Students will apply themselves to learning if the context interests them. Focusing on a subject close to middle school students' hearts, such as fashion, rather than on specific academic tasks such as writing or researching, builds intrinsic motivation for learning. This article explores the Fabulous Fashions program, which engages students in mathematics and literacy through the context of their interest in fashion.
Multilingual and multimodal literacy practices in a out-of-school migrant education program support Cambodian (ethnic Khmer) youth in using diverse modes of communication, revealing the intimate connections among literacy, language, culture, and identity.
African-American adolescent girls who expressed little interest in literacy activities nevertheless enthusiastically engaged in reading and writing around a topic that mattered to them—doing hair—particularly when they were allowed to determine the format of the literacy activities. The program aimed to carve out free spaces for self-directed learning.
A unique afterschool class in making comic strips and comic books, taught by a professional comic artist, encourages both literacy development and identity development in adolescent participants.
Adult facilitators in afterschool programs can work with LGBTQ youth to construct a safe space in which the youth can validate their identities in the process of doing literacy work.