What is adolescent Literacy?
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Adolescent literacy is the literacy instruction specifically focused on grades 4-12. According to Biancarosa and Snow, "ensuring adequate ongoing literacy development for all students in the middle and high school years is a more challenging task than ensuring excellent reading education in the primary grades for two reasons: first, secondary school literacy skills are more complex, more embedded in subject matters and more multiply determined; second, adolescents are not as universally motivated to read better or as interested in school-based reading as kindergartners."
Fifteen key elements were presented as part of the report entitled Reading Next: A Vision for Action and Research in Middle and High School Literacy. Although these elements are aimed at improving middle and high school literacy programs, I feel that these elements could benefit the literacy programs at ALL grade levels.
Fifteen key elements were presented as part of the report entitled Reading Next: A Vision for Action and Research in Middle and High School Literacy. Although these elements are aimed at improving middle and high school literacy programs, I feel that these elements could benefit the literacy programs at ALL grade levels.
15 Key elements of effective adolescent literacy
Instructional Improvements:
1. Direct, explicit comprehension instruction
2. Effective instructional principles embedded in content
3. Motivation and self-directed learning
4. Text-based collaborative learning
5. Strategic tutoring
6. Diverse texts
7. Intensive writing
8. Technology component
9. Ongoing formative assessment of students
Infrastructure Improvements:
10. Extended time for literacy
11. Professional development
12. Ongoing summative assessment of students and programs
13. Teacher teams
14. Leadership
15. A comprehensive and coordinated literacy program
Finding the Right Book
What is it?
Students need to find books that they are passionate about. They also need to be directed and taught how to find books that are within their reading level. How can we expect students to LOVE reading if they constantly are given books that are too tough or not about something they have a genuine interest in? Teachers can help students select the right books, and eventually students can learn to select their own books.
Why is it critical to literacy?
· Struggling and non-readers want different things out of books than fluent, avid readers.
o Thin books, short chapters
o White space
o Illustrations
o Well-defined characters
o Action-packed plots…that happen right away.
o Mysteries with more obvious clues
o Funny books
o Characters their age
o Characters who face tough, real choices
o Realistic language
o An easily defined conflict
· Ask students what they want from a book and really consider it when helping them find the right book.
o Humor? Mystery?
o Lots of characters? Few characters?
o Short or long chapters?
o Boys or girls as the main characters?
o Historical? Modern? Futuristic?
o Made-up characters/events? Real-life characters/events?
o Pictures?
Assessment Ideas:
· How do we know if students are choosing the right books for themselves?
· Are students able to find a good book among the library shelves?
· Self-assessment: Five Finger Rule
Instructional Strategies:
Read aloud
· Almost all students like to hear a good story, and enjoying a good read aloud isn’t dependent up their reading skills. Read alouds allow all students to have access to good books and share the experience. Read alouds should be done on a regular basis and be used to help with critical reading skills such as comprehension and vocabulary development.
Read & Tease
· Read the first chapter or two of a book and end at a compelling point, leaving students wanting to read more to find out what happens.
· Spend about 10 minutes every other week book talking new books that you suspect your students will enjoy.
Create Book Jacket Bulletin Boards
· Make a bulletin board filled with book jackets, and near the jackets leave blank sticky notes which students can use to make predictions about the books. Every now and then remove a book jacket, do a book talk, and offer the book to a student who wants to read it the most.
Take students to your school library
· If we don’t take students to the library on a regular basis, then chances are that when they leave the school being a regular library patron will not be a part of their routine. Public libraries are a major equalizing factor in this nation, so how can we afford not to take students to the library?
Create a “Good Books” box
· Until students are comfortable with authors, genres, and navigating the library, it can be hard to find a good book…so put them all in one place! Create a box that narrows the choices down and eventually move the students from the box to the shelves.
Know your students’ interests
· Using quick talks or reading interest inventories, get to know your students so you can make recommendations and steer them in the right direction in the library.
Talk about the authors
· Authors are people too! Talk about authors and share interesting facts with students. Check out www.authors4teens.com
Know the books!
· Knowing your students and what they want in books isn’t enough. You also need to know the books! Keep up to date on new books and authors by checking out journals, websites, libraries and bookstores. Many journals are quite expensive to subscribe to but here are some free websites to check out:
o www.ala.org
o www.mysterywriters.org/awards.html
o www.seemore.mi.org/booklists/
o http://alphaclp.clpgh.org/ein/ya/yalists.html
Students need to find books that they are passionate about. They also need to be directed and taught how to find books that are within their reading level. How can we expect students to LOVE reading if they constantly are given books that are too tough or not about something they have a genuine interest in? Teachers can help students select the right books, and eventually students can learn to select their own books.
Why is it critical to literacy?
· Struggling and non-readers want different things out of books than fluent, avid readers.
o Thin books, short chapters
o White space
o Illustrations
o Well-defined characters
o Action-packed plots…that happen right away.
o Mysteries with more obvious clues
o Funny books
o Characters their age
o Characters who face tough, real choices
o Realistic language
o An easily defined conflict
· Ask students what they want from a book and really consider it when helping them find the right book.
o Humor? Mystery?
o Lots of characters? Few characters?
o Short or long chapters?
o Boys or girls as the main characters?
o Historical? Modern? Futuristic?
o Made-up characters/events? Real-life characters/events?
o Pictures?
Assessment Ideas:
· How do we know if students are choosing the right books for themselves?
· Are students able to find a good book among the library shelves?
· Self-assessment: Five Finger Rule
Instructional Strategies:
Read aloud
· Almost all students like to hear a good story, and enjoying a good read aloud isn’t dependent up their reading skills. Read alouds allow all students to have access to good books and share the experience. Read alouds should be done on a regular basis and be used to help with critical reading skills such as comprehension and vocabulary development.
Read & Tease
· Read the first chapter or two of a book and end at a compelling point, leaving students wanting to read more to find out what happens.
· Spend about 10 minutes every other week book talking new books that you suspect your students will enjoy.
Create Book Jacket Bulletin Boards
· Make a bulletin board filled with book jackets, and near the jackets leave blank sticky notes which students can use to make predictions about the books. Every now and then remove a book jacket, do a book talk, and offer the book to a student who wants to read it the most.
Take students to your school library
· If we don’t take students to the library on a regular basis, then chances are that when they leave the school being a regular library patron will not be a part of their routine. Public libraries are a major equalizing factor in this nation, so how can we afford not to take students to the library?
Create a “Good Books” box
· Until students are comfortable with authors, genres, and navigating the library, it can be hard to find a good book…so put them all in one place! Create a box that narrows the choices down and eventually move the students from the box to the shelves.
Know your students’ interests
· Using quick talks or reading interest inventories, get to know your students so you can make recommendations and steer them in the right direction in the library.
Talk about the authors
· Authors are people too! Talk about authors and share interesting facts with students. Check out www.authors4teens.com
Know the books!
· Knowing your students and what they want in books isn’t enough. You also need to know the books! Keep up to date on new books and authors by checking out journals, websites, libraries and bookstores. Many journals are quite expensive to subscribe to but here are some free websites to check out:
o www.ala.org
o www.mysterywriters.org/awards.html
o www.seemore.mi.org/booklists/
o http://alphaclp.clpgh.org/ein/ya/yalists.html
Resources
Selecting Books for Your Child: Finding 'Just Right' Books
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/28279/
An article written by Kathleen Rogers on how parents can help them children find books that are appropriate in reading level and interest.
Building a Library
http://www.buildingalibrary.com/
I absolutely love this guy’s blog! He’s got some amazing reviews and it’s a great way to keep up to date on new books!
Book Wizard
http://www.scholastic.com/bookwizard/
A great resource to help you select books for your students based on their interests that are STILL within their reading level. Search engine will bring up books level by GLE, Lexile, DRA, or Guided Reading scores.
How to Encourage Students to Read
http://www.creativeteachingsite.com/read1
A list of 28 different ways to encourage your students or children to read. Everything from being a good role model, introducing your child to the librarian, getting a magazine subscription, or attending book fairs.
Biancarosa, G. & Snow, C.E. (2004). Reading next: A vision for action and research in middle and high school literacy : A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. New York: Alliance for Excellent Education.