Consonant with readiness for college, careers, and civic life, literate individuals develop knowledge
of the world and other human beings through meaningful interactions with texts, media, and people
during their elementary and secondary schooling. Through these interactions, they develop the
knowledge, abilities, and dispositions that enable them to work collaboratively with individuals from
different cultural, linguistic, and experiential backgrounds. Further, they learn to appreciate diverse
backgrounds and perspectives as assets, seeking to understand them better while respectfully
conveying their own viewpoints.
Become Broadly Literate
As explained in the introduction to this framework, elementary and secondary schools are also
responsible for ensuring that all students become broadly literate. A person who is broadly literate
engages with a variety of books and other texts across a wide range of genres, time periods, cultures,
perspectives, and topics for a multitude of purposes, including learning about new ideas and oneself
and immersing oneself in the sheer pleasure of reading.
Being broadly literate extends beyond reading printed text to encompass viewing live drama or
films, listening to lectures or programs on the radio, or enjoying or performing poetry, such as spoken
word. A person who is broadly literate appreciates an array of texts—books, plays, radio programs,
poetry, film, television, mixed media, and more—for the many possibilities they reveal and the changes
(even small ones) he or she makes by interacting with them. Educators develop students’ broad
literacy by ensuring that students read widely, in part through the implementation of an independent
reading program and by reading aloud.
Wide and Independent Reading
Reading widely and independently is essential to building proficiency in reading and knowledge
across all content areas. Appendix A of the CCSS for ELA/Literacy highlights the need to increase
independent reading, particularly of content-rich informational texts. “There is also evidence that
current standards, curriculum, and instructional practice have not done enough to foster the
independent reading of complex texts so crucial for college and career readiness, particularly in the
case of informational texts” (NGA/CCSSO 2010a: appendix A, 3).
The note on the range and content of student reading in the College and Career Readiness
Standards for Reading (CDE 2013, 10) describes the purpose for reading widely.
To build a foundation for college and career readiness, students must read widely and
deeply from among a broad range of high-quality, increasingly challenging literary and
informational texts. Through extensive reading of stories, dramas, poems, and myths from
diverse cultures and different time periods, students gain literary and cultural knowledge
as well as familiarity with various text structures and elements. By reading texts in history/
social studies, science, and other disciplines, students build a foundation of knowledge
in these fields that will also give them the background to be better readers in all content
areas. Students can only gain this foundation when the curriculum is intentionally and
coherently structured to develop rich content knowledge within and across grades.
Students also acquire the habits of reading independently and closely, which are essential
to their future success.
For students to become broadly literate, they need to read regularly and frequently as a part of
classroom instruction. Abundant exposure to rich texts is a clear focus of the CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy
and is amplified by the CA ELD Standards. High quality instructional materials within each content area
provide appropriate reading selections. In addition, teachers and teacher librarians work together to
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