MD1 ASS

Learning Resources

Required Resources

Note: Be sure to complete this module's Discussion before reviewing the Learning Resources.

Benefits of Literacy

• Online Video: Literacy Empowers
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfQEC029caw
  
  

• Online Excerpt: Education for All - Global Monitoring Report 2006: Chapter 5, Why Literacy Matters
  http://www.unesco.org/education/GMR2006/full/chapt5_eng.pdf

Facts and Figures

• Web Site: List of Countries by Literacy Rate
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_literacy_rate
  
  
• Web Site: Literacy Statistics
  http://www.jcrcboston.org/focus/justice/gbjcl/

Supporting Literacy

• Web Article: "Facing the Ogres of Progress" by Tom Peterson
  http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/heifer/worldark_20080910/index.php?startid=1
  
  
• Web Article: "America Needs a Literacy Corps" by Warren E. Burger and Edward M. Kennedy
  http://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/02/opinion/america-needs-a-literacy-corps.html?scp=10&sq=&st=nyt
  Note: Although this article was written more than 20 years ago, consider its relevancy to society today.
  
  
• Web Article: "Venezuela: Illiteracy Free Territory" by Sarah Wagner
  http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/1079
  

Optional Resources

• Web Site: Literacy in the United States
  http://www.policyalmanac.org/education/archive/literacy.shtml
  
  
• Web Site: Literacy Information and Communication System (LINCS)
  http://lincs.ed.gov/
  
  
• Web Site: Ten Tips for Literacy Advocacy
  http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Ten_Tips_for_Literacy_Advocacy

Assignment: The Vital Importance of Literacy

After you have watched the video, "Literacy Empowers," and explored the Web sites and articles focusing on benefits, facts and figures, and supporting literacy, reflect on the following questions:

• Considering what you have learned about literacy: What are the benefits and impact of literacy, and how can literacy serve as a tool of social equity?

• Why is literacy an elusive goal, both within the United States and around the world? And, what strategies do you think are most effective in supporting literacy development for each and every human being?

Submit a paper summarizing your responses to the above questions. Use examples to explain the ways your understanding has expanded and/or deepened, and be sure to cite your sources.

Assignment length: 1–2 pages.

Submit this assignment by Day 7 of Week 3. .