1. The document provides 5 strategies for content area teachers to help students develop literacy skills: 1) choosing vocabulary strategically, 2) including more primary sources and juxtaposing with secondary sources, 3) introducing 21st century sources like podcasts, 4) asking thought-provoking questions, and 5) emphasizing writing arguments. 2. An example discusses categorizing words into three tiers based on instructional importance and providing context clues. 3. The strategies aim to help students meet Common Core standards like citing evidence from sources and comparing findings from different accounts.

1. 5 Strategies for5 Strategies for
Content Area
hTeachers
October 10, 2012,
Diane Rymery
Director, Professional Development
Catapult Learning

2. SETTING THE STAGE
2

3. Common Core: A Quick Refresher
State Standards Common Core State Standards
Bloom’s Taxonomy Application Model
One lifetime job Multiple careers
Reading Non‐fiction, technical skills
National GlobalNational Global
20th Century 21st century
3

4. The Montillation of Traxoline
i i h l bIt is very important that you learn about
traxoline. Traxoline is a new form of zionter. It
is montilled in Ceristanna. The Cerstannians
gristeriate large amounts of fevona and then
bracter it to quasel traxoline. Traxoline may
well be one of our most lukized snexlaus in the
future because of our zionter lescelidge.
4

5. Literacy – A Whole School Approach
 Each discipline requires
unique forms of reading
Literature
q g
and writing.
 The way knowledge is
Science
 The way knowledge is
acquired, developed, and
shared in a given field History/
Social Studies
Basic
Literary
often requires discipline‐
specific skills.
Social Studies
Mathematics
Skills
 Content‐area teachers
are not being asked to be
English teachers
Mathematics
Visual/English teachers. Visual/
Performing Arts
5

6. Literacy – A Whole School Approach
90%
100%
Distribution of Literacy and Informational Passage
by Grade in 2009 NAEP Reading and Framework
Distribution of Literacy and Informational Passage
by Grade in 2009 NAEP Reading and Framework
Grade Literary Informational
4 50% 50%
% %
70%
80%
8 45% 55%
12 30% 70%
Source : National Assessment Governing Board (2008). Reading
Framework for 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress.
50%
60%
Washington, DC. US Government Printing Office.
20%
30%
40%
These expectations are based on the
0%
10%
20%
Informational Text
Literary Text
cumulative reading experiences
from English language arts and
content‐area courses.
Grade 4 Grade 8 Grade 12
6

7. Literacy ‐ Complex Text
It is important to note that text complexity is not necessarily
synonymous with text difficulty. According to Marc Bauerlein’s y y ff y g
article, Too Dumb for Complex Texts (2011, Educational Leadership,
pp. 28‐32), complex text often contains “…dense meanings,
l b t t t hi ti t d b l d btl th i l
“Complex text demands a willingness to probe,
the capacity for uninterrupted thinking, and a
receptivity to deep thinking This requires theelaborate structure, sophisticated vocabulary, and subtle authorial
intentions… [which] require a slower labor. Readers can’t proceed to
the next paragraph without grasping the previous one, can’t glide
receptivity to deep thinking. This requires the
reader to slow down and think while reading
complex texts.”p g p g p g p g
over unfamiliar words and phrases, and they can’t forget what they
read four pages earlier.” Bauerlein goes on to say that complex text
demands a willingness to probe the capacity for uninterrupted
complex texts.
demands a willingness to probe, the capacity for uninterrupted
thinking, and a receptivity to deep thinking. This requires the reader
to slow down and think while reading complex texts.
7

8. 5 STRATEGIES5 STRATEGIES
FOR CONTENT AREA TEACHERSFOR CONTENT AREA TEACHERS
8

9. 5 Strategies for Content Area Teachers
1 Choose vocabulary strategically.1 Choose vocabulary strategically.
2
Include more primary sources – and juxtapose against
secondary sources.y
3 Introduce 21st century sources.
4 Ask thought‐provoking questions.g p g q
5 Emphasize writing arguments
9
5 Emphasize writing arguments.

10. Strategic Vocabulary Selection
 Which words are most important?
 How much will prior knowledge affect student
understanding?
 Is this word encountered frequently?
 Is the concept significant?
C i b fi d f ? Can it be figured out from context?
 Are there words that should be grouped?Are there words that should be grouped?
10

11. C i d b l l f i i l i
Tiered Vocabulary
Categorize words by levels of instructional importance.
Tier I
 Everyday or basic words which rarely require
direct instruction
W d d b l d
Tier I direct instruction.
 EXAMPLES: child, happy, book
 Words used by mature language users; words
that extend meaning and precision.Tier II
 EXAMPLES: coincidence, fortunate, absurd,
Ti III
 Relate to a specific domain such as Physics,
l b l h
asinine, surreptitious
Tier III Algebra, English, etc.
 EXAMPLES: absolute value, exponent, theorem,
transversal, vector, sine …. metaphor, meter,
dactyl, tone, theme, motif
11
* Reference: Isabelle Beck

12. Practice Activity: The Crisis
These are the times that try men's souls. The summer
soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis,
shrink from the service of their country; but he that
stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man
and woman Tyranny like hell is not easily conquered;and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered;
yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder
the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we , g p
obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness
only that gives every thing its value.
Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776
12

13. 5 Strategies for Content Area Teachers
1 Choose vocabulary strategically.
2
Include more primary sources – and juxtapose against
secondary sources.
1 Choose vocabulary strategically.2
Include more primary sources – and juxtapose against
secondary sources.y
3 Introduce 21st century sources.
y
4 Ask thought‐provoking questions.g p g q
5 Emphasize writing arguments
13
5 Emphasize writing arguments.

14. Reading for Literacy in History
RH.1 Cite specific textual evidence to
support analysis of primary and secondarysupport analysis of primary and secondary
sources, attending to such features as the
date and origin of the information.date and origin of the information.
14

15. Primary and Secondary Sources
 Why is important to read primary as well as secondary
sources?
 What are the important questions to ask about historical
sources?
1) Authenticity and validity
A h ’2) Author’s purpose
3) Author’s bias
4) Intended audience
5) Context ‐ space and time coordinates5) Context ‐ space and time coordinates
15

16. Sample Activity
Students delineate and evaluate the argument that Thomas Paine makes
in Common Sense. They assess the reasoning present in his analysis,
including the premises and purposes of his essayincluding the premises and purposes of his essay.
Common Core Appendix B
English Language ArtsEnglish Language Arts
Sample Social Studies Activity
Thomas Paine's Common Sense, published in January 1776, was sold
by the thousands.
p y
Compare and analyze the arguments made in the Declaration of
Independence and trace the impact of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
Cite evidence. (RH.9)
16
( )

17. 5 Strategies for Content Area Teachers
1 Choose vocabulary strategically.
2
Include more primary sources – and juxtapose against
secondary sources.y
3 Introduce “other” sources. 3 Introduce 21st century sources.
4 Ask thought‐provoking questions.g p g q
5 Emphasize writing arguments
17
5 Emphasize writing arguments.

18. Reading for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects
RST.9 Compare and contrast findings
presented in a text to those from other
sources (including their own
experiments), noting when the findings
support or contradict previous
explanations or accounts.
18

19. It’s No Longer Just About Books….
PODCASTSPODCASTS
19

20. 5 Strategies for Content Area Teachers
1 Choose vocabulary strategically.
2
Include more primary sources – and juxtapose against
secondary sources.y
3 Seek out 21st century sources.
4 Ask thought‐provoking questions.4 Ask thought‐provoking questions.g p g q
5 Emphasize writing arguments
g p g q
20
5 Emphasize writing arguments.

21. It’s All About the Questions…
What thought provoking questions could you ask to get
students to think deeply about topics?students to think deeply about topics?
21NASA: http://climate.nasa.gov

22. Global Warming – Statements from Experts
Three years ago I identified problems in previous climate studies
that, in my mind, threw doubt on the very existence of globalthat, in my mind, threw doubt on the very existence of global
warming. Last year, following an intensive research effort
involving a dozen scientists, I concluded that global warming was
real and that the prior estimates of the rate of warming werereal and that the prior estimates of the rate of warming were
correct. I’m now going a step further: Humans are almost
entirely the cause.
The Conversion of a Climate‐Change Skepticg p
By RICHARD A. MULLER
Published: July 28, 2012 , New York Times
22

23. Global Warming – Statements from Experts
ANTHONY WATTS: I agree with him that global warming exists.
However the ability to attribute the percentage of globalHowever, the ability to attribute the percentage of global
warming to CO2 versus other man‐made influences is still an
open question.
September 17, 2012 at 4:55 PM EDT
Climate Change Skeptic Says Global Warming Crowd Oversells
Its Message
By: Spencer Michels, PBS News Hour BlogBy: Spencer Michels, PBS News Hour Blog
23

24. Global Warming – Other Sources
NASA: http://climate nasa gov/keyIndicators/index cfm#globalTempNASA: http://climate.nasa.gov/keyIndicators/index.cfm#globalTemp
24

25. Global Warming – Other Sources
NASA: http://climate.nasa.gov/keyIndicators/index.cfm#globalTemp
25

26. Global Warming – Reactions to the Data
Our results show that the average
temperature of the earth’s land
The U.S. temperature record is
unreliable. The errors in the record p
has risen by two and a half
degrees Fahrenheit over the past
250 years, including an increase of
exceed by a wide margin the
purported rise in temperature of 0.7º
C (about 1.2º F) during the twentieth
one and a half degrees over the
most recent 50 years.
century. Consequently, this record
should not be cited as evidence of
any trend in temperature that may
h d th U S d i
The Conversion of a Climate‐Change
Skeptic
have occurred across the U.S. during
the past century.
Watts A 2009: Is the U S surfaceSkeptic
By RICHARD A. MULLER
Published: July 28, 2012
New York Times
Watts, A., 2009: Is the U.S. surface
temperature record reliable?
Published online at:
http://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/surface
stationsreport spring09.pdfstationsreport_spring09.pdf
26

27. 5 Strategies for Content Area Teachers
1 Choose vocabulary strategically.
2
Include more primary sources – and juxtapose against
secondary sources.y
3 Introduce 21st century sources.
4 Ask thought‐provoking questions.g p g q
5 Emphasize writing arguments5 Emphasize writing arguments
27
5 Emphasize writing arguments.5 Emphasize writing arguments.

28. Reading for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects
RST.9 Compare and contrast findings
t d i t t t th f thpresented in a text to those from other
sources (including their own experiments),
noting when the findings support ornoting when the findings support or
contradict previous explanations or accounts.
28

29. Writing Arguments
 Write arguments focused on discipline‐specific
content:
a) Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from
alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization
that establishes clear relationships among the claim(s),
counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
b) Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying data
and evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and
limitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims in alimitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims in a
discipline‐appropriate form and in a manner that
anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.
29

30. Take a Position, Defend it Using Evidence…
30

31. 5 Strategies for Content Area Teachers
1 Choose vocabulary strategically.
2
Include more primary sources – and juxtapose against
secondary sources.y
3 Introduce 21st century sources.
4 Ask thought‐provoking questions.g p g q
5 Emphasize writing arguments
31
5 Emphasize writing arguments.

32. Useful Resources
http://teachinghistory.org/best‐practices/using‐primary‐
sources/14578 (Teaching History) This is an excellent resource for ( g y)
guiding students into a deeper analysis of primary sources. The
guides focus on life histories, objects, and photographs.
http://learni.st/learnings/21699‐what‐is‐historical‐thinking‐. The
video on this site is about thinking historically and includes
information on using and comparing sources.information on using and comparing sources.
http://climate.nasa.gov/ ‐ NASA’s Global Climate Change website.
http://www.dataintheclassroom.org/ ‐ Data in the Classroom is an
online resource for K‐12 teachers interested in using real scientific
data in their teachingdata in their teaching.
32

33. Beyond Basic Literacy
“We have spent a century of education beholden
t th li t ti f lit l ito the generalist notion of literacy learning—
the idea that if we just provide adequate basic
skills from that point forward kids withskills, from that point forward kids with
adequate background knowledge will be able to
read anything successfully ”read anything successfully.
 Shanahan, T & Shanahan, C. (2008). Teaching disciplinary literacy to
adolescents: Rethinking contentadolescents: Rethinking content.
33

34. Thank you!Thank you!
Diane Rymer
Director, Professional Development
Catapult Learning
d l ldiane.rymer@catapultlearning.com