Literacy Practicum
Think about all of the different ways we use literacy throughout the day. Literacy is required for all sorts of daily tasks; you cannot understand a bus route, read a prescription, or shop for groceries without using literacy skills. Therefore, literacy is one of the most important skills to teach students. The ability to read, write, interpret, and synthesize information and text is invaluable; it contributes to making informed decisions, achieving goals, and living a healthy lifestyle.
Vincent Massey School
I have had the privilege of teaching Kindergarten at Vincent Massey School during my literacy-based practicum. I had the opportunity to teach three consecutive lessons that focused on enhancing the literacy skills of the students. The Kindergarten students had just finished learning the letters of the alphabet and their corresponding sounds, so I thought it would a perfect opportunity to introduce these students to syllables! Syllable knowledge is beneficial to students as they sound out words and identify letters that compose words; it is an essential skill when they are learning how to read and write!
I have included a copy of my second lesson that I taught to the Kindergarten students! The focus of this lesson was to teach students another method to count syllables and learn how to represent the number of syllables in a word using manipulatives. I taught the students to count syllables by jumping; each jump represented one syllable in the word. This means the students have now learned three different methods to count syllables; they have used robotic voices, placed their hands under their chins, and used jumping to count the number of syllables in a word!
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After teaching the students how to count syllables using the jumping method, they practiced all of the methods with examples on the SmartBoard. The students identified a word that matched with the picture and then they worked as a group to determine the number of syllables in the word by using the different methods they had learned. After they determined the number of syllables in the word, I drew the corresponding number of X's in the boxes below the picture to represent the syllables.
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Once they completed the examples on the SmartBoard, I divided the students into small groups of 6 or 7 students. Each group was assigned to a table with a teacher or teaching assistant and they received a worksheet and a handful of colored pebbles. The students named all of the pictures as a group before they began the activity. Each group worked through the worksheet one box at a time; each student individually determined the number of syllables in the word using the method of their choice before going through the answer as a group.
Teaching Reflection
When I walked into my mentor teachers' classroom for the first time, I couldn't help but notice all of the different ways her classroom supported literacy. It was clear to me that literacy is a priority in her classroom; tools to support literacy development were evident throughout. One wall is covered in the letters of the alphabet and each letter is constructed from materials that began with the letter. Picture books are readily available in accessible bins throughout the classroom and students are seated around tables to support collaborative learning.
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The students are immersed in a language-rich environment and each day is filled with literacy-focused activities. Students learn about the letters of the alphabet through songs and Storybot videos. The students regularly trace their name and copy the letters to develop their writing skills. My mentor teacher frequently reads picture books to the class and asks the students questions about what they read.
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I have grown tremendously as a pre-service educator after teaching three literacy lessons to these kindergarten students. I have learned so many valuable lessons about the process of developing literacy skills. Some kindergarten students have a vast range of literacy skills before they join the classroom and other students are learning the alphabet for the first time.
One of the biggest challenges I encountered was teaching students with different literacy abilities; each student is on their own unique literacy journey. Some of the students also struggle with receptive or expressive language difficulties. It has made me recognize the importance of ongoing formative assessments to check student understanding and comprehension; these assessments indicate how I can differentiate my lessons to cater to the unique needs of each student. It has also made me realize the importance of utilizing scaffolding supports and collaborative learning to support literacy development.
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Teaching can also be difficult while I am wearing a face mask. Syllables are difficult to teach while wearing a mask because the students cannot watch me speak as we break words into syllables. It has made me recognize the importance of supplementing verbal lessons with visual and kinesthetic components during COVID-19. These visual and kinesthetic elements eliminate the burden of solely relying on auditory learning and made learning this literacy skill much easier.
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One of the most important lessons I have learned after teaching literacy is that literacy skills take time to develop; literacy is not a skill that can be mastered overnight. It is important that students are given ample opportunities to practice their literacy skills through a variety of literacy-based activities in the classroom.
Teaching literacy has also been one of the most rewarding experiences as an educator. I have had the opportunity to witness so many "light bulb" moments with the students as they learn literacy skills; it is truly incredible to witness the progression of literacy! The kindergarten students did not know what a syllable was before I started teaching them and now they can break words apart into syllables and identify the letters in the syllable sounds! It is fulfilling to watch the students utilize the strategies they have been taught to achieve literacy success and master the components that will ultimately contribute to their ability to read and write!
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Another joy of teaching literacy as a pre-service educator is being able to collaborate with my mentor teacher. She provided valuable feedback and comments about each of my lessons. Her knowledge and experience of literacy was invaluable and I learned many tools that I plan to implement in my classroom in the future.
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Teacher Comments
Lesson 1: "This was a great way to introduce the students to syllables. It was a good idea to stop the video and remind them how to break apart a syllable when they weren't following along. At least 80% of the students seemed to be able to work through the syllable station with ease, which is great for their first time ever learning syllables."
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Midpoint Evaluation: "Morgans plans look great for her first lesson (shows good links to the curriculum). I appreciate her eagerness to design and try stations. Morgan has been kind and friendly to the children. She is very enthusiastic."
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Lesson 2: "I thought that it was great that you integrated movement into the lesson because you knew the students were going to have to sit for a little while when they practiced! I like that you are using all of these fun ways to teach syllables! It makes the learning fun for the kids and they seem to understand it better! I also think using the manipulatives on the worksheet was great because some students are visual learners and they need to see it to understand!"
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Lesson 3: "Your planning for this lesson looks great. I knew this lesson was going to be a little more difficult for the students because they are blending their knowledge of letter sounds to identify the syllable fragments. I thought your examples on the Smartboard were a good way to prepare the students for the stations."
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Final Evaluation: "Morgan showed great confidence and understanding during her time with us. It was very clear that after a few days of observing and helping in our classroom that Morgan understood the process we use with our Kindergarten children to work on literacy skills and modeled her lessons the same way (Morgan demonstrated more maturity and understanding than I expected from someone so early in her schooling).
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"Morgan's literacy-based lessons focused on listening for and counting syllables. Morgan incorporated many parts to her lessons. Morgan used for videos to engage the children and catch their interest while also providing practice with the skills she was introducing. Morgan was very clear in her directions with the children. She provided examples for them to work together and gave the children multiple ways to listen for syllables including talking like a robot and placing their hands under their chins to feel each syllable. Morgan also planned small group stations for the children to work on each lesson. Her stations and lessons were very organized and the children responded well to them. Morgan was eager to assess the group she worked with in stations. It was great to have Morgan in our classroom."
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TEACHING LITERACY IN MY CLASSROOM
It is my responsibility to make teaching literacy a priority in my classroom and equip the students will the essential literacy skills they will need for their futures. Here is how I plan to teach literacy skills in my future classroom:
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1. Cross-Curricular Connections
Literacy skills should not be exclusively acquired in Language Arts! I plan to integrate literacy in all different areas of the curriculum by using a variety of texts to support learning in each subject area, merging vocabulary terms between subject areas, and encouraging collaborative learning.​
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2. Exposure to a Variety of Different Texts
There are so many different forms of texts available to our students and they need to be able to read, interpret, and synthesize information from different sources in our modern world. I will strive to create authentic literacy learning opportunities that utilize many different forms of written and digital texts.
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3. Create a Healthy Learning Space
My goal is to create a learning space that is condusive to literacy development. My classroom will showcase student work on the walls and the bulletin boards will be created with components of literacy thoughtfully integrated. I will also create seating arrangements that encourage collaborative learning!
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4. Encourage Reading
It is very important for students to spend time being immersed in texts and literature to support their literacy development. My classroom will have a large selection of books readily available for the students to read; this library will feature different books for all reading levels. I will also integrate independant reading and shared reading experiences regularly in my classroom.
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LINKS AND RESOURCES
Here are some resources that I plan to utilize in my classroom to support literacy development!
REFERENCES
Whidden, C. (n.d.). Impact of illiteracy [PowerPoint Slides]. Blackboard@MHC. https://bb.mhc.ab.ca/
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Whidden, C. (n.d.). Importance of literacy in classroom [PowerPoint Slides]. Blackboard@MHC. https://bb.mhc.ab.ca/
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Whidden, C. (n.d.). Supporting literacy in LA class [PowerPoint Slides]. Blackboard@MHC. https://bb.mhc.ab.ca/
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