Literacy development doesn’t end when students learn to read, and supporting adolescent readers requires attention not only to skills, but also to identity, confidence, and dignity.
In this episode of The Good Life EDU Podcast, Andrew Easton welcomes Dr. Naomi Watkins, Secondary English Language Arts Specialist for the Utah State Board of Education, for a conversation about what adolescent literacy truly requires.
Drawing from her experiences as a middle school English teacher, literacy researcher, instructional coach, and statewide leader, Naomi explores why literacy development must continue well beyond the elementary years. She unpacks the differences among foundational literacy, content-area literacy, and disciplinary literacy, while illustrating how students need different kinds of support as texts, expectations, and learning contexts become more complex.
The conversation also examines the deeply human side of literacy. For adolescents who have struggled with reading for years, those experiences can shape how they see themselves as learners. Naomi discusses the importance of preserving student dignity, building confidence through meaningful skill development, and providing intervention that is targeted, effective, and designed to help students move forward.
Andrew and Naomi also consider the systems that make this work possible from strong Tier 1 instruction and specialized intervention to helping educators across content areas recognize the role language plays in learning.
Ultimately, the conversation points to literacy as more than an academic skill. Reading, writing, speaking, listening, and story help young people make sense of themselves, others, and the world around them.
