Reading to learn: Instructional Strategy of the Month
Supporting Literacy Across the Content Areas
-adapted from Perspectives of Policy and Practice, Brown University 2001
“Reading is a different task when we read literature, science texts, historical analyses, newspapers, tax forms. This is why teaching students how to read the texts of academic disciplines is a key part of teaching them these disciplines.” (Key Ideas of the Strategic Literacy Initiative, 2001)
Literacy - the ability to read, write, speak, listen, and think effectively - enables adolescents to learn and to communicate clearly in and out of school. Being literate enables people to access power through the ability to become informed, to inform others, and to make informed decisions. Adolescents need to have strong literacy skills so that they can understand academic content, communicate in a credible way, participate in cultural communities, and negotiate the world. In addition to a cultural component, therefore, building literacy addresses empowerment and equity issues.
What happens, as is often the case, when literacy skills are too weak to support learning in content areas? At the middle school and high school levels, literacy skills must become increasingly sophisticated to meet more challenging academic expectations. The ability to transact meaning from the academic text of different disciplines is often not directly taught, with the consequence of failure to comprehend those academic topics. For example, if students can’t understand a scientific argument, then they can’t understand the science that they’re trying to learn. If students can’t understand how history is presented, they can’t understand the points being made or connect those to what is happening in the present. If these literacy skills are not fluent due to lack of practice and inappropriate instruction, all but the most advanced readers and writers are placed at a disadvantage.
Research suggests there are four elements that are necessary for true improvement in literacy for secondary students and Cross Creek is on the right track. Elements include (1) Motivation, (2) Strategies, (3) Organizational support, and (4) Commitment to literacy across the curriculum. Cross Creek’s program uses SEL education (R-time) to help with intangibles such as motivation and mindset. The Powerful Teaching and Learning component employs strategies and protocols to assist in increasing literacy instruction. Fidelity to the model is key in this endeavor. Finally, commitment from all content teachers to insert literacy skill-builders in class is key. Instinctively we know that, but how can we get there?
Even though literacy strategies are part of the curriculum and instruction of English, the teaching of literacy strategies is everyone’s job. Regardless of the content standards for any content area, national and state standards include gaining new knowledge in a particular content and being able to communicate that knowledge. Thus, all content areas have the job of teaching literacy, not just English language arts.
Supporting Literacy Development in the MATH Classroom
A secondary math classroom that supports literacy development uses language processes to enhance understanding and to demonstrate understanding. Especially with word problems, teachers model problem-solving through thinking aloud, and students articulate, verbally or in writing, how they solve problems. Students and teachers develop concepts actively. They make frequent use of word play and connections to real-life applications. They also use varied and flexible grouping, team construction, and presentation of responses to problematic scenarios requiring mathematical solutions.
Many people believe math only involves numbers, but there’s a great deal of instructional language involved in this subject area, too. One area of concern for readers is word problems. Students may have difficulty analyzing the written information in a problem such as this one: "Juan loans Laura six hundred and fifty-two dollars. He charges her an interest rate of 5% per month. If Laura waits three months to repay the loan, how much money will she owe Juan?" A problem like this one requires students to understand the functions related to words like "loan," "charge," and "owe."
Click the button above or below for an excellent chapter excerpt at how to infuse literacy skills within the math classroom.
Resources/More information:
https://www.brown.edu/academics/education-alliance/sites/brown.edu.academics.education-alliance/files/publications/adlitcontent.pdf http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/105137/chapters/Reading-in-the-Mathematics-Classroom.aspx
https://www.lexialearning.com/blog/teaching-literacy-across-curriculum-focus-academic-language
-adapted from Perspectives of Policy and Practice, Brown University 2001
“Reading is a different task when we read literature, science texts, historical analyses, newspapers, tax forms. This is why teaching students how to read the texts of academic disciplines is a key part of teaching them these disciplines.” (Key Ideas of the Strategic Literacy Initiative, 2001)
Literacy - the ability to read, write, speak, listen, and think effectively - enables adolescents to learn and to communicate clearly in and out of school. Being literate enables people to access power through the ability to become informed, to inform others, and to make informed decisions. Adolescents need to have strong literacy skills so that they can understand academic content, communicate in a credible way, participate in cultural communities, and negotiate the world. In addition to a cultural component, therefore, building literacy addresses empowerment and equity issues.
What happens, as is often the case, when literacy skills are too weak to support learning in content areas? At the middle school and high school levels, literacy skills must become increasingly sophisticated to meet more challenging academic expectations. The ability to transact meaning from the academic text of different disciplines is often not directly taught, with the consequence of failure to comprehend those academic topics. For example, if students can’t understand a scientific argument, then they can’t understand the science that they’re trying to learn. If students can’t understand how history is presented, they can’t understand the points being made or connect those to what is happening in the present. If these literacy skills are not fluent due to lack of practice and inappropriate instruction, all but the most advanced readers and writers are placed at a disadvantage.
Research suggests there are four elements that are necessary for true improvement in literacy for secondary students and Cross Creek is on the right track. Elements include (1) Motivation, (2) Strategies, (3) Organizational support, and (4) Commitment to literacy across the curriculum. Cross Creek’s program uses SEL education (R-time) to help with intangibles such as motivation and mindset. The Powerful Teaching and Learning component employs strategies and protocols to assist in increasing literacy instruction. Fidelity to the model is key in this endeavor. Finally, commitment from all content teachers to insert literacy skill-builders in class is key. Instinctively we know that, but how can we get there?
Even though literacy strategies are part of the curriculum and instruction of English, the teaching of literacy strategies is everyone’s job. Regardless of the content standards for any content area, national and state standards include gaining new knowledge in a particular content and being able to communicate that knowledge. Thus, all content areas have the job of teaching literacy, not just English language arts.
Supporting Literacy Development in the MATH Classroom
A secondary math classroom that supports literacy development uses language processes to enhance understanding and to demonstrate understanding. Especially with word problems, teachers model problem-solving through thinking aloud, and students articulate, verbally or in writing, how they solve problems. Students and teachers develop concepts actively. They make frequent use of word play and connections to real-life applications. They also use varied and flexible grouping, team construction, and presentation of responses to problematic scenarios requiring mathematical solutions.
Many people believe math only involves numbers, but there’s a great deal of instructional language involved in this subject area, too. One area of concern for readers is word problems. Students may have difficulty analyzing the written information in a problem such as this one: "Juan loans Laura six hundred and fifty-two dollars. He charges her an interest rate of 5% per month. If Laura waits three months to repay the loan, how much money will she owe Juan?" A problem like this one requires students to understand the functions related to words like "loan," "charge," and "owe."
Click the button above or below for an excellent chapter excerpt at how to infuse literacy skills within the math classroom.
Resources/More information:
https://www.brown.edu/academics/education-alliance/sites/brown.edu.academics.education-alliance/files/publications/adlitcontent.pdf http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/105137/chapters/Reading-in-the-Mathematics-Classroom.aspx
https://www.lexialearning.com/blog/teaching-literacy-across-curriculum-focus-academic-language
