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This wiki page is a final project, dedicated to literacy strategies for my high school English classes. In my personal philosophy statement on the importance of teaching literacy at the secondary level, especially in English, I discuss that true student engagement with text is the ultimate goal. If students are highly engaged, they will reap infinite benefits from their exposure to literature. I also discuss how technology should be used to enhance student engagement, and I believe that this collection of strategies and sources capitalizes on those two goals.
 * Literac **** y Strategies for Mandy’s **  ** High School English Classes **
 * INTRODUCTION: **

First, I detail eight literacy strategies for teaching in a secondary English class, including two in vocabulary, two in writing, three discussion strategies, and one that will help with note taking and studying. I plan to use writing and discussion as the keystones to my teaching, so all of the strategies represented here can fluidly work within those classroom goals. Also, since the strategies are all very open-ended, students will get out of them what they put in, so they are tailored for a wide range of learners.

For this project as a whole, and especially for the following components, I chose to focus on British Literature as my concept of study. Many secondary programs vary what they teach for American Literature, but the high school choices for the British canon seem to be stable, so I wanted my choices here to be readily used in as many teaching environments as possible. I have included an annotated text set, featuring various books and films that will supplement the students’ curriculum. I am very much for incorporating the visuals of film into the study of challenging texts in order to make them more accessible, and therefore, engaging. Also, readings of higher and lower difficulty than that of the standard classroom text, along with films, will allow a variety of learners to approach new material with vigor. Next, I have included an annotated list of online media sources that high-achieving students can use to challenge themselves, and lower-level students can use to make more sense of the texts before them. Finally, I have developed a sample assessment that my students would take after reading about half of Austen’s __Pride and Prejudice__. Its open-ended questions allow for a range of learners to show what they can do using higher-level thinking skills.

All the strategies and sources chosen for this collection were selected with care and experience. I have only included things on this site that I have an affinity for, and that I have been engaged with, so I hope to transfer that enthusiasm to my students.


 * Personal Philosophy Statement **
 * on Teaching Literacy in the English Content-Area **

Context Plus Concept Circles
 * Vocabulary Strategies **

R.A.F.T. Quick Writes
 * Writing Strategies **

Conversation Questions Discussion Web Guided Imagery and Movie Clip Strategy
 * Discussion Strategies **

Magnet Summaries ** Annotated Text Set for British Literature **
 * Note Taking/Study Strategy **
 * Annotated List of Additional Online Media for British Literature **
 * Sample Assessment **
 * Bibliography **