Literacy is the foundational pillar for academic success across all subject areas. Reading, understanding and synthesizing written texts is a core skill set that helps students acquire knowledge, think critically and excel in their studies.
The problem is that many adolescents face significant challenges with reading comprehension. This pervasive struggle impedes effective learning, the understanding of complex topics and the overall path to academic success.
4 easy steps to adolescent literacy success
As students progress in school, they encounter texts and materials that escalate in both complexity and sophistication. They no longer only grapple with basic vocabulary and straightforward texts.
Instead, they have to navigate more complex narrative and informational texts, including subject-specific terminology, abstract concepts and intricate grammatical and rhetorical structures.
Mastering this evolution in textual complexity demands fundamental literacy skills that many adolescents haven’t adequately developed. Without proper interventions and support systems, these students may fall behind and face compounding academic challenges.
This is where the science of reading intervenes and takes findings from education, psychology, linguistics and neuroscience to deliver instruction that aligns optimally with how the human brain learns to read. School administrators are well-positioned to champion science of reading-based pedagogy, allocate resources equitably and cultivate a culture that celebrates and prioritizes literacy.
They can also empower teachers to deliver high-quality instruction that equips students with the reading comprehension prowess to thrive.
Here are four steps administrators can take to support teachers in implementing literacy instruction:
- Provide in-depth professional development. Ongoing, high-quality professional learning focused specifically on evidence-based literacy instruction and the science of reading is a cornerstone of administrative support. One-time workshops or generalized training is insufficient for building the specialized expertise needed to teach reading effectively. However, administrators should instead invest in sustained, content-rich professional development, such as Lexia Aspire, that immerses teachers in age-appropriate strategies and skilled reading instruction’s linguistic, cognitive, and pedagogical roots for adolescent learners.
- Develop your own individual expertise. To best cultivate a culture of effective literacy instruction, administrators and instructional leaders should take an active role in developing their own expertise in the science of reading. By deepening their understanding of evidence-based practices, administrators and instructional leaders can serve as knowledgeable resources and support for teachers.
- Offer personalized coaching to teachers. Highly-skilled literacy coaches who are well versed in the science of reading can work collaboratively with teachers in their classrooms, providing model lessons, conducting observations and offering constructive feedback, co-planning instruction, and addressing implementation challenges in real time. This personalized, context-specific coaching facilitates rapid skills transfer and offers guidance when obstacles arise.
- Provide access to high-quality materials. Finally, administrators should ensure that teachers have access to high-quality, research-based instructional materials and resources explicitly aligned with the science of reading. From curricula and assessments to classroom libraries and digital tools, the resources used daily in literacy instruction must reflect the latest evidence on effective reading pedagogy. By carefully vetting, selecting, and providing these materials, administrators establish an instructional ecosystem where every component reinforces and supports teachers in delivering scientifically proven literacy practices.
How to cultivate teacher excellence
Cultivating teacher excellence in literacy instruction takes a multifaceted system of administrative support. Through rich professional development opportunities, embedded coaching and instructional coherence established via high-quality resources, administrators can equip their teachers with the knowledge, skills, and tools to transform literacy outcomes for adolescent learners.
This investment in building teacher expertise represents an investment in the future success of every student. Fostering adolescent literacy has far-reaching implications for academic success and future opportunities.
School administrators can promote effective literacy instruction by understanding reading fundamentals, translating theory into differentiated, science-based practice, and advocating for evidence-based literacy programs through leadership and resource budgeting.
