Doing Disciplinary Literacy

Learn how to design discipline-specific literacy instruction that increases academic engagement and supports college and career readiness. This practical resource offers contexts and strategies for addressing a fundamental question that teachers bring to their work with middle and high school learners: How do I support literacy development alongside specific content goals? By exploring the histories and potentials of discipline-specific literacy instruction, this book provides a clear framework for engaging students as active participants in the authentic activities and processes of each content area. It goes beyond content-area reading strategies by situating literacy within the purposes, audiences, and formats of each area of study. Readers are invited to develop their own disciplinary knowledge to ensure authenticity in their representations of literate practices, to involve students deeply in the work of their disciplinary communities, and to support students’ continued engagement beyond the classroom.

Book Features:

• Strategies to deepen teachers’ awareness of disciplinary text, practices, and habits of mind to inform the ways they model, teach, and invite literacy into their classrooms.
• Activities to support students in developing the meta-discursive awareness that allows them to navigate the texts of different disciplines.
• Guidance to intentionally and expertly develop multiple literacies that create equity, choice, and access for all learners.
• Exercises and examples appropriate for educators entering the field, as well as veterans who want to revitalize their instruction or prepare for new content, courses, or grade levels.

Rachael Gabriel is a professor of literacy education in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut.

“The accessible content and format, in addition to the application exercises and discussion questions, make Doing Disciplinary Literacy an effective starting point for those interested in integrating disciplinary literacy into instruction whether independently, through a professional development session, or in a content area literacy education course.

—Teachers College Record

“Gabriel (Univ. of Connecticut) supplies secondary-education graduate students with a degree of meta-discursive awareness to enable them to function in the classroom with the changing demands of reading, writing, and communication. The conclusion provides a good summary of the implications of disciplinary literacy.”

—CHOICE

“Rachael Gabriel’s writing reminds you of that trusted teacher friend who is both incredibly sharp and unfailingly humble, allowing you to be vulnerable and learn more from her than anyone else. She’s a teacher’s teacher, using carefully crafted metaphors throughout this book to provide access to complex ideas....This book is not only an introduction to disciplinary literacy, it's your introduction to Rachael—an invitation to engage with the community of scholars who orient to disciplinary literacy as a liberatory practice not only for students, but for their teachers too.”
—From the Foreword by Richard Robinson, The Citadel - The Military College of South Carolina

“This book promises to be a useful guide for content area teachers interested in incorporating literacy into their classrooms in appropriate ways, given the content and context of the field in which they teach. It reflects a deep understanding of what it means to engage students fully into processes of the disciplines.”
—Cynthia Shanahan, professor emerita, University of Illinois Chicago

Contents

Foreword  ix

Acknowledgments  xiii

Introduction  1
Overview  3
Conclusion  4

1.  What Is Disciplinary Literacy?  5
Why Build Disciplinary Literacy?  6
Questions for Discussion  15

2.  Pedagogy and Processes for Literacy Development  17
Pedagogy  18
Doing the Work of the Discipline  19
Processes for Literacy Development  23
Understanding Text Complexity  25
What Does the Reading Sound Like?  29
Questions for Discussion  32
Resources for Further Reading  32

3.  Doing the Discipline  35
Routines and Practices  36
Habits of Mind  37
Conventions  40
Known Differences  41
History and Literature  42
Mathematics  42
Why Disciplines Are Not Enough  45
Discourse Follows Communities  47
Resources for Further Reading  47

4.  Text Roundup  49
Examining Routines  49
Unlocking Habits of Mind  52
Activity Guide: Text Roundup  54
Evaluation  56
Questions for Discussion  57
Resources for Further Reading  58

5.  Mentor Texts  59
Knowing What to Notice  60
Knowing What to Teach  62
How to Write From a Mentor Text  63
Activity Guide  66
Evaluation  67
Questions for Discussion  67
Resources for Further Reading  67

6.  The Expert Interview  69
Purposes for Expert Interviews  70
Interview Procedures  71
Interview With a Lab Technician in a Biology Lab  74
Evaluation  76
Questions for Discussion  76
Resources for Further Reading  77

7.  The Oak Tree Activity  79
A “Fine” Example  81
Activity Guide  84
Examples  84
Evaluation  89
Questions for Discussion  89
Resources for Further Reading  89

8.  Text Set Construction  91
Making a Text Set  93
Activity Guide  94
Evaluation  95
Questions for Discussion  96
Resources for Further Reading  96

9.  Text-Dependent Questions  99
A Directed Reading-Thinking Activity  100
Activity Guide  102
Evaluation  105
Questions for Discussion  105
Resources for Further Reading  105

10.  Learning From Nontraditional and Non-Print-Based Texts  107
Hierarchies of Representation  108
Teaching the Reading of Non-Print-Based Texts  110
Activity Guide  112
Evaluation  112
Questions for Discussion  113
Resources for Further Reading  113

11.  Task Analysis and Enhancement  115
Starting With a Pre-Planned Lesson or Activity  115
Starting With a Text  117
Knowing Where Literate Practices Go  118
Purpose and Process  118
Activity Guide  119
Evaluation  119
Questions for Discussion  120
Resources for Further Reading  120

Conclusion  121
Preparing Students for the Work of Their Lives  123
Looking Ahead  124

References  127

Index  135

About the Author  139