1. Literacy In the Content Areas
During this workshop we will be discussing research and strategies to improve student literacy in the content areas.
Literacy In the Content Areas
Thomas Jefferson Middle School
Beth Raines
2011

3. Recommendations Provide explicit vocabulary instruction
Provide direct and explicit comprehension strategy instruction
Provide opportunities for extended discussion of text meaning and interpretation
Increase student motivation and engagement in literacy learning
Make available intensive and individualized interventions for struggling readers that can be provided by trained specialists
The U.S. Department of Education recommended the following strategies in August 2008.

4. Intervention Strategies
Why do you think content area reading is difficult for students? Take a couple of minutes to share your ideas with a partner or in your group. (Discussion)
Intervention Strategies

5. What strategies are effective?
Initial screening assessment to identify those students who need extra help.
Diagnostic tests to provide a profile of literacy strengths and weaknesses.
Students also have varied background experiences, lack of instruction in expository reading, may lack interest or motivation to learn the materials, have gaps in study techniques and may have been taught to read for skills not comprehension.

6. What strategies are effective?
Focus on reading strategies based on student testing. These
elements include:
phonemic awareness
phonemic decoding
text reading fluency
strategies for building vocabulary
strategies for understanding and using the specific textual features that distinguish different genres
self-regulated use of reading comprehension strategies