1. S
Reading and Writing:
Challenges Facing
Today‟s Students
Belinda M. Anderson
Assistant Professor of Reading
Northampton Community College

2. Teens in your classroom
S Common annoyances during class
time
S Texts
S Tweets
S Instagram
S Selfies in the bathroom

3. Millenial Generation:
Digital Natives
S These students have grown up with digital technology:
S Cell phones
S Text messaging
S Video games
S Being surrounded by media does not necessarily mean
students recognize or understand its content or intent.
S Information Communication Technology (ICT)
S Creates a paradox for educators

4. Information Communication
Technology
S Millenials have access to more information that any other
generation in history.
S Creates complex technological environments to navigate
S Extensive use of ICT creates false sense of competency
among teens
S Misperception among many adults that teens are “media
savvy.”
S Hands on is not the same as heads on…

5. Social Media – A moment of
reflection…
S Facebook vs. Book
S People‟s memory of Facebook posts are 1 ½ times greater
than their memory of sentences in books
S The human brain favors natural, spontaneous writing over
polished writing
S Modern technology allows written language to more closely
emulate preliterate communication, hence making it easier to
remember
S How can we utilize this in our classrooms???
S “Why the Brain „Likes‟ Facebook” – Reader‟s Digest June 2013

6. Reaching the Millennial
Generation
S Today‟s teens bring to school a complex set of literacy
practices and backgrounds that are underused and often
unacknowledged by educators.
S We need to bridge the knowledge the students bring with
content they need to learn to be successful.

7. Bridging the Gap
S Social Constructivism
S Media Literacy
S Alternative Writing Assignments

8. Social Contructivism
Vygotsky
S Social Constructivism – collaborative learning
S Vygotsky felt all cognitive functions originate as products of
social interactions
S Learning is the process by which learners assimilate and
accommodate new knowledge as they integrate into a
knowledge community
S Zone of Proximal Development: Level of potential development
that the learner is capable of reaching under the guidance of
teachers or in collaboration with peers.
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in Society. London: Harvard University
Press.

9. Media Literacy
S Ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and effectively
communicate in a variety of forms including print and
nonprint texts
S Stories
S Preservice teachers uncomfortable using media literacy –
wanted to use traditional writing methods
S My observations from MS - College

10. Alternative Writing
Assignments
S Writer‟s autobiography
S Compose a multimodal and multigenre autobiography of
your past, present, and future writing life.
S Things I carry/Apps I carry
S Draw your phone/backpack. Think about the tangible/in-
tangible items that you bring to school. What do the things
you carry say about you as a scholar, writer, person?

11. Alternative Writing
Assignments
S Visual Essay
S Choose a pop culture issue. Create a visual essay that
critiques the issue and presents both your understanding
and your predictions for future change.
S Take Action!
S Create a space for students to design individual questions
for inquiry. Make direct, explicit connections among student
interests, disciplinary content, and state and national
standards

12. How can you utilize this
information in your
reading/writing classroom?
S Break into groups
S Brainstorm ideas
S Navigate potential pitfalls within your district, building,
classroom
S Share with others

13. Sources
Considine, D., Horton, J., & Moorman, G. (2009). Teaching and
reaching the millenial generation through media literacy. Journal of
Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(6), 471-481
Hundley, M., & Holbrook, T. (2013). Set in stone or set in motion?
Multimodal and digital writing with preservice english teachers.
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 56(6), 500-509.
Spires, H., Hervey, L. G., Morris, G., & Stelpflug, C. (2012).
Energizing project-based inquiry: Middle-grade students read,
write, and create videos. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy,
55(6), 483-493.
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