning, and to examine what is done with literacy in formal educational study.
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * **Building Blocks of Social Practice Theory:**
 * Reflection:** In relation to adult literacy, I feel that this article adequately explains that literacy extends beyond institutional literacy, and that adults who use and are learning literacy do best when instruction is embedded in real life contexts. In one way or another, we are all literate in some sense, and perhaps adult literacy instruction should be more contextually based, instead of teaching literacy without the context of real world application.
 * Article:**
 * Topic:** Authentic teaching of adult literacy
 * Purpose:** To inquire about the implications of authentic adult literacy instruction and to explain the relationship between the social and cultural practices that correlate with adult literacy.
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * -Findings of Study:**
 * Children of adults who read & write more w/ variety have higher levels of emergent literacy knowledge, AL textbooks topics: life skills, problem solving, phonics, & word family drills, students learn more through incorporation of prior experiences, desire skills usable in contexts of their lives, achievement is higher when individual needs & requested texts were met.


 * Methodology:**
 * **18 month study**
 * **Item Response Theory (IRT)**
 * **Teacher questionnaire**
 * **Student interviews**
 * **Likert scales**
 * **Observations/field notes**
 * **Training field observers**

Castleton, G. (2002). Workplace literacy as contested site of educational activity. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 45(7), 556 – 566.
 * Reflection:** Again, I think it is important to understand the implications of teaching authentic (contextualized) adult literacy. Adults, especially adults who struggle with institutional literacy, are likely to have reservations about receiving literacy instruction. By relating what they are learning to real life scenarios which will help them to succeed in endeavors outside of the, classroom, is perhaps the best way to go about teaching adults. However, it is important not to generalize adult literacy so as to assume that adults, unlike adolescents, do not need differentiated instruction. All learners learn at different rates and have different abilities, so it is important to be just as subjective when teaching adults as one would be when teaching adolescents.
 * Article:**

· **Alternative realities to workplace literacy instruction:** o Recognition of communities of practice o …“acquisition of tacit knowledge through immersion in communities of practice” (Gee, Hull, Lankshear, 1996, p. 158). o Differentiated Instruction Needed in workplace literacy instruction pedagogy!
 * Topic:** Workplace literacy
 * Purpose:** To explain the need to change the pedagogy of adult literacy instruction from the functional literacy discourse, to one which adheres to differentiated instruction based on unique communities of practice.
 * Key Concepts & Definitions:**
 * **Functional Literacy discourse**
 * Workers’ skills are individually based instead of a working community of workers with diverse skills
 * Monocultural
 * Blames workers instead of a company’s organizational contexts
 * Prescribed work practices limit the skilled workers (workplace literate)


 * Reflection:** Due to the increasing globalization of our economy, workers who once were valued have been devalued, thus resulting in a workforce that is considered by some to have a literacy problem. Workers voices should be heard when it comes to literacy instruction. A company's values doesn't necessarily always align with its workers, and when a workplace tries to adhere to a monocultural philosophy around literacy, it is no wonder there may appear to be a problem. We need to start taking care of our own within our country and economy, and stop placing blame on the workers themselves. I feel that company's could better serve there workers by recognizing their workplaces as communities of practice, and stop putting such a minimal definition regarding literacy.