Literacy

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Created: Sunday, 13 May 2012 16:15

Written by Super User

A to Z Guide of Literacy

Why is literacy so crucial?
All students are expected to read as part of their GCSE, BTEC and A Level courses. All assessments now assume a certain level of literacy. So, literacy is vital to examination success.

But being able to read, and enjoy reading is much more than a tool to do well in exams. It is a skill for life. A skill that opens new worlds, encourages us to be empathetic, widens our understanding of the world and our place in it. In short, reading is at the heart of all education.

How can we encourage young people to read?
Young people need to be engaged in the texts they are reading. Finding a topic they are interested in, be it Xbox or football, music or fashion is important. Reading doesn’t have to mean novels; we are fortunate to have access to a huge range of texts both in print and online that tap in to any of our interests and young people need to be encouraged to access those. We can be imaginative! The school’s LRC (Learning Resource Centre) is well stocked with a wide variety of materials including novels, auto/biographies, graphic novels and audio books, magazines and journals. Online resources can also be invaluable, easy to access and interesting. The beauty of online materials is the ability to access them in such a variety of ways which appeal to young people: computer or laptop, E-reader, Smartphone or tablet are all possibilities. These digital formats often have the added benefit of being able to change font size which can sometimes put young people off reading. Buying a book, magazine or newspaper can be a great way to encourage young people to read. Magazines in particular can cater to all manner of interests. The English department at the college have a wide range of interests and can direct students towards suitable magazines and novels for your son or daughter’s reading ability that might interest them.

How do we support those students with weak literacy skills?
We have a range of methods to support students who need help with literacy. Firstly, all teachers realise the importance of literacy skills and staff across the college, no matter what their subject specialism, are dedicated to promoting literacy within their lessons and through their teaching. Staff are made aware of the reading and spelling abilities of all students. This knowledge helps them to support students where necessary and provide resources appropriate to the abilities of the students they teach. For students where weak literacy skills will hinder learning, interventions are in place. There are intensive programmes in place during registration and other programmes in place during lessons where qualifications are completed.

How can you support literacy at home?
Read, read, read! Encourage your son or daughter to read as much as possible at home. This doesn’t just mean novels. Magazines, newspapers, online blogs and articles, reviews, as well as fiction and nonfiction books will all support your son or daughter’s reading and writing. We know that students who read at home are more likely to achieve their target grade at GCSE (National Literacy Trust, Children’s Reading Today, Slaughter and May). There are recommended reads in every faculty at college so your son or daughter should be able to find a novel that appeals to their interests. The LRC at college is also very well stocked with both classic and contemporary fiction and nonfiction and is available to students at break and lunch times.
Students will be set homework in most subjects most weeks. Where students have weak literacy skills, these should be differentiated to support completion independently. However, your son or daughter may still need your help and encouragement to complete work as it can be challenging for some students to apply the skills they learn at school to work they complete at home.

Some simple strategies to help at home:
• Make the font of the text your son or daughter is reading larger. This is where digital formats come in to their own; it is possible to make fonts larger at the touch of a button.
• Encourage the reader to use a ruler or piece of paper to follow the text with. Reading slides in various colours are also available and may help some readers.
• Don’t give up on reading out loud. It can boost confidence in reading.
• Provide reading material that interests. No one wants to read boring stuff!

Useful Literacy Links
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/ information about literacy for parents, carers and teachers. Latest surveys on literacy are also published here.
http://www.leics.gov.uk/libraries/ information about Leicestershire’s libraries, including online access to resources.
http://www.booktrust.org.uk/ articles about the latest titles, innovations and competitions in the world of books.
http://www.gutenberg.org/ free online access to thousands of classic titles.
http://www.catchup.org/Resources/CatchUpLiteracyleafletsforparentsandcarers.aspx advice for parents about helping children with homework.

There is also a huge array of interesting contributors on Twitter, tweeting about all things literacy, books and writing related!