Content Conscious: Ways to
Increase Literacy Within Content
Area Classrooms.
HUNTER O. JOLLEY
“I teach students, NOT subjects.”
Essential Questions
 What is the importance of literacy within my content
area?
 How do I bridge the gap between fiction and
scientific writing?
 How can I improve literacy without subtracting time
from my class?
 What are some methods I can utilize within my
classroom to engage students and support literacy
efforts?
The four languages of communication
Reading
Speaking
Listening
Writing
“Reading and writing are the major tools for learning
any subject. They help us learn how to learn. So
these tools must be used in every classroom, at ever
grade level, and in every school to provide the
application and practice necessary for students to
become effective learners.”
 Significant improvement in both science and reading scores
occurred when the regular basal reading program was replaced with
reading in science that correlated with the science curriculum
(Romance and Vitale, 2001).
 Teachers should help students recognize the important role that
prior knowledge plays and teach them to use that knowledge when
learning science through reading (Barton and Jordan, 2001).
 Most students arrive at the science teacher's classroom knowing
how to read, but few understand how to use reading for learning
science content (Santa, Havens, and Harrison, 1996).
 The same skills that make good scientists also make good readers:
engaging prior knowledge, forming hypotheses, establishing plans,
evaluating understanding, determining the relative importance of
information, describing patterns, comparing and contrasting,
making inferences, drawing conclusions, generalizing, evaluating
sources, and so on (Armbruster, 1993).
Retention
 Talking +Writing=Improved Retention of Science
Learning (Rivard and Straw 2000)
 “Best non fiction writing emerges from topics the
writer knows, cares, and wonders about and wants to
pursue.” Harvey, 1998
Using Fiction in Science
Relatable
Lead-Ins
Less intrusive
Readability
Daily Reading Time
Library
Student Choice
Fiction Ideas
Non-analytical writing
 Unique
 Student Choice
 Less stressors
 Allows student’s to put work in their own terms.
 Great Ways to Start Writing Community/Safety
 Doesn’t Coincide with scientific writing
Ode To A Proton
Oh proton, how your positive charge makes me blush!
I watch you from a distance, and my heart just turns to mush...
If only I was a neutron, we could frolic for awhile,
and then my dear I'm sure, I would wear a permanent smile.
But alas, I'm an electron, and I must watch you from afar,
so far from where you are.
It seems to me that my fate is sealed,
but how can my love not be revealed?
My mass will not be complete until you are mine,
so give me this chance, and show me a sign.
Some day our gazes will meet, and I'll see your eyes,
and we will meet together and neutralize...
so until that day, farewell my opposite attract,
my love for you will always stay intact.
What are some ways you have students present their
thoughts in an original fashion, yet still maintain
details they read or listened to in class?
Each table has been equipped with a science article.
As a group you must utilize your creativity to express
the main points of the piece with the rest of the class.
This can be done in any method of your choosing.
You may create songs/raps, children’s books, skits,
or anything your imagine can conjure.
Content Specific Literature
 Teach the form you expect
 Match your tone to your audience
 Different Expectations
“I write the way I speak.”
Reading and Writing Like a Scientist
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Observation. Science begins with observations of objects and events; these observations lead
to the asking of questions. Crucial to scientific inquiry is the ability to ask the right question and
to make selected observations relevant to that question. Past experience influence observations.
Observations often involve instruments (microscopes, telescopes, oscilloscopes, etc.), and
require careful recording and description. Surprising or unexpected observations occasionally
contribute new and important knowledge.
Measurement. Measurement involves assigning numbers to objects or events that may be
arranged in a continuum according to a set of values. Expression of observations in quantitative
terms adds precision and permits more accurate descriptions.
Experimentation. An experiment is a series of observations carried out under special
conditions. The distinction between observation and experimentation is slight. An experiment
always consists of observations, but it is more than that because the observers usually interfere
to some extent with nature. Experimentation is the hallmark of good science, whether it comes
at the beginning—as a gathering of facts—or at the end in the final test of a hypothesis.
Communication. Communication is the means by which purpose and usefulness are given to
scientific investigation. Scientists are obligated to make the information from observation and
experimentation available to the scientific community for independent confirmation and
testing. Discussion and critical analysis of findings are the key means by which science
advances.
Critical Thinking Skills. Critical thinking skills are part of the common pattern of scientific
investigation. These include inductive reasoning, formulation of hypotheses, deductive
reasoning, and a variety of mental skills such as analogy, extrapolation, synthesis, and
evaluation
Analytical Writing
 Case Studies
 Medical Research
 Laboratory Development
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/teac
hing/novel.html
An Ancient Scientist’s Perspective
"If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to
the tailor.” ---Einstein
A New Age Scientist’s Perspective
“To write a poem, you have to read 100 poems first”Katie Wood Ray
Bridging the Gap
 Noticings
 KWL
 Categorizing
 LGL
 Scaffolding
 Science Signs
 Continual Questioning
 Pre-Read Questioning
 Mentor Texts
Trying it out!
 LGL
 Write
 Read for Meaning
 Reflect
 Share
Everyday
VS.
Scientific
Ways to Use Daily
 Daily reading/writing times
 Science Notebooks
 Entrance/Exit Slips
 Thematic Studies
 Create Songs/Raps/Stories
 Out-of-the-Box
Immersion Methodology
 Using fiction to encourage, using non-fiction to learn
research strategies. A year long approach.
Works Cited
Benjamin, Amy. Writing in the Content Areas. Larchmont, N.Y.: Eye on Education, 2005. Print.
Moje, Elizabeth B., and LeeAnn M. Sutherland. "Integrating Literacy Instruction into Secondary
School Science Inquiry." Web. 20 June 2010. <http://wwwpersonal.umich.edu/~moje/pdf/MojeEtAlScienceLiteracyTeachingStrategies2010.pdf>.
Ostlund, Karen. "Skills and Strategies at Work." Electronic Journal of Science Education (1998).
Print.
Park, Travis D. "Reading Strategy Instruction in Secondary Agricultural Science Courses: An Initial
Perspective." Career and Technical Education Research 32.1 (2007): 45-75. Web. 22 June
2010. <http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/CTER/v32n1/pdf/park.pdf>.
Richardson, Judy S., Raymond F. Morgan, and Charlene E. Fleener. Reading to Learn in the
Content Areas. Belmont, CA, USA: Wadsworth, 2009. Print.
Stone, Ellen. "SCIENCE AND LITERACY." Utah State Office of Education - USOE - Welcome. 5
Jan. 2002. Web. 19 June 2010. <http://www.schools.utah.gov/curr/Science/ReadScience/NEF
Sci and Lit.html>.