Literacy Across the curriculum

1. Literacy Across the curriculum Eric Hanks, Kenna Hayden, and Matt Moschel River Oaks Middle School

2. Mission and Vision • Mission: Dorchester School District Two leading the way, every student, every day, through relationships, rigor, and relevance. • Vision: Dorchester School District Two desires to be recognized as a “World Class” school district, expecting each student to achieve at his/her optimum level in all areas, and providing all members of our district family with an environment that permits them to do their personal best.

3. Literacy across the curriculum • Reading and writing are skills necessary for all content areas and becomes increasingly more important as students progress through school. Promoting reading and developing efficient comprehension skills is a goal for many teachers, utilizing a variety of classroom activities and strategies. "A capacity, and taste, for reading, gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others. It is the key, or one of the keys, to the already solved problems. And not only so. It gives a relish, and facility, for successfully pursuing the [yet] unsolved ones." ~Abraham Lincoln

4. Benefits of Content Area Reading Strategies • Students - and some teachers - think that sound reading skills are not necessary in all subjects. Even though you may not be an English Language Arts teacher, reading needs to happen right across the curriculum. There are a few basic principles that reading teachers follow when teaching reading that can be applied in any subject. • Reading strategies can develop creativity, extend critical thinking, improve communication skills, cultivate writing ability and increase concentration.

5. Importance of Pre-reading Strategies • Pre-reading activities gives our students necessary background knowledge and vocabulary before reading, We motivate them by allowing them to connect text to their own lives and help them prioritize which aspects of the reading are main ideas and which are minor details. • Pre-reading activities in the classroom improves student comprehension and interest. Pre-reading activities are broken into three major categories: surveys, which allow our students to preview the text and make predictions; activators, which activate our student background knowledge or personal experience; and vocabulary activities, which help our students to understand challenging words or key concepts in the reading.

6. Importance of Guided Reading • Guided reading is a tool that should focus on providing a student with independent reading strategies. It is an opportunity for a student to practice what they have learned in shared reading, with the teacher's support. It is not a time for students to read in turn or for group reading; rather, each student should read independently. Then the group should return to the text and focus on a specific teaching point which has been planned with the group's reading development in mind. Guided reading, if practiced correctly, can have many benefits for students. • Building Reading Skills • Differentiation • Individual Attention • Dialogic Talks

7. Importance of Post-reading Strategies • We retain information more easily if we use it. There are many activities that will refine, enrich, and heighten interest in the assigned topic; however, the primary goal of the post-reading phase is to further develop and clarify interpretations of the text, and to help students remember what they have individually created in their minds from the text. Four types of post reading activities will be described: • those that provide the chance for students to ask questions concerning their assignments • those that focus on text structure • those that involve classroom and peer review • extension activities which extend learning.

8. List of Pre-reading Strategies • Anticipation Guide • Close Reading • Free Write • K-W-H-L • Likert Scales • Previewing the Passage • Probable Passage • Quick Write • Trigger Letters • Voice from the Past • Trigger Letters • Word Sorts

9. List of Post-reading Strategies • Writing connections • Retelling • Connect Two • Graphic Organizers • Think-Pair-Share • Vocabulary Building • Connections to the real world • Reciprocal teaching • Research • RAFT (Role/Audience/Format/Topic) • QAR (Question Answer Relationships) • PLAN (Predict/Locate/Add/Note) • Three Point Review • History & News Frames

10. How to Use Semantic Mapping in ELA • Write the topic of the informational reading selection in a heavily outlined circle on the whiteboard. For example, if students are about to read a selection about recycling, the topic in the center of the circle should read "Recycling." • From the center "Recycling" circle, draw "spokes" attached to new circles that include subtopics that students may be familiar with. For example, subtopics can include "Kinds of Materials," "How to Recycle" and "Benefits of Recycling." • Ask student volunteers to name details that relate to each subtopic, and for each one named draw a spoke from the subtopic and attach it to a new circle with the student's detail. For example, attached to the circle "Kinds of Materials," may be other circles that include "Metal," "Plastic" and "Glass." • When all students' words have been added to the map, discuss the various topics and subtopics with students, and how they relate to each other and to the students' own lives. For example, ask them if they recycle and home and, depending on their answers, why or why not. By accessing prior knowledge based on student's own experiences, you enable students to gain a deeper understanding of what they are about to read. • Explain to students that they are now about to read about recycling. Encourage them to keep in mind what they have discussed on the whiteboard as they read. Leave the semantic map on the board as students begin reading the selection.

11. How to Use KWL in Social Studies • Ask students to take out a sheet of notebook paper and make three columns. Write a "K" over the left column, "W" over the center column and "L" over the right column. • Explain to students that K stands for what they student already know about the topic they are studying. Tell the students what the topic of the text is, and ask them to share facts they already know. For example, if your class is studying Egypt, ask students to share everything they already know about Egypt • List each fact the students share on a chalk or dry-erase board. Do not question whether the statements are true or exaggerated. Instead, just write what the students say, even if you know the statement is not true. Encourage as many students as possible to share what they know. Ask students to make their own lists in the left column of what they already know about the topic.

12. How to Use KWL in Social Studies • Explain that the W stands for what the students want to learn about the topic. Ask the class if anyone has a question about Egypt they would like answered. Write all the questions students ask on the board and tell them to write the same on their papers under the W. • Instruct students to read the text. This may be done orally as a class or silently and individually. Tell the class to mark items in their K lists as true or false based on what they learn in the text. Also tell them to put stars next to questions in the W list if the text answers those questions. • Discuss what they discovered as a class after they have read the text and made notes on their first two columns. Tell the students that L stands for what they have learned. Allow them time to write down new things they have learned that did not appear in the K or W columns. • http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/kwl_creator/

13. List of Guided Reading Strategies • Connect Two • Graphic Organizers • Say Something • Recalling newly learned information • Reading aloud • Check/revise predictions • Silent reading • Paired Reading • Group Reading • Echo Reading • Buddy Reading • Intensive Reading • Think-Pair-Share • Word sorts • Vocabulary Building • Etymology • Reciprocal teaching • Repeated readings • Choral reading • Role play • Art/Music Connection

14. How to Use Socratic Seminars in ELA • Assign a text that invites multiple interpretations and opinions in order to foster discussion. A thought-provoking poem, chapter from a novel or scene from a play are appropriate for English classes. You might also assign a Socratic seminar on an entire novel or play as a final assessment. Texts for other classes might include essays or primary source documents. • Create a rubric for the seminar. Include criteria for active listening and thoughtfulness of responses. If you plan to have the students write their own discussion questions, include that on the rubric as well. • Explain how the Socratic seminar will work before you actually conduct it. Emphasize the fact that students are not allowed to interrupt one another and that the seminar is to be a dialogue rather than a debate. Give the students the rubric so that they know how you intend to grade them.

15. How to Use Socratic Seminars IN ELA • Ask the students to write four questions about the text, if you intend to have them write their own questions. Have the students answer their own questions so that you can accurately grade students who are not comfortable speaking up in class. Collect the questions the day before the class and choose at least 10 questions that you wish to use in the seminar. • Write at least 10 discussion questions if you do not intend to have the students write their own. They should be open-ended questions with no correct answers. Possible topics include questions that connect the text to the students' lives, relate the text to other things they've read in class, speculate on why the author made a certain choice, or explore characters' motivations. • Take notes on the students' performance during the seminar. Don't rely on your memory to know who made insightful comments and who did not.

16. Strategies for Learning Science Vocabulary Terms • By inventing miniature plays and performances, students can put their scientific vocabulary to use in fun and interesting ways. Students learn new words when they have opportunities to use them in a range of settings. To give them these opportunities, take the new science vocabulary list beyond the textbook and into the field by creating a story or narrative related to the lesson and incorporating the new words into the action. • A lesson on the laws of motion, a typical science topic, is an excellent example. Have students act out "momentum," "velocity," "acceleration" and "gravity" by performing short plays they write themselves. The more opportunity for using and experiencing these words alongside the concept they describe, the more sense their reading will make.

17. Strategies for Learning Science Vocabulary Terms • Breaking down terms into their parts can make a set of seemingly random terms suddenly sound like a family. Many science terms have their roots in Latinand Greek, and many of those words have relatives in English that will be familiar to students. Learning to see words as small puzzles can help complex terminology, and spending time examining a word solidifies the experience and cements the word's meaning in a student's memory. • When learning geology and earth science, for example, knowing that the stem "hydro" means "water" is the key to half a dozen new words on your list. Grouping words that share roots and affixes is an excellent way to get a grip on a long vocabulary list. In any new science lesson, you'll find the new words group easily into smaller, digestible groups.

18. Concept Mapping Strategy for Learning Science • Visual learners especially will thrive on the graphic aspect of this reading building technique. • To begin, take a large piece of paper or white board, or use a simple graphics computer program. Place a central concept at the center; for example, "The Human Body." • Students add concepts and words they already know, branching out from the central concept. Teachers, and students as well, can add new, unfamiliar vocabulary terms and concepts to the chart as they develop. • When "bones" come up, for example, group them with "joints", "skeleton" and the stem "osteo". Use colorful markers or color options on the screen, and incorporate these kinds of visual cues into the concept map so that students come to see which words are related and associate new terms with familiar ones. • http://www.mindmup.com/#m:new • http://www.mindmeister.com/ • http://www.wisemapping.com/

19. Anticipation Guides in Math • Hand out Anticipation Guide worksheet to each student • Have students answer questions on the worksheet without referring to any resources; be sure to tell students that they are not expected to know every answer, but they should use any prior knowledge or word knowledge they may have to do the best they can • When students are finished with the Anticipation Guide, take a poll on whiteboard to see how many students agree or disagree with each question • Students should keep their completed worksheets nearby during the lesson on Similar and Congruent Figures, so that they may correct their paper as needed during the lesson • Following the lesson, discuss correct answers to worksheet with class; students should be able to volunteer correct answers that they have learned from the lesson. As this is taking place, you may ask students how many of them arrived at the correct answer the first time.

20. Think-Pair-Share in Math • Include this simple routine to increase student math talk in your classroom. Explain to students that you will do a Think-Pair-Share on the next question: ◦Ask the question and encourage students to think quietly about how they would respond to the question. One variation asks students to quietly write a response to the question in their math journals. [Think-Write-Pair-Share] • After one or two minutes, ask students to share their response with their partner, taking turns so that each partner explains his/her thinking. Walk around the room to monitor student responses. • After a few minutes, call on random students to explain how their partnership responded to the question and whether or not they agreed. • This strategy is especially effective for students who are reluctant participants as they get to rehearse their response in front of one classmate. Students may also choose to use a partner's words or phrases in addition to their own, if called upon to talk before the whole class.

21. Three-Level Guide in Math • Introduce students to the three-level guide, and explain the kind of statements that are included in each part. • Students analyze each fact to decide if it is true or false given the information in the problem, and they decide whether this fact can help them to solve the problem. • Students indicate which statements apply to solving the problem, that is, identify concepts or rules that are useful for this problem. • Students decide which calculations (or methods) might help them in solving the problem. • Model for students the use of a three-level guide in solving a problem. • Present students with a three-level guide for another problem, and direct them to complete the guide on their own or with a partner. In this step, students analyze information you have included in the guide to determine both its validity and its usefulness in solving the problem. • With advanced students, you might select word problems for which the students write three-level guides to share with the class or to exchange with a partner.

22. Contact Information Eric Hanks River Oaks Middle School ELA Department Head ehanks@dorchester2.k12.sc.us 843-695-2470

23. Annotated Bibliography • Daniels, Harvey, and Steven Zemelman. 2004. Subjects Matter: Every Teacher’s Guide to Content-Area Reading. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. The authors spell out general principles for content area literacy/learning and then provide examples from math, science, and social studies. Included are principles for selecting texts (other than textbooks); strategies for before, during, and after reading; and advice on reading workshops, student book clubs, and inquiry units. Lists of suggested texts are provided for math, science, and social studies. • Draper, Roni Jo. 2008. “Redefining Content-Area Literacy Teacher Education: Finding My Voice through Collaboration.” Harvard Educational Review 78 (1): 60–83. Draper describes how she came to collaborate with several content area teachers and to understand that she needed to explore how literacy was used in each discipline if she were to guide content area teachers in working with literacy in their classes. She advocates teachers’ using texts (both print and nonprint). • Fisher, Douglas B., and Nancy Frey. 2004. Improving Adolescent Literacy: Strategies at Work. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. This book explains learning/literacy strategies across content areas: reader’s theater, KWL charts, anticipation guides, rubrics, Directed Reading-Thinking, and so forth. The authors provide examples of how to apply these in mathematics, science, social studies, and English.

24. Annotated Bibliography GEM: Gateway to 21st Century Skills A Consortium effort to provide educators with quick and easy access to thousands of educational resources found on various federal, state, university, non-profit and commercial Internet sites. http://thegateway.org/ Improving Adolescent Literacy: Content Area Strategies at Work, by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey (Pearson Education, 2008), 2nd ed. In this second edition of Improving Adolescent Literacy: Content Area Strategies at Work, Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey repeat the successes of their first edition as well as its mission: to "enhance student comprehension . . . and develop students' access to vocabulary." At the heart of the book are the seven chapters devoted to reading strategies, including anticipatory activities, vocabulary development, read-alouds and shared reading, and questioning. Note taking, writing, and graphic organizers round out the list. Each of these chapters begins with a vignette that illustrates the strategy of the chapter. Then, as you might expect, the focus shifts to the strategy itself, thoughtfully explored in a discussion that cites supportive research. What follows next is a gem of a section you might not expect, called "Strategies at Work." This section details how the strategy can be implemented, subject by subject, across the curriculum: English, mathematics, social studies, science, and elective classes such as art, music, consumer science, and culture studies. K-12 Station Features over 20,000 web-based resources for K-12 students, teachers and families. Just click on a grade level and topic to view dozens of tutorials, games, movies, simulations, primary source documents, and more! http://www.k12station.com/

25. Annotated Bibliography • Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators is a categorized list of sites useful for enhancing curriculum and professional growth. It is updated often to include the best sites for teaching and learning. http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/ • Lapp, Diane, James Flood, and Nancy Farnan, eds. 2008. Content Area Reading and Learning: Instructional Strategies, 3rd edition. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum. This book contains a wide variety of articles on specific content areas (from math and history to PE) and issues such as engagement, assessment, and vocabulary instruction. The emphasis is less on disciplinary ways of practicing literacy and making knowledge, and more on strategies “before, during, and after” reading—such as developing questions, working with concept maps, and taking notes.

26. Works Cited Blachowicz, C., & Fisher, P. J. (2002). Teaching vocabulary in all classrooms (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice-Hall. Fearn, L., & Farnan, N. (2001). Interactions: Teaching writing and the language arts. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Fisher, Douglas; Nancy Frey; and Diane Lapp. Text Complexity: Raising Rigor in Reading. Newark, DE: International Reading Association, 2012. Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2000). Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension to enhance understanding. York, Me: Stenhouse Publishers. McLaughlin, M. (2010). Content area reading: Teaching and learning in an age of multiple literacies. Boston, MA: Pearson. Ogle, D. M. (1986). K-W-L: A teaching model that develops active reading of expository text. Reading Teacher, 39, 564–570. Rosenbaum, C. (2001). A word map for middle school: A tool for effective vocabulary instruction Journal of Adolescent & Adult literacy. September 45:1, 44-49. Vacca, J. & Vacca, R. (2008). Content Area Reading: Ninth Edition. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. Vacca, R. T., Vacca, J. L., & Mraz. M. (2011). Content area reading: Literacy and learning across the curriculum (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.