Why Teaching Literacy in Content Area is Important

Writing and reading are activities of composing as they include the making of meaning on the part of thoses engaged in the activity (Vacca, Vacca, & Mraz, 2016). Literacy has increasingly become important in processing and constructing meaning from new and existing content. As such, literacy instruction in the classroom is very crucial and should include content-area literacy. Literacy is a skill required in every century and is increasingly becoming important. Actually, adolescents entering the 21st century adult world are likely to read and write more than at any other time in human history and as such will need advanced levels of literacy to be able to fulfill their duties, act as citizens, manage their households, and maintain their personal lives (Vacca et al.

Literacy is considered to be multimodal as it is interactive and informative and it occurs in a more and more technological context where information is part of visual, audio, and spatial patterns (Boche, 2014). Therefore, expanding literacy in the classroom could mean that teachers are able to use technology for a specific and meaningful purpose. However, responding to the needs of learners and requirements of students in an ever-changing world is one of the greatest challenges of teaching new and multiliteracies (Boche, 2012). Teachers must be able to learn about and analyze technology and media their students use. Teachers need to be skillful with various technologies and learn to integrate technology and information literacy to ensure that learners are able to master and use technologies in responsible ways (Cervetti, Damico, & Pearson, 2006).