MYTH: Reading and writing in digital environments is the same as a print environment.
FACT: The variety of formats and genres in the digital world vastly complicate and expand the skills involved with reading and writing. We are not only consumers of texts in the digital world, but also producers.
MYTH: Beginning in grade 3, students should no longer be learning to read, but instead, should be reading to learn.
FACT: We are learning to read our entire lives as we grapple with unfamiliar texts--from technical manuals to tax forms to graphic novels. We have to figure out how to unlock texts by understanding the conventions of the genre, the vocabulary of the discipline, and the underlying assumptions of the writer.
MYTH: Literacy (reading and writing) is dealt with by the ELA teachers. They've got it covered.
FACT: All teachers are teachers of literacy. Students must learn how to understand and create texts in different disciplines. Genres, text structures, vocabulary, and conventions vary across disciplines.