Teaching Literacy in the Content Areas: CCSSOs Adolescent Literacy Toolkit

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Teaching Literacy in the Content Areas CCSSOs
Adolescent Literacy Toolkit
Produced by Public Consulting Groups Center for
Resource Management, in partnership with the
Council for Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).
Content informed by feedback from CCSSO partners
and state education officials who participate in
CCSSOs Secondary School Redesign Project.
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Goals and Objectives

• Participants will
• Preview the resources of the CCSSO adolescent
  literacy toolkit
• Self-assess literacy instructional practices
• Develop an awareness of strategic teaching and
  the connection with best literacy practices
• Develop an understanding of how to develop a
  content area lesson plan with embedded literacy
  instructional strategies and best practices

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CCSSO Toolkit Overview

• For Teachers
• Content Expert Literacy Q A
• Literacy Self-Assessment Rubric
• Content Area Literacy Guide
• Lesson Plans and Narratives

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CCSSO Toolkit Overview

• For States
• Professional Development Module
• Access to Adolescent Literacy Resources in the
  CCSSO Secondary School Redesign Web Portal
• (http//secondaryschoolredesign.ccsso.org)

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Who are the content experts?

• Janice Dole English Language Arts
• Russell Gersten Math
• Elizabeth Moje Science
• Cynthia Shanahan Social Studies

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Who are the content experts?

• Think about literacy strategies in these terms
  what support should I give students to help them
  read and understand this, and when should I
  provide that support?
• - Janice Dole

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Who are the content experts?

• It is generally agreed that text is the
  primary source of new information soon after we
  learn to read, even in math.
• -Russell Gersten

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Who are the content experts?

• Elaborate articulation of reasoning is a
  central practice in scientific communication, and
  it is a skill that students do not use routinely
  in everyday life
• - Elizabeth Moje

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Who are the content experts?

• If students know how to read a text and apply
  strategies independently (the ultimate goal of
  strategy instruction), then they can
  independently read about content that a teacher
  would have to present in some other way more
  arduously and with the likelihood that it will
  not really be learned, just covered.
• - Cynthia Shanahan

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Content experts provide

• Explanations for why literacy instruction within
  the content areas is so important
• Descriptions of how literacy best practices
  connect with core content instruction
• Suggestions for embedding literacy instructional
  practices into content lessons

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Literacy Self-Assessment Rubric

• Self-assessment of use of instructional practices
  to support literacy
• Individual
• Faculty
• Use results to begin the conversation among staff
  to highlight professional development needs

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Content Area Literacy Guide offers

• Importance of content literacy instruction
• English language arts
• Math
• Science
• Social studies
• Strategic lesson planning
• Best practices in literacy
• Instructional literacy strategies that can be
  used across content areas

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What are academic literacy demands?

• Across all content areas students should be able
  to
• Read
• Write
• Listen/view
• Discuss/present
• Think critically and creatively
• Use language and vocabulary to read and
  comprehend text to support the learning of content

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Reflection What are the academic literacy
demands of my content area?

• What type of activities or tasks are required of
  experts in my content area?
• What type of texts do students read in my content
  area?
• What reading and writing skills will students
  need to use those texts proficiently?
• What discussion and presentation skills will
  students need to verbalize understanding?

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Reflection What are the academic literacy
demands of my content area?

• (continued)
• What listening and viewing skills will students
  need to connect with the standards and objectives
  of my specific content area?
• What higher-order thinking skills will students
  need to use to move beyond basic understanding of
  content text?

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If someone came to my room looking for a
literacy-rich classroom, what would they see/not
see?

• Reading comprehension strategy instruction
• Writing instruction
• Opportunities for listening and viewing
• Opportunities for deep discussion and presenting
• Instruction in use of higher-order thinking
  skills

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What is strategic teaching?

• Strategic teaching is the process of skillfully
  incorporating purposeful planning, connected
  multiple strategies, and explicit instruction to
  maximize the understanding and retention of
  content material.
• Strategic teaching integrates literacy
  instructional strategies and best practices
  throughout content lessons.
• Strategic teaching recognizes that student
  engagement is essential to learning.

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The Strategic Teacher

• Plans lessons with the learning outcome in mind.
  The outcomes of strategic lessons move students
  toward mastery of content standards.
• Supports students with instructional strategies
  that are used within a best practices framework.
  Examples of best practice frameworks are the
  before, during, and after framework and the
  gradual release framework.

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The Strategic Teacher

• Facilitates engaging lessons during which
  students have the opportunity to read, write,
  listen and view, discuss and present, think
  critically and creatively, and use rich language
  and vocabulary.
• Builds assessment into every lesson so that the
  teacher knows which students have and have not
  met the stated outcomes.

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Lesson Plans and Narratives

• Four core subject areas (English language arts,
  math, science, and social studies)
• Demonstrate how content area teachers can
  incorporate the use of literacy instructional
  strategies to support high school students
  learning of core content and concepts.
• Demonstrate use of the before, during, and after
  and gradual release literacy best practices
• Accompanying narratives that describe the lesson
  in action

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Planning Template for Connecting Before- During-,
and After-Reading Strategies
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Consider the purpose of before reading
Adapted from Fuentes 1998, 83
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Consider the purpose of during reading
Adapted from Fuentes 1998, 83
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Consider the purpose of after reading
Adapted from Fuentes 1998, 83
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Do I use a gradual release framework?

• New skills should always be taught or modeled
  explicitly.
• The four steps I plan to use
• 1. Introduce the skill
• 2. Model the skill
• 3. Guided practice with feedback
• 4. Independent practice and application

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Vocabulary activities in the lesson should

• Encourage rich discussions about the meanings of
  unfamiliar words.
• Help students to make connections between new
  words and familiar concepts.
• Encourage students to use words in context.
• Help students to analyze word parts.
• Support active student engagement with gaining
  word knowledge and understanding.

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The strategic lesson provides opportunities to
make the reading/writing connection when

• Students write
• Position statements
• Summaries
• Journal entries
• Comparison/contrast papers
• Cause and effect statements
• Research papers
• I-search papers
• Pamphlets
• Explanations

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Quick Review Planning Strategic Lessons

• What should students be able to do as a result of
  the lesson? Did they meet those outcomes?
• Was there a clear purpose for each strategy
  chosenpre, during, and post?
• Did I follow (or begin) a gradual release process
  for each strategy?

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Quick Review Planning Strategic Lessons

• Did I provide opportunities for students to
• Read?
• Write?
• Listen/view?
• Discuss/present?
• Think critically and creatively?
• Use language and vocabulary to read and
  comprehend text to support learning every day
  while actively involved in the learning process?

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Personal Action Planning

• How may I use the results of the self-assessment
  rubric to guide my growth as a content literacy
  professional?
• What additional professional development or
  coaching do I need to learn strategic teaching
  and literacy best practices?
• What are two specific action steps I can walk
  away with today that will foster my professional
  growth as a content literacy teacher?