A Trek Through the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy: 2005-2009

The first article I read was “Clive Thompson On The New Literacy” written by Clive Thompson. This article had a lot of important information shown throughout it and particular things that really caught my eye. For example, it starts off with a discussion on how students write less and they believe technology is to blame. But as you read, more you find out that this generation is actually written more than any other generation because of the amount of socializing that occurs online. The younger generation has a different feel for writing and write for a different type of audience, also they write for the audience.

Cynthia Haven is the writer of an article called “The New Literacy: Stanford study finds richness and complexity in students' writing” that is a study based on the amount of writing college students do. She followed students at Stanford during their undergraduate years and the first year after that. She discovered that today’s students are writing more than any generation before it. Cynthia had the students she was studying submit all of the writing they did, academic or personal. She found that only 62 percent of the work submitted to her was for classes; the rest of the material was “Life writing”.

Over all, her work has been cited 440 times in other scholarly works. Considered a reliable source among her peers, her writing consists of analyzing what is hot and not in common core literacy standards, the utilization of pattern books in the classroom, reading techniques for mentally or physically disabled students, utilizing Pinterest as a tool in developing content knowledge, and diagnostic and correction of reading habits. Additionally, in 2007 Grote-Garcia contributed to a scholarly article on professional resources. Furthermore, several of her articles have been published Literacy Today. The submission process for Literacy Today simply involves an individual submitting a question, pitch, or article to the provided email on their website on Literacy Today’s website (December). Overall, Stephanie Grote-Garcia’s professional opinion is that educators need to stay on top of the hottest trends in literacy development and comprehension building in the classroom (Google Scholar). This includes the utilization of pattern books, reevaluating common core’s literacy impact on struggling readers, and developing a student’s knowledge base in struggling readers. Throughout all the material that she has contributed to, all possess the common thread of developing literacy skills in students.

The Literacy Collaborative program strives to utilize purposeful, explicit, and guided instruction designed to ensure learner independence. The program provides opportunities for students to engage in authentic, collaborative, and holistic language acquisition through the use of high quality rigorous cross circular instruction. The program is structured within a framework that allows educators to create a dynamic learning environment that allows for flexible grouping, collaboration, and actively involving students in the learning process. Moreover, “teachers engage students in a selection of specified activities, including interactive read-aloud, shared-reading experiences, targeted vocabulary and phonics lessons, guided reading and writing

I found that the Journal & Adult Literacy (IRA) Organization has provided me with great knowledge and understanding. The resources are invaluable for strategies and theories of literacy. I agree with you to continue to support this organization as a continuous source of information for the future as I continue to evolve into this new learner of becoming a teacher. I have wondered how often educators really utilize this source of information in their profession.

In the past, much of the blame for adolescents’ literacy problems has been placed on elementary teachers, but recent research suggests that secondary teachers must share in the responsibility for teaching literacy.” This statement was astonishing to me. It’s odd to me that even high school students struggle with literacy. On the other hand, after learning about social promotions in my other classes, it doesn’t seem that uncommon. I feel that elementary teachers have all of the pressure to make sure students have literacy skills, so it was interesting that this article states that secondary teachers must share that responsibility. It really makes me wonder how these students have come so far without improving in literacy. This article also made it apparent to me that the Common Core State Standards view literacy as a shared initiative, and that all teachers at every grade and subject are responsible for literacy achievement (Wendt, 2013). I wouldn’t have thought that a science or math teacher would be responsible for literacy skills, but after thinking about it, it only makes sense. Students need literacy for all subjects, so it shouldn’t just be on the shoulder of the reading teachers. Another valid point is made when the article states, “Therefore, the current method of focusing on academic learning is not effective when students are unable to comprehend and apply new knowledge due to lack of reading and literacy skills.” (Wendt, 2013) How can students be expected to learn new subject area skills if they aren’t even proficient in reading? That’s the issue; they can’t. In the article Selecting Texts and Tasks for Content Area Reading and Learning,

This Thesis has explored whether children at Sunshine Coast Grammar who began reading before the age of four where likely to have a higher academic result then their peers. It can be concluded from the data gathered that students at Sunshine Coast Grammar who began reading after the age of four have lower academic results then those who began reading after the age of four. This was supported through both pre collected information from the Literature Review and the data gathered throughout this Thesis.

Learning to read is an important skill for all people to succeed in life. This skill is learnt from an early age through reading books with parents. Although children from low socio-economic families are not exposed to texts that engage them, therefore they are not becoming fluent readers (Ewing & Maher, 2014). Developing literacy skills is not simply learning the letter sounds and blending them together. When looking into the process further there is more to it including oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. These skills start at a young age and continue to develop throughout the first few years of school. Educators can teach these skills explicitly or systematically, but children need to be

Laws such as No Child Left Behind puts literacy instruction in the forefront. Therefore, school districts have set curriculums in place to guide students towards a standard to keep them on target as they progress up the ladder of grade levels. The standards of performance rely greatly on reading and writing proficiencies to determine the success level of each child. According to Ippolito et al. (2008), grade four is a critical point for students because it is the point where students transition from learning to read to reading to learn. This important point in an individual’s education life is where adolescent literacy becomes unique and challenging. At this point literacy is not just about decoding words, but it encompasses evaluating and dissecting ideas in written form for the author’s intended

As the educational system moves forward, more consideration is being placed on the importance of literacy in early education to better prepare them for higher rates of success in school. Therefore, teachers must have an understanding of the significance of adolescent and childhood development which would aid teachers to effectively develop the appropriate educational activities, which supports both the changing curriculum and assuring that the educational activities of the class corresponds with the capabilities of all the students.

Previously I stated in assessment 1, reflecting personal literacy, to endeavour and improve my understanding and knowledge of academic literacy. I am aware of my weaknesses in the areas of Grammar, punctuation, the concept of active and passive voice and I have recently been made aware that my introduction needs to be structured to complement the body of my easy. Therefore to achieve my goals I have formulated a plan that will help improve my competency in academic writing.

He believes that 1)terrorist have ideological conception of the good. 2) Terrorism is never the last resort to bring about change. 3) Outcomes which use innocent people as a means to an end are always bad. Nicholas Foiton is trying to tell the audience,that terrorist have a collection of belief on how something should be run. Politics, culture a religion can have a association with ideology. For example, Irish Republican Army (IRA). It is a terrorist group, whose aim was to make Northern Ireland part of Republic of Ireland (ROI).

The type of (HLE) a child is in can significantly impacts a child’s emergent literacy development. (Senechal, Lefevre, Thomas , & Daley, 1996; Sawyer, et al., 2014; Sénéchal & LeFevre, 2002; Senechal & LaFevre, 2014). HLE is defined by the “frequency of storybook reading and literacy teaching during book reading” (Sawyer, et al., 2014, p. 65). Sénéchal & LeFevre (2002 & 2014) conducted a study to prove that a positive and helpful HLE aids in children’s emergent literacy. The Home Literacy Model used proved the original hypothesis. There was a statistically significant predictor of parent’s creating a positive HLE and frequency of shared book reading that positively correlated to the child’s literacy abilities for the beginning of grade 1. Shared book reading comprises 4% of the significant differences with the child’s vocabulary. The formal literacy measures presented by the parents like, actively listening to the child read and the method the parent uses to teach, was deemed most helpful as a predictor for the child’s reading abilities by the end of grade 1. The study concluded that a positive HLE promoted growth within the child’s vocabulary and word reading skills (Sénéchal & LeFevre, 2002; Senechal & LaFevre, 2014).

Some high-profile organizations where she got her information from are the New York-based Center for American Muslim Research and Information, the Syrian American Medical Society, and the Center for Immigration Studies. In her column discussing how people believe the language Arabic is taking over the falling country, she provides a percentage from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to show how “66% of immigrants who speak a foreign language at home speak English ‘well’ or “very well’” (Article 2). This exhibits that the scare that non-English speakers are ruining the United States is preposterous. As a result of including data, Al-Jadda is legitimizing her stances since they are backed up with factual evidence and logical appeals rather than depending on emotional tactics. This boosts her believability with the audience, which is utterly important if her objective is to persuade

My philosophy of literacy is centered on providing a learning environment rich in authentic literature, instruction that is engaging, fun, and balanced, collaborative, and also involving families in the child’s education. My ultimate goal of literacy instruction is to help children become lifelong readers and writers by providing the skills necessary to comprehend, construct, and make meaning of text, speak, and write. (Torgesen, 2002). According to the National Reading Panel, there are five essential components that must be taught in effective reading programs: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. (Reading Horizons). According to Konza (2014), reading instruction should be changed to six foundational reading elements, adding oral language and early literacy. I also believe that early literacy should be