35
Three Key Ingredients for Impactful Literacy Learning Across Content Areas: Intention, Joy, and an Eye for Social Justice and Equity
by
Kenneth Kunz and Brian Benavides
.
Included on the list are a focus on integrating literacy across the content areas, having high expectations for all learners, and articulating reasons behind all instructional decisions made. Sample schedules for breaking through the language arts block are included, and a focus on interdisciplinary literacy instruction brings the exemplary school day together. Consider the following vignette:
An intentional interdisciplinary approach that incorporates literacy assists students in recognizing the variety of ways one can draw meaning from the world around them. After working on a unit on Aztec history and reading an informational text about the Aztec way of life, students were asked to “read” information found in an Aztec painting. To complete this task, the Bilingual Language Arts teacher used Harvey Daniels’ (2011) text-on-text annotation strategy. Students were prompted to write down their understandings directly on the paintings within their groups. The combination of collaborating and writing down thoughts allows for a crowdsourced way of unpacking different kinds of text. :
Students were prompted to discuss the painting and use knowledge gained after reading an informational text about the Aztecs. Text-on-text annotation requires students to collaborate and negotiate meaning.