Literacy in its many forms, matters. We are teachers who write and writers who teach. As educators, it is our professional responsibility to ensure that students engage in all forms of literacy in our classes using strategies that open up and deepen understanding of the content. Most middle and high schools don’t have reading courses because the assumption is that by 6th grade, students know how to read. Unfortunately, that is not the case. As knowledge domains become increasingly sophisticated and discipline specific, so too, do the literacy practices that are needed to comprehend these discipline-specific texts.

Although reading and writing are often “perceived” as the sole responsibility of English teachers, students are expected to read and write in all their other subjects, often in ways that fall outside of the English teacher’s area of expertise. As teachers of math, science, art, world languages, special education, English, and social studies, we design experiences that engage students with the content of our discipline. Consequently, teachers in every content area share the responsibility of supporting their students’ discipline-specific literacy development.

EDUC 438*--Teaching Reading and Writing in the Content Field: Course explores issues of literacy development (reading, writing, listening, speaking, visualizing, thinking) across core content areas of secondary school curricula.

In this course, we will explore some key questions regarding the importance of literacy practices as infrastructure for constructing knowledge and understanding in the disciplines: 1) In the 21st century, what does it mean to be literate within the disciplines? 2) What does it mean to scaffold understanding or support learning with literacy? 3) What are the specific literacy demands of your subject area and how do they build on being a culturally responsive teacher?

"As teachers, we have daily opportunities to affirm that our students' lives and language are unique and important. We do that in the selections of literature we read, in the history we choose to teach, and we do it by giving legitimacy to our students' lives as a content worthy of study" (Christensen, 2001, p. 103).

Christensen, L. (2001). Reading, writing, and rising up: Teaching about social justice and the power of the written word. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools.