Chapter One: Literacy Matters

Before Reading:
1. Write an autobiographical reflection in which you recall middle and high school
teachers (no names used) whom you believe were effective and/or ineffective. What
strategies did the teachers use that engaged or disengaged students? Following the
written assignment, divide a chart into two columns: Effective Strategies and
Ineffective Strategies

Effective Ineffective
Funny, keeps the lesson moving/flowing, down to Talks down to students, gives students too much
earth, humble, knowledgeable, switches things up. free time to “study”, apathetic, plays favorites.

2. What is content or disciplinary literacy? Why is it important that content teachers

integrate effective reading, writing, thinking, and communicating strategies in the
classroom?
Content literacy is content knowledge, resources, strategies, activities, and curriculum. Disciplinary
literacy applies to how experts in the field read, write, and think. Literacy is a crucial part of education.
An educated person is one who is able to read, write, think, and communicate effectively. All teachers are
literacy teachers despite their content area.

3. Why are you taking this course? What goals do you have for the class, in order to
have a positive experience this semester?
I am taking this course to learn how to effectively incorporate literacy into my future History courses.
Reading and writing are crucial to the study of History. Also, I read that most high school students do not
have college level writing skills when they graduate from high school. As an educator, I hope that is a
statistic that I can help change. My goal is to not miss any classes so that I don’t fall behind.

4. Work in a small group to complete the following anticipation guide:

True Statement False

Reading instruction in Students still need a lot of

middle and secondary guidance and instruction to help
them attain college level literacy
schools is unnecessary. skills.

Students need to expand their Content area teachers

literacy skills by reading text should expect students to
books as well as develop skills read their textbooks.

Wiens RDG 323 Fall 2018 Digital Journal

 to look up information on their
own.

Yes, how every it is every The primary role of the

teacher’s job to also include content area teacher is to
literacy into their content as
much as possible.
teach subject matter.

While Reading

1. Read pages 10 - 18. Define the following terms: content literacy,

disciplinary literacy, new literacies. What are the similarities and
differences between these terms?
Content literacy refers to the ability to use reading, writing, speaking and listening to learn a
particular subject. Disciplinary literacy describes how experts in the field of that subject are
reading, writing, and thinking. The two methods have a lot in common, and more recently
disciplinary literacy is influencing how content literacy is presented. For example, in my field of
History it is important for students to think like a Historian as opposed to just listening to their
teacher lecture about an event that happened. A student of History needs to understand cause
and effect, what changed, how did this affect the future? New literacies refer to the ability to use
and understand technology. Information is available in many formats these days and technology
is also a helpful tool in presenting the information.

2. Two Column Notes

Read pages 18 - 23. Use the two column note sheet to keep track of 3-4
essential ideas from the chapter. In the first column record a quote or direct
phrases from the text in the second column record your personal response

What the Text Says Why it Matters

What makes an effective teacher? The teacher is the most important factor
in student success.

An effective teacher uses differentiated You must prepare in advance for a variety
instruction. of student needs to maximize student
learning.

Strategy instruction can improve student Skilled readers have many skills and
comprehension of a text. strategies to facilitate learning.

Wiens RDG 323 Fall 2018 Digital Journal

 2. Reread the paragraph on page 21: A Plan for the Improvement of English
Spelling. Describe some of the strategies you used to read this paragraph.
How would both excellent readers and striving readers each attempt to
comprehend this type of a text?
This text was easy to understand at first since your brain skips certain words and misspellings
automatically when you are a skilled reader. However, the text progressively became more
complicated and I had to slow down, sound it out and refer back to the rules. I would encourage
striving readers to use the same strategies. I could not understand the last couple sentences at
all especially since the author said we should get rid of x and y, yet they are all over the text!

After Reading (To be done after Wednesday’s class)

Place yourself in the role of a staff developer in your school. Write an email
(roughly three paragraphs) to teachers, using your powers of persuasion,
explaining the need for incorporating literacy instruction to content area
classrooms. Do your best to convince your readers that content area teachers
need to go beyond assigning and telling.
Hello Teachers!

I wanted to give you all a friendly reminder that every teacher is a literacy teacher!
According to Richard Vacca, author of Content Area Reading, “Adolescents entering the adult
world in the 21st century will read and write more than at any other time in human history. They
will need advanced levels of literacy to perform their jobs, run their households, act as citizens,
and conduct their personal lives.” It is also important to remember that literacy does not only
apply to reading and writing anymore but listening and speaking too!

Having the students sit in groups as opposed to rows is a great way to allow students time
to practice informal conversation. Kids need time to talk about their ideas and to practice active
listening with their peers so that they can be an active part of the lesson. We don’t want them
being passive for too long at a time. Remember for every 5-8 minutes that you talk, give them 1-
2 minutes to talk to each other, write things down, etc. Talking or reflective writing breaks can
both be beneficial.

As educators we all need to help our students develop a love of reading, it’s not a job
solely for the English department. Using scaffolding techniques with your content area’s text
book such as pre-, during and after reading. Have the students use graphic organizers and

Wiens RDG 323 Fall 2018 Digital Journal

explain to each other in small groups what they read. Depending on the grade level students may
also be able to create their own graphic organizers. This is a great way to also include
technology into your curriculum. I also encourage all of you to have a classroom library with
some books that apply to your area and books that don’t are great too! The kids will think it’s
pretty cool if they see Twilight on the shelf.

As educators we are focused on literacy that promotes learning, but reading is exercise
for the brain. Reading anything helps make you smarter, even graphic novels and comic books!
I hope you all have a great school year incorporating literacy into the every day lives of our
bright students!

-Tara Slade

Wiens RDG 323 Fall 2018 Digital Journal