Ted/435 Thesis Statement On Literacy

Jade Dulany

Dr. Erika Gray

TED 435

20 April 2023

Position Statement on Literacy

The importance of being literate in English Language Arts English Language Arts is often considered to be the foundation of literacy across all disciplines. This is a double-edged sword for English teachers. While many skills learned in ELA classes do apply in other disciplines, those skills must be accompanied by the literacy skills specific to those disciplines. At times, English classes should address syntax issues, spelling, and other associated grammar and technical writing or reading skills, but there is still a vast amount of information to be taught in ELA classes that are not related to those skills. A math teacher needs to teach students to approach math

A common struggle among students is motivation. Motivation is important for students to do any type of work and literacy often ties into it. In ELA, motivation to do work can be further impacted when students are struggling with literacy because the content taught typically requires literacy skills. When the discipline seems centered around literacy, it makes the whole discipline intimidating for students who struggle as it seems they are constantly battling their struggle head-on. In their math and science classes, there is still reading and writing, but the active process of learning these subjects does not always overtly involve reading and writing in every facet of the learning process. This is why it is important to diversify lesson planning in ELA. The most effective way that I have observed to help dependent readers in their ELA classes, is to constantly model the silent process of reading which can be done in a variety of ways. A common method that I liked was the “Read-Aloud” method in a more nuanced and instructional way than just reading text to students. This method is done by taking pauses while reading to contemplate the content out loud to the students. This is a way of modeling to students the thought process that happens while reading. It shows students the process of making connections, inferences, questions, or thoughts about the text. Having an example of how to think about their reading helps reverse the misconception that reading is a shallow process. Seeing the depth of the process helps them feel like they are not struggling with something simple because it shows literacy is not simple. Additionally, modeling the silent process of reading can be done through strategies like “Say-Something” or “Think-Aloud.” These strategies are done in different groups, partners, or in class discussions. Students get the opportunity to discuss and float around their thoughts. It’s a similar concept to the