.

Incorporating Literacy Skills in Career &

Technical EducationMs. Shana Griffin

Charles City Public Schools

CAREER TECH VISION

2012

U.S. Literacy Facts

The US was once 1st in the world and we are

now 21st.

1.1 Million high school students drop out every

year.

70% of 8th graders cannot read proficiently at

the grade level.

US is 25th in Math and 21st in Science.

National 12th-grade reading scores were lower

in 2009 than they were in 1992.

http://www.broadeducation.org/about/crisis.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/22/top-reading_n_1373680.html

What’s the Problem?

• After 4th grade reading is no longer taught as a subject.

• Students who are behind in 4th grade continue to fall behind.

• Most middle and high schools do not offer reading remediation.

• Impacts all subjects that require students to read, comprehend, and write and this includes ALL CTE COURSES!!!!

LONG TERM EFFECTS OF POOR LITERACY

Very Poor

Literacy

Educational Cost

(Special Needs)

Educational Cost

(Behavior, Exclusion, Truancy)

Cost of Unemployment and Low

Wages

Cost of Adult

Literacy Classes

Health Care Cost

Cost of Crime

Why Must CTE Classes Incorporate Literacy???

• High-quality CTE programs expose students to rigorous and relevant information-rich content that motivates them to develop their literacy skills.

• 80% of test questions on the ACT, Career/Workplace Readiness tests, and Industry Certification tests are content specific to the question.

• Content knowledge is VITAL, but the ability to read, comprehend, and analyze content is CRITICAL for success!!

• Increased Literacy Comprehension in CTE = Employability

How To Build Literacy Skills

Read like a Detective

&

Write like a Reporter

“According to government surveys conducted by dozens of agencies, the average household rate of savings in industrialized nations is declining steadily. The most recent recession and short job supply accelerated the decline in this popular metric of financial health.”

Create Text Dependent Questions

1) What are two reasons for the decline in savings?

2) In what part of the world is this occurring according to the statement?

SAMPLE-TEXTQUESTIONS

Focus on the using the Whole Brain

THE WHOLE CHILD!!!

Don’t Rely on Singular Learning Styles

• The brain is a dynamic pattern seeker.

• Present your reading content with supports like visuals and storytelling

• Elicit feedback from them as to what helped them learn the

most.

Include Oral Communication Tasks• Include oral

communication tasks throughout the curriculum.

• Reading success is greater when there is dialogue between visual and auditory

areas.• Encourage your

students to orally explain how they solved a simple math problem or to answer, “What makes you think that?" The deeper their connections to the written text will be.

Incorporating Handwriting Helps the Brain Connect

• The physical act of writing—whether on paper or electronic tablets—also enforces and integrates motor pathways in the brain, activating sensorimotor information to help us translate sounds into letters and words into ideas.

Try to INTEGRATE THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY DAILY.

Thank You for Listening!!

Resources • Career Tech Vision 2012, Atlanta, Georgia• Sandra Poirier, EdD, Professor MTSU Elowin Harper, MS, Adjunct MTSU