Literacy Instruction

The shift from reading to literacy teachers Over the past decade there have been major shifts in education. As our society continues to change and integrate more technology into our lives, our expectations as educators also change. The Common Core Standards are also a major shift that has created new expectations for students and teachers when it comes to literacy. We are no longer just reading teachers; we have now shifted into becoming literacy teachers. The most promising evidence for this is by looking at the International Reading Association (IRA), which just recently changed its name to the International Literacy Association (ILA). When asked to define what literacy means ILA President Diane Barone was quoted as saying “There is no

Literacy today incorporates reading, writing, speaking, and the integration of technology to socialize and communicate with others. I will discuss all of these elements and offer strategies on how to incorporate them into the

As educators we need to understand why this component is so important to literacy instruction. Phonemic Awareness is understanding that spoken words are made up of phonemes and that those sounds can be manipulated. This knowledge allows students to make connections in when they see these words in print. “Students with strong phonological awareness are likely to become good readers, but students with weak phonological skills will likely become poor readers (Blachman 2000). As teachers we must make sure that students are given opportunities to play with words and sounds. A phoneme is the smallest unit of spoken language that makes a difference in a word’s meaning. Therefore it is important for primary teachers to include activities that allow students to manipulate words and sounds. When doing phonics instruction teachers can use Elkonin sound boxes (1963) a card with a picture and boxes that represent the number of phonemes in the picture name. Teachers can also provide markers (such as blocks) for phonemes; these tools are helpful in teaching students how to manipulate phonemes in speech (Ehri & Roberts, 2006). These tools can help students segment the sounds they hear in words and allow them to hear how words are broken into phonemes. The final thing to consider when working with Phonemic awareness is that Instruction should be done in small groups (Foorman and Torgesen, 2001) and introduce no more than 1 to