What is literacy?

Before this class, I thought I had a broad definition of literacy. I mean, I count the Internet, magazines, and text messages as needing literary skills to decode. After discussing literacy in this class, I now realize how limited my supposed broad definition was. I hadn't considered reading signs, body language, picture, or price tags as literacy. After doing the interview with my sister-in-law (she was a late in life baby and is a freshman), I realize all of the different types of literacy that she employs to negotiate her world. Are they all educational literacies? Maybe. Most can be incorporated into a curriculum. After all, one needs to interpret (i.e.- "read") signs to know where you are going. Reading body language is extremely important, especially in the working world where so much is left unsaid. By having an awareness of all the different literacies and making my students aware, they will also be able to broaden their definition of literacy and see that they "read" in almost every action which they do.