Cross Content Literacy - Essay Example

CROSS CONTENT LITERACY Parents and school administrators would like to have students improve their reading scores, writing scores; achievements; and their graduation rates. Thus, school administrators take the said goals seriously and they think improving literacy is the center of all these goals. However, a specific area of literacy would not be enough. Students should be able to learn well across content areas (Irvin et al., 2008). Teaching strategically means selecting teaching and learning strategies that will enhance student learning and help students acquire the skills they need in order to be self-directed, independent learners (Education, 2003). Content-area literacy refers to the capacity to use reading and writing for the attainment of new content in a given discipline and consists of three cognitive components: general literacy skills, prior knowledge of content, and content-specific literacy skills (Education, 2003). It may include reading, writing, and oral discourse which may vary from subject to subject; may require knowledge of multiple genres of text, purposes for text use, and text media; is influenced by students’ literacies in contexts outside of school; and is influenced by students’ personal, social, and cultural experiences (Short et al., 2007). Reading is vital in all content areas. If a student has got good motivations in reading pertinent materials for his or her studies, he or she will be better prepared to meet different standards across the areas (Anthony and Raphael, 1989). However, the problem lies to the fact that there are many students that do not have the skills to read and comprehend content-based text. Thus, content area teachers have to be skilled in content-based reading strategies (Billmeyer, 1998). Teachers are considered as facilitator of reading. In being such, they have to device ways to help their students engage in reading and comprehend what they are reading. Deborah Short (2007) enumerated several promising practices for developing literacy in adolescent who are language learners which are also applicable in the present topic, such as: (1) integrating all four language skills into instruction from the start; (2) teaching components and processes of reading and writing; (3) teaching reading comprehension strategies; (4) focusing on vocabulary development; (5) building and activating background knowledge; (6) teaching language through content and themes; (7) using native language strategically; (8) Pairing technology with existing interventions and (9) motivating language learners through choice. Connecting reading and writing allows students to demonstrate their comprehension of what has been read (Education, 2003). This writer will only discuss some of the above enumerated practices as the enumeration was specially given for literacy on the English language. Moreover, for (Irvin et al, 2008), the effective ways to improve literacy through content area instruction are the following: (1) highlight thorough and frequent content area reading and writing; (2) establish a common languange for instruction; (3) choose and use a common set of literacy support strategies across the content areas: and (4) build vocabulary and prior knowledge of all students. Reading comprehension is the process of extracting and constructing simultaneously through interaction and involvement with written language (Guthrie & Wigfield, 2000). Reading comprehension becomes essential in the later part of the elementary (Sweet and Snow, 2003) as this may give the basis for a significant amount of learning in secondary school of a child (Kirsch et al., 2002). Reading comprehension in grades 3-8 is an end result of reading engagement like the joint functioning of conceptual knowledge, reading strategies, reading motivation, and social interaction (Guthrie & Wigfield, 2000). To succeed in content area studies, students need to know how to apply a variety of reading comprehension strategies to different types of texts, analyze the structure of expository texts, and vary their reading strategies for different texts and purposes (Education, 2003). Not only do skills in comprehension serve a vital role in literacy across content areas. Motivation for reading and to learn are also important, and the lack of any of the two may limit the students’ academic progress (Alvermann & Earle, 2003). According to Guthrie et.al.( 2006) reading motivation can be significantly correlated with important cognitive outcomes like amount of reading and reading achievement. There is an important need to develop stronger instructional contexts for motivational development. However, this is not as easy as it seems since the context of how motivation is developed should also be understood ( Guthrie et al, 2006). Teachers should know the changes that take place in children during the acquisition of reading motivation to effectively create contexts favorable to motivational development. This is because students are not basically motivated to read, nor they become avid readers by just one catalytic experience (Guthrie , J., et al, 2006). Engaged readers are motivated to read for their own sake. This kind of motivation activates the self-regulation of strategies for higher order of learning through literacy (Dole et al, 1991). Corno and Kanfer (1993) averred that motivations involve goals and intentions but volitional strategies that enable individuals to fulfill their motivational goals is also important. They argued that in the absence of volition, the intentions of an individual may not be realized in action. Moreover, Corno (1993) asserted that volitional strategies are not just keyed up by motivations, but more importantly, these strategies are dependent on different kinds of motivations. For instace, when motivations hold personal significance, they are intrinsic and will be associated with higher level strategies. It has been reported that learning a strategy for reading motivation increased students’ reading self-efficacy (Schunk & Rice, 1985). The research of Eccles & Midgley (1989) suggests that by changing instructional practices, children's motivation can be improved so that the decline does not occur. Guthrie et al (2000) have given some classroom practices that could lead to progress in reading motivation such as (a) giving school books or tasks during reading instruction; (b) providing students occasions for collaboration with classmates in reading activities; (c) according them with interesting texts for instructional activities, and (d) providing hands-on activities or real world interactions associated to specific book-reading activities. As previously mentioned, comprehension is likewise important in learning across areas. The more general background knowledge a student has about the academic content that will be addressed in a given class or course, the easier it is for the student to understand and learn new content addressed in that class or course (Curtright, 2007). A lot of students lack the vocabulary and background knowledge that are necessary for the instruction (Irvin et al., 2008). Thus, teachers now have two tasks: Developing (1) academic vocabulary and the (2) background knowledge are two of the most important ways in learning across content areas. Content area teachers need to assist learners in making connections between what they already know and any new information they glean from texts. Content area teachers need to assist learners in making connections between what they already know and any new information they learn from texts (Education, 2003). Recent research tells us that effective readers are strategic, constructing meaning as they read. The subsequent writings will discuss academic vocabulary and background knowledge and some of the strategies that could help in the development of the two. Academic Vocabulary Academic vocabulary refers to a dedicated vocabulary used in academic situations.  This vocabulary/language occurs frequently in academic texts and is regularly used in academic discourse.  Students with well-developed academic language and vocabulary are prepared to communicate like scientists and social scientists, mathematicians, and literary scholars. There is no single best way to teach terms and phrases. However, the research and theory on vocabulary development does point to a few generalizations that provide strong guidance (Marzano, 2004). A robust vocabulary has been shown to be that important (Nagy & Scott, 2000). That is why teaching vocabulary can develop reading comprehension for both native English speakers. One important function of schools is to prepare students with the academic language proficiency and academic knowledge and skills necessary to converse in diverse academic fields. Adequate reading comprehension depends on knowing 90–95% of the words in a text and students with better vocabularies tend to be more successful on tests and other measures of achievement (Nagy & Scott, 2000). The problem is that according to (Jacobs et al, 2002), students’ beliefs about their competence and values for the language continue to decline through adolescence. For Curtright (2007), the following are the factors inhibiting academic vocabulary development: (1) variety of home experiences; (2) family stability or conflict; (3) financial resources or poverty; (4) academic resources; (5) student mobility and (6) relationship of poverty and ethnicity. Using information texts in the classroom can enhance vocabulary development, utilize visual cues to clarify information, and strengthen critical thinking. Vocabulary instruction has a significant effect on student comprehension of academic content. Systematic instruction in content area terms is necessary for developing students' academic vocabulary and background knowledge (Education, 2003). According to Marzano & Pickering (2005), teaching specific terms in a specific way is probably the best action a teacher can take to make sure that students have the academic background knowledge they need to comprehend the content they will encounter in school. According to them, the 6 step process to building academic vocabulary is the first step in a country driven approach to addressing the “literacy” initiative. The said steps shall be discussed in the later part of this paper since these are also applicable to developing background knowledge, also an essential focus of this paper. Background knowledge Background knowledge refers to what a person knows about a topic or subject. To push it further, academic background knowledge refers to a background knowledge that helps a student be successful in the classroom setting. Background knowledge and content offer a necessary link between what students understand and what they read (Anthony and Raphael, 1989). Some researchers reveal that the advantage of having teachers activate the background schema of students before reading a text to aid comprehension. The more general background knowledge a student has about the academic content that will be addressed in a given class or course, the easier it is for the student to understand and learn the new content addressed in that class or course (Marzano, 2004). Unfortunately, because of a different factors like the differences in the extent to which experiences at home aid in enhancing academic background knowledge, students transferring from one school to another or one district to another, and so on, there is naturally great difference in the academic background knowledge of students, and this disparity augments as students progress through the school years. However, if a district or school were to methodically guarantee that all students were exposed to definite academic terms and phrases across the grade levels, this would form a strong common foundation for all students (Marzano &Associates, 2006). As a matter of fact, research shows that there are about 400 terms and phrases per year are typically addressed in programs that emphasize vocabulary instruction (Marzano, 2004). As previously mentioned, Dr. Robert Marzano (2004) gave the best suggestions and steps which cut across all subject areas particularly the development of academic vocabulary and background knowledge. This will compensate the lack of academic experiences. The said steps are as follows: 1. The teacher should provide a “learner- friendly” description, explanation, and/or example as opposed to a formal definition. Here, the teacher shall use numerous examples of both words and visual depictions. Direct experiences like field trips may also be used. The students may also be asked to investigate initially the terms and present the information to the class in the form of a skit or pantomime. 2. Have the students put the term in “kidspeak.” In other words, have the students generate their own descriptions, explanations, and examples using their own background knowledge and experiences to link the new term with what they already know. The students will restate the description, explanation or sample in their own words. As such, they will be assisted to develop sufficient understanding so that they can describe the terms in their own words. 3. Illustrate the term. The students will create a non-linguistic representation of the term. Have the students process each term or phrase in a different modality by representing the term in some graphic, picture, or pictographic form. In such case, the teacher helps the students develop sufficient initial understanding so that they can represent the terms through pictures, symbols or graphic representations. 4. Have the students occasionally engage in activities that add to their knowledge and understanding of the term. The students will be provided opportunities to revisit and even revise their descriptions and non-linguistic representations as they are developing their close approximations of the terms. The activities may come as a free association of words that are related or connected to a given term. The students will have to create and keep an academic vocabulary notebook. The notebook shall have a room for student’s initial descriptions and explanations. There will also be spaces for their graphic representations, additional comments, and possible revisions. 5. “Talk about it.” The students will have periodic discussion of the terms and phrases with each other as well as having activities that add to their knowledge base. This can be done in elementary grades through “think, pair, share”. It may also be done through students representing the most interesting word. On the other hand, at the secondary level, the students can form teams where each student will identify the terms which he or she is having difficulty with, in their own respective teams. The other students will then share the information they have written and the manner they represented it non-linguistically in their academic notebooks. Students can likewise be organized into pairs and provided a list of the most difficult terms they encounter in their study. In this case, the students paired will identify what is true or false, what is new and what is confusing them with the terms. 6. Play “word games” like jeopardy, password, self-made flashcards, puns, charades, hangman, Pictionary, charades and board games. These will give them opportunities to review the terms and serve as break in their daily routine in school. Likewise, teachers can help the readers to comprehend better what they are reading which in the process could develop their reading motivations. Teachers should make use of techniques and strategies like the following in teaching reading in their content area:  1. Reading Instruction - Design lessons using explicit  before, during, and after reading strategies in all content areas. 2. Respond to Reading - Have students react to stance questions in writing, providing support from the text. 3. Develop vocabulary- Aid understanding of content terms through context clues, word structure, and semantic features (Prince George's County Public Schools).   The concept of “reciprocal teaching could also be of help for students. Alverman and Phelps (1998) averred in their book that reciprocal teaching has two major features: 1. Instruction and practice of the four comprehension strategies—predicting, question generating, clarifying, and summarizing  2. A special kind of cognitive apprenticeship where students progressively learn to assume the position of teacher in helping their peers construct meaning from text or phrase. There are four important instructional practices embedded in reciprocal teaching according to (Rosenshine and Meister, 1994): 1. Direct teaching of strategies, rather than reliance solely on teacher questioning 2. Student practice of reading strategies with real reading, not with worksheets or contrived exercises 3. Scaffolding of instruction; students as cognitive apprentices 4. Peer support for learning Part of the proper implementation of the previously mentioned strategies is to let the students read and write daily in such a manner that there is a promotion of increased comprehension, critical thinking, problem solving and familiarity with the reading and creation of text (Irvin et al, 2008). Consequently, teaching critical thinking, writing and study skills should also follow as they are integral part of teaching any content area. Moreover, since we are already in the 21st century and technology has already emerged and is getting better each day, information and communication technologies should also be maximized as a tool for learning (Education, 2003). It should be noted that literacy leaders should let their content area teachers know that having their respective expertise in particular subjects, they are in the best position to understand the different thinking, reading, writing and speaking demands of their discipline. A math teacher for example, would not want their colleagues in other disciplines to select and teach appropriate math vocabulary or to explain to students that it is best to use a math notebook. The same case for other content area teachers (Irvin et al, 2008).. Content area teachers should realize that there are students who missed developing important skills in their lower grades. However, they can make a difference at this time for the concerned students by shifting instruction from a sole focus on learning content knowledge to the goal of learning content while strengthening content area literacy. The adjustment will enable the teachers to maintain high expectations for students and will support the students as they encounter the challenges (Irvin et al, 2008). A common language should be developed by the literacy leaders to support teachers and students when discussing, reading, writing related instructional and learning strategies. Problems may arise such as when teachers have different names for instructional methods, formats and approaches, in which case, teachers would not be able to help students transfer knowledge and skills to related courses. In having a common instructional language, the teachers retain the high standards for all their students because they are promoting the sharing and analysis of instructional practices and examples of student work (Irvin et al, 2008). Furthermore, the role of the teachers should indeed be clarified. There may be some content area teachers who are not comfortable in taking the task of improving the reading and writing skills of their students in the classrooms. Also, they themselves may be lacking the knowledge and pedagogy to aid their students in comprehending their course texts. Sometimes, even if the content area teachers acknowledge that their students need assistance in reading, they would rather have the English language arts teachers, exceptional student education or ESL programs to take responsibility in accomplishing the task. The very important task of the teachers only means that they also need assistance. They also need necessary support to ensure that they can strengthen their students’ content literacy skills. Thus, adequate, ongoing, quality teacher professional development program should be available for them. Otherwise, the task will be merely on paper and shall remain a brilliant idea (Irvin et al, 2008). References Alverman, D. &. (1998). 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