I assumed, before entering this class, that literacy was more than just the text on a page. I thought literacy was something bigger than just reading words. I even assumed that I never had to question what literacy meant or what it meant to be a literate person. Because I never asked questions, I never thought about my answers. “Not just the text on the page.” You cannot define something by saying what it is not. It would be like trying to define a duck as follows: it is not a pigeon. Which leads us to ask once again, “So what is it?” » Also, what does it mean to be “something greater than just reading words”? Thinking about it now, I never even tried to explain what that “something” might be. I was confident that the “something” was there and that it could be taught to children safely. Although my assumptions were perhaps a little naive, I don't think they were too far off from those of other educators. I recently watched a video called “What does it mean to be literate in the 21st century?” » In this video, educators are asked the question: “What is literacy?” » Most of them respond with vague ideas that there is more than just texts and books (bibliosmartgirl). Like me, they don't think about what "more" is. A few weeks ago I asked a few colleagues and a few people I consider extremely educated what they thought literacy was. With the utmost confidence, they all gave me a very short answer that rested firmly on someone's ability to read and write. Again, like me, they did not expand their answers because it was assumed that “something” or “more” was baked into the simple answer. But is this really the case? When we were asked, “What is literacy?” I wrote down some vague examples, then realized I hadn't thought...... middle of paper ...... literacy.Referencesbibliosmartgirl. What does it mean to be literate in the 21st century? (short version 8 min). (November 29, 2009). YouTube. Retrieved November 12, 2013 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn0_H-kvxkUJager Adams, M. (2011). The relationship between alphabetic foundations, word recognition, and reading. In S. Samuals & A. Farstrup (Eds.), What research has to say about teaching reading (Fourth ed.). Newark, Del: International Reading Association. Kucer, Stephen B. (2009). Dimensions of literacy: a conceptual basis for teaching reading and writing in schools. Taylor and Francois. Kindle edition. Hull, GA and Moje, EB (2012). What is literacy development? Commissioned articles on language and literacy issues in the Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards,94, 52.