Literacy is the ability to read and write; this is the
general response when asking for a definition of literacy. Of course, it is
incorrect and reading and writing are only one part of literacy, functional
literacy. Literacy as a whole delves into areas much deeper than reading and
writing:
There are competing and conflicting views about what literacy involves,
and at times one approach is valued more highly by sectors of the community.
What counts as literacy, and therefore what are appropriate educational
responses to literacy questions, is disputed territory (DECS, 1996, p.1).
Students and therefore citizens need to be
taught to be multi-literate which incorporates the social, cultural, personal,
analytical, critical and functional aspects of literacy: “Literacy
education has always been about difference and power, about teaching members of
communities and nations to ‘be’ different kinds of literate citizens … rather than erase, Australian social class
difference and culture diversity” (Green, Hodgens & Luke 1997, p.12).
One might argue that one of the most
effective approaches to teaching Literacy is Luke and Freebody’s “The Four
Resource model”. An in depth, simply written guide to “The Four Resources Model”
can be found at the following link:
“The Four Resources Model” comprises of four
levels of literacy practice; Code Breaker, Text participant(meaning maker),
text user and text analyst. All of these levels integrate to create fully
informed functional citizens. I will personally employ these strategies into my
own teaching so I can ensure my students don’t receive their first university
paper back full of red pen. Luke and Freebody developed this model as a teaching
tool to assist in teacher’s pedagogical approach to literacy: Teachers needed
to…identify pedagogies that teach students to analyse tasks, problem-solve,
identify resources and self-monitor” (Bull & Anstey, 2005, p. 125).
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