My Philosophy Of Literacy Instruction

My philosophy of literacy instruction includes using a constructivist approach to implement lessons while teaching using the top down reading model with a balanced approach to literacy instruction. I have a constructivist view when it comes to teaching literacy because I love teaching with hands-on approaches that includes the students being active in their learning. I follow the top down model by introducing phonics while reading texts. Also, I use a balanced literacy approach in my classroom; the work the students complete is authentic and focused around reading, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, spelling, oral language, writing, and literature.

As I reflect on my own teaching beliefs and read over the learning theories, I realize I have

My classroom is a print rich environment where the students can access the sight word wall, anchor charts, or interactive bulliten boards to assist them in reading and writing. According to Reutzel and Cooter, the top down model is like a jigsaw puzzle, language (the puzzle) is processed from the whole to the parts, like taking the puzzle apart (2005).Some examples of my instruction based off of this model include, read aloud with the students and stopping to model making connections and decoding of big words or chorally reading a poem aloud with the students 2 or 3 times in a

My teaching styles correlate mostly to the constructivist beliefs; I try to make my lessons interactive and connected to student’s interests while allowing the students to work in many different settings. The top down model can be seen throughout my literacy instruction since I instruct text as a major idea and break it down into smaller parts during lessons; I do not start by teaching one piece at a time. I exhibit a balanced literacy approach in my instruction by incorporating many different aspects of literature within my lessons. In all, my philosophy of literacy best describes my beliefs of literacy instruction within the