Welcome
Welcome to my website page where I advocate for choice-reading opportunities in schools. On this page you will find:
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A Little Bit About Me
The easiest way to get a hold of me is via e-mail: [email protected]. You can also call me at Warman High School (306) 933-2377
I graduated from the U of S in 2005 with a B.A. in Studio Art and a B.Ed degree. I returned in 2016 to work on my Master's in Curriculum Studies. I am the mother of two amazing children; I'm an artist; I love to read, write, and travel. |
Book Resources
My Classroom Library
I believe choice-reading is extremely important in developing lifelong readers; therefore, I have collected numerous books for my classroom library so that my students have great books at their fingertips. My library is diverse; books cover a multitude of topics including fantasy and mystery, love, friendship, family relationships, death & dying, LGBTQ, and the classics. In addition there are also non-fiction books that explore various individuals' life stories, scientific research, history, spirituality, and travel. I encourage parents to talk to their children about what their children are reading. I do not censor books, and instead advise students that if they don't like a particular book to choose a different one. I try and keep my classroom library list up to date (see below) and have modelled the categories after Penny Kittle's Classroom Library List. |
Book-talks
Watch the video below to see my sample book-talk. Parents and Guardians are welcome to come and give book talks in their child's class. |
The Public Library
One of the awesome things about Canada is it's library system. Borrowing books is free, and there are books for everybody: kids, teenagers, adults, multi-language books. If you do not have a library card, please look into getting one at your local library. The Wheatland Regional Library is Warman's local library; additionally there are multiple libraries in Saskatoon if you are looking for even more selection. All you typically need to sign up is one piece of identification and proof of address (a bill of some kind usually works). Kids can get their own library cards too! Library sign up information is available in many different languages at settlement.org. Picture books
Picture books can be an incredible way to incorporate lessons on social justice in elementary, middle years, and secondary classrooms. They are a great way to expose students to various landscapes, cultures, and peoples across Canada and the World. |
Settlement Workers in Schools. (2016). Library Information Forms in Various Languages. "New To Canada? Join the library. It's Free!" Retrieved from http://www.settlement.org/sys/faqs_detail.asp?faq_id=4000638
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The following Canadian picture books are referenced on numerous occasions in Johnston & Bainbridge's (2013) book Reading Diversity through Canadian Picture Books. These books provide an excellent starting place for teachers interested in expanding their classroom library with the hopes of teaching social justice lessons.
Caribou Song by Tomson Highway (author) and John Romough (Illustrator) - Topic: Cree life in northern Manitoba (dual language book)
Shi-shi-etko by Nicola Campbell (author) and Kim LaFave (Illustrator) Topic: Residential Schools
Two Pairs of Shoes by Esther Sanderson (author) and David Beyer (Illustrator) Topic: Belonging to two cultures
Mom and Mum are Getting Married! by Ken Setterington (author) and Alice Priestley (Illustrator) Topic: LGBTQ Marriage
Asha's Mums by Rosamund Elwin & Michele Paulse (authors) and Dawn Lee (Illustrator) Topic: Normalizing LGBTQ families
From Far Away by Robert Munsch & Sasoussan Askar (authors) and Michael Martchenko (Illustrator) Topic: Immigrating to Canada
Flags by Maxine Trottier (author) and Paul Morin (Illustrator) Topic: Discrimination against Japanese families during WWII
Tiger Flowers by Patricia Quinlan (author) and Janet Wilson (Illustrator) Topic: AIDS
Caribou Song by Tomson Highway (author) and John Romough (Illustrator) - Topic: Cree life in northern Manitoba (dual language book)
Shi-shi-etko by Nicola Campbell (author) and Kim LaFave (Illustrator) Topic: Residential Schools
Two Pairs of Shoes by Esther Sanderson (author) and David Beyer (Illustrator) Topic: Belonging to two cultures
Mom and Mum are Getting Married! by Ken Setterington (author) and Alice Priestley (Illustrator) Topic: LGBTQ Marriage
Asha's Mums by Rosamund Elwin & Michele Paulse (authors) and Dawn Lee (Illustrator) Topic: Normalizing LGBTQ families
From Far Away by Robert Munsch & Sasoussan Askar (authors) and Michael Martchenko (Illustrator) Topic: Immigrating to Canada
Flags by Maxine Trottier (author) and Paul Morin (Illustrator) Topic: Discrimination against Japanese families during WWII
Tiger Flowers by Patricia Quinlan (author) and Janet Wilson (Illustrator) Topic: AIDS
Additional Picture Book Recommendations
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The Giving Tree by Leah Dorion is a dual language book that tells a traditional Metis story in both English and Michif.
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A Quick Guide to Reading Theories & Models
About Reading
Reading is an elusive skill. There is no one right way to learn how to read and strengthen one’s reading ability; instead, there are various theories and models. What works for one individual does not always work for another. Whether or not they are aware of it, these theories and models often drive parents’ and teachers’ approaches to reading instruction. Illustrated above is my visual interpretation of the various reading theories and models discussed in Tracey and Morrow’s (2017) book, Lenses on Reading. My pedagogical approach reflects unfoldment underpinnings: I believe that students who are provided with choice reading experiences will be more engaged, have more aesthetic (fun) reading experiences, and that this will heighten their chances of becoming better, fluent, lifelong, readers.
Reading is an elusive skill. There is no one right way to learn how to read and strengthen one’s reading ability; instead, there are various theories and models. What works for one individual does not always work for another. Whether or not they are aware of it, these theories and models often drive parents’ and teachers’ approaches to reading instruction. Illustrated above is my visual interpretation of the various reading theories and models discussed in Tracey and Morrow’s (2017) book, Lenses on Reading. My pedagogical approach reflects unfoldment underpinnings: I believe that students who are provided with choice reading experiences will be more engaged, have more aesthetic (fun) reading experiences, and that this will heighten their chances of becoming better, fluent, lifelong, readers.
Physiological and Affective Lenses
Research supports the fact that students who feel safe, maintain healthy diets, exercise regularly, consistently have 8-9 hour sleeps, feel mentally and emotionally healthy, and who have good working relationships with their teachers will likely do better than their peers who are lacking in one or more of these areas.
Research supports the fact that students who feel safe, maintain healthy diets, exercise regularly, consistently have 8-9 hour sleeps, feel mentally and emotionally healthy, and who have good working relationships with their teachers will likely do better than their peers who are lacking in one or more of these areas.
Structuralism
A key component of the models illustrated is that students must clearly attach particular sounds to corresponding letters and, eventually, clusters of letters and words. At first, much of the mind’s energy is expended on translating letters to sounds and words to individual word meaning – this takes up a lot of the short-term memory – which means there is less energy to expend on extracting the larger sentence’s meaning. However, as words become stored in long-term memory, people are able to extract meaning from whole sentences at a time. Structurlaism theories and models reflect the ideology that if a person can’t read, the reading process should be broken down into its basic components so that individuals can focus in on particular tasks and improve.
A key component of the models illustrated is that students must clearly attach particular sounds to corresponding letters and, eventually, clusters of letters and words. At first, much of the mind’s energy is expended on translating letters to sounds and words to individual word meaning – this takes up a lot of the short-term memory – which means there is less energy to expend on extracting the larger sentence’s meaning. However, as words become stored in long-term memory, people are able to extract meaning from whole sentences at a time. Structurlaism theories and models reflect the ideology that if a person can’t read, the reading process should be broken down into its basic components so that individuals can focus in on particular tasks and improve.
Associationism
The theories and models in this neighborhood place emphasis on the importance of making connections in the reading process. Classical conditioning theory suggests that if an individual’s reading experiences are associated with positive feelings and outcomes than those individuals will read more because they enjoy it (and become better readers as a result of all that extra reading practice). Connectionism as a theory suggests that if an individual starts reading at a level that is easy for him/her and progresses to more challenging levels one step at a time s/he is bound to improve. Engrained in several theories under the associationism umbrella is also the idea that if a person can read ________ (logos, videogames, the weather, the environment, pictures, etc.) this can be transferred to one’s ability to read text.
The theories and models in this neighborhood place emphasis on the importance of making connections in the reading process. Classical conditioning theory suggests that if an individual’s reading experiences are associated with positive feelings and outcomes than those individuals will read more because they enjoy it (and become better readers as a result of all that extra reading practice). Connectionism as a theory suggests that if an individual starts reading at a level that is easy for him/her and progresses to more challenging levels one step at a time s/he is bound to improve. Engrained in several theories under the associationism umbrella is also the idea that if a person can read ________ (logos, videogames, the weather, the environment, pictures, etc.) this can be transferred to one’s ability to read text.
Unfoldment
Engrained in its ideology is that reading is a natural process and that individuals who have choice in their reading experiences have more authentic, positive, experiences with literature (and thus are more likely to continue reading throughout their lives). These theories and models are also quite constructivist in nature (meaning readers are always making meaning from what they read).
Engrained in its ideology is that reading is a natural process and that individuals who have choice in their reading experiences have more authentic, positive, experiences with literature (and thus are more likely to continue reading throughout their lives). These theories and models are also quite constructivist in nature (meaning readers are always making meaning from what they read).
References
Tracey, D. H., & Morrow, L. M. (2017). Lenses on reading: An introduction to theories and Models (3rd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
Tracey, D. H., & Morrow, L. M. (2017). Lenses on reading: An introduction to theories and Models (3rd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
Research Articles and Corresponding Classroom Assignment Ideas (in blue)
Early Literacy |
Middle & High School Literacy |
Using Photo-Narration to Support all Learners by B. Marinak, J. Strickland, & J. Keat
The Language Experience Approach (LEA) is when teachers help children create text from their own experiences. In this way, children begin to understand that words that are spoken can also be written, and vice versa. In this project, the professors and teachers worked with six different classes of preschool students from various backgrounds. Teachers gave students cameras and asked them to photograph images from their daily lives. also use photographs to extend this practice. The children worked one-on-one with their teachers; they chose three of their favourite photographs and the teacher wrote down, verbatim, what children had to say about the photographs they selected. Teachers felt that the activity empowered the students and that it also strengthened their connection to them. My Photo-Narration Exercise Example:
Developing Critical Literacy Skills through Using the Environment as Text by J. Chambers and C. Radbourne
The authors of this study developed a program for grades two and six students where students 'read' the physical environment around them; the hope was that this would help boost their critical literacy skills. In an effort to decolonize education, Aboriginal teachings regarding the environment were a key part of this program. The theory behind the study was grounded in ecosocial theory - in plainsman's terms the interconnectedness of place and people. Chambers and Radbourne write about how humans' material impact on place affects one's culture and one's understanding of oneself. Chambers and Radbourne state that there is a gap between Indigenous students and non-Indigenous students and expound on this that education was historically used to assimilate Indigenous peoples and tended to divorce Indigenous peoples from their traditional ways of knowing. Based on their experiential learning, students were able to make connections, infer, question, visualize, and synthesize - all skills that teachers want students to do in the classroom - and transfer those skills to text literacy. The inclusion of the Indigenous teachings and perspectives also positively impacted Indigenous students: they had higher attendance that in previous years and feedback to the authors was that students had a better sense of belonging at school. Creating Joy: Adolescents Writing Poetry with Young Children by R. Dickson
Inspired by an article he read about students writing with nursing home patients, Dickson tries the same activity with his ninth grade students. While rewarding, it was tough work and he doesn't want to repeat the exercise the next year. He then gets the idea to have his students partner with three and four-year-old children to write poetry. It is a big success since the three and four-year-olds have little sense of self-criticism and are eager for their older partners to read their work to the class in circle time. Assignment Idea: Team up a high school class with an elementary class and have them co-author a children's book.
My daughter and I tried out this assignment. Though it started out great, we encountered a few challenges together. My learnings are as follows:
Picture Book Analysis Assignment: Use this picture book analysis guide (that the Davis School District published) to have students analyze a picture book. Model analyzing one picture book as a class before asking students to read picture books of their choice and having them analyze a book each using this handout.
Why Tell Stories by J. Lockett & R. Jones
Storytelling is a valuable craft that enhances children's' speaking, listening, and writing skills. In addition, it teaches children about other cultures and worlds they may not have experienced or be aware of. The authors note that storytelling is a meaningful way to convey information in a memorable way without requiring children to memorize information. Exploring Young Children's Patterns of Image Use in Picturebooks by K. Feathers and P. Arya
This study concerns how children use images to read, and is grounded in constructivist theory, which assumes that the act of reading is a constant process of meaning-making. The authors believe that the pictures carry their own meaning beyond just illustrating the words of the text, and that picture books are a "semiotic space". In previous studies, eye-tracking has been used to analyze how children oscillate between reading the text and the illustrations in picture books. As children get older, they begin to focus more on print than on the images. This study was conducted with six third grade students and the researchers found that the kids looked at images 27.5% of the time for pre-reading purposes, 8.1% of the time during reading to help them understand the meaning of the words, and 64.4% of the time after reading, to confirm meaning. When images were repeated throughout the picture book (such as a landscape with a house on it), children gazed less at those particular details and focused on other parts it instead, and the researchers concluded that children's gazes are not random, but that they are seeking new, relevant, information from the illustrations in picture books (characters and objects). The implications of the study are that children should be explicitly taught to read illustrations, the order in which illustrations are laid out, and the format of picture books. Unlocking the Door: Is Parents' Reading to Children the Key to Early Literacy Development by L. Phillips, S. Norris, & J. Anderson
Phillips and Anderson explore parent-child shared reading to analyze what aspects nurture reading skills in young children. 25 middle class parents were videotaped reading to their four-year-old children. Not surprisingly, children focused on the illustrations versus the printed words; the authors point out that this correlates to other studies that found that shared reading experiences enhance children's oral speaking development but not their writing abilities. The authors go on to question whether shared-reading enhances literacy skills and state that it doesn't. They support this point by summarizing a variety of studies that have found that children best develop literacy skills from being explicitly taught about the alphabet and the sounds each letter makes, by writing, and who are taught pre-reading skills (such as accessing prior-knowledge prior to reading a particular text). Try This: Visit educator, Miranda Morstad's, website to review her great ideas for parents on how to help their children enjoy reading and become better at it.
Understanding Reading by F. Smith
Frank Smith deconstructs the act of reading to it's most basic components and writes that essentially reading can be defined as a natural activity in which people use their senses to make meaning from the world surrounding them. He extrapolates that kids read facial expressions from an early age, they read the weather, traffic, etc., and that they learn to read text fairly easily so long as people don't tell them they're 'wrong' when they are learning to read. Two key factors determine one's ability to read texts: prior knowledge and the ability to make predictions. How short and long term memory works, the physiology of reading, and how people decode text is also discussed. Smith writes that people get better at reading by reading, and that teaching kids phonics, etc., is not really that helpful. Frank effectively points out that anyone can be a 'bad' reader if the text is too difficult for them (they may lack the required prior knowledge to understand it); because readers are focusing on understanding each of the words one at a time they cannot take in the sentence's whole meaning. The reader's familiarity with various texts also impacts their ability to read it; for example, newspapers, novels, and internet sites have very different formats. If one knows how these materials are formatted then s/he can read it and extrapolate meaning much faster than by one who is unfamiliar with the layout. Class analysis activity: to examine several different pieces of writing in one genre and ask "what do I notice" about what is similar and what is different (for example, compare two different newspapers from different locations).
The Power of Engaged Reading by J. Diakiw
Diakiw argues that reading is essentially a determinant of one's success in life. He cites several studies that help prove his point: in Arizona the government looks at students' grade four reading scores to predict how many prison cells they will need to build in the future. One study has shown that high school students with high reading level scores are more likely to attend university while another has concluded that they are more likely to attain higher paying jobs than their fellow counterparts. Being an engaged reader, he argues, is the key to success in one's life. Diakiw states many of the positives of reading: readers are more empathetic, they experience a wide range of emotions while reading, and they have more self-esteem. Try this: Read over infographic (above) and review the research it is based on (here) and discuss these topics with kids. Ask kids whether they believe the research is valid and why/why not.
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Reimagining Reading: Creating a Classroom Culture that Embraces Independent Choice Reading by K. Dickerson
Inspired by Nancy Atwell's The Reading Zone Katie Dickerson, a fairly new English teacher, decides to include sustained silent reading (SSR) in her classes several days a week. Students get to pick the books they read and she reads with them. Dickerson collects data on her students' reading habits and also asks them to complete anonymous surveys at the end of the term where they can give her feedback regarding this part of the class. Her conclusion is that choice reading has positively impacted students; students' reading levels went up (on average) between one and three grades and student said they really enjoyed the choice reading time in her class. "What's the Catch?" Providing Reading Choice in a High School Classroom by D. Morgan & C. Wagner
Faced with students who 'fake' read their way through novel studies, Chris, a high school English teacher, decided to try implementing a choice reading unit to try and engage students in reading. Chris taught about the elements of the novel via mini-lessons on topics such as plot, point-of-view, characterization, etc. Following his mini-lessons he asked students to write in their journals and conferred one-on-one with them. In both cases he required them to connect their learning to the books they were reading. Because there were no tests or book reports at the end of their unit, students were more open to reading longer, more challenging, works. Almost half of his students read more than the one book during the unit. The students enjoyed the unit, and one reluctant reader even became a regular reader. Assignment Idea: Have students choose novels they want to read and have them respond to it in a notebook (see attempt #1 below).
Reflection: I found notebook #1 too open-ended. Though I enjoyed the creativity I wasn't sure students would embrace this approach and might worry too much about whether or not they were doing it correctly. Similar to how Chris (Morgan & Wagner, 2012) structured his choice reading unit around teaching the elements of the novel, I created my own choice-novel assignment that incorporates mentor texts, and includes specific writing prompts for students to respond to in their notebooks (see notebook #2 below).
Book Love by Penny Kittle
Penny Kittle is passionate about reading and writing alongside her students. In Book Love she brings up the problem of fake readers in schools who are more about playing the game of passing than really getting anything out of their education. With texts being taught that are often above a student's ability to comprehend it's no surprise they don't learn to love reading in schools. This is why, she stresses, students must be supported in choice reading. When it comes to both reading and writing, stamina is of the utmost importance. College requires it, so spoon-feeding students answers only creates apathetic students. A valuable lesson is leading them to books they love and requiring students to read voluminously: this engages them in reading and also prepares them for life after high school. Kittle maintains a large classroom library from which she book-talks books daily, uses books as mentor texts to help students deconstruct the writing craft, Kittle writes alongside her students so they can see her struggle, and she confers with her students. An inspirational read, I couldn't help but visit her website here; it's a gathering spot for seeds of inspiration. Class activity: I can survey my students using Penny Kittle's Reading and Writing Surveys at both the beginning and at the end of the year so I can better understand my students' reading and writing habits.
Class activity: read for ten minutes and have students count how many pages they read. 1. Have them count up the amount of words on one page and x 10. 2. Take that number and times it by 365 (days of the year). 3. Ask students how they think reading that many words would affect them. My Example: I read Rainbow Rowell's book, Eleanor & Park, for ten minutes, which resulted in me reading ten pages. On one page there were 408 words (x 10 pages = approximately 4080 words over the ten pages that I read). Over the course of a year I calculated that reading just ten minutes a day would result in me reading 1, 489, 200 words! Reading Reasons by Kelly Gallagher
A how-to book of sorts, Gallagher's Reading Reasons lists the nine key reasons he tells kids they should care about becoming readers and includes mini-lessons on how he teaches them about each of these. In his own words the reasons are:
Try this: Create a powerpoint with imaginary words (such as Gallagher's example below) and see if students can come up with the word's definition from the context provided in the sentence.
Try this: Gallagher recommends writing alongside interesting infographics to inspire great writing. Many of the statistics he mentions are American. To find Canadian statistics infographics, click on Statistics Canada's link below and have students free-write alongside one of these.
The Reading Zone by Nancy Atwell
Renowned teacher Nancy Atwell is a longtime advocate for choice reading in the classroom. She says that all students will succeed as readers if they are given the space to choice read. She writes that having a classroom library is a must and that it is important to book-talk books so students can identify ones that they would like to read. A huge problem in high schools today, she argues, is that students never get into 'the flow' of reading because they are constantly required to answer chapter questions that prove they've read the chapter, which interrupts their stream of thought. Instead of this approach, Atwell conducts readers' workshops where she discusses various topics related to the novel and she later confers with her students about the books they are reading to see whether or not she needs to reteach a particular concept. She groups books into vacation, just right, and challenge categories and tries to meet students where they are and then nudge them to more difficult readings. Sample conferring questions and writing prompts are included to help provide a model for teachers to adopt in their own practices. Three Myths About Reading Levels and Why You Shouldn't Fall for Them... by P. Schwanenflugel and N. Knapp
Various assessments have historically been used by psychologists to assign reading levels to different reading materials; for example, a book that scores 6.2 indicates that it is written at the beginning of the sixth grade level. This is helpful in that students' reading levels can also be assessed; thus, a student who scores 4.1 on a reading test would probably have difficulty with the book that is rated at 6.2. Unfortunately, reading level assessments are not an exact science and vary greatly; depending on the test, one book may score up to three different grade levels. The same applies to assessing students' reading levels. The idea that a students should restrict their readings to materials that match their reading levels is incorrect. Readability is greatly impacted by a reader's prior knowledge and by the reader's personal interest in reading the book. Reading below one's reading level helps a reader become more fluent in reading while reading more difficult literature helps one grow as a reader. Teachers should support students become better readers by feeding them a steady diet of choice reading and allowing them to abandon texts that they find too difficult or lack interest in. As a high school teacher, I am not very familiar with scoring literature and reading levels. To get acquainted with this I found a readability checker and pasted in a random paragraph from To Kill a Mockingbird, a typical grade 11 book in the Saskatchewan curriculum. The test averaged all of the following calculations out (they ranged from eight grade to eleventh grade) and said that this was a '9th grade' book. I can see for myself how it's more interesting than scientific.
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Canadian Reading Reports
Kids and Family Reading Report: Canadian Edition
Scholastic Canada commissioned a 2017 report regarding Canadian readers aged 0-5 and 6-17. The report is divided into five categories: the state of kids & reading in Canada, what Canadian kids and parents want in books, reading aloud, reading in Canadian schools, and summer reading. The methodology the study employed and the demographics of the study are also described. The main findings of the report are as follows:
Scholastic Canada commissioned a 2017 report regarding Canadian readers aged 0-5 and 6-17. The report is divided into five categories: the state of kids & reading in Canada, what Canadian kids and parents want in books, reading aloud, reading in Canadian schools, and summer reading. The methodology the study employed and the demographics of the study are also described. The main findings of the report are as follows:
- The majority of kids like reading and feel a sense of accomplishment through reading.
- Parents' reading habits are correlated to their kids' reading habits
- As kids get older and start participating in more activities they read less
- While kids' favourite books are ones that they have selected themselves, over half of kids have trouble selecting books - something most parents are not aware of. Kids value their parents' and teachers' book recommendations.
- The majority of young kids enjoy having their parents read aloud to them , and describe it as a bonding experience (see info-graphic from the study, right).
- Only 65% of kids say they have time to read independently (choice-read) in class. Kids who do get time to choice-read in class time read, on average, fifteen more books per year than their peers who are not given time to read in class (see slide, right).
- Only a third of parents are aware of the 'summer slide', which is when kids lose some of their academic skills over the summer, but the majority of parents know that reading over the summer helps their kids academically.
Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) Provincial Elementary School Report: Results of the 2015-2016 Assessment of Reading, Writing, and Mathematics, Primary Division (Grades 1-3) and Junior Division (Grades 4-6)
Ontario students from grades 1-3 and 4-6 were surveyed in regards to reading, writing, and mathematics. These surveys are done annually, and thus the 2015-2016 results have been compared to several preceding years to inform parents, teachers, and administrators as to what trends are developing in regards to students' performances in these subjects. Teachers and principals also partake in the survey, and connections can be drawn between their evolving practices in their schools and student achievement. |
Historica Canada: Literacy
A large national survey on adult Canadians' literacy levels was conducted in 1989 by Statistics Canada (see results, right). Due to the sample group, the test was not completely accurate. Canadians have more recently been evaluated as having a reading population where 15% are level 1 readers and 27% are level 2 readers. The literacy level descriptions used in 1989 are still applicable today. Level 1 individuals have low literacy and struggle to read. Level 2 individuals can read simple text and locate words, but they struggle as readers. Level 3 individuals can read for a variety of purposes, but they cannot read complicated text and tend to avoid situations where this is required. Level 4 and 5 individuals are strong readers. They can read challenging, complex, material. Issues surrounding measuring literacy are explored. The trend is that Canadians are slowly becoming better readers. |
"Each year of education is worth approximately 8% increase in salary. Canadians with higher literacy skills earn more income, are more likely to have full-time work, are less likely to be unemployed and spend shorter periods of time unemployed." - Historica Canada |
Towards Sustaining and Encouraging Reading in Canadian Society: A Research Report by S. Murphy
This 2013 report was created for the National Reading Campaign. Murphy bases her report on existing studies, essentially writing a very long literature review. She states at the outset that the benefits of reading is well known: readers are healthier, happier, smarter, and more likely to contribute to society. Her report spans several sections. Firstly, she examines the demographics of Canadian readers in contrast with other nations and points out some of the faults with how data has been collected on this topic. Secondly, Murphy explores why people read: to learn about a topic, to live vicariously through characters, to join a social group (like a book club), for self-help, for academic purposes, and for enjoyment. Murphy cites several studies that have found a correlation between reading and achievement (right). Thirdly, Murphy explores how readers are 'made' and writes that it comes down to access to books, parents/guardians who encourage reading, individual motivation, the option for individuals to choose what they read. Fourthly, Murphy tackles what constitutes reading in this digital day and age.Finally, Murphy explores the art of the reading campaign and states thatthere are essentially two types: one's goal is to improve literacy rates while the other is simply to help create a culture of readers. Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)
Every three years the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests randomly selected fifteen-year-olds from participating countries around the world. The most recent PISA test was in 2015 and included approximately 500,000 students from 72 different countries (a sample that was representative of 28 million students). The 2015 test was 2 hours in length and tested students regarding math, reading, science (see the graph to the right), collaborative problem solving and financial literacy. Canadian students performed very well on the PISA test in 2015. They ranked #3 in reading and averaged 528 points. Unfortunately, Saskatchewan students performed the lowest out of all of the provinces and averaged just 496 points (just a few points above OECD's average of 493 points). PISA tests are used to help shape policy in education. Politicians, academics, researchers, and educators examine the results to better understand the patterns and trends regarding why certain populations excel in particular subjects and why others struggle. For example, Canadian students' mathematics results were above the OECD average and placed them in the top ten participating countries; however, their scores dropped 7 points since 2012, a trend that many want to stop and reverse. When one examines the scores at a provincial level, they indicate that Saskatchewan's students are falling behind the national average (they averaged 506 on the 2012 assessment and 484 on the 2015 assessment). You can read the small details on page 40 of this report, titled "Measuring up: Canadian Results of the OECD Pisa Study". |
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State of Literacy and Essential Skills Field by C. Harwood
In her 2012 report published by the Canadian Literacy and Learning Network, Harwood scans the state of literacy and essential skills in Canada's citizens, which is valuable because citizens' reading levels are tied to Canada's economic success. Her report is meant to educate the Canadian government and other organizations about issues pertaining to literacy, essential skills, and the labour force so that they may provide programming for citizens. Harwood (2012) states that nine million adult Canadians (excluding seniors) currently have a one or two reading level, the majority of those people do not recognize they have a reading problem. Low reading levels have implications for health care, poverty, seniors, immigrants, and people with disabilities. A reading level of three is considered the base level needed for a person to function in society yet 42% of Canadians are below this level. Financially supporting individuals that have level one and two scores with educational programming that helps them to achieve level three scores would infuse $80 billion dollars into the Canadian economy (TD Bank Financial Group in Harwood, 2012). Harwood summarizes the literacy policies and strategies of Canadian provinces and territories. Harwood analyzed the labour market: demographics of different provinces and territories were listed, and the relationship between literacy & essential skills and the labour market were explored in terms of implications for the following populations: youth, Aboriginals, seniors, and immigrants. Literacy and Essential Skills in Saskatchewan: Environmental Scan
Read this 2012 report to learn more about Saskatchewan's literacy rates in comparison to the rest of Canada's and the demographics behind the numbers. In the report, Hayes (2012) writes that, "Strong literacy skills have positive outcomes for individuals. They are more likely to be employed and to have better earnings, hours, and working conditions. The higher the literacy skills the greater is one’s access to further training. Strong literacy skills have also been associated with better health outcomes for individuals. Parents with strong literacy skills tend to encourage the development of those skills in their children" (p. 12). On the Conference Board of Canada website there is literacy data based on the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). It offers a breakdown of literacy levels and does a good job of succinctly explaining why literacy levels are so important (they are correlated to income, political efficacy, and volunteerism). Unfortunately, this data from 2012 (pictured right) illustrates that Saskatchewan gets a D for adults with level 4 literacy rates.
The first results report from the PIAAC survey can be found here. |
How Canadian Literacy Levels Are Defined
"Level 1 Canadians at this level have difficulty dealing with printed materials and have few basic skills for decoding or working with text. They most likely identify themselves as people who cannot read.
Level 2 Canadians at this level can use printed materials only for limited purposes such as finding a familiar word in a simple text that is clearly laid out. They would likely recognize themselves as having difficulties with common reading materials. Level 3 Canadians at this level can use reading materials in a variety of situations provided the tasks involved are not too complex. While these people generally do not see themselves as having major reading difficulties, they tend to avoid situations requiring reading. This level is considered by many countries to be the minimum for successful participation in society. Level 4 or 5 Canadians at this level have strong literacy skills. This is a large and diverse group that exhibits a wide range of reading skills and many strategies for dealing with complex materials. These people can meet most reading demands and handle new reading challenges." Reference: Historic Canada. (2013, Dec. 16). Literacy. Retrieved from: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/literacy/ |