Literacy for Children in an Information Age Cohen & Cowen Chapter 1 A New Definition of Literacy

Literacy: 3 Questions What is Literacy? What are the different approaches to teaching literacy? How can you integrate technology into a literacy classroom?

Defining Literacy State & National Standards Visual Literacy Higher Order Thinking Skills Technological Literacy Global Literacy

Higher Order Thinking Skills Recall Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation

Approaches to Teaching Literacy Bottom-up Approach Top-Down Approach Basal Series Balanced Approach

English Language Learners (ELLs) oral practice tutoring & individual support native language Individual differences count! Constant assessment Home-school connection

Special Education Inclusion (45%)* Dyslexia (more than 50%)* (of all special ed students)

NRP Findings* Phonemic awareness Phonics Fluency Vocabulary Text Comprehension *National Review Panel

Five Other Pillars Classroom organization Matching pupils and texts Choice, interest & collaboration Daily reading & writing across curriculum Expert tutoring

Bottom-Up Approach Decoding (Phonic approach) /k/ C - a - t cat The cat is small.

Top-Down Approach “Whole language” begins with text comprehension children learn to read by reading and enjoying text predictable books discussions demonstrations

Bottom-Up …. Top-Down Decoding Vocabulary Sentence Comprehension Paragraph Comprehension Text Comprehension Text Comprehension Paragraph Comprehension Sentence Comprehension Vocabulary Decoding

Basal Series Comprehension Reading Program Contains texts for all grade levels Anthology Teacher’s Guide Daily lesson Plans All support materials

Balanced Literacy Approach All aspects of literacy taught in the classroom, centered on student needs, and using research and practice: Reading…writing…speaking…listening and viewing (Language Arts)

Website Evaluation* Ease of use Visual layout Readability Accuracy Links--valuable? *Evaluation Form p. 28-29

Two Valuable Resources IRA International Reading Association NCTE National Council of Teachers of English

Textbook Website http://www.thomsonedu.com/education/cohen* Back cover

Technology Incorporate into Literacy Classroom

Evaluate Internet Websites Is literacy promoted? Is the site age appropriate? Does it reflect current research? Are additional literacy resources available?

And finally ….

Definition of literacy includes: Changing profile of students Technological and global impact Latest research National standards Higher Order thinking skills