Page 78 - Reading Nest - The Supportive Literacy Environment Handbook

Pointing out and raising awareness of situations in

which literacy is required

In daily situations teachers have to note and employ situations where literacy is
necessary, e.g. when children have questions, search answers with them in handbooks,
the Internet, reference books and gradually guide them to search for information
independently. Similarly, to study and enjoy literary texts with children and encourage
them to find texts on their own - first by looking at them, then reading more and more.

When a child makes letter-like scribblings on paper, it is teacher’s role to notice,
recognise and acknowledge these.

The skill of reading and writing is often seen as a technicality - reading is an ability to

read a written text, and writing is an ability to write up the language using special
symbols. This would suggest that literacy stands for learning the letters, connection

between sounds and letters and rules of orthography. It is vital to bear in mind that

children’s interest in language grows when they realise that written language is merely a
tool, which is used to perform various important and exciting tasks and functions:

learning, informing, creating, entertaining, regulating, impacting, etc.

Functions of reading and writing are intertwined and non-hierarchical: an ability to
compose a poem may be as important for a person as understanding instructions for using

home appliances.