Understanding Literacy
Content Area Literacy refers to "the ability to use reading, writing, talking, listening, and viewing to learn subject matter in a given discipline" (Vacca & Vacca: Content Area Reading). Reading is situational: the demands placed on a reader will vary from subject area to subject area.
Influences on Content Area Literacy
- The learner's prior knowledge or and attitude towards the subject
- The learner's purpose for engaging in reading, writing, and discussion
- The language and conceptual difficulty of the text
- The assumptions made by the text's authors about their audience
- The text structures used to organize information
- The teacher's beliefs and attitudes about the use of texts in learning situations
To become literate in a content area, students must understand how to use reading, writing, viewing, and talking to learn. In order to help students become content literate, teachers should know their content standards, make instructional decisions based on authentic assessment throughout the school year, and integrate content literacy strategies into instructional plans and units. Teachers should remember that using content literacy strategies does not diminish the teacher's role as a subject matter specialist. Rather, content literacy strategies should be viewed as tools that learners use to comprehend texts in content areas.
Influences on Content Area Literacy
- The learner's prior knowledge or and attitude towards the subject
- The learner's purpose for engaging in reading, writing, and discussion
- The language and conceptual difficulty of the text
- The assumptions made by the text's authors about their audience
- The text structures used to organize information
- The teacher's beliefs and attitudes about the use of texts in learning situations
To become literate in a content area, students must understand how to use reading, writing, viewing, and talking to learn. In order to help students become content literate, teachers should know their content standards, make instructional decisions based on authentic assessment throughout the school year, and integrate content literacy strategies into instructional plans and units. Teachers should remember that using content literacy strategies does not diminish the teacher's role as a subject matter specialist. Rather, content literacy strategies should be viewed as tools that learners use to comprehend texts in content areas.