BEC POINTERS

TRADITIONAL, FUNCTIONAL, EARLY/EMERGENT & BASIC LITERACY SKILLS

TRADITIONAL and FUNCTIONAL LITERACY
This is the most basic form of literacy
In the 1980s. Census Bereau defined literacy as “ the ability to read and write” (Tozer
et. al. 1998)
Focused on teaching reading comprehension, writing and effective
communication.
Teacher must teach sounds and letters in isolation, then form words and
sentences, and finally read a book.

TRADITIONAL LITERACY SKILLSET:

Reading
Writing
Speaking
Listening

FUNCTIONAL LITERACY

A set of skills and competencies which allows us to function and thrive in modern
– day society.
It refers to practical skills needed to live a normal life.
Requires reading literacy or the ability to understand, apply, and analyze written
texts.
EXAMPLES OF PRACTICAL SKILLS
1. Digital Literacy
2. Problem – Solving
3. Public Speaking
4. Writing
5. Communication

EARLY and EMERGENT LITERACY

Emergent or Early
Literacy

It is the early stages of reading and writing development that begins in infancy and
continue through the preschool years.
It encompasses the skills and knowledge that children acquire before they learn to read
and write.

These are the “fundamentals skills” that the children acquire even before formal
education.

Marie Clay (1996)

The first one who used the term emergent literacy.

Clay asserted that literacy development

begins early in life and is ongoing.

The Foundation skills

Oral Language Development- Ability to

understand and use language through listening and speaking.

Phonological Awareness- Develop an

awareness of the sounds of language/words, recognized rhymes, identifies syllables.

Vocabulary Development- Learning new words and concepts through exposure to

conversations, books and experiences.

Alphabet knowledge- Learning names and shapes of letters.

Print awareness- Become aware of printed texts, pictures and drawings and the meaning
it carries.

What is Early Literacy

-Early literacy is what children know about reading and writing before they actually learn
to read and write. It is not teaching reading, drilling or using flashcards. Instead, it is laying
the
foundation, so that your child has the necessary skills when they are developmentally
ready to read.

Why is Early Literacy Important?

Babies are born ready to learn. Recent research shows that babies are born with billions
of brain cells called neurons. The more stimulation a baby receives through its senses,
the more pathways develop between brain cells. Young children must develop early
literacy skills in order to be successful with formal reading and writing in school. 46% of
children in the United States enter kindergarten unprepared. Research shows that
children who start behind typically stay behind. Providing
young children with opportunities to develop early literacy skills is important to their
success in school, their success learning to read, and their success in life.
Five Early Literacy Practices

Talking: Learn language by listening to others talk. Hearing words leads to understanding
their meaning as you hear them in context.

Singing: Songs slow down language and break down the sounds
and syllables in words. Practicing rhythm and rhyme help.

Reading: The single most important way to help children get ready to read is to read
together!

Writing: Connect spoken and printed language. Scribbling counts!

Playing: Playtime exercises imagination and encourages expression of thoughts.

Early Literacy Skills

Phonological Awareness
Phonemic awareness (an awareness of sounds that make up words) is the ability to hear
and play with the individual sounds of language, to create new words using those sounds
in different ways. This happens naturally as children develop.

Awareness of Print
Most print awareness begins at home and in the child & in everyday environment. This is
most likely to be through reading books together with parents.

Vocabulary
Everyone typically has two types of vocabulary: active and passive.
Active vocabulary is the words that a person knows and is able to use accurately in
speech and writing. The passive vocabulary contains words that a person is aware of, but
wouldn’t necessarily be able to use accurately in
context.

What is Emergent Literacy?

Emergent literacy has been defined as those behaviors shown by very young children as
they begin to respond to and
approximate reading and writing. However, literacy goes beyond reading and writing. It
encompasses the interrelatedness of language: speaking, listening, reading, writing, and
viewing.
What is Basic Literacy skill?
Developing foundational competency including reading,writing, math, job application
assistance, and overall life-skill development. Also includes STEM (Science Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics) knowledge building on basic skills and concepts.

THREE BASIC LITERACY SKILLS

1. Ability to read with comprehension
2. Ability to compute simple equations
3. Creative thinking and problem-solving

Early Literacy/ Emergent Literacy

•Children start to learn language from the day they are born. As they grow and develop,
their speech and language skills become increasingly more complex.
•They learn to understand and use language to express their ideas, thoughts, and
feelings, and to
communicate with others.
• During early speech and language development, children learn skills that are important
to the development of literacy (reading and writing). This stage, known as emergent
literacy, begins at birth
and continues through the preschool years. Children see and interact with print (e.g.,
books, magazines, grocery lists) in everyday situations (e.g., home, in preschool, and at
daycare) well before they start elementary school.
•Parents can see their child growing appreciation and enjoyment of print as they begin to
recognize words that rhyme, scribble with crayons, point out logos and street signs, and
name some letters of the alphabet. Gradually, children combine what they know about
speaking and listening with what they know about print and become ready to learn to read
and write.

Basic literacy and skills

What are Literacy Skills?

Literacy skills include listening, speaking, reading and writing. They also include such
things as awareness of the sounds of language, awareness of print, and the relationship
between letters and sounds. Other literacy skills include vocabulary, spelling, and
comprehension. They help us to gain knowledge through reading texts as well as viewing
media and using technology.

What are reading literacy skills?

Reading is the process of looking at written symbols and letters and understanding the
meaning of them. There are lots of literacy skills that are involved in developing vital
reading literacy skills. Reading skills contribute to a child’s reading ability - in other words,
how well they can read and understand what they’re reading. There’s a wide variety of
reading skills that children develop and work on throughout their primary education and
beyond. These reading literacy skills include:
•Decoding: The decoding definition in reading is the process of working out how to say
(or how to begin sounding out) an unfamiliar written word. This process makes it easier
for children to understand, recognise and figure out the meaning or pronunciation of
words they may not have seen before.
•Phonemic awareness: Phonemic awareness is a component of phonological awareness
that exclusively
refers to the observation of phonemes. It refers to the ability to focus on specific individual
sounds in spoken words.
•Reading fluency: Reading fluency brings word recognition and comprehension together.
It’s the last main skill that’s needed to be able to read. Fluency allows you to read
smoothly without getting stuck on
your words.
•Reading comprehension: Reading comprehensionis the understanding of what has been
read through the learning and processing of reading skills. Reading comprehension is a
crucial skill in adult life, too. For example, we need reading comprehension skills to be
able to understand important letters, contracts,
work documents, emails etc.

What are writing literacy skills?

Writing involves transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating
ideas and structuring them in speech, before writing). Similar to reading literacy skills,
there are a lot of different writing literacy skills that come together to form written literacy.

GLOBALIZATION & MULTICULTURAL LITERACY

GLOBAL LITERACY- is an understanding of the world is organized and interconnected.

According to the Ontario Ministry of Education (2015) A global citizen

should display most or all of the following:

• Respect for humans no matter their race, gender, religion or political perspective.
• Respect for diversity and various perspective.
•Appreciate the natural world and demonstrate respectful towards the
rights of all things.

Multi-cultural Literacy is the ability to appreciate and understand differences. The

awareness and appreciation of diverse beliefs, appearances, life styles, is what we called
multi-cultural literacy. By making small changes within the classroom it can create big
changes globally (Boutte, 2008). As diversity grows, there is a need for the emergence of
multicultural education that is more representative of the students in today’s classrooms.
By teaching students to be advocates for multiculturalism, we are also sending a message
of empathy and tolerance in schools as a need to develop deeper understanding others
and appreciation of different cultures (Banks,
2003).
How are Multi-cultural and Global Literacy interconnected?

Every classroom contains students of different race, religion, and cultural groups.
Students embrace diverse behaviors, cultural values, patterns of practice, and
communication. Yet they all share one commonality: their educational
opportunity (Guo, 2014). Teacher should teach their students that other cultures
exist and that these deserve to be acknowledged and respected.

Social Literacy

•It implies learning about the give and take of interacting with others.
• Social literacy deals with the development of social skills, knowledge and positive human
values.

What is Global Literacy?

Global Literacy aims to address issues of globalization, racism, Global Literacy
awareness and action, consistent with a broad understanding of humanity, the planet,
and the impact of human decision on both. Global Literacy also aims to empower students
with knowledge and
take action to make a positive impact in the world and their local community.
According to the Ontario Ministry of Education (2015) A global citizen should
display most or all of the following characteristics:
• Respect for humans no matter their race, gender, religion or political perspectives.
• Respect for diversity and various perspectives.
• Promoting sustainable patterns of living, consumption, and production.
• Appreciate the natural world and demonstrate respectful towards the rights of all living
things.

What is Multicultural Literacy?

Multicultural literacy consists of the skills and ability identify the creators of knowledge
and their interests (Banks, 1996), to uncover the assumptions of knowledge, to view
knowledge from
diverse ethnic and cultural perspective, and to use knowledge to guided action that will
create a humane and just world. Multicultural Literacy then, brings attention to diversity,
equity and social justice to foster cultural awareness by addressing difficult issues like
discrimination and oppression towards other ethnicities.
According to Boutte (2008)
- education for multicultural literacy should help students to develop the 21st century skills
and attitudes that are needed to become active citizens who will work towards achieving
social justice within our communities. Because of the growing racial, language and ethnic
diversity in our country, Multicultural Literacy needs to be transformed in substantial ways
to prepare students to function effectively in the 21st Century.
What is Social Literacy?
*Social Literacy is the ability an individual has to connect effectively with those around
them by interacting, maintaining, and building relationships.
* Social Literacy is successful when an individual can intercede their world as family
member’s workers, citizens, and lifelong learners.
*Social literacy helps students combine all of the features of literacy and uses them to
Communicate with others so students are able to express their own thoughts.

Why Is It Important?

AS we become more dependent on technology, we are beginning to Interact less with

each other face to face. Social Literacy helps prevent against bullying when young people
learn how to express themselves correctly. They will learn how to handle situations with
teachers and
peers in person in lieu of through just technology. It is important to make sure students
interact in groups. By working in groups in the classroom the students are practicing
Social skills that can be applied within and outside of the classroom.

Globalization

- is the process of interaction and integration between people, business entities,

government, and cultures from other nations, driven by international trade and investment
and supported by information technology.

Globalization Trends, Issue, and

Concern

1. Technology Trend
2. Culture Awareness
3. Language Challenge
4. Resources Challenge
5. Time Differences Issue

Multiculturalism

- is the practice of giving equal attention

to many different background in a particular setting.

Multicultural Concern

Culture
Religion
Ethnicity
Social Literacy
- The development of skills through social
interaction, knowledge and positive human values to act and react positively and
responsibly in social setting.

Globalization
- Globalization is the process of interaction and integration between
people, business entities, governments, and cultures from other nations, driven
by international trade and investment and supported by information technology
(Levin Institute, 2017)

Multi-cultural Literacy vs. Cultural Literacy

Cultural Literacy
- is a term coined by Hirch(1983)referring to the ability to understand the signs and
symbols of a given culture and being able to participate its activities and customs as
opposed to simply being a passive (an outsider) observer.

Multi-cultural Literacy:
- We define multicultural literacy here as the knowledge and skills necessary to
ensure that any communication with a culture different from our own is clear
and productive and respectful such as their differences are celebrated and
neither culture is demeaned or treated as inferior.

Examples of manner of being multicultural

literate:

Be selfless
Know that good and useful things can (and do) come from those different from
us
Be willing to compromise
Accept that there are limits

1.2. Social Literacy

- Social Literacy is a person’s successful performance and understanding of social

Skills, and communication skills. It is the ability to connect effectively with those
around you. Social literacy spans across interacting with peers, family, coworkers,
teachers, and even people we may not have met face to face.

MEDIA AND FINANCIAL LITERACY

What is the meaning of media literacy?

Media literacy is the ability to access

and analyze media messages as well
as create, reflect and take action,
using the power of information and
communication to make a difference
in the world.

Example of MEDIA:

Radio
Television
News Paper
Magazine
Mobile Phones
Social Media
Computers
Financial Literacy

To be financially literate is to know how to manage your money.

In literal terms, financial literacy is the possession of the set of skills and knowledge that
allows an individual to make informed and effective decisions with all of their financial
resources.

PRINCIPLES OF SAVING MONEY

Prioritize saving money

Frugality is vital
Keep track of your expedintures
Cash is king
Self-awareness/Maintain discipline

Financial Literacy
-The ability to understand and effectively use a various financial skills. Including
personal financial management, budgeting, and investing methods. The meaning of
financial literacy is the foundation of your relationship with money, and it is a lifelong
journey of learning. The earlier you start, the better off you will be because education
is the key to success when it comes to money.
What are the benefits of financial literacy?
• Financial Literacy can Prevent devastating mistakes Floating rate loans may have
different interest rates each month, while traditional IRA contributions can’t be withdrawn
until retirement. Seemingly innocent financial decisions may have long-term implications
that cost individuals money or impact life plans. Financial literacy helps individuals avoid
making mistakes with their personal finances.
•Financial Literacy, Prepares people for emergencies. Financial literacy topics such as
saving or emergency preparedness get individuals ready for the uncertain. Though losing
a job or having a major unexpected expense are always financially impactful, an individual
can cushion the blow by implementing their financial literacy in advance by being ready
for emergencies.
• Financial Literacy can help individual reach their goal By better understanding how to
budget and save money, individuals can create plans that set expectations, hold them
accountable to their finances, and sets a course for achieving seemingly unachievable
goals. Though someone may not be able to
afford a dream today, they can always make a plan to better increase their odds of making
it happen.
• Financial Literacy invokes confidence
Imagine making a life-changing decision without all the information you need to
make the best decision. By being armed with the appropriate knowledge about
finances, individuals can approach major life choices with greater confidence realizing
they are less likely to be surprised or negatively impacted by unforeseen outcomes.
Strategies to improve Financial Literacy skills

• Create budget
Track how much money you receive each month against how much you
spend in an Excel sheet, on paper, or with a budgeting app. Your budget should include
income (paychecks, investments, alimony), fixed expenses
(rent/mortgage payments, utilities, loan payments), discretionary spending
(nonessentials such as eating out, shopping, and travel), and savings.
• Pay yourself first
To build savings, this reverse budgeting strategy involves choosing a savings goal (say,
a down payment for a home), deciding how much you want to contribute toward it each
month and setting that amount aside before you
divvy up the rest of your expenses.
• Pay Bills Promptly
Stay on top of monthly bills, making sure that payments consistently arrive on time.
Consider taking advantage of automatic debits from a checking account or bill-pay apps
and sign up for payment reminders (by email, phone, or text).
• Get your Credit report
Review these reports and dispute any errors by informing the credit bureau of
inaccuracies. Because you can get three of them, consider spacing out your requests
throughout the year to monitor yourself regularly.
• Check your Credit score
Having a good credit score helps you obtain the best interest rates on loans and credit
cards, among other benefits. Monitor your score via a free credit monitoring service (or,
if you can afford to and want to add an extra layer of protection for your information, use
one of the best credit monitoring
services). In addition, be aware of the financial decisions that can raise or lower
your score, such as credit inquiries and credit utilization ratios.
• Manage Debt
Use your budget to stay on top of debt by reducing spending and
increasing repayment. Develop a debt-reduction plan, such as paying down the
loan with the highest interest rate first. If your debt is excessive, contact
lenders to renegotiate repayment, consolidate loans, or find a debt-counseling
program.
• Invest in Your Future
If your employer offers a 401(k) retirement savings account, be sure to
sign up and contribute the maximum to receive the employer match. Consider
opening an individual retirement account (IRA) and creating a diversified
investment portfolio of stocks, fixed income, and commodities.

Prof.Ed.BEC

BSED 2 SCIENCE

1.4 Media Literacy

-It refers to the ability of an individual to access, evaluate, manipulate, and produce
media in a variety of forms. Media literacy builds an understanding of the role of
media in society as well as essential skills of inquiry and self-expression necessary for
citizens of a democracy.

What are the benefits of media literacy?

• It can Keep us connected
Before mass media, you could live your entire life knowing nothing about the world outside
of your village. Now, we are all connected. And this can be a very good thing. For
instance, when a tsunami strikes, people all over the world hear about it within moments
and can mobilize immediately to help. Without mass media, we would have far less ability
to understand how we’re all connected and how we all need each another.
• It can Spur business
Where would business be without advertising and marketing? Thanks to the
business communication made possible by mass media, businesses can reach
potential consumers faster and easier than ever before. This helps keep our economy
going.
• It can Spread Art and Culture
On the internet, you can see all of the world’s artistic masterpieces or learn
about the particularities of a culture far removed from your own. In addition,
numerous TV and radio programs devote themselves to exploring the world, offering us
the chance to discover new things and new ideas, and enlighten ourselves in the process.
• It can give voice to the voiceless
From reporters bringing us stories of people in difficult situations to social media allowing
one person’s thoughts to go viral and spread across the world, mass media can lift up an
individual voice that would otherwise have gone unheard.

Strategies to improve Media Literacy skills

• Know what you’re up against
Platform wants you to spend as much time as possible on it. With that goal in mind, Tripodi
explains, “Algorithms are designed to feed you information that they’ll think you’ll like the
most.”
• Think carefully about how you frame a search
How we phrase a search makes all the difference. “We need to think about
the role language plays in the kinds of information that’s going to be returned
to us,” says Tripodi.
• Think critically about Keywords
“Our keywords matter,” says Tripodi. “The kinds of keywords that we query is a part of
media literacy that we’re not paying enough attention to.”
• Never stop learning
Although there are not many resources available about keywords, there are many other
sites and projects that can help. Tripodi recommends Infodemic.blog, which provides
educational resources to refine our media literacy skills at a time when false or
misinformation may be flying.

The major roles of mass media in the society

• To inform
The primary role of mass media is to provide the latest information in the fields
of interest of the audience. The latest technologies in media concentrate on making
transfer of information from source to audience faster and wider. In a society where
information accessibility is a parameter of measuring power.
• To entertain
Entertainment is another use that we put media to. In fact, some media theories
support the view that entertainment is the basic function of media. According to this
view, people look for entertainment even in news. After grilling a day at work or
studies. Everyone looks for relaxation or an escape from the reality.

• To educate
Media has the advantage of a great reach. It can simultaneously communicate to
multitude of audiences which makes is special. The best purpose media can serve and
the best way it can contribute to social progress is by educating the masses keeping in
mind the real needs of the audience. Different audiences have different needs to bring
about development.

• To persuade
Media also makes specialized communication to some select audience in order to bring
about a desired behavioral change. All advertising is an example of this. It is an effort to
convince the audience to buy the product or service the communication is advocating for.
Advertisers aspire to bring about the change in behavior of the audience by convincing
them to make positive decision to buy their product by influencing them through

How to develop and integrate Media Literacy in Education?

• Teach students to question What ads tell them
Share Unattainable Beauty or “The Photoshop Effect” with students. (These
resources are more appropriate for older students.) Did they know that almost every photo
in magazines and ads has been digitally altered? How do these impossible ideals
influence how students perceive their own appearance and success?
•Explain how students can recognize false representation of reality
Ask students to examine different popular TV shows and discuss how different groups of
people are portrayed. How do the shows stereotype certain people? What groups are
marginalized or entirely absent?
•Show students how media influence behavior
Recognizing the often illogical subtexts of advertisements deprives them of
power. Encourage students to “spell out” the promises, threats, or pleas made in
commercials (e.g., “If you buy this sports drink, you will win the basketball game,” “If you
don’t have this phone, your friends will shun you”).
•Give students the means to reveal the “truth” behind advertising. For a fun activity, invite
students to create their own “ad-busting” or “subvertising” artwork to reveal the “truth”
behind, for example, cereal mascots.

CYBER/DIGITAL & ECO & ARTS/CREATIVTIY LITERACY

What is digital literacy?

Digital literacy (or cyber literacy) is an umbrella term for the ability to use
computer and digital technologies effectively.
CYBER LITERACY SKILLS
Handling different devices and operating systems.
Navigating through various online platforms
Understanding how the digital world works
Evaluating digital resources critically
Using technology creatively and innovatively to solve problems
Identifying information within different types of media
Recognizing and handling threats
Using digital tools in a safe and ethical way
Creating and sharing information effectively

“MR. DOUG BELSHAW’S MODEL”

8 ELEMENTS OF DIGITAL LITERACY

1. COGNITIVE
How to Do Element.
We learn how to use technology efficiently and recognize common digital tools and
features.

2. CONFIDENT
How to Belong Element.
We learn how to be part of the online community and understand how our digital space
differs from our offline world.
3. CULTURAL
How to Behave Element.
We learn how to understand the digital culture, how to respect netiquette, and
how to protect our online privacy.
4. CONSTRUCTIVE

How to Use Element.

We understand how to appropriate, reuse, and remix content while being familiar with fair
use and copyright laws.

5. COMMUNICATIVE
How to Communicate Element.
We familiarize ourselves with the communication norms and expectations of various
online tools.

6. CIVIC
How to Participate Element.
We familiarize ourselves with various digital environments to prepare ourselves
and others to participate in social movements.

7. CRITICAL
How to Evaluate Element.
We acquire reasoning skills to question, analyze, and evaluate digital content and context
using information literacy.

8. CREATIVE
How to Make Element.
We learn to create and do innovative things in new ways within digital environments.

DOWNSIDES OF LOW DIGITAL LITERACY

1. Falling into scammer’s traps
2. Getting devices infected with malware
3. Compromising vital data on open Wi-Fi networks
4. Not being to differentiate misinformation from credible
5. Not being able to keep minors safe online
6. Improperly disposing of junk files

ECOLOGICAL LITERACY

What is ecological literacy?

The ability to understand the natural system that make life on earth possible

To be ecoliterate means understanding the principles of organization of

ecological communities ( ecosystems) and using those principles for creating
sustainable human communities

Fritjof Capra
Is an Austrian-born American physicist, systems theorist and deep ecologist.
In 1995, he became a founding director of the Center for Ecoliteracy in
Berkeley, California
 According to him, In the coming decades, the survival of humanity will depend
on our ecoliteracy

David Orr
is the Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and
Politics as well as Special Assistant to the President of Oberlin College
He is perhaps best known for his pioneering work on environmental literacy in
higher education and his leading role in the promising new field of ecological
design
According to him, The goal of ecological literacy is “built on the recognition
that the disorder of ecosystems reflects a prior disorder of mind

IMPORTANCE OF ECO-LITERACY
The development of ecological understanding is not simply another subject to be
learnt but a fundamental change in the way we see the world.

FIVE WAYS TO DEVELOP ECO-LITERACY

1. Develop empathy for all forms of life.

At basic levels, all organisms-including humans need food, water, space, and
conditions that support dynamic equilibrium to survive

2. Embrace sustainability as a community practice.

Organisms do not survive in isolation. Instead, the web of relationships within any
living community determines its collective ability to survive and thrive

3. Make the invisible visible.

If we strive to develop ways of living that are more life-affirming, we must find
ways to make visible the things that seem invisible

4. Anticipate unintended consequences.

Building resiliency
We can turn to nature and find that the capacity of natural communities to
rebound from unintended consequences is vital to survival

5. Understand how nature sustains life.

Members of a healthy ecosystem do not abuse the resources they need in order
to survive

ARTS AND CREATIVITY LITERACY

What is arts and Creativity literacy?

It helps to develop design thinking, creativity and critical thinking
CREATIVITY

According to dictionary, the use of imagination or original ideas to create

something.
To come up with a new, unique, original, surprising idea from existing thing

THINGS CAN BE ACHIEVED FROM NEW IDEAS ARE:

1. Product
2. Theory
3. Solution to a problem
4. Concept on basis of which an art piece is created

ARTISTIC ABILITY
Includes skills and talent to create fine works of art

CREATIVE ABILITY
Is the skill and talent to use our imagination to create and solve.

Examples:
1. Being creative is baking a yummy cake.
Being artistic id baking a pretty cake.
2. Being creative is building a house.
Being artistic is decorating a house

Artistic ability might be weak as a start but can be developed and practice
We are all born creative and remain creative throughout lives
Artistic is basically being decorative
“Creativity is not an option, it’s an absolute necessity”.- Sir Ken Robinson
“You don’t have to be an artist to be creative “.

MAKING CONNECTIONS, VISUALIZING, INFERRING

Literacy Strategies
- are tools to assist readers so that they can develop proficiency

- are techniques that teachers use to help students improve their reading skills

Making Connections
It invoves the activition of prior knwledge in the process of evoking personal connections
with the text.

3 TYPES OF MAKING CONNECTION

Text-to-self connection
- occur when something in the text reminds the readers of personal experience.
Text-to-text connection
- refers to connections made between a text being read and a text previously read.
Text-to-world connection
- it involves linking the text to an event or phenomena that happen In the larger world.

Visualizing
Is the reading strategy that helps your students create a picture in their head of what
they’re reading.

Example:

If the student is reading a short story on a person who travelled through the dark, scary
forest, the student may create a mental image of the dark and scary forest.

Inferring
Is a comprehension strategy to help students understand information that is not always
completely described in a text.

Examples:

The author may provide clues that the reader can used to understand the topic, setting,
characters, or event.

QUESTIONING, DETERMINING IMPORTANCE & SYNTHESIZING

QUESTIONING
Questioning is a strategy that readers use to engage with the text. Questioning techniques
help the reader to clarify and comprehend what he is
reading, integrate information, identify main ideas, and summarize information. When
students regularly ask questions as they read, they are encouraged to:
Engage with the text
Think Critically
Look for answers in the text
Discuss the text with others and generate ‘high quality talk’.
TYPES OF QUESTIONS
Right There- Questions found right in the text that ask students to find one
right answer located in one place as a word or sentence.
Think and Search- Question based on the recall of facts that can be found
directly in the text which is found in more than one place.
Author and You- requires to use what you as the reader has already know, with what
you have learned from reading the text. Students must understand
the text and relate it to the prior knowledge before answering the question.
On your own- based on the reader’s prior knowledge and experiences.

DETERMINING IMPORTANCE
Determining importance is a strategy that readers use to distinguish between
what information in text is most important versus what information is interesting but
not necessary for understanding. This practical reading strategy enables the student to
distinguish between the most and least important information presented in textbooks and
non-fiction reading. The goal is to extract the most important information needed. Since
according to studies, our brain cannot possibly remember everything we read, our job is
to keep the most important information and strain out the rest.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION VS INTERESTING INFORMATION

Important information are details that are crucial to understanding what text is about while
interesting information are details that are cool but not necessary in understanding what
the text is all about.

SYNTHESIZING
Synthesizing from the prefix Syn- which means together, is the process of
pulling together background knowledge, newly learned ideas, connections,
inferences and summaries into a complete and original understanding of the text.
It is important to teach students to synthesize. Teaching them to do more than
just to provide a retelling of a text that they read. Students must internalize the text
they’re reading for them to grow and change as thinkers.

SYNTHESIZING VS SUMMARIZING
A synthesis can include parts of summary but it goes beyond the text.
Synthesizing, unlike summary that only gets the word directly from the text, requires a
reader to take the summary of a text and add in their own ideas, experiences,
interpretations, and pinions to generate a new idea.
A synthesis integrates information from multiple of sources and add own ideas to form
new big ideas. Synthesizing is an on-going process that helps build and grow as a reader
goes deeper into the text.

It helps to develop:
A new understanding- something that a reader has not considered before until reading
the text.
A deeper understanding- becoming more aware and appreciative of an idea as a reader
continues to read the text.
 A changed understanding- thinking differently after reading the text.

In fictional texts, readers synthesize to form new deepened or changed understanding

about the character and events in a book.

In non-fictional texts, a reader synthesize to develop understanding when studying a topic

through multiple books, articles and multi-media resources. Putting together all the
learning from these sources into a complete synthesis.

PICTURE & OBJECT PICTURES/ LETTERS & WORDS

Picture & Object Pictures

I. When possible, all students should have the opportunity to draw their understanding
and use pictures and objects.

II. Teachers can ask all students to summarize the lesson’s big idea or a major concept
that can be summarized with the use of pictures.

11. Struggling students can share and explain their pictures with a partner,
in a small group, or in a gallery walk They may draw in different ways:
•To add to a picture
•To create an original picture
•To draw and label a picture
• To draw and to annotate a picture

III. A picture and object environment is essential to a child’s emergent literacy

development. Signs, labels, directions, books, and words should fill the classroom and
they should be immersed in picture activities regularly. Children have typically learned the
forms and purposes of language and reading during their preschool years.

IV. Children begin to learn concepts about pictures, environmental images, and alphabet
knowledge, which are receiving more attention recently. Research has indicated that a
child’s understanding of picture concepts builds the necessary foundation for reading and
writing.

ADVANTAGES :

● A powerful way to facilitate concept learning

● An excellent means to enhance student’s sensory literacy
● Offers latitude for shaping lessons to student’s interests and needs
● Allow students to work cooperatively
● Arouses curiosity
Letters &Words
-To help children develop phonemic awareness, the teacher must plan carefully
activities for phonics, letter-sound relations and sight-word for vocabulary, further,
for rhyming words and for matching initial sounds.

I . In designing any lesson, a teacher must select the vocabulary that is necessary for all
students to meet the goal for the lesson’s objective rather than attempt to try to fill in all
the gaps in prior knowledge or ability.

II. For example, if the objective of a lesson is to have all students understand that a river’s
location is important in developing a settlement, then all students will need to become
familiar with content-specific terms such as port, mouth, and bank. As each of these words
has multiple meanings, a teacher can develop pre-reading activities to familiarize all
students before reading.

III. Activities can be developed for vocabulary such as these three different
definitions for bank:
•The land alongside or sloping down to a river or lake
•An institution for receiving, lending
• To tip or incline an airplane

ADVANTAGES:

● Develop larger vocabularies

● Become better readers and perform better in school

SOUND & READ ALOUD EXPERIENCES

SOUNDS

Sounds play an important role in emergent literacy development, particularly in the

development of phonological awareness, which is the ability to recognize and manipulate
the sounds of spoken language. Phonological awareness is a critical component of early
literacy, as it provides the foundation for the development of phonics skills, which are
essential for decoding and reading words. In emergent literacy, children begin to develop
phonological awareness through exposure to spoken language and through various
activities that involve playing with sounds. For example, children may engage in rhyming
games, alliteration, and segmenting and blending sounds in words. These activities help
children to identify and manipulate the individual sounds in words and to recognize
patterns and relationships between sounds. In addition to phonological awareness,
emergent literacy also involves the development of print awareness, which is the
understanding that print carries meaning and that it is related to spoken language.
Children begin to develop print awareness through exposure to print in their environment,
such as in books, signs, and labels. They may also begin to understand
the conventions of print, such as the directionality of print and the fact that print represents
spoken language.
● Children start to develop this early decoding ability in early childhood
● The ability to decode words is strongly reliant on children having strong phonological
awareness skills, which are a gateway into letter-sound knowledge.
● Early phonics knowledge is the key to starting to decode written words. Children can
use phonics knowledge to “sound out” words.

READ ALOUD EXPERIENCES

Read-aloud experiences play a crucial role in the development of emergent literacy.

When adults read aloud to young children, they provide them with opportunities to engage
with print, learn new vocabulary, develop listening comprehension, and build a love of
reading. Read-aloud experiences can help children develop print awareness, as they see
and hear how print works in books. They learn about the structure of books, such as the
cover, title page, and illustrations, and begin to understand how print relates to spoken
language. Read-aloud experiences also support the development of phonological
awareness. As children listen to stories, they hear words being broken down into
individual sounds, and they can begin to recognize patterns and relationships between
sounds. They may also participate in activities that involve playing with sounds, such as
rhyming games or identifying words that begin with the same sound.
Finally, read-aloud experiences can help children develop a love of reading and a
motivation to learn. When adults read aloud with enthusiasm and expression, they create
a positive association with reading and build children's interest in books and stories. This
can lead to increased engagement with reading and a greater likelihood of success in
learning to read.

READ ALOUD EXPERIENCE

● Read stories to students out loud- students are able to “identify behaviors associated
with effective listening”
● Social communication about the book afterwards help promotes language learning and
development (Jalong, 2010, p. 6)
● Reading a variety of texts out loud: students can use their inquisitiveness to ask
questions and be problem solvers by predicting solutions

PHONEMIC AWARENESS AND INSTRUCTION

Phonemic Awareness

is a subset of phonological awareness in which listeners are able to hear, identify and
manipulate phonemes, the smallest mental units of sound that help to differentiate units
of meaning.
The ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in spoken words and the understanding
that spoken words and syllables are made up of sequences of speech sounds (Yopp,
1992; see References).
Essential to learning to read in an alphabetic writing system, because letters represent
sounds or phonemes. Without phonemic awareness, phonics makes little sense.
 Fundamental to mapping speech to print. If a child cannot hear that “man” and “moon”
begin with the same sound or cannot blend the sounds /rrrrrruuuuuunnnnn/ into the word
“run”, he or she may have great difficulty connecting sounds with their written symbols or
blending sounds to make a word.
Essential to learning to read in an alphabetic writing system.
A strong predictor of children who experience early reading success.

-Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify, move or change sounds, called
phonemes, in spoken words. Phonemic awareness is an important basic skill that gets
students ready to develop into readers. Phonemic awareness is usually taught during
kindergarten and beginning first grade.
Examples include being able to identify words that rhyme, counting the number of
syllables in a name, recognizing alliteration, segmenting a sentence into words, and
identifying the syllables in a word.

5 Important levels of phonemic awareness

If we break down a word into letters, we will realize that every letter corresponds to a
starting sound, a middle sound, and an ending sound. All these sounds are called
phonemes. The ability to manipulate these sounds and employ them to sound out words
correctly is nothing but phonemic awareness. So, this awareness is achieved when a
learner absorbs the following levels of phonemic cognition (Adams, 1990):

1. Phoneme segmentation
Phoneme segmentation is the ability to break words down into individual sounds. For
example, a child may break the word “sand” into its component sounds – /sss/, /aaa/,
/nnn/, and /d/.

2. Phoneme blending and splitting

It refers to the blending and splitting of phonemes to create new words. Once the student
learns the sound of each phoneme, the correct blending is required to read the word
correctly.

3. Phoneme Rhyming and Alliteration

Phoneme rhyming and alliteration involve words that represent a common sound.
Rhyming focuses on the commonality of ending sounds, while alliteration focuses on
learning words that start with the same sound. When the teacher asks a child to write
rhyming words, the answers are mostly those words that have the same letters in rhyming.
This means, learning ‘pack’, ‘back’, and ‘lack’ are examples of rhyming. Alliteration
practice involves learning tongue twisters. ‘She sells seashells on the seashore’, and
other such phrases give an idea of alliteration. It acquaints a child with
various repetitions of the same sound.

4. Phoneme Comparing and Contrasting

Words change when contrasting phonemes are used to make the word sound.
5. Phoneme manipulation
Is the ability to modify, change, or move the individual sounds in a word.
deletion: student a phoneme from a word to create a new word ,e.g .trap -trap
adddition: students make a new word by adding a phoneme to an existing word ,e,g trap-
strap
substitution: students substitute one phoneme for another to make a new word ,e.g trap
–trip

What should teacher should be able to do

Assess PA and diagnose difficulties.
Produce speech sounds accurately.
Use a developmental continuum to select/design PA instruction.
Select examples according to complexity of skills, phonemes, word types, and learner
experience.
Model and deliver PA lessons.
Link PA to reading and spelling.
Evaluate the design of instructional materials

Children lacking phonemic awareness skills cannot:

Group words with similar and dissimilar sounds (mat, mug, sun)
Blend and split syllables (f oot)
Blend sounds into words (m_a_n)
Segment a word as a sequence of sounds (e.g., fish is made up of three
phonemes, /f/ , /i/, /sh/)
Detect and manipulate sounds within words (change r in run to s).

PHONICS INSTRUCTION

- is a way of teaching reading that stresses the acquisition of letter-

sound correspondences and their use in reading and spelling.

TYPES OF PHONICS INSTRUCTION

Explicit – start with a vowel, consonant, digraph, phonogram and build out to the whole
words. It is a part to whole approach
Implicit – start with the whole word and break down the word into syllables and then
the phonograms. It is a whole to part approach

TYPES OF PHONICS INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS AND APPROACHES

Analogy phonics
Teaching students unfamiliar words by analogy to known words (e.g.,recognizing that the
rime segment of an unfamiliar word is identical to that of a familiar word, and then blending
the known rime with the new word onset, such as reading brick by recognizing that -ick is
contained in the known word kick, or reading stump by analogy to jump).

Analytic phonics
Teaching students to analyze letter-sound relations in previously learned words to avoid
pronouncing sounds in isolation.

Embedded phonics
Teaching students phonics skills by embedding phonics instruction in text reading, a more
implicit approach that relies to some extent on incidental learning.

Phonics through spelling

Teaching students to segment words into phonemes and to select letters for those
phonemes (i.e., teaching students to spell words phonemically).

Synthetic phonics
Teaching students explicitly to convert letters into sounds (phonemes) and then blend the
sounds to form recognizable words.

IMPORTANCE OF PHONICS INSTRUCTION

Phonics instruction is an essential part of reading instruction because it is when
beginning readers learn the relationship between the sounds of the spoken language with
the letters they relate to in written language.

FLUENCY, VOCABULARY, & COMPREHENSION INSTRUCTION

FLUENCY

Reading fluency is the ability to read accurately, rapidly, and with expression so the reader
can process and comprehend what has been read. It involves recognizing words
accurately, understanding their meaning quickly, and reading with enough expression to
convey an understanding of the text. Fluency also requires accurate and automatic
decoding of words so that reading becomes effortless rather than labored. This allows
readers to focus on comprehension without becoming bogged down in decoding words.
Fluency requires automatically. Familiarity and ease of associating letter with their sounds
and recognizing sight words and spelling patterns help students read words automatically.
This called automaticity.

What students need to learn:

How to decode words (in isolation and in connected text).
How automatically recognize words (accurately and quickly with attention or effort.
How to increase speed (or rate) of reading while maintaining accuracy

How the teachers teach it:

Provide opportunities for guided oral repeated reading.
Matching reading texts and instruction to individual

Teaching Strategies:
1. Record students reading aloud on their own.
2. Ask kids to use a ruler or finger to follow along.
3. Have them read the same thing several times.
4. Pre-teach vocabulary.
5. Drill sight words.
6. Make use of variety of books and materials
7. Try different font and text sizes.
8. Create a stress free environment.
9. Guide students to help them establish a steady pace.
10. Introduce typing course.
Choral Reading
The teacher and the pupil read together.
Taped Reading
The teacher tapes the children reading individually.
Echo Reading
The teacher models fluent reading and the children repeat
the reading back to the teacher.
Buddy Reading
Older children are paired with younger children.

Aspects of Fluency
1. Accuracy
Accurate reading requires students to be able to pronounce written words correctly.
Correct pronunciation of a word allows the young reader to access its meaning from
their existing oral vocabulary – the words they use and recognise in spoken
language.

2. Rate
The rate at which students read is important because slow reading hinders
comprehension.

3. Prosody
Prosody is the third element of text reading fluency. Prosody means reading with
expression – with the appropriate rhythm, tone, pitch, pauses, and stresses for the
text. Prosody depends on both accuracy and rate.

Types of Fluency
• Reading fluency refers to the link between the recognition of words while
reading and reading comprehension, which manifests itself in the speed and
accuracy that one is able to read text.

• Oral fluency or speaking fluency is a measurement both of production and

reception of speech, as a fluent speaker must be able to understand and
respond to others in conversation.

• Oral reading fluency is sometimes distinguished from oral fluency. Oral

reading fluency refers to the ability to read words accurately and quickly while
using good vocal expression and phrasing.
• Written or compositional fluency can be measured in a variety of ways.
Researchers have measured by length of the composition (especially under
timed conditions), words produced per minute, sentence length, or words per
clause.

2. Vocabulary – is the range of words a student understands.

Vocabulary is defined as all of the words known and used in a specific
language.
Reading vocabulary is an important literacy instruction. In involves
learning how to recognize and understand the words that make up a text,
as well as understanding the meanings of those words in order to
comprehend what is being read. Reading vocabulary includes not only
individual words, but also phrases and idioms which are used in books
and other reading materials.
Vocabulary Development is the enrichment and extension of pupils’ word
knowledge and understanding.

What do students need to learn?

How to apply a variety of strategies to learn words
meanings.
How to make connections between words and concepts.
How to accurately use words in oral and written language.

How we teach it?

Provide opportunities for students to receive direct, explicit
instruction in the meanings of words and in word learning
strategies.
Engage children in daily interactions that promote using new
vocabulary.
Provide many opportunities for students to read in and out of
school.

Teaching Strategies:
Small words in big words
Word of the week
Word taxonomy

Components for effective vocabulary instructions

1. Word Connection
Students need to be able to connect the words they are trying to acquire with words and
concepts with which they are already familiar. According to research Mudambi conducted
while at Harvard, lessons that related new words to existing concepts were judged to be
the most helpful among any other vocabulary strategies.

2. Significance
The practice of defining unfamiliar words with other unfamiliar words is useless, yet that
is what the common dictionary often does for a young student. The target vocabulary
word has no significance to the student because the definition is also lacking in
significance. Definitions should be written in age-appropriate language and accompanied
with other tools with which the student can attach significance, such as pictures and
narratives.

3. Context Clues
When a student is drowning in an ocean of unfamiliar words, it’s often context clues that
serve as the life preserver. But what if they were a lifeboat instead? We often use context
clue strategies that only provide a sentence or two with no effective narrative. The truth
is that if we provide a more complete narrative structure that serves as a series of context
clues, the target word is more likely to be moved into long term memory.

4. Word-Rich Environment
One-and-done is simply not effective when it comes to vocabulary instruction. Mudambi
says students should be exposed to a new word at least six times, if not more. But
repetitive strategies are also ineffective. Students should encounter the unfamiliar words
as naturally as possible. That comes from a word-rich environment where words and
literature are king.

Reading Comprehension – is the process of determining the meaning of the

text.

What students need to learn:

How to read both narrative and expository texts.

How to understand and remember what they read.
How to relate their own knowledge or experiences to text.
How to use comprehension strategies to improve their comprehension.
How to communicate with others about what they read.

How teachers teach it:

Teach comprehension strategies, such as previewing and summarizing text.

Provide comprehension instruction before, during and after reading.
Promote thinking and extended discourse

Teaching Strategies

Summarizing and Paraphrasing

- Reducing larger texts to focus on important elements.
Practicing
- Based on clues in text (pictures, subtitles, etc.)
Comparing
- Thinking more specifically about connection they are making,
e.g. How is this different to..?
Creating Images
- Creating sensory images to assist with overall
comprehension of a text.

Components of effective comprehension instructions

• Activate prior knowledge about a topic or concept
• Monitor comprehension and correct misunderstandings while reading
• Use graphic organizers to relate information from the text
• Answer different kinds of questions about the text
•Generate questions about the material in the text

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