As concern over teenagers' reading and writing skills mounts, an Alabama high school shows how to teach literacy in every subject. When Buckhorn joined the reading initiative, its teachers and top administrators attended the state's two-week summer workshop, and were inspired by its vision of literacy instruction across the content areas. But they…

The purpose of this study was to describe secondary pre-service teachers' past reading experiences, present attitudes and beliefs about reading, their attitudes and beliefs about a required content area literacy course, and their predicted use of reading in future instruction. Secondary pre-service teachers (N = 124) of diverse subject areas…

Over the past three years, the authors have worked with kindergarten teachers to develop study units with sequences of integrated science inquiry and literacy activities appropriate for kindergartners. Their work, which is part of the Scientific Literacy Project, has been very successful. The success of the Scientific Literacy Project (SLP) is in…

The search for literature that is of high quality and interest, is written at age-appropriate levels for adolescent readers, addresses social studies topics, and presents multicultural perspectives can be daunting. "Legend of the St Ann's Flood" is a fiction trade book that meets all of these criteria. Its setting in Trinidad and Tobago…

This study examined how content area teachers' literacy knowledge developed during a yearlong professional development initiative focused on using the framework of Question-Answer Relationships (QAR) within explicit instruction. The initiative focused on the metacognitive thinking in which teachers engage during QAR instruction. The participating…

The papers in this collection provide compelling arguments that the use of Adapted Primary Literature (APL) in science education holds great promise for enriching inquiry science instruction at the secondary level. The integration of this genre of written text into science curricula illustrates the ways in which reasoning in reading and reasoning…

This mixed methods study explored implementing guided reading in grades 3-5 in a suburban school district located in Southeastern Pennsylvania. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how teachers implement guided reading in their classrooms and how the use of guided reading affects student achievement in Text Structure and Vocabulary, Reading…

The twofold purpose of this study was to trace prospective and practicing mathematics teachers' understandings of content area reading instruction in relation to domain knowledge in mathematics, and to examine the extent to which online pedagogical mentoring supported the integration of such instruction and knowledge. The design called for two…

In this article the author examines (a) preservice teachers' reactions to graphic novels featuring social studies material, and (b) the potential for using graphic novels in secondary social studies classrooms. An analysis of preservice teachers' written book reports, classroom discussions, and individual interviews revealed the range of reactions…

In the content areas, poetry encourages interest, insight, and understanding. It is like no other form of written word in its ability to offer personal connections. Poetry reaches across all areas of life, and this universality invites teachers to embed it in instruction in all curricular areas. Poetry is an excellent tool for encouraging deep…

In this essay, Roni Jo Draper reflects upon her professional journey as a content-area literacy teacher educator, describing how she first became a literacy teacher educator and how she later came to collaborate with a group of teacher educators who specialize in disciplines such as music, theater, and mathematics. Drawing upon naturalistic data…

Writing affords students an opportunity to clarify their thinking. Through the process of writing, students recognize what they know and what they still need to learn. Teachers need to provide positive writing experiences that promote student enjoyment, as well as help students to express themselves with clarity and power. The ability of a teacher…

The purpose of this mixed methodology study was to identify the frequency of reading comprehension instruction in middle and high school social studies and science classrooms. An additional purpose was to explore teachers' perceptions of and beliefs about the need for reading comprehension instruction. In 2,400 minutes of direct classroom…

Trade books can be used in all phases of the learning cycle to support effective teaching and learning. Romance and Vitale (1992) found that texts and other nonfiction science books can be effective tools for teaching reading, as the science activities give learners a purpose for their reading. In this article, the authors share ways to…

A well-established principle in the literature on learning, which maintains that variability of practice enhances long-term retention, served as the foundation of a summer program intended to ameliorate reading skills in incoming freshmen. During a 4-week period, students received reading instruction in the context of four areas: humanities,…