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Claim: As a literacy leader, I design authentic literacy experiences.

Name: Reyna Reyes

ILA Standards:

I. Foundational Knowledge

II. Curriculum and Instruction

III. Diversity

IV. Literate Environment

V. Professional Learning and Leadership

As a literacy leader, I design authentic literacy experiences. I believe authentic literacy

activities should be part of instruction. Authenticity is critical because students can make

connections to their life experiences. I also provide students with real life tasks, because these

types of experiences help students construct meaning. When students engage in authentic literacy

experiences, they can easily engage with texts. Furthermore, students can become active

participants in meaningful discussions, and transfer new knowledge to other content areas.

According to Bergeron and Rudenga (1996), They are three ways to increase instructional

authenticity: (a) provide students with literacy materials and the opportunity to use language

within natural social contexts, (b) offer students choices in negotiating the curriculum, and (c)

follow the students lead (p. 546). Furthermore, when learning is authentic, students are more

confident when discussing a text in a book club discussion, because they are building

comprehension. Additionally, providing choices to students helps them take control of their

learning, making it more authentic. According to Pinnell and Fountas (1998), Throughout the

grades, children need many opportunities to engage in meaningful literacy experiences in school
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that parallel the uses of literacy in peoples lives (p. 4). The more the student is able to express

themselves through a task the more meaningful it is for the student. These types of activities are

engaging and students respond positively to them.

Students demonstrate a higher growth in both comprehension and writing when offered

authentic literacy activities (Duke, Purcell-Gates, Hall, and Tower, 2006, p. 345). When writing

and reading, students can relate to the text and make connections to life experiences. When they

connect to the text, they are actively participating in meaningful discussions by putting their

thoughts and ideas into a written format. Researchers created a framework of five elements for

authentic literacy learning: purpose, choice, audience, resources, and relevance (Bergeron &

Rudenga, 1996). In this narrative I share examples from my coursework that promote authentic

literacy experiences.

My understanding of the importance of authentic literacy began during my course in

Teaching Reading and the Other Language Arts to Linguistically Different Learners. I consider

myself a bilingual person, because I am proficient in two languages Spanish and English. In my

course I was required to read a novel called Nacer Bailando written by Alma and Gabriel. I was

able to quickly engage with the text because it was written in my native language Spanish and I

was able to relate with the characters. During this class, the professor assigned us to book clubs. I

enjoyed the discussions within the book club with my peers and I was actively participating.

Reading this novel for the course changed my thinking and life. I was able to relate to the

characters, and I could mirror myself within the text because it reflected back to my identity and

experiences. Furthermore, the text also served as a window for many of my classmates who had

only experienced reflections of themselves in other books. Because the text was so authentic, the

book club helped me comprehend the novel and view other perspectives.
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In my program, I developed authentic materials for literacy education. I created a

thematic text set for multilingual or monolingual students. I developed a portfolio of twelve

appropriate texts for teaching reading and other language arts to linguistically diverse learners in

a specific grade and program model. All texts were associated with a specific cross-curricular

sport theme for critical thinking and to engage students in learning. Thematic units can be

authentic for student learning. The teaching and texts can help students make connections

between their life and integrated cross-curricular content such as math, reading, science, and

social studies. This type of supportive scaffolding instruction gives the child the opportunity to

use their prior knowledge and integrate it with new knowledge. My theme was about sports

because it may motivate and captivate students interests. Click here for the Pinterest Page.

Figure 1 EDBE 5413 Assignment: 12 Thematic Text Set Sports

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Figure 2 EDBE 5413 Assignment: Thematic Text Set

Here is another excerpt from a transcript showing how the student interacted with the

text. Before he read the text I asked him some questions to help student relate with the text. The

student quickly made a connection with his life experience. Once the student was making

connections to the book he was actively participating in discussions. I also provided the student

with support by asking questions and providing feedback.

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Figure 3 READ 5423 Assignment: Practicum Interactive Read Aloud

Texts, support authencity, but readers also plan authentic literacy activities. Blogging

about books may be one form of authentic literacy. According to Duke, Purcell-Gates, Hall, &

Tower (2006), in my course Literature for Children and Young Adults I used texts and the

electronic media to construct a book review blog. I developed this blog to make public my

reviews of childrens and young adult literature. Blogging for students in this manner helps

establish a community of readers. Students can read the reviews and choose a book of their

interest to read. After reading students can write a book review and post their recommendation

on the blog. Blogging is beneficial for students because it gives the student the opportunity to

develop literacy response and writing in an authentic manner.

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Figure 4 LS 5603 Assignment: Book Blog

Literacy leaders in our schools need to promote authentic literacy in classrooms. In

addition, teachers need to provide students with a variety of texts. Theses texts should be

available for students. Authentic literacy engages students to the text and they are able to make

connections to their real life experiences making the reading more enjoyable. This type of literate

environment provides students with choices in their reading and opportunities to actively engage

in meaningful discussions about books they have relate to. The following is an excerpt from my

presentation explaining to my colleagues the importance of using authentic texts in classrooms.

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Figure 5 EDBE 5413 Assignment: Presentation Multicultural Literature in Classrooms

In conclusion, as a literacy leader, I design authentic literacy experiences. I provide

students with a variety of texts connected to their experiences and interests in order to help them

engage and build comprehension. Furthermore, providing students with authentic activities

benefits the student in developing reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The use of

multimodal activities helps students express themselves and making the activity meaningful. In

addition, as a literacy leader I promote the usage of authentic texts in classrooms. Overall, I have

come to understand the beneficial use of authentic literacy in classrooms.

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References

Ada, A. F., & Zubizarreta, G. M. (2011). Nacer bailando. New York: Atheneum Books for

Young Readers.

Bergeron, B. S., & Rudenga, E. A. (1996). Seeking authenticity: What is real about thematic

literacy instruction?. Reading Teacher, 49(7), 544.

Duke, N. K., Purcell-Gates, V., Hall, L. A., & Tower, C. (2006). Authentic literacy activities for

developing comprehension and writing. Reading Teacher, 60(4), 344-355.

doi:10.1598/RT.60.4.4

Pinnell, G. S., Fountas, I. C., & Giacobbe, M. E. (1998). Word matters: Teaching phonics and

spelling in the reading/writing classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.