Adolescent Literacy Development in Out-of-School Time: A Practitioner's Guide. Final Report from Carnegie Corporation of New York's Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy
Author: Moje, Elizabeth Birr
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Guides - Non-Classroom
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Tutoring,Homework,Prevention,Youth,Literacy,After School Programs,Enrichment Activities,Recreational Activities,Community Leaders,Guides,Literacy Education,Adolescents,Middle School Students,High School Students,Summer Programs,Teaching Methods,Student Development,Social Development,Learner Engagement,Student Needs

In response to requests from out-of-school time (OST) providers, the authors have created this practitioner's guidebook for integrating adolescent literacy development initiatives into a wide variety of OST programs. As readers will discover in subsequent chapters, the authors' definition of adolescent literacy development represents a multi-dimensional view of how middle and high school students process written and oral language. They define literacy broadly as the reading and writing of written texts, but they include listening, speaking and performing as important aspects of communication that help people make sense of written texts. More than ever, the out-of-school time movement in this country strives to engage young people in motivating and fun learning opportunities in the community, with increasing expectations to support participants' academic achievement. Afterschool and summer literacy programs come in all shapes and sizes, with varying goals and strategies for enhancing students' reading and writing abilities. Some programs may target the most struggling readers using pre-packaged curriculum and certified teachers to "extend" the school day. Other programs focus on youth development goals, such as community leadership or youth violence prevention, and integrate literate practices into the content of their enrichment activities. Still other OST programs may fall in the middle of this literacy development continuum, offering homework help and individualized tutoring to support academic learning, while providing cultural, social, or recreational activities. The strategies for addressing literacy in OST use a variety of approaches for boasting academic success. Depending on the literacy goals of the program, organizations may employ very different staffing, curriculum, materials and instructional methods. To help organize these approaches, this guidebook identifies four types of out-of-school programs that address literacy activities. Appended are: (1) A Critical Review of Out-of-School Programs for Adolescent Literacy Development; (2) Promising Programs; (3) Resources for Adolescent Literacy Development in OST; (4) Literacy Process Interview Protocol; and (5) Literacy Practices Interview. (Contains 2 tables and 3 endnotes.) [For related reports, see "Adolescent Literacy Programs: Costs of Implementation. Final Report from Carnegie Corporation of New York's Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy" (ED535296); "Time to Act: An Agenda for Advancing Adolescent Literacy for College and Career Success. Final Report from Carnegie Corporation of New York's Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy" (ED535318); "Measure for Measure: A Critical Consumers' Guide to Reading Comprehension Assessments for Adolescents. Final Report from Carnegie Corporation of New York's Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy" (ED535299); "Adolescent Literacy and Textbooks: An Annotated Bibliography. Final Report from Carnegie Corporation of New York's Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy" (ED535323); and "Reading in the Disciplines: The Challenges of Adolescent Literacy. Final Report from Carnegie Corporation of New York's Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy" (ED535297).]