Diverse approaches to literacy

 

 

 

 


Diverse learners often require diverse approaches to literacy. Educators can meet their needs by creating a toolbox of strategies for engaging them in literacy.
In this assignment, you will create a strategy chart evaluating literacy strategies as they relate to the five reading components.
Step 1. Select
Select a population of students in your school (elizabeth city middle school in elizabeth city Nc) such as English learners (ELs), inclusion, or male students.
Step 2. Explore
Explore 15 different literacy strategies to meet diverse students’ needs.
Step 3. Evaluate
Evaluate the 15 strategies by ranking them from most important to least important.
Step 4. Create
Create a Strategy Chart using the resources linked on the Learning Objects page. Include the 15 strategies relative to the five reading components: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.
Step 5. Write
Select the top 5 strategies and write a brief description of each. Be sure to include at least one citation for each strategy.
Step 6. Submit

 

Sample Answer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Literacy Strategy Toolbox for Diverse Learners

Selected Student Population: English Learners (ELs) and Students in Inclusion Settings (Students with Disabilities).

This combined population requires strategies that simultaneously build foundational language skills (vocabulary, phonics/decoding) and provide extensive scaffolding to access and comprehend complex, grade-level academic content. The focus is on making abstract concepts concrete, visible, and repeatable.

Strategy Chart: Evaluation Against the Five Reading Components

The 15 strategies below are ranked from 1 (Most Important for this population) to 15 (Least Important/Most Foundational). The five reading components are: Phonemic Awareness (PA), Phonics, Vocabulary (Vocab), Fluency, and Comprehension (Comp).

RankStrategyPAPhonicsVocabFluencyCompRationale for Rating
1Explicit Vocabulary Instruction (Tier 2/3)N/ALowHighMedHighDirectly bridges the language gap for ELs and content gap for Inclusion students.
2Think-Alouds/Modeling Reading StrategiesN/AN/AMedMedHighMakes the invisible cognitive process of comprehension explicit and concrete.
3Graphic Organizers (Visual Scaffolding)N/AN/AMedLowHighProvides crucial visual structure for organizing thoughts and content for both ELs and Inclusion.
4Guided Repeated Reading (Echo/Choral)N/AN/ALowHighMedEssential for building automaticity, expression (prosody), and reading rate.
5Cloze Procedure/Sentence FramesN/AN/AHighMedMedFocuses on sentence structure (syntax) and contextual word use, key for ELs and scaffolding writing for Inclusion.
6Pre-teaching Background Knowledge (Front-loading)N/AN/AMedN/AHighBuilds schema; removes unnecessary barriers to accessing grade-level text.
7Word Walls with Visuals/CognatesN/AN/AHighLowLowAnchor chart supports language retention and visual recognition.
8Word Mapping/Morphology Instruction (Roots/Affixes)N/AMedHighN/AMedTeaches students how to unlock meaning and decode long, academic words.
9Readers Theater/Dramatic PlayN/AN/ALowHighMedLow-stress, engaging activity to practice expressive, fluent reading.
10Direct Instruction of Sound-Symbol RelationshipLowHighN/ALowN/ANecessary remedial instruction for struggling decoders (often students with disabilities).
11Reciprocal Teaching (PQC2)N/AN/ALowLowHighPromotes active reading and dialogue, fostering independent application of strategies.
12Segmenting and Blending GamesHighLowN/AN/AN/AHighly foundational; mainly addresses students with severe early reading gaps.
13High-Frequency Word Practice (Sight Words)N/AMedLowMedN/ABuilds automaticity at the word level, freeing up cognitive load for comprehension.
14Shared Reading (Teacher reads aloud)N/AN/ALowMedMedGood for modeling, but limited active student practice compared to other methods.
15Dictation (Writing words heard)MedHighN/AN/AN/AExcellent for linking sound to print, but less of a "reading" component strategy.

Top 5 Literacy Strategies Descriptions

The top five selected strategies prioritize closing the vocabulary/language gap for ELs and providing explicit cognitive and visual scaffolding for both populations to achieve grade-level comprehension.

1. Explicit Vocabulary Instruction (Tier 2/3)

This strategy involves the direct, deep, and systematic teaching of academic (Tier 2) and domain-specific (Tier 3) vocabulary. For EL and Inclusion students, merely encountering new words is insufficient. Instruction must involve student-friendly definitions, examples of use in multiple contexts, non-examples, and opportunities for deep processing and dialogue. Crucially, the target words are often reinforced with visuals, movements, and home language cognates to create multiple pathways for memory retrieval.

Citation: Graves, M. F. (2006). The word (vocabulary) problem: More has changed than stayed the same. Reading Research Quarterly, 41(2), 177-183.

2. Think-Alouds/Modeling Reading Strategies