Date: November 29, 2012 To: Administration From: Jana Emrich Subject: Proposal to Incorporate Content Area Literacy

Strategies in all Content Classrooms, Effectively, in Order to Enhance Students Ability to uestion and Essentially !each !hemselves" In todays #orld of ever$changing and e%panding information, students must ac&uire the ability to utili'e all resources, of multiple te%t types, to find, use, and interpret information" It is not enough, anymore, to learn simple facts, students must (no# ho# to locate and create their o#n meaning, based upon the countless sources available" De inition o !ontent Area "iterac#: Content area literacy is reading to learn" )hen students learn to read, they learn to decode #ords, ho#ever in reality reading encompasses so much more than this" It is using schema to construct meaning from print as (no#ledge builds upon (no#ledge" !he assumption, in the past, #as that once a student has learned to read, they naturally progress into reading to learn" *esearch sho#s this is not the case and is evident in the decline of comprehension and fluency as more comple% informational te%ts are introduced, beginning around the fourth grade" !hey must be given strategies for comprehending difficult te%ts, and this is proven to be beneficial beginning in early elementary" !his early e%posure to reading to learn gives them a taste for ne# (no#ledge and they are capable of understanding concepts that are much more comple% than previously determined" !he rate at #hich a child can read is not a determination of ho# much they can comprehend" )e can teach them content and concepts while they learn to read" $easons or !ontent Area "iterac#: !he reasoning behind teaching content area literacy strategies lies simply in the tremendous benefit to the student" )e are not simply teaching them the facts or ideas pertinent to our chosen grade level or content area+ #e are teaching them ho# to be efficient learners and students for the rest of their lives" !eachers #ho do this often find that this instruction results not in more content to be taught, but actually less, as students are better able to read and comprehend on their o#n" !hese strategies allo# classes #ith a #ide range of reading proficiency to learn ho# to ma(e meaning using the same materials for all students regardless of their academic level" )ith a staggering average of ,"- minutes per day, in a typical elementary classroom, being devoted to informational reading, changes must occur" Every day more and more comple% language forms and technical vocabulary

are being introduced to e%plain increasingly comple% ideas and, due to this, #e are all lifelong learners that must have the ability to ma(e meaning from print" %ossib&e Schoo&'(ide $eadin) Strate)ies !onsidered: !he three strategies, outlined belo#, #ere chosen due to their application to, and enhancement of, any content area te%t" Cooperative uestion Only. !he idea behind this method is that #hen #e are reading or listening, in any conte%t, &uestions are being ans#ered" !he problem lies in the inability of students to (no# #hat those &uestions are, and so many times natural curiosity suffers" !he s(ill of framing the &uestions to provide a focus for reading has to be developed" !his method is best used #ith non$fiction material and can be used in class or in preparation of a home#or( reading assignment" !he teacher #ill first revie# selection to create a &ui' using &uestions over the important information" !hese #ill include t#o &uestions that he or she thin(s students #ill not as( in the discussion prior to the &ui'" !he teacher #ill e%plain to the students that before they read they #ill have the chance to as( &uestions and then ta(e a short &ui', so they can essentially provide the ans#ers by as(ing the right &uestions beforehand" !he teacher introduces the topic and e%plains that each group #ill have three minutes to come up #ith as many &uestions as possible, after #hich he or she #ill call upon the reporter from each group to as( a &uestion, rotating until all &uestions have been covered" !he teacher gives / more minutes for any follo# up &uestions" 0uring the &uestioning, the teacher #ill briefly record the ans#ers on the board" 1e%t, the &ui' is given orally, #ith all but t#o having been ans#ered by student &uestioning, for #hich the ans#ers are on the board" !his is not graded+ the teacher simply as(s ho# many thin( that they ans#ered most of the &uestions correctly and #hich ones they had problems #ith" !here should be t#o &uestions that they struggled #ith because they #ere not covered in the &uestioning" !his becomes their purpose for reading, it is #ritten on the board, and then students read to discover the ans#er" Paired *eading. !his method allo#s the reading to be bro(en up bet#een partners so students are not bogged do#n in a te%t that is beyond their independent, and possibly even instructional, level" Each student is given a copy of the te%t and paragraphs are bro(en up into sections for partner A and for partner 2" Partner A reads aloud and partner 2 follo#s along, ready to ans#er t#o &uestions formed by A at the completion of the section" After #hich the process is flipped, and 2 reads aloud" 3sually a post reading activity follo#s upon the completion of the reading" Paired reading is very beneficial in enhancing attention and comprehension in a class of diverse learners"

*e uest. !his method helps students construct their o#n &uestions thereby giving them a role in creating a purpose for reading" !his can be used to begin an in class reading assignment or as a preparation for a home#or( reading assignment" Ideally, the teacher #ill provide the first fe# lines of the reading on the board or as a Po#erPoint, one at a time" !he teacher #ill have already prepared about four &uestions for the title and first sentence, and then four each for the remaining three, or so, sentences" !he teacher #ill first e%plain that they #ill loo( at the first fe# lines of the reading and as( some &uestions to help them determine a purpose for reading" As the teacher sho#s the title and first sentence on the board or Po#erPoint, he or she #ill ta(e &uestions from students based on these lines" !he teacher #ill ans#er directly and fully but not elaborate to (eep focus and stay on trac( for creating the necessary schema for the reading" After students have as(ed their &uestions, the teacher #ill then as( some additional ones that #ere not covered, ranging from basic information, translation, inference, personal e%perience, and evaluation type in&uiries" !his helps students see #hat types of &uestions build schema" !his pattern is follo#ed through the first four lines, or so, until enough has been covered to set a purpose" 3pon completion, the teacher #ill as( students #hat they predict the remainder of the reading #ill be about" !he teacher #ill note these on the board and then have students reformulate into &uestions #hich #ill be their purpose for reading" !he teacher #ill #rite these &uestions on the board and upon completion of silent reading, #ill discuss #hether or not they set a good purpose" If so, they can discuss the ans#ers and, if not, discuss #hat #ould have been more appropriate &uestions" $ecommended Strate)#: !he strategy I #ould recommend for school #ide implementation, across the content areas, is the Cooperative uestion Only strategy follo#ed by the Paired *eading using the purpose &uestions determined during previous discussions" 3pon completion of the &ui', students #ill discuss each section, during reading, to determine if material contains ans#ers to the purpose &uestions" $easons or $ecommended Strate)#: Cooperative uestion Only helps students, at all academic levels, learn ho# &uestion effectively and by using cooperative groups, they are able to #or( together and learn from each other, as #ell" Cooperative groups address many of the Common Core Spea(ing and Listening standards for English and Language Arts" It also creates an atmosphere #here all are involved and feel safe contributing authentically, but at the same time teaches them ho# effective &uestioning helps them get to the heart of a te%t" *m+&ementation !onsiderations o $ecommended Strate)#:

Some considerations to (eep in mind are that this is set up to use #ith heterogeneous cooperative groups and #ill #or( best if students have been strategically placed #ith those they can #or( #ell #ith" Also, this can be implemented into any content area that re&uires te%t reading, as in&uiry and &uestioning is imperative for students to authentically engage in a te%t" Summar#: In closing, strategies that help students better understand content area concepts and ideas are crucial if they are to ma(e sense of all they #ill encounter as they progress through school and into the #or(force" As teachers, it is our duty to step outside our comfort 'one, go beyond dispensing information, and ensure that students obtain every tool possible for meaning ma(ing in the real #orld" )e cannot assume that they #ill gain these s(ills on their o#n and not only do #e need to introduce these strategies, #e must use them consistently so that it becomes second nature to utili'e our inborn curiosity to ma(e connections that #ill accommodate or assimilate ne# (no#ledge" !he depth of study re&uired by Common Core Standards necessitates that #e give students the tools they need" One thing #e must (eep in mind is that literacy is the foundation for ALL learning"