1.2 - LITERACY: Definitions, Concepts, and Strategies

Literacy

indicates the quality or state of being “literate”, which comes from the word “litteratus” (“marked with letters”), implying the quality of being educated and civilized

litteratus

“literate”, which comes from the word

marked with letters

litteratus means

Basic Literacy

Ability to correspond visual shapes to spoken sounds Idecoding written text and translate them into oral language

Comprehension Literacy

Ability to understand what is being read

Functional/Practical Literacy

Ability to read and understand written texts to perform daily functions or tasks effectively

Expanded Concept of Literacy

a means of identifying, understanding, interpreting, creating, communicating, and computing, using either printed or written materials, across different situations, especially in today’s increasingly digital, information-rich, and fast-changing world. (UNESCO, 2004)

Expanded Concept of Literacy

“Literacy skills themselves are expanding and evolving as people engage more and more with information and learning through digital technology.” (UNESCO, 2024)

new

the context through which old knowledge and skills are being utilized are new (Alata & Ignacio, 2019).

INCREASED REACH

Interacting with more people, from diverse cultures / backgrounds, across vast distances

INCREASED MEANS OF COMMUNICATION

Communicating in more ways and at faster speeds

INCREASED BREADTH OF CONTENT

Communicating about more things than ever before

Rise of NEW LITERACIES

Skills and bodies of knowledge that are necessary for survival and productivity in the information age

Rise of NEW LITERACIES

INCREASED REACH

INCREASED MEANS OF COMMUNICATION

INCREASED BREADTH OF CONTENT

Arts and Creativity Literacy

Digital/Cyber Literacy

Ecological Literacy

Financial Literacy

Globalization and Multicultural Literacy

Media Literacy

Social Literacy

new Literacies

Making connection

Visualizing

Questioning

Inferring

Determining important ideas

Synthesizing

Six Literacy Dev’t Strategies

Making connections

a strategy that allows learners to actively link new knowledge with existing knowledge.

Making connections

It involves relating the text being read (1) to their own lives, (2) to another text/reading material, or (3) to a real-world event.

Visualizing

requires students to make mental images in their minds based on what is being described.

Visualizing

The images are used to recall details, create interpretations, and draw conclusions

Questioning

enables students to monitor their understanding of the text.

Questioning

It can occur before, during, and after reading and can be used for varied purposes

Inferring

enables learners to answer questions even if some details are not explicitly stated in the text

Inferring

It uses illustrations or context clues to figure out the meaning of something unfamiliar, form unique interpretations, or draw conclusions

Determining important

involves distinguishing important from unimportant information to identify the key ideas or theme of what is read

Synthesizing

monitors and merges various elements—ideas, concepts, and themes grasped—to form a cohesive understanding or broader perspective on the topic at hand.

Curriculum Integration

increases the quality of learning experiences by leveraging the relatedness of various subject areas, which enhances the context through which literacy skills are applied

common theme

Multiple disciplines are taught using

separately

Multiple disciplines are taught using a common theme, but each discipline or subject is taught

one common theme

The teacher must, then, organize the curricular standards of these disciplines or subject areas around

Interdisciplinary Approach

Two or more disciplines or subject areas are integrated into a coherent whole

Interdisciplinary Approach

This can happen when learners work on tasks requiring multiple disciplines' concepts and skills.

Interdisciplinary Approach

It also utilizes knowledge and skills that cut across the subject-matter boundaries

Transdisciplinary Approach

Highlights the learners' ability to address real-world scenarios by applying knowledge and skills from multiple disciplines or subject areas

Transdisciplinary Approach

Learners apply their literacy skills by working on projects with personal and community significance

Disciplinary

Students learn concepts and skills separately in each discipline.

Multidisciplinary

Students learn concepts and skills separately in each discipline, but in reference to a common theme

Interdisciplinary

Students learn concepts and skills from two or more disciplines that are tightly linked so as to deepen knowledge and skills.

Transdisciplinary

By undertaking real-world problems or projects students apply knowledge and skills from two or more disciplines and help to shape the learning experience

Disciplinary

Multidisciplinary

Interdisciplinary

Transdisciplinary

Increasing levels of integration