Developing Literacy

in the OSY Programs

December 2016 * Literacy Assistance Center

Lizelena Iglesias
Literacy Partners

Literacy Assistance Center

Youth Literacy Rates

UNESCO Institute for Statistics, September 2015

Literacy Assistance Center

 Literacy in the USA
Students who don't read
proficiently by the 3rd grade

are 4 times likelier

to drop out of school.
Annie E. Casey Foundation

Literacy Assistance Center

 Literacy in the USA

There are currently between 2 and 3

million 16-24 year olds not enrolled in
school and with no credential.
Nearly half of all 17 year olds cannot
read, write, and compute at a 9th grade
level.
National Center on Education and the Economy:
Workforce Development Strategies Group

Literacy Assistance Center

 Definitions of Literacy
National Institute for Literacy
"The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 defines
literacy as an individual's ability to read, write,
speak in English, compute, and solve problems at
levels of proficiency necessary to function on the
job, in the family, and in society.

Literacy Assistance Center

Definitions of Literacy
National Institute for Literacy

WIOA retains, revises, and supplements the adult

education and literacy activities under WIA. WIOA
further adds three new activities to the definition of
adult education and literacy activities:
Integrated English literacy and civics education,
Workforce preparation activities,
Integrated education and training.

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 Definitions of Literacy
National Council of Teachers of English
Develop proficiency and fluency with the
tools of technology.
Build intentional cross-cultural connections
and relationships with others so to pose
and solve problems collaboratively and
strengthen independent thought.
Design and share information for global
communities to meet a variety of purposes.

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 Definitions of Literacy
National Council of Teachers of English
Manage, analyze, and synthesize multiple
streams of simultaneous information.
Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate
multimedia texts.
Attend to the ethical responsibilities required
by these complex environments.

Literacy Assistance Center

 Definitions of Literacy
ACTE, NCSS, NCTE, NCTM, NSTA
Students learn writing and reading strategies,
using evidence and reasoning pertinent to each
subject area, to comprehend and represent
knowledge using traditional and emerging media.

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 Definitions of Literacy
Authors from the field
A shift from a text-driven definition of literacy to
a view of literacy as active transformation of
texts. In the old view, meaning was assumed to
reside primarily within text, whereas, in the new
view, meaning is created through an
interaction of reader and text.
-Elfrieda Hiebert

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 Definitions of Literacy
Authors from the field
"...literacy can be viewed in a broader and
educationally more productive way, as the ability
to think and reason like a literate person, within
a particular society
-Judith Langer

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 Definitions of Literacy
UNESCO
A person with the ability to participate in all
activities in which literacy is necessary for
effective functioning in his group and community
and also for enabling him to continue to use
reading, writing, and calculation for his own
and communitys development.

Literacy Assistance Center

 Promoting Literacy

Directly teach skills and strategies.

Integrate literacy in all programs and activities
Involve all adults who work with youth in
proactive encouraging literacy.
From the YouthBuild Report on
Building Literacy and Numeracy in
YouthBuild.

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 Promoting Literacy
Directly teach skills and strategies
Encourage reading using appropriate level
materials.
Emphasize and reward personal effort
Use good instructional practices.
Model and coach students on strategies and
habits used by good readers.
Provide opportunities for reading, writing,
speaking, and listening.

Literacy Assistance Center

 Promoting Literacy
Integrate literacy in all activities, programs
Use different types and levels of questions
to build comprehension and thinking skills.
Have students reflect regularly
(verbally/writing).
Incorporate proven strategies
Use teachable moments when a student
naturally uses literacy to demonstrate a
skill used in real life.

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 In All Activities:
Encourage students to compare and
contrast new information with information
they already know.

A C B

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 In All Activities:

Use diagrams
to summarize
what they
have learned
or are about
to learn.

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 In All Activities:
Opportunities:
Provide opportunities for practice and
processes for measuring the impact of that
practice on their performance.
Give reading materials and the time to read
them.

Literacy Assistance Center

 Promoting Literacy
Involve all adults who work with youth in
proactively encouraging literacy
Be a role model
Be a mentor-coach
Be a conduit for materials and ideas
Be a literacy developer

Literacy Assistance Center

Frederick Douglass
taught that literacy is
the path from slavery
to freedom. There are
many kinds of slavery
and many kinds of
freedom, but reading is
still the path.
-Carl Sagan

Literacy Assistance Center

Thank You!
Lizelena Iglesias
Lizelenai@lacnyc.org

Literacy Assistance Center