The Missouri Reader Vol. 36, Issue 1 | Page 53

of the other endless possibilities. Educators can
no longer continue to view literacy as merely the
ability to read and write, but rather the ability to
understand the world.
The difficulty middle and high school students
face when asked to read and comprehend a text
usually does not come from their inability to
decode words. It comes, instead, from the
assumption that once a student surpasses the
primary grades, he no longer needs direct
instruction on how to select, read, and
comprehend texts. As teachers, we expect
students who have the ability to read to
effortlessly be able to understand any text set
before them. However, academic reading differs
quite dramatically from the basic story books
with which we teach students to read; in almost
every way—language, plot, structure,
organization, voice, length, density. Older
students struggle in literacy because they 1) did
not master fundamentals of reading (phonics) 2)
never progressed in fluency and comprehension
3) have not continued to develop their vocabulary
for more advanced texts 4) are unable to
synthesize/summarize information, draw
conclusions, make generalizations, or make
connections from text to schema (Farber, 1999,
p. 3). To counteract this current trend, teachers
in all content areas must create an early context
for literacy in the middle and hig h school
classroom.

Planning to Create an Early Context
for Literacy
Planning to create a strong literacy context in
the classroom should begin during the summer
long before students enter the classroom. Avoid
experiencing the ―summer setback‖ by taking a
proactive approach to the upcoming school year.
Begin in early June by setting a reading goal,
exploring local summer reading
groups/programs, and subscribing to young adult
magazine(s). During the month of July, ask for
class lists and locate student files to become
familiar with any learning disabilities students
may have. It is a good idea to make initial contact

with students/parents by sending an introductory
letter and family literacy survey. A second
opportunity for contact can be attained by
delivering books and reading lists to families,
where you can present them with information on
online classroom blogspots and interactive
educational opportunities such as ―Journey
North;‖ a free ―global study of wildlife migration
and seasonal change[, in which] K-12 students
share their observations with classmates across
North America‖ (Smith, 2011, 3). There are
endless opportunities to collaborate with local
summer reading programs, such as Missouri‘s
―One World, Many Stories,‖ and cooperate with
Food Banks to distribute free books to lowincome families. Once August arrives, the
proactive teacher will be busy preparing an
eclectic and diverse classroom library, as well as
vocabulary for the classroom word wall.
Selecting a read-aloud for the first day of class is
also an inviting way to introduce students to the
strong emphasis on literacy in the classroom.
Middle and high school students secretly love
read-alouds, and yet, they are being deprived of
them. The benefits of read-alouds are abounding
and can easily be seen by utilizing a book such as
Dr. Seuss‘s The Lorax in the middle or high school
classroom. The vocabulary and ideas one could
teach implicitly through an oral reading of Dr.
Seuss‘s The Lorax include theme, persuasion, and
literary theory/criticism. The vocabulary one
could teach explicitly would be assonance,
consonance, rhyme (various types), repetition,
symbolism, and allegory. All examples would
come directly from the text—implicit instruction
would use ideas formed by words; explicit
instruction would use the words themselves.
Begin by having students ―re-tell‖ the story in
their own words using the world‘s current
situation (especially controversial issues such as
the economy) to make connections. Then, have
them take the last page from The Lorax and use it
as a springboard for their own writing. Ask
students to tell what happened to the last of the
Truffula seeds while mimicking Geisel‘s rhyme
scheme, meter, and use of nonsense words.
© The Missouri Reader, 36 (1) p.53