South Option 2000 - 2001

Language Arts

CONDITIONS FOR LITERACY

1. Reading is a meaning-making and meaning driven activity. A reader requires prior knowledge in order to construct meaning with a text.

2. Reading success can be determined by the context of the print, by the format of the text, by the style of the writer, by the purpose of the text, and especially by the background and life experience of the reader.

3. Writing is a complex act, a symbolic system - a means of representing thoughts, concepts, and feelings - that involves memory and the ordering of symbols to communicate ideas and feelings to others.

4. A child's attitude or disposition to reading and writing may determine his or her success in each act of reading and writing.

5. Individual aspects of writing (phonics, sentence structure, punctuation, format) are important parts of the whole process of writing, and can be focused on and learned through a variety of effective strategies that remain connected to making meaning with print.

6. While reading is much more than pronouncing words on a page, reading text aloud can be a significant part of becoming a reader and writer. Joining in the act of reading with one's own voice while others listen or participate leads to the satisfaction associated with belonging to the literacy club.

7. The context in which a reader finds himself or herself may determine the nature of the literacy event. Reading a science report to a group differs greatly from chanting a big book with the whole community; a teacher listening with interest differs greatly from an observer conducting an assessment.

8. Each child's response will be unique for a variety of reasons - social experience, cultural connections, personal interpretations of words and expressions, relationships with others, and appreciation of the author's message.

9. As part of a community of readers, members talk about personal interpretations and questions related to common themes that, in turn, affect the thoughts of others in the community.

10. Reading and writing are closely connected processes of learning. A child who writes down his or her thoughts thinks and reads while recomposing, revising, rereading, and editing the final product.

11. Literacy learning is developmental. Children proceed at individual rates, and teachers must provide the conditions that allow and enable their literacy learning to take place. Teachers must have high expectations for each child's success, and support development and learning with appropriate and supportive attention that embraces the child's interests and needs.

12. Teachers need to read to young children throughout the day, at times rereading the same text, and provide time for the children to read. It is important to develop the children's familiarity with a great variety of texts, to have them reread passages and texts for the sake of developing fluency, and to reread selected parts of the material in order to develop varied reading responses.

13. Teachers may select books that share a common element: author, form or structure, theme, time, topic, setting, or contrasting views. Such structuring enables the reader to develop a perspective and an increased awareness of literacy resources.

14. For the purpose of developing the child's awareness of the scope of responses available to a text, the teacher may model particular responses.

15. Encouraging a child's personal response remains a priority. The child's individuality of expression and interpretation is supplemented by the guidance, the encouragement, and the knowledge of the enabling adult.

16. Methods and skills for examining the content of literature can be introduced and developed in a variety of ways that will sustain the interest of the child, increase comprehension, and generate variety in expression.