Literacy In Context Linc

"Teachers and students studying to be teachers want strategies that they can use in the classroom and this book definitely delivered...The reader is hooked from the first page."---Amy MacKenzie, Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY --

Literacy education can take place in many locations and periods across the lifespan. Literacy educators require flexibility and a deep toolbox to meet their students’ diverse needs, regardless of whether they work in traditional school and college settings or in other environments with varied populations. Teaching Literacy in Diverse Contexts shows how practical experiences can be used in creative ways to support educator development for teaching literacy in a global context. Mentorship between a developing literacy educator and an experienced teacher educator is central to the book, and to the practical experiences in training or professional development that it focuses on. Chapters share the creative solutions discovered during mentorship that supported developing literacy educators to teach with authenticity in a number of contexts, including the adult learning sector, a rural community in Africa and alongside parents of very sick children. The authors demonstrate how this can be done in a sensitive and culturally relevant manner by parents, volunteers and teachers with varying degrees of experience in both formal and informal spaces. Together, the chapters build a crucial resource for preparing a broad range of literacy educators to teach literacy in many contexts where policy on how best to teach reading and writing to diverse student bodies ebbs and flows.

The narrowing of English language education curriculum in many contexts has negatively impacted classroom teaching and learning. High-stakes standardized testing, scripted curricula, and the commodification of English have converged to challenge socially meaningful classroom literacy instruction that promotes holistic development. Although in different ways, these factors have shaped the teaching of English as both first and second language. How can English educators respond? This book argues that the first step is to take account of the broader policy, political and cultural landscape and to identify the key constraints affecting teachers, students and parents. These will set the broad parameters for developing local pedagogic approaches, while still recognizing the constraints that actively push against them. Using Singapore English language teaching as a case study, this book illustrates how this process can unfold, and how media literacy principles were vernacularized to design English classroom pedagogies that stretched the bounds of what is acceptable and possible in the local context.

'If we take the book Literacy and Education: Understanding New Literacy Studies in the Classroom seriously, it may help us teachers in training, teachers in the field, teaching theorists and researchers to learn more about ourselves and our teaching.' Journal of Early Childhood Literacy '… the best introduction to the theory and practice of New Literacy Studies available today for teachers, though policy-makers and researchers should also read it' - James Paul Gee, University of Wisconsin-Madison 'This long awaited, accessible text shows how key research strands into the nature of contemporary literacy can reinvigorate classroom practice. Technological advances have transformed literacy practices in all spheres of learners’ lives and Pahl and Rowsell show through real examples, how pedagogical practice can accommodate these developments. This is a must for all those involved in all levels of literacy education' - Dr Julia Davies, Deputy Head of the School of Education, The University of Sheffield. Literacy and Education: Understanding the New Literacy Studies in the Classroom is a practical guide to applying New Literacy Studies in primary, secondary and family literacy contexts. It represents a comprehensive look at how to rethink, redefine, and redesign language in the classroom to meet contemporary needs and skills of students based on current literacy research, theory and practice. Each chapter profiles key themes within New Literacy Studies including: literacy and identity; multimodality and multiliteracies, bridging home-school literacy practices, and literacy and globalization. The book follows an accessible format with multiple activities in each chapter, theory boxes highlighting seminal research and theory; suggestions for classroom design and planning ideas; and New Literacy Studies assessment framework; and vignettes of New Literacy Studies and Multiliteracies classrooms in Britain and Canada, as well as a comprehensive glossary of terms. Literacy and Education: Understanding the New Literacy Studies in the Classroom brings research and practice together and is a valuable resource for teachers-in-training, practising teachers, and students studying literacy education at the graduate level. Allan Luke Dean, Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice, Singapore, prefaces the book with a look to the international importance of understanding and implementing New Literacy Studies in pedagogy and practice Jim Cummins Professor, OISE/University of Toronto, concludes the book with an eye to local settings and the necessity for us to accommodate the diverse literacy needs of students and clearly illustrates how New Literacy Studies fills such a niche.

Over the past decade, RTI International has pursued the goal of quality, inclusive, differentiated early grade literacy instruction in nearly 30 early grade reading or early grade literacy programs in low- and middle-income (LMI) countries. Across our diverse portfolio, we have supported Ministries of Education (Ministries) in diverse contexts in their development and implementation of research-based early grade literacy programs and have learned important lessons based on our experience working with Ministries to design, develop, and implement early grade literacy programs. This paper describes the core elements that we have found to improve early grade literacy instruction and learner outcomes: the approach to teaching (Teach), the availability of quality, relevant learner materials (Text), the effective use of instructional time (Time), the use of formative assessment to guide instruction (Test), and provision of instruction in the most effective language (Tongue). This paper focuses on the acquisition of literacy in alphabetic and alphasyllabic languages in the early primary years (most typically, academic levels 1 through 3) and the kinds of exposures, instruction, and support learners need to become fully literate. These are the elements of a literacy program that can be taught, that should be present in teaching and learning materials and in teacher trainings, and that relate specifically to what happens in a classroom Many more factors contribute to literacy acquisition. However, we focus on the core elements in this paper to delve deeper and facilitate a richer discussion about these components. No one-size-fits-all approach to the development and implementation of literacy programs exists; the local context and constraints of any implementation can require adaptation and adjustments. In many cases, the fully diversified approach to early grade literacy instruction described in the classroom scenario has not yet been achieved. However, we hope that this compilation of lessons learned and best practices achieved through our experiences will help to further the efforts of all to provide high-quality, effective literacy instruction to all learners, particularly those in LMI countries.

The Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) measures students' progress towards reading. EGRA gauges early literacy skills through a 15-minute individual oral assessment of five fundamental reading skills. RTI worked with education experts to develop the EGRA in 2006, and it has been piloted and implemented in more than 40 countries. This volume aims to take stock of the substantial amount of information and experience generated through the use of EGRA, and to share this knowledge with practitioners, policymakers, and international donors. Chapters cover not only particular applications of the instrument but also put EGRA in the context of broader issues and developments in literacy and education.