Reading Matters Winter 2018

When teachers focus students’ attention on external and internal text features, they introduce text in different content areas during whole group and small group instruction. Introducing Disciplinary Literacy in Elementary Classrooms Disciplinary literacy involves teaching students an understanding of the world of work in different discipline areas. Mathematicians read carefully and learn precise definitions and formulas. Scientists plan and conduct experiments, observe and form conclusions based on evidence. Historians interpret primary sources to develop conclusions about the past. Geographers connect spatial information with information about people, places and environments. At the secondary level content area teachers are encouraged to prepare students by delving into the work of scientists, mathematicians, geographers and historians. Moving beyond comparing content area literacy and disciplinary literacy to applying disciplinary literacy in elementary classrooms begins with a close examination of content standards. Content standards at state and national levels are excellent resources for identifying disciplinary literacy in the elementary grades. Academic standards provide a comprehensive alignment of skills in literacy and inquiry in different content areas. Content area standards can be unpacked to identify disciplinary literacy skills that are useful for developing vocabulary and content knowledge in mathematics, science and social studies. To provide guidance for our assertion that content standards provide the foundation for applying disciplinary literacy in elementary content areas, we examined National Geography Standards as an example. National Geography Standards published in Geography for Life (2012) is a useful framework for analyzing how standards define disciplinary literacy in elementary social studies. By unpacking the standard, disciplinary literacy skills reveal instructional implications for elementary teachers. Student performance statements highlight what students should know and be able to do. Geography Standard 3: How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places and environments on Earth’s surface. • Knowledge Statement: Spatial Concepts 4th grade students know and understand the use of fundamental spatial concepts of location, distance and direction, scale, movement, region and volume. • The Performance Statement for 4th grade states

students in reading a historical account of Paul Revere’s ride and describing it in terms of location, movement and region of action, distance and direction” (32). Having students trace Paul Revere’s route as he rode from Boston to Lexington engages students in applying an understanding of the importance of location in historical contexts. Literacy is deeply embedded in social studies teaching and learning when reading and writing are connected to concepts and skills in history and geography. Reading, writing, listening and speaking are given purpose when they are woven into the context of mathematics, science and social studies in the elementary classroom. The essential nature of elementary teaching supports standards-based lessons, inquiry, cooperative learning and hands-on minds-on learning. Literacy skills provide the foundation for the skills needed for inquiry in all content areas. With an instructional focus on inquiry, meaningful content area teaching involves students in purposeful reading and writing with literacy skills that are unique to different disciplines. To summarize our thoughts for introducing disciplinary literacy in elementary classrooms we have identified key elements here. Key Elements for Introducing Disciplinary Literacy in Elementary Classrooms Explicit instruction that engages students with: • Standards-based lessons that align literacy with learning in each content area. • Academic and content vocabulary. • Content reading strategies that are adapted for discipline-specific concept development. • Hands-on, minds-on learning. • Inquiry, reading and writing across the curriculum. • Trade books for learning in all content areas. Conclusion In this article, we encourage teachers to look for opportunities to introduce disciplinary literacy in the elementary grades. Using state and national content standards as a guide, elementary teachers can introduce literacy skills that are important to learning in different discipline areas. Disciplinary literacy experiences at the elementary level lay the foundation for subject area learning at the middle and secondary levels. When elementary teachers incorporate literacy strategies in mathematics, science and social studies, students see how literacy helps them to learn the information for that discipline. When we teach students to apply literacy skills in each discipline, we provide an infrastructure for meaningful learning in all content areas. References Blair, T., Rupley, W., & Nichols, W. (2007). The effective teacher of reading: Considering the“what”and“how”of instruction. The Reading Teacher , 60 (5), 432-438.

Reading Matters Teaching Matters

that students should be able to describe the meaning of the spatial concepts of distance, direction and location in selected literature.

The process for unpacking standards begins by identifying the verbs and nouns to apply the standard goals. The verb “analyze” connects geography to literacy when students study, investigate, explore, and question spatial concepts to apply an understanding of the organization of people, places and environments. The unpacked standard engages learners in using literacy skills to “describe spatial concepts in literature”. The instructional example provided in Geography for Life involves

Boushey, G., & Moser, J. (2006). The Daily 5: Fostering literacy independence in the elementary grades . Stenhouse Publishers.

Reading Matters | Volume 18 • Winter 2018 | scira.org | 29

CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS