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Kathy W. Craft
October 5, 2014
Philosophy of Literacy Education and Reading in Secondary Historical Discipline
Students come to my history class with unique backgrounds of home, education and
social interactions. Each student needs to find strategies that promote a higher level of
achievement through the reading/writing process. Therefore, students need to experience a
variety of strategies with choice and multiple text sets to find positive internal voice which
promote success.
Textbooks are important in the classroom if used effectively; however, they must
be supplemented with additional text sets and digital resources to enhance comprehension.
In ​Out With Textbooks In With Learning, ​ Daniels and Zemelman state, “Today’s textbooks
cover too many topics without developing any of them well. Central concepts are not
covered in enough depth to give students a chance to truly understand them. While many
textbooks present the key ideas described in national and state standards documents, few
books help student learn the ideas or help teachers teach them well” (qtd. in Roseman,
Kulm, and Shuttleworth , 2003 (p.37).
Much scaffolding, therefore, is needed with textbooks and higher level online
resources. Reading in the content area does require reading skills students learn in
elementary and middle school; however, reading skills alone do not suffice for a very
specific vocabulary in a discipline other than English. In historical content, a unique
vocabulary must be learned, understood and applied in writing to show comprehension. If
comprehension is not achieved, students will not perform adequately on the Standards of
Learning Assessment. Students may be able to identify SOL content, but this is not

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sufficient to achieve a passing score or advanced score. Comprehension is imperative to
problem­solving, comparing and contrasting, integrating and applying knowledge. How
may a student meet this comprehension if reading and writing skills are poor? Some
students are in a reading class in high school to “catch up” with their peers who are reading
on grade level. Those reading on grade level must still digest new vocabulary and
concepts, incorporate said vocabulary and concepts into their schema at the highest level
possible. This can only be achieved with reading and writing strategies specific to
understanding the discipline and also taking into consideration students’ learning styles.
I have used before, during and after reading strategies with the textbook and
additional readings to enhance comprehension. I have incorporated graphic organizers to
build background knowledge and chart and chunk information to facilitate understanding
of historical reading content. I have used primary source documents, which for many
students require the approach of taking the text apart, dissecting the text and bringing it
back whole to make sense. I have used drawings, art, Powerpoints and videos to add to the
textbook so that students will more readily comprehend historical content when reread.
From onset and rime to a document based research project, the technology is
available to compliment and not compete with the traditional forms of literacy. Digital
magnifiers are not limited to structuralism (i.e. specific sized font) or behaviorism (i.e.
direct instructional videos and podcasts, particularly apt for ELL). In addition,
constructivism, cognitive development, and metacognition are encouraged because
collaboration is instantaneous online as shared documents are created among students.
Examples include Google docs, use of QR codes, and other Google sites, along with
scaffolding and use of color to create a safe reading and writing environment online. Also,
interaction and collaboration take place as students code and question text through online
peer reviews.

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Literacy is a necessity for our society and culture to survive and thrive. I believe
that the key to maintaining a viable representative democracy is to have a literate society. I
have observed some illiteracy throughout my teaching career; however, what I see mostly
is aliteracy­­ the enemy of a viable representative democracy. William Baroody (1984),
President of the American Enterprise Institute describes aliteracy with democratic
principles in mind: “Aliteracy reflects a change in cultural values and a loss of skills, both
of which threaten the processes of a free and democratic society. Literacy . . . knits people
together, giving them a common culture . . . and provides people with the intellectual tools
used to question, challenge, understand, disagree, and arrive at consensus. Aliteracy leads
inexorably to a two­tiered society: the knowledgeable elite and the masses. It makes a
common culture illusory or impossible; it erodes the basis for effective decision making
and participation in the democratic process.” Literacy has become one of my passions in
education, and I also believe that visual literacy has been and will continue to be the most
important component to a literate society as technology demands our attention more and
more each day. A literate society begins from the earliest learners and continues
throughout life.
A literate society is one that is not only educated but one that contributes to society.
Kelly Gallagher, noted author on literacy, has an emphasis on real­world models for
adolescent writing with the understanding that good reading and writing skills are
necessary in such a competitive society for college admittance and for high­paying
positions in the business world—communication! Students who have developed excellent
reading and writing skills in expository text across various disciplines will communicate
effectively whether in academia or the workplace.
The reading specialist/literacy coach is needed at the secondary level since this is
where much expository reading and writing on higher levels are required. According to

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Cathy A. Toll, (2006), reading specialists primarily “support students, parents and
administrators, providing direct instruction to students on a daily basis, evaluations of
students for a variety of reasons, including curriculum monitoring, student diagnosis, and
monitoring teacher and school effectiveness” (p.5). Reading specialists also work directly
with teachers in conjunction with students, parents and administrators.
I have been providing direct instruction for students, evaluating them, monitoring
their curriculum strengths and weaknesses based on data (Exam View data) and
collaborating with colleagues long before I received my endorsement as a reading
specialist from Longwood University and passing the Praxis for the Virginia state
mandated RVE reading specialist assessment. This is just good teaching practice, and I
entered the Literacy and Culture College with the hopes of gaining more knowledge and
ingenuity to help my students comprehend, analyze, and at times evaluate historical
content. I have and am continuing to achieve that goal with my Master of Science degree
and Reading Specialist endorsement.
Works Cited
Daniels, H., & Zemelman, S. (2004). ​Out with books, in with learning. (p.53).
Educational Leadership.
(December 2003/January 2004).
Baroody, W (1984, September). Foreword. In N. Ilimmesch (Ed.), Aliteracy. People who
can read but
won’t. A conference sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy
Research,
Washington, DC. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 240 543)
Roseman, J., Kulm,G. & Shuttleworth, S. (2003). ​Putting textbooks to the test.
Washington, 2061,
American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved 5, from
​www.project2061.org/research/articles/enc.htm
References
Akhondi, M., Malayeri, F., & Samad, A. (2011). How to teach expository text structure to

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facilitate
reading comprehension. ​Reading Teacher, 64(5), 368­372. Doi:10,1598/RT,64.5.9
Gallagher, K. (2006). Beyond fake writing: The power of choice. ​Teaching adolescent
writers (p.91).
Portland: Stenhouse.
Kaplan.D. (2013). Development of reading comprehension from middle childhood to
adolescence:
distributional and qualitative analyses of two genres. ​Written Language & Literacy,
16(2), 208­
240.doi:10.1075/wll.16.2.04kap