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“You know the person your going to meet is somewhere close in the building preparing for you, maybe by looking you up on Facebook or Googling your name, possibly reading an embarrassing entry about you on your mom's blog or being surprised to not find you on LinkedIn,” said Hanaike.

“I can't just be myself where and when I want because anything I do has the potential to end up on some site somewhere where anyone can look at it and judge. I feel like I need to water down who I am.”

This new, expanded definition of literacy includes the development of a set of interrelated skills that include reading, writing, speaking, viewing, listening, and questioning; all leading to the ability to critically assess and use information. We inhabit a world in which information is coming at us in ways that impact all of our senses. Today's teachers understand that giving their students the skills to interpret information, however it's packaged, is also an important part of educating learners who are prepared to succeed in this century's competitive global workplace. Teachers are teaching their students how to evaluate all types of information sources. Whether it's hard text, electronic informational sources, MTV, or a documentary film, teachers are helping students learn to think critically about the information they encounter. So, how does this instruction look in the content area classroom?

“Some questions invite inspiration. Great teachers ask those. That may take just a small change of words, an inflection of the voice. Here is a question that might not invite inspiration: ‘How is a true prophet recognized?’ That question invites an answer which is a list, drawn from memory, of the scriptures and the words of living prophets. … “But we could ask the question this way, with just a small difference: ‘When have you felt you were in the presence of a prophet?’ That will invite individuals to search their memories for feelings. After asking, we might wait for a moment before calling on someone to respond. Even those who do not speak will be thinking of spiritual experiences. That will invite the Holy Ghost.”1

“The major role of a teacher is to prepare the way so that the [students] will have a spiritual experience with the Lord. … All true gospel teaching is done by the Holy Ghost. … We must be careful not to get in the way. … The most important thing a teacher can do is to help the student feel the Spirit of the Lord.”

student participation can fill about half of the lesson time