| The Language Curriculum often compliments the | | | | concept in Math, listening to music in Music, or |
| expectations found in subject specific curricula (i.e. | | | | reading a textbook in History. |
| History/Geography). Therefore, by selecting | | | | Teachers can assist students to make |
| strong texts in History, curriculum expectations | | | | connections between classes by using and |
| from both Language and History can be | | | | encouraging a common vocabulary and pedagogy. |
| addressed through a strong literacy program. | | | | For example, Beer's literacy activities can be used |
| Balanced Literacy is often implemented through a | | | | in both LA and History/Geography classes: |
| gradual release of responsibility model: | | | | "Somebody Wanted But So", "It Says, I Say, And |
| | | | So", "Say Something", "Think Aloud", etc. |
| 1. Modeled Reading (Teacher does the work; | | | | An aligned rotary intermediate program would |
| student watches) | | | | mean different classes help students to develop |
| 2. Shared Reading (Teacher does the work; | | | | and reinforce reading (and writing) strategies. For |
| student helps) | | | | example, in English, teachers can tell students we |
| 3. Guided Reading (Student does the work; | | | | are reading this short story for aesthetic |
| teacher helps) | | | | purposes and explicitly instruct them on how we |
| 4. Independent Reading (Student does the work) | | | | read for pleasure. In Hist/Geo, teachers can tell |
| Although there is a push to teach subject | | | | students we are reading the textbook for |
| curriculum expectations using the gradual release | | | | efferent purposes and discuss the differences |
| of responsibility model, a cross-curricular literacy | | | | between how we read for pleasure and how we |
| approach isn't (just) about using gradual release, | | | | read for information. |
| but more about the explicit instruction of | | | | This means a push towards building Professional |
| (decoding and comprehension ) strategies, as well | | | | Learning Communities where teachers and |
| as using a common vocabulary for metacognition. | | | | administrators can identify student strengths and |
| Students need to apply their understanding of | | | | weaknesses, discuss common literacy goals, and |
| Finding the Main Idea, Summarizing Ideas, Asking | | | | identify strategies and benchmarks to meet the |
| Questions, Inferring, Repairing Comprehension, | | | | needs of their students and ministry curricula. |
| Synthesizing Information, and Evaluating | | | | Give a person a fish and they eat for a day. |
| Information whether they are reading a narrative | | | | Teach a person to fish and they eat for a |
| in English, critiquing a blog or commercial for Media | | | | lifetime. Ultimately, the goal is to teach students |
| Literacy, examining a piece of art in Visual Arts, | | | | strategies so they can struggle through a text, |
| interpreting a map in Geography, learning a new | | | | regardless of which class they are sitting in. |