Reading and Writing in the Subject Areas Timothy Shanahan Cynthia Shanahan University of Illinois at...
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Transcript of Reading and Writing in the Subject Areas Timothy Shanahan Cynthia Shanahan University of Illinois at...
Reading and Writing in the Subject Areas
Timothy Shanahan
Cynthia Shanahan
University of Illinois at Chicago
www.shanahanonliteracy.com
Two Problems
PROBLEM I
Significant numbers of students read so poorly that they are unlikely to have access to full participation in American society
Lack
of
Lit
era
cy
25% of 8 th and 12 th graders
read at below basic levels
(NAEP, 2010) 1.2 million students drop out of
high school each year (AEE,
2007) High school dropouts earn an
average of $17,299 per year
(U.S. Census, 2005) Less than 10% of African
Americans read at proficient or
higher levels (NAEP, 2005)
Two Problems (cont.)
PROBLEM II
Significant numbers of students who are deemed literate – who meet standards – are not sufficiently literate to succeed in college or career
Insu
ffici
ent
Lit
era
cy
Att
ain
ment
A college degree is single greatest
factor in access to better job
opportunities and higher earnings
(Children's Defense Fund, 2000)
36% of college students require
remedial classes at a cost of $3.7
billion annually (U.S. DOE, 2011)
Remedial courses aren’t as helpful
as regular college classes
(Complete College America, 2012)
Only about 50% of students
entering college are equipped to
handle the reading assignments of
beginning college classes (ACT,
2006)
Thus,
2
pro
ble
ms:
A very real remedial problem of
students who read below
national averages and who are
unlikely to participate
economically or socially in
American society (don’t qualify
for either higher education or
entry level work) Significant numbers of students
who can read near, at, or above
U.S. averages, but who cannot
read well enough to complete
freshman-sophomore years at
college without remedial help or
to get beyond entry level in the
workplace
Som
e P
oss
ible
Solu
tions
Enhancements to early literacy instruction--According to NAEP, there
have been clear reading
improvements among
fourth-graders since 1992
--And yet, middle school
students are reading no
better than in 1992 (and
high schoolers appear to
have fallen)
Som
e P
oss
ible
S
olu
tions
(cont.
)
Avoiding text --Since 1990 there have been
content (knowledge) standards
in history, science, mathematics,
English language arts --Teachers have found ways of
getting info to students without
texts (e.g., PowerPoint, video)
--But ACT has found that amount
of challenging text reading
between 7 th and 12 th grades was
the best preparation of later
success
Som
e P
oss
ible
S
olu
tions
(cont.
)
Increasing remedial classes--This would mainly impact
those who are not going to
college--IES secondary studies and
funding streams (e.g.,
Striving Readers) suggest
that at best remedial classes
in high school raise reading
achievementonly by about 2 mos.
Som
e P
oss
ible
S
olu
tions
(cont.
)
Elevating literacy and
literacy instruction up
through through the
grades--ACT found that state standards
did not take specific reading
standards through high school
--Common core changes that for
46 states --Specific to content area classes
(literature, science, social
studies)
Not
Conte
nt
Are
a R
eadin
g
The shift in emphasis is
not to content area reading Content area reading is an
idea long advanced in
education (“every teacher
a teacher of reading”)
Focus is teaching general
reading and study skills in
the different subject
matter classes However, the underlying
idea of it is flawed
Dis
ciplinary
R
eadin
g
Inst
ruct
ion
Each discipline possesses its own
language, purposes, and ways of
using text that students should be
inducted into There are special skills and strategies
needed for students to make complete
sense of texts from the disciplines
As students confront these kinds of
texts (especially in middle school and
high school), instruction must facilitate
their understanding of what it means
to read disciplinary texts Instead of imposing the reading
curriculum on the subjects, the idea is
to identify the special reading skills of
the subject areas
Sourc
es
of
Dis
ciplinary
Lit
era
cy
Studies out of the cognitive science that
compare expert readers
with novices (Bazerman,
1985; Geisler, 1994;
Wineburg, 1991, etc.) Functional linguistics
analyses of the unique
practices in creating,
disseminating, evaluating
knowledge (Fang, 2004;
Halliday, 1998; Schleppegrell, 2004, etc.)
Conte
nt
are
a
readin
g:
Voca
bula
ry
Focus is on memorization
techniques: make connections among concepts, construct graphic organizers, brainstorm, semantic
maps, word sorts, rate
knowledge of words,
analyze semantic features
of words, categorize or
map words, develop
synonym webs,
Dis
ciplinary
lite
racy
:
Voca
bula
ry
Focus is on specialized
nature of vocabulary of
the subjects Science: Greek and Latin
roots (precise, dense,
stable meanings that are
recoverable) History: metaphorical
terms, words/terms with a
political point of view
Disciplinary Literacy
Intermediate Literacy
Basic Literacy
Increasing Specialization of Literacy
Dis
ciplinary
re
adin
g
The focus is on the specialized
problems and processes of a
subject area – including the
inquiry and communication
processes Disciplines represent cultural
differences in how information is
used, the nature of language,
demands for precision, role of
author in critical reading,
graphics and their relationship to
prose, etc.
Math
Readin
g
Goal: arrive at “truth”
Need to construct abstract
understanding of mathematics
(more than learning the concrete
examples) Importance of “close reading” an
intensive consideration of every
word in the text Rereading a major strategy
Heavy emphasis on error detection
Precision of understanding essential
His
tory
R
eadin
g
History is interpretative, and
authors and sourcing are central
in interpretation (consideration
of bias and perspective)
Often seems narrative without
purpose and argument without
explicit claims (need to see
history as argument based on
partial evidence; narratives are
more than facts) Single texts are problematic (no
corroboration)
History Reading (Wineburg)
Sourcing: considering the
author and author perspective
Contextualizing: placing the
document/info within its
historical period and place
Corroboration: evaluating
information across sources
History Events ChartTEXT WHO? WHAT? WHERE? WHEN? WHY?
1
Relation:
2
Relation:
3
Relation
4
Main point:
History Reading (Fang & Schleppergrell)
History text constructs time
and causation Attributes agency (readers
need to focus on the reasons
for actions and the outcomes
of those actions—cause/effect)
Presents judgment and
interpretation (argument)
Often narratives with lack of
clear connections to thesis
His
tory
Readin
g
(Fang &
Sch
lepperg
rell)
History texts construct meaning
about time, place, manner
through “grammatical
circumstances” Thus, in history, many clauses
begin with grammatical
circumstances realized in
prepositional phrases and
adverbs Over the next decade events led
to war. They gathered in Philadelphia.
They made enemies by their
harsh stands
His
tory
Readin
g
(Fang &
Sch
lepperg
rell)
History also constructs participants/actors and the
processes that they engaged in
to move towards their goals.
His
tory
Readin
g
(Fang &
Sch
lepperg
rel)
Clause
Circumstance
Actor Process Goal Circum.
1 Over the next decade,
further events
steadily led
to war
2 Some colonial leaders, such as Samuel Adams
favored independ-ence from Britain.
3 They encour-aged
conflict withBritish authorities.
4 At the same time,
George II and his ministers
made enemies of many moderate Colonists
by their harsh stands
Sci
ence
(C
hem
istr
y)
Readin
g
Text provides knowledge that
allows prediction of how the
world works Full understanding needed of
experiments or processes
Close connections among prose,
graphs, charts, formulas
(alternative representations of
constructs an essential aspect of
chemistry text) Major reading strategies include
corroboration and transformation
Chemistry Note-taking
Substances Properties Processes InteractionsAtomic Expression
Sci
ence
Readin
g
(Fang &
Sch
lepperg
rell)
Sentence density: unpacking complex nouns
Experimental verification of
Einstein’s explanation of
the photoelectric effect was
made 11 years later by the
American physicist Robert
Millikan. Every aspect of Einstein’s
interpretation was confirmed, including the
direct proportionality of
photon energy to frequency.
Sci
ence
Readin
g
(Fang &
Sch
lepperg
rell)
Technical, abstract, dense,
tightly knit language (that
contrasts with interactive,
interpersonal style of
other texts or ordinary
language) Nominalization (turning
processes into nouns)
Suppresses agency (readers need to focus on
causation not intention)
Lit
era
ture
(E
LA
)
Focus on explorations of
the meaning of human
experience and the aesthetic uses of language Much literature is fictional,
but meant to address
larger truths Usually unstated messages (themes)
Literary devices (allusion,
metaphor, symbolism,
etc.)
Character Change Chart
What is main character like at the beginning of the story?
What is the main character like at the end of the story? How has he or she changed?
Crisis
Given this character change, what do you think the author wanted you to learn? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A C
riti
cal M
issi
on:
Maki
ng
Adole
scent
Lite
racy
an
Imm
edia
te P
riori
ty
2009 SREB report called for states to identify the reading skills students needed
to improve reading achievement in key academic subjects through high school.
Com
mon C
ore
S
tate
Sta
ndard
s Common core state standards for
the English Language Arts and
Literacy in Social Studies/History
and Science/Technological
Subjects Includes a specific focus on what
literacy abilities to foster in
history/social studies, literature,
and science/technical subjects
Other states joining in, too
Educa
tional
Implica
tions
Shifts in teacher preparation
and professional development
for existing teachers Need for programs,
instructional materials, and
other curriculum supports
Need for assessments that
include science, history,
mathematics, and literary
texts (with disciplinary
specific questions) But what about students who
have not had opportunities to
learn these aspects of
literacy?
Transi
tional
cours
es
SREB, with the support of Gates
Foundation, and in partnership
with Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky,
North Carolina, Oklahoma, and
Tennessee, is developing
“transitional courses” with a focus
on disciplinary literacy
Not remedial courses, per se, but
courses that will allow success for
those students on track to
graduate high school, but who are
not college ready These courses will not be general
reading courses, but disciplinary
literacy courses aimed as honing
students’ abilities to read
literature, science, and history
Course modules (2 per discipline)
being developed to reduce need
for college remediation
Concl
usi
ons
Economic vitality of the
region requires higher
literacy skills Remediation alone insufficient to meet needs of
remedial readers (so
literacy learning opportunities in subject
areas is essential) But many literacy
limitations not evident until
college, and these need to
be addressed through
disciplines
Som
e
reso
urc
es
Shanahan & Shanahan. (2008).
Teaching disciplinary literacy to
adolescents. Harvard Educational
Review, 78, 40-59. Shanahan, Shanahan, & Misichia
(2011). Analysis of expert readers in
three disciplines: History, mathematics,
and chemistry. Journal of Literacy
Research, 43, 393-429. Shanahan, T., & Shanahan, C. (2012).
What is disciplinary literacy and why
does it matter? Topics in Language
Disorders, 32, 1–12.
Fang & Schleppegrell. (2008). Reading
in second content areas: A language-
based pedagogy. University of Michigan
Press..
Reading and Writing in the Subject Areas
Timothy Shanahan
Cynthia Shanahan
University of Illinois at Chicago
www.shanahanonliteracy.com