Abstract Learning to read in the content areas is a critically important skill that students must be taught. Educators must teach students the specific skills and strategies necessary so that they are able to read, write, comprehend, and critique information from many different sources. If American students are going to be successful, literate individuals who are able to compete in our global society, educators must find the initiative to have students learn specific reading strategies that will help them to understand and comprehend content area material. Reading in the Content Areas in the Elementary Grades Most people would agree that learning to read is a stepping stone to further educational pursuits for elementary school students. Unfortunately, reading proficiency in the United States of America by adolescent students indicates that there may actually be a problem of epidemic proportions in this nation. Two national reports- A Nation at Risk and the Report Card from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) - indicate that there is indeed a crisis in our nation concerning students and literacy achievement. Recent data from the 2007 NAEP Report Card indicates that students’ achievement in reading and literacy skills has not positively changed for more than twenty years (as cited in Jacobs, 2008). While these statistics may seem bleak, there are some contributing factors that can be changed to help minimize these issues. The literature that I reviewed for this paper demonstrates the effectiveness of teaching reading strategies in the content areas as early as elementary school. This paper, will examine why and how effective elementary content area literacy may help to undo this d... ... middle of paper ... ... heart of a story. Teaching Pre K-8, 66-67. Moss, B. (2005). Making a case and a place for effective content area literacy instruction in the elementary grades. The Reading Teacher, 59(1), 46-55. doi: 10.1598/RT.59.1.5 Moustafa, B. M. (1999). Content area reading: summary of reference papers. Long Beach, CA: California State University. (ERIC Document ED 427297) Olson, M. W., & Gee, T. C. (1991). Content reading instruction in the primary grades: perceptions and strategies. The Reading Teacher, 45(4), 298- 307. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9201061227&site=ehost-live Trinkle, C. (2009). Reading for meaning: making connections and searching for answers. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 25(6), 48-50. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=36216924&site=ehost-live
Fountas, I., C., & Pinnel, G. S., (2009). When readers struggle: Teaching that works. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
The Reading Strategies Book, by Jennifer Serravallo, is a tool that offers support to teachers in their planning and execution of literacy lessons situated within a larger curricula area. According to Jennifer, “the goal-oriented chapters address a plethora of strategies that can be taught in all genres, grades, and content areas, and they are differentiated for the teacher by clear descriptions that assist them in selecting the most apt and applicable lessons.” This resource provides teachers with an “Everything guide to developing skilled readers,” (Serravallo, 2015). Throughout this book, Jennifer introduced about 300 strategies that can be used in the form of lessons that are accompanied by teaching tips, lesson language, and supportive
Vacca, Richard T., Vacca, Jo Anna L., and Mraz, Maryann (2011). Content Area Reading: Literacy and Learning Across the Curriculum(10th Edition). Boston: Pearson.
Overall, teachers need to take into account all six critical areas of reading when teaching. No matter the subject or time constraints, teachers need to incorporate all areas into the curriculum. Reading is a complex process. If a student does not know to read, a student will never to be able to achieve their best. When using all six areas teachers are using a balanced literacy approach and create greater success for students to succeed in reading and writing.
Gunning, Thomas G. "Chapters 1 & 2." Creating Literacy Instruction for All Students: International Edition. Boston, Mas.: Pearson, 2013. N. pag. Print.
For my community involvement project, I volunteered at Memminger Elementary School for a program called “Reading Partners.” The program focuses on helping children build strong literacy skills to carry with them into their academic careers. It requires the tutor to read to the student that has been assigned and in turn the student reads to the tutor. The program assists in teaching the students valuable reading skills. Being able to read is critical to a child’s educational success. The program works with more than 100 schools within seven states. The program is geared toward students of low-income families. The statistics for children’s literacy in the United States are astonishing. “In 2011, just thirty-four percent of the nation’s fourth graders in public school could read proficiently” (National Center for Education Statistics, 2011). The program itself has had exponential success. Principals and teacher have reported that “Reading Partners” has helped increase students’ reading levels. During my time at the program I accumulated twelve volunteer hours.
Six years ago, I decided to go back to school to obtain my certification in reading because throughout my teaching career, I have always gravitated towards literacy. My inquiry led me to acquire knowledge and strategies to benefit the struggling readers in my classroom. I believe reading is the basic foundation that holds the gap between all subject areas. I was able to help so many students in my classroom.
As a teacher, you need to encourage all attempts at reading, writing, speaking, and allowing children to experience the different functions and use of literacy activity (The Access Center, n.d.). Moreover, it is crucial for educators to understand phonological awareness and phonics; know what constitutes good children’s literature and how to use it; know children who need additional assistance with beginning reading and writing (Cunningham et al, 2004 as cited in McLachlan et al, 2013, p. 112). Educators also need to plan effective activities to assist children experience reading aloud, listening to other children read aloud, listening to tape recordings, and videotapes so children have opportunities to integrate and extend their literacy knowledge (The Access Center, n.d.). Morrow (1990 as cited in The Access Center, n.d.) notes that classroom with greater teacher facilitation promote literacy behaviours, so it is educators’ role to provide literacy rich
The state requires middle school students to not only read informational text, but also to apply higher order comprehension skills. Many middle school students are reluctant to read informational text for several reasons: boredom, lack of appropriate skills and the actual textbook. Middle school students are going to have to learn to be dedicated, positive, find the value of informational text, use social motivation appropriately and make good choices in their learning process. Textbooks are meant to be used in classrooms today to help deepen understanding and meaning. However, only using the textbook may cause a frustration due to the lack of skill the student is able to apply. Textbooks need to be supported with a variety of resources that
In this paper, I will analyze reading strategies for the content area of language arts in a fifth grade class. Reading comprehension is one of the most critical skills a student can master. Without a firm grasp on the comprehension process, learners will struggle in every subject they encounter, whether it’s science, math, or social studies as well as everyday living skills. The content areas typically included disciplines like science, social studies/history and math, but any area outside of English literature instruction constitutes a content area. The reading associated with content area courses reflects not only the concepts and ideas important to these subjects, but also the text structures used by those practicing the field.
My first impression after reading the title of the article “Three Views of Content-Area Literacy: Making Inroads, Making it Inclusive, and Making up for Lost Time,” was that this was going to be an article entirely about the importance about using literature within a given content area. I believed that the three sections could be translated into the uses of content area literacy in the future of education, making content literacy included into base curriculum, and how to do all of this in a limited amount of time. After reading the entire article, it came to my attention that because of my assumptions I was just like the teachers burying their faces in the newspaper and disregarding the importance of the information placed in front of them (Hoffman, Topping, Wenrich, 2006, p. 159). Upperclassman from my area of content had discussed with me the lack of value that a class about content area literacy would provide for someone who would go on to teach ensembles in secondary institutions or higher. I now know that these views are equal to those of the ignorant teachers from the first story in the article. We believe that as content specialists that the concepts of reading and writing have no place to be taught in our classrooms, however the article has helped me realize that as future educators we need to put down the paper and listen to what is really being said about content area literacy.
In class, we have been focusing on the explanation of what Literacy III: Research and Pedagogy in Content Area Literacy actually means. Content Area Literacy is defined by as “the ability to use reading and writing for the acquisition of new content in a given discipline” (McKenna and Robinson 1990). Because of the explanation of the class, I feel as if I am learning about the background and deepening my knowledge and understanding of the class as a whole. Content Area Literacy gives each subject areas a reason to include reading strategies in those lessons. These subject areas include mathematics, science, history, and English (Hodges 2015). When you can include reading strategies in these lessons, you are expanding student’s horizons and giving them multiple exposures. I think that this is extremely beneficial in the all classrooms. As for the negatives on Content Area Literacy, it should be noted that teachers should not only focus on reading during the other subject areas. Teachers need to have a medial balance between the content area and the literacy strategies
In this information–driven age, preparing students to read a variety of texts with complete understanding should likely be one of our educational system’s highest priorities. Understanding is more than just the ability to produce information on demand (knowledge) or the ability to perform learned routines (skills). “Understanding is the ability to think and act flexibly with what one knows.” (Active Learning Practice for Schools, n. d.) A review of the literature in the area of reading comprehension of elementary-age students shows two principle areas of focus. There is a body of literature that examines the development of proficient vs. struggling comprehenders and another body of literature that compares methodologies for teaching reading comprehension.
“The single most important activity for building knowledge for their eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children,” a report from 1985 by the commission