What is a primary benefit of integrating digital and multimodal literacy into elementary literacy instruction, and what is a key way to incorporate it?

• A. It reduces the need for print materials by replacing all books with apps.
• B. It only benefits technology-rich schools and has little impact on comprehension.
• C. It delays literacy development by focusing on gadgets.
• D. It broadens access to texts and supports meaning-making; incorporate e-books, audio, video, interactive texts, and digital writing tools; teach digital literacy skills.

Answer: (D)

Integrating digital and multimodal literacy broadens access to texts and supports meaning-making by allowing students to use multiple modes—print, images, sound, video, and interactives—to construct understanding. When students engage with e‑books, listen to audio versions, watch relevant videos, explore interactive texts, and express ideas with digital writing tools, they can access information in ways that fit their strengths and interests, which boosts engagement, vocabulary, and comprehension while building essential skills for navigating and evaluating digital media.

A practical way to put this into practice is to offer a mix of digital texts and give explicit instruction in how to use them. For example, provide e-books with read-aloud features, audio recordings, short videos, and interactive texts, along with opportunities for students to respond and write using digital tools. Model strategies for reading across modalities, such as comparing information across text and video, annotating while reading or listening, and producing digital responses, so students learn to take meaning from diverse formats and communicate their understanding effectively.