Access to core subject-area curriculum for students from immigrant backgrounds who are learning the dominant language of instruction has long been a barrier to equitable education around the world, especially in secondary schools. This article explores the promise of Complex Instruction (CI) to address barriers to access for such multilingual…

Each disciplinary community has its own criteria for determining what counts as evidence of knowledge in their academic field. The criteria influence the ways that a community's knowledge is created, communicated, and evaluated. Situating reading, writing, and language instruction within the content areas enables teachers to explicitly…

E. D. Hirsch in his book "Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know" sees gaps in common cultural information as the leading cause of illiteracy. Hirsch compiles nearly 5,000 facts and figures that represent what literate Americans need to know. (MLW)