Literacy in the Content Areas - Outcomes Reflect on Call for Change follow up tasks. Identify text features. Identify the readability statistics for a text. Generate a definition for disciplinary literacy. Reflect on session at the Wiki site

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS According to NAEP, the reading skills of America’s 4 th graders have increased significantly in recent years with the strongest gains made by low-income and minority students.

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS At the secondary level, scores have remained flat since the 1970’s when NAEP was created.

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS Performance of the nation’s 12th-graders in reading has declined in comparison to 1992 (NAEP, 2005) 60% of 12 th graders read at basic or below basic (NAEP, 2005) 42% of college students take remedial classes (U.S., Dept of Education, 2007)

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS Today, more than two-thirds of all eighth and twelfth graders read at less than a proficient level, and half of those students are so far behind that they drop off the scale entirely, scoring below what the U. S. Department of Education defines as its most basic level.

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS Even college-bound students often struggle with more advanced literacy skills. A major study of high school juniors and seniors taking the ACT college entrance exam found that only half were ready for college-level reading assignments in core subjects like math, history, science, and English. (ACT, 2005)

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS Reading Strategies for All Types of Tex t Self-monitoringVisualizing RereadingSummarizing QuestioningPredicting Previewing vocabularyIdentifying text features

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS Though well-meaning, a sole emphasis on generic reading comprehension strategies may lead students to believe that all academic texts are more or less the same.

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS As students move into different content area classes, they must: read to follow instructions explicitly. read to evaluate an author’s style. read to question an author’s assumptions. read to respond to an author’s claims. read to access facts and details.

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS Becoming competent in a number of academic content areas requires skills, knowledge, and reasoning processes that are specific to particular disciplines.

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS BEYOND Content Area Reading Common Core ELA Standards

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS Content Area Reading focus on learning from text know how to study books, not to read like a chemist (including chemistry books) emphasize text features and literacy learning tools Exit notesAdvanced organizers Response journalsDictionary InternetReadability analysis

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS Disciplinary Literacy focus on the specialized problems of a subject area disciplines represent cultural differences in how information is used, the nature of language, the demands for precision

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS Disciplinary Literacy not just a hip new name for “content area reading” specialized ways of knowing and communicating in the different disciplines distinct routines to be taught

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS Sources of new research in Disciplinary Literacy Studies that compare expert readers with novices (Bazerman, 1998; Geisler, 1994; Wineburg, 1998, etc.) Functional linguistics analyses of the unique practices in creating, disseminating, evaluating knowledge (Fang, 2004; Halliday, 1998; Schleppegrell, 2004, etc.)

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS History Text There Is To Be No War December 4, 1860

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS Skills for reading historical text include Sourcing: considering the author and author perspective Contextualizing: placing the document within its historical period and place Corroborating: evaluating information across multiple sources Wineburg, 1998

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS Teaching Students Important Skills

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS Science Reading technical, abstract, dense, tightly knit language (contrasts with interactive, interpersonal style of other texts or ordinary language) nominalization (turning processes into nouns) suppresses agency (focus on causation not intention) Schleppergrell

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS Math Reading Goal: arrive at “truth” Importance of “close reading” with an intensive consideration of every word in the text Rereading a major strategy Heavy emphasis on error detection Precision of understanding essential Schleppergrell

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS Chemistry Reading provides knowledge that allows prediction of how the world works understanding needed of experiments or processes connections among prose, graphs, charts, formulas (alternative representations of constructs) major reading strategies include corroboration and transformation Schleppegrell

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS History Reading interpretative, sourcing central in interpretation (consideration of bias and perspective) seems narrative without purpose and argument without explicit claims (need to see history as argument based on partial evidence; narratives are more than facts) Single texts problematic - no corroboration Schleppegrell

LITERACY IN THE CONTENT AREAS Read the selection you’ve been given. With your group, brainstorm difficulties students might have reading and fully comprehending this text. Record a reflection as the Theory to Practice Task.