Content area teachers are now being tasked with incorporating reading and writing instruction, but what works? In this essential book from Routledge and AMLE, author Lori G. Wilfong describes ten best practices for content area literacy and how to implement them in the middle-level classroom. She also points out practices that should be avoided,…

Designed to help instructional leaders deliver effective training to teachers, this guide provides one of four evidence-based recommendations for supporting literacy among English learner students in grades 4-8. It includes practical application ideas and examples, as well as resources for immediate implementation. This guide is based on…

This article shares findings from the implementation of an ongoing National Professional Development (NPD) project that advances second language literacy and biliteracy in secondary content areas. The project is part of a research-practice partnership between a large public university and two school districts in south Texas that engages in-service…

Despite instructors' belief that class readings are integral to the learning process, only 20-30% of undergraduate students complete required readings. Failure to complete course reading has been associated with declines in exam and research performance. This article first offers a brief review of the literature on why students do not complete…

Wide vocabulary knowledge is associated with proficiency in reading comprehension and scores on tests involving comprehension. Yet assessments show that U.S. students at various grade levels have demonstrated no improvement in their vocabulary knowledge since 2009. Literacy expert Timothy Rasinski and colleagues argue that students need improved…

Early elementary students are not typically introduced to science-specific disciplinary literacies -- the specific ways in which scientists use and interpret language -- even though authentic experiences with literacy strategies and tools used within the field may help incorporate learners into the scientific community of practice. The lack of…

The objectives of the study are to investigate the most significant contributory factors affecting Engineering students' reading ability in regard to journals, and to identify the problems thus encountered when they read English language journals. The participants in this study consisted of 60 Engineering students who were majoring in Industrial…

To create an atmosphere that encourages student involvement and develops lifelong learners, educators are finding that differentiated instruction provides a viable framework. Typically, students who populate modern classrooms have diverse interests, varied cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and an assortment of literacy skill levels. Many are…

Despite the importance of scientific writing in a chemists' professional career, their development as scientific writers is often neglected in undergraduate and graduate curricula. Among the courses that do encourage students to generate written documents like proposals, lab reports, or essays, the scientific community rarely benefits from the…

Knowledge of morphemes, the smallest meaningful units within words, contributes to word reading skills, vocabulary, and text comprehension. However, selecting which morphemes to teach can present a challenge for teachers. To date, researchers have not systematically analyzed morphemes in English words to determine which ones are most useful for…

Positioning reading as a site of meaning negotiation, this article provides a detailed account of one multilingual, transnational student's literacy practices for personal, academic, and disciplinary purposes across spaces. Drawing on the notion of "disconnect," I examine the tensions and fissures that disrupt the flow of literacies…

For students to learn science, social studies, and technical subjects, their teachers have to engage them in meaningful lessons. As part of those lessons, students read informational texts. The selection of those texts is critical. Teachers can select texts worthy of attention and then align instruction and the post-reading tasks such that…

More than 50% of fourth graders in the United States are reading below a proficient level, with more than 75% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch scoring lower than the U.S. average reading score. A framework of background knowledge is essential for vocabulary acquisition so the reader can comprehend the meaning of a text.…

The use of picture books has been illuminated as a potential to address important topics such as STEM, fluency, and social justice. Unique genres such as hybrid texts and wordless picture books are also worth considering for instruction. This article explores new perspectives on using picture books. Potentials for using wordless picture books…

Being literate in an academic discipline means more than simply being able to read and comprehend text; it means you can think, speak, and write as a historian, scientist, mathematician, or artist. Doug Buehl strips away the one-size-fits-all approach to content-area literacy and presents a much-needed instructional model for disciplinary…