Salient Literacy Intervention Strategies for the Pedagogical Process.

Abstract

This blog is intended to explore the key literacy intervention strategies that can be used to enhance a child’s learning both in the physical and online learning space. The blog will highlight techniques that can be used to build critical thinking, promote reading, and highlight the use of technology to improve engagement. How intervention methods support learning and academic growth will also be analyzed.

Audience

The audience for this blog is varied as I intend to reach teachers, policymakers within the education system, school administrators, and people who have the interest of schools at heart. These stakeholders are actively involved in creating literacy programs and forming curricular frameworks.

Teachers will need hands-on strategies they can apply in the classroom to meet the varied learning styles of the students as they are at the forefront of content delivery. Teachers need these strategies in order to build student's literacy development skills.

The school administration which includes the principal is the head of overseeing the function of the school and the holistic development of all students. The school administration needs to know the strategies that can be applied to create a conducive learning environment in order to provide the teachers with the required materials and support to have smooth implementation of literacy intervention strategies and successful outcomes.

The education policymakers also need to know and understand these strategies in order to implement policies that will promote these programs in the schools and provide the required support.

Learning Environment

The current learning environment in both online and face-to-face settings is influenced by the different backgrounds the students come from, their learning styles, the accessibility to technology, and their preferences.

Learning Styles and Preferences

Students across the classrooms have different learning styles and preferences, there are the kinesthetic learners who learn and recall information by doing hands on activities, the visual learners who learn with the help of visual aids, and the auditory learners who rely mainly on audio cues to learn. Students in the classroom may be slower than others and suffer from learning disabilities which adds a level of complexity to the learning environment, however, providing differentiated instructions and interventions will cater to the needs of every student in the classroom leaving no one behind due to their ability. The comfort level with technology may be different because of various reasons. Some students and teachers may easily have access to technology devices and navigate their way on online platforms while others find it difficult to access devices and find stable network connection. Older teachers may also find it difficult to adapt to using these technologies effectively. Classroom changes may be difficult as educators have to find new learning methods to meet their students' needs and students may also take some time to adapt to these changes.

Strategies for Intervention

Implementing strategies that foster growth and development in the classroom while meeting the needs of all students is very essential. Some strategies are designed to meet the needs of every student making them wholesome individuals and aiding in mastery of all literacy aspects. Here are some strategies that help in literacy learning and remediation:

1. Writing workshops- These are small workshops that allow students to improve their writing conventions making them more capable and confident writers and better organizers. This strategy is aimed at providing students with help to improve their writing skills.

2. Read Aloud Sessions - Read Aloud sessions are where the teacher or assigned peers will read specific stories or passages out loud and pause to have small question and answer sessions with the students. This strategy demonstrates fluent reading and introduces students to rich vocabulary. This strategy will help the students to think critically and listen well. This intervention will address the critical thinking and listening comprehension skills of the students.

3. Elkonin Box Activities - This activity will allow students to take spoken words apart and place them in their phonemes. This activity will help students to build or enhance their phonological awareness and spelling.

4. Guided Reading Sessions- Guided reading sessions are small groups of students reading together with the support of a teacher, while the teacher offers feedback to the students. This activity will help students become better readers at a more fluent pace and improve their decoding and comprehension skills.

5. Word wheel - This is a visual display of new words introduced over a period of time to improve recognition and usage. This wheel is aimed at improving vocabulary, spelling, and word recognition.

6. Vocabulary Journal- This will be a tool where students get to write new words as they go along and also the definition of these words. This activity will enhance spelling, and usage of words and improve vocabulary.

7. Think-Pair-Share Activities- These activities will allow students to discuss their understanding of a specific text with a chosen partner and then share that information with the class. This activity will address critical thinking and comprehension skills.

8. Fluency Training Sessions - Fluency training sessions will have the students read a text orally several times and with the use of correct expressions. This activity is aimed at improving the speed at which they read, pronunciation, and comprehension skills.

9. Writing Club- The writing club is one where students and teachers will meet once weekly to have discussions and write on specific topics. It will allow students to write creatively with the help of teachers. This activity is aimed at enhancing writing, spelling, vocabulary, and comprehension skills.

10. KWL Charts ( Know, Want to Know, Learned )- This learning strategy is where students activate their prior knowledge, set reading goals to find out specific information, and also track their learning progress. This will address their comprehension and self monitoring skills.

11. Repeated Reading Exercise - A repeated reading exercise will have students repeat the same passage multiple times to become familiar with and improve fluency. This strategy is used to address fluency, vocabulary, and speed.

12. Cloze Reading Activity- This activity is where students will fill in the blanks or find the missing words in passages from a word bank or use of context clues. This activity will improve comprehension, vocabulary, and critical thinking skills

13. Reader’s Theater- This activity will have students reading and role playing specific scripts taken from books, plays, and other written texts that are rich in dialogue. This activity will address fluency, comprehension, and communication skills.

14. Inferencing - Inference is the use of context clues to find answers to questions or complete scenarios. This strategy is aimed at improving critical thinking and comprehension skills.

15. Reciprocal Teaching - Reciprocal teaching is where students take turns to lead discussions on different texts, through predicting clarifying, asking questions, and summarizing the passage. The areas addressed through this intervention are comprehension and critical thinking.

Use of technology

The use of technology is integrated into the learning environment to enhance student engagement, promote tailored instructions and varied content delivery methods. Technology is also used to bridge the gap between traditional and digital learning. The devices used in the learning environment include tablets, laptops, smart whiteboards, and speakers. These devices enhance the learning experiences to make them more interactive and cater to students of different comfort levels.

Tablets and laptops are used in the learning environment for students to access information in real time and access subject materials. They are also used to access interactive learning platforms such as Quizlet, Kahoot, Near-pod and Moodle, these platforms allow students to develop and practice literacy skills interactively with less intimidation as activities are done at their own convince and in their own space. These platforms also allow teachers to track progress and provide timely feedback.

Smart whiteboards are also used in the learning environment to make lessons more engaging and interactive. These boards are used to tell digital stories and connect with other students from around the world. Smart whiteboards are also used in multimedia

presentations. Technology has become a major part of the modern classroom making the learning process more interactive and fun while catering to the needs of students with different learning abilities.

Reflection

The 15 strategies chosen will work because they are research based and are created to cater to the different aspects of literacy development. The strategies are also versatile to meet the needs of all learners in the classroom. The strategies will have positive learning outcomes as each strategy supports and helps with the development of various literacy skills including phonological awareness, fluency, comprehension, writing and critical thinking. The strategies also encourage students to work together, provide feedback and promote deeper understanding. The implemented strategies will also boost self-confidence and growth creating a meaningful environment for literacy growth and development.

Conclusion

In the diverse learning environments, effective literacy instructions must be created to meet the needs of all learners through different literacy intervention strategies. These strategies should take into consideration the preferences and abilities of each child making them more effective while meeting their literacy needs. The strategies outlined are suggested to help with the learner's overall literacy development making them critical thinkers, fluent readers and better writers pushing them to be higher achievers. The use of technology will play a major role in enhancing student engagement and bridging the gap between both learning environments.

Reference

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