Adolescent Literacy
Students entering secondary school find themselves facing the challenge of reading and understanding in a variety of content areas. They need to develop the skills and confidence required for content-area learning and develop specialized academic literacies. The National Association of Secondary School Principals identifies the following five key elements of effective adolescent literacy programs:
- Committed and supportive school leaders
- Balanced formal and informal assessments that guide the learning of students and teachers
- Ongoing, job-embedded, research-based professional development
- Highly effective teachers in every content area that model and provide explicit instruction to improve comprehension
- Strategic and accelerated intervention
The following web-based resources can serve as a starting point as you explore adolescent literacy.
Center on Instruction. The Center on Instruction is one of five national comprehensive assistance centers. It has produced the following publications:
The Center on Instruction's site also provides links to a variety of adolescent literacy-focused resources, including the following:
- Creating a Culture of Literacy: A Guide for Middle and High School Principals.
This NASSP guidebook is designed to assist secondary school
administrators in establishing and maintaining school-wide literacy
improvement efforts.
- International Reading Association (IRA). IRA provides a wide range of resources through the search tool on their home page and their electronic journal, Reading Online.
- National Association of State Boards of Education
(NASBE). NASBE has produced several publications that address
adolescent literacy from a variety perspectives including state and
district policies.
- National Council of Teachers of English: Adolescent Literacy Resource Collection. This collection contains a wide variety of materials to help teachers and schools address adolescent literacy.