literacy can be used as a motivating factor

even in ancient times literacy was being utilized. not necessarily in the traditional sense of the word that we always think of, but literacy was found in private and public life. interesting way of thinking about literacy

student learning is most effective when the teacher understands how a student learns at each stage of cognitive development.

effective literacy instruction includes these elements: Active learning - involve the student / social interaction - regularly provide opportunities for students to read and write in groups / authentic activities - make activities applicable to everyday life and problems / strategy instruction - reflect of thinking using cognitive and metacognitive strategies. / individualization - teacher always needs to make sure he or she is meeting the individual students needs./ inquiry learning - encourage students to find answers through reading and create projects to share what they've learned.

PRINCIPLE 2

• student centered engagement is important
• three most important theories: 1. constructivism- students are active engaged learners who construct their own knowledge (schema theory- knowledge is organized into cognitive structures / inquiry learning- inquiry approach to encourage the student to be active in his or her own learning / engagement theory- intrinsically motivated students will engage more in reading and writing in turn achieving greater levels of success) 2. Sociolinguistics- vygotsky theorized that language organizes thought and suggests that teachers incorporate opportunities that students can accomplish tasks with other students (sociocultural theory- reading and writing are social activities. multicultural literature can be used to develop a students cultural awareness and this allows students to feel safe in a culturally responsive classroom. / situated learning theory- rejects the separation of learning to do something from actually doing it / critical literacy- examining fundamental questions about justice and equity) 3. Information-Processing theory- how information moves through a series of processing units (interactive model- reading and writing are interactive processes of making meaning. readers should focus on comprehension and construct meaning using reader based and text based information. / transactive theory- interpretation is a two-way transaction between reader and text. students should analyze text using their knowledge about literature and the world / strategic behaviors- involving both active control of thinking and awareness of thinking) 3. Behaviorism- observable and measurable aspect of behavior. behaviors can be learned or unlearned. behaviorists believe that teachers control and motivate students through rewards and punishments. PRINCIPLE 3 nurturing classroom culture classroom community strongly influences the learning that takes place "family" environment is important -characteristics of a classroom community: safty, respect, high expectations, risk taking, collaboration, choice, responsibility, family and community involvement. PRINCIPLE 4 balanced approach to instruction reading- develop students ability to comprehend fiction, non fiction and functional text / writing- using the writing process to communicate effectively / explicit instruction- instruction that explicitly addresses the literacy standards along with the goals of the student / learning tools- using reading, talk and writing for learning online and in content areas. / motivation- authentic and meaningful activities to engage interest PRINCIPLE 5 scaffold students reading and writing modeled reading and writing- when teachers model a task they are aware of what effective reading and writing looks like / shared reading and writing- classmates working together promotes learning ex: readers theatre allows students to model what theyve learned / guided reading and writing- teachers support and guide students. in guided reading the students meet with the teacher to read a book and the teacher guides as the student moves along. / independent reading and writing- students apply the strategies and skills theyve learned in literacy activities. through independent reading students learn how to enjoy reading and become lifelong readers. PRINCIPLE 6 organize literacy instruction teachers combine programs and instruction techniques to best apply to the studentss literature focus units- units feature high quality novels and books / literature circles- small groups or book clubs to allow students to respond to books in groups / reading workshop- allow the student to make choices in their reading and be active in sharing their books. / writing workshop- self selected writing topics allows students to take ownership in their work. / basal reading programs- textbooks with reading selections as well as workbooks to follow reading.