Addressing Disciplinary Literacy

When students enter middle and high school, their teachers expect that they have learned the basic skills and strategies for reading and comprehending text. Students who are still working to develop these proficiencies may need assistance from their classroom teachers and, in some cases, from specialists in reading or special education, to support their reading and writing in the classroom. This course will help educators to learn to create effective integrated literacy experiences for all students in every discipline. An important focus of the course is the development of discipline-specific and academic language. Teachers will examine and analyze the unique characteristics of the literacy patterns of their individual discipline and acquire strategies for addressing these patterns in order to improve comprehension. Disciplinary literacy needs to be seen not as an add-on, but as a means to an end, that end being deeper understanding and transfer of learning for all students. This course is appropriate for all K-12 school professionals.