Comparing LIteracy Definitions

In comparing definitions of Literacy I thought the easiest way was to put them all together and look at them.

1.) Literacy is more than the standard definition of knowing how to read and write. It is important for a literate person to realize what the main concepts are incorporated into reading and writing. These concepts include comprehension, fluency, phonics, vocabulary, phonemic awareness, decoding, spelling, writing, and many more. If a student is struggling in one of these aspects then they may have trouble advancing in the skill of reading or writing.

2.) When asked for the definition of literacy I think the majority of people asked would say it has to do with reading and writing. I typed Literacy into Google and it gave the same definition. I agree that literacy is the ability to read and write, but it is much more than that. It is also the processes involved in reading and writing and the things you can do with each. such as communicating through both words and a written form. The UNESCO gave a definition i found to be much more appropriate. They defined literacy as "ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society."

3.) I think we can safely assume that most people would define literacy as the ability to read and write. I also think that we (everyone in TE 402) would agree that there's so much more to it than that but it's hard to put into words. Literacy is not only the ability to read and write but it's the ability to communicate an idea overall whether it be reading out loud, giving a speech, or writing a story. There's also concepts of print, book genres, morphology, phonological awareness,fluency, vocabulary, spelling, sight words and a plethora of other aspects to literacy. It's such a complex thing. To me, being literate is to be aware and recognize each aspect I just listed. If one excels at each, they are sure to be considered literate without a doubt.

4.) If you had asked me before I took TE 301 this past summer (which, I would never recommend anybody doing over the summer term, but I digress...) I would imagine that my definition of literacy would have been invariably different than the one I have now. While I would still say that I think literacy is the ability to perform the acts of reading and writing I would also now expand my definition to include the substructures of each of these categories that I learned about in that previous class. I would say that under each of these headings I would include the sub topics of genre, concepts of print, phonological awareness, morphology, motivation and vocabulary. Under reading specifically I would include comprehension and fluency. If I had to make a definitive one-sentence definition of the term literacy, however, I would probably say that literacy is the ability to read and write which comes with very specific substructural components assigned in regards to be reading and writing respectively.

5.) Literacy is much more than simply reading and writing. Literacy is the basis for all content area learning and without a strong understanding of literacy and what it includes, content area learning is very difficult. There are many aspects of literacy and outside factors that effect literacy learning. Sound letter relationships, morphology, phonological awareness, concepts of print, and genre knowledge are all necessary aspects of beginning to learn to read. Outside factors such as motivation, home life, access to literature, and ability all play a role in literacy learning as well. Literacy is being able to read, write, understand, and comprehend different genres of literature in a school setting as well as in your day-to-day life outside of a school.

After looking at all of them including my own and comparing they are all very similar. We all agreed that Literacy is defined as writing and reading but that we each know and see it as so much more. A lot of people included great ideas such as things outside of writing and reading that effect ones relationship with it. I found this very interesting seeing that outside factors played a role in the definition but it so does! Everyone’s definitions also included factors within literacy such as concepts of prints, sound letter relationships, morphology, phonological awareness, and so much more. I believe our definitions are so similar because of our inner teachers and experiences that we have had with literacy.