Literacy Education

Posted: August 29th, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Literacy Education

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Literacy Education

Introduction

            The purpose of this assessment study was to create an analysis on an experience concerning language learning with a small group of children. It involved virtually reading a story to the group of children and thereafter conducting an activity assessment on oral language vocabulary and the children’s ability to read written dialect in beginners reading books. Oral language is considered the overall foundation for development in reading emergence (Cain, 2007). The foundation highlights a semantic, phonological, as well as syntactic basis that promotes successful graduation from oral to written language. My study assessment focused on an analysis on children on their first school living in a diverse socioeconomic community. My findings on this assessment raised questions on the notion that oral language facilitates development in reading, suggesting that to learn how to read will be akin to learning a subsequent language, applying to all children.

Selecting a Text

For, my assessment study, I chose to focus on a group of children in the first year of school, aged between five and six. My research would focus on assessing the oral language of the children as well as their vocabulary using the Junior Oral Language Screening Tool, the Peabody picture test on vocabulary, and the Athol phonological primary school awareness-screening tool, which was suitable and relevant for this respective age group. I did not involve data collection on the syntax of oral language of the children. I decided that this approach proved to be very complex involving embedded structures on syntax.

On the fist steps on speaking and listening phase, I involved the Peabody picture vocabulary test. In this particular assessment, the children were supposed to point out to one of the pictures on the page once I called out the required vocabulary word. Take for example that the picture includes color models consisting of green, black, red and yellow. If I would say aloud the word red, the child was supposed to point out to the red model on the paper. I would make a conclusion if 2/3 or more items of the color items were missed in the overall model.

The other method I used was the phonological screening awareness. I used this method in order to cover phonological skills in awareness of the children. This model involved dividing the sentences into individual words as well as highlighting on the rhyming parts of the sentences. I also emphasized on reproducing sounds, blending syllables, blending sounds, identifying the first sound, producing words in multisyllabic form, letter recognition, and isolating the end sound as well as matching the same. I administered a pre test before the assessment and a post test after the assessment.

I used the JOST model, junior oral language screening tool, to cover three major segments: grammar, vocabulary, and social language (pragmatics). I reviewed the data from the school, which indicated a trend in a section of the children who had issues in processing grammar. These issues included pronunciations, negative tenses as well as plurals. The data also indicated that the children posted a trend on limited knowledge in contexts of word choices, questions and social skills.

Reading Aloud to Children  

The assessment exercise, I had to prepare myself adequately, in terms of practicing reading out aloud before hand. Oral communication is very different from written communication (Goodwin, 2000). Listeners only have one opportunity to grasp what message from the person talking. Since these were kids, and I myself did not have much of an experience in public speaking, this proved to be a daunting task. I had to endeavor in thinking about my audience and the way I was going to address them. I also had to consider the goals of my assessment; this would include leaving my audience with a clear message of the gist of my presentation. I found out that I was not supposed to replace the content of the book, but rather whet the children’s appetite for whole exercise (Goodwin, 2000). I had to prepare adequately by carefully and logically structuring my talk, thinking about the set objective as well as the point I wanted to make. I had to check through the book in order to write off any misunderstanding or inefficiency. I chose the book “The Mitten” by Jan Brett

When the day came for me to read the story to the children, I remember greeting them. I made them sit down around me and asked them their previous experiences about story telling in order to familiarize them with the exercise. The children were very open and told of experiences with their parents about story telling. Some even mentioned to me their most favorite stories and issues that interested them. At the back of mind, I new I had to adhere strictly to fixed time that I had allocated to this exercise. I allocated a considerably short time having in mind that little children do not concentrate on a single activity for a long time; they tend to loose interest very often (Goodwin, 2000). I began the story with a clear description of what it was about and what it involved. I started out in a natural way, although not conversational. I spoke out clearly and audibly, deliberately pausing at key points of the story; as an aim to emphasize to the children on the particular point I was attempting to make. In order to make further the story interesting, I remember changing my mode of delivery; in terms of pitch of my voice and speed.

Lesson Plan:

Title

The purpose of this plan is to create n analyze with a group of small children of my choosing. The children should be between the age of five and eleven years. The learning experience will involve an exercise of reading aloud a story of my choosing, depending on the suitability and relevance towards the children; conducting an activity assessment on oral language vocabulary and the children’s ability to read written language.

Objectives  

            The main objective of this expedition is to create an oral language learning experience for myself. The other objective will involve conducting an oral language activity in order to assess the development of the children in oral literature; skills involving grammar, vocabulary, and social language (pragmatics). . Besides this, the objective of the experience was to cover phonological skills in awareness of the children

Activity

The activity will include actively involving the group of children in a story telling expedition. I will need to select an appropriate source of story in order to facilitate this exercise. The exercise should include the relevant steps and procedures deemed necessary for undertaking a virtual story telling activity. It should involve the use of an appropriate reading pace that is suitable for audience in question. It will also involve the use of vocal expressions and the preparation of a list of questions that will analyze the outcome of the exercise on the children. These questions should be related to the text.

The other activity will involve the use of a Peabody picture vocabulary test. This is supposed to involve actively the children who should identify the color of the model figure whose name I call out. The pictures will consist of colors green, black, yellow and red. The third activity will include the screening of the children’s phonological awareness skills. It will test on their ability to segment an entire sentence into appropriate words, identify rhyming words, blending syllables, blending words as well as identifying mistakes in incorrect sentences. It will be appropriate administer a pre test in the beginning of the exercise as well as a post test when concluding the expedition. The forth test activity entail the junior oral language screening tool (JOST). This test should cover on three fundamental section; grammar, vocabulary and social language (pragmatics). This test should be administered early in the assessment expedition.

Materials

            This list is supposed to ensure that the required materials are readily available at the beginning and continuation of the expedition. The required materials will include a suitable story for story reading session, a portable recorder to facilitate recording of particular sessions for future reference, a handbook to make necessary findings and conclusion to be used for the overall analysis. Other fundamental tools will include the Peabody vocabulary test module and a book on the necessary guidelines to assess the children’s oral language skills..

Assessment

This will be the final section of the lesson plan. It will facilitate an analysis of the overall performance of the children in the respective tests, highlighting on the findings as well as recommendations. It will serve as a guideline to identify whether the set objectives on the exercise were achieved or not.

Data Analysis and Reflection

            The information from the oral reading and language assessments achieved and analyzed was after the exercise was complete was for the whole expedition. At the beginning, I had predicted that there would a profound linkage between reading and oral language. This however was not the situation. The raw data I collected on book levels, vocabulary and phonological awareness on the children appeared puzzling indeed. The amazing fact was a lack of a valid connection between the reading achievements of the children and their oral language. I however undertook a further detailed analysis to try to identify correlation patterns in these two factors. The analysis on my statistics of the relationship between phonological awareness, reading achievement as well as vocabulary revealed a strong bond between phonological awareness and reading. My findings conclude that there was no presence of a strong relationship between reading achievement and oral vocabulary. The relationship between reading and phonology can be concluded to hold great significance. Children who possessed remarkable skills in reading posted a good performance in phonology notwithstanding their dismal performances in vocabulary.

However, some children posted dismal scores in receptive vocabulary and surprisingly performed well on reading evaluations. The children who composed these statistics were children with spoke a dialect in English or were credited with dialect as an additional language.

Statistics also showed that some children posted exemplary performances on receptive vocabulary and dismal performance in reading. I had expected reading and oral language to display a strong relationship. A particular child posted a dismal performance in both reading and oral language vocabulary. A further analysis on my statistics revealed that there was an insignificant relationship between reading and receptive oral language. These findings prompted me to undertake further analysis as there the findings on the test patterns appeared to be conflicting with each other.

When I compared the data from tools of assessment of reading and oral language, I was not able to perceive neatly a linkage between early level texts, receptive vocabulary, and emergent reading. Some children scored high on reading and posted dismal performances in receptive vocabulary. The children who fitted this description were children who conversed in the English dialect as a second language, and spoke either English or another language at home. Another group of children posted dismal performances in reading and performed exceptionally well in receptive vocabulary. I had personally expected that on this case reading and oral language would be more closely related. The other group performed dismally in both reading and oral language. On this basis, I was able to conclude that the relationship between reading and receptive oral language was in no way significant.

I undertook a further analysis between reading and phonology basing my argument with accordance to the second finding; I identified significance between the two cultures. The children with high reading performances clocked high scores in phonology, regardless of their low performances in vocabulary. Therefore, children with low phonology performances displayed a clear linkage with those who posed low scores in reading. From my opinion, the relationship between reading, vocabularies, oral language and phonology call for further research and analysis.

Conclusion

            At the beginning of the study, I assumed that there would be an intimate relationship between vocabularies in oral language and emergent reading. From my analysis, I did not find any evidence to suggest any relationship between reading and oral language vocabulary. However, I identified a strong link between phonology and reading. This finding may highly predict a brilliant reading achievement in the futures of these young children. Learning to write as well as read works exceptionally well with phonology, as both cultures interact inform well with each other (Cain, 2007). Moreover, the development in of a child’s vocabulary is in better position to benefit from frequent exposure to written language. Children are at more often than not exposed to written words as compared to spoken. Therefore, a child’s exposure to books, story telling as well as read aloud experiences possess a possibility to broaden their vocabulary as well as enhancing syntax and phonology.