Components of of Becoming Literate (1:1)

Literacy is defined as the ability to read, write, speak, listen and language. In order for a person to become properly literate, these five components must be present. The common core/ next generation standards outline and give a foundation/ guide to teachers on how to teach these components. The standards ensure that throughout the years in school, students will become properly literate.  

As mentioned above, there are five major components for K-12 to become literate. The overall main goal of reading is for comprehension of the text. In addition, reading and writing are often linked together. Many times, in order for students to comprehend the texts and read for understanding, they need to write about it in different forms.  

The speaking and listening component include a wide range of communication/ personal skills. The ability to listen to others, whether through oral or media resources and then to be able to communicate that information, in an appropriate form (depending on the audience). The last component is language, which is the effective use and vocabulary of the language. 

For all these components, technology can enhance the learning process, like having students read online sources and comment on a blog about them etc.  

Thinking back to when I was in young elementary school, although I don't remember much, there are some instances that jump out. Whenever teachers gave us assignments that had an authentic reason to them, the whole class was engaged in the process and we remembered what was taught long after class was over.  

For example, reading for a research project or for a fair that the whole school will come view (like a history fair), we read with purpose, researched with meaning, wrote the information down with enthusiasm and overall, really worked hard using all the skills that the teacher taught us.  

Another time that sticks out is in second grade, when we learned about writing letters and then we wrote to a company. We all used and remembered the skills that the teacher taught us. When teachers engage students in authentic activities that uses the skills that were taught, students will learn and remember it much better.