Task 3: Literacy Strategies

Link to: EPR 2503 Language Arts C (Reading/Writing/Literature) and

EPR 2603 Language Arts D (Teaching Methods for the Primary School Teacher)

Task Description
Observe your MST’s classroom and general practices you see around the school. Discuss the areas below in context
of what you observe in school and support with photos to show evidence of your observations, and a reference to
reading when possible.
Describe the classroom environment. (Photo)
Consider how the class is a print rich environment. What print can you see around the room? (Labels,
captions, flashcards, headings, rules, instructions, timetable, flash cards, etc.). For each one you mention
insert pictures and state the purpose of each one.

 The classroom is surrounded by prints that on the walls. And they are:
 classroom instructions and rules. Students must follow and abide by these instructions and
rules. The teacher can show and read the instructions and rules for the students every time that
she feels that she needs to remind the students of them.
- Some of the class rules and instructions:
- wash your hands.
- listen carefully to direction.
- keep the centers clean.
- say "please" and "thank you".

 The days of the week. At the morning before starting the lessons, the teacher asks the students
about the day of today “today is what”, So students can see the names of the days that on the
wall to know what is today if they need to or forget.

The teacher is using it as a behavior management. The teacher put all the student's names in
the green color (ready to learn) at the beginning of the day, the one who behave well the teacher
move his/her name to the next color. the students who do not behave well during the lesson,
she gives them the first warning and if they still not behaving well, she tells them that their
names will go down, and if they still not listing to her, she moves their names down and gives
them a chance until the end of the day to return their names up.

 Stars chart. This chart is also a behavior’s management. The teacher rewards the students who
behaved well during the lesson by a star sticker, then the students put the star that they had got
under their names in the star chart. By the end of the week, the teacher counts the stars of each
student and the three who had got the most numbers of starts she rewards them with gifts.
Then she encourages the other students to work hard and they have the next week to collect
many of stars.

 Letters cards. The teacher using it to review the sounds with the students, she points on the
letter and the students need to say the sound and the poem of each letter, and she helps them
with poems.
Describe the reading area in your classroom. What genres of books are there and how are they
displayed? (Photo)

 the classroom has a small area of reading. And this area contains books shelf, pillows, and a
variety of books. In my opinion, the area is a very small place for reading, maximum two students
can sit in and read. I suggest that the reading area is expanded, at least that there is a place to
take 4 students.
 There are different types of books:
- Books about the lessons that the students are learning about it (plants, the five senses,
and healthy food).
- Arabic books.
- Educational stories.
- Math books.

 All the books displayed are attracted the students, and suitable for the learners in this age.
Because the books are in different sizes and contain a lot of pictures that make the students
interesting.

Describe a phonics lesson you observed. How does the teacher teach word attack skills to children?
Mention how the children are scaffolded to recognise the word and get the meaning?

 The teacher uses the PowerPoint to introduce the new sound, then she teaches them how to
pronounce the sound, after that she shows them a picture that starts with that letter and
students will need to repeat the sound and the words.
 The teacher used the words cards to practice reading words for the students, she spells the
words and the students need to repeat after her and say the word.

Consider different reading approaches have you observed? (Guided reading, Shared Reading, Sustained
Silent Reading).
Choose 2 and describe how the teacher implements these approaches in the class in detail. (Photos,
and refer to EPR 2603)
Consider seating arrangement, participation, comprehension, reading strategies in your discussion.

 I have observed a shared reading and a silent reading.

- One day the teacher takes the students to the library. Students were sitting on the
carpet and the teacher was sitting on the chair.
First, she shows the students the cover page of the story and she asks them what they
see, then she read for them the title of the story. The name of the story is (where's my
teddy) while the teacher was reading the story, she asks the students questions such
as, “what do you think will happen next?”, “ How the boy feels?”, and “what do you see
hear?”.
After the teacher had finished reading the story, she asks the students to go and
choose books to read by their own in silent.

Describe some types of writing activities or the method the teacher uses for writing – e.g. emergent
writing, copy writing, dictations, etc.

 Every day students have a dictation for the letters that they had learned. Each child have a sheet
and they need to write the sounds of the letters that they hear from the assistant teacher and
write it.
 Also, they do the installing words activity by using cards every day. The teacher says the word
and the students need to create the word by using the letters cards.