Towards a Definition of Literacy What does it mean to be literate? Jeanne Hagelstein-Ivas Special Education Teacher Hull High School, Hull Public Schools Candidate for the Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Reading Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater, MA January 4, 2003

Literacy is … crucial to an individual’s social and economic success and crucial to an individual’s social and economic success and essential for success in school. essential for success in school. (International Reading Association, 1998; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998; Daiute, 2000)

Literacy is … dependent on the development of children’s oral language. dependent on the development of children’s oral language. (Dyson, 2000; Halliday, 1994; Ruddell & Ruddell, 1994; Schickedanz, 2000)

Literacy is… developmental as growth occurs through phases along a continuum in accordance with an individual’s pace and learning style. developmental as growth occurs through phases along a continuum in accordance with an individual’s pace and learning style. (Halliday, 1994; Harste, Burke, & Woodward, 1994; International Reading Association, 1998; Rosenblatt, 1994)

Literacy development is … an interactive social process, occurring through children’s relationships with parents, family, peers, and significant adults. an interactive social process, occurring through children’s relationships with parents, family, peers, and significant adults. (Halliday, 1994; Ruddell & Unrau, 1994; Yopp & Singer;1994)

Literacy begins …  at home, as children acquire and refine oral language which is modeled and encouraged by parents and through recurring exposures to print. (Halliday, 1994; International Reading Association, 1998; Ruddell & Ruddell, 1994)

Literacy develops…  by frequent exposures to a variety of print materials and through dialogue with others that promotes the acquisition of the language’s phonology, morphology, syntax, and vocabulary. (Harste, Burke, & Woodward, 1994; International Reading Association, 1998; Ruddell & Ruddell,1994)

Literacy continues… to develop as children actively engage in meaningful reading and writing activities that foster the application of knowledge in various settings. to develop as children actively engage in meaningful reading and writing activities that foster the application of knowledge in various settings. (Bransford, 1994; Hayes, 2000; Schickedanz, 2000)

Literacy is influenced by…  children’s language environments,  social interactions, and  parental and cultural expectations. (Applebee,2000; Halliday, 1994; Ruddell & Unrau, 1994)

Literacy requires … a print-rich and language-rich classroom environment, especially if the home environment is not. a print-rich and language-rich classroom environment, especially if the home environment is not. (Allington, Johnston, & Day, 2002; International Reading Association, 1998; Johnson, 2002; Rosenblatt, 1994)

Literacy requires … acquisition of an assortment of reading and writing strategies and acquisition of an assortment of reading and writing strategies and knowledge of when and why to apply the strategies. knowledge of when and why to apply the strategies. (Applebee,2000; Brown, Palincsar, & Armbruster; Paris, Lipson, & Wixson,1994)

Literacy requires… skilled teachers and skilled teachers and effective instruction, since literacy does not emerge naturally. effective instruction, since literacy does not emerge naturally. (Allington, Johnston, & Day, 2002; International Reading Association, 1998; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998)

Literacy materials … address the variety and diversity of learners’ cognitive and linguistic development, address the variety and diversity of learners’ cognitive and linguistic development, reflect social and cultural perspectives, and reflect social and cultural perspectives, and represent a vast array of knowledge. represent a vast array of knowledge. (Harste, 1994; International Reading Association, 1998; Yopp & Singer, 1994) (Harste, 1994; International Reading Association, 1998; Yopp & Singer, 1994)

Critical literacy involves… reflection on word choice and reflection on word choice and consideration of the effect of word choice in social contexts. consideration of the effect of word choice in social contexts. ( Daiute, 2000; Dyson, 2000; Freire, 1985)

To be literate… learners must take what they know and adapt it to their audiences and new situations. learners must take what they know and adapt it to their audiences and new situations. (Halliday, 1994; Harste, 1994; Paris, Lipson, & Wixson, 1994)

Becoming literate … enables individuals to gain knowledge and to access the resources of their culture. enables individuals to gain knowledge and to access the resources of their culture. (Freire, 1985; Harste, 1994; Moll, 1994)

REFERENCES Allington, Richard L., Johnston, Peter H., & Day, Jeni P. (2002) Exemplary fourth grade teachers. Language Arts, 79, Allington, Richard L., Johnston, Peter H., & Day, Jeni P. (2002) Exemplary fourth grade teachers. Language Arts, 79, Applebee, Arthur N. (2000). Alternative models of writing development. In R. Indrisano & J. Squire. Perspectives on writing (pp ). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Applebee, Arthur N. (2000). Alternative models of writing development. In R. Indrisano & J. Squire. Perspectives on writing (pp ). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Bransford, John D. (1994). Schema activation and schema acquisition: Comments on Richard C. Anderson’s remarks. In R. B. Ruddell, M. R. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds.). Theoretical models and processes of reading (4th ed.) (pp ). Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association. Bransford, John D. (1994). Schema activation and schema acquisition: Comments on Richard C. Anderson’s remarks. In R. B. Ruddell, M. R. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds.). Theoretical models and processes of reading (4th ed.) (pp ). Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association. Brown, Ann L., Palincsar, Annemarie Sullivan, & Armbruster, Bonnie B. (1994). Instructing comprehension- fostering activities in interactive learning situations. In R. B. Ruddell, M. R. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds.). Theoretical models and processes of reading (4th ed.) (pp ). Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association. Brown, Ann L., Palincsar, Annemarie Sullivan, & Armbruster, Bonnie B. (1994). Instructing comprehension- fostering activities in interactive learning situations. In R. B. Ruddell, M. R. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds.). Theoretical models and processes of reading (4th ed.) (pp ). Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association. Daiute, Colette. (2000). Writing and communication technologies. In R. Indrisano & J. Squire. Perspectives on writing (pp ). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Daiute, Colette. (2000). Writing and communication technologies. In R. Indrisano & J. Squire. Perspectives on writing (pp ). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Dyson, Anne H. (2000). Writing and the sea of voices: Oral language in, around, and about writing. In R. Indrisano & J. Squire. Perspectives on writing (pp ). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Dyson, Anne H. (2000). Writing and the sea of voices: Oral language in, around, and about writing. In R. Indrisano & J. Squire. Perspectives on writing (pp ). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Halliday, M. A. K. (1994). The place of dialogue in children’s construction of meaning. In R. Ruddell, M. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds). Theoretical models and processes of reading (4th ed.) (pp ). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Halliday, M. A. K. (1994). The place of dialogue in children’s construction of meaning. In R. Ruddell, M. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds). Theoretical models and processes of reading (4th ed.) (pp ). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Harste, Jerome C. (1994). Literacy as curricular conversations about knowledge, inquiry, and morality. In R. B. Ruddell, M. R. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds.). Theoretical models and processes of reading (4th ed.) (pp ). Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association. Harste, Jerome C. (1994). Literacy as curricular conversations about knowledge, inquiry, and morality. In R. B. Ruddell, M. R. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds.). Theoretical models and processes of reading (4th ed.) (pp ). Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association. Harste, Jerome C., Burke, Carolyn L., & Woodward, Virginia A. (1994). Children’s language and world: Initial encounters with print. In R. B. Ruddell, M. R. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds.). Theoretical models and processes of reading (4th ed.) (pp ). Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association. Harste, Jerome C., Burke, Carolyn L., & Woodward, Virginia A. (1994). Children’s language and world: Initial encounters with print. In R. B. Ruddell, M. R. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds.). Theoretical models and processes of reading (4th ed.) (pp ). Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.

 Hayes, John R. (2000). A new framework for understanding cognition and affect in writing. In R. Indrisano & J. Squire. Perspectives on writing (pp ). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.   Heath, Shirley Brice. (1994). The children of Trackton’s children: Spoken and written language in social change. In R. B. Ruddell, M. R. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds.). Theoretical models and processes of reading (4th ed.) (pp ). Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.  International Reading Association. (1998). Learning to read and write: Developmentally appropriate practices for young children. The Reading Teacher,52,   Johnson, Dale D (2000). Just the right word: Vocabulary and writing. In R. Indrisano & J. Squire (Eds.). Perspectives on writing (pp ). Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.   Moll, Luis C. (1994). Literacy research in community and classrooms: A sociocultural approach. In R. B. Ruddell, M. R. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds.). Theoretical models and processes of reading (4th ed.) (pp ). Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.  Paris, Scott G., Lipson, Marjorie Y., & Wixson, Karen K. (1994). Becoming a strategic reader. In R. Ruddell, M. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds). Theoretical models and processes of reading (4 th ed.) (pp ). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.   Reading the world and reading the word: An interview with Paulo Friere. (1985, January). Language Arts, 62(1),  Rosenblatt, Louise M. (1994). The transactional theory of reading and writing. In R. Ruddell, M. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds). Theoretical models and processes of reading (4 th ed.) (pp ). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

 Ruddell, Robert B., & Ruddell, Martha R. (1994). Language acquisition and literacy processes. In R. Ruddell, M. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds). Theoretical models and processes of reading (4 th ed.) (pp ). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.   Ruddell, Robert B., & Unrau, Norman J. (1994). Reading as a meaning-construction process: The reader, the text, and the teacher. In R. Ruddell, M. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds.). Theoretical models and processes of reading (4th ed.) (pp ). Newark, DE: International Reading Association   Schickedanz, Judith A. (2000). Emergent writing: A discussion of the sources of our knowledge. In R. Indrisano & J. Squire (Eds.). Perspectives on writing (pp ). Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.   Snow, Catherine E., Burns, M. S., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children. Washington, D. C.: National Academy Press.   Yopp, Hallie Kay, & Singer, Harry. (1994). Toward an interactive reading instructional model. In R. B. Ruddell, M. R. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds.). Theoretical models and processes of reading (4th ed.) (pp ). Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association. End of show