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Literacy For All Is The Hill I’ll Die On

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Literacy for All

How do we create an inclusive world with literacy for all? 54% of U.S. adults read at or below the sixth grade level. These adults (and you know them) can experience anxiety, confusion, and embarrassment with adult-level reading tasks. They can miss opportunities for advancement. They can become easy targets for those who would weaponize a lack of literacy. AI may exacerbate this trend, though not if we teach what really matters (Read: Will AI Take Over Teaching? It’s Not What You Think).

Reading for All Learners

To promote a culture of reading for all learners, students need

  • Foundational instruction (and skilled reading interventionists for those who need it)
  • Fluency development in elementary (and for secondary as needed)
  • A knowledge-building curriculum
  • Robust vocabulary instruction
  • Communal, joyful reading experiences

Literacy Requirements

Reading is just one of the literacy requirements. A literate person is a good communicator in oral and written forms, so these skills need to be developed too. Fortunately, all these skills work together to support each other.

  • Strong speaking and listening skills increase oral language development, which helps with understanding the written word, since oral vocabularies are larger than written ones.
  • Strong writing skills encode vocabulary and ideas deeper than just reading about them.

Literacy for All Collection

The Literacy for All Collection includes five incredible resources. These resources are flexible 7-12 to promote the literacy moves every lesson needs.

  • Analytical Paragraph Writing Hacks Guide: Perfect for whole-group or small group mini-lessons, or a reference guide for students to use independently when writing literary analysis paragraphs.
  • Argumentative Essay Writing Hacks Guide: This 17-page student workbook available for print, fillable pdf, and fillable Google Slides. Perfect for whole-group or small group mini-lessons, or a reference guide for students to use independently when writing essays.
  • Reading & Writing Portfolio Summative Assessments & Rubrics: Want a meaningful way to celebrate student growth at the end of each grading period? This resource contains a 15-page student portfolio (fillable PDF or fillable Google slides) to guide student reflection and 7 rubrics for grading all or some of the portfolio pieces (fillable PDF or Google sheets that can be imported to an LMS like Canvas) so you can use the pieces that apply to your classroom.
  • Vocabulary Strategies Journals, Rubrics, and Tutorials: Make sure students practice the variety of vocabulary strategies required of the Common Core ELA standard L4 with these strategy lessons, rubric, and student journal.
  • UNO-style Small-Group Discussion Game: Play this game tomorrow! Small-group discussion games scaffold students into conversation with each other, so they avoid the typical pitfalls, like circle-sharing where no one responds, or 1-2 students dominating the group.