Building Thinkers, Doers, and Achievers Starting with Literacy:
By: Mcgraw Hill
Tags: Teaching, Literacy, Curriculum, Education

Hear from industry experts on how to promote literacy in your classroom and shape the leaders of the future

Literacy is the foundation of all learning: the ability to read is at the root of success in all school subjects, gives students confidence in their academic abilities, and opens up endless windows of opportunity. It is the kind of skill that will carry students into life after school, that they can expand upon throughout their lives, and that will never become obsolete. The stakes are high when it comes to teaching literacy: educators are tasked with giving kids the tools they need to function in the classroom as a motivated and engaged student, and later on in life as an active, informed, and fulfilled adult. But reading doesn’t come easily — or in a uniform pattern of understanding — for every learner. Sometimes, it can take an entire team of educational professionals putting their heads together to produce the best learning outcomes, especially when it comes to a cognitive skill as complicated as reading. Below, we’ve gathered some of our experts to share their experiences, ideas, and strategies that will help you empower your students and children with the vital tools gleaned from fluent reading skills.

Hear from Doug Fisher on the importance of close readings and complex texts to promote full student engagement during the reading experience. By challenging students in the readings they select, teachers can encourage readers to use critical thinking skills to deconstruct an author’s argument, analyze its validity, and formulate an argument of their own. Close readings of a complex text allow young readers to investigate how argument building works, discover new opinions and evidence, and inspire them to respond.

Donald Bear discusses his teaching strategy, Concept Sorts. Bear uses this innovative and interactive technique to take close reading one step further: students engage in a sort of ‘ultra-close’ reading of each word to deconstruct its denotations, connotations, extensions, and associations. By sorting information and thinking critically, this literary strategy fosters the invaluable skill of fine-tuned analysis.

Tim Shanahan breaks down the ties between literacy and long-term student success, outside of the classroom and later in life. As the foundation of critical thinking, analysis, and communication, literacy instruction plays a vital role in every student’s future learning outcome. Shanahan breaks down the wide-ranging influence of literacy as a tool for life after school.

Explore literacy’s endless implications, as Doug Fisher explains how literacy functions as a gateway skill to “becoming an informed citizen”. The potential to succeed begins in primary school, where students learn- through adventure stories about dragons, articles about deep-sea fish, tales of heroes from the past — that understanding another person’s voice through text is an active process, one that requires careful inquiry, reflection, and dissection. Fisher discusses the importance of cultivating empowered listeners and speakers in the classroom.

Just because school is out doesn’t mean that your kids can slack on their literacy building skills. Everything our experts discussed above still holds true outside of the classroom: if anything, now is the time to take advantage of summer reading programs and work to prevent the infamous summer literacy slide. To capitalize on available resources and get your readers engaged, check out our summer literacy Pinterest Board for fun summer reading activities like an outdoor reading challenge or sight word pebbles. We also offer fun, interactive apps like Grammar Wonderland and 50 Words to Know Before You Go that combine effective literacy instruction with innovative technology. (Now is the time to try: all Word and Grammar Wonderland apps are free for iPad for them month of August!) Literacy building is undeniably crucial to every child’s educational development, and with a community of educators and parents offering foundational support, there are no limits to what our future leaders can accomplish.