The Literacy Games: Summer Lessons About Media from YA Fiction

I chose to examine the educational theory of multiliteracies for work one.  I found a very relevant connection in the attached article. 

Jonathan Alexander, a professor of English and Education at the University of California, Irvine writes a fascinating approach that really spoke to me in my career.  I am a middle school educator and my students are completely engrossed in young adult literature.  The article highlighted the releases of young adult series such as Divergent and The Hunger Games as monumental since they create industries that perfectly embody multiliteracies.  The stories that these young people are reading are spread from publishing to filmmaking.  The expanse past that is dynamic because it reaches into creation on the part of these young individuals, who are connecting the literature to creation in the form of gaming, role playing, etc.  The effect I have seen on my students is powerful.  Students who I know as struggling and apathetic readers are diving into the books before, and sometimes even after, they view the films.  I am seeing the reach of the multiliteracy power of this genre.  They are creating works in Art classes where they are replicating the characters, creating games in Video and Animation classes in which popular characters are interacting with characters of their own imagination, and are even preparing dishes in the Family and Consumer Science classes inspired by their favorite character’s homelands.  The article cites media scholar Henry Jenkins, stating today’s media and culture industries promote a “participatory culture” where entire communities of fans are inspired to not only consume, but ‘prosume’ meaning they not only passively receive the content, but are passing along and sharing the content.  One way this is done is through learning new digital skills and programs. 

Alexander notes that every country increasingly wants its citizens to be trained in a variety of literacies to promote and ensure increasing competitiveness worldwide and maintenance of a better standard of living.  As educators, it is crucial for us to create lessons surrounding media and teaching multiple ways in which to approach creation.  https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-literacy-games-summer-lessons-about-media-from-ya-fiction/#!