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The Reading section provides an introduction to why reading is important in the content areas and information on strategic reading. Choose from the links below to access classroom applications for the following reading techniques:
What Content Area Reading Involves Reading in content areas, such as science, history, and social studies, implies that students can read and understand expository texts. Not only are these texts characterized by their factual information, but this information is often conveyed using multisyllabic technical words. Another common feature of expository texts is the way they are structured. For example, they may rely on cause/effect, compare-contrast, or sequencing. When
students read in the content areas they interact with the text before,
during, and after reading. Before reading, they draw on their prior
knowledge, set a purpose, and anticipate questions. During reading,
they use word identification strategies (e.g., structural analysis,
syllabication) to decode unfamiliar multisyllabic words and context
clues to figure out the meaning of technical terms. They read between
the lines to make inferences. After reading, students reflect, synthesize
ideas across sources, and make further interpretations. Drawing
on their diverse abilities and needs, readers interact with the
text on three levels. The first level is the literal level—reading
and understanding the factual information in the text. The second
level is inferential—reading between the lines to make sense
of ideas through connecting to past experiences and knowledge. The
third level is evaluation—forming conclusions and developing
viewpoints based on analysis of the information. Who the reader is—in terms of prior experiences, strengths, abilities, skills, needs, and difficulties—affects the individual's meaning-making process. For example, a student who has visited the Boston Aquarium and collected specimens in tidal pools on a Cape Cod beach will be able to draw on his or her prior knowledge when reading a text about marine biology. If this student has read other materials about sea life, then some vocabulary words might already be familiar. Why Teaching Reading is Important in the Content Areas Although
content area teachers might like to assume that all students can
comprehend texts, identify the words in the texts, understand the
meaning of these words, use information from texts to construct
knowledge, and demonstrate their understanding, this is not always
the case. If students cannot read, then they are hindered in developing
content area knowledge. In today's educational context, where no
child is to be left behind, every content area teacher has a responsibility
to help students successfully and productively access, read, and
understand texts. How to Help Students Become Strategic Readers All content knowledge teachers can help their students become better content readers by using reading strategies. Research has shown that when students are given instruction in strategies they make significant gains on measures of reading comprehension over students trained with conventional instruction. Reading strategies draw on the different approaches that good readers use to read actual text in their classrooms. These strategies include making connections, questioning, inferring, determining importance, visualizing, synthesizing, and monitoring for meaning. Two seminal books on the teaching of reading strategies are Strategies That Work and Mosaic of Thought. To help students become strategic readers, teachers can model different strategies, coach students, provide prompts, offer encouragement, and give feedback at just the right time. We have collected web sites that demonstrate research-based strategies for content area reading. We provide descriptions and links to additional information, lesson plans, and classroom examples. Sites That Matter Check out the sites below for more information on content area reading. General
Information on Teaching Content Reading | General Information on Teaching Content Reading Center on Instruction Reading Strand
Technology
Integration Resources Mosaic
of Thought: Teaching Comprehension in a Reader's Workshop Research-Based
Content Area Reading Instruction Learning
to Learn: The Basic Teaching Principles of Informed Strategy Training Comprehending
Different Texts: Fiction and Nonfiction National Reading Panel Strategies
for Teaching Reading Using
Subject Area Reading Materials Reading
Assessment: Think-alouds As On-line Measures of Comprehension Teacher Lessons and Tools for Content Reading Guidelines
and Student Handouts for Implementing Read-Aloud Strategies in Your
Class Reading for the 21 Century: Adolescent Literacy Teaching and Learning Strategies Creating
Strategic Readers Reading
Comprehension Strategies Reading
Across the Curriculum A
Road Map for Content-Area Reading
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