1 MODULE 2: CONTENT-AREA LITERACY Adolescent Literacy – Professional Development Unit 1, Session 2

2 THINKING LIKE A CRITIC, HISTORIAN, MATHEMATICIAN, & SCIENTIST Habits of Mind Across Disciplines “Subject areas become subcultures of the secondary school, with their own ways of knowing, doing, and believing.” (Moje, 2008, p. 99).

3 Essential Questions  Module 2 Question  What role can content-area teachers play in helping adolescents acquire general and discipline-specific literacy skills?  Unit 1, Session 2 Questions  What are the distinct habits of mind and norms of practice embedded in each of the content areas?  How are those habits of mind and norms of practice related to one another and inculcated in students? Module 2: Unit 1, Session 2

4 Warm-Up Final Word DiscussionFinal Word Discussion of Moje (2008):Moje (2008)  What is one significant idea from the text that struck you as important?  What is Moje asking of secondary content teachers? Module 2: Unit 1, Session 2

5 Quotes of Significance Consider the quotes below:  “Part of learning in the subject area, then, is coming to understand the norms of practice for producing and communicating knowledge in the disciplines” (Moje, 2008, p. 100).  “Without careful attention to what it means to learn in the subject areas and what counts as knowledge in the disciplines that undergird those subjects, educators will continue to struggle to integrate literacy instruction in those areas” (Moje, 2008, p. 100). Module 2: Unit 1, Session 2

6 Continued:  “Disciplinary literacy then becomes a matter of teaching students how the disciplines are different from one another, how acts of inquiry produce knowledge and multiple representational forms (such as texts written in particular ways or with different symbolic systems or semiotic tools), as well as how those disciplinary differences are socially constructed” (Moje, 2008, p. 103). Module 2: Unit 1, Session 2 Quotes of Significance

7 Moje Takeaways If Moje is suggesting that each discipline/content area has distinct ways of thinking and ways of working (i.e., habits of mind & norms of practice), then…  What are the habits of mind and norms of practice in YOUR discipline?  What ways of reading/writing/thinking are you trying to teach students?  What does it mean to read/write/think like a mathematician, scientist, historian, critic? Module 2: Unit 1, Session 2

8 Connecting with Content Standards  Review a portion of your content-area standards  Identify 2-3 different excerpts that exemplify “disciplinary thinking” – thinking that we traditionally associate with mathematicians, scientists, historians, authors/critics  Chalk Talk: Discussion with whole group Chalk Talk  What ways of thinking does your discipline require?  How is that thinking different from/ similar to the habits of mind encouraged in the other content areas?

9 Recording a Common Understanding Given our review of the content standards, and current research/theory about disciplinary thinking… Fill-in the first column of a 3-column organizer:  What ways of thinking are you trying to encourage?  What does it mean to think like a mathematician, scientist, historian, critic?

10 What are the Demands of Your Discipline? Habits of Mind --Ways of Thinking --Essential Questions --Main Objectives --Modes of Inquiry Norms of Practice --Written Genres --Types of Text --Ways of Working --Types of Arguments --What Counts as Evidence? Reading Like A… --Critic --Historian --Mathematician --Scientist Module 2: Unit 1, Session 2

11 Some Examples from the Field  Lee & Spratley (2010)  Moje (2008)  Shanahan & Shanahan (2008) Module 2: Unit 1, Session 2

12 A Few Examples: Science Habits of Mind --Understanding the purpose and process of the Scientific Method --Adopting parts-to- whole thinking (classification, cells, environmental systems) --Understanding the need to relate form & function Reading Like A…Norms of Practice (Presenting/Writing) Module 2: Unit 1, Session 2

13 A Few Examples: History Habits of Mind --Understanding bias -- that primary documents are partial representations of truth --Understanding the internal states and goals of historical figures --Understanding how the past connects to the present Reading Like A…Norms of Practice (Presenting/Writing) Module 2: Unit 1, Session 2

14 A Few Examples: Math Habits of Mind --Understanding how to ask and answer questions and solve problems with numbers, symbols, formulas --Making and testing claims --Inferring logical steps in a sequence from words and formulas Reading Like A…Norms of Practice (Presenting/Writing) Module 2: Unit 1, Session 2

15 A Few Examples: Language Arts Habits of Mind --Understanding symbolism, metaphor, themes, etc. and how authors use these literary devices to communicate --Understanding how texts are connected (intentionally or not) --Understanding the form/function of different literary genres Reading Like A…Norms of Practice (Presenting/Writing) Module 2: Unit 1, Session 2

16 Wrap-Up  Questions to Consider:  What are the fundamental habits of mind and norms of practice required by your discipline?  How are you currently (and explicitly) teaching those habits of mind/norms of practice?  How can we make those habits of mind/norms of practice explicit in our reading & writing tasks? Module 2: Unit 1, Session 2

17 Further Study  Read the second half of the Shanahan & Shanahan (2008) article.  What reading/writing/learning strategies do disciplinary specialists suggest teaching at the secondary level?  How do these strategies connect to specific disciplinary ways of thinking (i.e., habits of mind)?  Be prepared to share thoughts/practices with colleagues during a follow-up session. Module 2: Unit 1, Session 2

18 References Lee, C. D., & Spratley, A. (2009). Teaching Content Knowledge and Reading Strategies in Tandem.Teaching Content Knowledge and Reading Strategies in Tandem Lee, C. D., & Spratley, A. (2010). Reading in the disciplines: The challenges of adolescent literacy. New York, NY: Carnegie Corporation of New York.Reading in the disciplines: The challenges of adolescent literacy Moje, E. B. (2008). Foregrounding the disciplines in secondary literacy teaching and learning: A call for change. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(2), 96–107.Foregrounding the disciplines in secondary literacy teaching and learning: A call for change Shanahan, T., & Shanahan, C. (2008). Teaching disciplinary literacy to adolescents: Rethinking content-area literacy. Harvard Educational Review, 78(1), 40–59.Teaching disciplinary literacy to adolescents: Rethinking content-area literacy Module 2: Unit 1, Session 2