Recognizing the importance of vocabulary for comprehension, Wilhelm asks two key questions: "which words do I teach and how should I teach them?" Through years of trial and error, Wilhelm has adopted these principles to answer "which words": teach "important" words students will see and use again; words necessary to conceptual understanding; words…

The development of academic literacy requires students to think critically about multiple text types. Picturebooks can be rich and varied resources on which to base well-designed instruction that will facilitate thinking, discussions, connections, and problem solving in multiple content areas. From the Holocaust to ecology to grammar, picturebooks…

Vocabulary presents a challenge to students in content area classes, making it difficult to understand new concepts and make connections to background knowledge. This article describes the 5 Cs, a tool developed to help content area teachers consider vocabulary as part of lesson planning. By selecting a set of key words for instruction, teachers…

Students who are reclassified from English Language Learners (ELLs) to Fluent English Proficient (FEPs) do not necessarily developed the complex linguistic competencies to succeed across content areas. Through vivid snapshots of two middle school lessons (Science and Reading), the author points out that content area teachers can (and should)…

The role of content-area teachers in reading instruction has long been a subject of debate. Chant, a social studies teacher educator, reasons through the argument that content-area teachers should also be reading teachers while balancing that with the demands on content-area teachers and the complex training required to be a skilled reading…

New literacies are affecting the ways that we choose to spend our time in teaching and learning. In this article, Hagood describes the work of nine middle grades teachers' explorations of new literacies, including digital technologies and pop culture, and their implementations in their content area instruction. She also highlights some of the…

Based on the belief that learning is deeper in meaningful contexts, Wilhelm makes a case for creating (authentically or simulated in the classroom) specific contexts that lead students into new identities, new perspectives, and new vocabulary. This is effectively accomplished by framing instructional units or curricular topics as inquiry,…

Discusses how students cite two difficulties that consistently get in the way of their success during content reading: boring texts and too many difficult words. Suggests the use of graphic organizers that help learners break down information they would have overlooked because it seemed too abstract or difficult. Concludes that the best resource…

Shares several middle level teachers' best ideas for teaching vocabulary. Describes using word lines with English as a second language students. Shares a vocabulary activity that could be used across content areas. Describes how to use the current words on a word wall to make a transition into a new unit and the beginning of new word lists. (SG)

The authors outline a research study that explores the plight of students who direct so much effort into decoding that comprehension suffers. They make the case that difficulties in reading for older readers (intermediate, middle, and high school) could be due to reading fluency difficulties, and they offer strategies for helping these students…

A literacy support teacher leads a district-wide initiative to organize content-area teachers in an effort to help their students become better readers by offering instruction and practice in five reading strategies across the curriculum. At the end of the 10-week program, teachers felt that students' comprehension had improved, and many felt some…

Describes an informal investigation of students' familiarity with and knowledge of active reading strategies by administering the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory. Contends that student responses solidified the importance of helping students become aware of reading strategies. Concludes that the best way to encourage content…

Describes how the author, in his seventh-grade English class, taught "little grammar" (sentence structure, parts of speech, and usage) and "big grammar" (such as essay structure, points of an argument, and rhetorical devices) through reading meaningful texts drawn from their history class. Discusses successes and difficulties with this approach,…

Considers the use of literature circles beyond the scope of fiction reading. Discusses literature circles' use with biographies, information books, essay collections, science adventures, travelogues, biographies, muckraking exposes, memoirs and even content area reading. Notes that teachers have an immediate incentive to try nonfiction literature…

Describes Reading Apprenticeship, an approach to adolescent reading improvement in which teachers apprentice students into the strategies skilled readers use. Demonstrates the program at work in one seventh and eighth grade classroom. Discusses four key dimensions of classroom life: social (building community); personal (connecting to reading);…