Issue 6
Literacy News
Introduce Literacy into Your Classrooms…
It’s Not Just Reading!
Literacy is the Gateway to the
Common Core
 Content is what we teach, but there is
also the how, and this is where literacy
instruction comes in.
 There are an endless number of
engaging, effective strategies to get
students to think about, write about,
read about, and talk about the content
you teach.
 The ultimate goal of literacy instruction
is to build a student's comprehension,
writing skills, and overall skills in
communication.
Writing
 Writing helps us make sense of what we
are learning and helps us make
connections to our own lives or others'
ideas.
 Students need to be writing every day,
in every classroom.
 Start with Collins Writing Type I: No
right or wrong answer, assign a number
of lines to be written, student gets credit
for completing the task (ex. Bell ringers
and Please do now…)
 Writing builds critical thinking,
engagement and motivation.
Speaking
 In order for our students to engage in
accountable talk, they need plenty of
practice with informal conversation in
pairs.
 For every 5-8 minutes you talk, give
them 1-2 minutes to talk to each other;
walk around and listen, informally
assessing and checking for
understanding.
 Try “turn and talk” or sharing with your
elbow partner, to build students’ oral
skills.
 Conversation helps immensely when
processing new content and concepts.
Learning is a very social act!
For More Information
Your Literacy Coaches:
Christyn Coles
poloch@whsd.net
Heather Moschetta
mosche@whsd.net
Located next to the Social Studies Office
Source:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/literacy-instructionacross-curriculum-importance
Issue 6