Teaching Reading of

Content Area Texts

Cynthia ShanahanUniversity of Illinois at Chicago

The Reading Transitional Course website:

http://www.education.ky.gov/KDE/Instructional+Resources/Secondary+and+Virtual+Learning/Reading+Transitional+Course.htm

Welcome to

Media Specialists

Content Area Teachers

Counselors

Administrators

Reading Teachers

Any one interested in helping students become college and career ready!

CTE Educators

WHY?????Why content area reading? Why a transition course?

Standards

New Common Core Standards Include Reading Language Arts Standards in Social Sciences/History and Sciences and Technical Subjects

Common Core aligned to the ACT

High School Students are Underprepared

Reading achievement has risen for 4th graders since 1992, while 8th grade achievement has been stagnant.

U.S. 4th graders are first or second in the world in all academic areas, while 8th graders are much lower.

More American 8th graders are on track for college than is true of either 10th or 12th graders

International data shows that the U.S. high school students lag behind other countries when we used to be first.

A large proportion of students entering college must take remedial coursework.

They haven’t learned to read subject matter texts

Subject matter high school teachers don’t teach reading.

When students have difficulty reading, they make the rationale decision to take away texts and teach by other means.

Yet….reading is different depending on what is being read

Reading in history is different from Reading in science, which is different from reading literature, which is different from…….

Each subject matter….

Relies on different ways creating, disseminating, and evaluating knowledge

These differences are played out in the way texts are structured, in vocabulary choices, in differences in what is important to learn and think about in texts.

History Reading

History is interpretative, and authors and sourcing are central in interpretation (consideration of bias and perspective)

Often seems narrative without purpose and argument without explicit claims (need to see history as argument based on partial evidence; narratives are more than facts)

Single texts are problematic (no corroboration)

Language use in History Reading

Text constructs time and causation

Attributes agency (readers need to focus on the reasons for actions and the outcomes of those actions—cause/effect)

Presents judgment and interpretation (argument)

Often narratives or primary documents with lack of clear connections to thesis

History Reading (Fang & Schleppegrell)

Grammatical circumstances: construct meaning about time, place, manner

In history, many clauses begin with grammatical circumstances realized in prepositional phrases and adverbs

Over the next decade events led to war.

They gathered in Philadelphia.

They made enemies by their harsh stands

History Reading (Fang & Schleppegrell)

History also constructs participants/actors and the processes that they engaged in towards their goals.

History Reading (Fang & Schleppergrel)Clause

Circumstance

Actor Process Goal Circum.

1 Over the next decade,

further events

steadily led

to war

2 Some colonial leaders, such as Samuel Adams

favored independ-ence from Britain.

3 They Encour-aged

conflict withBritish authorities.

4 At the same time,

George II and his ministers

made enemies of many moderate Colonists

by their harsh stands

An example…

A Short History of the Great Depression

By Nick Taylor is the author of “American-Made,” a 2008 history of the Works Progress Administration.

The Great Depression was a worldwide economic crisis that in the United States was marked by widespread unemployment, near halts in industrial production and construction, and an 89 percent decline in stock prices. It was preceded by the so-called New Era, a time of low unemployment when general prosperity masked vast disparities in income.

The start of the Depression is usually pegged to the stock market crash of “Black Tuesday,” Oct. 29, 1929, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell almost 23 percent and the market lost between $8 billion and $9 billion in value. But it was just one in a series of losses during a time of extreme market volatility that exposed those who had bought stocks “on margin” – with borrowed money.

Science Reading

Text provides knowledge that allows prediction of how the world works

Full understanding needed of experiments or processes

Close connections among prose, graphs, charts, formulas (alternative representations of constructs an essential aspect of chemistry text)

Major reading strategies include corroboration and transformation

Language use in Science

Technical, abstract, dense, tightly knit language (that contrasts with interactive, interpersonal style of other texts or ordinary language)

Nominalization (turning processes into nouns)

Suppresses agency (readers need to focus on causation not intention)

Science Reading (Fang & Schleppergrell)

Sentence density: unpacking complex nouns

Experimental verification of Einstein’s explanation of the photoelectric effect was made 11 years later by the American physicist Robert Millikan. Every aspect of Einstein’s interpretation was confirmed, including the direct proportionality of photon energy to frequency.

Climate Change

Literature Reading

Text provides the author’s perspective on “the human condition”

Interpretation involves reading from different lenses (Marxist, Freudian, feminist)

Goal is to understand the theme(s); analyzing character’s

Language use in literature

Metaphorical, descriptive

Changes in voice

Asynchronous narration

The Bluest eye

Nuns go by as quiet as lust, and drunken men and sober eyes sing in the lobby of the Greek hotel. Rosemary Villanucci, our next-door friend who lives above her father's cafe, sits in a 1939 Buick eating bread and butter. She rolls down the window to tell my sister Frieda and me that we can't come in. We stare at her, wanting her bread, but more than that wanting to poke the arrogance out of her eyes and smash the pride of ownership that curls her chewing mouth.

Math Reading

Goal: arrive at “truth”

Importance of “close reading” an intensive consideration of every word in the text

Rereading a major strategy

Heavy emphasis on error detection

Precision of understanding essential

Language use in math

Spare

Interspersed with symbolic language

Must know meaning of variables and constants

Sequencing of symbolic language different than prose.

Math Example

1.1 Introduction to Linear Equations

A linear equation in n unknowns x1, xx…, xn is an equation of the form

a1x1 + a2x2 +…+ anxn = b,

where a1, a2,…,an, b are given real numbers

For example, with x and y instead of x1 and x2, the linear equation 2x + 3y = 6 describes the line passing through the points (3, 0) and (0, 2).

Similarly, with x, y and z instead of x1, x2 and x3 the linear equation 2x + 3y + 4z = 12 describes the plan passing through the points (6, 0, 0),

(0, 4, 0), (0, 0, 3).

A system of m linear equations in n unknowns x1, x2, …, xn is a family of linear equations

Intermediate Literacy

Disciplinary

Literacy

Reading instruction changes as students goes through school, but in middle and high school, reading instruction may include THESE THREE LEVELS

Basic Literacy

Reading Demands have changed

Reading is an experience that is.. multi-text, multi-modal, multi-media, Multi-genre

Critical thinking is at the core.

High levels of reading competence are required in nearly every job and every profession.

Why is this a good time?

ACT Scores

SB1 (2009 Mandates)

Common Core Standards include: Reading in Social Studies/History Reading in Science and Technical

Subjects

Literacy in History/Social Studies (6-8, 9-10, 11-12) – Key Ideas/Details

Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.

Determine the main ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; summarize the source, basing the summary on information in the text rather than on prior knowledge or opinions.

Identify key steps in a text’s description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered).

Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.

Determine the main ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; summarize how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.

Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text and the causes that link the events; distinguish whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.

Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.

Determine the main ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide a summary that makes clear the relationships between the key details and ideas.

Analyze how ideas and beliefs emerge, develop, and influence events, based on evidence in the text .

Literacy in History/Social Studies (6-8, 9-10, 11-12) – Craft & Structure

Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.

Identify how a history/social studies text presents information (e.g., sequentially, comparatively, causally).

Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).

Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text, including the vocabulary describing political, economic, or social aspects of history.

Explain how an author chooses to structure information or an explanation in a text to emphasize key points or advance a point of view.

Compare the point of view of two or more authors by comparing how they treat the same or similar historical topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.

Interpret the meaning of words and phrases in a text, including how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10 and No. 51).

Analyze in detail how a complex primary source is structured, including how key sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text contribute to the whole.

Evaluate authors’ differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors’ claims, evidence, and reasoning.

Literacy in History/Social Studies (6-8, 9-10, 11-12) – Integration

Integrate graphical information (e.g., pictures, videos, maps, time lines) with other information in a print or digital text.

Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a historical account.

Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.

Integrate quantitative or technical information presented in maps, time lines, and videos with other information in a print or digital text.

Assess the extent to which the evidence n a text supports the author’s claims.

Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.

Synthesize ideas and data presented graphically and determine their relationship to the rest of a print or digital text, noting discrepancies between the graphics and other information in the text.

Evaluate an author’s premises, claims, and evidence by corroborating or challenging them with other sources of information.

Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.

Literacy in History/Social Studies (6-8, 9-10, 11-12) – Integration

Integrate graphical information (e.g., pictures, videos, maps, time lines) with other information in a print or digital text.

Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a historical account.

Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.

Integrate quantitative or technical information presented in maps, time lines, and videos with other information in a print or digital text.

Assess the extent to which the evidence n a text supports the author’s claims.

Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.

Synthesize ideas and data presented graphically and determine their relationship to the rest of a print or digital text, noting discrepancies between the graphics and other information in the text.

Evaluate an author’s premises, claims, and evidence by corroborating or challenging them with other sources of information.

Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.

The Course

Purpose

So students can begin college taking credit bearing

rather than remedial coursework Be more successful in college

Features

21st Century Reading Critical thinking Creativity Use of Technology Multiple Texts

Critical Thinking

Thinking like a historian, a scientist, a…. Using knowledge of how information

is created, communicated, and evaluated in a discipline to determine what is important to know and to think about

Understanding what questions can be asked and answered given certain texts

Engaging in synthesis, analysis, evaluation

Involving meta-awareness

Example: non-fiction literary texts

Say, show mean activity

Constant questions of “why,” “how,” and “where” should abound. Citation and correct documentation can also be worked in to this activity. Assert, Evidence, Commentary; the idea that a paragraph can be composed of an assertion, the evidence to back up the assertion, and commentary on the assertion and evidence.

Finally, the mean is the heart of the activity where student use their say and their show to determine the “why” or the meaning of the text, the message of the author or the reasons for the text, word choice, structure, etc.

Creativity

Taking on different perspectives

Looking for new solutions

Putting ideas together in ways that are unique

Finding interesting connections across texts

Example from Humanities

Taking perspectives: How would Boudreax respond to the

ideas in the text?

Use of Technology

Reading web-based sites

Using search skills to find information

Communicating with others electronically and in multiple formats

Using links to dig deeper on topics of interest

Comprehending and critically thinking about information in different formats and text types

Example from History

Taylor, Nick. “A Short History of the Great Depression.” NYTimes.com. 21 May 2010. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/g/great_depression_1930s/index.html?offset=0&s=newest

Zernike, Kate. “Generation OMG.” http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/weekinreview/08zernike.html?ref=great_depression_1930s

Garrett, Thomas. “Institutions and Government Growth: A comparison of the 1890s and the 1930s.” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review. March/April 2010, 92 (2) p. 109-19

Baker, Peter. “Obama to Wall St: ‘Join Us, Instead of Fighting Us.’” NYTimes www.nytimes.com

Multiple Texts

Answering big questions that require drawing from multiple sources

Synthesizing, analyzing, and evaluating information across texts

Thinking about the trustworthiness of various sources to decide what to believe, what arguments to make

At the heart of critical thinking!

Example from science

Essential Question(s):

How does science work in the environment?

What are scientists “talking” about right now?

What are the responsibilities of the individual and/or society in regards to the environment?

Organization

Four units Reading in Literary Non-Fiction Reading in Science Reading in History/Social Studies Reading in Humanities

Principles of Instruction

Gradual release of learning—including Direct instruction and modeling Collaborate or small group work Independent practice Feedback http://www.glencoe.com/

glencoe_research/Jamestown/gradual_release_of_responsibility.pdf

High school level Literacy Instruction

Writing

Project-Based Learning

Motivation and Goal Setting

In each unit

Essential Questions

Multiple Texts

Vocabulary

Strategies: Prior to reading During reading After reading

Student writing and reflection

Lots of teacher resources

References Shanahan & Shanahan. (2008). Teaching

disciplinary literacy to adolescents. Harvard Educational Review, 78, 40-59.

Fang & Schleppegrell. (2008). Reading in second content areas: A language-based pedagogy. University of Michigan Press.

Brozo & Simpson. (2003). Teachers and learners: Expanding literacy across the content areas. Merrill, Prentice-Hall.

Kaine, T.M. (Chair). A Critical Mission: Making Adolescent Reading an Immediate Priority in SREB States. Atlanta, Ga: SREB.

Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy (2010). Time to Act. New York: Carnegie Corp.

The Alignment of the Common Core and ACT’s College and Career Readiness Stancards: www.act.org/commoncore/pdf/CommonCoreAlignment.pdf