Encouraging middle- and high-school students to be generative thinkers helps heighten their chances for effective literacy skills. Teachers should incorporate lessons and activities that enable students to generate a deeper understanding of the material, according to "Guidelines for Teaching Middle and High School Students to Read and Write Well," published by the Center on English Learning and Achievement. As well as reading and discussing a literary work, students learn to be generative thinkers by researching a novel's time period, exploring the text from a variety of view points and comparing and contrasting the work with other pieces of literature. Teachers can also enhance students' understanding of a given text by asking them to consider how particular issues in a work relate to their own lives.
Students must have effective and up-to-date instructional materials to read and write well, and teachers nationwide ensure students have access to these materials, according to the study, "Improving Literacy Instruction in Middle and High Schools," published by the Center on Instruction by the Florida Center for Reading Research at Florida State University. Principals support their teachers by ensuring funding is available to purchase these instructional materials. Ranging from books to magazines to journals to the Internet, these instructional materials, when used by students, helps them improve their literacy skills.
Students who are offered opportunities to write with purpose for an actual audience are more likely to take an interest in writing and be more passionate about their writing, according to the article, "30 Ideas for Teaching Writing," published by the National Writing Project. Students have more motivated when writing for a real cause than a hypothetical purpose. To incorporate purposeful writing in a classroom, have students choose an issue in their community, and write to a community leader detailing a solution to the problem.
Students who are excited and motivated about literacy lessons are more likely to score higher on assignments and tests. Teachers that strive to implement interesting lessons are more likely to keep their students interested. Students retain more information when they read literature that is relevant to their lives, and have learning opportunities that support their personal choice, according to the Center on Instruction at the Florida Center for Reading Research at Florida State University.