The Interesting Connection between Literacy and Behavior in Children
The Findings
Younger children having difficulty in reading comprehension and literacy end up showing problematic behaviors in their future years, compared to those who have better reading comprehension in the same situation.
Freedom
Adolescents are classified by the World Health Organization as any young person between the ages of 10 and 19. During those 9 years, a child grows into a young adult and begins to develop the opinions, passions, and causes that make up their identity.
Put Tools in Kids Hands
The ultimate differentiation tool that is used are the stations where students learn at their own pace independently.
I
Teacher focused, modeling, direct/explicit instruction, think aloud
Student Choice
Offer multiple response formats and performance mediums such as, written, oral, graphic.
The Findings 2
These children already exhibited significant signs and levels of anxiety, oppositional behaviors, and social problems.
Freedom 2
This is also the time where individuals gravitate towards a political ideology. This is significant because, in this 21st-century world, the way adolescents form these opinions relies so much on digesting printed text and information.
Tools
Interactive Whiteboards, Remote Clickers
We
Whole-group, small-group, collaborative
Personal Relevance
Allow students to include their own relevant personal experiences to a topic. For example, discuss experiences of prejudice in a task related to Martin Luther King Jr.
The Findings 3
There is cause and effect of literacy to children’s development in their behavior and social skills.
Economy and Livelihood
Adolescent literacy plays an enormous role in obtaining employment opportunities, especially in our country’s increasingly knowledge-based economy.
Digital video cameras, mobile devices
Do
Independent use by student
Pace and Structure
Provide students with flexibility in the amount of time allowed to complete the task and offer a variety of structures and supports to students. For example, provide a study carrel for an easily distracted student.
Theories
One theory cites atypical neurological development as the culprit in the children’s challenges to understand and comprehend reading.
Economy and Livelihood 2
This is because as children grow, they also begin to compare themselves and their literacy skills to others in their class. This can lead to social comparisons that can bring negative emotions to light such as anxiety, depression, and aggression.
How to Make it Work
Maintain Rigor, Make Connections, Give Independence, Give kids a real audience
Teacher Responsibility
Starts strong and big, grows smaller and less
Complexity of Resources
Provide resources and materials with a range of complexity. For example, texts at different reading levels.
Theory 2
Another theory is that those students who have a difficulty with reading might just become angry or frustrated with their schooling and thus act out
Behavior
These negative emotions can also take their toll on their future professional life. Adolescents with poor literacy skills are known to be “more likely to drop out of school and to have unstable work patterns, low job skills, and delinquent behavior in adulthood”.
How to Make it Work 2
Have a Back Up plan, Relax, Curate students' online destinations
Student Responsibility
Starts small, grows bigger as teacher gives them more independence
Transfer of Knowledge and Skills
Offer variation in requiring transference of knowledge and skill to novel, complex situations. For example, some students might measure a simpler three-dimensional object, like a see-saw, while more advanced students measure a complex object, like a climbing structure on a playground.