Reading strategies should be known and used by all content teachers. It is not rocket science and if everyone used the same language it would help reinforce what the language arts teacher are trying very hard to do in the classroom. If it is only addressed in the LA classroom then there will be no application in other classes.
Writing....social studies could focus on sequencing, compare/contrast and summarizing, science.....summarizing, compare/contrast essays, lab reports, etc. Math, written explanations of what they are doing and why, making up and sharing their own word problems, summarizing what they have learned in class.. The content teachers can NOT put all the writing off on the language arts teacher. They need to pull their weight here too. I have been on both sides of the fence and feel that we should all be teachers of reading and writing and that means more collaboration and integration. Maybe when SS teacher assigns a written report the LA teacher can also work with the students to support this assignment. Or, both teachers can collaborate on what the students need to work on to support their learning. When we just give out these assignments to do at home, we should not be surprised at what we get back! JMHO! :) Alice -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mary Dovey Sent: Friday, March 07, 2008 5:58 PM To: A list for improving literacy with focus on middle grades. Subject: Re: [LIT] Course names help Hi Jaime- I used to feel the way you do, particularly when I was teaching high school English. Now, I don't, and here's why: middle school is the place where reading as a skill moves from decoding to comprehension very, very quickly. Middle School reading teachers, besides teaching about literary genres, and helping kids develop healthy independent reading habits, need to focus largely on teaching comprehension skills to tackle difficult content area textbooks, newspapers, magazines, and other materials in the world at large. Science, social studies, math and other content teachers, however, are held responsible for making sure their students learn "the stuff" of their disciplines, matter whether the learning is through reading, or hands-on activities. Most content teachers, I think, would agree that they need to be aware of techniques to assist their students in reading their textbooks. Fortunately, many of our content teachers have asked me for help in ways to build background knowledge, use active reading techniques such as hotseating and tableaux, and interactive note-taking, etc. At the end of the day, however, kids have to know the causes of the Civil War, fractions, and what body part is which. Our role as writing teachers is even more important: We teach the frustrating/exhilarating process of composing, the characteristics of different writing genres and modes of writing, as well as the traits of all good writing. Great writing teachers find wonderful models of good writing in and use these to create skill lessons. They modeling writing ourselves, provide regular, daily time to write, conference with their students, and allowing kids to build portfolios of writing. We're less concerned with product, and more with a child's skill development as s/he progresses from one unit of study in writing to another. Content area teachers certainly should provide their students with models of what good writing in their classes looks like, but they're looking for product--the report on wind energy, the comparison/contrast essay on healthy eating habits, etc. I think the role of a middle school reading/writing teacher is one of the hardest in a school because many of the moves we teach, both in reading and in writing, are invisible! Making thinking and decision making visible to kids is a HUGE challenge, but it's also a blast, don't you think? Mary On 3/7/08 7:41 AM, "Jaime Mendelis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > It's English/Language Arts (ELA) at our school. I find calling a class > "Reading" or "Writing" frustrating. Aren't all teachers supposed to be > teaching reading and writing? I find the overall assumption at my school is > that the English teacher is responsible for all reading and writing > instruction! It drives me nuts! > > Jaime > >>>> "Lucinda Marcello" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 3/5/2008 8:39 PM >>> > Language arts--- at our school. > > I prefer calling it reading and writing. > Or maybe strategic reading and effective writing. Why not add a few > adjectives? > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Mary Dovey" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "A list for improving literacy with focus > on middle grades." <[email protected]> > Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 5:55 PM > Subject: [LIT] Course names help > > >> Hello, sorry for the cross posting, but I'm not sure who gets what these >> days and I wanted to reach everyone. >> >> Our middle school principal would like to rename the two core subjects of >> reading and writing that we currently teach under the umbrella term, >> Communication Arts. This is due only to the fact that our students will >> now >> get a separate grade for each, not any dissatisfaction with Com Arts as >> the >> term. I've suggested the obvious: reading (since I want to continue >> stressing to teachers that we are teaching reading, not just literature >> and >> literary analysis, etc.) and writing. Nothing fancy, nothing tough to >> figure >> out, very plain: reading and writing. >> >> What do your schools call these core subjects? As the literacy coach, I >> need >> to bring back info to him and thought I'd start with you kind folks. (I >> think he thinks "reading" is too elementary, and I suspect I'll be able to >> show him it's not.) Thanks. >> Mary >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org >> >> To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to >> http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. >> >> Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive >> >> >> -- >> Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. >> Checked by AVG Free Edition. >> Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.21.1 - Release Date: 2/25/2008 >> 12:00 AM >> >> > > > _______________________________________________ > The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org > > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive > > > > _______________________________________________ > The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org > > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive _______________________________________________ The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive _______________________________________________ The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive
