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According to Cohen (2011), phonemic awareness refers to an "awareness that words are made up of individual sounds called phonemes". Specifically, this awareness is the ability to understand that there are onsets and rimes (Cohen, 2011). In addition, phonemic awareness calls upon smaller units of sound that are smaller to the syllable itself, which helps students with their vocabulary as well as their overall fluency.

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According to Cohen (2011), there are seven domains of early childhood development; gross motor, fine motor, language, cognition, social/emotional, self-help, and spiritual/moral development. In order to assist this development in the classroom, student should have many interactions with print, reading supports at home with parents/guardians, listening to instruction and having the opportunity to answer questions, social interaction play with fellow peers, as well as the knowledge of general directions (up, down, near, far, less than, more than, etc.) (Appleby, 2021). Cognitive Development is a major aspect of early childhood development, which is "the ability to think, communicate, and understand concepts" (Appleby, 2021). During this development, students should perform 'show and tell' activities, write 'how to' stories, comprehension learning, class discussions, and 'Alphabet parings' (Appleby, 2021).

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According to Dr. Appleby, phonics are units of sound that are put together to make a particular sound. Instructing phonics at an early age greatly impacts literacy development. For example, teaching students phoneme isolation (individual sounds), phoneme identity (common sounds in different words), phoneme categorization (i.e., which words do not belong), phoneme blending ("separately pronounced sounds and combining them to to form recognizable words), phoneme segmentation (breaking up words into sounds), and phoneme deletion (the recognition of a word that is present when a specific phoneme is removed) allows students to have a better understanding of the literature they read as well as their fluency (Cohen, 2011).

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The National Reading Panel (NRP) defines fluency as " the ability to read text quickly, accurately, and with proper expression (Cohen, 2011). There are multiple factors for a student's fluency, which include the ability to "recognize letters, spelling patterns, and whole words effortlessly, automatically, and visually" (Cohen, 2011). There are a variety of strategies that may help students enrich their fluency, which include the decoding process, grapheme-phoneme connection, as well as phonemic analysis and structural analysis (Cohen, 2011).

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In a balanced literacy program, read aloud "model expressive, enthusiastic reading, while transmitting the pleasure of reading and inviting listeners to become part of the literacy process" (Cohen, 2011). Guided reading is often teacher led with a small group of students (3-4) who are all on the same reading level/have similar academic needs (Cohen, 2011). The teacher begins this session with a read-aloud of a novel on the students' reading level (Cohen, 2011). Throughout the session, the teacher will facilitate learning via different skill strategies to create a supportive learning session. Shared reading is commonly performed in the beginning of the reading lesson, using enlarged 'big books' for younger elementary students (Cohen, 2011). Teachers may read chapter books to older students, depending on the average reading level for the class overall.

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Vocabulary development requires the teacher to incorporate word study of high frequency/sight words everyday during reading workshop. This is commonly completed through direct instruction, which "involves the teacher explicitly teaching vocabulary, word retention strategies, and post reading vocabulary instruction" (Cohen, 2011). However, teachers may also use indirect instruction, which is when teachers provide a surplus of materials in the classroom to help the student find their own interest/passion for vocabulary (Cohen, 2011).

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According to Cohen (2011), comprehension strategies in a balanced classroom incorporates "lifelong learning process that promotes higher order thinking, problem solving, and reasoning".  The classroom should be in a comfortable learning environment that promotes reading. For one, providing access to 'big books', 'leveled books', 'little books', as well as literacy software programs, charts of poems/songs, student-written pieces, magazines, newspapers, etc. will provide students with real-life examples of literature (Cohen, 2011). This will encourage students to enjoy reading and provide them with a better understanding of the different mediums in literature. The common types described by Cohen (2011) include reading aloud, shared reading, guided reading, and independent reading.

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Reading Workshop/centers allow students to use a variety of learning supplements to inspire students to have a passion for literature, enrich their vocabulary, and increase their comprehension of a variety of texts. Learning centers also provide accommodations and/or modifications for slower learners and those in special education. According to Cohen (2011), the typical four centers are as follows:

1.  An independent reading or shared reading station
2. An independent writing center (where students can either write on an assigned topic or chose a prompt at the station.
3. A word study station, where students can practice identifying sight/high frequency words.
4. A comprehension/ language station where students may have the option to either read along to audiobooks, language activities, and develop language skills through a variety of tasks.

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Writing is a process involving many steps, with the intention to build on skills learned in each step and construct a final product (Cohen, 2011). These steps are not linear in nature, according to Lucy Calkins (1986), but rather fluid and overlap each other. The stages of writing are as follows: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and post writing. Cohen (2011) suggests to not introduce these stages, but rather teach them together within a unit plan.

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Integrating technology into the classroom introduces not only technological literacy to the students, but it introduces students to an entire new way of learning. Teaching in the technological world may include interactive computer programs, videos, electronic books (with features that could assist students with special needs), writing on electronic tablets, and other assistive technology for learning.

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Literacy for Children (in early childhood/elementary) should be multicultural, addressing the customs and cultures present in the diverse classroom. Ideally, these should be awarding-winning novels (either the Caldecott Award or the Newbury Award). These novels should be on the student's reading level, also known as 'Just Right' books. Selecting these books should share an appropriate message, have an emotional connection to the students in the class, and should not contain biased content (Appleby, 2021).

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According to Nancie Atwell (1987), Reader's Workshop allows students to "take more responsibility for their learning by being able to choose from a multitude of different types of texts (stories, informational books, biographies, poetry, magazines, brochures), and thus taking ownership of the reading and responding that occurs" (Cohen, 2011, pg. 517). This level of academic responsibility is important to initiate at a young age in order to foster passion for reading and learning. In addition, using the ten minute sessions of Read Aloud, followed by a mini lesson, and then 20 minutes of independent reading provides ample time for instruction, yet the time frame is short enough to keep the students focused.

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In writer's workshop, shared writing (a process that "allows the teacher to provide full support for the children by writing down what the children dictate" (Cohen, 2011, pg. 339)) has been shown to "promote language development and provide a model of phrased, fluent writing" (Cohen, 2011, pg. 339). This is an important aspect of writing workshop because the teacher can provide direct and targeted instruction to the students, and assist students who have special needs/are slower learners. For independent writing (when the student independently writes on "topics that they do not need assistance with from the teacher", (Cohen, 2011, pg.339)), it allows students to demonstrate their understanding of syntax, mechanics, and it is an opportunity for students to practice their penmanship as well (Cohen, 2011, pg. 339). Writing workshop invites students in educational, yet engaging writing activities that allows them to practice skills learned in teacher-directed lessons.

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Language Development during Early Childhood Development (Cohen, 2011)

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According to Cohen (2011), there are six levels to language development. Each of the levels described requires some level of student-teacher/adult interaction. For example, Dr. Appleby states that babbling is the first sign of language. If it is not nurtured at an early age, then the child may be delayed in producing sounds correctly, which can affect the progress of word sentence construction, and so on (Cohen, 2011). This is an important aspect of early childhood development because it is the foundation of literacy development (i.e., comprehension, writing, fluency, word study, etc.).  In addition, according to Cohen (2011), invented spelling "shows that children who begin matching spoken sounds to letter names of the alphabet have developed the two most fundamental language insights necessary for becoming successful readers and writers: 1) understanding graphemes and 2) phonemic awareness (Cohen, 2011, pg. 129).

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Show and tell is a great way to allow students to share an interesting hobby or favorite item of theirs to the class. Not only can this be very enjoyable for the students, but it allows the students to practice their fluency, organization of thoughts, phonemic awareness, as well as their interaction with adults.

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According to Cohen (2011), motor development can be nurtured and assessed if students draw a picture of themselves and write their names. This is often assessed in Kindergarten. The activity also measures a child's self-concept. For example, "a student drawing themselves with a developed head, neck, body, arms coming off the body, legs in the proper place, etc. can allow teachers to assess their self-concept." (Cohen, 2011, pg 147).

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Bolton and Snowball (1993) constructed a 'Have a Go' chart, which "helps children correct misspellings once they are willing and capable of learning conventional spellings when working with a text" (Cohen, 2011, pg. 131). Have-a-Go charts are great ways to build on prior knowledge and encourage proper spelling. To begin, the student will write the identified incorrect spelling words under word from text column. The have a go column, the peer or teacher can help the student write the correct spelling of the word via "scaffolding techniques such as clapping syllables or stretching out the word with a rubber band" (Cohen, 2011, pg 131).

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According to Cohen (2011), "low achieving readers have great difficulty making the shift from spoken language to reading because they lack the ability to conceptualize that a stream of sounds or letters in printed form make up words" (Cohen, 2011, pg 131). This stresses the importance on phonemic awareness and the study of phonics in school. This is so because teachers cannot expect "emergent readers use words only to convey meaning and do not consider how these words are constructed" (Cohen, 2011, pg. 131).

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Finger Spelling, according to Cohen (2011) is a "systematic multi sensory approach to think through the sound-symbol relationship" (pg 133). The process begins with the teacher saying the word aloud. Then, the student repeats the word, followed by the teacher putting the word in a sentence. Finally, the teacher says the word again, but throws a ball to the student. When the student catches the ball in the non-dominant hand, the student will write the word in the dominant hand on a piece of paper. This is a great method to use "interactive writing, guided writing, shared writing, independent writing, and conferencing" in one activity (Cohen, 2011).

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Cohen (2011) states that word identification strategies provide children with "tools to help them decode words" (Cohen, 2011). These strategies include phonic patterns (language sounds represented by written letters or graphemes), structural patterns (affixes, prefixes and suffixes, which are added to root words to change their meaning), syllabic patterns (are the groupings of vowels and constants that indicate syllabication). Cohen (2011) suggests that "teachers should avoid teaching these generalizations as rules to be memorized, but rather as examples of language patterns that children may put to strategic use for reading and spelling" (Cohen, 2011, pg. 161).

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Word walls are an engaging, yet educational way for students to interact with phonics and sight words/high frequency words. According to Cunningham (2000), "doing a word wall is different from having a word wall. Just putting up the words is not enough to ensure that children will learn these words. Teachers must provide enough practice activities to the students that involve these words" (Cohen, 2011, pg. 173). Fountas and Pinnel (1998) suggest that both teachers and students interact with the word wall on (i.e, the teacher should instruct the students on why the words are on the wall, any categories of words that are present, and which phonics are present in each word.).

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To assist students with phonemic blending, teachers can build charts that break up the sounds of each word. For each sound, the teacher can place a little ball of play doh underneath each sound. Then, the student would be able to 'touch' each sound and say the sound out loud. After each sound is pronounced, the student will take each doh piece that represents each sound and 'blend' them together into a bigger ball. At this time, the student would be asked to say the entire word. This is a great strategy for students who are visual learners and/or have special needs because it incorporates tactile and visual representation of what phonemic blending is.

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Cohen (2011) states that fluency is a "critical factor in comprehension". Despite its importance, research suggests that "44 percent of fourth grade students do not read fluently", and even The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found a close relationship between fluency and reading comprehension (Cohen, 2011, pg. 270). Since comprehension is an integral part of literacy, and fluency is an integral part of comprehension, then fluency is an integral part of literacy as well. Research also suggests that "fluency of reading is highly correlated with improved comprehension, and that fluency is taught best through guided interaction with direct feedback given by the teacher" (Cohen, 2011, pg 271).

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Repeated Reading is an instructional strategy to help students with their fluency. According to Cohen (2011), this can be accomplished orally or silently, but is preferred to be performed orally. The activity can be performed as pairs of students, a student and teacher pair, or a student and parent pair (at home) (Cohen, 2011). In these repeated reading groups, the more fluent partner servers as a model for the less fluent partner (Cohen, 2011, pg. 273).

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Audiobooks are great ways to inspire students to love reading, and to encourage them to read more often. Audiobooks allow the student to hear modeled fluency and follow along with the recording. Teachers could use audio recordings of passages as well. Once the student listens to and follows along with the passage, the teacher could ask the student to read aloud the passage by himself/herself.

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Cohen (2011) has provided research in the following domains of reading in the classroom, and deems them to be integral aspects of literacy development.

Reading Aloud: "Provides a model of modeled, phrased reading; promotes oral language development; develops concept of print; allows children to understand and enjoy books that are too challenging" (pg 89).

Guided Reading: "Provides an opportunity for students to receive help on specific needs and to read books on their specific level; provides the opportunity for students to receive scaffolding or support on reading strategies; allows the teacher to individualize instruction for each group and to work with each student based on data collected during continuous assessment" (pg 89).

Shared Reading: 'Allows the teacher to model specific reading strategies and increases children's knowledge of print" (pg 89).

These three components of reading in the classroom are important for establishing fluency as well as overall comprehension in reading.

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Books that are multicultural (i.e., the Native American family tale called Fry Bread), according to Cohen (2011), are more enjoyable for students during read aloud. This is so because the students will not only be entertained by the story, but will learn more about the different cultures that can be found in their community.

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Guided reading should use short books (with a goal working towards reading longer sample texts) on the student's reading level (Cohen, 2011, pg 89). These sample readings should be information-rich, with "meanings signaled in multiple ways" (Cohen, 2011, pg 89). In addition, 'U' tables placed in the back of the classroom are very effective for guided reading instruction. 'U' tables allows the students to have equal attention from the teacher and a sense of community with their fellow peers.

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Cohen (2011) states that to become "successful readers, students need to be engaged in the essential components of a balanced reading program that include various opportunities for teaching vocabulary, including direct instruction, active and deep processing of word meanings, multiple contextual situations; and practice applying these newly learned vocabulary words through reading and writing activities" (pg 214). This allows students to practice their vocabulary in a variety of mediums.

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Bear, Invernizzi, Tempelton, and Johnson (2000) "suggest modeling how words grow from base and root words by having students work in small groups with word-tree graphic organizers to complete different word forms on individual branches" (Cohen, 2011, pg. 229). If the teacher explains the importance as well as the application of this graphic organizer, students will find this to be a very engaging and enjoyable activity.

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Research indicates that word maps allow students to associate their prior knowledge about related topics such as the example above with the word 'pudding' (Cohen, 2011, pg. 235). Rather, students need a visual representation of the word's definition (Cohen, 2011). This will help the student with applying the word in speech, writing, and will expand the student's interconnected web of vocabulary.

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Cohen (2011) states that "some readers are more active than others, but excellent readers are consciously active throughout the whole writing process, beginning before reading, continuing during reading, and persisting after the reading is completed" (Pressley, 1998). In other words, research suggests that students should construct a 'reading plan' (Cohen, 2011). This is important because students who passively read will have difficulty understanding Big Ideas, key details, predicting about the main idea of the text, or drawing conclusions from the text.

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Previewing is an excellent way to prepare students for reading comprehension. For one, observing the cover of the book (i.e., the illustrations of the main characters, the title, the author's name, the summary on the back cover, etc.) allow the student to dip their toes into the general main ideas of the text. Reading a piece of text without prior context or knowledge on the topic can be overwhelming for many students. With this being said, previewing is an excellent way to prepare students for reading comprehension/active reading (Cohen, 2011).

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Above is an example worksheet of how teachers could implement comprehension strategies as students actively read. Students with special needs or slower learners could answer these questions verbally to the teacher or during a partner reading activity. Inferring about key ideas, and predicting information regarding the plot of the story "must be systematically taught as active and conscious processes that are involved in reading" (Cohen, 2011, pg. 80).

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This is an example activity that could be used during readers workshop/centers as a form of assessment. Students may keep this tic tac toe sheet until they complete all of the activities on the worksheet. This would excite students to actively participate during reader's workshop. Students can incorporate creativity to illustrate their knowledge/understanding of the text they have read. According to Cohen (2011), during readers workshop/centers "students must have the opportunity to choose the books they want to read" as well as some choice as to how they will express their reading comprehension (Cohen, 2011, pg. 517).

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This is a form of assessment the students could complete at the end of Readers Workshop/centers. This allows the students to reflect on their experience, become aware of the actives they completed as well as the importance of these activities. If the student was not productive during this time, the student will indicate that in this self-evaluation and become aware of their lack of productivity. Not only is this a great way for students to reflect on interesting texts, characters, topics, key events/details, but it encourages goal-setting and a sense of academic responsibility for the student.

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The theme of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s story resonates with children and adults alike. Although life may be challenging at times, it should never stop one from fueling their passion. For one, despite Basquiat’s crumbling homelife, he decided to live on his own to focus on his passion for art. Ultimately, he rose from the ashes and turned his dream of becoming an artist into a reality. The book can help slower and more advanced learners when introducing more serious topics about mental health to a grade 3 or 4 classroom. This book shares many cultural norms that are common in urban communities or with those who identify themselves as Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino. With this in mind, this book could also be used to discuss the different cultures of the students in the classroom, begin a unit on multicultural biographies, or perhaps to introduce a creative art project that encourages ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking.

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The theme of this poetic picture book discusses the importance of having hope and courage during times of fear and uncertainty.  For example, the daughter didn’t want to let her fear of the forest prevent her from going ‘owling’ with her father because she wanted to be a part of her father’s favorite ‘owling’ tradition. The book also discussed the importance of hope during times of uncertainty.  For one, the entire story is an uncharted journey through the woods in the search to find an owl. There is no guarantee that an owl will call back to the father’s ‘owling’. However, the father teaches his daughter that with hope and determination, you will ultimately hear the owl call back and perhaps see the owl with your own eyes. Despite this picture book’s simple plot, the poetic nature can be a great example to share with advanced learners when discussing a poetry lesson. (grades 3-5). Owl Moon discusses a heartwarming tradition between a father and his daughter, which could introduce the topic of ‘traditions’ in a multicultural classroom. The simplicity of the ‘owling’ tradition would allow students to feel comfortable sharing their own family traditions with the class. Owl Moon could help students with emotional and learning disabilities understand the importance of hope, determination, and courage to accomplish one’s goals. The students could perform an application project where the students would practice writing weekly goals (either academic or nonacademic) for themselves and work with their parents and teachers to achieve these goals.

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Children's literature, according to Cohen (2011), "can bring content area-studies to life and help students see the connection between the content they are studying and their own personal lives" (Cohen, 2011, pg. 521). This is important because it builds upon the student's prior knowledge and it expands the child's interpersonal knowledge. In addition, "children can explore content through the eyes of other children and understand the significance of time, place, and events through personal stories" (Cohen, 2011, pg. 521). This is crucial for student's understanding of storytelling as well as diverse opinions/perspectives on particular topics.

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Reading for some students can be very difficult and rather daunting. However, there are online literature platforms, such as RAZ kids, that provide reading-level books at home on a digital platform. I used RAZ kids when I was in elementary school and it has helped me with reading comprehension and it helped me find my passion for the sciences. RAZ kids offers a variety of books on the student's reading level, including fiction and non-fiction texts. Parents can have access to the student's account and encourage at-home reading. This is also virtual-classroom friendly, if the classroom would need to perform lessons remotely in the event that a COVID-19 outbreak has occurred in the school.

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Accelerated Reader is an online, reading program for students to engage in and understand fictional and non-fictional texts. When students sign up for this program, they "choose a book on a specified list; after reading the book, students take a quiz on the computer and find out immediately whether they have passed the quiz" (Cohen, 2011, pg. 314). This instant feedback is important for the student to understand their strengths/weaknesses in reading. It also will provide the teacher with data that can help him/her assist the student with their reading comprehension.

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The Research-Based Design Product Certification serves as a rigorous, reliable signal for district and school administrators, educators, and families looking for evidence of research-based education technology products that are based in research about learning.

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Accelerated Reader helps you guide students while engaging quizzes and activities help hone students' reading skills and encourage growth.

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According to research done by Schmar-Dobler (2004), "readers on the internet apply similar reading strategies as those used with print-based text reading, but in a different context and in different ways (Cohen, 2011, pg. 311). In addition, research by Mokhtari, Kymes, & Edwards (2008/2009) suggest that "reading electronic text online is almost always a problem-solving activity in which the student is reading to locate information and then must critically evaluate it's usefulness in answering the question that has generated the search" (Cohen, 2011, pg. 311). This is important because the process of reading online text also teaches critical thinking. If a student is able to decipher whether or not a text will be useful for them, the student is also practicing critical thinking skills that are essential for essay writing.

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All about books or "How-to" books are great activities that younger elementary students could use to demonstrate their understandings of basic grammar rules while practicing their penmanship. It also is a great way for students to explain any interests/hobbies/topics that they are passionate about. At the end of this independent writing activity, students can read their all about books or "How-to" books to the class, which can also help the student practice their fluency.

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Mad libs are fun and engaging ways to incorporate newly learned grammar rules. This guided writing activity can be completed as a class, and can be a holiday theme to excite students for the upcoming break. Students can be creative with this activity as well, and have fun while they practice verb tenses and parts of speech. During the tutoring sessions I completed for this graduate course, I used the attached Mad Lib as a way to help the student apply all of the parts of speech and verb tenses that I have taught him throughout the sessions. This was given on the last day of tutoring before Halloween, which the student found to be not only entertaining, but beneficial for his retention of the different parts of speech/verb tenses discussed.