These photos are of our final class project in CI 564. I chose this artifact to demonstrate my knowledge of the foundations of literacy. As a group we looked at the layers of the rainforest and equated them to the different aspects of a balanced literacy program. We were able to outline a program as follows: Ground ‐ State Standards Trees – 5 Pillars (Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Comprehension, Vocabulary and Fluency). Leaves – Reading Strategies Rocks ‐ Instruction for Reading and Writing (Modeled, Shared, Guided, Independent) Raindrops – Sources of Funding Sunshine – Professional Development