After having taken LTED 625, Literacy in the Secondary Content Area, I have a new appreciation of how to effectively teach expository texts to my students. As part of the course objectives, we discussed the importance in the role of the text as well as the graphical features specific to expository texts. Examples include graphs, headings, captions, bold print, table of contents, index, glossary, etc. My previous understanding of these features was that they were available for my students to look at if there was some specific information they were trying to gain from the text. For instance, the index pointed you to a certain part of the text where the information you were looking for might be located. Bold print generally signified a key vocabulary term students needed to learn.
I now have a deeper appreciation for what these features offer the reader. I no longer see this process as being linear where the student reads the text only to find a particular piece of information. I now see the text as providing much more. The information isn’t intended to be viewed in isolation. Instead, the graphs, headings, captions, etc. are all designed to work in collaboration to further my students’ understanding. The student analyzes all the pieces of information from the text to deeper his/her understanding about a subject. The reading process is no longer linear. I now look at reading as a transaction between the reader and author where the author has provided multiple opportunities for the reader to make meaning. The reader’s job is to evaluate the information, take a stance on whether to agree or disagree and then decide what to do with this information.
The article, Friendly Texts and Text-Friendly Teachers, by Dreher and Singer (2001) talks about the importance of being a text friendly teacher. I found this text particularly helpful in that it identified different features of the text and how they could be utilized by the teacher to create a text friendly learning environment. I took this information and applied it while substitute teaching. This gave me the practical experience needed to deepen my understanding of what it means to be a considerate teacher. Because of this article and my experiences around it, I now analyze the text my students are going to be reading and figure out areas in which I will need to provide supplemental instruction to assist their understanding. I would recommend this article to both veteran and new teachers. The article identifies which aspects of a text make it most user friendly and how these features effect the students’ comprehension of the text.
One of the major course assignments I completed this semester was the Strategic Content Area Teaching Project (Parts I-IV). In this assignment we were required to identify a group of students and their particular needs. These students were the basis for the development of this entire math unit. This assignment forced me to really focus on my students and their individual and whole group strengths and weaknesses. I created strategy cards that would facilitate my students’ learning of the material presented in the text. I found this assignment particularly useful in that it forced me to focus the entirety of this math unit on my students’ strengths in their ability to comprehend the text as well as areas in which they need assistance. Again, while I substitute teach, I apply this practice for my students when they are asked to read expository text. I often spend my lunch reviewing the text my students will be asked to read so as to provide a supportive learning environment.
An area I still have questions about with regard to content literacy instruction is how to use writing as a tool for learning as well as a mode for sharing what is learned. I believe writing is an essential component to fostering students’ comprehension; however, I would like to have more authentic writing tasks for the students to complete. Another area I would like to know more about is the practical application of study skills and strategies to make meaningful connection for content area learning. I am familiar with study habits in which I utilize to review information but I believe there are many more strategies out there to help students who don’t learn in the same ways I do. My goals are to expand my repertoire of study strategies in which I can provide for my students.
