Palawan State University Teaching English in the Elementary Grades

Through Literature

MODULE 1
Learning Outcomes
After getting through with this module, students of this course are expected to:
1. identify the characteristics of emergent, beginning and primary readers and
explain how these individualities may be used in capturing their attention to
read with comprehension
2. develop an activity that would motivate the learners to read and further
develop their skills in understanding the text

Overview
This course will focus on Children’s Literature in English to include riddles,
poetry, stories, dramas, and other written works as an avenue to teach English
Language. Teaching methodologies in the use of literature shall be emphasized.

Policy on Submission of Assessment Tasks and

other Requirements. Student’s written outputs and
performance tasks should be submitted during the
official time of the faculty in a hard copy. Deduction
of five points for the late submission of
outputs/tasks is applied.
Grading System for the New Normal

Written Outputs – 40%

Performance Tasks – 60%
ENGAGE
Tentative Final Grade +40

Initial Activity
Directions: Bringing your students to the world of
literature, how will you motivate them to read with
passion and understanding and eventually drive
them to read for more literary works?
EXPLORE

Aspiring readers are just beginning to grasp the basic concepts of book and
print. Early Emergent readers are beginning to learn sound/symbol relationships –
starting with consonants and short vowels – and are able to read CVC (consonant-
vowel-consonant) words, as well as number of high-frequency words.

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Palawan State University Teaching English in the Elementary Grades
Through Literature

Top Ten Characteristics of Emergent Readers

1. Emergent readers can be any age, but they are usually in preschool,
kindergarten, or first grade.
2. Emergent readers have not yet begun to read books independently.
3. Emergent readers often make stories to go with the pictures in book with no
attention to print.
4. Emergent readers do not yet recognize many site words if any.
5. Emergent readers may not yet grasp concepts of print, including, but not
limited to, concepts such as understanding the difference between a letter and
a word, knowing that reading proceeds from left to right, and/or understanding
word by word matching.
6. Emergent readers can come from extremely literate households or have a
very limited exposure to books.
7. Emergent readers are often very aware of more proficient readers around
them.
8. Emergent readers may be willing to attempt to read simple texts or they may
be unwilling to make any attempts at all.
9. Emergent readers are usually also emergent writers.
10. Emergent readers want to be able to read books independently.

Characteristics of Early Emergent Readers:

Readers at this level are developing letter knowledge – recognizing upper and
lower case letters and their common sounds (consonant and short vowel). Before
mastering this level, they will begin to develop a bank of high frequency words,
commonly referred to as sight words.

The basic components of emergent literacy include:

 Print motivation: Being interested in and enjoying books.

 Vocabulary: Knowing the names of things.

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Palawan State University Teaching English in the Elementary Grades
Through Literature

 Print awareness: Noticing print, knowing how to handle a book, and knowing
how to follow words on a page.
How to Read with a Beginning Reader

Most beginning readers are inconsistent. Learn more about the characteristics of a
beginning reader and simple techniques and tips to nurture your child’s skills and joy in
reading.

Sometimes parents of beginning readers wonder if their child is on track with

reading. They don’t understand why their child can’t read a word today they were
able to read yesterday. They think their child reads too slowly. They grumble that
their child only wants to read the same book over and over again.

Most beginning readers are inconsistent. They may know a word one day but
not the next. They may read a particular word correctly on one page, but they have
to stop and sound it out again on the next page. When you listen to a beginning
reader, you hear short, choppy words with little attention to punctuation. Sometimes
a new reader can tell you very little about what the just read.

At the beginning stage of reading, all of these reading behaviors are to be

expected. Beginning readers are building their fluency. This means they’re working
to make several skills, like matching a letter to a sound and decoding, more smooth,
accurate and automatic. Without fluency, each word must be decoded, and that
takes time and energy. This means that other reading behaviors like reading with
expression and comprehension have less of a focus.

When reading with a beginning reader, it’s important to do the following:

1. Give them time to read. Reading is a skill, and like many other skills, it takes
time to develop. A beginning reader should spend at least 20 minutes a day
reading to or with someone. The books read during this time should be
relatively easy for your child.
2. Let them reread the same books. Rereading the same words over and over
again helps build fluency. Over time, you’ll notice that your child will stop less
often to decode words.
3. Encourage attention to the print. If your child is stuck on a word, help him look
at the first letter(s) and encourage him to sound it out. If it’s a difficult word, or
one that can’t be sounded out, simply supply the word and continue reading.
4. Take turns reading. By listening to your fluent reading, your child will hear
what good readers sound like. After you’ve read a short passage, ask your
child to reread the same passage. This provides a chance for her to practice
reading with expression.

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Palawan State University Teaching English in the Elementary Grades
Through Literature

5. Have realistic expectations. For example, students should be reading

approximately 60 words per minute correctly by the end of first grade, and 90-
100 words per minute correctly by the end of second grade. Your child’s
teacher can help you learn your child’s reading rate.
It’s important to nurture your beginning reader in a way that helps make reading a
daily habit and a lifelong love. By being aware of what’s normal for a beginning
reader, and by knowing how to help them progress, you’re sure to instill those
qualities in your reader.

Characteristics of Beginning Readers

Beginning readers are building their fluency. This means they’re working to
make several skills, like matching a letter to a sound and decoding, more smooth,
accurate and automatic. Without fluency, each word must be decoded, and that
takes time and energy.

Characteristics of Primary Learners

This document highlights the unique needs and strengths of typical young
children, identifying eleven key characteristics of primary learners1 – their ways of
thinking and engaging with the world and their remarkable hunger for learning. Each
of these characteristics is based on the writings of developmental psychologists and
educators such as Lev Vygotsky, Maria Montessori, and Jean Piaget, as well as
recent peer-reviewed research and the experience of primary educators in our EL
network.

 Young children find security in rhythm, ritual, and repetition.

 Young children learn through play.
 Young children want to belong to a community that is safe, beautiful, and
good.
 Young children explore the world with wonder.
 Young children understand first the world first through their bodies.
 Young children seek independence and mastery.
 Young children thrive in the natural world.
 Young children use stories to construct meaning.
 Young children seek patterns in the world around them.
 Young children construct their identities and build cultural bridges.
 Young children express themselves in complex ways.

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Palawan State University Teaching English in the Elementary Grades
Through Literature

Guided
Reading

EXPLAIN

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Palawan State University Teaching English in the Elementary Grades
Through Literature

A major goal of our society’s educational system is for children to become

literate. Although agreement exists regarding the importance of literacy, controversy
surrounds the timing of literacy instruction and the methods used to teach literacy
skills. While most reading curricula involve formal instruction, this paper proposes
that informal instruction is more developmentally appropriate for four-and-five-year-
olds. Research has begun to document the acquisition of literacy-related knowledge
and skills prior to formal instruction in learning environments where informal
instruction occurs, i.e. kindergartens, day care centers, and home environments.

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Palawan State University Teaching English in the Elementary Grades
Through Literature

The following five goals are offered as the basis of a developmentally

appropriate literacy curriculum: [1] Encourage an awareness of how reading and
writing are useful. [2] Develop listening comprehension skills. [3] Develop conceptual
knowledge. [4] Develop oral language skills, and [5] Explore the process of
communicating through written language.

ELABORATE

Written Output
Directions: Identify the characteristics of emergent, beginning and primary readers
and explain how these individualities may be used in capturing their attention to
read with comprehension.

EVALUATE

Performance Task
Directions: Develop or construct an encouraging activity that would
motivate the learners to read and further develop their skills in
understanding the text. Illustrate your answer.
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Palawan State University Teaching English in the Elementary Grades
Through Literature

God bless

God bless

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