Stages of Literacy Development
In Grade 5 and 6 students are usually in Stage 3 of their reading, writing, and oral literacy development. Grade 5 and 6 curriculum expectations require more higher level thinking and independence from students. In our Jr LD Classroom our students’ level of development ranges from Late Stage 1 to early Stage 3 and is not uniform even within an individual student.
Stage 1: Beginning Literacy (usually 4-7 yo)
At this stage, students learn how our language system works. Their motivation to building their literacy is essential to them getting through this stage. Stage 1 learners must develop their phonemic awareness, gain an understanding of writing conventions, processes and strategies so they can can begin writing short sentences with sight words and using invented spelling. Stage 1 learners need literacy skills explicitly modelled and taught, and require daily opportunities to practice these skills in meaningful contexts.
Stage 2: Consolidation / Fluency (usually 7-8 yo)
By Stage 2, students have a better command of basic literacy skills and are moving towards fluency and can engage in more higher level thinking. Students build their reading and writing vocabulary which is still substantially less than their oral vocabulary. As reading becomes more automatic, so will their writing abilities. Students are now capable of exploring and beginning to emulating the different ways effective writers communicate their knowledge and ideas based on their purpose, audience and medium.
Stage 3: Literacy for Growth (usually 9 yo and up)
Literacy instruction at this stage moves from teaching learners to to read, to fostering their ability to use literacy to learn. Students begin engaging in more independent tasks including research, and analysis and the the creation of more lengthy and complex texts. Developing students higher level thinking skills and effective ways to apply them is paramount at this stage of literacy development.
