Appendix A Discovery and Application By Daniel Cluff This assignment reminded me of the Mark Twain quote The man

who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read ! "iteracy is a lifelong commitment that is needed wherever our feet go #eading Appendix A instilled a deeper understanding and increased commitment to improve literacy as a teacher in all realms of my influence The following is an account of what $ read in Appendix A and how it has changed my understanding and implication of the common core curriculum Appendix A stresses the importance of text complexity Text complexity is important to performance in academics and society $n reviewing the top performers of academic testing researchers were a%le to determine high performance was directly linked to the a%ility to understand complex text &hat students could read' in terms of its complexity was at least as important as what they could do with what they read! $t is unfortunate to note that our academic level of text complexity has dropped in the last () years' which in turn' has lead to too many students performing at low levels Addressing the issues with literacy is difficult for two primary reasons* +ach assessment tool is imperfect and has certain strengths and limitations' and literacy understanding does not necessarily follow a linier growth pattern in correlation with age and level of achievement The rest of Appendix A discussed the foundational skills of #eading' writing' speaking and listening Appendix A really did change my perspective on the why! of information literacy and the difficulty of how! to measure and improve information literacy There were many sections that made me stop and reflect on the importance of literacy

,onestly' my eyes gla-ed over when $ read the word orthography!' so instead of .ust passing %y it and getting the .ist of it $ decided to attack the literacy shortfalls in my own life $t is word comprised of two /reek root words0 orthos' meaning correct and graphia' meaning writing $ liked how the section on writing ela%orated the fact that good writing aids a student and her audience to make a good decision' a skill that goes %eyond the confines of the classroom and workplace +ach section of this appendix seemed to %uild on the theme that literacy is always progressing in each person at different levels and at different times in each life To conclude' one quote seemed to em%ody the entire purpose of Appendix A Marilyn 1ager Adams stressed the importance of voca%ulary' which could easily %e given to any aspect of literacy' %y saying &ords are not .ust words They are the nexus2 the interface2 %etween communication and thought &hen we read' it through words that we %uild' refine' and modify our knowledge &hat makes voca%ulary valua%le and important is not the words themselves so much as the understandings they afford ! That is the %eauty of literacy' the a%ility to gather and wield intellectual tools that can magnify and %uild our personal understanding 3nce that understanding is gained' we are given an avenue where%y we can share it with another That is what $ hope to stress as a teacher in my current situation and future classroom