Teaching through Text Reading and Writing in the Content Areas

Pre-service and in-service middle and secondary school teachers get a core set of instructional techniques in this evidence-based, practical resource designed to help them incorporate reading-related approaches into their classroom. The approaches are easy to follow, practical, effective, feature a strong empirical base and reflect the latest thinking in the field.

Michael C. McKenna is Thomas G. Jewell Professor of Reading at the University of Virginia.  He has authored, coauthored, or edited 21 books and more than 100 articles, chapters, and technical reports on a range of literacy topics.

 

Richard D. Robinson is Professor of Literacy Education at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is the author of 10 books and numerous articles on many areas of literacy development. His national prominence in the field of literacy has been acknowledged through many awards, such as the William H. Byler Distinguished Professor Award.

Preface

 

Section 1: Teaching and Learning through Text        

 

1    The Importance of Literacy in Content Areas      

Objectives       

The Meaning of Literacy           

Four Aspects of Literacy          

The Implications of Content Literacy

Disciplinary Literacy    

Teacher Resistance to Content Literacy

Content Literacy and the Common Core Standards        

Seeing Yourself as a Teacher  

Summary         

Getting Involved          

 

2    Literacy Processes           

Objectives       

Reading and Writing as Language Processes   

The Reading Process  

The Writing Process    

Making Sense Out of Content   

Summary         

Getting Involved          

 

3    Getting to Know Your Students, Your Materials, and Your Teaching      

Objectives       

Three Dimensions of Classroom Assessment   

What Is Reading Ability?          

Levels of Reading Ability          

Reading Ability and Readability

Judging the Match Between Students and Materials      

Judging the Context of Instruction        

Three Struggling Readers        

Summary         

Getting Involved          

 

4    Teaching for Diversity      

Objectives       

Dimensions of Diversity           

Meeting the Challenge of Diversity       

Summary         

Getting Involved          

 

Section 2: Prereading Strategies       

 

5    Building Prior Knowledge

Objectives       

Judging Whether Prior Knowledge Is Adequate 

Ways to Add and Activate Background Knowledge        

Summary         

Getting Involved          

 

6    Introducing Technical Vocabulary

Objectives       

The Nature of Words    

The Myth That Words Teach Themselves        

Formal Definitions        

Feature Analysis          

Graphic Organizers      

Additional Methods       

Summary         

Getting Involved          

 

Section 3: Strategies for Guided Reading       

 

7    Making Reading Purposeful         

Objectives       

Who Should Set Purposes for Reading?

Ways of Setting Purposes        

Varying and Combining Techniques     

Summary         

Getting Involved          

 

8    Reading Guides    

Objectives       

Advantages of a Written Guide 

When Should Reading Guides Be Used?           

Types of Guides          

Constructing a Reading Guide  

Computerizing Reading Guides and Units         

Using Reading Guides 

Summary         

Getting Involved          

 

9    Providing Time to Read: When, Where, and How?          

Objectives       

Reading Assignments as Homework    

Structuring Units to Allow Reading in Class      

Major Lesson Formats 

Summary         

Getting Involved          

 

Section 4: Postreading Strategies      

 

10  Questioning and Discussion        

Objectives       

The Purposes of Discussion     

Planning a Discussion  

Conducting a Discussion          

Alternatives to Teacher-Led Discussions          

Discussion and Recitation: A Second Look       

Discussion and Writing

Summary         

Getting Involved          

 

11  Reinforcing and Extending Content Knowledge  

Objectives       

Drilling versus Extending         

Using Literacy to Reinforce and Extend

Reinforcing through Direct Instruction   

Summary         

Getting Involved          

 

Section 5: More Ways to Facilitate Learning through Text    

 

12  Study Skills: Encouraging Independence in Content Literacy     

Objectives       

Responsibility for Teaching Study Skills           

Note Taking     

Review and Homework 

Test Taking     

Strategies for Independent Reading      

Summary         

Getting Involved          

 

13  Student Attitudes: Encouraging Content Literacy           

Objectives       

Factors That Affect Motivation  

Assessing Reading Interests    

Promoting Content Literacy in Your Classroom 

Summary         

Getting Involved          

 

References      

Name Index     

Subject Index