I believe that literacy needs to be integrated into every aspect of a child's school day. Learning in any subject area requires the use of language; therefore, literacy is used as a tool for success in math, science, social studies, etc. A large amount of research has been done in the area of cross curriculum instruction. One argument that demands integrated instruction asserts that children would be more motivated to learn if material were presented in an authentic manner. This means that topics of learning should be connected to ideas or concepts that are meaningful to the students. This can happen when topic areas are connected to experiences students have in every aspect of their lives. Above all, I believe that connecting literacy learning to other content areas will reinforce learning across the board. What I See:
Throughout the day, Mrs. R gives instruction and explains subject specific terms, content, strategies, etc. This often requires rephrasing and additional explanations in order to address misconceptions and confirm understandings. Mrs. R stimulates thinking by asking challenging questions. She encourages learners to respond at length to her questions and she is continually engaging our learners to participate in whole-class discussion and think-pair-share. She emphasizes the importance of asking questions and listening carefully in order to deepen their understandings and inform their learning. This all occurs...in EVERY SUBJECT. Mrs. R incorporates literacy aspects within a large framework; i.e., the school day. Students are accustom to writing in their math journals, responding to science prompts, reading in their social studies textbooks and responding to their reading. Literacy has a place in every aspect of the school day.
QUESTIONS:
How do we ensure that children with literacy difficulties are given appropriate support across the curriculum?
How do we identify and address the developmental needs of teachers and parents to ensure that they have the appropriate skills to teach and reinforce literacy skills?