Adolescent literacy skills getting attention, too

Ellen Rose's sophomore language arts students weren't just reading an Arthur Miller essay. They were taking it apart, scribbling in the margins of the text questions about the essay, highlighting words they didn't understand, recording their observations and making notes about interesting phrases.

These notes are a way for them to mark their impressions—and confusion—about a text. It builds their comprehension, and helps Rose, a teacher at East Detroit High School in Eastpointe, determine where students may need additional help.

It's just one of the many strategies area teachers are using to boost the literacy skills of secondary students. Because even as math and science grab the big headlines about high school achievement, there is growing realization that just as much focus should be paid to the literacy skills of adolescents. Read the article in The Detroit Free Press online.