Emergent Literacy Through Real Life Inquiry

For my Real-Life Reading Inquiry project in Reading Education 430, I observed a kindergarten classroom reading lesson. I wanted to discover reading hands-on techniques for emergent literacy in early elementary students. While planning my visit, the teacher informed me that she would be working on sight words, vocabulary, and possibly blending. I was excited to see a reading lesson in action and gain experience in an early education classroom.

 When I first arrived in the classroom, the students were making cards for a classmate who had just underdone surgery. As they were finishing their work, the teacher told the students to move over to sit in front of the smart board. She began her morning message, which included music and movement with a days of the week song similar to this.

Then the class transitioned into reading the daily message. The teacher called on several students to highlight words or letters they knew in the message, using a wand that activated the smart board.

Once they finished the morning message, she went to sit in a rocking chair, and the students turned to face her. A big book of illustrated poems was her read-aloud text. Before she began reading the book, the teacher introduced it by explaining that it was a book of poems. Then she described poems as a type of story which is usually short, and sometimes rhymes.

The first poem, Picnic Day, had rhyming lines ending with words such as trees/breeze and shade/lemonade. She asked students if they heard rhyming words, and then more specifically, which words rhymed. At this time, she pointed out that rhymes often occur at the end of a line. Then she read the poem through again for students to listen to the rhymes a second time. When students were deciding whether two words rhymed, they gave a thumbs up or thumbs down. This gave the teacher an idea of which students understood the concept.

Next, the teacher read another poem, The Storm. When the students began talking about the pictures rather the poem, she suggested that they close their eyes and she read the poem again. After she finished reading, she asked them what they visualized, which she explained as what you pictured in your head. This really helped the students listen to the rhymes and understand the poem.

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After the read-aloud, the students went to their tables for a lesson in their Journeys Common Core books. The aspect I liked most about the lesson was the book was also shown on the smart board, so the students could read along as the one student and teacher partner read alternating pages. Next the students partnered with a buddy beside them and read to each other, and then a second time to the teacher or her assistant. 

There is strong emphasis on rhymes to build the literacy foundation for young children. Classrooms That Work states “kindergarten and first-grade classrooms should be filled with rhymes” (42). Using rhymes in read-alouds help children build vocabulary, and is necessary with Common Core standards. For example: K.1.13 begin to experience various literary and media genres. Within this standard, rhyming books are a genre that must be explored. According to Cunningham and Allington, in order for students to become the best readers and writers they can be, “teachers provide a comprehensive curriculum and devote time and energy to all the important concepts of literacy. They model, demonstrate, and encourage.”

To build a strong literacy foundation, a print rich classroom is essential. Cunningham and Allington state "classrooms in which children are encouraged to write have lots of print in them" (36). The classroom I observed was a great example of this. The picture below shows some of the print in the classroom. There were labels on almost everything in the classroom.

The reading corner was decorated with a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Poster and had bean bags to sit on.  
          

In my observation on emergent literacy, I learned much more than sight words and vocabulary. I had the opportunity to observe a teacher model an interactive reading lesson and see effective classroom management. I look forward to implementing the techniques I observed in my future classroom.

Works Cited

Cunningham, Patricia M. and Richard L. Allington. Classrooms That Work: They Can All Read and Write. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. 2011. 28-47. Print

http://www.tn.gov/education/ci/english/doc/READ_Grade_K.pdf