ProfEd.
10
(Building Enhancing New Literacies Across the Curriculum)
Chapter 1: Introduction to 21st Century Literacies
Explore
Literacy is defined by dictionaries as the state of being able to read and write ( Literacy,
Literate, n.d). Literacy is not just the ability to read and write, or even the ability to thrive in
today's technological world. To be literate in the 21st century, a person must be willing to
constantly learn about and adapt to many different areas of life, subjects, and
environment.
The word “literacy” stems from the word “ literate”, which first appeared in the 15th
century and is in turn derived from the Latin word literatus, meaning “ (a person) marked with
letters “ – that is , “ distinguished or identified by letters” – and it carried with it the idea that
such a person was cultured and educated.
Miller (1973) divides this conventional concept of literacy into three subcategories:
1. Basic Literacy – ability to correspond visual shapes to spoken sounds to decode
written materials and translate them to oral language.
2. Comprehension Literacy – ability to understand what is being read.
3. Functional or Practical Literacy – ability to read written materials needed to perform
the everyday vocational task.
Based on the Conventional view of literacy, we notice two things for reading to exist:
1. A Text to be read
2. A meaning or message being communicated by the text for the reader to extract.
Schlechty (2001), defines the concept of functional illiteracy as the state of being able to
read, but not well enough to manage daily living as the state of being able to read, but not
well enough to manage daily living and employment tasks that require reading skills beyond
a basic level.
EXPANDED VIEWS OF LITERACY
Roberts (1995) notes that “ in the past fifty years, hundreds of definitions of “literacy”
have been advanced by scholars, adult literacy workers, and programme planners, “ with
even the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNISCO, 2006)
acknowledging that literacy as a concept has proven to be complex and dynamic, it being
continually defined and interpreted in multiple ways.
In 2004, UNISCO formally defined literacy as “ the ability to identify, understand,
interpret, create, communicate, and compute, using printed and written materials associated
with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to
achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their
community and wider society.”
Makandawire (2018), Literacy is “ a form of knowledge, competence, and skills in a
particular field or area, “ being supported by UNESCO (2006).
Three things have been critical in the rise of the new literacies:
A. Increased reach
B. Increased Means of Communication
C. Increased Breath of Content
Activity 1: Reflection
1. As a pre-service teacher, what kind of written materials should you be able to read and
understand? Are you reading these materials? How well can you understand them?
2. Which of the new literacies are you knowledgeable in ? Which of the new literacies do you
lack knowledge in?
Activity 2: Evaluate!
1. Compare and contrast the traditional concept of literacy to the modern view of literacy?
2. Describe the changes in the 21st century that have led to the rise of new literacy?
Chapter 11: Strategy On Employing Literacy Across Curriculum
LITERACY. This refers to the capability one acquires in order to read, understand,
and construct textual material. This ability is useful in regular academic and non-academic
situations and contexts within the school community and in different occupational areas.
Literacy is not confined to merely learning to read and write; it also encompasses a range of
more complex skills including the ability to apprehend ideas and concepts.
As teachers, central to our role is to build a strong foundation in literacy among learners, and
strengthen their ability to engage in education, reach their potential and participate fully in the
community. Literacy skills are crucial for accessing the broader curriculum as they are used in many
aspects of our lives. Obtaining an acceptable level of literacy can greatly enhance learners’
achievement because they are used in many aspects of their lives. Workplace, literacy, and
employability skills are often used in conjunction with one another. These required skills often
overlap and are necessary for any task. In this module, will introduce you to a range of teaching
strategies that promote literacy and numeracy and how becoming literate and numerate expand the
learners’ opportunities to access wider understandings. We will also help you examine the knowledge
and skills that all teachers, regardless of learning area and grade level, need to understand in order to
help learners gain these fundamental skills necessary to achieve success in learning and in life.
TEACHING STRATEGIES. These refer to techniques, practices, approaches, and systems
teachers employ in their classroom practice to advance student learning.
LEARNER ACHIEVEMENT. This refers to the realization by a learner of academic
material or content knowledge within a given period. Within a given period, teachers have a certain
amount of academic material they need to teach and learners need to learn. Learner achievement
increases when teachers provide quality teaching aligned with set standards.
SELF-REFLECTION
“ This time, let us reflect on our own level of learning with regard to literacy and prior know-how
about strategy on how to use a range of teaching strategies that enhance learning achievement on
literacy skills.
KNOWLEDGE SKILLS ATTITUDES
As a beginning teacher, As a beginning teacher, As a beginning teacher,
I know….. I do…. I feel……
Before we proceed, let us read and reflect on this excerpt from the United Nations Relief and Works
Agency (2013) for us to be reminded of our roles as teachers.
“As soon as a child is born, he or she begins to ‘read’ the world, to make sense of
what he or she sees, hears and does, over time. Parents, siblings and the wider
family help the child become involved in the community and culture, and learn
different ways of communicating. This is the starting point of the development of
literacy skills. A strong foundation in literacy takes time to build; it requires
exposure to listening, speaking, reading and writing. Many young pupils may lack
exposure to preschool education and a culture of reading and storytelling at home.
Therefore, the role of the elementary school teacher is crucial in making sure
possible gaps in the development of literacy skills are compensated for during the
first years of schooling. Indeed, elementary school teachers have a huge role to
play in ensuring that children develop a strong foundation in literacy skills. Then
the responsibility for literacy must not just lie with the language teachers, who
admittedly are at the center of the task, but with teachers of all subjects who have
the responsibility of supporting children in developing their literacy skills.
Developing literacy skills not only supports learning but also enhances
understanding within the curriculum area and is a key way of raising standards
and outcomes in all subjects.”
Reflection:
1. How critical is our role as teachers to help our learners gain these fundamental skills?
Now, let me introduce you to Teacher Dan’s case. Take time to read
Teacher Dan administered the group reading test to his class of 45 Grade 7
learners. He later found out that two of his learners were stalled, readers.
When he asked them to read orally, he found out that they could read words
but were too slow. When asked about the passage they read, they could
answer questions at the literal level but struggled with critical questions.
Probing !
Can we all relate to Teacher Dan’s case? If so, let us further understand his case by answering the
following probing questions:
1. Based on Teacher Dan’s case, how important are the fundamental skills to our learners?
2. What is/are your role/s to help these learners gain these fundamental skills in order to enjoy
success in learning?
3. What is/are your role/s to further strengthen these fundamental skills in each of your learners
for them to thrive further?
4. What have you realized about your impact on your learners’ literacy skills development
regardless of their grade level?
Enhance!
Fellow Young Teachers, literacy is not just about learning to read and write. It is necessary in order to
learn any subject at school. Similarly, numeracy is more than counting numbers. Both skills are at an
interplay in the holistic performance of our learners. As teachers of literacy across the curriculum, we
should provide our learners a range of different contexts in which they can use these skills. We all
have the responsibility to promote these skills in our classroom. In all levels and curriculum areas, we
should explore the possibilities of extending and complementing literacy. We should give our children
quality instruction so that they can have the best chances to succeed in life.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF PRACTICE
Teacher Jen and I will now walk you through the different illustrations of practice that provide
multiple opportunities for learners to gain these fundamental skills across curriculum areas. Together,
let us explore some ways in which a teacher can weave literacy instruction into the content they teach.
Literacy across Curriculum Areas
Lea teaches Grade 6 learners. Knowing the importance of developing literacy skills among her learners, she integrates
literacy skills in her TLE class. On one occasion, she asks them to collect empty food packets (for example chips,
biscuits, juice, milk), wash them, and bring them to school. At school, the learners are instructed to look at the
different packets and what is written on them. They learn many new words this way, such as the names of the
ingredients. In another activity, Teacher Lea instructs the Grade 6 learners to bring one daily newspaper to their
Filipino class. She tells the learners to select an article that interests them and make notes about it. Then she arranges
them in groups of four to six, putting learners who have chosen the same article together so they could hear each
other’s interpretation of the story and discuss the different ways of describing the same story.
As a teacher, you can explore varied ways to develop your learners’ literacy and life skills. In developing your lessons, you just have to
consider your learners’ level, learning goals, and the appropriate teaching resources. For instance, to expose your learners to a real
setting language, you may take them to offices, museums, shops, and other places in your community. This can give them exposure to
reading and understanding language in authentic use. Likewise, you may integrate ICT such as computers, mobile phones, and other
ways of utilizing them for information sharing and communication. To develop their writing skills, encourage your learners to compose
varied text types- advertisements, announcements, letters, stories, factual texts, and so on (United Nations Relief and Works Agency,
2013).
Principle 1: Literacy instruction is embedded in all learning areas.
Principle 2: Literacy instruction considers the learners’ key stage.
A Grade 2 teacher uses explicit teaching to develop vocabulary knowledge among her learners. Prior to the reading of the story, she first
chose key unfamiliar words and introduced these through various modes, e.g., pictures, and context clues. Then she modeled and used each
word. She allowed her pupils to use the words through guided and independent practice exercises. Learners were encouraged to use them in
meaningful structures.
A junior high school teacher engages her class to write an argumentative text. She presents a newspaper editorial about bullying. She
facilitates the discussion about its text structure and development. Later, she poses another realistic learner issue: Should learners be
required to wear a specific haircut? Brainstorming was used to draw their claims. She then guided the learners to organize these claims
according to degree of importance. After, she allows them to write independently their editorials. Learners were then encouraged to read
their compositions.
Have you seen the distinct difference between the instruction in these two key stages? Literacy instruction for the young learners
focus on vocabulary building and making meaning of what they read. This is important to help them develop skills and strategies to
access the content of the simple texts they are reading. Meanwhile, as they become more proficient readers, the skills of skimming,
questioning and reviewing texts become much more important. As a teacher, you will need to plan and adapt activities to match their
levels and skills in reading depending on your learners’ age and needs (United Nations Relief and Works Agency, 2013).
Principle 3: Teaching literacy is strengthened by building links to the real world.
Teacher Karen is a Grade 3 teacher who wanted her pupils to understand how important literacy is to all aspects of life. To do this, she
conducted a project that would encourage her pupils to explore literacy at home and in the community. Teacher Karen encourages the
young learners in her class to hone their observation skills by asking them to take note of and write down the names of streets and stores,
outdoor advertisements, and other street signs on their way home from school. This “noticing” assignment is reviewed during the next class
meeting when learners share the words they saw. Teacher Karen writes on the board the words that the learners put together in their list.
From this
list, Teacher Karen can ask learners to use the words in a sentence or a paragraph. She can also encourage the learners to use their
creativity to come up with a story based on the words they collected. Generally, as we are all teachers of literacy, we should adopt a variety
of strategies. Many other activities can be planned and created based on authentic and real-life situations from the learners’ own contexts.
Issues that learners identify with, topics that they are interested in, as well as problems they normally encounter in their everyday lives can
be sources of lessons and activities. These are relatable to the learners and can be venues for interaction among learners, across areas of
learning, and within the school setting and beyond. Source: Stirling Council (2016)
Activity 3: Reflection!
1. As Education student, how deep your level of comprehension? And how can you improve if needs enhancement?
2. How will you develop the literacy of your students in the near future?