How do a classroom culture

based on literacy partnered

with specific instructional
strategies to boost
comprehension positively
affect readers who struggle?
Classroom
Culture
Literacy Rich
Environment

Features: community, positive and welcoming
mood, promotes curiosity, focus on reading,
writing, listening, and speaking

Definition: Classroom surroundings and
instruction purposefully designed to
emphasize reading in a variety of authentic
ways.

Examples: physical design for cozy reading
places, large and accessible classroom library,
spotlight authors, opportunities to share reading,
home to school connectionstudents bring in
materials to share, display of co-created reading
strategy anchor charts, guest readers

Non-examples: print rich but not user friendly,
read alouds with no interaction, book displays
without student input or creation
Instructional
Strategies
Student Choice

Features: ownership, responsibility, variety,
engagement, productivity, independence,
flexibility

Definition: Empowering students by
giving choice to demonstrate
understanding of learning targets as well
as providing simple choices involving
workspaces and reading materials.

Examples: academic choice boards, choice
seating for read to self time, choice books,
different reading assessment modes

Non-examples: rigid instruction, same task
for a ll
Motivation

Features: excitement, enthusiasm,
engagement, intrinsic vs. extrinsic

Definition: A desire to participate in
learning activities and lessons.

Examples: tap into student interests,
acknowledge and praise effort, maintain high
expectations, show you believe in students,
opportunities for small successes, goal
setting, teamwork, anticipatory set

Non-examples: no room for mistakes when
learning, focus on product not process,
bribes
Comprehension

Features: understanding, clarity, meaning,
aha moments

Definition: Understanding and making
meaning of text through the act of
reading

Examples: answering text dependent
questions and deeper thinking questions
accurately, Buzz about a Book, Walk and
Talk, to share, Facial expressions reveal
understanding, Real reading = text + thinking

Non-examples: fluent reading with no
understanding, fake reading
Fluency

Features: Appropriate rate (words per
minutes), automatic, effortless, flexible
correction of miscues

Definition: The ability to read text
accurately, quickly, and with expression.

Examples: repeated reading, reciprocal
teaching, chunking text, guided reading
setting, I read, we read, you read model,
listen to fluent models

Non-examples: word by word decoding,
conversational fluency
Vocabulary

Features: content specific, repeated
exposure, cross curricular word recognition,
understanding, dependent on schema

Definition: A collection of words
understood and used by a child

Examples: teacher modeling usage,
science/ ss content embedded in reading
instruction, investigate complex topics to
increase word knowledge, visuals for support

Non-examples: isolated definitions out of
content, memorization, spelling/ word
patterns, basic sight words
A classroom environment with an emphasis on literacy will
give many reading opportunities in a variety of ways,
increasing student comprehension
Purposeful instruction
can move struggling
readers closer to grade
level goals
Cultivating a classroom
focused on reading will create
excitement among students
and encourage all to be
readers; practice =
improvement

In this reading
culture students
have options for
where they read
and what they
read which leads
to engaged
learners
The ability
to select
options
motivates
kids to
learn
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