A disciplinary literacy framework suggests that content-area teachers are best positioned to guide students into discipline-specific ways of reading, writing, and communicating, such as teaching science students to write as scientists do. "Disciplinary literacy instruction" can move students beyond generic literacy strategies and prepare…

The authors discuss how Rowell Elementary School in California transformed instruction putting writing at the center of student learning. This shift involved helping students demystify how language works in different genres and creating authentic, meaningful writing opportunities for students, often involving cross-curriculum projects. Through…

Barry Gilmore, a principal at Hutchinson School in Memphis, Tennessee, has set out to create a culture of literacy at his school. In this article, he outlines 10 steps for fostering such an environment. Among other recommendations: publicly celebrate reading, create channels for booksharing, read and write across content areas, value disciplinary…

Kelly Gallagher writes that "wide swaths of students are not developing their writing skills--skills we know to be foundational to their literate lives." In this article, he explains how school districts can go about developing students' writing skills in all content-area classrooms. He highlights five reasons why students should write…

High-school mathematics teacher in Rock Island, Illinois, describes plan for using writing assignment to improve student understanding of advanced mathematics. Plan includes the following elements: Start small, be firm with students, make writing assignments count, and inform colleagues. (PKP)

Seventh-grade history teacher in Hudson, Wisconsin, describes several strategies for motivating students to write daily in their notebooks. Includes description of sentence synthesis, question all-write, outcome sentences, frames (skeletal paragraphs), short statements (such as brief biographies), and video-viewing guides. (PKP)

Describes several websites containing content-area reading and writing resources and research, including the ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English, and Communication (www.indiana.edu/~eric rec). (PKP)

Describes how secondary-school content-area teachers can improve student comprehension of text material by incorporating reading and writing strategies into their classroom instruction. Illustrates relationships among reading, writing, and understanding. Suggests framework for staff-development program. (Contains 14 references.) (PKP)

Briefly summarizes findings in nine research reports that generally support the integration of reading and content-area instruction. (PKP)

Describes seven instructional strategies to improve student reading and writing across the curriculum at Herbert Hoover High School in San Diego, California. Strategies include read alouds, "K-W-L charts," graphic organizers, vocabulary instruction, writing to learn, structured note-taking, and reciprocal teaching. (Contains 11…

Describes the use of content reading and writing programs to address the problems of adolescent literacy. Provides examples of how content-area teachers incorporate reading and writing instruction strategies in their classes. (PKP)

Offers a few suggestions on how to implement a school or district content-area reading and writing program. (PKP)

When the author and her teaching colleague assessed their 7th and 8th grade students' research papers, they realized that although the papers demonstrated proper structure, the students had not gained meaningful understanding of their topics. Although the teachers had carefully prepared students to write, they had not ensured that students had…