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 How can teachers support the literacy growth of students from lower socioeconomic households?

Abstract

I have spent my entire teaching career working in high-needs Title I schools. These are the schools where I love to work. The teachers, students, and other staff all have a certain something about them to make them special and great to work with. Because of my experiences in these schools, the question I am seeking to answer is How can teachers support the literacy growth of students from lower socioeconomic households? 

The rationale for this synthesis question is that across the nation, students in schools like mine are not meeting proficiency in literacy. In analyzing the trend in schools where I have worked, the students who are not meeting proficiency are very often the students who are coming from lower socioeconomic households. Related to this, these students are also often English language learners and/or non-white students. When many of these students enter into the school system, they are already considered to be academically behind. Allowing these children a fair opportunity to meet the literacy expectations our system puts forth is a goal of mine.

Through the entirety of the NLGL program, I have been looking for ways that I can support my students with the highest needs. Though not all of my findings are detailed in this site, I hope to have captured many of the main points that will help teachers everywhere succeed in growing their students' literacy skills. Some of the most fundamental aspects of helping students from lower socioeconomic households succeed can be found in phonics instruction, providing experiences, building background knowledge, forming relationships, and involving families.

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