My Literacy Philosophy

Miss Mehgan Forkel

As a potential teacher, I have always known that literacy development is a crucial
element in the educational success of my students. However, my philosophy has been molded
and further developed over the years as I have had more experience in the classroom. I used to
believe that literacy consisted primarily of reading books to the children often, and that it ended
there. Now that I have increased my knowledge about what literacy effectively looks like in the
classroom, I realize that it is so much more than that.
I believe that children should be read to every day. If you want your students to fall in
love with reading, then you first have to show them that you love it yourself. This can be
achieved by modeling your enthusiasm for reading every single day in the classroom. Interactive
Read Alouds are an effective and meaningful opportunity for you to do this, and should be
incorporated into your Daily Instructional Plan. If students are given a rich experience with being
read to, then they are more likely to be motivated to read themselves.
I believe that student choice is crucial when discovering and exploring new literature. If
students are expected to motivate themselves to read, how can they do this when what they are
going to read is chosen for them? Students can effectively develop their literacy skills if given a
fair chance to do so. Therefore, they should be able to choose literature for independent reading
time based on their interests. If they can read a book about what they are passionate about instead
of watching a TV show about it, then they are more inclined to pick up another book next time
instead of searching through the channel guide. Students deserve to find and enhance their own
intrinsic motivation to discover their love for reading.
I believe that as a teacher, you have to know your students in order to help them learn and
grow. If you do not know what your students strengths and limitations are in terms of literacy,

then there is no possible way that you can support their development. Assessment is not a way
for you to learn about your students. Assessment is a tool that should only be used to gather
information about how the student performed during that particular activity, and tells you what
you might want to do differently next time. Therefore, this tool should not be the strategy that
you use to learn about your student. Instead, independent reading conferences should be held in
order to truly gain enough knowledge about your students to be able to help them. During these
conferences, the teacher should ask questions and then simply listen to the students responses.
Showing that you care about their interests and their learning needs allows for the formation of
caring relationships. Within these caring relationships, you can continue to work closely with
that student to enhance their literacy development.
I believe that the workshop model is a functional and effective foundation for literacy
development. Reading Workshops build an effective reading process that can increase your
students ownership and commitment to reading. The workshop model also broadens the
students literary experience. Every Reading and Writing workshop should begin with a 10-15
minute mini lesson that consists of modeling a new skill, guided practice, and independent
practice. The more opportunities students are given to master a skill, the more likely they are to
apply it on their own in the future. Following the mini lesson, students should be given the
chance to experience both guided and independent reading. This high level of engagement with
literacy allows the students to stay focused on their goals. Students should then participate in the
process of a literature study which calls for the analysis of literature, and then reflecting upon it.
This is a time where students can engage in genuine talk with other individuals that can
encourage their personal development and their love for reading.

I believe that along with a Reading workshop, a Writing workshop is also necessary to
enhance the literacy development of your students. The workshop should unfold beginning with
a Mini Lesson that runs exactly as the Reading workshops does. The teacher should model the
new writing skill, have the students practice it with some teacher support, and then allow the
students to practice it independently. Writing skills are as crucial as reading skills and should be
embraced just as much. After the mini lesson, students should then participate in independent and
guided writing. The teacher should should instruct a small group of students at a time to help
them see what that particular writing skill looks like when they implement it themselves. Then,
students should be given a task to complete independently without as much support. Students are
only going to learn because of us, and we should set them up for success by implementing the
workshop model for Reading and Writing.
Overall, literacy development is significant to the educational and personal advancement
of your students. It is the foundation for all types of learners and should be embraced by every
teacher in every school. I am pleased to say that my philosophy has been reconstructed over the
course of my teaching experience thus far. I am more passionate about the development of my
future young readers and writers than I have ever been before. Students cannot possibly learn and
grow without you setting them up for achievement. That is your role and responsibility as an
educator, and I am absolutely going to make it mine.