Romeo Padilla School of Education and Arts

Module in PEC124
A.Y. 2022-2023 Second Term, First Wave

BUILDING AND ENHANCING NEW LITERACIES ACROSS THE CURRICULUM (EDU4)

BEED 1, BSE 1, and BPEd 1

ONLINE MODULE 1: LITERACY: DEFINITIONS and PERSPECTIVES

I. INTRODUCTION:

Good day, future teachers!

They say that teaching is the noblest of all professions. This is

because the job of a teacher is more than teaching the lesson to the
child or checking test papers and assignments. Teachers have also
important roles in making sure that learners develop the basic skills
they need to functionally live in the society.

Do you still remember how your mother or your elementary teacher teach you
how to read and write? Can you still recall the techniques that they used for
you to develop the skills in reading and writing? I can recall my grade one
teacher who always used flashcards, charts written on a Manila paper, and
drills through the chalkboard just to teach us how to read and write. Whatever
techniques our teachers used, these techniques were effective in developing
our skills in reading and writing. The particularly important question here is,
why do we need to learn how to read and write? This is because we need to be
literate to be able to function well in the society.

At the end of the module, you are expected to:

a. define literacy and;
b. explore various definitions of literacy from other
countries.
 Romeo Padilla School of Education and Arts
Module in PEC124
A.Y. 2022-2023 Second Term, First Wave

II. DEFINITION OF LITERACY:

The basic definition of literacy in the
Philippines is the ability of a person to read
and write. As early as kindergarten,
learners are already taught about the basics
of reading and writing. The sounds of each
letter in the alphabet and the correct strokes
of writing a letter are patiently taught by teachers. Reading and writing are
basic skills needed by the learner as he gets promoted to another grade level.
For example, a grade 2 pupil will have difficulty solving a worded problem in
Mathematics if he cannot read well. A kindergarten pupil will have difficulty
writing his own name if he does not know the basic strokes of writing. You will
not be able to read this module if you failed to develop literacy when you were
young. Understanding written instructions in a user’s manual of a newly bought
TV will require literacy. Filling out a blank biodata sheet also needs your ability
to read and write. Can you think of other situations where literacy is required?
 Romeo Padilla School of Education and Arts
Module in PEC124
A.Y. 2022-2023 Second Term, First Wave

Based on a report by United Nations, the Philippines has the highest literacy
rate at 97.95 percent among Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore,
Brunei, and Indonesia. The literacy rate is 98.9 percent among females and 97
percent among males aged 15-24. This news seems to be contradictory to the
news about senior high school students “who cannot even write a decent
English sentence.” In my experience as an
English teacher, I have encountered some
students both in high school and college
who cannot even write a simple sentence
in English and have the difficulty reading
basic English sight words. I remember one of my students who mistakenly
wrote week next instead of weakness in her response to an essay type of
question I gave her. We do not want our learners to suffer the same difficulty.
As teachers, we must understand that literacy is very essential for anyone to
effectively function in the society.

Prior to World War I, the literacy rate in the Philippines was at a dismal 20%.
But it was one of the countries that experienced rapid school expansion in the
late 1930s. During that time, the literacy rate of the Filipinos is extremely low.
This means that very few Filipinos could read and write that time. Because of
the expansion of schools in the country, the literacy rate of the citizens
increased. This shows that schools have big roles in developing the literacy
 Romeo Padilla School of Education and Arts
Module in PEC124
A.Y. 2022-2023 Second Term, First Wave

among the people. Our role as teachers in developing literate citizens is also
important.

III. NATIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF

LITERACY:
Countries have various definitions
of the word literacy. Read the
those on the right side.

Share your thoughts about these definitions of

literacy.
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Romeo Padilla School of Education and Arts
Module in PEC124
A.Y. 2022-2023 Second Term, First Wave
 Romeo Padilla School of Education and Arts
Module in PEC124
A.Y. 2022-2023 Second Term, First Wave

Based on these countries, literacy depends on:

1. Years of schooling;
2. The ability of a person to speak and write a specific language;
3. The ability to read easily or with difficulty a letter or a newspaper;
4. The ability to read and write sentences;
5. School attainment and;
6. Age criteria

IV. IMPORTANCE OF LITERACY:

Why is literacy important (Project Literacy, 2020):

From an individual perspective, one From a collective perspective, a

needs adequate literacy skills to literate community is a dynamic
participate and function happily community; a community that
within – and contribute to – one’s exchanges ideas, engages in
communities. dialogue is more innovative and
productive.
Sharing our literacy skills to our Being a part of a literate community
community will improve our own that exchanges ideas and uses that
community. idea to help the people and other
communities.
 Romeo Padilla School of Education and Arts
Module in PEC124
A.Y. 2022-2023 Second Term, First Wave

Below is a literacy checklist. Write YES if it applies to you, otherwise leave it

blank.
A. Oral language (listening and speaking):
1. _____ I contribute effectively and appropriately to discussions
2. _____ I collaborate effectively in their learning
3. _____ I explain their thinking clearly and effectively
4. _____ I present information clearly and effectively

B. Reading:
5. _____ I can understand, collate, summarize, apply, and evaluate information
from different texts
6. _____ I critically analyze the purpose and forms of different texts
7. _____ I discuss similarities and differences between texts

C. Writing:
8. _____ I make notes and summarize ideas effectively through written work
9. _____ I make effective use of subject-specific vocabulary
10. _____ I create texts in a variety of genres and for a variety of audiences

D. The understanding and critical appreciation of broadcast media:

11. _____ I can critically evaluate information and opinion broadcast media
accessed through

E. The understanding and critical appreciation of digital media:

12. _____ I can navigate across digital texts
13. _____ I can locate information efficiently using digital sources
14. _____ I can critically evaluate information and opinion accessed through
digital sources
15. _____ I can use digital media to create a wide variety of texts in different
genres
F. The students use their literacy skills competently in their learning in all
subjects:
16. _____ I, including those at risk of underachieving, are attaining well and are
 Romeo Padilla School of Education and Arts
Module in PEC124
A.Y. 2022-2023 Second Term, First Wave

making particularly good progress from their prior levels of

achievement

G. Knowledge and understanding of mathematical concepts:

17. _____ I display their understanding of number processes and concept
18. _____ I am encouraged to hypothesize and propose solutions
19. _____ I can explain their reasoning

H. Application of concepts and problem-solving:

20. _____ I tackle problems in familiar and unfamiliar contexts
21. _____ I identify the relevant skills and concepts
22. _____ I work independently and collaboratively
23. _____ I evaluate their solutions
24. _____ I am aware of and avoid common mathematical misconceptions

I. Communicating and expressing:

25. _____ I contribute effectively and appropriately to discussions
26. _____ I use multiple representations
27. _____ I use mathematical language correctly
28. _____ I make effective use of ICT Integrating and connecting
29. _____ I make links to other areas of the curriculum
30. _____ I apply numeracy skills in a range of contexts
31. _____ I develop an understanding of the role of numeracy in everyday life
32. _____ I look for patterns and can identify similarities and differences

J. Data acquisition and analysis:

33. _____ I am competent in gathering, representing, and analyzing data
34. _____ I display an understanding of randomness, bias, chance and causality
 Romeo Padilla School of Education and Arts
Module in PEC124
A.Y. 2022-2023 Second Term, First Wave

References:
• Filipina and Her Brother Invented a Lamp That Runs Entirely on Metal and Salt Water by B. Wren. Retrieved on
May 12, 2020 at http://www.atchuup.com/salt-water-powered-lamps/
• Literacy Checklist. Retrieved on May 17, 2020 at https://www.pdst.ie/sites/default/files/Checklist-for-Evaluation-of-
Literacy-&-Numeracy.pdf
• Literacy in the Philippines: The Stories Behind the Numbers by L. Cristobal. Retrieved on May 13, 2020 at
https://www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacy-daily/2015/08/06/literacy-in-the-philippines-the-stories-behind-the-
numbers
• National Literacy Month: UN ranks Filipinos as most literate in Southeast Asia. Retrieved
on May 12, 2020 at https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/on-the-
radar/2019/09/27/1955462/national-literacy-month-un-ranks-filipinos-most-literate-
southeast-asia
• Senior high school students struggle to write in English – report by B. Magzambol. Retrieved
on May 12, 2020 at https://www.rappler.com/nation/25 8527-senior-high-school-students-
find-hard-write-english
• The Importance of Literacy. Retrieved on May 12, 2020 at
https://projectliteracy.ca/about/the-importance-of-literacy/
• Types of Literacies. Retrieved on May 12, 2020 at https://sitwe.wordpress.com/2015/12/14/types-of-literacy-or-
literacies/