Forging the Future of Literacy with Ancient Tools
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| Title: | Forging the Future of Literacy with Ancient Tools |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | James E. Warren, Staci Hammer, Tiffany Stokes, Sarah Endsley, Elizabeth Kuhns |
| Source: | English in Texas. 2024 54(1):26-35. |
| Availability: | Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts. 919 Congress Avenue Suite 1400, Austin, TX 78701. Tel: 512-617-3200; Web site: http://www.tctela.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 10 |
| Publication Date: | 2024 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Evaluative |
| Education Level: | Elementary Secondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Literacy, Futures (of Society), Reading Instruction, Writing Instruction, Rhetoric, English Instruction, Language Arts, Educational History, Academic Standards, Achievement Tests, Educational Strategies, Elementary Secondary Education, 21st Century Skills, School Districts, Educational Change |
| Geographic Terms: | Texas |
| Assessment and Survey Identifiers: | State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) |
| ISSN: | 0425-0508 |
| Abstract: | The 2017 TEKS revision, the 2023 STAAR redesign, and the 2024 TCTELA conference theme call on literacy professionals to "forge the future of literacy" in Texas. Specifically, the future demands that we more fully integrate reading and writing instruction and that we help students develop a deeper understanding of author's purpose and craft. In this paper, we argue that one way to meet the literacy demands of the future is to return to rhetoric, the dominant approach to literacy instruction for some 2000 years. First, we describe how rhetoric came to define language arts instruction in the Western world and why it was largely abandoned in the late 19th century. Next, we explain why a rhetorical approach to literacy is particularly well-suited to TEKS standards and new STAAR question types. Finally, we relate how one Texas school district adopted a literacy strategy drawn from the rhetorical tradition and applied it across elementary and secondary grade levels. We hope to equip curriculum coordinators, literacy specialists, and classroom teachers with a scalable, transferable literacy tool that can work as both an individual classroom lesson and a district-wide initiative. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2024 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1439943 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | The 2017 TEKS revision, the 2023 STAAR redesign, and the 2024 TCTELA conference theme call on literacy professionals to "forge the future of literacy" in Texas. Specifically, the future demands that we more fully integrate reading and writing instruction and that we help students develop a deeper understanding of author's purpose and craft. In this paper, we argue that one way to meet the literacy demands of the future is to return to rhetoric, the dominant approach to literacy instruction for some 2000 years. First, we describe how rhetoric came to define language arts instruction in the Western world and why it was largely abandoned in the late 19th century. Next, we explain why a rhetorical approach to literacy is particularly well-suited to TEKS standards and new STAAR question types. Finally, we relate how one Texas school district adopted a literacy strategy drawn from the rhetorical tradition and applied it across elementary and secondary grade levels. We hope to equip curriculum coordinators, literacy specialists, and classroom teachers with a scalable, transferable literacy tool that can work as both an individual classroom lesson and a district-wide initiative. |
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| ISSN: | 0425-0508 |
