Opportunities to sharpen our literacy skills are all around us. Unfortunately, due to a variety of reasons (lack of support/resources at home, irrelevant curriculum, etc.) students can often be disengaged with literacy learning early in life. Once that foundation is shaken, it is tough to rebuild and instill the skills, confidence, and attitude necessary to be successful in the journey to be literate.

There is a huge disconnect. However, our students explore language every day—we must make them aware of it, and show them how their knowledge and informal language are not too far distant from the formal academic knowledge required in today’s classrooms. Teachers and the outside learning community can instill a love for literacy if they focus on clarity of learning, opportunity, value, and enhancement of lessons. With “L.O.V.E.” teachers, parents and students can get students to see the relevancy of literacy skills beyond their use for academic purposes.

What is L.O.V.E.?

Learning- Many parents lack knowledge on the academic skills required of today’s students as it relates to literacy.  Educators often teach skills in isolation or at a “surface” level.  Parents and teachers oftentimes try to spark the passion of literacy learning too late for some students and not early enough for others.  It boils downs to “do you know the basic skills that your students (or children) need to learn?” Literacy learning must include a combination of motivation and innovative repetition of skills.  Learning should always be a chance to fine-tune knowledge. The challenge is that it must be done in a manner that resonates with students (and parents in order to be able to support). Most important, learning should contain a variety of opportunities to explore concepts- new and old.

Opportunity- Students need the opportunity to transcend and explore the world and their surroundings. A strong literacy foundation promotes exposure to additional opportunities in education.  A literate child is given the opportunity to be exposed to creative works, and is capable of producing and using their skill set to work in many different subjects and tasks. The improvement of literacy skills always presents a learning opportunity (as literacy learning is truly complex).  When building a literacy foundation, we should be in search of learning opportunities and resources that are simple to implement and put into practice.  Improving student literacy and the process of “why” we read, write, and communicate is a learning opportunity in itself.

Valued- Students will retain information that is valued and applicable. Learning new literary skills must be an experience in that students can have some ownership. Making connections to their experiences and the importance of the skills they are learning is essential.  Literacy should be a valued “stepping stone” to a vast field of knowledge in other content areas. Not only should the academic value of literacy skills be taught, but the manner in which literacy accompanies societal tasks and processes is how true value is expressed.

Enhanced- Lessons and skills related to reading and writing should always offer room to further explore. They should enhance and leave room to extend steps higher for students to grow, reach, and explore at another time. At times, it will be necessary for open-ended tasks to be encouraged in literacy learning. However, skills should never be introduced solely in isolation without a clear path of guiding students to a place where they are motivated to improve.

Importance of Incorporating L.O.V.E.

This post stems from the book that I wrote for teachers and parents a few years ago, titled “29 Days to L.O.V.E. Literacy”.  It was written with the hopes of building a world of readers, writers, and thinkers who appreciate literacy in all forms, and respect the importance of such a valuable skill.  We must move beyond the process of sharing with students “how to read” (although very important), and share the value of “why to read”.

See more information on “29 Days to L.O.V.E. Literacy” and a FREE resource with activities.