Adolescent Literacy

[Nancy Milliken]

Where do we start in discussing adolescent literacies?? We have read about 21st Century literacies; information literacy, media literacy, multicultural literacy and visual literacy. Then we read about critical literacy, visual literacy, religious & ethnic literacy and global literacy in our text. It appears that these literacies must be taught/presented to our students in ways that they are able to understand them and in ways that overlap and are part of our everyday teaching/presenting/functioning. WOW!
These strategies give our students the ability to communicate in different ways…in ways that their “digital native” brains find easier and more exciting. Don’t these different ways to communicate and present information even out the playing field for our students a bit? Some will find a podcast or PowerPoint a better way (for them) to communicate or present while others might be most comfortable using a more traditional mode of presentation….writing a paper or giving a speech. Doesn’t teaching/allowing/encouraging the use of the many media and information literacy differentiate instruction for many of our students?
It seems that we need to incorporate all of these “kinds” of literacy in our daily teaching/interaction with our students…I especially enjoyed the information about religious & ethnic and global literacies and how our student’s ignorance in these areas leaves them with no point of reference in understanding many things that they read and study.

[Diane Caro]

I love that you see this as an opportunity to differentiate instruction for students. It's a totally new way to view knowledge.