If you are making any sense of this right now, then you know how to read, which means you are mentally processing all these little shapes called letters. You see how they are arranged before you, your brain tranlates this input into thoughts or concepts, and you understand the message. It is an amazingly complex operation that most literate people take for granted.
Because you know how to read, you can also write. The ability to read and write is called literacy. Your ability to communicate precisely and effectively is a product of your literacy. And the sophistication of your literacy is a product of how much you have practiced reading and writing. Because literacy is the core goal of all education and because your level of literacy should continue to improve every year you are in school, you will practice reading and writing in one form or another in almost every class you take. Reading and writing are not just things you do in an English class. Literacy matters everywhere!
The higher your level of LITERACY, the better you will COMMUNICATE.
This is why all your teachers are using LITERACY strategies and some
variation of the Communication Rubric to help you achieve the Communication
DRSL.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Literacy/Communication in English Language Arts
As noted above, communication is the exchange of information. For our purposes,
we'll call that information text. (We tend to think of text
only as collections of written words, like in books, but a text can be anything
that conveys information: book, movie, audio CD, web page, etc.) Also, different
kinds of texts serve different purposes. (This is why your science teacher should
teach you how to read and respond to your science book, you social studies teacher
should teach you appropriate social studies literacy skills, and your math teacher
should teach you how to read and understand your math book.) In English class,
we deal with the following kinds of texts:
Functional Text tells you how to do things. It is impossible to get along in life independently if you do not comprehend functional text. Examples of functional text are things like instruction manuals, maps, schedules, phone books, dictionaries, schematic diagrams, the little instruction balloons that pop up periodically in video games, and the YouTube video that teaches you how to pitch a curve ball. Functional text is not particularly fun to read or write, but it is necessary. Functional text helps you DO something.
Informational Text provides information about a specific topic. When you do research for a class project, you will sift through a variety of informational texts. In fact, most of the text you are faced with in school is informational. Textbooks, in-class lectures, encyclopedias, newspapers, magazines, educational movies (think science and history classes), and many educational Internet sites are examples of informational text. What you are now reading is informational text. Informational text helps you KNOW something. The primary focus of the Common Core standards is informational text.
Literary text is designed to entertain, engage, and move the reader emotionally. Literary texts includes novels, short stories, poetry, stage plays, movies, songs, and creative writing. You often study literary texts in English and/or literature classes. If you read novels or watch movies for fun, then you know how literary texts differ from other kinds of texts. We will address many different literary texts in English class.
As a receiver of information, you will read, listen to, and view these kinds of texts. As a sender of information, you will write, speak, and present information by creating the kind of texts that suit your purpose. Let's look at the roles of sender and receiver.
Kim's Korner: Modes of Writing
Seven Types of Paragraph Development
Expository writing (Exposition) is the type of writing (or speech) used to explain, describe, or inform. Many school essays fall into the realm of expositiory writing, and exposition can include elements of the forms of expression below. Most academic essays are of an expository nature.
Descriptive writing (Description) describes a topic, person, or thing by listing features and examples. Good description allows the receiver to create a mental picture that is exactly what the sender intended. A descriptive essay or speech is devoted to describing one particular topic in detail. Descriptive passages often appear in novels and essays to help the reader develop a mental picture of the person or thing being discussed.
Narrative writing (Narration) tells a story about an experience, event, or series of related events. Obviously a good story is made up of narration, but you might also narrate certain examples in an essay or speech in order to make a point.
Persuasive writing (Persuasion) offers supporting evidence and examples to influence the receiver (audience). The purpose of persuasion is to convince the audience to make some sort of change or to take action on the topic in question. We are surrounded by the elements of persuasion in the form of advertising, but you can also find persuasive essays on the editorial pages in the newspaper. In school, this is probably the most important mode of writing to be able to identify, analyze, and write.
Creative writing entertains, engages, and/or moves the reader emotionally. Literary text is creative writing, but there can be elements of creativity in any form of communication. Creativity shows through even in communication that is not specifically designed to entertain.
Organization is an important aspect of communication. The way you organize
ideas can help you achieve the results you desire. These are organizational
patterns that make essays
more effective: Cause/Effect,
Chronological Order,
Comparison
(Contrast), Spatial Order, Order of Importance (Emphatic Order),
General-to-Specific/Specific-to-General.