Jack Crawford

RDG 323

Trombley

5 September 2021

Adolescent Literacy in English Language Arts: The Concept of Development and It’s Demands

Through all subjects and content areas, adolescent literacy refers to the ability of

adolescents regarding reading and writing skills. Literacy itself stems into categories such as

reasoning, problem-solving, memory, as well as social aspects such as interactions and

cooperation. Literacy stands as a basis for a student’s learning ability. When observing how

literacy plays a key role in the development of a student, it is important to notate the process and

style in which each subject comes across this differently. The process and importance of

adolescent literacy and how it is explored in the classroom will be covered with an emphasis on

specifically English Language Arts classes. The way literacy skills are distributed in an ELA

class differ from those seen commonly in mathematics, sciences, and social studies classes. ELA

classes are considered to be the foundation of literacy development, as skills such as learning to

read, write and communicate effectively are the focus of what is being taught to students. This

piece will explore aspects of literacy skills from an understanding of the topic, how it connects to

the classroom material, as well as what literacy looks like in the classroom.

To give some background and a brief overview of what adolescent literacy looks like in

an ELA classroom, an article from Carol D. Lee titled Reading in the Disciplines: The

Challenges of Adolescent Literacy identifies some reading comprehension strategies that support

adolescent literacy development, which consists of “words and word forms; sentence structure or
syntax; text structures or genres; topics” (Lee et. al, 8). It can be agreed upon that the two main

factors of literacy in an ELA classroom are reading comprehension and writing comprehension.

Turning the focus toward reading comprehension specifically, the elements mentioned above are

developed and practiced within an ELA classroom, however these skills branch out and are seen

in every subject. To be put simply, you cannot read a history or social studies textbook without

having knowledge and the necessary reading skills that come from an ELA curriculum. As a

reiteration of importance, it is clear that these basic skills go beyond the classroom and are seen

in everyday life in a plethora of different job fields. After getting an idea of what skills are

developed through adolescent literacy, the focus turns toward what this will look like in the

classroom.

How are these skills practiced in the classroom? Where are they noticed and prioritized?

In a video titled The Power of Literacy: Read, Write, Think, Discuss- Disciplinary Literacy, an

inside look is taken into a teachers ELA class, and how the first thing on the classroom agenda

involves activating these literacy skills to be considered throughout the entirety of the class time.

“Every day we are going to start with a warm-up that gets students talking and thinking about

language or drawing conclusions, and then we are going to have a reading time. That gives us a

framework” (4:27). Language and drawing conclusions are key skills identified in adolescent

literacy. This teacher highlights the importance behind her warm-up activity by indicating that

these skills will be implemented into the warm-up in order to set the precedent for the remainder

of the class period, which will maximize the student’s ability to develop these skills. ELA

literacy skills are bound together behind the elements of reading and writing. A specific element

that can be used to highlight the importance of this idea is critical thinking. As mentioned

previously, the teacher in the video begins her class with an activity that promotes skills such as
critical thinking. Critical thinking is a skill that begins to be developed by adolescents in ELA

classes, and that knowledge, when retained, is eventually carried into everyday life decisions, as

well as the workplace as an adult. Now that an example of adolescent literacy has been identified

in the classroom, this calls for a deeper understanding of the specifics of literacy being put to

work in an ELA classroom.

A prime example of how schools are able to implement literacy skills that pertain to

career work comes from an article titled Literacy Leadership Brief: Content Area and

Disciplinary Literacy Strategies and Framework from the International Literacy Association,

where a table outlines “High school students use rhetorical devices when creating a public

service announcement (PSA) to encourage people to take action on an issue” (6). Rhetoric itself

is a staple in ELA literacy teachings. Combining this element with an application to the real

world (in the form of a PSA), is a prime example of how teachings of literacy are connected to

the idea of raising awareness, a primary skill used daily in careers. The connection this example

holds shows both the importance of literacy development, as well as the relevance of the literacy

demands that are poised in an ELA classroom. Now that an idea of what these aspects look like

in the classroom have been explored, the focus turns toward the engagement side of adolescent

literacy.

Engagement plays an important role in the development of adolescent literacy. This idea

opens doors for creative activities, worksheets, presentations, media, etc. to play a role in

encouraging the students to question things and dig deeper on their own. A word that best

describes this process is inquiry. Teachers of all subjects introduce their content to students in a

way that requires them to use what they already know to determine how they feel about new

content, as well as how they will interpret it. An article titled Position Statement and Research
Brief: Engagement and Adolescent Literacy from the International Literacy Association suggests

that “Just as we prepare students to read and write for particular purposes, we prepare students

for what to do when they are confronted with specific difficulties experienced as a result of

background knowledge, readability, or disinterest” (ILA, 4). With knowledge that content taught

in classes is designed to enhance literacy skills, it is evident here that the multitude of modes in

which literacies are taught are designed specifically to spark an action that requires students to

use their literacy skills, which is to inquire. Information is presented in a way to students so that

they can see the material in front of them, then make inferences on it based on their previously

developed skills and knowledge. In short, classwork and homework are designed in a way that

essentially requires students to use these literacy skills to 1. Complete the work in front of them,

2. Recall their previous developed literacy skills, and 3. Use the previous skills to aid in

developing new ones. Now, an idea of the importance of digital literacy will be highlighted.

What is digital literacy? Digital literacy calls for students to use their literacy skills

through modes of technology. Not only does this scheme help them practice their current skills

but provides new paths to further develop these skills and learn new ones. In a society where

technology is taking over at an exponential rate, it is imperative that literacy skills have made an

impact in the digital world. In an article from Education corner written by Becton Loveless titled

The Importance of Digital Literacy in K-12, it mentions that “When combining digital and

traditional literacies, not only do students learn how to read and write, but they also learn how to

expand their communication, language and media skills” (Loveless). Thankfully the way

technology is used today incorporates literacy skills with it such as communicating. The social

aspect of literacy skills comes into play here in ways such as internet etiquette and writing styles

(E-mail, blogs, social media). All of these forms of communication allow students to broaden
their horizons to new communication skills while navigating through the digital world. Taking a

glance at the content specifically, all of the examples of media mentioned above contribute to a

student’s core literacy skills and that these digital literacies “develop dynamic creativity that

helps them think, communicate, design and engage in the world around them” (Loveless).

Literacy skills are vital to the development of adolescents. Literacy skills teach students

information and give them the ability to think, communicate and act in diverse ways. These skills

have proven to hold connections that involve the classroom and the working-world. The skills

highlighted in this piece are backed up with knowledge from sources that focus on their

contribution to English Language Arts specifically. This piece explains aspects of literacy skills

from an understanding of the topic, how it connects to the classroom material, as well as what

literacy looks like in the classroom.

References
1. Lee, C.D., Spratley, A. (2010). Reading in the disciplines: The challenges of adolescent

literacy. New York, NY: Carnegie Corporation of New York.

2. FairfaxNetwork1. (2017, August 18). Retrieved September 06, 2021, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfYe6ndbVq8&t=2s

3. The Importance of Digital Literacy in K-12. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.educationcorner.com/importance-digital-literacy-k-12.html

4. International Literacy Association. (2017). Content area and disciplinary literacy: Strategies

and frameworks [Literacy leadership brief]. Newark, DE: Author.

5. International Literacy Association. (2019). Engagement and adolescent literacy [Position

statement and research brief]. Newark, DE: Author.