TEACHING READING AND WRITING SKILLS

CHRISTOPHER F. TORIO

Reading and writing skills allow students to seek out information, explore subjects in-depth and gain a deeper understanding of the world around them. When they cannot read well, they become discouraged and frustrated by school. This might result in high school drop outs, poor performance on standardized tests, increased truancy and other negative reactions, all of which can have major and long lasting repercussions.

By teaching students to communicate effectively, you help create engaged students who learn to love the act of learning. It is important to think about your strategies for teaching reading and teaching literacy in your classroom.

Literacy skills may be the focus in language arts classes, but they are equally necessary for math, science, art, music, and any other course work. Students that cannot understand the material in a textbook fall behind, which is particularly problematic in classes with information dense textbooks like science (Nadine Bryce, 2016). This helps science teachers overcome the hurdle of student achievement when blocked by low literacy levels, disorganized texts and high level vocabulary. The ability to absorb and understand content is an essential skill for every student, in every class. This makes incorporating literacy skills into every classroom necessary.

The challenge facing teachers is incorporating literacy skills into every lesson plan in a way that makes sense. For math classes, word problems and practical math applications use reading and writing skills for problem solving. In science classes, lab reports should be detail oriented and contain step-bystep processes. With art, a picture can say a thousand words, but make sure students can verbalize or write down their reactions to what they create or see. By bringing literacy into every classroom, students receive added exposure and learn that reading is an essential life skill.

The ability to communicate clearly and effectively forms the foundation of modern life. Students that can’t read effectively fail to grasp important concepts, score poorly on tests and ultimately, fail to meet educational milest ones.

While all aspects of literacy are critical to eventual success, for most students, the process starts with reading skills. These skills form the foundation for all other learning. These put the responsibility for teaching reading and literacy skills on the backs of all teachers, not just language arts instructors.

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The author is Teacher II (Senior High School) at Diosdado Macapagal High School, Mexico, Pampanga