Ideas of Literacy

Originally when I thought of literacy i strictly thought of reading and writing specifically pertaining to text and ones ability to understand what they are reading or writing. Through this class and other articles we have read, I have discovered that literacy goes far beyond words on a page. Literacy can include "reading" as well as interpreting signs, pictures, body language, and even being digitally literate.

Visual Literacy

In my content area, history, literacy goes beyond the textbook or documents. Here are some examples of how visual literacy can be used in history:

Literacy helps students in history, because we have to be critical in what we see and read. We also have to pay close attention to detail. I could give a student a picture of a battle, or a person, and just by looking at it, they could give me key points. Who is in the picture? What is the person dressed like? What is going on in the picture?

Depending on different times in history we can tell different things. If we are looking at the political cartoon about imperialism, we can see what countries are being represented by the people around the pie, how the people sitting around the pie are acting and how the person who is the pie is reacting. This gives students a new perspective and understanding of history that a textbook wouldn't. Visual literacy in history encourages students to be detectives.

Different types of visual literacy in history also connects to how information in history is communicated. There was not always a formal language and not EVERYTHING was written down, so in order to find out what happened in the past, we need to look at artifacts, buildings, drawings, paintings, town records, weapons, building materials. All of these things will help us understand what really happened and limit the possibility for a one sided history.

Technology has had HUGE positive implications on teaching history. Before technology if a teacher wanted to show students an artifact or a painting she would have to have either a paper copy, describe the item, or bring the students to a museum. Now, with the click of a button a teacher can pull up a painting from the 17th century, a political cartoon, a video, or even a picture of an artifact, OR an original document. Instead of students looking at the typed text of the document, a quick google search can have the original document right on their screens.

Technology has also made history research discovery a lot easier. Students have a plethora of resources right at their fingertips. While the internet does have some questionable sources that aren't entirely factual, there are MANY sources, and databases that are. It will be up to the teacher to give students a proper introduction to good and bad sources when doing research.

Below are some common core standards that pertain to Visual Literacy that I could personally see being used in a history classroom. Mainly because of the use of both images and text in history.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.7: "Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos or maps) with other information in print and digital texts."

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.7: "Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words."

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.6: "Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text."

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.1: "Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively."

Visual literacy aside, students also should be able to understand, interpret, and analyze texts they read, as well as find differences in spelling and vocabulary.

Implications of teaching

As a future educator it will be imperative that I incorporate all types of literacy in my teaching. History has a lot of content and it seems very easy to teach from a textbook and have students read and write. Maybe this approach is why so many students did not like history growing up. The integration of visuals in history is crucial because not only does it add some "flavor" to the classroom but it also gives students a new perspective. By increasing students visual awareness and detail orientation it will help them create think more critically in their other classes too. My goal as a teacher is to teach students how to be active learners and to question things. I do not want students to believe something just because a text book says its true or one historian believes it. There are so many different perspectives to history and so much "fake new" students need to learn how to be critical and open minded.