ALC

Adolescent Literacy Commitments

What Are Adolescent Literacy Commitments (ALC's)?

ALC's are literacy strategies designed to assist students meet learner outcomes in content area courses while enhancing their literacy skills. These strategies....

help students understand content
help students interact with language (reading, writing, speaking, listening, representing and viewing)
are taught and transferable
are adopted school-wide
are supported through professional development, administrative support and other ongoing processes

ALC's are part of Reading Well, the literacy plan for FVSD.

Who Uses ALC's?

In FVSD junior and senior high school teachers are committed to the use of carefully selected ALC's. Teachers collaboratively discuss the learning needs of students and select evidence-based literacy strategies based on these needs. These literacy strategies are used on a school-wide basis. Teachers certainly use many other strategies in their classrooms, but commit themselves to using the agreed-upon literacy strategies to ensure continuity and transparency for students.

What Are Examples of ALC's?

A list of ALC's could be long indeed - and teachers routinely use many of these strategies as part of their instructional programming for students. When selecting ALC's it is important to keep in mind the learning needs of students and the research / evidence supporting the effectiveness of literacy strategies. The following is a sample list of ALC's:

Graphic Organizers
Scheduled Reading Time
Read Alouds
Vocabulary Development Framework
K-W-L Charts
Writing to Learn
Reciprocal Teaching
SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review)
Common Note-Taking
Word Walls

Which ALC's Are Common to Schools in FVSD?

While each school selects ALC's specific to the needs of their students, some of the ALC's found in FVSD are graphic organizers, scheduled reading time, vocabulary development, SQ3R and common note-taking.

What Research / Literature Supports ALC's?

There is an abundance of literature available for each of the selected ALC's. The following is an abbreviated list of some of the resources supporting the concept of Adolescent Literacy Commitments as well as literature specific to some of the selected ALC's...

Fisher, D., Frey, N. & Williams, D. Seven Literacy Strategies That Work. (May, 2002). Educational Leadership, ASCD
Fisher, D., Ivey, G. Creating Literacy Rich Schools for Adolescents, ASCD

Schmoker, M. Results Now. ASCD

Marzano, R.J. Building Academic Vocabulary: Teacher's Manual, ASCD

The Lesson Collection (video). SQ3R, ASCD

Marzano, R.J. Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement: Researchon What Works in Schools, ASCD

Irvin, J.L., Meltzer, J. & Dukes, M. Taking Action of Adolescent Literacy: An Implementation Guide for School Leaders, ASCD

Welcome to FVSD Our Schools Board and Governance Teaching and Learning Human Resources Publications Current Initiatives Reading Well School Completion FVSD Events Departments Forms Contact Information Contact Information Fort Vermilion School Division No. 52 P.O. Bag 1, 5213 River Road Fort Vermilion, AB T0H 1N0 Phone: (780) 927-3766 Fax: (780) 927-4625 General Inquiries	Adolescent Literacy Commitments What Are Adolescent Literacy Commitments (ALC's)? ALC's are literacy strategies designed to assist students meet learner outcomes in content area courses while enhancing their literacy skills. These strategies.... help students understand content help students interact with language (reading, writing, speaking, listening, representing and viewing) are taught and transferable are adopted school-wide are supported through professional development, administrative support and other ongoing processes ALC's are part of Reading Well, the literacy plan for FVSD. Who Uses ALC's? In FVSD junior and senior high school teachers are committed to the use of carefully selected ALC's. Teachers collaboratively discuss the learning needs of students and select evidence-based literacy strategies based on these needs. These literacy strategies are used on a school-wide basis. Teachers certainly use many other strategies in their classrooms, but commit themselves to using the agreed-upon literacy strategies to ensure continuity and transparency for students. What Are Examples of ALC's? A list of ALC's could be long indeed - and teachers routinely use many of these strategies as part of their instructional programming for students. When selecting ALC's it is important to keep in mind the learning needs of students and the research / evidence supporting the effectiveness of literacy strategies. The following is a sample list of ALC's: Graphic Organizers Scheduled Reading Time Read Alouds Vocabulary Development Framework K-W-L Charts Writing to Learn Reciprocal Teaching SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review) Common Note-Taking Word Walls Which ALC's Are Common to Schools in FVSD? While each school selects ALC's specific to the needs of their students, some of the ALC's found in FVSD are graphic organizers, scheduled reading time, vocabulary development, SQ3R and common note-taking. What Research / Literature Supports ALC's? There is an abundance of literature available for each of the selected ALC's. The following is an abbreviated list of some of the resources supporting the concept of Adolescent Literacy Commitments as well as literature specific to some of the selected ALC's... Fisher, D., Frey, N. & Williams, D. Seven Literacy Strategies That Work. (May, 2002). Educational Leadership, ASCD Fisher, D., Ivey, G. Creating Literacy Rich Schools for Adolescents, ASCD Schmoker, M. Results Now. ASCD Marzano, R.J. Building Academic Vocabulary: Teacher's Manual, ASCD The Lesson Collection (video). SQ3R, ASCD Marzano, R.J. Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement: Researchon What Works in Schools, ASCD Irvin, J.L., Meltzer, J. & Dukes, M. Taking Action of Adolescent Literacy: An Implementation Guide for School Leaders, ASCD