READING REVIEW: MODERN METHODS OF LITERACY INSTRUCTIONS

Hello All,

Fancy meeting you again on a Sunday afternoon. Tomorrow is a Pro-D in my school district so I am looking forward to a restful, soft start to the week with my colleagues sans the tiny humans.

I would like to further discuss my research regarding Guided Reading and literacy in the 21st century classroom. However, this week I will fortify and enrich my findings from scholarly articles with some blogposts and websites I found along the way.

Last Week’s Findings

• E-books and apps such as Who Can Read?,  Raz-Kids, PM eCollection, and Unite for Literacy  are abundant and easily accessible on the world-wide web (Bates et al., 2017). 
• Online resources allow for more personalized instruction, with a plethora of levelled materials available for students (Ciampa, 2016).
• Technology assists in engaging the emergent or reluctant reader (Neumman & Neumman, 2014).
• Online reading can help to bridge the gap between home and school by providing families access to the same materials that teachers have at school (Moller, 2015).
• Students' interests can be better addressed and met via online catalogues from which materials can be self-selected (Salyer, 2015).

        In total, I looked into 15 scholarly articles regarding Guided Reading and technology, 3 websites, and 3 blogs but there was much more. There seems to be no shortage of information for the 21st century teacher when it comes to integrating technology into literacy instruction. Throughout my research, all connections have been positive and there is an overwhelming consensus that technology will only enhance literacy practices in the classroom. Some of the articles I found did not specifically relate to Guided Reading; however, they did advocate for implementing technology in literacy instruction through devices such as the SmartBoard (Labbo, 2015; Solvie, 2004).

I Asked, The internet Answered

        My first trip in the Google search bar for “guided reading and technology british columbia” took me straight to the Government of British Columbia’s Digital Literacy Framework which outlines 6 characteristics of the 21st century learner:

1. Research and Information Literacy: Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information
2. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making: Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources
3. Creativity and Innovation: Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology
4. Digital Citizenship: Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior
5. Communication and Collaboration: Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others
6. Technology Operations and Concepts: Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations.

These are HUGE concepts that I found challenging to relate to my Grade 2s so I narrowed my search to K-3 and found the following from the same BC website:

At first glance, I realized that integrating technology into my Guided Reading program could help my students work towards at least 5 of those competencies:

1. Illustrate and communicate original ideas and stories using digital tools and media-rich resources. (C, T, CC, CI)
2. In a collaborative work group, use a variety of technologies to produce a digital presentation or product in a curriculum area. (C, T, CC, RI, CI,TOC)
3. Demonstrate the safe and cooperative use of technology. (PS, DC)
4. Communicate about technology using developmentally appropriate and accurate terminology. (C, CC, TOC)
5. Demonstrate the ability to navigate in virtual environments such as electronic books, simulation software, and Web sites. (TOC)

With the understanding that I would not only be helping my tiny humans work towards literacy goals, I would also be helping them with digital literacy goals I found 3 blogposts to help me with my mission.

Guided Reading and Technology! By Courtney De La Cruz

        The first piece of advice De La Cruz (2018) offers the 21st teacher is to create a lesson plan for all Guided Reading session. While this may seem tedious I believe it will be worthwhile because recently I have been feeling that my Guided Reading sessions have lacked focus. The author offers a set of lesson plans which can be found in a Google Drive Folder. The lesson plans are presented in an easy to read/edit format. 

Next, the author offers follow up activities for students to play with the concepts and content covered within the Guided Reading session. This part is particularly useful for me because my students will work on literacy activities while I am working with other Guided Reading groups but the activities to not necessarily correspond to the books we just read together. Along with Word Work resources such as elephant feed, octopus feed, and winning words, the De La Cruz (2018) provides a link to FlipGrid, a reader response tool that may be used as formative assessment. With these tools I hope to better engage my learners and keep track of student comprehension post Guided Reading groups.

A 1:1 iPad Menu For Guided Reading By TeachThought Staff

        Thank you TeachThoughtStaff (2017) for this wonderful guide to Guided Reading! The author highlights the importance of choice in the modern classroom. Not only to engage learners, but also to speak to their individual learning needs. To help the 21st century teacher juggle these needs, TeachThoughtStaff (2017) offers the following solution to Guided Reading:

This menu guide is something I could implement in my Guided Reading sessions this week! Instead of all students being asked to use Raz-kids during their iPad time, I could offer any of the apps showcased above. I think these added options will re-engage my students who have quickly tired of their usual Guided Reading routine.

How to Easily Integrate Technology with Guided Reading Groups By Two Boys and a Dad

        Two Boys and a Dad (2017) reminds his blog visitors that the purpose of integrating technology in Guided Reading is to enable students to engage with the material in ways that they may not be able to when reading from print. He recommends two apps to further engage learners including ShowMe and PDF Expert. The author uses ShowMe to enable to students to document their learning through recording their responses to comprehension prompts and colour coordinating their responses based on the prompt. He likes to use the acronym RACE:

(R)estate the question
(A)nswer the question entirely by
(C)iting evidence from the text
(E)xplain or give examples of the evidence

PDF Expert is unfortunately not a free app; however, it may be worth the download due its hands-on features including highlighting, defining, note taking, text-to-speech, and voice recording to track reading fluency.

My search finally took me to the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) site to a page about teaching to diversity via technology. I honed in on the part about Literacy/ Reading Strategies. Within this section there was a list of resources both online and offline. From this list I gathered 3 websites that could improve my Guided Reading program:

https://www.readnaturally.com/ - A site dedicated to intervention programs and assessments for struggling readers.

http://www.readingrockets.org/- A comprehensive site with strategies for the classroom and for helping struggling readers as well as themed e-booklists.

http://more.starfall.com/?t=253553843&y=1- A fun, free site for K-2 with literacy games, e-books, and comprehension activities.

Key Findings

        Resources for the 21st century primary teacher are plentiful when it comes to Guided Reading and literacy instruction. While most apps and ebooks will require a cost, there are some free sites for children to access. Digital literacy instruction is important because it engages readers while speaking to their individual interests and reading levels. The use of technology in literacy instructions allows young readers the chance to continue their learning from school at home and vice versa, keeping parents involved in the process. Additionally, it provides students with the opportunity to engage with text in ways that they cannot interact with print. Not only can students engage with digital text, they can also respond to it and share their understanding online, opening up a wider conversation and context. Most importantly, students are afforded the chance to become technologically literate in their endeavours to become traditionally literate. Through technology integration in Guided Reading I can help my students develop the skills necessary to be considered literate in the 21st century.

References

Bates, Celeste C., et al. (2017). “E‐Books and E‐Book Apps: Considerations for Beginning

Readers.” The Reading Teacher, vol. 70, no. 4, 2017, pp. 401–411., doi:10.1002/trtr.1543. Link

BCTF. (2015). Teaching to Diversity.Retrieved from https://bctf.ca/issues/resources.aspx?id=10840

Ciampa, Katia. (2016). “Implementing a Digital Reading and Writing Workshop Model for

Content Literacy Instruction in an Urban Elementary (K–8) School.” The Reading Teacher, vol. 70, no. 3, pp. 295–306., doi:10.1002/trtr.1514. Link

De La Cruz, C. (2018). Guided Reading and Technology! Retrieved from

https://www.smore.com/gn3r0-guided-reading-and-technology

Labbo, Linda D. (2005). “From Morning Message to Digital Morning Message: Moving From

the Tried and True to the New.” The Reading Teacher, vol. 58, no. 8, pp. 782–785., doi:10.1598/RT.58.8.9. Link

Ministry of Education. (n.d.). Digital Literacy. Retrieved from

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/teach/teaching-tools/digital-literacy

Möller, Karla J. (2015) “Apps in Literature-Based Classroom Instruction: Integrating Reading

and Response Through Traditional and Digital Media.” Journal of Children's Literature, vol. 41, no. 1, p. 54. Link

Neumann, Michelle M., and David L. Neumann. (2014). “Touch Screen Tablets and Emergent

Literacy.” Early Childhood Education Journal, vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 231–239., doi:10.1007/s10643-013-0608-3. Link

Read Naturally. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.readnaturally.com/

Reading Rockets | Launching Young Readers. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.readingrockets.org/

Salyer, David. (2015). “READING THE WEB: Internet Guided Reading With Young Children.”

The Reading Teacher, vol. 69, no. 1, pp. 35–39., doi:10.1002/trtr.1380. Link

Solvie, Pamela A. (2004).“The Digital Whiteboard: A Tool in Early Literacy Instruction.” The

Reading Teacher, vol. 57, no. 5, 2004, pp. 484–487., Link

Starfall: Learn to Read with Phonics, Learn Mathematics. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.starfall.com/

TeachThought Staff. (2017,). A 1:1 iPad Menu For Guided Reading. Retrieved

from https://www.teachthought.com/technology/1-1-ipad-menu-for-guided-reading-apps/

Two Boys and a Dad. (2018). How to Easily Integrate Technology with Guided Reading Groups.

 Retrieved from https://www.twoboysandadad.com/2017/04/easily-integrate-technology.html