Questions On Increasing Disciplinary Reading

(Research into practice, The sixth pillar of reading instruction, knowledge development, Gina N. Cervetti, Elfrieda H. Hiebert, literacyworldwide.com, the reading teacher, vol. 68, issue 7, 548-551, 2015) According to Cervetti and Hiebert, in an article of The Teaching Journal, there is research that proves that when an adult is given multiple texts on a certain topic, and are asked to create an argument about said topic, they are more likely to be engaged in the reading than they would be if asked to read a topic and simply answer questions about it. This shows that content area literacy is important and being able to comprehend and utilize text from all different subject areas is incredibly important (550). This article also states that knowledge development is important to developing literacy skills (548). This concept is supported by the idea that in order to become a successful reader, that students must read texts from all

Times are changing. Literacy is not only a problem that the English teacher has to deal with. Literacy is defined as the ability to read and write (Oxford Dictionaries). However, you have to use different skills to read a novel than you do with reading a science question. So it only makes that literacy should be taught in different ways for each different subject. It does a student no good to be able to physically read a science question but have no idea what it’s asking for. The last five years have seen unprecedented attention given to the literacy achievement of adolescents in secondary schools in the United States. Spurred by the release of flat or declining reading scores on national tests. (Donahue, Daane & Grigg, 2003). This could be easily linked to a lack of literacy techniques being taught in schools.

Content area teachers can implement strategies and scaffold learning when planning and designing instruction so that students will actively engage in literacy. According to Dobbs, content area reading instruction includes: the information present in the text, and the instructional plan teachers use to help students understand the content (2003, p.3). Vacca, Vacca, & Mraz explain that in order to plan instruction effectively, teachers must be aware of the explicit and functional dimensions of content literacy. The explicit aspect of content literacy involves the development of skills and strategies that enable students to comprehend what they are reading. Functional instruction focuses more on the application of strategies needed to derive knowledge from a variety of sources of information.” (2014, p. 134). Forget defined literacy as “listening, thinking, reading, and speaking in such a way that information and ideas are processed and communicated to the benefit of self and society” (2003, p. 5). Content area teachers need to plan and design lessons so that students will actively engage in literacy. Forget goes on to discuss that poor performance in schools can be do to a lack of basic literacy skills. Therefore, teachers need to implement the skills and strategies found to be successful in literacy to ensure

Just from knowledge that I have gained so far by being in the education program, I know it is very important for students to be exposed to different types of texts. This can help them broaden their knowledge and also see that everyone has different opinions, views, and perspectives. I also knew that it was required of students to compare and contrast two different documents, however I never would have thought that this could take place at such in lower elementary grade levels. The method of disciplinary literacy can really be broken down to any level and benefit every student. I will be putting this practice to use within my classroom one

While all fields of academia possess some level of practical application, there remains an ever-important and all-encompassing skill which is needed to truly understand each subject: reading. Though literacy rates in the US near 100%, literacy unaccompanied by tools such as context, critical analysis, and sufficient skepticism can leave one lost in arduous texts and vulnerable to flawed arguments. This notion is rarely rejected by anyone at face value, rather, questions regarding the implementation and perceived importance of certain reading strategies alienates differing camps. Many attempts at mitigating the dilemma of subpar reading comprehension have been made, most notably, Daniel Willingham's proposed reform of early education, Michael

“To Dumb for Complex Texts?”, an essay by Mark Bauerlein, states high schools are at fault for students inability to comprehend complex texts. Bauerlein starts by noting students who enter college are not as prepared as they should be, evidenced by their placement exam scores. Bauerlein goes on to state the lack of readiness is due to high schools increasing focus on digital reading, rather than the physical form. Additionally Bauerlein writes that complex reading is not thoroughly integrated in to student curriculum. Bauerlein believes that because of the high schools simple literature curriculum, students beginning college have not been properly exposed to complex texts, and as a result cannot properly comprehend the readings assigned in

For many decades now there has been a scope of definition for what “literacy” incorporates and those are the basics skills like reading, writing, and a variety of social and intellectual practices which involve basic communication skills, and hand and eye coordination. However, with the world of technology continually growing, and the level of diversity in the student population becoming vaster it has become necessary to also include speaking, listening, viewing, and visually aspects to the curriculum. One of the best ways to address a wide range of literacy is to pair the categories with each other based upon their connections in the real world. The categories include written language (reading & writing), spoken communication (listening & speaking), and visual language (viewing & visually representing). (Standards for the English Language Arts p. 6) Many of these can be done with a range of creative activities such as students being able to choose what they write about, share their own personal experiences in their writings, and then read them together; this helps the students stay engaged in the work they’re doing, and also increases their level of retention of the material. The importance of a student being engaged is best explained in the article “Adolescent Literacy: A Policy Brief” with, “The number of students who are not engaged with or motivated by school learning grows at

Throughout the eighth grade year, my reading comprehension and analysis skills have dramatically strengthened. First, my reading comprehension abilities have strengthened over the year because of the strong vocabulary that filled the books I read. The books that used advanced terminology were Lord of the Flies, Fahrenheit 451 and Twelfth Night. Whenever I read a word I didn’t understand in these novels, I always searched for the definition. By using this effective reading strategy, I was able to strengthen my vocabulary while receiving a complete comprehension of the novel being analyzed. Lord of the Flies, Fahrenheit 451 and Twelfth Night were both challenging novels to read because of their sophisticated vocabulary. However, these challenging

In determining a topic for my research paper I began to think about what struggles I faced as an eighth grade teacher. I currently teach general education, an integrated co-teaching (ICT) class, and an ESL class in a widely culturally diverse school in Queens. In the last two years I also taught honors classes. I notice that the biggest challenge facing students from all my classes was reading comprehension. It was evident very early on in my teaching career that many struggling students who can technically read quite well don’t understand what they are reading. Their ability to decode words is far greater than their ability to make sense of the words. Without meaning, words are just words!

In the article Teaching Disciplinary Literacy to Adolescents: Rethinking Content-Area Literacy written by Timothy and Cynthia Shanahan, they argue that “disciplinary literacy” should be the focus of middle and secondary school settings. The purpose of the study is to reveal how content experts and secondary content teachers read disciplinary texts, make use of comprehension strategies, and teach those strategies to adolescent readers. However, in different content areas different comprehension strategies work for the adolescents.

All through the grades and within the principles, reading occurs in classic and contemporary literature as well as challenging informational texts in a range of subjects. While the CCSS has no reading list, Appendix A of the Common Core website (www.corestandards.org) gives annotated examples of sample texts that meet the standards for each grade level, which are intended to help teachers and districts choose appropriate curriculum. (Puckett, K 2013). For example, the author states that, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.1 positions to, read closely to define what the text says clearly and to make rational interpretations from it; cite precise written confirmation when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R .4 states to interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.7 wants to integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. Lastly, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.10., states to, read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently

This chapter discusses the different ways to integrate literacy across different disciplines. Not only is this beneficial but its crucial to promote learning literacy across many different subjects. Now I would have to say that this chapter is easily one of my favorites yet. It gives explicit detail about how to create a lesson that is interdisciplinary. In order to do this one first must recognize the importance of reading and writing. These two disciplines are taught together because they work synergistically. Teacher can often times find different types of text to accommodate instruction of different subjects such as science and social studies. Texts can come from multiple different origins such as poems, magazines, and videos. On that same page, writing can be used as a path for learning. Writing can be done in class of various subjects using learning logs, quick writing, and graphic organizers. These tools are beneficial to begin a unit of study in the classroom. Then when student have begun their unit of study and have learned new information there are multiple different ways to assess the students knowledge. They can show what they have learned through writing about it. This can include reports, poetry, posters, and alphabet books. Another

Do you have a plan in your school that addresses this issue? Do teachers of disciplines other than English realize that their content fits this part of the reading

In today’s society literacy takes many forms. From Mental health to Financial literacy, each and everyone of them have a significant impact on a student’s life. These are very crucial to the understanding of how students interpret curriculum that they are learning about in their classrooms presently. For children today, to be literate in

In this information–driven age, preparing students to read a variety of texts with complete understanding should likely be one of our educational system’s highest priorities. Understanding is more than just the ability to produce information on demand (knowledge) or the ability to perform learned routines (skills). “Understanding is the ability to think and act flexibly with what one knows.” (Active Learning Practice for Schools, n. d.) A review of the literature in the area of reading comprehension of elementary-age students shows two principle areas of focus. There is a body of literature that examines the development of proficient vs. struggling comprehenders and another body of literature that compares methodologies for teaching