Fostering 21st Century Literacies
Reading entails much more than just decoding written language. Reading is an active process of constructing meaning that requires readers to 1) understand and critically evaluate an author’s assumptions, arguments, and language choices, and 2) to make connections between what they are reading and their own assumptions, lived experiences, and values.
At the same time, texts themselves are increasingly multimodal, incorporating visuals, data representations, or embedded videos alongside written language. Consequently, readers need to be able to interpret and synthesize information and ideas presented in these different modes. Increasingly, readers are also confronted with the products of emerging digital technologies, such as generative artificial intelligence.
Finally, reading is often intimately connected to writing and talking, as individuals use these different forms of meaning making to individually and collectively understand and act on the world around them. Given all this, we support youth to:
- Comprehend and critically evaluate multimodal texts.
- Share ideas and collectively build knowledge in small group discussions.
- Communicate their ideas and understandings through a variety of written genres and creative projects.
- Strategically use different languages and language varieties to communicate with different audiences and for distinct purposes.
- Critically evaluate the products of emerging digital technologies such as generative AI
- Use these literacies to identify, understand, and act on issues that are important to them and their communities.
Taken together, this is what we mean by 21st century literacies.