The Frameworks Of New Literacy Studies ( Nls ), Multimodality, And Sociocultural Identities Theory

Children have different characteristics and different interests that attract them. A well-designed literacy environment should engage and attract children on at least two different modalities (Edwards & Willis, 2000). This is so because, as the authors note, "it is natural for young children to seek to master and use many alternative 'literacies,' or avenues of symbolic representation offered by

Campbell, R & Green, D. (Eds.)(2006). Literacies and learners: current perspectives. (3rd edn). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia.

“Sponsors of Literacy”, written by Deborah Brandt, is an academic journal article that attempts to define literacy sponsorship, as well as connect literacy as an economic development to literacy as an individual development. Brandt studied literacy sponsorship by conducting 100 interviews from a varied group of people all born in the same century. Brandt concludes that a literacy sponsor is anyone or anything that influences a person to read or write, weather it be in a positive or negative way. A literacy sponsor usually benefits in a direct or indirect way. Brandt also found that there are three factors that influence people’s literacy: stratification of opposition, competition and reappropriation. In order to show stratification of opposition,

In “Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction,” James Paul Gee introduces a new approach for thinking about Literacy. Rather than think of literacy in terms of language (grammar), Gee suggests that we think of it in terms of social practice (5). Gee claims that this approach has important and interesting consequences.

In “Sponsors of Literacy,” author Deborah Brandt attempts to explain literacy, its history, and how there are influences that form the way we learn and practice literacy. Brandt argues that the forces that influence an individual’s literacy are sponsors of literacy. Some “forces” that Brandt discusses are influential people, such as parents, siblings, teachers, and mentors. Other forces can include culture, race, gender, language and location, access to technology, and politics. Brandt described several events in our history to help define what exactly a sponsor of literacy is. She spent several years interviewing people from all walks of life to find their unique literacy history and used them as examples in her writing. Varying ages, backgrounds, and sponsors indicate that literacy changes with each generation and is viewed as a valued commodity.

“The more you read, the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” This is how Dr. Seuss thought of reading, and I think of it in much the same way. Literacy is everywhere and influences us every day, therefore, it plays a major part in each of our lives. I believe that reading is an interactive activity in which learning happens, or as Clay (2001) defines it, “…a message-getting, problem-solving activity” (p. 1). Reading is the process through which one reads information and from doing so, constructs meaning about the material. The more exposure and practice one has with reading, the more knowledge one gains. In this paper, I will begin by discussing my own personal educational philosophy, then continue by stating and explaining four of my beliefs about the reading process and the research that is found to support each of them before sharing the remaining questions I have about literacy. I am an existentialist, and a strong supporter of a balanced literacy approach. My beliefs about literacy come from these foundations and perspectives that I embrace. For students to be successful in their literacy development, I believe that identity acceptance in the classroom is crucial, instruction for all students must be differentiated, direct and explicit instruction is at times necessary, and vocabulary is a significant component in the ‘Big Five’ of children’s literacy development.

Growing up in working class family, my mom worked all the time for the living of a big family with five kids, and my dad was in re-education camp because of his association with U.S. government before 1975. My grandma was my primary guardian. “Go to study, go to read your books, read anything you like to read if you want to have a better life,” my grandma kept bouncing that phrase in my childhood. It becomes the sole rule for me to have better future. I become curious and wonder what the inside of reading and write can make my life difference. In my old days, there was no computer, no laptop, no phone…etc, to play or to spend time with, other than books. I had no other choice than read, and read and tended to dig

Literacy plays a huge role in many people’s lives everyday, whether it is learning how to read and write for the first time or writing a five-page essay for the hundredth time. We experience literacy differently and have our very own unique stories on how it has impacted our lives and had made us who we are today. It is an essential aspect that I use in my everyday life, such as in relationships, daily interactions with others, and learning. It has become such a powerful aspect and human right in which it allows one to speak his/her mind and in some cases express their opinion to the world. My personal literacy history has shaped me into who I am today because without my experiences I would not have been able to gain the confidence and

EDEE  400  –  Assignment  1   Literacy  in  schools  today  not  only  involves  teaching  students  to  read  and  write,   but  is  also  heavily  focused  on  giving  students  the  necessary  vocabulary  and  skills   to  understand  different  text  types  according  to  the  key  learning  areas  (KLAs)   they  are  undertaking.  While  traditional  ideas  of  literacy  often  ignored  the  diverse   needs  of  students,  contemporary  notions  of  literacy  are  constantly  evolving  in   response  to  changes  in  situational

Literacy plays a huge role in my daily life. Every single day I read and write. Whether it’s writing an email or reading a text message, class assignment, discussion board, etc. My literacy journey is unique because I have had different experiences. As a result, this is how my literacy journey has let me to be the reader that I am.

Literacy, literacies and multiliteracies bears various meanings to different people. Some believe that literacy is developed by cultures, while others believe that literacy and cultures developed an individual. There are single and multiple definitions of literacy, literacies and multi-literacies. Based on research, literacy is very important and continues to be developed through our rapidly changing world. Throughout this essay, we will focus on views of literacy, literacies, and multiliteracies and how their different meanings affect our approach to teaching literacy.

Elements of literacy, such as metaphors, are a practical tool to find different perspectives and personal identity. The authors of the research called “Literacy and Identity: Examining the Metaphors in History and Contemporary Research” review various ways of conceptualizing identity by using five metaphors for identity documented in the identity literature: identity as (1) difference, (2) sense of self/subjectivity, (3) mind or consciousness, (4) narrative, and (5) position. This research was really helpful for my study because it gave different perspectives and interpretations of the concept of identity. It should also be clear that the different metaphors of identity carry consequences for how literacy practice, skill, learning, or teaching is understood. A key point is that it is simply not enough to say that identities are produced in social interaction, that they are multiple and shifting. It is not enough to say that identities are positions and that identities are the product of a developing mind. What we think of literacy shapes how we see identities working in people’s literate practices or learning (Moje, Luke, Davies & Street, 2009, p. 432). Have you ever thought about who you are? Growing up I asked this question to myself more than once. I came to the conclusion that I could be a friend, brother, boyfriend, husband, father, all at the same time, but these are just an aspect of me. They do not represent who I am inside. Metaphors helped me to look at identity

Critical pedagogy, influenced by Paulo Freire and Michael Apple, sees students become participants in their learning, where topics are relatable and relevant to their lives. Critical literacy refers to the use of text and other communication to challenge the rules governing the societal norms of everyday life (Luke, 2012, p.5). Asking students to interrogate a text and question the use of language, allows them to form a critical observation about what the author wants the readers to know, for example, when studying Australian First Contact, allowing students to draw conclusions about the treatment of Indigenous people from a text which glosses over the details, ensures students look at the topic from multiple angles and apply their sociocultural knowledge to the discussion. The introduction of multimodal tools into literacy teaching, acknowledges that a

Literacy pedagogies have a developing and complex history in education, intertwined with social and cultural change and evolution. Each change has paved a new path for more significant approaches and strategies, which cater to diverse learners allowing them to create meaning and communicate more effectively. These literacy pedagogies brought out by the changes in education have both strengths and weaknesses. As such, educators need to explore and understand the four knowledge processes portrayed by Kalantzis, Cope, Chan and Dalley-Trim; didactic, authentic, functional, and critical literacy approach (2016), to be able to consider how they can influence teaching and learning so they are able to make informed decisions with regards to their students’ literacy learning. Teaching is becoming increasingly complex; this is particularly evident in the area of literacy. This paper will explore the four literacy pedagogies, their limitations and their strengths, and how they have impacted literacy learning within the Australian educational context.

Therefore, I suggest that a better and more efficient way to identify and evaluate creativity in literacy practices, is one that approaches literacy from a more contextual approach, more specifically from an ethnographic perspective.