Stages of Literacy
Disabilities
Assessments
Fish in a Tree
Variables of Instruction
100

Emergent Literacy Stage (Age and 2 characteristics)

Young to middle of 1st grade.

Use scribbles to communicate.

Phonological Awareness 

100

Negatively affects how sound travels through ear. 

Auditory Processing Disorder 

100

Concepts about print 

Speech to print match 

Knowledge of Letter Names

Phonological awareness 

Emergent 

100

What does Mr. Daniels do to examine the reading problem that Ally has? 

Mr. Daniels pays close attention to Ally’s struggles. 

He notices that Ally is quick to avoid reading and writing tasks. It doesn’t take

Mr. Daniels long to 

figure out that Ally tries to get in trouble to avoid completing reading tasks. Mr. Daniels tells Ally 

that he won’t be sending her out of the class. Mr. Daniels realizes very quickly that Ally tries to avoid 

assignments because they a

re really tough for her. 

100

as the teacher, you can’t really change the reader BUT the teacher can make attempts to 

positively impact a student’s motivation as 

a reader, teach students monitoring and elaboration 

strategies, and provide materials that are of interest to the reader.

Reader 

200

Early Developing Literacy Stage 

First through second grade.

Alphabetic principle becomes real.

Writing contains invented spelling. 

200

Negatively affects child's written communication. 

Dysgraphia 

200

Word Identification 

Phonemic awareness 

Spelling assessments 

Story retelling 

Early Developing 

200

What does Mr. Daniels do to diagnose the reading problem that all has? 

Mr. Daniels challenges Ally

to read and write in 

class and independently so he can watch how she responds. 

He observes closely her strength and 

comfort with art as well as her disco

mfort with letters and words. 

Mr. Daniels asks Ally to stay after 

school

so he can work one

on

one with her in a more comfortable setting (playing a game of chess)

200

the level of a text that a child is asked to read can be changed to meet the needs of the 

learner; consideration should be made 

for the content of the text, density of information within the 

text, format of the text (i.e., narrative, expository), organization and style of the text, complexity of 

the grammar used in the text, and the level of vocabulary used in the text.

Text 

300

Developing Literacy Stage 

Third through fifth grade.

Use more prosody when reading. 

Writing = Descriptive details 

300

Negatively affects a child's ability to read and process language. 

Dyslexia 

300

Fluency Assessment 

Cloze Test 

Miscue Analysis

Developing 

300

What does Mr. Daniels do as a method of treatment for Ally?

Mr. Daniels makes adjustments to the assignments that

Ally is 

required to complete (at first it leads to embarrassment when the substitute points out that Ally 

doesn’t have to write for the assignment; in the end it leads to motivation as Ally says she doesn’t 

want to have exceptions made for her). Mr. Danie

ls teaches Ally strategies for attacking words that 

are moving and dancing all over the page. H

e

teaches 

her to focus on the beginning and the end of a 

word and use clues to figure out what could be in the middle to figure out the word. 

300

it is

critical that tasks are differentiated so that they address the skill, concept, or standard to 

be learned while also allowing the student to learn on his/her level. The teacher can adjust the mode 

of the task (i.e., student answers orally or in writing) o

r the level of demands within the task (i.e., 

higher

level questioning).

Task 

400

Strategic Literacy stage 

Fifth through eighth grade.

Own point of view is developed.

Writing students use elaborate essays. 

400

Can negatively affect both receptive and expressive language. 

Language Processing Disorder 

400

Self-Report of Strategy Use 

Summarization Rubric

Think-Aloud Assessment 

Strategic 

400

What are the three materials that Kiesha, Ally, and Albert were wearing on their shirts?

Flint 

Steel 

Magnesium 

400

he teacher sets up a positive learning environment with student 

interactions encouraged and supported; the teacher responds to students in a supportive manner 

re

gardless of them being right or wrong

Situational Context 

500

Complex Literacy Stage 

High School to College.

Multiple sources with multiple perspectives.

Writing is embedded in more content tasks. 

500

Negatively affects the understanding of information that a person sees, or ability to draw. 

VisualPerceptual/ Visual Motor 

500

Number in each stage.

Emergent=4

Early Developing=4

Developing=3

Strategic=3

500

What was Ally's poem? 

Rain, rain falling down

Down, down on the ground

All birds go in the trees

They don't like the rain, you see. 

500

teachers can utilize specific techniques that best meet individual student’s learning 

styles and abilities; teachers should use instructional techniques that match the strategies used by 

each student 

Technique