Thoughts on Literacy

April 27, 2011

Final Thoughts on Literacy

Literacy was main focus of this class. Everything that we did had something to do with the term literacy. At first I was a bit put off by this because I assumed that it was just a simple word with a simple definition. Throughout the semester I learned that simplicity was not exactly the case with literacy. There are so many different parts to it and there are so many unique ways to interpret it. As a student and future educator, I believe that I can honestly say that I now am literate in literacy.

Literacy is always changing and adapting. This pertains to literacy in general and in the English content area. Just as literature adapts and classic books evolve into films, the term literacy grows as well. A long time ago, all we had were the words on paper and those were the books used for English. Now that technology has taken off, so have the extensive forms of resources to compliment these same books. Along with that, the forms of technology differ when it comes to different cultures. In the classes that I am taking, I am used to learning by teachers using computers (prezi, youtube, and other clips), projectors, email, and discussion boards. These are relatively advanced forms of technology that have adapted over time to aid in teaching. I am thankful for being able to utilize these resources.

One of the main things that I have concluded is that there are many cultures with other completely different forms of technology. As I stated in my first wiki reflection, A friend of mine volunteered in Africa this past summer. He went with a program from Iowa State University and his job was to teach the students and help them build a chicken coop so they can use that for food and means of survival. The main technology that they used in their classrooms (which was in a non air conditioned hut with self made tables and chairs) was a chalkboard. That was it. I don’t even think twice about a chalkboard when I see them in some of my classes that have not been renovated into wipe boards and this was the form of technology that was available to them in their third world country. When I thought about this, it really broadened my perspective of literacy because it is one of those definitions that is somewhat different to those in different cultures and situations. Literacy is the ability to read and write. To me that means: in order to succeed I need to be able to think critically and write intelligently. In another culture being able to read and write (in the most basic and even flawed forms) is literacy. The beauty of being in English major is that I can accept that. It also means that I have the power to teach my students to be literate using the technology that we are lucky enough to have in order to further engage them in the reading and writing that they are going to have to do in an English class.

In English, there are thousands of important texts.  One text that I have been focusing a lot on this semester is the Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe. This is a short story that has been around since the late 19^th century. This is a very important piece of literature to study because there are so many elements of importance to learn about. The objectives of one of the Masque lessons would be that: Students will know how to fully comprehend important elements of dramatic structure. Students will understand the concept of allegories, why they are used, and its importance when pertaining to literacy. Students will also be able to more deeply comprehend the symbols within the short story. Because not all of the students will have an easy time comprehending Poe (they may not be Poe-literate), as a guided reading activity he students will be divided into groups with 3 members in each and each assigned a section of the story to break down and put into their own words. This way, the more literate student’s can help the other students. By doing this, the whole class will be learning more because if the students simply read the story without comprehending it, it defeats the entire purpose when studying literature. This will help all of the students understand and will make the rest of the lesson easier for everyone. To help engage the students who are not interested in this story, the short story will be tied into a short clip from the Harry Potter movie titled The Tale of the Three Brothers. This will put it into a more modern perspective for them and help them understand even more. All of these means will help the students become more literate in the English content area.

There are so many other activities that can be used to promote literacy in the English content area. I feel that online “Chatzy” discussion would be very helpful because you can break the class off into groups. Divide the themes within the groups and have them have their own discussion. Then at the end tie all of the discussions together as a class. Another way we can do this is to have a fishbowl discussion of what the Chatzy’s were so the whole class could hear and then we can tie all of the texts and issues together that way as a class. Plus we can substitute other people in with the groups so we can get a multitude of opinions. Another activity that I believe will be very beneficial to literacy in the English content area is to have a free write in a journal at the beginning of every class. I think that basic writing activities are a good way to get the knowledge flowing and by getting students to get their thoughts down onto paper. It is also a good way for students to get their opinion heard especially if they do not feel comfortable speaking up in front of a class.

As a result of my group’s literacy campaign, we tied everything back to creativeness and adaptation. It was refreshing to see the class engaged in our writing activity. This activity asked the students to draw a picture of their favorite childhood memory and to write a short story or description of it. Then the students were to get with their groups, chose one of the memories and turn the short story or description into a script. It was an interesting and fun activity that required thought and effort. The adaptation part was similar to what I described earlier about how literacy has changed and adapted over time just as literature has adapted (or other means to compliment literature). It ended up being a very successful campaign and I really feel that the class got a decent amount out of it.

Over the course of the semester, and throughout their literacy campaigns, my views of literacy and texts have really expanded a lot. At the beginning of this class I thought that literacy was simply being able to read. I thought that a text was a book. Now I know that literacy is comprehending and fully understanding a text which can be justified as just about anything. For Geology majors, a rock is a text. To be literate in Geology, one must understand the different types of rocks and how they are created and what happens to them over time. For a math major, a text can be a cylinder that can measure volume and depth. To be literate in math one is able to understand and calculate numbers to find various terms and numbers. For a history major a text can be an old photograph and to be literate in history one is able to recall and knowingly inform about the different events, people, and places  from the past.

As you can infer from the last paragraph, I have learned a lot from my peers. They truly have broadened my horizons. Along with that, they have helped me learn a little bit more about them and their content areas which will help me understand a bit more about subjects beyond English. Also, beyond the last paragraph and from the beginning of the semester until now, I feel that I have learned so much about literacy. I have learned a lot of tools to use. From technology to classroom activities, there are so many ways to incorporate literacy. I now know this, and am literate in literacy