MODULE 2.

KINDS OF FUNCTIONAL LITERACY

Module 2. Kinds of Functional Literacy

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Note:

This Instructional Learning Guide for the subject Building and Enhancing New Literacies Across
Curriculum has been prepared to meet the needs and demands of the learners in the Flexible
Learning Strategy. The lessons and activities of this instructional learning guide were prepared
and designed to meet the demands and requirements of the new education curriculum following
the outcomes based education paradigm prescribed by the Commission on Higher Education
(CMO No.75 S. 2017. This ILG was also aligned to the new Professional Teacher Standards.

Background Information for Pre-Service Teachers:

LESSON 2 KINDS OF FUNCTIONAL LITERACY

Media Literacy is the ability to access, evaluate, and create messages through different types
of media. Its purpose is to turn people from mass consumers into thoughtful citizens who
aren’t susceptible to propaganda or advertising.

Religious Literacy is the ability to interpret religious scriptures and communicate with
different faiths. Religious literacy is important for combating fundamentalism (e.g., religious
fanaticism) and prejudice (e.g., Islamophobia).
Financial Literacy is the ability to manage finances and make decisions about
money. Whether you’re a consumer, a business owner, or a voter, understanding financial
budgets, interest rates, and savings is an essential life skill.

Computer Literacy is the ability to use computers. This skill set can range from basic
competency (i.e., using applications like email and Microsoft Office) to advanced knowledge
(e.g., programming and computer science).

Legal Literacy is the ability to comprehend laws so you are able to follow policies and legal
procedures.

Scientific Literacy does not necessarily mean memorizing facts; rather, it’s knowing how to
conduct experiments and identify evidence that supports or contradicts preconceived beliefs or
hypotheses.

Health Literacy is the ability to understand healthcare information, particularly for making
medical decisions or lifestyle choices about nutrition, exercise, sleep, and other factors that
affect physical and mental well-being.
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Civic Literacy (a.k.a. Civics) is awareness of how government works as well as your rights and
responsibilities as a citizen and voter.

Functional Literacy and Technology

Now, because our society is so high-tech, I want to emphasize two key points about functional
literacy by connecting it to technology.

First, functional literacy is primarily about skills or applied knowledge.

It’s only secondarily about facts or subject-matter knowledge. For example, scientific literacy
doesn’t mean you’ve memorized the intricacies of how quantum computers work. Instead, it
means you know how to ask questions and apply methods of verification or falsification that
make such technologies possible.

Second, functional literacy keeps our high-tech society functioning.

The kinds of functional literacy mentioned are relative to today’s highly complex, technological
society, but that doesn’t make them any less valid. For instance, the ancient Greeks got by fine
without media literacy or computer literacy, but that’s because they didn’t have digital
networks. If these examples of functional literacy are unique to our high-tech society, we
evidently need them.

Emergent Literacy: Early Reading and Writing Development

Children start to learn language from the day they are born. As they grow and develop, their
speech and language skills become increasingly more complex. They learn to understand and
use language to express their ideas, thoughts, and feelings, and to communicate with others.
During early speech and language development, children learn skills that are important to the
development of literacy (reading and writing). This stage, known as emergent literacy, begins
at birth and continues through the preschool years. Children see and interact with print (e.g.,
books, magazines, grocery lists) in everyday situations (e.g., home, in preschool, and at
daycare) well before they start elementary school. Parents can see their child's growing
appreciation and enjoyment of print as he or she begins to recognize words that rhyme,
scribble with crayons, point out logos and street signs, and name some letters of the alphabet.
Gradually, children combine what they know about speaking and listening with what they know
about print and become ready to learn to read and write.

Are Spoken Language and Literacy Connected?

Yes. The experiences with talking and listening gained during the preschool period prepare
children to learn to read and write during the early elementary school years. This means that
children who enter school with weaker verbal abilities are much more likely to experience
difficulties learning literacy skills than those who do not. One spoken language skill that is
strongly connected to early reading and writing is phonological awareness-the recognition that
words are made up of separate speech sounds, for example, that the word dog is composed of
three sounds: d, aw, g. There are a variety of oral language activities that show children's
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natural development of phonological awareness, including rhyming (e.g., "cat-hat") and

alliteration (e.g., "big bears bounce on beds"), and isolating sounds ("Mom, f is the first sound
in the word fish"). As children playfully engage in sound play, they eventually learn to segment
words into their separate sounds, and "map" sounds onto printed letters, which allows them to
begin to learn to read and write. Children who perform well on sound awareness tasks become
successful readers and writers, while children who struggle with such tasks often do not.

Who Is at Risk?

There are some early signs that may place a child at risk for the acquisition of literacy skills.
Preschool children with speech and language disorders often experience problems learning to
read and write when they enter school. Other factors include physical or medical conditions
(e.g., preterm birth requiring placement in a neonatal intensive care unit, chronic ear infections,
fetal alcohol syndrome, cerebral palsy), developmental disorders (e.g., intellectual disabilities,
autism spectrum), poverty, home literacy environment, and family history of language or
literacy disabilities.

Early Warning Signs

Signs that may indicate later reading and writing and learning problems include persistent baby
talk, absence of interest in or appreciation for nursery rhymes or shared book reading, difficulty
understanding simple directions, difficulty learning (or remembering) names of letters, failure to
recognize or identify letters in the child's own name.

Role of the Speech-Language Pathologist

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) have a key role in promoting the emergent literacy skills
of all children, and especially those with known or suspected literacy-related learning
difficulties. The SLP may help to prevent such problems, identify children at risk for reading and
writing difficulties, and provide intervention to remediate literacy-related difficulties. Prevention
efforts involve working in collaboration with families, caregivers, and teachers to ensure that
young children have high quality and ample opportunities to participate in emergent literacy
activities both at home and in daycare and preschool environments. SLPs also help older
children or those with developmental delays who have missed such opportunities. Children who
have difficulty grasping emergent literacy games and activities may be referred for further
assessment so that intervention can begin as early as possible to foster growth in needed areas
and increase the likelihood of successful learning and academic achievement.

Early Intervention Is Critical

Emergent literacy instruction is most beneficial when it begins early in the preschool period
because these difficulties are persistent and often affect children's further language and literacy
learning throughout the school years. Promoting literacy development, however, is not confined
to young children. Older children, particularly those with speech and language impairments,
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may be functioning in the emergent literacy stage and require intervention aimed at
establishing and strengthening these skills that are essential to learning to read and write.

What Parents Can Do

You can help your child develop literacy skills during regular activities without adding extra time
to your day. There also are things you can do during planned play and reading times. Show
your children that reading and writing are a part of everyday life and can be fun and enjoyable.
Activities for preschool children include the following:

• Talk to your child and name objects, people, and events in the everyday environment.
• Repeat your child's strings of sounds (e.g., "dadadada, bababa") and add to them.
• Talk to your child during daily routine activities such as bath or mealtime and respond to
his or her questions.
• Draw your child's attention to print in everyday settings such as traffic signs, store
logos, and food containers.
• Introduce new vocabulary words during holidays and special activities such as outings to
the zoo, the park, and so on.
• Engage your child in singing, rhyming games, and nursery rhymes.
• Read picture and story books that focus on sounds, rhymes, and alliteration (words that
start
with the same sound, as found in Dr. Seuss books).
• Reread your child's favorite book(s).
• Focus your child's attention on books by pointing to words and pictures as you read.
• Provide a variety of materials to encourage drawing and scribbling (e.g., crayons, paper,
markers, finger paints).
• Encourage your child to describe or tell a story about his/her drawing and write down
the words.

For the activity in this module, please click this link

Quiz 1 Lesson 2 https://forms.gle/KfAdne9CH3R6JRDP8

Quiz 2 Lesson 2 https://forms.gle/kdzmabVnmqdwYsEw9

Good luck! Keep safe.