Supporting Teens:
Literacy Demands of the 21st Century
Vince Puzick
Literacy & Language Arts Facilitator
Colorado Springs School District 11
Twenty-first century readers and writers need to
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Develop proficiency with the tools of technology
Build relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and cross-culturally
Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of purposes
Manage, analyze and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information
Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multi-media texts
Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments
Outcome: Act on creative ideas to make a tangible and useful contribution to the domain in which
the innovation occurs. Example: Working in teams, students research a global social issue,
develop a problem scenario, and create an online game to teach younger students about this
issue. For an example, see Hurricane Katrina: Tempest in Crescent City
www.tempestincrescentcity.org. Example: Students read works of digital fiction at
http://wetellstories.co.uk. Students use one of the pieces as inspiration for a short work of their
own.
Outcome: Articulate thoughts clearly and effectively through writing. Example: Students follow a variety of blogs
written on topics of personal interest, posting their own comments as appropriate. After following these blogs for a
period of time, students write a reflection on their online experience, how they found the blogs they were following,
the differences in tone, content, and expertise between these blogs, the insights gained from these blogs, and their
own role in the community.
Outcome: Exercise flexibility and willingness to be helpful in making necessary
compromises to accomplish a common goal. Example: In a virtual world such as
Teen Second Life (http://teen.secondlife.com), students working in teams design
an amphitheater in which to conduct virtual workshops on writing poetry and to
host virtual poetry readings.
Outcome: Demonstrate ability to work effectively with diverse teams. Example: Students collaborate with senior
citizens in a digital storytelling workshop (http://www.storycorps.org). The teams bring to life a story from a senior’s
history as they collaborate on writing and creating the video, including recording the narration and selecting images
and music. The finished videos are presented in a community film festival. Each team designs criteria for evaluating
their video in advance, and grades their work accordingly.
Outcome: Use technology as a tool to communicate information. Example: Students write
personal essays modeled on “This I Believe” essays broadcast on National Public Radio.
Students record their essays as podcasts. (Curriculum support material is available at
www.thisibelieve.org).
Outcome: Demonstrate commitment to learning as a lifelong process. Example: Using an online document sharing
tool, the student creates an electronic portfolio to showcase personal goals, projects, writing, multi-media
productions, experiences, and reflections on progress and achievements. You can also create your own portfolio at
CollegeInColorado.org (https://secure.collegeincolorado.org/Home/_default.aspx)
Outcome: Act responsibly with the interests of the larger community in mind. Example: Students volunteer to lead an
after-school book club, creative writing club, or technology club for younger students.
Parent Tips:
How to Get Your Teen Reading
By: Colorín Colorado (2009)
Strong reading skills are important for teenagers, but sometimes it can be a challenge to get them
reading! Here are some ways to encourage your teen to read.
Be a positive role model for reading
Let your teen see you reading for pleasure and during routine activities such as reviewing letters,
recipes, instructions, newspapers, magazines, and e-mail.
Make sure you have lots of reading materials at home for your teen
Reading materials don't have to be new or expensive. You often can find good books and
magazines at yard or library sales. Ask family members and friends to consider giving your teen books and magazine subscriptions
as gifts for birthdays or other special occasions.
Give your teen a lot of opportunities to read
If you have younger children or older relatives who can't read, ask your teen to read out loud — everyone will enjoy it! There may
also be volunteer opportunities in your community for teens to read with children, senior citizens, individuals who are blind, or
hospital patients.
Encourage and expand “world” and “text” experiences to broaden their horizons
Let your child read and fill out his application for a sports camp. Help your teenager apply to colleges, sign up for classes, register to
vote and bank online. Discuss the form as you complete it together (e.g., Why do you think they want to know this? Which
experience should I choose to describe here and why?)
On vacations or in your own city, take the family to museums and historical exhibits that immerse the viewer in another time or
culture. Exhibits about ancient Egypt, American Indians, pioneers, whalers or historic renovated houses display another perspective
through artifacts, photos, architecture, journals, records and art.
Take your teen to the local library
Help him get his own library card. Ask librarians to tell him about different resources, such
as books, magazines, reference materials, computers, homework programs, and the "Young
Adult" section of the library, which has fiction and non-fiction books for teens. Find out the
library's hours so that he can return on his own.
Provide opportunities and resources for rich vocabulary development
Buy a "word a day" calendar for the house. Put it on the dining table or by the telephone where it can be seen each day. Have family
members try to use the word several times in conversation. Encourage your child to bring home a word bank he uses at school. Add
new words to the word bank when new vocabulary comes up during homework time or in conversation.
Allow your teen to choose her books
Teens are more likely to read books or magazines that interest them. Help your teen find books on a topic or hobby that interests
her, or give her some time on her own to explore the library and bookstore. Consider giving her a subscription to a magazine that
she would enjoy.
If your teen has difficulty reading or writing, talk to his teachers immediately
Ask the teachers to evaluate why your teen is struggling, what the school is doing to help him, and what you can do at home to
support your teen. When teens struggle with reading, it's important for parents and teachers to work together to help solve the
problem.
Don't worry if your teen isn't always interested in pleasure reading
Sometimes, teens just aren't interested in reading. Maybe they are focused on their friends, activities, or schoolwork. That's normal
— give them some time, and keep lots of reading material around the house. They will pick it up when they are ready!
Look for reading materials related to your family history or culture
As teens get older and begin to think about their own identities, they often become more
interested in their backgrounds. This interest can contribute to a healthy sense of pride in their
heritage and culture, and reading is a great way for your teen to explore those interests.
Information will be available at the library, on the Internet, and maybe even in your attic.
Some Suggested Titles
African-American
Bud, Not Buddy by
Christopher Paul
Curtis (2000)
Latino/a
Esperanza Rising by
Pam Muñoz Ryan
(2002)
Forged by Fire by Sharon
Draper (1998)
Cuba 15 by Nancy Osa
(2003)
Convicted in the Womb:
One Man’s Journey for
Prisoner to Peacemaker by
Carl Upchurch
My Land Sings:
Stories from the Rio
Grande by Rudolfo
Anaya (1999)
Handbook for Boys, Walter
Dean Myers
Breaking Through by
Francisco Jimenez
(2001)
Monster: Autobiography of
an L.A. Gang Member by
Sanyika Shakur
My Grandfather’s Son: A
Memoir by Clarence Thomas
Before We Were Free
by Julia Alvarez (2003)
Asian-American
A Step From Heaven by An Na
(2001)
Native American
Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac
American Born Chinese by
Gene Luen Yang
Unsung Heroes of World War II:
The Story of the Navajo Code
Talkers by Deanne Durrett
A Suitcase of Seaweed and
Other Poems by Janet S. Wong
Black Mirror by Nancy Werlin
The Absolutely True Diary of a
Part-Time Indian by Sherman
Alexie
Candle in the Wind by
Maureen Wartski
Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher
Necessary Roughness by
Marie G. Lee
The Color of My
Words by Lynn
Joseph (2000)
A Personal Odyssey by
Thomas Sowell
If your teen is bilingual, encourage reading in both languages
The important thing is for your teen to read. It's ok if your teen reads in his first language, second language, or both languages! If
your teen prefers reading in Spanish, for example, look for Spanish books and magazines at the library. This will help him keep his
Spanish skills strong and give him more reading practice - which will also help his English reading skills too.
Talk to your teen's teachers about reading
Don't be shy — the teacher will welcome your interest! Ask for lists of books for your teen to read independently at home, and ways
that you can support reading at home.
When I look back, I am so impressed again
with the life-giving power of literature.
If I were a young person today,
trying to gain a sense of
myself in the world,
I would do that again by reading,
just as I did when I was young.
~ Maya Angelou ~
Parent Tips:
How to Get Your Teen Writing
What are some things that you as a parent can do to support your struggling and/or reluctant teenage writer? Here are a number of
suggestions adapted from parent writing guides created by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), Great Schools, and
Colorín Colorado to help you get started.
Practice, practice, practice
Writing takes practice! Let your teen see you write often and encourage him to write often, too. At-home writing might include emails, instant messaging, thank-you notes, scrapbook descriptions, diaries, and what's-for-dinner notes. (NCTE)
Try writing for different audiences
Encourage your teen to expand his range and abilities by writing for many different audiences. He could try a letter to the editor or to
a legislator, a silly story for his younger sister, or a "top ten" list to cheer up a sick friend. (NCTE)
Make language fun
Have fun with language yourself and share that sense of play with your teen. Point out new words and phrases you come across in
the newspaper or on the radio; share favorite song lyrics; get creative in naming a new pet or in writing gift cards. (NCTE)
Encourage your teen to examine different styles of (and reasons for) writing
Encourage your teen to compare the styles of different authors, and to compare how a newspaper editorial may be different than a
website or an instruction manual.
Encourage your teen to pursue forms of writing that interest him
If your teen has found a form of writing that he enjoys, encourage him to pursue it whether it's poetry, journal and letter writing, or
writing on the internet. If your teen is learning English, you may wish to encourage him to practice writing informally in his first
language as a way to become familiar with basic writing skills. However, when writing assignments in English, students should write
directly in English, rather than writing in their native language first and then translating the assignment into English as their
vocabulary will probably be much larger in their native language and they may not be able to translate everything they write.
Encourage your teen to write about personal thoughts and interests
Encourage your teen to use writing to think more deeply about things in his life questions, problems, difficult assignments, hobbies,
and topics he wants to learn more about. Writing regularly in a journal may provide a valuable outlet and space for him. (NCTE)
Make sure your teen has what he needs to write
Support your teen by making sure he has adequate materials for writing (sufficient paper, pens, pencils, etc.), as well as a quiet
place to work. If your teen must write an assignment on a computer and you don't have a computer at home, check with the school's
computer lab to see if he can complete assignments in the lab, or check computer availability at your public library. In addition, make
sure he has a good Spanish/English dictionary in order to translate new vocabulary, and help him learn how to use it.
Support your teen's efforts to learn English
If your teen's writing problems are related to a limited English-language proficiency, ask his teachers what you and your child can do
to improve his English reading and writing skills.
Online Writing Communities and Publishing Opportunities
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Teen Ink (http://www.teenink.com/)
Inkspot.Com (http://www.inkspot.com/)
Teen Voices (http://www.teenvoices.com/)