Literacy Environment Guide gives a way to examine the literacy-related features of a classroom. The goal is to help PreK-3 grade educators improve the quality of literacy and language learning taking place in their classrooms, by providing a better understanding of the different practices that promote a learning environment. By using the guide, educators reliably gather the essential data needed for professional development and program improvement that lead to better literacy outcomes for young children. With this user’s guide, Teachers will
1. Learn the components of literacy through helpful elementary school
vignettes and video’s
2. Understand the connection between components of literacy and specific
rubric items
3. Examine research-based practices for phonemic awareness, reading
fluency, vocabulary development, and classroom management
4. Collect detailed guidance on gathering evidence and making scoring
decisions on the rubric
5. How to use Literacy Environment Guide as a benefit in research and professional development efforts.
This Literacy Environment Guide is not intended to be a exhaustive picture of observation in classrooms. Instead, it is to illustrate types of activities and exchanges one might see when visiting an elementary school classrooms. The Literacy Environment Guide is derived from the research that has been noted on the core elements that constitute quality instruction.
The core elements have been incorporated into four sessions:
> Classroom Structure
> Curriculum
> Language Environment
> Library and Books
Each item in a rubric is designed to capture an important and observable aspect of language and literacy in the primary grades. While each is unique in its focus, all items are uniform with respect to their structure.
These are based on activities and relationships that teachers engage in to promote a learning environment. Each item is constructed to describe the characteristics of classroom practice at four anchor dimensions, which are provided as self-assessment guidance for each item. An evidence area is provided for each item, to allow for detailed recording of pertinent evidence observable in the classroom. The following sections discuss the anchor dimension statements and descriptive indicator.
Section 1: Classroom structure
Item 1: Classroom Management
Item 2: Room Organization of the Classroom
Item 3: Student Choice and Initiative
Section 2; Curriculum:
Item 1: Approach to Curriculum
Item 2: Approach to Reading
Item 3: Early Writing
Item 4: Standard Success Criteria
Section 3 Language Environment:
Item 1: Effort to Build Vocabulary
Item 2: Phonological Awareness
Item 3: Opportunities for Extended Conversation
Item 4: Discourse Climate
Item 5: Intellectual Work
Item 6: Recognizing Diversity in the Classroom
Section 4 Library and Books
Item 1: Print in the Environment
Item 2: Organization of the Library
Rubric Anchor Dimension Statements:
Associated with each level is and anchor statement that has been devised for each item. The intent of this overarching statement is to capture the essence of the practice that is being rated and the nature and quality of evidence required to assign a particular result (self-analyzed number).
The Literacy Environment Guide was developed for practitioner, coaches, administrators and other concerned persons, to assess quality, gauge progress and focus program efforts by using a rubric to Capture the essence of literacy practice. The rubric indicates the quality of evidence required to show proficiency in each assigned item. The practitioner, coach, administrator will indicate a number, one to five, based on classroom evidence.
The Literacy Environment Guide can play a significant role in transforming practice, but it will be most effective if used as a part of an ongoing coherent system of quality improvement and professional development.