(1666–1668) demonstrates repoussoir; a curtain in the foreground gives the audience only a partial view into an artist’s studio, but frames that view so that viewers see the studio in a certain way.
By the way, if you stumbled upon the word repoussoir and did not know what it means, you would probably try to figure it out by sounding it out in your head, relying on what you learned about phonics in the first grade. You would also probably try to define it considering the context of how it was used. If you were completely unfamiliar with the word, you would naturally look up the definition in the dictionary (or simply google it). Regardless, the point is that you would use techniques you learned in elementary school to help you develop your vocabulary. You would consider the context in which the word was used, look up the word, and consider synonyms you might know, using the lifelong skill of vocabulary building while continually expanding your personal word bank. And finally, you would look for examples of the word in the real world to build a deeper understanding or knowledge base about the visual arts. It seems pertinent to mention that the ability to conduct this kind of search for context clues develops over time when one has spent a lot of time just reading. Rich, relevant reading pays dividends with advancing literacy. This idea exemplifies not the overskillification of reading but the totality of reading comprehension, literacy acquisition, and the big three elements under scrutiny.
In illuminating a dynamic new path forward that reframes our perspective on literacy, Literacy Reframed devotes a chapter to each of the big three elements of reading comprehension. Chapter 1 covers decoding and discusses the sound of literacy and phonics. The sound of language awakens students’ sensitivities from an early age. In chapter 2, we move on to vocabulary, concentrating on the look of literacy. The look of language includes the images of letters, of words with tall letters and letters that hang down, of a string of words called a phrase, sentence, or question, and even of the graphic configurations of paragraphs, dialogue, and poetry on the page or screen. Words seem like mere squiggles to students at first but ultimately become familiar and identifiable to the youngest readers. The element of knowledge appears in chapter 3, which focuses on the knowingness of literacy—that is, background knowledge. The knowingness of language involves students’ brains making sense of the sound and sight of language to continually build their mental map of background knowledge.
Finally, we have devoted chapter 4 to digital reading. In this age of technological innovation, digital reading takes its rightful place in the Literacy Reframed landscape. We felt it was important to include a chapter on this important topic because the model of paper-and-pencil reading and writing is now juxtaposed with digital devices of every size and shape in our learning environments. We aim to distill the essence of digital reading concerns within the frame of the school, classroom, and students. Digital literacy combines the sound, look, and knowingness of literacy in unique ways, and we feel it’s essential for teachers to acknowledge and use these similarities and differences as they work toward the overall goal of educating literate young people and making them ready to enter the wide, wide world of known and unknown challenges.
In each chapter, we begin with a brief introduction and an overview of the essential research. Then we transition to ideas for school implementation and classroom applications of a knowledge-centric curriculum in a variety of grade levels and subjects. We close each chapter with a list of team discussion questions and essential resources that readers can use to extend their learning. For schools that function as professional learning communities (PLCs), these questions are perfect for collaborative team meetings to help build trust, establish cohesive goals, and learn from one another (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, Many, & Mattos, 2016). Our goal is to steer teachers toward some new ways to use our ideas throughout their literacy curriculum work, regardless of the subjects they teach.
Chapters 1–4 at a Glance
As educators, we must aim to change the frame on our old, static, failed picture of reading growth. We need a new perspective on literacy learning, with massive amounts of reading and writing for success. The evidence is clear that much more reading and writing inspire student confidence and ensure their success. We must rally students to the call for literacy learning every day, in every way. The following hypothetical classroom vignettes illustrate how teachers could go about teaching reading with a reframed perspective on literacy.
Chapter 1: The Sound of Reading—Decoding and Phonics
Marilyn Ferguson (1980) writes, “Language releases the unknown from limbo, expressing it in a way that the whole brain can know it” (p. 80). In the following vignette, note the inextricable connection between the words people say and the words they write. It highlights the connectedness of our models of language.
Mrs. Lathers asked her eleventh graders, “How do you know what you think until you see what you say?” This question helped students think about the revelations that naturally occurred as they began to write. The oral language they heard in their heads came out a bit differently when they wrote their ideas on paper. In fact, they found that the words they wrote came out more formal than the words they said to themselves, but because it was their own writing in their own words, they found it easy to read. This is part of the differences we often encounter in the verbal voice and written voice. It’s what Ferguson (1980) is describing when she talks about releasing the unknown from limbo. We know that experience with spoken and written language radically restructures the brain, especially for the very young (Boroditsky, 2019). In fact, it is how the brain learns, literally, by changing its chemistry and its structure to capture the concept through the natural neurological activity of learning.
The multimodal learning process in the brain is alerted with the neurological-impress method, a technique pioneered by clinical psychologist R. G. Heckelman (1969) that involves a student and a partner reading aloud simultaneously from the same book. This method allows students to see, say, and hear fluent language, and this combination of senses helps them decode unknown words. To impact students’ reading levels, teachers should foster plenty of opportunities for students to speak, listen to, and write vocabulary.
Chapter 2: The Look of Reading—Vocabulary
The look of reading is intriguing. The different ways that readers can perceive the look of what they’re reading means they make distinctions and choices. Marilyn Ferguson (1980) writes, “The mind aware of itself is a pilot” (p. 69). Readers can use their self-awareness of the look of reading to note the choices they make and how they react to what they notice about what they read. In the following story, see how students’ journey of choosing a book to read independently can embody this idea.
Ms. Sutton wanted her fourth graders to pick out a book to read on their own during silent reading time in class. During a trip to the school library, she asked them to make their choices based on what the books look like. The look of reading can cause students to prejudge many aspects of reading choices. A student might think, “l love the cover,” “It looks like a big-kid book ’cause it’s so thick,” and “The pages are completely covered with words; no places to stop and start. No pictures. It bet it’s going to be hard; definitely a long slog, so here goes.”
The look of reading is in the mechanics and the aesthetics. If a word doesn’t look right, it could be a spelling error. If a text has shorter paragraphs, with openings of white space or a graphic or callout to interrupt the text, it’s more inviting to the reader. The look of a poem, a passage, or even a run of dialogue offers a break in text for the weary reader. Knowing this to be true, talk about reading choices with your students. Get them thinking about how they think about the look of a reading.
Chapter 3: The Knowingness of Reading—Background Knowledge
Eric Hoffer (1973) points out, “In times of drastic