Abstract
This essay will be looking at how literacy fits in history and drama. It will be discussing why it is important and how it is used in these subjects. It will use the Australian curriculum to outline that literacy keeps the society going. The skills one needs in literacy is reading, writing, talking and listening. These will be discussed throughout the essay in the two chosen contexts. Like saying goes “the more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go – Dr. Seuss.
Why Literacy Matters
Literacy is important in everyday life whether it be reading, writing, listening or speaking. Everyone uses it every day; however, this essay will persuade you that history and drama in primary teaching are two contexts in which literacy is an important foundation to have. Literacy is an important tool in life as we know it. Teaching this area in different subjects is a great way to understand literacy from altering angles. In primary, students need the opportunity to discover varying types of literacy (Nora Hughes, 2010). If the students do not get the opportunity to do this it is putting their learning at risk because they need to experiment and learn literacy in different contexts. It is important for teachers to prepare the students for later life. Therefore having literacy in history and drama is a different way of looking into literacy not just the words but how they are written and the context in which they appear.
History students must thoroughly comprehend literacy and be able to use literacy devices when engaging in the subject.
Having a broad understanding of literacy is important this is because of the uses it has. Literacy has an important impact in history such as, reading and identifying information, extracting information also understanding specific terms unique to history language. In the curriculum there is a list of topics that need to be covered. If the students are below average for their age group in literacy it could be a problem for them to build on their learning and access content. Skills which are tested in history consist of comprehending the information which is given. In the Australian curriculum, a specific topic called “developing a narrative about the past” is one strand in the subject of history. The description of what the students are needing to achieve says “retelling a story about a significant event a student’s family celebrates or commemorates such as birthdays, weddings, christenings, religious festivals” (Australia, 2015). Literacy is the single most important part of education, why? Because literacy is the ability to read, write, speak, listen, and view in a way that allows you to communicate with others effectively. Literacy also allows the global world to access information. The 21st century is known as “Digital Natives” (Neilson, 2015) this is due to, teachers and the world accessing online information on their technology. The internet is an amazing tool used in history. Students need to ability to research information, type questions or words to find information, read and understand so that they can process the information then regurgitate when they are called upon to share what they found.
Literacy is needed to carry out many kinds of tasks. This is especially seen in years five and six. Most teachers hand out a sheet with the instructions on it expecting the students to know how to read and make sense of it. Most teachers assume their students to know basic literacy not knowing they possibly need to have a lesson on it to see where their students are. To make sure students are at this level of being confident to read without assistance the teacher needs to know where they are with reading. This could be as simple as giving out a book to read and asking the students to take some notes from the book they read to make sure they are reading and not getting left behind in their literacy. Students
