Research supports the finding that middle school students prefer hands-on activities to reading and writing to learn new information. However, disciplinary literacy, the reading and writing in science class, is an integral part of inquiry-based science instruction and a necessary complement to hands-on instruction to build student understanding.…

This study synthesized impacts of integrated literacy and content-area instruction (i.e., science, social studies) on vocabulary and comprehension outcomes in the elementary years (i.e., kindergarten through fifth grade). A systematic search of the extant literature identified 35 (quasi)experimental studies. Random-effects models were used to…

The literacy instruction that adolescent emergent bilingual (EB) students currently receive is insufficient to improve their writing proficiency (Graham et al., 2021; National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). To promote improvements in EBs' writing, evidence-based practices that are culturally and linguistically responsive must be provided…

Purpose: The purposes of this study is to expand on previous work in English language arts (ELA) disciplinary literacy and to unpack literary text reading processes across three different participant groups. Design/methodology/approach: The authors recruited literary scholars and first-year college students to read literary texts aloud and voice…

In this study, middle school language arts teachers engaged in focus group interviews and shared their perceptions of content literacy, experiential learning, assessment data, and refined practice prior to and after participating in a sustained content literacy professional development. Findings based on these perceptions demonstrate a need for…

This study synthesized impacts of integrated literacy and content-area instruction (i.e., science, social studies) on vocabulary and comprehension outcomes in the elementary years (i.e., kindergarten through fifth grade). A systematic search of the extant literature identified 35 (quasi)experimental studies. Random-effects models were used to…

The What's Hot in 2019 survey was conducted to measure the amount of attention currently being given to literacy topics in research and practice. Twenty-five literacy leaders were surveyed; results were subsequently categorized into three levels: a) extremely hot or cold, b) very hot or cold, or c) hot or cold This year, there were four topics…

Diane Relf was concerned by what felt like an unbridgeable gulf between Year 7's vocabulary and comprehension, and her aspirations both for their inclusion in history and their later academic success. As a subject leader without the benefit of any history-specific training at the start of her career, she embarked on a journey of intensive reading…

Content area literacy and disciplinary literacy are umbrella terms that describe two approaches to literacy instruction embedded within different subject areas or disciplines. Under a content area literacy approach, students learn reading and writing processes that are common across disciplines. As part of content area literacy instruction,…

Information text can be utilized to enhance both reading and science instruction in the kindergarten classroom. These books bring abstract concepts to life for young learners, and can serve as the focal point for numerous topics of study. Although many teachers incorporate information books into their teaching, it is important that teachers…

Reading comprehension is important for academic success and is a skill required for many activities in school and beyond. With the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), many teachers have reported feeling overwhelmed by the expectations that reading and writing skills should be emphasized, taught, and supported in the content…

This guidance report aims to help secondary schools improve literacy in all subject areas. It provides seven recommendations related to reading, writing, talk, vocabulary development and supporting struggling students. Throughout the report, recommendations emphasise the importance of disciplinary literacy. Disciplinary literacy is an approach to…

One-hundred and twenty-seven Norwegian upper-secondary school students completing college preparatory courses (41% female) were asked to select the texts they wanted to use in order to write a letter to the editor about a socio-scientific topic, with 60 students assigned the topic of climate change and 67 students assigned the topic of nuclear…

This article presents six goals for history literacy instruction created by Project Reading, Evidence, and Argumentation in Disciplinary Instruction (READI), an Institute of Education Sciences (IES) reading comprehension project. It describes how one Project READI high school teacher used the six learning goals to create instruction designed to…

Historians use a range of genres in presenting their subjects, yet educators have increasingly privileged argumentation to help novices to reason with historical content. However, the influence genre and content knowledge are relatively unmeasured in this discipline. To learn more, the authors asked 101 eleventh-grade students to compose an…