The project website: https://literallyeunited.weebly.com/

“Literacy can be seen as dependent on instruction, with the corollary that quality of instruction is key. This view emphasizes the developmental nature of literacy — the passage of children through successive stages of literacy, in each of which the reading and writing tasks change qualitatively and the role of the instructor has to change accordingly.”— (Jeanne S. Chall, 1996) In our schools, students should be in Stage 3 of Chall’s stages of literacy chart. That is, « Reading is used to learn new ideas, to gain new knowledge, to experience new feelings, to learn new attitudes, generally from one viewpoint. » To help our students acquire these skills, we have, according to her, to develop the reading and study of various types of material, that contain new ideas and values, unfamiliar vocabulary and syntax, and reacting to the text through discussion, answering questions, writing, and reading of increasingly more complex texts. However we have noticed in our schools, that around 15/20% of our students haven’t acquired this stage by the end and struggle to read beyond the letter, and see the implicit meaning of any type of document. We also know thanks to reports issued by the European Commission that low literacy individuals have more difficult access to the labor market, and lower income. They are also less likely to read (later) to their children, which may slow their own children’s own literacy development. Parallely to that, in January 2019, the European Commission launched a Digital Education Plan (DEAP)to address the lack of 44% Europeans in basic digital skills whereas 90% of future jobs need them.

Our project thus aims at tackling these issues and developing the different types of literate practices among our students.;the knowledge, skills and strategies needed to respond to print, paper, digital, visual and oral communications. This project aims at helping schools afford implemeting new activities, the different subjects and skills taught at school, go beyond regular school curriculums and help students develop further their literacy skills, and help reduce this figure of 15/20 % of students having literacy issues, and belong to the 56% of people who master the basic digital skills . Thanks to the use of innovative ICT tools, peer work and cross disciplinary activities we hope to include and encourage all our students become more self-confident about their own skills, and go further for those who don't fall in the low figures of achievement. Thus, our schools will also suffer less from early school leaving, but also allow all our students to consider long term schooling. Moreover, as our schools are located in rural or semi urban areas, this project will help our students to open up to other cultures, and fight their bias. By collaborating with European students and learning about their culture, we will build bridges between our countries and establish a longlasting relationship. Our students will become better achieved European citizens.