What Is Literacy? Selected Definitions and Essays From
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 437 646 CS 013 859 AUTHOR Hodges, Richard E., Ed. TITLE What Is Literacy? Selected Definitions and Essays from "The Literacy Dictionary: The Vocabulary of Reading and Writing." INSTITUTION International Reading Association, Newark, DE. ISBN ISBN-0-87207-247-9 PUB DATE 1999-00-00 NOTE 33p. AVAILABLE FROM International Reading Association, 800 Barksdale Road, P.O. Box 8139, Newark, DE 19714-8139 ($7.95). Web site: http://www.reading.org. PUB TYPE Guides Non-Classroom (055)-- Reference Materials Vocabularies /Classifications (134) EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Definitions; Elementary Secondary Education; *Literacy; Readability; *Reading; Reading Achievement; Reading Instruction; Remedial Reading; *Writing (Composition); Writing Instruction ABSTRACT This booklet, in a "flipchart" format, provides a ready resource of selected core terms and their definitions from "The Literacy Dictionary: The Vocabulary of Reading and Writing" that bear upon reading and writing instruction. Some entries in the booklet also refer to related terms that can be further examined in "The Literacy Dictionary." The 41 terms in the booklet are arranged in sections entitled Literacy; Read, Reading, Reading Process; Reading Methods; Readability; Assessment; Remedial/Corrective Reading; and Writing. Six essays from "The Literacy Dictionary" are included--the essays were selected for their topical currency and for the clarity of viewpoints expressed by their authors. The booklet is designed for two uses: as a handy, portable reference for core terms common to the literature of reading and writing; and as an invitation to explore in greater depth the diverse yet related terminology assembled in "The Literacy Dictionary." (RS) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Selected Definitions and Essays From h U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION PERMISSION TO REPRODUCEAND CENTER (ERIC) DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIALHAS 151./This document has been reproducedas BEEN GRANTED BY VI received from the person or organization Op originating it. is ion Minor changes have been made to , r1.)( Cs) improve reproduction quality. The Vocabulary of Reading and Writing Points of view or opinions stated in this TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES document do not necessarily represent INFORMATION CENTER official OERI position or policy. (ERIC) 1 BET COPY AVAILABLE Richard E. Hodges Editor BEST COPY AVAILABLE IRA BOARD OF DIRECTORS Kathryn A. Ransom, Illinois State University, Springfield, Illinois, PresidentCarol Minnick Santa, School District #5, Kalispell, Montana, President- Elect Carmelita K. Williams, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia, Vice President Kathryn H. Au, University of Hawaii,Honolulu, Hawaii Betsy M. Baker, Columbia Public Schools, Columbia, MissouriPatricia A. Edwards, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan James V. Hoffman, The University of TexasAustin, Austin, TexasAdria F. Klein, California State University, San Bernardino, CaliforniaDiane L. Larson, Owatonna Public Schools, Owatonna, Minnesota John W. Logan, Northbrook School District 27, Northbrook, IllinoisLesley Mandel Morrow, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey Timothy Shanahan, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IllinoisAlan E. Farstrup, Executive Director The International Reading Association attempts, through its publications, to provide a forum for a wide spectrumof opinions on read- ing. This policy permits divergent viewpoints without implying the endorsement of the Association. Director of PublicationsJoan M. Irwin Assistant Director of PublicationsJeanette K. Moss Senior EditorMatthew W. Baker Assistant EditorJanet S. Parrack Assistant EditorTori Mello Publications CoordinatorBeth Doughty Association EditorDavid K. Roberts Production Department ManagerIona Sauscermen Art DirectorBoni Nash Electronic Publishing SupervisorWendy A. Mazur Electronic Publishing SpecialistAnette Schtitz-Ruff Electronic Publishing SpecialistCheryl J. Strum Electronic Publishing AssistantPeggy Mason Copyright 1999 by the International Reading Association, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic or mechani- cal, including photocopy, or any informational storage and retrieval system, without permission from thepublisher. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data What is literacy? Selected definitions and essays from The literacy dictionary: The vocabulary of readingand writing/ Richard E. Hodges, editor. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. 1. Reading dictionaries.2. English languageComposition and exercisesStudy and teaching dictionaries.3. Literacy dictionaries.4. Reading teachers' handbooks, manuals, etc.5. English teachers' handbooks, manuals, etc.I. Hodges, Richard E. II. International Reading Association.III. Literacy dictionary. LB1049.98.W53 1999 99-20342 372.4'03dc21 ISBN 0-87207-247-9 iii Preface What Is Literacy? Selected Definitions and Essays From The Literacy Dictionary: The Vocabulary of Reading and Writing is a collection that illustrates contemporary and historical terminology related to the literacy field. Before the scope of this collection can be understood, it first is important to review the importance of the publication on which this compilation is based. The Literacy Dictionary (1995) is a depository of literacy and related concepts as embodied by the words that name and define them. As a historical resource, The Literacy Dictionary furnishes examples of how the many facets of literacy have been defined in the past. And as a contemporary resource, it sets forth the dynamic nature of literacy and related fields as new terms emerge, while established terms hold firm or change with advances of knowledge. (See the essay titled "Literacy" on pages 19 and 20, which illuminates the history and dynamism of the literacy field.) The Literacy Dictionary thus provides a resource that brings together in a single volume the extensive vocabulary of reading and writing for the use of educational practitioners, researchers, and other interested per- sons, both in the United States and throughout the world. What Is Literacy? has been compiled to provide a ready resource of selected core terms and their definitions that bear upon reading and writing instruction. Some entries also refer to related terms that can be further examined in The Literacy Dictionary. (See, for example, the list of various types of 4 Preface (continued) iv historical and contemporary reading methods that is offered in the "Reading Methods" section.) Cross- references that have been retained in the entries likewise may be consulted in The Literacy Dictionary. Six essays from The Literacy Dictionary have been incorporated into What Is Literacy? (see pages 19-27). Selected for their topical currency and for the clarity of viewpoints expressed by their au- thors, these essays are designed to extend understandings of specific terms, and for some, to provoke alternative ways of thinking about aspects of reading and writing instruction. Flow might What Is Literacy? be used? Two purposes come to mind. First, the "flipchart" format pro- vides a handy, portable reference for core terms common to the literature of reading and writing. This resource thus provides a standard reference point useful both for personal understanding and for profes- sional and public discussions of these terms. As such, this book will be useful in settings such as school faculty meetings, inservice sessions, preservice classes, parent meetings, and with other groups for whom reading and writing instruction is a central topic of concern. Second, What Is Literacy? offers an invitation to explore in greater depth the richly diverse yet related terminology that has been assembled in The Literacy Dictionary, terminology that reflects the multidimensional and multidisciplinary scope of the sources from which it stems. Words and their meanings are the currency of a profession. They can be spent wisely or imprudently. This flipchart and the book from which it originates provide a trove of valuable terms for your prudent use. Richard E. Hodges 5 Editor, The Literacy Dictionary 1 Literacy emergent literacy development of the association of print with meaning that Representative Types of Literacy begins early in a child's life and continues academic literacy economic literacy prison literacy until the child reaches the stage of adult literacy emancipatory literacy protoliteracy conventional reading and writing; "the advanced literacy emergent literacy quantitative literacy reading and writing concepts and behaviors autonomous literacy family literacy reading literacy of young children that precede and develop basic literacy functional literacy real-world literacy restricted literacy into conventional literacy" (Sulzby, cited in biliteracy high literacy community literacy ideological literacy scribal literacy Barr et al., 1991). computer literacy intergenerational literacysurvival literacy conventional literacy marginal literacy television literacy 11 functional literacy1. a level of craft literacy media literacy vernacular literacy visual literacy reading and writing sufficient for everyday critical literacy minimal literacy polyglot literacy workplace literacy life but not for completely autonomous cultural literacy cultured literacy pragmatic literacy activity. 2. the application of the skills and knowledge