Report+On+The+Early+Years+Literacy+Program

**REPORT ON THE EARLY YEARS LITERACY PROGRAM** In contemporary society today, literacy programs in schools prove to be a vital element in creating student success. The teacher, content and resources must accommodate for each and every individual child’s funds of knowledge that arises from their contrasting lifeworlds. If students are able to utilize their funds of knowledge and virtual schoolbags, it can provide the outlet for children that may be having difficulties with literacy.

Having the opportunity to observe an early year’s literacy program at this early stage in my teaching studies was truly a great learning experience. I went to a primary school on the 1st of April and stayed for the whole two hour literacy session. The literacy program is undertaken each day by the students and is always the first session in the morning as students are able to concentrate more effectively.

The teacher’s organisation, timing, teaching approaches and resources within literacy sessions are the key principles behind the observation. If the teachers don’t have an effective way of managing the class then the students will not benefit as much from the literacy sessions. It is crucial that the children have a teacher that understands their students’ literacy levels, helps them develop their literacy skills and models the reading and writing process so that students are provided with a rich learning experience. (Cloonan 2009) I will now discuss my recollections of the methods and approaches used within the early years literacy program. Modelled, shared, guided and independent reading approaches were used. The writing aspect also incorporated modelled, shared and independent aspects, but didn't contain a guided component. The literacy program operates everyday, so the focus can often change, therefore allowing for guided writing to be focused on during other days of the week.

The first half of the literacy session was dedicated to reading and then the writing component followed. The teacher explained to me that the literacy program operated on the same schedule everyday. While the activities varied at times, it allowed children to get into a routine and understand what they were doing. Firstly the children would complete brain gym every morning which is a perceptual motor program designed to “improve perception and gross and fine motor skills” (Stephenson et al. 2007, p.2). It works by engaging both the left and right sides of the brain and body. The children completed that by the use of an instructional cd and as a result the teacher was not required to really use any teaching methods or approaches yet. Perceptual motor programs are used as there is a strong belief that they help enhance either or all of cognitive, sensory or motor development and also “improve learning outcomes in literacy” (Coordinating Committee, National Literacy and Numeracy Week 2005, p.11) Unfortunately there has been no evidence to show that using perceptual motor programs actually plays a role in facilitating academic learning. (Stephenson et al 2007, p.2) After the perceptual motor program, as I observed the program on the first day of the month, time was taken out of the program to organise their calendar, upcoming birthdays and the weather.

The teacher then used a large picture book called “Who will be my mother?” that would be an enjoyable text for the students. The teacher used a whole class modelled reading approach that coincided very strongly with the ideal approach described in Hill (2008, p.73) as the teacher modelled it out loud and allowed the students to see how writers can devise a setting and plot. The students were able to engage with powerful literature and be exposed to different syntax models. (Hill 2008, p.73) The students were then invited to reread the book in conjunction with the teacher. Selected students were allowed to read different character’s parts and had to follow along with the teacher which made sure they focused carefully on the printed text. The teacher promoted this as an enjoyable activity and the students doing the role play seemed to enjoy it as well. The teacher asked questions of the students relating to the plot and also paused and prompted students when necessary. This was the shared reading session of the literacy program and allowed the students to work together and support the individual readers.

After the modelled and shared reading activities, the group activities usually follow. In this instance, the class dynamics were changed as the class changed into four groups of five where two groups were under supervision of adults (integration aid and teacher) where the other two groups did computer and game activities. The groups doing the games focused primarily on rhyming words where as the other two groups with the teachers completed guided and independent reading. The two groups doing the reading would then complete the other activities the following day as the groups swap. More importantly, this meant that the teacher used all the reading approaches outlined in Hill - modelled, shared, guided and independent. (2008, pp73-83) The guided and independent approaches used by the teacher strongly correlate with those ideal models in Hill. Just as the ideal model states, there were groups of four to six children that all had the same selected text, “A fox has fangs.” The groups are selected due to their level of ability so those of a higher or lower level are given a book that can “relate to their reading behaviours” (Hill 2008, p.81) and are more accommodating to suit their needs.

They are then given time to read independently, which was shown when they continued to read as the teacher explained aspects of the literacy program to me. This was much harder for the students and they seemed to lose concentration and started fidgeting and messing about with each other’s books. The challenge for the students is to read independently “for a sustained period of time” (Hill 2008, p.83). The reading and writing activities began with the teacher in control but slowly progressed from activity to activity and finished with independent reading/writing which allows more student control as outlined in lecture four’s organisational model. (Cloonan, 2009). The writing component began with modelled writing followed by shared writing and independent writing. The modelled writing consisted of the teacher writing troublesome words out of the books they had just read on the board, and proceeded to show how to write them correctly. The children then wrote some of the words themselves underneath as part of the shared writing process and if one student had difficulties, the other students would try to assist or finish the words. This is very similar to the idea of shared writing in Hill (2008, p.88) as children were “ interacting with each other and contributing to the writing by sharing the pen”. The students were then given their individual writing tasks as they wrote a letter about themselves to the class next door. Students were encouraged to do as much as they could by themselves. If the spelling of words posed a problem they would use a ‘have a go sheet’ that involved the students having three attempts at the word. If all attempts are incorrect the teacher will give them the word. Children were given a lot of flexibility within this activity and were able to “experiment and write their own creative pieces” (Hill p.88). Apart from an additional, not scheduled modelled reading activity to end the session, the independent writing was the end of the literacy program.

The classroom had a positive atmosphere that strongly promoted enjoyment and interactivity. The teacher emphasized the use of inquiry learning which allows students to form their own questions and explore the answers. (Wilson & Murdoch 2004, p.1) The teacher was always full of praise for the students and made sure all students were always occupied with some sort of task. The teaching aims were predominantly to question students through inquiry and provide an enjoyable learning environment. Having an integration aid in the classroom actually took a lot of pressure off the teacher’s management skills and strategies as groups were able to work with the integration aid. The whole class activities were taught by the teacher as the integration aid spectated. The whole class teaching approaches included the modelled reading/writing and shared reading/writing. The teacher made sure that she included numerous students to participate and always chose different students to keep everyone involved. As the class was so obedient and willing to learn the teacher didn’t really have to use any intense strategies or resort to disciplinary action. The teacher’s time management skills were extremely good as she covered a range of topics but each activity was only 5-10 minutes which allowed the kids to maintain concentration. The dynamics in the classroom promoted equality throughout the class where every student was of the same importance and would be willing to work as a whole, group or individuals while assisting and complimenting everyone else.

The layout of the classroom facilitated the interactive aspect of literacy. There were many areas full of resources and activities that clearly displayed that this was an active and not passive environment. Organisation is extremely important within the classroom as if dynamics are changed, it can alter the complete perception of the classroom. As a result students can react differently, become unaware of the boundaries within the classroom and it can take away the feeling of an equal learning environment if the teacher is perceived as the dominant individual. The colours and vibrant collections of student’s work located around the classroom setting added a feeling of happiness, self-worth and respect between students.

The resources within the classroom that could be adapted into the literacy program were of great standard with various books, games, charts, activities and technology available to interact with. The resources were constructively positioned around the classroom, with clear working areas distinguished for reading, writing, technology and whole class activities.

Ultimately, this observation exercise has allowed me to see that literacy programs are absolutely influential in developing student's literacy skills. The resources used and the content taught exposes students to a number of different situations and learning methods. These programs prove beneficial for most students as the program can be adapted to suit children’s abilities influenced by their contrasting lifeworlds. 

Early Years Literacy Program Observation Notes Return Home