Where? When?

Progress is key!

That is exactly what this blog has been…progress. We first explored the topic of what disciplinary literacy is and then how to implement it in the classroom.  Now it is time to talk about the where and when.  Where do teachers incorporate disciplinary literacy?  When do teachers start?  What age group should disciplinary literacy begin? 

Well great news! Disciplinary literacy should be a part of elementary education, just as much as it is in higher grades.  As being a pre-service middle school teacher, it is important to understand how disciplinary literacy looks and works for the younger end of our certification.  The article, “Does Disciplinary Literacy have a Place in Elementary School?”, gives great examples and advice of how this type of practice should look in the upper elementary classrooms.  The authors make a claim stating, “students who mainly read stories in the elementary grades obviously will not be prepared for middle school and high school work” (Shanahan C. and Shanahan T., 2014, p.637).  This is extremely important for us middle level educators because we want to nurture our younger students to flourish as middle schoolers.  The article continued to say that, “elementary teachers can teach students to read informational text, distinguishing the differences among them and between informational texts and literature” (Shanahan C. and Shanahan T., 2014, p.637).  They advocate that incorporating informational texts into an elementary classroom will enhance the students’ disciplinary literacy.  There are several examples of informational texts such as, biographies, speeches, maps, charts, etc., that the teacher could pick from (Shanahan C. and Shanahan T., 2014).  Having the student work and analyze these types of texts with different purposes is an easy way to get young students thinking about disciplinary literacy. 

When using these texts, there are several avenues the teacher can go down.  One way is the teacher can model how to be an expert (Shanahan C. and Shanahan T., 2014).  At this level, many of student have no prior exposer or complete understanding of the content area or how an expert would act.  Therefore, the students must learn from the teacher.  The teacher must guide the students through the readings.  Another way to encourage disciplinary literacy would be to, “teach vocabulary not only from stories but also from science, social studies, or even mathematics texts” (Shanahan C. and Shanahan T., 2014, p.638).  This will get students familiar with the content as well as improve their word choice.  They will be able to discuss information on a different level by using correct terms.  This is a simple step to incorporate because students at this age are already learning vocabulary naturally.  Therefore, adding a few words constantly will help them greatly by the end of the school year. 

The article, “Disciplinary Literacy and Inquiry: Teaching for Deeper Content Learning”, adds to these thoughts by encouraging teachers to promote inquiry for disciplinary literacy.  At a young age, students can easily develop inquiry skills because it will come so natural.  Questioning one’s own learning is a natural habit we have as children.  However, the current school system tells students to just sit and listen to the lesson and memorize for the test.  Students should be questioning what they are learning and understand through their own discovery why something is the way it is.  Therefore, the authors of this article developed a cycle for teaching disciplinary literacy through inquiry and it goes as followed, “(1) ask a compelling question, (2) gather and analyze sources, (3) creatively synthesize claims and evidences, (4) critically evaluate and revise, and (5) share, publish, and act” (Spires, Kerhoff, and Graham, 2016, p.152).  By teaching students to go through this process during every content area, the students will gain a deeper level of understanding; which is the whole point of disciplinary literacy.  It is never too early for students to start implementing these ideas into their learning. 

Shanahan, C., & Shanahan, T. (2014). Does disciplinary literacy have a place in elementary school? The Reading Teacher, 67(8), 636-639

Spires, H. A., Kerkhoff, S. N., & Graham, A. C. (2016). Disciplinary literacy and inquiry: Teaching for deeper content learning. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 60(2), 151-161