ABSTRACT
This chapter provides ideas for profitably harnessing teens' and preteens' natural inclination toward talking, and for using listening skills well. Talking and listening can lead to learning and can connect to other components of literacy. Integrating oral language activities with other disciplines' curricular material "ensures that students learn the material more thoroughly and practice speaking and listening skills in a focused but varied environment". Students created an underground literacy consisting of elaborate secret notes and letters to each other, providing an authentic audience and context for writing that was missing in the classroom. Authentic, real-world activities, such as social action and critical literacy projects, can be used in the classroom to demonstrate that what students are learning in school has direct application in their own lives. Once teachers identify potential projects, they can plan activities that will not only increase their students' content knowledge but also their speaking, listening, and other literacy skills in an authentic context.
