One of the hottest topics in education and curriculum today
is Disciplinary Literacy. Few people deny that supporting literacy in the
disciplines is important, yet the challenge of shifting classroom instruction
from purely content to include a mix of higher level literacy skills can seem overwhelming.
The first step to fostering disciplinary literacy building
wide is getting everyone on the same page.
When focused on reading, it is important to remember that most teachers
learned to read much differently than our students today, and may not be
familiar with the comprehension strategies taught at the elementary level or in
language arts classrooms.
One way to do this is to hold mini “workshops” or
professional development sessions throughout the school year. Workshops can provide professional
development on how to instruct and assess specific reading comprehension
strategies and skills utilizing discipline specific texts in the classroom. Following each workshop, it is essential that
teachers apply these new skills in conjunction with their regular course
instruction. Set a timeline and ask that
every teacher in the building provide instruction on the identified strategy and
have students practice and apply the skills in each subject area using discipline
specific texts.
Once everyone in the building has had an opportunity to apply
the reading strategy in their content area, it is important to make time for
small group discussion. This gives interdisciplinary
teams an opportunity to talk about their instruction and to focus on the
successes and challenges related to the strategy and skills, as well as provide
a time for teachers to learn from one another. After the discussion, teachers should
implement the strategy a second time, modifying instruction using what they
have learned from their colleagues.
Bringing Disciplinary Literacy to life is definitely a
challenge, but taking small steps to bring everyone on board will get you
moving in the right direction.
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