There are many types of written materials and many purposes for reading. Students should be exposed to this wide variety of materials and be taught a variety of reading strategies appropriate to the different types of texts. They also should have ample opportunities to practice the skills and strategies they have acquired in order to become proficient. The social construction of meaning is an important part of coming to terms with challenging and complex texts. So discussion is a necessary step in the reading process when the goal is understanding literary, philosophical, or theoretical works.
Writing is an important part of any literacy program.
Students need many opportunities to practice varied forms of writing as they study a text.