Literacy Development and Media Literacy

Literacy

The ability to read and write

Writing literacy

Includes spelling, grammar, and sentence structure

Computer literacy

Refers to one’s ability to utilize the basic functions of computers and other technologies

Phonological awareness

The ability to perceive sound structures in a spoken word

Phonemes

Sounds represented by the letters in the alphabet

Phonics

The process of learning to read by learning how spoken language is represented by letters

Oral language development

Occurs in a social context

Written language development

Can occur without direct instruction.

Decoding

The method or strategy used to make sense of printed words and figure out how to correctly pronounce them

Fluency

The ability to read accurately and quickly

Learning approach

Assumed that language is first learned by imitating speech of adults

Linguistic approach

Proposed the ability to use a language is innate

Cognitive approach

States that children must develop appropriate cognitive skills before they can acquire language

Sociocognitive approach

Proposed that language development is a complex interaction of linguistic, social, and cognitive influences

Classroom practices benefiting second language acquisition

making instruction understandable, relate it to cultures, interactive activities, consistent routine

Promoting listening in ESL students

talk about topics of interest, use examples that are easy to understand

Dictionary

used to find the literal meaning of an unfamiliar word

Dictionary content

Pronunciation, Part of Speech, Spelling, Etymology

Etymology

tracing the historical origin of a word

Thesaurus

focuses on the relationship between words, ideal for the writing process

Word choice, synonyms, antonyms, connotation

a Thesaurus can help with…

Glossaries

a specialized, mini dictionary found at the back of a specific book or text book

providing the exact definition of a technical or specialized term as it is used in the text

Glossaries can help with….

Encyclopedia

Provide a comprehensive background overview of topics, historical figures, eras, or concepts

Building foundational context before reading a piece of historical fiction or complex informational texts

Encyclopedias can help with…

Style Guides and Manuals

Establish rules for formatting academic writing and documenting sources

helpful in structuring in text citations and works cited to avoid plagarism

Style guides and Manuals can help with…