FEATURE

THE
PANDEMIC
PIVOT
The impact of COVID-19 on early
literacy instruction

By Tina Nazerian

w hen the COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread

school closures across the globe, teaching
remotely became the new normal for educators
Making the transition
Timothy Rasinski, a professor of literacy
education at Kent State University in
Ohio, says one of the biggest challenges
in remote schooling for young learners
such as Rebecca Shin, a special education is the limited opportunities for teachers
teacher who supports students with reading, to interact with students on a personal
basis. 
writing, and math instruction at Valley Oaks “Especially for beginning readers,
they really need to have that focused
Elementary School in Houston, TX.  attention of a teacher directing them to
Shin, like countless others, was plunged examine words, letters, and sounds,”
Rasinski says.
into the world of distance learning with young Before the pandemic, Shin’s
students had different amounts of
children and little warning or time to prepare. weekly in-class support based on their
Now, five months after the first round of unique needs, and some were pulled out
for sessions as well.
school closures, Shin yet again finds herself To continue in-class support
virtually, Shin would privately message
facing challenges, including finding ways to individual students during classes. But
get and maintain the attention of students her main method of remote literacy
instruction was through Zoom sessions
through a computer screen. with groups of three to five students.

38 literacyworldwide.org | September/October 2020 | LITERACY TODAY

She would read books out loud—or have Rasinski also brings up the and students can have dialogue journals,
student volunteers do so—while using social aspect of literacy learning. In becoming pen pals and writing back
a program that put the text on screen a classroom, lots of learning happens and forth to each other about various
and highlighted words as someone was alongside other children. To help mimic issues. Within their journal entries,
reading.  that, he suggests choral reading, where teachers could include content they want
“Then we’d go over the context— kids read out loud with other kids or to convey, such as information about
whether it was learning to read a word or with the teacher.  various forms of writing.
doing comprehension questions,” Shin “That’s been found to be a great “This could easily be done in a
says. way of developing sight vocabulary and remote learning environment via email
Shin’s approach of having someone reading fluency,” Rasinski says. or other messaging systems,” Rasinski
read out loud while putting the text on For phonics and decoding says.
screen is one Rasinski recommends. instruction, Heidi Anne Mesmer, a Mesmer says Google Docs is another
Teachers, he notes, can block out literacy researcher at Virginia Tech, option for writing instruction, allowing
some time to read to kids over video. recommends teachers have students real-time collaboration and feedback. 
He suggests that teachers connect a write on dry-erase boards (or use
document camera to Zoom or other magnetic letters if possible) and hold
video conferencing platforms, or use the them right up to the camera. Dry-erase Coordinating with
“share screen” feature, to make distance boards are easy for young children
literacy learning easier and more to use, Mesmer says, noting that they
caregivers 
effective. don’t require the manipulations During the pandemic, Patty DeWitt,
“I think it’s more powerful to put a and fine motor skills devices like who taught first grade at Kernersville
book underneath the document camera touchpads do. Elementary School in North Carolina,
so the children can actually see the When it comes to writing made sure parents, families, and
words while you’re reading to them,” instruction, Rasinski points to the caregivers knew they could call and text
Rasinski says.  power of journaling. He says teachers her. Even so, she did have one student

LITERACY TODAY | September/October 2020 | literacyworldwide.org 39

 who, despite repeated contact, never to caregivers in their primary language spring. She saw teachers allow students
made it online.  whenever possible and also make sure to speak up about their emotions.  
“I would talk to that mom, and she the students have access to books in “I think just giving the children that
would say, ‘We’re trying,’ but that’s a their primary language. outlet to talk to someone outside of their
whole different home situation,” says “Early literacy is not just about home and express how they felt really
DeWitt, who has since retired because English literacy,” Gonzalez says. “It’s helped,” Patterson says. 
of the pandemic but hopes to eventually about literacy in any language, because
return to teaching. we could always transfer that literacy.” 
Valentina Gonzalez, an educational Increasing accessibility
consultant who previously served as Talking about online learning is
a professional development specialist Addressing trauma  difficult, Mesmer points out, without
for English learners at a Texas school Students learning remotely during acknowledging that many students do
district, points out that not every child is a pandemic can encounter difficult not have consistent or even minimal
in a situation where their caregiver can situations at home or on the news. internet access.
give them the necessary attention for Caryn Henning, managing director Typical alternatives, such as
at-home learning. of content development and program accessing public Wi-Fi from libraries and
“We have to be sensitive to that design at the Children’s Literacy coffee shops, may not be available during
and we have to be flexible with it—by Initiative (CLI), which has been working the pandemic, Mesmer says. 
knowing what our families are going with districts, schools, and educators Ensuring students have access
through and how we can support them,” to navigate remote learning during to books is important, as is changing
Gonzalez says. the pandemic, advises educators to reading materials at least once a week. In
She says instructors should place trauma-informed practices and lieu of connecting online, teachers, she
consider making lessons short and instruction at the forefront. suggests, should touch base with their
simple for younger students. “Culture and care are the students over the phone about what they
“Taking a less-is-more approach will foundation of all literacy learning,” she are reading to check for comprehension.
help learners go deeper into instruction says, explaining that children need For writing instruction without
rather than educators just trying to get safe and predictable classrooms and internet access, Henning also points to
through it all but not really making an spaces to try out new skills in reading, phone calls as a stand-in. She says that
impact on student growth,” Gonzalez writing, listening, and speaking, as well putting together thoughts and ideas is an
explains. That approach, she adds, is as caring communities that encourage important step in writing, and teachers
essential for young learners who don’t cooperation, independence, and “joyful
and students can have those discussions
have relatives at home who can help learning.”
over the phone. If possible, caregivers
them with schoolwork. Henning says that children
can use their smartphones to take
Teachers can also consider setting operating under stress and trauma can
photos of students’ writing and then text
aside blocks of personalized instruction exhibit difficult behavior, including
or email them to teachers, Henning says,
time where they focus on letter–sound impulsivity, defiance, withdrawal,
so the teacher can discuss individual
relationships or play literacy games. aggressiveness, and perfectionism.
words and sentence structure.  
She notes that games like charades Teachers should look out for these types
Another idea? Henning
and Pictionary can be adapted easily of behaviors and understand that they
recommends that teachers write
to virtual settings. Teachers can even are “indicators of stress and trauma, and
ask students to go on scavenger hunts their students letters and include
not choice.”
at home and find items that start with preaddressed and stamped envelopes so
Then, teachers need to build
certain letters or sounds. they can write back.
strategies for supporting children.
“Many of these ideas allow students Henning says that to proactively
to share a little glimpse into their home address trauma, teachers can keep
lives and cultures too,” Gonzalez says. watch for triggers, which can include
Getting creative
Schools should also play a role in sensory overload, unpredictability, Mesmer points out that virtual learning
keeping caregivers in the loop about confrontation, vulnerability, and has made some things possible that
literacy instruction, Rasinski says. frustration. wouldn’t have necessarily worked in
He recommends the development of “In our current climate, we can an in-person setting, such as using
schoolwide reading curricula that are operate from the idea that all children dry-erase boards. In a virtual setting, a
then clearly communicated to families. are experiencing stress and approach teacher can see the dry-erase boards of
“There’s no reason why the schools our interactions with care and concern,” all 20 students at once instead of having
could not make it a more uniform Henning explains. “We can work to avoid to make the rounds in the classroom.
experience,” Rasinski says. “When we these triggers by not accusing children Similarly, wearing masks in
get over this, it’ll be nice to know that all of not doing their work or forcing them the classroom complicates phonics
children had the same coverage of skills to explain why their participation may instruction, because showing kids
in reading.”  not be what we hope.” how to make certain sounds in a
Some students, Gonzalez notes, Kenyatta Patterson, a CLI literacy classroom where faces are covered is not
may be English learners and live in a coach and former classroom teacher, possible. But on camera, masks aren’t a
household where English isn’t spoken. supported educators at a Philadelphia, requirement, and teachers can not only
She recommends that teachers reach out PA, elementary school throughout the demonstrate sounds but also have the

40 literacyworldwide.org | September/October 2020 | LITERACY TODAY

lesson available for repeated viewing began, Shin and her colleagues either “A 30-minute Zoom for them is still
through archived footage. called or video chatted with caregivers long, but now with this virtual schooling
Mesmer says that by thinking to get to know them better. During the in the fall, they’re expected to be on
critically about how different tools fall, Shin wants to prioritize phone basically seven hours a day,” she says.
match instructional approaches, conversations as opposed to sending But, given the current
educators will be able to do “clever emails back and forth. circumstances, Shin thinks remote
things” with these tools—and advance “It’s not comfortable always having instruction is the best approach. Kids
literacy education.  phone conversations nowadays because are resilient, she says, and will succeed
“The trick is to find that sweet spot we’re so used to text and email, but I think
if teachers “encourage them, love them,
of innovation, imagination, tools, and that’s something we’re going to have to be
instructional purposes,” she says. and build relationships with them.”
more proactive about,” Shin says.
Mesmer says that no one knows
Mesmer encourages teachers who
are teaching fully online to create times exactly how distance learning will
Moving forward when parents, families, and caregivers impact the literacy of young students
When teachers switched to remote can connect with them. in the long term. What she does know,
instruction in the spring, they already And, of course, the difficulty of however, is that she prefers to focus her
had established relationships with their keeping the attention of young children attention on what can be done.
students and the parents, families, and over video still looms. Shin thinks “As Teddy Roosevelt suggested, ‘Do
caregivers of their students—likely having that’ll be the biggest challenge of virtual what you can, with what you have, where
met face to face on different occasions, schooling this fall. you are.’”
such as “Meet the Teacher” nights.
Some schools and classrooms,
Mesmer says, are looping—the teachers
are following their students into the next
grade. But many teachers will get a new
batch of students and will have to build Tina Nazerian ([email protected]) is a writer
those relationships from the ground up. in Houston, TX.
In Shin’s case, the majority of her
students this school year are ones she’s
taught in the past. Before the school year

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