Adolescent literacy

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Adolescence, the period between age 12 and 20, is a time of rapid psychological and neurological development, during which children develop morally (truly understanding the consequences of their actions), cognitively (problem-solving, reasoning, remembering), and socially (responding to feelings, interacting, cooperating). All three types of development have influence—to varying degrees—on the development of literacy skills.

In recognition of the unique psychology and neurology of adolescence, distinct from the literacy development of younger readers or adults, the International Reading Association (IRA) has outlined seven guiding principles of literacy development for this population. According to these principles, adolescents require the following to become motivated, life-long readers:

• access to a wide variety of reading material that appeal to adolescent interests
• instruction that builds the skill and desire to read increasingly complex materials
• assessment that shows both strengths and needs
• expert teachers who model and provide explicit instruction across the curriculum
• reading specialists (for students having difficulty learning how to read)
• teachers who understand the complexities of individual adolescent readers
• homes, communities, and a nation that support the needs of adolescent learners

References

Atwell, N. 1998. In the Middle. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Moore, D. et al., 1999. Adolescent Literacy: A Position Statement. International Reading Association [1] Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test. 2006. Education, Quality and Accountability Office of Ontario. [2] Tovani, C. 2000. I Read It But I Don't Get It. Portland, ME: Stenhouse. The Canadian Young Offenders Act

Alvermann, D. E. (2008). Commentary: Why bother theorizing adolescents' online literacies for classroom practice and research? Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52, 8-19. Also available at: http://www.reading.org/Library/Retrieve.cfm?D=10.1598/JAAL.52.1.2&F=JAAL-52-1-Alvermann.html Ruth Shagoury, Ph.D., Starting With Comprehension: Reading Strategies For the Youngest Learners, Stenhouse Publishers, 2005.

The United States Department of Education reported 8 million students in grades 4-12 are struggling readers (NCES; 2003, “The Condition of Education”, 2003, NCES Publication #2003067 .

Literacy Terms • “Literacy refers to the set of skills and abilities that students need in grades 4-12 to read, write, and think about the text materials they encounter. Becoming literate is a developmental and lifelong process, which in the 21st century includes becoming literate with electronic and multimedia texts as well as conventional written material. Grade four is when students experience a shift in emphasis from learning how to read, to learning from reading and comprehending text. America’s adolescents need to be literate, not only to succeed in school, but also to succeed in life” (Reading to Achieve 2005, p.6) • Tompkins (2003) defines literacy as the ability “ to carry out complex tasks using reading and writing related to the world of work and to life outside of the school (p.3) • “The more you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn the more places you’ll go” Dr. Seus (http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/Database/quote.html) • Literacy is all encompassing and opens the door to the world. It makes us functional and interactive beings in a world becoming increasing more complex and interconnected. (http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/Database/quote.html) In the research study Adolescent Literacy: Putting the Crisis in Context (Jacobs, V. (2008) Adolescent Literacy: Putting the Crisis in Context, Harvard Educational Review, Cambridge, MA Spring 2008) she points out the demands of adolescent literacy begin prior to middle and high school. She suggests a focus on the stages of reading to accomplish the following: • Clarify purposes for and the timing of teaching and practicing particular reading skills across grades K-12 • Recognize the need to teach later reading skills in intermediate grades once the reader has achieved fluency • Possibly reduce the number of readers requiring remediation • Considering reading skills and processes within the reading stages would eliminate the phonics v. whole language battles

Vicki Jacobs advocates that educational leaders follow the four general principles suggested by the Alliance for Excellent Education’s (2007) I. The roles and responsibilities of content-area teachers must be clear and consistent. II. Every academic discipline should define its own essential literacy skills. III. All secondary school teachers should receive initial and ongoing professional development in the literacy of their content areas IV. Content-area teachers need positive incentives and appropriate tools to provide reading and writing instruction