Literacy Effective

Literacy Effective
Teaching
Teaching
Kairi Ellis - s4635856

The definition of literacy in general is hard to pin down as it changes over time
and locations, Fellowes and Oakley (2019) provide several definitions their own
being “A literate person has a repertoire of understandings and capabilities that
enable effective representation of ideas and communication. A literate person
can participate in comprehending and composing, with critical awareness and
confidence, a range of texts in spoken, written, visual and multimodal forms that
serve a variety of purposes.” which aligns with the VCAA’s definition of English
literacy which focuses on fluency in reading, writing, listening, speaking, meaning
making and viewing English language. But how do we teach literacy and how
do students learn?
How do we get students to learn?
Getting students’ to learn means knowing your students’ learning styles. There are
many different delivery methods that can be used in the literacy classroom such as:
Modelled reading Collaboration
The teacher reads aloud Collaboration can be
and uses the text to implemented in the
explain different literacy literacy classroom in many
foci like phonic awareness ways. Using the gradual
and meaning making release of responsibility
(DET, 2023). When model collaboration can
modelled reading is be a great tool for
combined with high reading and writing,
quality strategy combining the knowledge
instruction significantly of students’ peers
contributes to struggling together to gain better
students reading understanding of the
comprehension. (Okkinga literacy content.
et al., 2018)

What do students need in order to learn?

Students’ both acquire and present with essential
skills needed for literacy learning like
collaboration skills and speaking/listening skills.
Some students’ with EAL/D or struggling
students are still working towards these skills so
it’s important to consider individual differences
in mixed ability classrooms, as Tomlinson said “if
teachers want to maximize their students'
individual progress, they have to meticulously
attend to individual
differences. Otherwise, the students may become
resentful,
confused, and reluctant to participate in the
learning process; thus,
a certain group of students may always be
unsuccessful in school”
(2001, pp.3).

Another key element that students need in order

to learn is a supportive, positive, and engaging
classroom environment.

what should students learn and how do they learn best?

Students’ need to learn everyday real life skills in literacy such as
reading, writing, speaking, decoding texts and making meaning.
Decoding and making meaning as part of Freebody and Luke’s
four resource model promotes critical thinking skills
How do students’ learn best though?
Having their individual needs met through classroom
environment and differentiation.
Reading and speaking daily: literacy hour, reading discussions,
guided reading.
Inquiry based learning, Seely-Flint’s 4th principle of literacy
teaching (2019, pp. 19-20) discusses inquiry as a means to
develop thoughts, theories, and questions further delving into
the ever growing globalisation of the world and in turn our
education through the use of ICT and the internet!
Multimodal texts. By offering texts with different modalities
we can cater for students who may not respond to a text in
the traditional medium or for students who may not have
access to a text in a way originally offered (Fellowes and
Oakley, 2019. pp. 334).
 What do teachers need to achieve to get their
students to learn?
Teachers need to be able to engage their
students using productive pedagogies to
improve learning outcomes (Ewing, 2013. pp.
43).
Teachers need to be able to differentiate for
all abilities this means students’ with
disabilities, struggling students’, and excelling
students’.
cater to students’ current learning.
Must provide opportunities to develop all
language modes.
(Seely-Flint, 2019. pp. 134) ​

What pedagogical skills are appropriate to this learning area?

Teachers need to know how to break down and decode a text with their
students’ to extrapolate meaning from it.
four resource model
The four resource model is made of 4 components:
Code breaking (recognise/use alphabet, recognise letter/sound relationships; patterns, spell
accurately, recognise/use grammar and vocabulary.)
Participating in the text (draw upon prior knowledge and experiences, compare their
experiences with those in the text, interpret text using literal and inferential meanings,
understand that texts are constructed to make meaning.)
Using texts functionally (understands that different cultural and social contexts shape the
text, uses appropriate text(s) for a particular purpose, recognises that each text type has
particular features.)
Critically analysing texts (recognise that the author has a purpose for creating a text,
recognise opinions, bias, and points of view in a text, understand how texts are crafted
according to the viewpoints of the author, identify how texts influence readers’
understandings.)

Teachers must be effective in these areas in order to actively guide students’ ability to make
meaning from a text while aiding their understanding of written relationship with spoken word.
We also aid in their inquiry and help them learn how to use each resource depending on the
literacy task (Seely-Flint, 2019. pp. 116-117).

Teachers need to know how to link text to personal experience and real world
examples.
Reader response model
The reader response model implies a transaction between the reader and the text itself both
being as important as each other. Each person has an interpretation of a text based on their
experiences and real world connotations despite inferred meaning from the text - the reader can
gain better understanding and alternate viewpoints by engaging in discussion. the transactional
theory is based in the idea that meaning is the biggest process in reading comprehension as each
individual’s experience is unique. The reader creates a contract in this lesson with the text as they
understand it and use the extended knowledge of their peers to update that information.
The context of literacy relates to the meaningful interactions students have with texts and how
other students interactions with texts can help form alternative interactions based on different
ideas and experiences each student has (Rosenblatt, 2018).
Teachers must be able to connect ideas and experiences to text in order to expand students’
meaning making capability and their ability to consolidate knowledge of their peers into their
own.
"For the notion of literacy to become meaningful it has to be situated within a theory of cultural
production and viewed as an integral part of the way in which people produce, transform, and
reproduce meaning." (Friere et al. 2005, p.98)

Teachers must be able to differentiate for diverse learning backgrounds.

Halliday + model
The Halliday plus model bases itself in the idea that literacy is a social construct
and through this different teaching practices and lived experiences create many
kinds of literate people. Being relative to lived experience and practices a teacher
must be understanding of this to aid in differentiation as the framework gives
teachers the opportunity to teach about texts and language in a systematic and
inclusive way in each learning area (Seely-Flint, 2019. pp. 117-118).
Teachers should always consider these factors to accurately engage and build upon
students prior knowledge.
"In differentiated classrooms, teachers begin where students are, not the front of a
curriculum guide. They accept and build upon the premise that learners differ in
important ways. Thus, they also accept and act on the premise that teachers must
be ready to engage students in instruction through different learning modalities, by
appealing to differing interests" (Tomlinson, 1999. p.2)
 Challenges in teaching and
learning

Language and support barriers for EAL/D students’ in the classroom.

Students’ who are learning English as an additional language often will
receive less support than EFL learners starting from early childhood and
home life.

Budget costs in public schooling

Teachers often spend their own money to provide engaging materials for
students’ to participate in their lessons.

ICT in literacy
The use of ICT, gamification, and accessibility can and has been incredibly
beneficial to learners and educators alike. This benefit did not come without
challenges however.
Dependency on ICT inside and outside the classroom causes issues that
disrupt the class when its time to move on.
Loss of writing skills for the gain of typing skills.
Constant need for a teacher to compete with the engagement serotonin
high students’ receive from screen time.

references
DET. (2023). Reading with children (emergent literacy).
http://www.vic.gov.au/literacy-teaching-toolkit-early-childhood/teaching-
practices-emergent-literacy/reading-children

Ewing, R. (2013). Curriculum and Assessment: Storylines. Oxford University

Press. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vu/detail.action?docID=4191358

Fellowes, J., & Oakley, G. (2019). Language, Literacy and Early Childhood
Education 3e eBook. Oxford University Press.
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vu/detail.action?docID=5979409

Freire, P., Macedo, D., & Berthoff, A. E. (1987). Literacy: Reading the Word and
the World. Taylor & Francis Group.
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vu/detail.action?docID=254394

Okkinga, M., van Steensel, R., van Gelderen, A. J. S., & Sleegers, P. J. C. (2018).
Effects of reciprocal teaching on reading comprehension of low-achieving
adolescents. The importance of specific teacher skills. Journal of Research in
Reading, 41(1), 20–41. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9817.12082

Rosenblatt, L. M. (2018). The Transactional Theory of Reading and Writing. In

Theoretical Models and Processes of Literacy (7th ed.). Routledge.

Seely-Flint, A. (2019). Literacy in Australia: Pedagogies for Engagement, 3rd

Edition. Wiley. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vu/detail.action?
docID=5915854

Tomlinson, C. A. (1999). Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of

All Learners. Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vu/detail.action?docID=280420

Tomlinson, C. A. (2001). How To Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability

Classrooms. 2nd Edition. Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development, 1703 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311-1714.