Think you understand Disciplinary Literacy? Think again. In this important reference, content teachers and other educators explore why students need to understand how historians, novelists, mathematicians, and scientists use literacy in their respective fields. ReLeah shows how to teach students to: Evaluate and question evidence (Science) Compare sources and interpret events (History) Favor accuracy over elaboration (Math) Attune to voice and fi gurative language (ELA)
"Much of the professional literature has focused on what disciplinary literacy entails; this valuable contribution explores how it can be implemented in complex school settings." —Doug Buehl, Author of Developing Readers in the Academic Disciplines What happens when middle and high school teachers who know their content very well are told they should be teaching reading and writing too? Is there a bit of resistance? A decrease in self-efficacy? An overturning of curricula? In Disciplinary Literacy in Action, ReLeah Cossett Lent and Marsha Voigt show us a better way. In this sequel to ReLeah’s bestselling This Is Disciplinary Literacy, the authors provide educators with what they’ve wanted all along: a framework that keeps their subjects at the center and shows them how to pool strengths with colleagues in ongoing communities of professional learning (PL) around content-specific literacy. In each chapter, and with a blend of lively disciplinary literacy teaching ideas and razor-sharp insights on developing teacher efficacy and leadership, ReLeah and Marsha take educators through a powerful PL cycle they can replicate in their school. The authors know it works not just because the research says so, but also because they have spent years refining the model in schools, districts, and regions. With this book, you will be ready for Collaborative learning that preserves discipline-specific content yet keeps innovative daily practices of reading, writing, thinking, and doing at the forefront Planning by autonomous literacy leadership teams with administrative support Implementation augmented by peer and disciplinary literacy coaching Reflection that leads to ongoing collective problem solving In the end, it all comes back to how content teachers can best help students use literacy in all its forms to learn more deeply. With Disciplinary Literacy in Action, you have a proven framework for doing just that. This is the resource to lean on as you work to ensure all students use literacy as a tool to think, create, and communicate in any endeavor.
To develop strong disciplinary literacy skills, middle and high school students need to engage with diverse types of challenging texts in every content area. This book provides a blueprint for constructing literacy-rich instructional units in English language arts, science, and social studies. The authors describe how to design interconnected text sets and plan lessons that support learning and engagement before, during, and after reading. Presented are ways to build academic vocabulary and background knowledge, teach research-based comprehension strategies, and guide effective discussions and text-based writing activities. Chapters also cover how to teach students to write argumentative, informative, and narrative essays, and to conduct discipline-specific inquiry. Special features include sample text sets and 24 reproducible planning templates and other teaching tools; purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.
Accessible and engaging, this text provides a comprehensive framework and practical strategies for infusing content-area instruction in math, social studies, and science into literacy instruction for grades K-6. Throughout ten clear thematic chapters, the authors introduce an innovative Content-Driven Integration (CDI) model and a roadmap to apply it in the classroom. Each chapter provides invaluable tools and techniques for pre-service classroom teachers to create a quality integrated thematic unit from start to finish. Features include Chapter Previews, Anticipation Guides, Questions to Ponder, Teacher Spotlights, "Now You Try it" sections, and more. Using authentic examples to highlight actual challenges and teacher experiences, this text illustrates what integrating high-quality, rich content-infused literacy looks like in the real world. Celebrating student diversity, this book discusses how to meet a wide variety of students’ needs, with a focus on English Language Learners, culturally and linguistically diverse students, and students with reading and writing difficulties. A thorough guide to disciplinary integration, this book is an essential text for courses on disciplinary literacy, elementary/primary literacy, and English Language Arts (ELA) methods, and is ideal for pre-service and in-service ELA and literacy teachers, as well as consultants, literacy scholars, and curriculum specialists.
Literacy and popular culture are intrinsically linked as forms of communication, entertainment, and education. Students are motivated to engage with popular culture through a myriad of mediums for a variety of purposes. Utilizing popular culture to bridge literacy concepts across content areas in K-12 settings offers a level playing field across student groups and grade levels. As concepts around traditional literacy education evolve and become more culturally responsive, the connections between popular culture and disciplinary literacy must be explored. Disciplinary Literacy Connections to Popular Culture in K-12 Settings is an essential publication that explores a conceptual framework around pedagogical connections to popular culture. While highlighting a broad range of topics including academic creativity, interdisciplinary storytelling, and skill development, this book is ideally designed for educators, curriculum developers, instructional designers, administrative officials, policymakers, researchers, academicians, and students.
"This book shows teachers how to apply a five-phase project-based inquiry framework to disciplinary literacy for students in grades 6-12. The use of project-based inquiry helps students build discipline-specific skills and knowledge across fields. The authors incorporate their experience in using the model for professional development with over 3,000 teachers, offering practical examples and classroom vignettes to illustrate the model. Given the current focus on disciplinary literacy across multiple sets of standards, including the Next Generation science Standards, the 3C Framework for Social Studies, and the Common Core State Standards, this book provides a clear blueprint for teachers in meeting these standards while providing students with deep leaning specific to these disciplines"--
Firmly rooted in research evidence of what works within the classroom for our most disadvantaged students, Disciplinary Literacy and Explicit Vocabulary Teaching offers teachers and school leaders practical ways in which those students who are behind in their literacy capabilities can make excellent progress. Building on the work of Geoff Barton in his influential book Don’t Call it Literacy, Kathrine Mortimore outlines the unique literacy challenges posed by specific subject areas for those with weaker literacy skills, and more importantly how these challenges can be addressed and overcome. A student’s GCSE results are vital in giving them the choices they deserve in order to go on to the next stage of their academic careers. This book draws on the success stories of schools and subjects that have made significant improvements in the outcomes of the children they teach, regardless of their starting points. From the inevitable success of Michaela Community school, to the gains made by the English department at Torquay Academy and the rapid reading improvements at Henley Bank, this book draws on both whole school initiatives and subject-specific strategies which have had proven success. This book places a wide and balanced knowledge-rich curriculum at the centre of any school improvement strategy designed to improve literacy, and illustrates the role that all subjects must combine to play in building the vital background knowledge and vocabulary that young people need in order to read independently. This curriculum must then be delivered using those teaching methods that have had the greatest impact on disadvantaged learners, and this book sets out how the methodology of direct and explicit instruction can be adopted within each subject area. Alongside this is a useful summary of staff development and inset which offers practical ways in which teachers’ adoption of these effective strategies can be facilitated. There are also useful sections on creating a whole school dictionary of essential vocabulary, creating a culture of reading and writing, and also those key literacy barriers experienced by those students with some of the most common special educational needs.
The idea of storytelling goes beyond the borders of language, culture, or traditional education, and has historically been a tie that bonds families, communities, and nations. Digital storytelling offers opportunities for authentic academic and non-academic literacy learning across a multitude of genres. It is easily accessible to most members of society and has the potential to transform the boundaries of traditional education. As concepts around traditional literacy education evolve and become more culturally and linguistically relevant and responsive, the connections between digital storytelling and disciplinary literacy warrant considered exploration. Connecting Disciplinary Literacy and Digital Storytelling in K-12 Education develops a conceptual framework around pedagogical connections to digital storytelling within K-12 disciplinary literacy practices. This essential reference book supports student success through the integration of digital storytelling across content areas and grade levels. Covering topics that include immersive storytelling, multiliteracies, social justice, and pedagogical storytelling, it is intended for stakeholders interested in innovative K-12 disciplinary literacy skill development, research, and practices including but not limited to curriculum directors, education faculty, educational researchers, instructional facilitators, literacy professionals, teachers, pre-service teachers, professional development coordinators, teacher preparation programs, and students.
This accessible book will help elementary school teachers improve literacy instruction inside or outside the Common Core environment. The authors address teachers' instructional needs by introducing key concepts from current trends in literacy education--from high-level standards to the use of 21st-century literacies. Readers then follow teachers as they successfully implement the curriculum they developed to promote high-level thinking and engagement with disciplinary content. The text focuses on three disciplinary literacy units of instruction: a science unit in a 2nd-grade classroom, a social studies (history) unit in a 4th-grade classroom, and a mathematics unit in a 6th-grade classroom. Each unit revolves around a central inquiry question and includes research-based strategies for using reading, writing, and classroom talk as tools to foster disciplinary understandings. This unique, insider's look at how real teachers build and implement a Common Core-aligned curriculum will be an invaluable resource for teachers, schools, and districts as they move forward to align their own curricula.
