Light Up Literacy

Problem:  According to a study conducted in 2014 by the U.S. Department of Education, 19% of students are illiterate when they graduate from high school (Source: Statistics Brain). This means almost one in five high school graduates cannot read and write as they enter the work force or continue to higher education.

Solution:   Light Up Literacy. Reading Yoga. 9 Squares. Book Tastings. 4 Corners. 1 Minute Papers. Sentence Stems. Interactive Notebooks. Graphic Organizers. Socratic Seminars. Word Walls. Tic-Tac-Tally. Sketch Notes. Poems. Exit Tickets. Choral Reading. Kahoot. Chunking. Stations. 3-2-1 Summary. Concept Maps. Quizlet. Split Vocabulary. Flash Cards. Ping Pong Summary. Popcorn Reading. Fact or Fib. Think-Tac-Toe. Frayer Models. Jigsaw Reading. Think-Pair-Share. Story Time. Shake and Share. Echo Reading. Current Events. Interactive Words. Word Scramble. Ozobots. Elbow Partners. Venn Diagrams. Comic Strips. Silent Video Scripts. Writing Yoga. 

     Most of the literacy pushes in education occur in the primary grade levels where students really love to read and write because of the passion and focus that occurs on each campus and classroom.  Unfortunately, I feel like we really drop the literacy ball in middle and high school when most of the reading and writing, according to other teachers, is the sole job of the reading/writing/ELA teachers.  REALITY CHECK!  Students needs to read and write to be successful in ANY secondary grade level and ANY content area class!

    After being chosen to be a part of the third cohort of TED-Ed Innovative Educators, I wanted to put my project pitch into action and Light Up Literacy was born.  The project starts with a short lesson on literacy using the TED-Ed platform that is intended for any educator or administrator that wants to incorporate more reading and writing in their classroom, campus, or school district.  This literacy lesson shows how literacy is all around us in the real world.  The lesson concludes with a few short assessment questions and a discussion board to allow for collaboration between educators across the globe.

    The Light Up Literacy Challenge is a 20 day calendar that has effective reading and writing strategies incorporated daily that can be implemented by any educator regardless or grade level or content area.  It can be modified to meet the needs of any educator or student group as it has almost limitless options with extra reading and writing strategies offered and even a blank calendar with the option of creating your own literacy challenge.  Participants are encouraged to share their daily challenge activities, photos, and/or videos on social media using #lightupliteracy. Upon completion participants receive a certificate of completion via email after providing evidence of completing the entire challenge. 

The Light Up Literacy Challenge is an educational collage which blends technology, the lead4ward instructional playlist, social media, a teacher's evaluation and appraisal system, and ultimately more reading and writing in every secondary classroom!

If you would like to learn more about how to incorporate Light Up Literacy in your classroom, campus, or school district, please email lightupliteracy@gmail.com and follow @lulchallenge on Twitter.  You can also check out #lightupliteracy and the Light Up Literacy videos below to get more insight on how you can incorporate more reading and writing strategies in any classroom.  Let's shine the light on literacy together!

Reading and Writing Yoga Video

Literacy in PE Video

Literacy in Elective Classes Video