Try thinking of yourself as an explorer, traveling to many different programs and perspectives on literacy to gain an understanding of why some struggle, the consequences of struggling literacy skills, how help is offered, how help is useful or perhaps not helpful enough, and how literacy is embedded in American society, whether people are capable of understanding the “official” literacy or not.
Suggestion for instructors: for an in-person class, students can pair up to read one of the assigned readings and then share brief summaries with the class; for online classes, students can select 5 of the assigned readings and discuss/ post what they learned about the topic.
Activity 1: Read Sandra Kerka’s article “Prison Literacy Programs,” which introduces the context, constraints, and effective methods of teaching literacy in prisons.
Activity 2: Click here to read “The Relationship Between Incarceration and Low Literacy,” as well as the mission and programs offered by the program Literacy Mid-South.
Activity 3: Click here to read about model literacy programs in U.S. prisons.
Activity 4: Click here to read visit the website for the Frames Literacy Project, which offers literacy in U.S. prisons through a graphic novel course.
Activity 5: Click here to read a very short introduction to NYC’s adult literacy program.
Activity 6: Click here to read about a variety of adult literacy education options offered by ProLiteracy.
Activity 7: You may wish to view this resource to help you answer the Journal question for this module. Once you get to the site, notice you can scroll down a little and click on a year and/or month. Court opinions are titled in this format: One side v. Other side. Those (blue) titles are hyperlinks, so you can click on them to read the written opinion of the Supreme Court. These opinions have the potential to affect life for every person living in the U.S., and can have a big influence on people living outside the U.S. as well.
Activity 8: Click here to read the 1040–the U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.
