IST 605: The Stages of Literacy: Emergent through Advanced

The Mature Literacy stage can be alternatively referred to as the Proficient or Fluency phase (Carver, 2023; Richardson, 2016). or in Chall's (1983) framework, the Multiple Viewpoints stage.  Children enter this stage as early as the sixth grade or as late as high school (Carver, 2023; IMSE, 2015).  The previously discussed skills and competencies in the Developing Literacy phase form an important foundation for the development of skills and competencies in the Mature stage, as these skills and competencies get more sophisticated and nuanced to the point of peak efficiency in this final stage of literacy development.  Typically, this stage lasts an individual's lifetime (IMSE, 2015), but these skills can be elaborated upon in higher education, depending on the specialized competencies that are covered.  Specialized literacies that are integral to an individual's professional development can be honed and refined across the span of a career.

At this stage of literacy development, individuals can understand and integrate multiple viewpoints into their analysis of a text (Chall, 1983, as cited in Carver, 2023; IMSE, 2015).  Readers can also sustain their attention and find meaning in longer, more complex texts with multiple layers of embedded meaning (Maryville University, 2022).  Their understanding of vocabulary has advanced to the point that they can determine the meaning of complex words and phrases in context (Fountas & Pinnell, 2022).  Knowledge of Greek and Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes, plus knowledge of word etymologies, helps readers in the most advanced stage of literacy development decipher the meaning of unfamiliar words or phrases that they come across in texts at the higher end of the complexity spectrum (Carver, 2023).  Learners also learn discipline-specific vocabulary during this last stage of reading development.  Whereas the first three stages of literacy development can be characterized as a child laying the groundwork and learning how to read, the last two phases (Developing and Mature) can be characterized as learners reading to learn (Byrnes & Wasik, 2019).  

At this stage, writers are also capable of creating their own texts to convey information from multiple viewpoints for the purposes of informing, persuading, and entertaining (Carver, 2023).  Writing becomes differentiated depending on the audience, the writer's purpose, and the discipline in which it is situated.  

(Maryville University, 2022)

Parents and caregivers can support their children's and adolescents' Mature Literacy growth in a number of ways.

• Give adolescent readers a wide range of reading options
  • Allowing adolescents to choose their own reading materials increases motivation and develops the interest readers need to become lifelong readers and learners (Carver, 2023; Fountas & Pinnell, 2020; Richardson, 2016)
  • Do not attempt to censor their choices.  This promotes resentment and may zap the reader's motivation.  
  • Encourage readers to explore different genres and subgenres of reading in both fiction and nonfiction texts (Fountas & Pinnell, 2022)
• Engage adolescents in conversation surrounding what they're reading and learning about both inside and outside of school.
• Promote further vocabulary development by having adolescents keep a word log of unfamiliar words that they have difficulty understanding in context.
• Have your teen give book talks about their latest and greatest reads.  
  • Showing a genuine interest promotes engagement and stimulates readers' deeper cognitive processes if they have to analyze a text on multiple levels in order to explain it to others.