PROF ED 110 BUILDING AND PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS

ENHANCING NEW LITERACIES ACROSS • Phonological awareness (also called

THE CURRICULUM (FINALS) “phonological sensitivity”) refers to
children’s ability to detect and manipulate
UNIT 2. TEACHING STRATEGIES FOR the sound structures of oral language. It
THE DEVELOPMENT OF LITERACY begins at birth as infants attend to their
SKILLS AND TEACHING RESOURCES caregivers’ voices.

A. Strategies for the development of • Phonological awareness develops

emergent literacy skills and teaching gradually as children begin to understand
resources: that oral sentences are comprised of
words.
PICTURES AND OBJECTS • The ability to perceive rhyming words
and alliteration (words beginning with
• According to UNESCO, "Beyond its
similar sounds) are early indicators of
conventional concept as a set of reading,
phonological awareness (Roth & Baden,
writing and counting skills, literacy is now
2001).
understood as a means of identification,
• Gradually children become aware that
understanding, interpretation, creation,
words are made up of syllables. As
and communication in an increasingly
children begin to understand that words
digital, text-mediated, information-rich
are comprised of individual sounds
and fast-changing world."
(phonemes), they begin to be able to
• Reading with tactile media is an
manipulate these sounds.
important part of a tactile reader's literacy
• The manipulation of individual sounds
development. Unfortunately, many blind
and the letters associated with the
readers have not had access to tactile
sounds is known as phonemic
pictures.
awareness.
• Pictures help stories come alive and help
• Phonemic awareness may be
to develop readers' literacy practices. In
demonstrated through the ability to
this article presents an overview of
isolate, add, or delete phonemes from
strategies to support tactile readers as
words and is related to the ability, among
they develop tactile literacy skills.
older children, to decode words and to
• The information is based upon the years
use invented spelling.
of experience teaching art and graphic
design to students.
• Phonological awareness can be
• Literacy begins to develop at an early age
assessed by determining children’s
and is continuously enhanced throughout
proficiency at identifying rhymes, deleting
adulthood.
or adding syllables or phonemes from
• A child who is blind, if given the chance words, or counting the phonemes in a
and presented with well-designed tactile word (Whitehurst & Lonigan, 2002).
picture books, can learn to interpret
• An early assessment of phonological
pictures right along with children who are
awareness might be to ask a child
sighted. I have come to believe that it is
whether two words rhyme.
appropriate to introduce pictures to
• An older child might be asked to name a
children when they are infants.
word that rhymes with a given word. If the
child can suggest “hat” as a rhyming word
for “cat,” the child has shown an
understanding of the sound relationships
between the two words.
• Phonological awareness is book, or they might read from their own copy
metalinguistic because this of the book you are reading. For choral
understanding is related to the words reading, choose a book that is not too long
themselves (and not with any knowledge and that you think is at the independent
of cats or hats) reading level of most students. Patterned or
• Metalinguistics refers to the study of predictable books are particularly useful for
language not just as a means of choral reading, because their repetitious
communication but as something that style invites students to join in. Begin by
can be conceived of in its own right. reading the book aloud as you model fluent
Metalinguistics involves the conscious reading.
observation of or reflection upon
language use. 3. Tape-assisted reading. In tape-assisted
reading, students read along in their books
FLUENCY INSTRUCTION as they hear a fluent reader read the book on
• The best strategy for developing reading an audiotape. For tape-assisted reading, you
fluency is to provide your students with need a book at a student's independent
many opportunities to read the same reading level and a tape recording of the
passage orally several times. To do this, book read by a fluent reader at about 80-100
you should first know what to have your words per minute. The tape should not have
students read. Second, you should know sound effects or music. For the first reading,
how to have your students read aloud the student should follow along with the tape,
repeatedly. pointing to each word in her or his book as
the reader reads it. Next, the student should
ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS TO try to read aloud along with the tape. Reading
INCREASE FLUENCY along with the tape should continue until the
There are several ways that your students student is able to read the book
can practice orally rereading text, including independently, without the support of the
student-adult reading, choral (or unison) tape.
reading, tape-assisted reading, partner
reading, and readers' theatre. 4. Partner reading. In partner reading,
paired students take turns reading aloud to
1. Student-adult reading. In student-adult each other. For partner reading, more fluent
reading, the student reads one-on-one with readers can be paired with less fluent
an adult. The adult can be you, a parent, a readers. The stronger reader reads a
classroom aide, or a tutor. The adult reads paragraph or page first, providing a model of
the text first, providing the students with a fluent reading. Then the less fluent reader
model of fluent reading. Then the student reads the same text aloud. The stronger
reads the same passage to the adult with the student gives help with word recognition and
adult providing assistance and provides feedback and encouragement to
encouragement. The student rereads the the less fluent partner. The less fluent partner
passage until the reading is quite fluent. This rereads the passage until he or she can read
should take approximately three to four re- it independently.
readings.
5. Readers' theatre. In readers' theatre,
2. Choral reading. In choral, or unison, students rehearse and perform a play for
reading, students read along as a group with peers or others. They read from scripts that
you (or another fluent adult reader). Of have been derived from books that are rich
course, to do so, students must be able to in dialogue. Students play characters who
see the same text that you are reading. They speak lines or a narrator who shares
might follow along as you read from a big necessary background information. Readers'
theatre provides readers with a legitimate There are 5 separate strategies that
reason to reread text and to practice fluency. together form the High 5 Reading
Readers' theatre also promotes cooperative Strategy.
interaction with peers and makes the reading
task appealing. 1. Activating background knowledge
2. Questioning
VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION 3. Analyzing text structure
• Learning vocabulary is an important part 4. Visualization
of a student’s development process, but 5. Summarizing
vocabulary instruction can be a challenge
for educators—especially when it comes DEVELOPING FUNCTIONAL LITERACY:
to making it effective and engaging. PARTICIPATORY APPROACH
• Teaching vocabulary can feel daunting.
The struggles associated with vocab WHAT IS “FUNCTIONAL LITERACY?”
practices in the classroom make it • Functional Literacy is the ability to
challenging for students to learn and manage daily living and employment
teachers to, well, teach. tasks that require reading skills beyond a
• Teachers may have a hard time basic level.
handpicking the 10-20 words every week
that their students will learn. Which words How is “Functional literacy” different
are the most important? What about the from “literacy?”
students who learn and read at different • “Literacy” refers to the ability to read or
levels? From a student’s perspective, it write at ANY level.
becomes difficult (and, for many, • An illiterate person will not be able to
uninteresting) to simply memorize words understand or to produce ANY text at all.
and terms that they have no prior • “Functional literacy” refers to practical
connections to. skills needed to live a normal life.
• For example: an illiterate person may not
COMPREHENSION INSTRUCTION understand the written words “cat” or
• Comprehension, or extracting meaning “dog”, may not recognize the letters of the
from what you read, is the ultimate goal alphabet and may be unable to write their
of reading. own name. A functionally illiterate person
• Experienced readers take this for granted will probably be able to understand these
and may not appreciate the reading things without any problems, however
comprehension skills required. they cannot understand job
• The process of comprehension is both advertisements, newspaper articles,
interactive and strategic. forms or posters. Foreigners who cannot
• Rather than passively reading text, do these things in the language of the
readers must analyze it, internalize it and country they are living in are considered
make it their own. In order to read with functionally illiterate. In Kazakhstan I,
comprehension, developing readers myself, am functionally illiterate.
must be able to read with some
proficiency and then receive explicit THE PARTICIPATORY APPROACH
instruction in reading comprehension • The main goal of this approach is to have
strategies (Tierney, 1982). EVERY student, as well as the teacher,
actively participating in the activities.
• This approach changes the role of the
teacher. Instead of us giving instructions
and then stepping back to allow students
 to work, the teacher works together with cooperative learning in groups, including
the students. their size and composition the type of
• This approach forces us to practice our task set; expectations for student
micro-teaching skills, as we help learners behavior; individual and group
to accomplish the goals that we set. responsibilities; and the teacher’s role in
• We must use realistic materials, because monitoring both the process and the
we are training students for realistic outcomes of the group experience.
situations.
• For large classes it is IMPOSSIBLE to
give each student individual attention. INQUIRY-BASED CLASSROOM
So, we have students work in pairs or ENVIRONMENT
small groups, and give attention to the • How can you activate the curiosity in
groups as a whole. students’ minds and get them excited
• Our activities must also include about learning new topics or subjects?
extratextual components such as Meet inquiry-based learning, the
pictures, logos or objects, to reflect the teaching strategy that triggers your
realistic nature of the activities. students’ curiosity and helps them
develop their enthusiasm for learning.
21ST CENTURY LITERACY SKILLS AND
TEACHING RESOURCES WHAT IS INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING?
• From the Academy of Inquiry Based
STUDENT-LED LEARNING Learning, inquiry-based learning, “or
(COOPERATIVE LEARNING) IBL for short, is a broad range of
• Cooperative learning is defined as empirically validated teaching methods
students working together to “attain which emphasize
group goals that cannot be obtained by (a) deeply engaging students and
working alone or competitively” (b) providing students with opportunities
(Johnson, Johnson, & Holubec, 1986). to authentically learn by collaborating
• Cooperative learning involves students with their peers.”
working together to accomplish shared • Inquiry-based learning lets students
goals, and it is this sense of decide what they want to learn about a
interdependence that motivate group particular subject and gets them to ask
members to help and support each other. questions about things they aren’t
When students work cooperatively, they familiar with. Rather than just firing facts
learn to listen to what others have to say, and statistics at your class, use these five
give and receive help, reconcile strategies to help you build an inquiry-
differences, and resolve problems based classroom.
democratically.
• However, placing students in small 1. Don’t always answer student
groups and telling them to work together questions. It may be tempting to just answer
does not guarantee that they will work the questions that your students have about
cooperatively. Groups need to be a lesson, but true learning isn’t about being
structured to ensure that members will spoon-fed the answer. Reply to student
work interdependently if they are to reap questions with questions directed back at
the academic and social benefits widely them and ask other peers to participate in the
attributed to this approach to learning. conversation. Additionally, you can show
• The role the teacher plays in establishing your students how to research the questions
cooperative learning in the classroom is they have and arrive at their own
critically important for its success. This conclusions. It’s not always about just finding
involves being aware of how to structure the answer to a question—it’s about how a
student reaches that conclusion.
2. Spend more time on projects and less COLLABORATIVE ACTIVITIES
time on lecturing. While a lecture or direct, • Collaborative learning is the
teacher-led instruction can be effective, it’s educational approach of using groups to
not always the best way for students to learn. enhance learning through working
Be honest with yourself—how many lectures together.
do you remember from your own schooling? • Groups of two or more learners work
You probably don’t recall many. But, how together to solve problems, complete
many projects do you remember? Project- tasks, or learn new concepts.
based learning can be the best way to help • This approach actively engages learners
activate the curiosity that lies dormant in the to process and synthesize information
mind of your students. and concepts, rather than using rote
memorization of facts and figures.
3. Accept that no two classes will be the • Learners work with each other on
same. Assessment and understanding come projects, where they must collaborate as
in many shapes and sizes. If you teach a group to understand the concepts
multiple classes at the same grade level, being presented to them.
understand that no two classes will be alike. • Through defending their positions,
Different groups of students learn in different reframing ideas, listening to other
ways, and that is totally fine. You may feel viewpoints and articulating their points,
like one set of students is getting behind or learners will gain a more complete
ahead of another group with this approach, understanding as a group than they could
but if you keep track of what each class as individuals.
discussed, you’ll find you’re still able to fill in
the learning gaps in upcoming lessons and WHAT ARE COLLABORATIVE
allow each group of learners the time they ACTIVITIES?
require to develop necessary learning. • Collaborative activities are any
activities where learners are working co-
4. Include time for reflection at the end of operatively in pairs or groups. For
every lesson. Reflection is an important part example:
of growth for both you and your students. 1. Pair or group discussions
Have your students take time to answer the 2. Completing shared tasks in a pair or
following questions so that they can begin to group, e.g. matching, sorting, ranking
self-reflect on how they learn best: What 3. Activities or games with a competitive
helped me to learn this concept best? What element, e.g. bingo
didn’t help me learn effectively? You can 4. Drama and role play
tailor future lessons and projects based 5. Information exchange activities, including
around these findings. barrier games and jigsaw activities
6. Examples of activities
5. Learn alongside your students.
Chances are that inquiry-based learning is • Collaborative activities can be used for
uncharted territory for you as a teacher. In any age-range and in any subject.
this type of classroom environment, you may Learners at any stage of language
need to relinquish a little control to allow development can take part, particularly if
students to shape the learning experience. those who are New to English are
Encourage collaboration, communication, grouped with supportive peers. Here are
and participation. Take this time to step back some examples:
and observe how your students are learning
while you maintain a clear set of learning
objectives that you want your students to
meet.
1. Group or pair discussion: • For example, in A balanced diet learners
• There are a range of types of pair or are asked to sort cards with different
group discussions, for example: foods on into groups according to their
a. Listening triangles: learners work nutrient content.
together in groups of three: a speaker, a
questioner and a note-taker. 3. Games and activities with a competitive
b. The speaker explains the topic (or element:
expresses their opinion on an issue) as • Games can be very effective in
directed by the teacher. motivating learners, and in revising or
c. The questioner listens carefully and consolidating curriculum content.
asks for clarification or further detail. • They also practice the language of turn-
d. The note-taker observes this process taking and negotiating. Bingo is a popular
and provides feedback to both speaker game included in several of our
and questioner . resources, e.g. Food bingo.
• A quick noughts and crosses game can
• Talk partners: Learners are paired for be produced for any topic on a
short discussion activities. Pairs can be whiteboard, i.e. a 3x3 grid with answers
selected, chosen randomly or regularly in each square. Split the class into two
switched. It may be useful to establish teams, and teams discuss possible
ground rules and model some questions to match the answers. There
appropriate question types and are likely to be a range of possible correct
responses. questions. In this example a question to
• Think-Pair-Share: Learners prepare a which the correct answer is ‘protein’
response to a text or prepare a piece of could be ‘What do you find in fish, nuts
work and then explain their ideas to a and meat?’ or ‘What do we need to build
partner. After the pairs have discussed and repair tissue?’
the issue, they join with another pair,
share views and emerge with a group 4. Drama and role play:
conclusion or perspective. • Drama and role play can be fun and
• Snowballing: Learners discuss used successfully in any area of the
something or investigate an issue in curriculum. Drama is a very valuable tool
pairs. The pairs then join another pair to for exploring issues, making learning
form a group and share their findings. memorable, encouraging co-operation
The small groups then join together to and empathy. The use of drama and role
make a larger group: 2 →4 →8 →16 → play can create an opportunity for the
whole-class. learner to hear and rehearse language in
a meaningful context, so as to be able to
2. Working on shared tasks, e.g. use it confidently in speech or writing.
matching, sorting, ranking:
• Working collaboratively on a task 5. Information exchange activities:
encourages use of the vocabulary of the • Information exchange (or information
curriculum area, and at the same time gap) activities are communicative
encourages use of the language of activities for two or more learners.
making suggestions, justifying opinions, • They include barrier games and jigsaw
agreeing and disagreeing, etc. activities, or any activity that involves
• It also gives practice in listening. Many of learners having different pieces of
the resources on EAL Nexus have information that they then have to convey
images that can be made into flashcards to each other orally. Here are two
which can be used for matching, sorting examples:
or ranking.
• Barrier games: In a barrier game and decide which language or languages
Learner A and Learner B sit with a barrier you want them to use.
between them and are required to
convey information to each other, for 4. encourage other members of the
example while looking at different text or group to include EAL learners who may
images. A book or file propped on its side need support to take part in a discussion
can be used as a barrier. E.g. Charles or activity. Make sure the EAL learner
Dickens barrier game. has a role in the discussion. Speaking
• Rainbowing: This is a form of jigsaw frames can be useful to scaffold the
activity where each member of a working language used, e.g. in the Charles
group is given a different colour. When Dickens barrier game cards with
the group task is complete the learners sentence starters on are provided to
form new groups according to their support learners who are at the New to
colours. Within the colour groups, they English, Early acquisition or Developing
compare findings, discuss what they competence levels.
have achieved, or carry out another task
that they all need to contribute to, e.g. • "While Bloom’s Taxonomy is not the
completing a grid. An example of this is only framework for teaching thinking, it is
the activity in Propaganda posters of the most widely used, and subsequent
World War 1, where learners work in frameworks tend to be closely linked to
groups to look at a poster and discuss Bloom’s work....
what its underlying message is. • Bloom’s aim was to promote higher forms
of thinking in education, such as
How collaborative activities work. analyzing and evaluating, rather than just
• Many tasks can be made into teaching students to remember facts
collaborative activities by asking learners (rote learning).
to complete them in pairs or groups • Bloom’s taxonomy was designed with
rather than individually. For collaborative six levels to promote higher-order
activities to work effectively it is important thinking.
to: • The six levels were: knowledge,
comprehension, application, analysis,
1. consider the grouping of learners synthesis, and evaluation.
carefully, for example placing early stage • (The taxonomy's levels were later revised
bilingual learners with peers who can as remembering, understanding,
provide good models of English, and / or applying, analyzing, revising, and
share the same first language. creating.)
• The lower-order thinking skills (LOTS)
2. establish the type of behaviour that will involve memorization, while higher-
be expected from learners for them to order thinking requires understanding
benefit most from these types of activities and applying that knowledge.
and ensure that everyone is clear what
their role is, e.g. asking questions,
• The top three levels of Bloom's
answering questions, observing,
taxonomy—which is often displayed as
collaborating on the set task.
a pyramid, with ascending levels of
thinking at the top of the structure—are
3. bear in mind that group discussions analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
can take place in English or in the • These levels of the taxonomy all involve
learners’ first language. Think about what critical or higher-order thinking.
you want them to get from the discussion
• Students who are able to think are those 21ST CENTURY SKILLS
who can apply the knowledge and skills
they have learned to new contexts. • The term 21st century skills refers to a
• Looking at each level demonstrates how broad set of knowledge, skills, work
higher-order thinking is applied in habits, and character traits that are
education. believed—by educators, school
reformers, college professors,
CREATIVE LEARNING employers, and others—to be critically
• Creative Learning works in overlooked important to success in today’s world,
areas to support locally-led initiatives. particularly in collegiate programs and
• We exchange knowledge through contemporary careers and workplaces.
people-to-people partnerships and • Generally speaking, 21st century skills
sustainably improve lives and livelihoods. can be applied in all academic subject
• Our four divisions each offer unique areas, and in all educational, career, and
expertise, collaboratively working civic settings throughout a student’s life.
towards our goal of building a more
peaceful world. WHAT ARE LEARNING SKILLS?
• The Creative Learning Method is a • Learning is a skill and it can be
method that is based on the use of improved. Everyone has the opportunity
theatre techniques in order to stimulate to develop their memory and learning
learning in the classroom. ability. Identifying your own learning style
• It has been developed for children of and the methods that work for you is key.
elementary school and is based on the • The more you use your brain the better it
principle that children learn better when will work.
they actively participate in the learning • Learning something new always takes
process in comparison with being commitment and self-discipline as well as
passive listeners. conscious practice.
• The use of theatre techniques in the • Your conception of what learning is and
elementary school is proven to be very your motivation to study will determine
effective for the improvement of the your success.
school performance of the children (see • You have to want to solve a problem
for example the work of Kieran Egan, even if it is demanding.
Dewey and Jean Piaget). • No learning methods or techniques will
• It addresses at the same time linguistic help if the motivation to study is missing.
intelligence, logical (reasoning) • Obstacles to learning usually have to do
intelligence, spatial intelligence, bodily- with one's attitudes and conception of
kinesthetic intelligence, interpersonal oneself as a learner and one's
intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence conception of learning, all of which have
and naturalist intelligence. themselves been learnt.
• It makes the class more attractive, and it • You have to clarify for yourself why
promotes the active participation of the studying is worthwhile and what are you
students in the class improving in this aiming for in your studies.
way the educational performance of the • Learning only happens as a direct result
children. of your own efforts.
• The 21st century learning skills are often
called the 4 C’s: critical thinking,
creative thinking, communicating, and
collaborating. These skills help students
learn, and so they are vital to success in
school and beyond.
I. CRITICAL THINKING II. CREATIVE THINKING
• Critical thinking is focused, careful • Creative thinking is expansive,
analysis of something to better open-ended invention and discovery
understand it. of possibilities.
When people speak of “left brain” • When people speak of “right brain”
activity, they are usually referring to activity, they most often mean
critical thinking. Here are some of the creative thinking. Here are some of
main critical-thinking abilities: the more common creative thinking
✓ Analyzing is breaking something abilities:
down into its parts, examining ✓ Brainstorming ideas involves asking a
each part, and noting how the question and rapidly listing all answers,
parts fit together. even those that are far-fetched,
✓ Arguing is using a series of impractical, or impossible.
statements connected logically ✓ Creating something requires forming it
together, backed by evidence, to by combining materials, perhaps
reach a conclusion. according to a plan or perhaps based on
✓ Classifying is identifying the the impulse of the moment.
types or groups of something, ✓ Designing something means finding the
showing how each category is conjunction between form and function
distinct from the others. and shaping materials for a specific
✓ Comparing and contrasting is purpose.
pointing out the similarities and ✓ Entertaining others involves telling
differences between two or more stories, making jokes, singing songs,
subjects. playing games, acting out parts, and
✓ Defining is explaining the making conversation.
meaning of a term using ✓ Imagining ideas involves reaching into
denotation, connotation, the unknown and impossible, perhaps
example, etymology, synonyms, idly or with great focus, as Einstein did
and antonyms. with his thought experiments.
✓ Describing is explaining the ✓ Improvising a solution involves using
traits of something, such as size, something in a novel way to solve a
shape, weight, color, use, origin, problem.
value, condition, location, and so ✓ Innovating is creating something that
on. hasn’t existed before, whether an object,
✓ Evaluating is deciding on the a procedure, or an idea.
worth of something by comparing ✓ Overturning something means flipping it
it against an accepted standard of to get a new perspective, perhaps by
value. redefining givens, reversing cause and
✓ Explaining is telling what effect, or looking at something in a brand
something is or how it works so new way.
that others can understand it. ✓ Problem solving requires using many of
✓ Problem solving is analyzing the the creative abilities listed here to figure
causes and effects of a problem out possible solutions and putting one or
and finding a way to stop the more of them into action.
causes or the effects. ✓ Questioning actively reaches into what
✓ Tracking cause and effect is is unknown to make it known, seeking
determining why something is information or a new way to do
happening and what results from something.
it.
 III. COLLABORATION ✓ Following conventions means
✓ Allocating resources and communicating using the expected
responsibilities ensures that all norms for the medium chosen.
members of a team can work optimally. ✓ Listening actively requires carefully
✓ Brainstorming ideas in a group paying attention, taking notes, asking
involves rapidly suggesting and writing questions, and otherwise engaging in the
down ideas without pausing to critique ideas being communicated.
them. ✓ Reading is decoding written words and
✓ Decision-making requires sorting images in order to understand what their
through the many options provided to originator is trying to communicate.
the group and arriving at a single option ✓ Speaking involves using spoken words,
to move forward. tone of voice, body language, gestures,
✓ Delegating means assigning duties to facial expressions, and visual aids in
members of the group and expecting order to convey ideas.
them to fulfill their parts of the task. ✓ Turn taking means effectively switching
✓ Evaluating the products, processes, from receiving ideas to providing ideas,
and members of the group provides a back and forth between those in the
clear sense of what is working well and communication situation.
what improvements could be made. ✓ Using technology requires understanding
✓ Goal setting requires the group to the abilities and limitations of any
analyze the situation, decide what technological communication, from
outcome is desired, and clearly state an phone calls to e-mails to instant
achievable objective. messages.
✓ Leading a group means creating an ✓ Writing involves encoding messages into
environment in which all members can words, sentences, and paragraphs for
contribute according to their abilities. the purpose of communicating to a
✓ Managing time involves matching up a person who is removed by distance, time,
list of tasks to a schedule and tracking or both.
the progress toward goals.
✓ Resolving conflicts occurs from using WHAT ARE LITERACY SKILLS?
one of the following strategies: • Reading and writing are very important
asserting, cooperating, compromising, skills for all of us. Thanks to these skills,
competing, or deferring. our need to learn and acquire new
✓ Team building means cooperatively knowledge is facilitated.
working overtime to achieve a common • The power of literacy skills is not only in
goal. reading and writing, but also in the ability
of a person to apply these skills to
IV. COMMUNICATION connect, explain, and clearly distinguish
✓ Analyzing the situation means thinking the complexities of the world
about the subject, purpose, sender, in which they are living.
receiver, medium, and context of a • Whether you are a mathematics, history,
message. science, or art teacher, the first thing to
✓ Choosing a medium involves deciding the do to help your teaching effectiveness is
most appropriate way to deliver a to have your students have good reading
message, ranging from a face-to-face and writing skills.
chat to a 400-page report. • Literacy skills are all the skills needed
✓ Evaluating messages means deciding for reading and writing. They include
whether they are correct, complete, such things as awareness of the sounds
reliable, authoritative, and up-to-date. of language, awareness of print, and the
relationship between letters and sounds.
• Literacy skills help students gain world applications and
knowledge through reading as well as consequences. Students need to
using media and technology. understand that what they write can
• These skills also help students create do great good or great harm in the
knowledge through writing as well as real world, and that how they write
developing media and technology. determines how powerful their words
are. Students need to take on the role
1. INFORMATION LITERACY of professional writers, learning to be
Information Literacy effective and ethical producers of
• Students need to be able to work information.
effectively with information, using it at all
levels of Bloom's Taxonomy 2. MEDIA LITERACY
(remembering, understanding, applying, • Media literacy involves understanding
analyzing, evaluating, and creating). the many ways that information is
Information literacy involves traditional produced and distributed.
skills such as reading, researching, and • The forms of media have exploded in the
writing; but new ways to read and write last decade and new media arrive every
have also introduced new skills: day: Students' use of media has far
outstripped educational use, and
✓ Consuming information: The students will continue to adopt new
current excess of information media long before teachers can create
requires students to gain new skills in curricula about it.
handling it. When most information • It is no longer enough to teach students
came through official publications like how books, periodicals, and TV shows
books, newspapers, magazines, and work. Students need to learn how to
television shows, students critically analyze and evaluate messages
encountered data that had been coming to them through any medium.
prepared by professionals. Now,
much information is prepared by
amateurs. Some of that work is
reliable, but much is not. Students
must take on the role of the editor,
checking and cross-checking
information, watching for signs of
bias, datedness, and errors. Students
need to look at all information as the
product of a communication situation,
with a sender, subject, purpose,
medium, receiver, and context.
• As with information literacy, the key is to
✓ Producing information: In the past, recognize the elements of the
students were mostly consumers of communication situation—sender,
information. When they produced message (subject and purpose),
information, it was largely for a single medium, receiver, and context.
reader—the teacher—and was • These elements are constant regardless
produced for a grade. It was therefore of the medium used. By broadening the
not an authentic communication student's perspective to see all media as
situation, and students felt that writing part of a larger communication situation,
was a purely academic activity. Now we can equip students to effectively
writing is one of the main ways receive and send information in any
students communicate. It has real- medium.
• Students must learn to recognize the ✓ researching on the Internet;
strengths and weaknesses of each ✓ e-mailing, chatting, texting,
medium and to analyze each message microblogging;
they receive and send. ✓ using social sites;
✓ visiting virtual worlds;
3. TECHNOLOGY LITERACY ✓ blogging and using wikis; and
• We are living through a technological ✓ using message boards, newsgroups,
revolution, with huge changes taking and VOIP (Skype).
place over brief spans of time.
• A decade ago, Facebook didn't exist, but • By understanding how to evaluate this
now many people could not live without new information and how to use these
it. new tools to create effective, well-
• The average cellphone is now more grounded communication, students can
powerful than computers from several harness the power of new technology
years ago. and be inspired to learn.
• We are surrounded by technology, and
most of it performs multiple functions. LIFE SKILLS
In Growing Up Digital: How the Net WHAT ARE LIFE SKILLS?
Generation Is Changing Your World, Don • Life skills equip students to thrive in the
Tapscott outlines the following eight classroom and in the world beyond.
expectations that students have of • The 21st century life skills are flexibility,
technology. initiative, social skills, productivity,
✓ Freedom to express their views, and leadership.
personalities, and identities.
✓ Ability to customize and personalize I. FLEXIBILITY
technology to their own tastes. • Given the rapid rate of change in our
✓ Ability to dig deeper, finding whatever world, the ability to adjust and adapt is
information they want. critical to success.
✓ Honesty in interactions with others • Students needs to learn to quickly
and with organizations analyze what is going on around them
✓ Fun to be part of learning, work, and and make adjustments on the fly—all the
socialization as well as while keeping their goals at the forefront
entertainment. of their minds.
✓ Connecting to others and • Flexibility is not spinelessness. In fact,
collaborating in everything a spine needs to be flexible to allow the
✓ Speed and responsiveness in person to move while remaining upright
communication and searching for with eyes on the prize.
answers. • The inquiry process requires and
✓ Innovation and change, not settling
rewards flexibility. Instead of following a
for familiar technologies but seeking set course or a rigid set of instructions,
and using what is new and better. students must make constant course
corrections as they do the following:
As you can see, students expect a great deal ✓ set goals
out of their technologies. You can help them ✓ seek answers
use technology wisely: ✓ navigate information
✓ reading Web sites;
✓ collaborate with others
✓ using search engines;
✓ create something
✓ using map searches;
✓ evaluate their work
✓ accessing videos, podcasts, and
✓ improve it
feeds; ✓ share it with the world
✓ evaluating Web resources;
 II. LEADERSHIP ✓ plan,
• Leadership is a suite of related skills that ✓ research,
combines the other life skills. ✓ create,
• Good leaders take initiative, have strong ✓ improve, and
social skills, are flexible, and are ✓ present.
productive. They also do the following:
✓ Identify goals IV. PRODUCTIVITY
✓ Inspire others to share those goals • During the recent recession, the
✓ Organize a group so that all members productivity of the Filipino worker
can contribute according to their reached an all-time high.
abilities • Clearly, those who kept their jobs did so
✓ Resolve conflicts among members in part by producing more than they
✓ Encourage the group to reach their needed to before.
goals • The increase in productivity among
✓ Help group members solve problems workers in the U.S. means that more is
and improve performance being produced by fewer people, which
✓ Give credit where it is due means that the job market is even more
competitive after the recession than
• That list pretty well describes what you do during it.
daily as a teacher—because you are the • Workers who have lower productivity are
leader of your class. being left behind.
• However, if students are perpetually in • By using the inquiry process and
the role of followers, they never have to developing projects, students learn the
learn these skills. habits of productivity:
• They need to occasionally become the ✓ Goal setting
teacher, and inquiry allows them to do so. ✓ Planning
• Group projects also require students to ✓ Time management
take on leadership responsibilities. ✓ Research
• Inquire provides many projects that can ✓ Development
be done in groups. ✓ Evaluation
✓ Revision
III. INITIATIVE ✓ Application
• The entrepreneurial spirit is founded on
initiative—the willingness to step V. SOCIAL SKILLS
forward with an idea and take the risk of • Human being have always been social
bringing it to fruition. creatures, connecting to and depending
• The changing economic landscape on a tribe of some hundred others.
• Technology now allows people to belong
requires entrepreneurs.
to multiple tribes—students at the same
• Students need to learn how to set goals
school, friends on Facebook, colleagues
for themselves, plan how they will reach
on LinkedIn, fans on fan sites, gamers on
their goals, and enact their plans.
massively multiplayer online games.
• Once students feel comfortable with
• In all of these environments, social skills
charting their own course, they will
are critical.
readily launch into activity.
• Whether students are having a face-to-
• By teaching students the inquiry process, face meeting or are tweeting with
you equip them to take initiative. When hundreds of strangers, there are real
you step back into a facilitating role, you human beings with real thoughts,
require students to step forward. feelings, and needs on the other end.
Students take the initiative when they
question,
• And, as work environments become Four dimensions of Global Competence
more collaborative, social skills are a key 1. Examine Issues of local, global and
to success. cultural significance.
• The best way for students to develop 2. Understand and appreciate the
social skills is to collaborate with others. perspective and world views of others.
• When students work together on a 3. Engage in open, appropriate and effective
project, they have common goals and interactions across culture.
interests; they are required to develop 4. Take action for collective well-being and
social skills such as these: sustainable development.
✓ cooperation
✓ compromise • Globalization describes the process of
✓ decision making creating networks of connections among
✓ communicating actors at intraor multi-continental
✓ using emotional intelligence distances, mediated through a variety of
✓ using constructive criticism flows including people, information and
✓ trusting others ideas, capital and goods.
✓ delivering on promises
✓ coordinating work 3 Dimension of Globalization
1. Economic Globalization
2. Social Globalization
21ˢᵗ CENTURY LITERACIES 3. Political Globalization
GLOBALIZATION AND ✓ World Trade Organization
MULTICULTURAL ✓ United Nations
✓ International Monetary Fund
LITERACY
✓ European Union
• Organization for Economic Co-
• Multiculturalism is the co-existence of
operation and Development (OECD) is
diverse culture, where culture includes
an intergovernmental economic
racial, religious, or cultural groups and is
organization with 37 member countries.
manifested in costumary behaviours,
• It is a forum of countries describing cultural assumptions and values,
themselves as committed to democracy patterns of thinking, and communicative
and the market economy, providing a styles.
platform to compare policy experiences,
seek to answer to common problems,
• Multicultural Literacy is the ability to
identity good practices and coordinate
orientate in a different cultural
domestic and international policies
environment. To dispose of the literacy of
members of its members
this types means to be tolerant, to
respect manifold cultures, to have pro-
Global Competence
social behaviour without prejudices and
• Inclusive barrier toward people coming from
• Sustainable various cultures and to accept
differences in the broadest thus also
• Global Competence is the capacity to explicity position again intolerance,
examine local, global and intercultural racism, and xenophobia. (Ambarwta,
issues, to understand and appreciate the 2019).
perspectives and world views of others,
to engage in open, appropriate and
• Intercultural communication refers to
effective interactions with people from
the effects on communication behaviour,
different cultures, and to act for collective
when different cultures interact together.
well-being and sustainable development.
Hence a way of viewing intercultural
 communication is as communication that HEURISTICS
unfolds in symbolic intercultural spaces. • A Heuristics is a mental shortcut
(Arasaratnam, 2013). commonly used to simplify problems and
avoid cognitive overload.
• It is mental shortcuts for making
SOCIAL LITERACY decisions (help to reduce information
• an individual’s ability to successfully and overload).
deliberately mediate their world as family
members, workers, citizens and lifelong COMMON TYPES OF HEURISTICS
learners. • REPRESENTATIVENESS - Judging by
resemblance.
SOCIAL LITERACY THEORIES • AVAILABILITY - making decisions
CONSENSUS THEORY based on whats readily available in our
• a sociological perspective or collection of mind.
theories, in which social order and • ANCHORING - considers the first piece
stability/social form the base of regular of information given to us as the basis for
emphasis. all subsequent decision-making.
• CONSENSUS - a general or widespread • FAMILIARITY - it occurs when an
agreement among all members of a individual chooses to utilize familiar
particular society. options and processes rather than the
unknown.
CONFLICT THEORY • AFFECT - a mental shortcut which uses
• The struggle between social classes and emotion to influence the decision.
class conflicts between the powerful and
less powerful group. SOCIAL SKILLS
• CONFLICT - a clash between ideas, • Social Skills are the skills we use
principles and people. everyday to ineteract and communicate
with others. They include verbal and non-
STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM verbal communication, such as speech,
• states that society is made up of variuos gesture, facial expressions and body
institutions that work together language.
cooperation.
5 TYPES OF SOCIAL SKILLS
SOCIAL COGNITION & SOCIAL SKILLS • BASIC SOCIAL SKILLS. are the first
• Social Cognition studies how people
skills that people acquire and are
think about themselves and the social
world - how they select, interpret, fundamental to being able to initiate
remember and use information to make communication and to maintain it. Some
judgments and decisions. of these skills are: knowing how to start,
• Schemas are used to organize our maintain and end a conversation,
knowledge, to assist recall, to guide our knowing how to ask questions, etc.
behaviour, to predict likely happenings, • ADVANCED SOCIAL SKILLS. These
and to help us make sense of current
are the skills people learn after acquiring
experiences.
the basic social skills. Among the
complex social skills, we can find:
knowing how to share an opinion,
assertiveness, knowing how to
apologize, giving and following
instructions, among others.
• EMOTIONAL SOCIAL SKILLS. These MEDIA LITERACY
skills are characterized by being closely • Media literacy is the ability to access,
linked to the management and analyze, evaluate, and create media from
identification of feelings and emotions. wide array of sources and understand the
We can find: identity and express messages they bring.
feelings and emotions, empathy, respect, • Lynch (2018) coined the term "media"
among others. that refers to all electronic or digital
• SOCIAL NEGOTIATION SKILLS. They means and print or artistic visuals used to
are those social skills that promote transmit messages through reading (print
conflict management in an appropriate media), seeing (visual media), hearing
way. We found skills such as the (audio media), or changing and playing
following: negotiation, conflict resolution, with (interactive media), or some
altruism, sharing with others, etc. combinations of each.
• ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIAL SKILLS.
These skills are beneficial to be able to DIMENSIONS OF MIL
organize people’s daily lives correctly, Shapiro and Hughes (1996) identified the
avoiding causing stress, anxiety and seven dimensions of media information
other negative aspects. Within this literacy:
typology of social skills, we can • Tool Literacy -This is the ability to
distinguish decision-making capacity, understand and use practical and
organizational capacities, among others. conceptual tools of current information
technology, including software, hardware
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE and multimedia that are relevant to
• is the ability to recognize, understand education and the areas of work and
and manage your own emotions as well professional life.
as being able to understand and • Resource Literacy - This is the ability to
influence the emotions of others. It understand the form, format, location.
involves being aware that emotions drive access methods of information
behaviors and impact people either resources.
positively or negatively. • Social-Structural Literacy - This
knowing how information is socially
PEOPLE SKILLS situated and produced, fits into the life of
• People skills are patterns of behavior groups about the instructions and social
and behavioral interactions. Among networks.
people, it is an umbrellaterm for skills • Research Literacy - It is the ability to
under three related sets of abilities: understand and use ITbased tools
personal effectiveness, interaction skills, relevant to the work of researchers and
and intercession skills. scholars that include computer software
• This is an area of exploration about how for quantitative analysis, qualitative
a person behaves and how they are analysis and simulation.
perceived irrespective of their thinking • Publishing Literacy - It is the ability to
and feeling. format and publish research and ideas
electronically, in textual and multimedia
forms.
• Emerging Technology Literacy - It is advance whether you will have enough
the ability to adapt to, understand, money to do the things you need to do or
evaluate and use emerging innovations would like to do. Budgeting is simply
in information technology. balancing your expenses with.
• Critical Literacy - It is the ability to • SPENDING. A method for distributing
evaluate critically the intellectual, human your income among the mix of things you
and social strengths and weaknesses, want and need. Creating a spending plan
potentials and limits, benefits and costs ahead of time will allow you to effectively
of Information technologies. manage your finances and determine
where to best spend your money.
FINANCIAL LITERACY • INVESTING. Savings tools are perfect
• Financial Literacy is the understanding for developing financial security.
of concepts including saving, investing However, once a person has
and debt that leads to an overall sense of accumulated an appropriate amount of
financial well-being and self-trust. liquid assets in savings, they may want to
• Financial Planning °It is the long-term refocus their goals from saving to
method of wisely managing your finances investing. Investing is the purchase of
so you can achieve your goals and assets with the goal of increasing future
dreams, while at the same time income.
negotiating the financial barriers that • SAVING. is the portion of income not
inevitably arise in every stage of life. In spent on current expenditures. In other
order to create a sound financial plan, words, it is the money set aside for future
goals must first be established. use and not spent immediately.
• Goal Setting °Setting of goals marks the • BANKING. is the business of protecting
beginning of financial planning to help money for others. Banks lend this money,
you achieve the objectives at various life generating interest that creates profits for
stages. Some goals may be set for the the bank and its customers.
near future or short term. Other goals
may require long- range planning and CYBER/DIGITAL LITERACY
saving. • Cyber Literacy means having the skills
• Valuing °Goals are an extension of a you need to live, learn, and work in a
person’ s values. If something is society where communication and
important to people, they will want to set access to information is increasingly
a goal and create an action plan to through digital technologies like internet
achieve it. Values help set and prioritize platforms, social media, and mobile
financial goals so that people address the devices.
most important aspects of their life • Cyber citizenship - taking responsibility
(according to them) first. Values affect for your role in cyberspace.
career decisions, how you spend your • Cybercrime is criminal activity that either
time, and how you handle money. targets or uses a computer, a computer
• Budgeting °The process of creating a network or a networked device. Most
plan to spend your money. This spending cybercrime is committed by
plan is called a budget. Creating this cybercriminals or hackers who want to
spending plan allows you to determine in make money.
• Internet safety or "e safety" has ECO-LITERACY
become a fundamental topic in our digital • Ecological literacy (also referred to as
world and includes knowing about one's Eco literacy) is the ability to understand
internet privacy and how one's the natural systems that make life on
behaviours can support a healthy earth possible.
interaction with the use of internet.
• Social Media - allows individuals to keep 7 ENVIRONMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF
in touch with friends and extended family. NATURE
Some people will use various social • Nature knows best. People need to
media applications to network and find understand nature and have to abide by
career opportunities, connect with people the rules it imposes. In essence, one
across the globe with like-minded must not go against the natural
interests, and share their own thoughts, processes if he/she would like to ensure
feelings, and insights online. a continuous and steady supply of
• Mobile devices. A Platform for Practical resources.
Tools. model that enables learners to • All forms of life are important. Each
access educational materials anywhere organism plays a fundamental role in
and anytime using mobile and internet nature therefore, all living things must
technologies. be considered as invaluable
• Digital Traits. A person with a digital instruments in maintaining balance in the
mindset applies technology to become ecosystem.
more efficient and collaborative. • Everything is connected to everything
• A digital mindset can be defined as else. In an ecosystem, all components
personality traits or behavioral interact with each other to ensure that the
dispositions that are not directly system is sustainable, of which any
observable and significantly structure outside interference may result in an
and channel thinking, feeling and acting imbalance and deterioration of the
in the social and instrumental contexts of system.
digital transformation. • Everything changes. People must
rethink their relationship with the
Researching and Evaluating the Web: environment through relevant
Common Credible URL`s technologies for positive changes.
✓ .gov • Everything must go somewhere. Since
✓ .edu wastes may go back to one's own
✓ .org backyard in some other forms, it is
✓ .biz important to become aware of the
✓ .com different types of waste, classify and
✓ .net segregate those that are toxic and
potentially hazardous.
• Ours is a finite earth. Awareness of
the earth's limited resources leads to
a conscious effort to change one's
attitude and initiative to recycle them.
• Nature is beautiful and we are
stewards of God's creation, Being the
most intelligent and being gifted with
reason, humans are capable of
controlling and taking care of the creation
to their own advantage.

GREEN SCHOOL
• Green School has clean, healthy,
protective, and green surroundings.
• The Green School is visualized as a
school guided by the principles of
environmental sustainability.

A Green School adheres to the following

precepts:
• Learning about the environment. It
focuses mainly on acquisition of
knowledge and understanding of the
surroundings and related issues.
• Learning through the environment. It
refers to the processes of learning while
being engaged with environment inside
and outside the classroom.
• Learning for the environment. It aims
at developing an informed response and
responsibility towards the environment
beyond acquisition of skills and
knowledge.

Dark Green School Program: Philippine

Environmental Perspective:
• A Dark Green school (DGS) is a school
that delivers Environmental Education
through assimilation of the environmental
philosophy by the students in formal
lessons, as well as in activities.