0. Literacy and Learning Across the Curriculum
Content Area Reading
Literacy and Learning Across the Curriculum
Richard T. Vacca, Jo Anne L. Vacca, Maryann Mraz
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Chapter 1 –organizing principle
Effective teachers show students how to think, learn, and communicate with all kinds of texts.
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. Frame of Mind
Explain the difference between content and process knowledge.
What are the characteristics of effective teaching?
How do the Common Core State Standards impact literacy and learning in content areas?
Why is differentiated instruction an important aspect of content literacy and learning?
What are new literacies and how are they changing the way we think about learning and literacy in the twenty-first century?
What is adolescent literacy and why is it important to twenty-first-century society?
How are content literacy and disciplinary literacy alike? How are they different?
What comprehension strategies are critical to reading? What role does prior knowledge play in comprehension?
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

3. Key Terms Comprehension Content and process Content literacy Decoding
Differentiated learning
Direct, explicit instruction
Disciplinary literacy
Fluency
Inference
Literacy
New literacies
Prediction
Prior knowledge
Reading Next
Response to intervention
Standards
Striving Readers Program
Teacher quality
Teaching quality
Text structure
Vocabulary
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

4. Process: The “how” to teach the content
1. Explain the difference between content and process knowledge
Process: The “how” to teach the content
Content: The “What” of the subject matter
Book title, #e Author Name
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

5. 2. Summary of Effective Teacher Characteristics
Strong general intelligence and verbal ability
Strong content knowledge
Knowledge of how to teach others
Understanding of learners and their learning and development
Adaptive expertise, allowing for making judgments about what it is like to work in a given context in response to student needs
(Darling-Hammond [2009], p.2)
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

6. Ten Principles of Practice Associated with Quality Teaching
1. Principle of Praxis:
2. Principle of Purpose: Effective teachers operate in the moment guided by a clear understanding
of why they are doing what they are doing. There is always a purpose behind their actions in the
classroom.
3. Principle of Serendipity: Although effective teachers engage in a variety of instructional
practices, they “expect the unexpected” and are open to learning opportunities w
4. Principle of Exploration:
5. Principle of Reflection:
6. Principle of Community:
7. Principle of Service: Effective teachers serve the learners in their classrooms and their parents.
8. Principle of Flexibility:
9. Principle of Caring:
10. Principle of Reward: Effective teachers find satisfaction and reward in what they do
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

7. Balancing Content and Process
Know the standards for your content area and grade level.
Make instructional decisions based on authentic assessments throughout the school year.
Integrate content literacy practices and strategies into instructional plans and units of study.
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

8. 3. Common Core State Standards Mission Statement
The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy (p.11).
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

9. Common Core State Standards Ultimate Goals
Students will develop independent learning habits.
Learners will develop a strong knowledge base across the curriculum.
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

10. 4. Differentiated Instruction
Be willing to move beyond assigning and telling.
Plan and organize learning opportunities so that students will be actively engaged.
Meet the skill needs, interests, and learning styles of a wide range of students.
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

11. 5. Defining Literacy
“…the term literacy has morphed to characterize someone’s level of knowledge or competence in a particular area or subject in a multimodal society.” (p. 12)
“Literacy has come to represent a synthesis of language, thinking, and contextual practices through which people make and communicate meaning.” (p. 12)
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

12. Defining Text
“Texts include not only print forms of communication but also nonprint forms that are digital, aural, or visual in nature.” (p. 13)
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

13. New Literacies for the 21’st cent
Necessary for students to use information and communication technologies (ICT) effectively
Five functions
Identify
Navigate
Critically evaluate
Synthesize
Communicate
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

14. 6. Fifteen Elements of Effective Adolescent Literacy Programs (from Reading Next)
Direct, explicit comprehension instruction
Effective instructional principals embedded in content
Motivation and self-directed learning
Text-based collaborative learning
Strategic tutoring
Diverse texts
Intensive writing
Technology
Ongoing formative assessments
Extended time
Professional development
Ongoing summative assessments
Teacher teams
Leadership
Comprehensive and coordinated literacy program
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

15. RtI for Struggling Adolescent Learners
IDEA: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004
School wide assessments to identify struggling learners
All stakeholders contribute to instructional decision making.
Tiered interventions
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

16. Factors that Influence Reading to Learn
The learner’s prior knowledge of, attitude toward, and interest in the subject
The learner’s purpose for engaging in reading, writing, and discussion
The language and conceptual difficulty of the text material
The assumptions that the text writers make about their audience of readers
The text structures that writers use to organize ideas and information
The teacher’s beliefs about and attitude toward the use of texts in learning situations
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

17. Schema Activation
Mechanism by which people access what they know and match it to information in the text
Framework to seek and select information relevant to purpose for reading
Organization of information to promote retention
Allows the reader to elaborate information
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

18. Successfully Comprehending Text
To comprehend text successfully, readers must:
decode or pronounce words quickly and accurately.
read with fluency.
activate vocabulary knowledge.
use text comprehension strategies.
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

19. Characteristics of Good Readers
Active
Purposeful
Evaluative
Thoughtful
Strategic
Persistent
Productive
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.