These are JUST SOME of the startling statistics online, there are so many more. Additionally, the pandemic did not help what was already an educational emergency. The New York Times reports, "New studies now show that about a third of children in the youngest grades are missing reading benchmarks, up significantly from before the pandemic...60 percent of students at some high-poverty schools have been identified as at high risk for reading problems — twice the number of students as before the pandemic...Poor readers are more likely to drop out of high school, earn less money as adults and become involved in the criminal justice system." I don't think we need statistics to tell us what we already know; therefore, we as educators (specifically at the secondary level) are now tasked with an even more prevailing problem than before. So, how does one at the secondary level teach students important skills sets tied to literacy?
This is a question that I asked myself three years ago after returning to in-person learning. I noticed that even my honors and Advanced Placement students had not only struggled with close reading but almost seemed apathetic towards it, and don't even get me started on speaking and listening skills--it was as if students forgot how to communicate in real time, face to face. Because of this I decided to take some courses at the local university to better understand the basics of literacy and since then I have been reading literature, going to conferences, and training teachers on how implement different literacy strategies in all content areas. Here are some of the major takeaways:
1. Reading Issues: As the aforementioned statistics show, we have some major issues with reading in all areas (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension).
Possible Solutions: Scarborough's Reading Rope pretty much sums up what we need to do for reading. For me, this was new information. In secondary education preparation, this was not something we discussed much--or at all. I think it was assumed that as students made their way through the system that they could read by the time they reached middle school. Sadly, that is an assumption that has become less and less true. Scarborough's reading rope teaches us that both language comprehension and word recognition play important roles in helping students become skilled readers. Teachers IN ALL CONTENT AREAS (yes, I'm shouting) need to understand the importance of background knowledge, vocabulary, decoding, etc. and what role they play in helping students access content knowledge. We can try different strategies that help students to tap into background knowledge BEFORE they begin reading texts. We can use vocabulary journals, interactive word walls, word webs, semantic mapping, word sorts, morphemic analysis routine, or any other strategies that ensure that students interact with the words and review them over and over. Check out specifics here. At the secondary level, we may not be trained in all of Scarborough's "strands," but we can certainly begin with background knowledge and vocabulary. 
2. Speaking and Listening Issues: Speaking and listening are the ways in which we communicate and are part of literacy. Our students are having an especially difficult time being willing to have discussions, debates, and to collaborate with their peers; I've seen this in my own classroom, as well as the hundreds of classrooms I've observed. Blame it on whatever--social media, fear, the pandemic, or their awkwardness (they are teens)--but it's something that we need to teach our students to do more than ever.
2. Speaking and Listening Issues: Speaking and listening are the ways in which we communicate and are part of literacy. Our students are having an especially difficult time being willing to have discussions, debates, and to collaborate with their peers; I've seen this in my own classroom, as well as the hundreds of classrooms I've observed. Blame it on whatever--social media, fear, the pandemic, or their awkwardness (they are teens)--but it's something that we need to teach our students to do more than ever.
Possible Solutions: Students need to be taught what an effective discussion looks and sounds like. This is where accountable talk and active listening come in. Accountable talk uses sentence stems to help students enter the conversation giving them the tools and courage to do so. Students should also understand what accountable talk can do to further the learning community they are in, furthers their learning and their peers' learning, and contributes to the acquisition of rigorous thinking. Active Listening is also a skill set we have to teach our students. Since we live in a world where influential, political figures don't even know how to actively listen to each other and instead argue over who is better at golf--don't get your panties in a bunch I won't get on that soap box--it's no wonder why our students struggle to have effective conversations. We are now tasked with teaching students what it truly means to collaborate, debate, and actively listen to be effective and skilled communicators.
3. Writing Issues: If students are struggling to read then it goes without saying that they are struggling to write--in fact ONLY "27% of 8th and 12th graders can write at a proficient level" (National Association of Educational Progress).
Possible Solutions: That being said, we should be writing in EVERY classroom, and we should be providing students with graphic organizers to help them gather their thoughts; outlines to help guide students what to write when; and guided peer reviews. Whether it's ELA, social studies, science, math, electives--you get my point-- students should be writing, and teachers should be teaching students the correct ways to write in their specific content area. I get it, you weren't trained to teach students to write BUT you have an ELA teacher in your building who can help you and who definitely needs your help with teaching writing in all content areas. It's an entire school issue, not just an ELA problem. Let's not piss off the ELA teachers even more.
This "issues" list could go on and on, but quite frankly I'm running out of steam, and you might be falling asleep. The overall point here is that we need to begin focusing more on literacy skills across all content areas. If you think I'm just a jaded ELA teacher then don't take my word for it but read this or if you are already drinking the Kool-Aid then read this. ORRRRRRRR, if you are ready to jump on this bandwagon, then go ahead and check this Padlet out!
Keep on keepin' on,
Michon