The Literacy Project
Note: Have advice to share or something to add? Please email us!
Research indicates that as many as 1 in 5 high school graduates are functionally illiterate.
The best skill we can improve in our students to ensure success is improved reading and writing. Regardless of their career choice, reading and writing will be essential.
The good news – Law and Public Safety Programs can make a significant impact with methods that easily integrate into what we are already doing.
Note – if you have suggestions, resources or lessons that support literacy, please email us at info@lapsenetwork.org
The 3 R’s
Reading
Reading is the anchor. Without reading our students will not succeed. The more we can get them to read, the stronger they will get. We have the leverage of INTEREST. We can trick our students into reading! We have cool stuff to read!
W(R)iting
Writing builds on reading. It allows the student to become a participant by expressing themselves. It is also critical for success in all LPS careers. Our leverage is using real world skills like report writing to build their skills.
Research
Combines reading and writing, developing competencies that will grow students faster than anything else. We start easy with open response assessments (think short essay). We can lead them to the ability to do more advanced skills like create their own website about topics they love (serial killers, forensics, SWAT).
Originally Shown at ACTE Vision 2020.
Bait and Switch: Improving Literacy in LPS Classrooms
Getting students to read and write better is critical to their success in school and careers. In CTE we have a unique angle in that we already have student interest. Learn how to leverage that interest to improve student literacy. Learn how to use industry required writing, such as police reports, to improve student skills. See how industry related reading materials such as magazines can be used to build reading level. Finally, see how these can be combined to have students read novels and reflect what they have read. Other literacy opportunities specific to Law and Public Safety will be explored such as mock trials and case analysis.
Resources
Free Online Magazines and Journals
Our students have interest in our area. Industry magazines and journals are a great place to start reading programs. The articles tend to be short, which is what students look at first. Simply reading regularly, improves reading skills. Adding reading activities that makes them stop and process what they are reading dramatically improves reading skills over time.
Click Here to see a good list
Novels, Books, & Others Reading
Once you have them reading shorter material, you can increase their material to books. If you teach less at-risk levels, you can start books earlier. Look for books that hold attention, chapters that stand on their own (in case they miss a week), and read well.
Click Here to see some suggestions
Implementing Reading and Writing Methods into the Classroom
Adding literacy plans to your classroom will not take up much, if any time. Your schedule is tight already. We want to give you the resources to raise student skills that fit into your existing unit plans.
Click Here to see how this is done
Links
CTE’s Role in Adolescent Literacy from ACTE – click here
Los Angeles Unified School District has great literacy strategies – click here
Seven Literacy Strategies That Work from Educational Leadership – click here
Literacy Skills in Career and Technical Education Classes from Edtopia – click here
Thinkport Education has Graphical Organizers you can download and use – click here
Want to go DEEP? Read SREB’s Literacy Across the Curriculum – click here
Frayer Model Flashcards – click here