In this column, content area literacy scholars Tom Bean and David O'Brien challenge the older "infusion" model of content area literacy with its emphasis on generic strategies. Rather, they argue for and provide examples of projects that draw on the unique dimensions of various disciplines like history, science, and English, particularly in light…

In this commentary, the authors bring insights from their work on science-literacy integration at the elementary level to bear on the ongoing conversation about disciplinary literacy at the middle and secondary levels. In particular, the authors discuss what they have learned about inquiry, disciplinary reading strategies, and the role of text in…

Using a science lesson on lunar phases as a basis for discussion, the author suggests ways that teachers can provide literacy instruction on multimodal texts in science. The author asserts that multiple representations are central to the discipline of science, and that students require explicit instruction on how to critically read, evaluate, and…

Lorenza Lara, Secondary Literacy Coordinator for the Denver (CO) Public Schools, specializes in secondary English Learner (EL) education. According to Lorenza, EL research has shown that educators often confuse youths' regular development in a second language with literacy difficulties. This research also has demonstrated the individuality of…

How-to-do-it monologues and tasks based on actual job reading give students needed practice in relating reading to job activities. (SK)

Literacy--the ability to read, write, speak, listen, and think effectively--enables adolescents to learn and to communicate clearly in and out of school. Adolescents need to have strong literacy skills so that they can understand academic content, communicate in a credible way, participate in cultural communities, and negotiate the world. The…

Presents an interview with Jerome C. Harste, outlining a broad view of the relationships and interactions between literacy, content, inquiry, and curriculum. (SR)

Expresses concern over the current mathematics education of students and discusses mathematics as a language, including: reading critically, mathematical metaphors, mathematical literature, the nature of knowledge, and how one becomes mathematically literate. (MKR)

Prepared by teachers in a summer course, this handbook presents brief descriptions of various aspects of reading instruction and related lesson plans and class activities. Sections of the handbook discuss readiness, word recognition, word meaning/vocabulary, comprehension, and reading in the content areas. The handbook also offers brief…

The paper questions the current mechanistic view in which literacy and numeracy skills are sharply separated, and notes the pervasiveness of mathematical ideas and representations in verbal texts. It suggests that literacy be reconstructed to include a variety of competencies which encompass numeracy. Implications for curriculum change are drawn.…

Argues that each basic skills course taught at the City University of New York should incorporate complete historical texts. Lists conditions that would increase students' volume of reading, including the sharing of information with faculty, students, and the community. Urges community college presidents and faculty to take action on citywide…

Benefits of using trade books in secondary mathematics and science are constructed knowledge, vicarious experiences of the science and mathematics process, positive attitudes toward science and mathematics, and higher levels of literacy. Includes samples of books and quotes. (56 references) (Author/MKR)

This article describes how content area readers/informational books can be used in beginning reading programs to support both literacy development and the learning of national standards-based content. Benefits from using content area readers/informational books with young readers include: (1) Certain children, often boys, are far more excited by…

This book argues that elementary school teachers should study language, because knowledge of language is the foundation for teaching children to read explicitly and systematically. The book is written in nontechnical, accessible language and seeks to help the reader to understand the organization of written and spoken English, discover the…