January 16: Organizing Content Literacy Instruction

I shook my head as I read the description of rainforest studies in Mrs. Roger's classroom. "I'm not there yet, but I'd like to be..." I thought. Can you imagine being a student in that classroom? There's an energy and a level of learning happening in those environments that are the work of a true artist (Yes, Steph, I see teaching as an art!) I'm still learning my own, and I think each of us will develop our own sense of how literacy instruction should be used in the classroom. Every teacher provides a unique experience for each student in the room. The questions that come to mind with this idea is: How do we 1) develop this instruction within the limitations in the world of education today; 2) ensure that our craftsmanship remains focused on what will prepare our students for the future?

1)What a juggling act teachers have! I had no idea. A little background story on me: In preschool, I wanted to be a teacher because I loved to help grade papers, and most especially, to use stamps and stickers! As you can predict, my opinion of grading papers has changed. Still, I returned to education and believed (like many of you) that I would change the face of teaching. You're going to school to learn the best practices, and many practices will change. You'll have moments where you feel like a hamster running in the wheel. The expectations placed on you will seem never-ending, but I want to offer you some encouragement. The solution to the need in providing exceptional content literacy instruction is inquiry-based teaching. If you are anything like me, it was difficult for me to envision what inquiry-based instruction looked like, at first; this is likely because I thought that I had the best teachers as a kid. Challenging yourself to become an inquiry-based teacher will help you manage all those conditions I know you anticipate facing as a teacher out of the program. I only wish I could have read this chapter again as a first year teacher to remind myself of just how to integrate literacy instruction in my content area (Science).  The chapter could essentially become a running checklist for teachers as they create their classroom literacy program in an inquiry-based classroom. Rather than focusing on how you're going to cover X, Y, Z, inquiry-based instruction will cover the cnotent in depth but also develop reading and writing skills that will be springboards for future learning and life experiences:

"As students become better readers and writers, they also become more content literate, and as they become more content literate, they also become better readers and writers." (p. 164)

Our focus as teachers need not be so much on the standards, but instead, on the skills that our students need to have practiced as they develop into adults. For me, though, the strength of inquiry-based teaching is in the depth that a teacher helps the students attain. It is a skill to craft the right kind of unit that remains steered in the right direction, but that's a topic I'd like to discuss again in the future.

2) You're going to graduate with a ton of ideas that you will want to use right away, and you'll want your classroom to be as inspiring as Mrs. Rogers'. This chapter offered so many creative forms of literacy instruction that we all could adapt, but being creative in this presents a challenge. It's been an especially difficult challenge for me, as I place a high value on the arts in the class. How do I keep myself in check? Just because I can come up with a beautiful, creative activity doesn't mean that it meets their needs or is cognitively challenging. Instead of being an activities-focused teacher, make it your priority to be an inquiry-based teacher. Each content area teacher is going to be concerned with his or her own discourse as well, and I think it is necessary to reflect on what you want them to be able to do when they've completed the activity. Do you want them to know X, Y, and Z, or do you want them to be able to compare and contrast X, Y, and Z? Are you planning time for students to evaluate before, during, and after their studies? If your goal is simply to get them to remember X, Y, Z, you are not helping them develop potential problem-solving skills that are becoming necessary for jobs of the future. Revisit chapter 9 for a good list of points to include, but one component that is missing the need in determining what level of questioning are using. I am sure you are not surprised that the highest level of thinking is Creating, which goes right along with what the MacArthur video argued.

Lastly, build your instruction in small pieces. The artfully crafted, integrated units described in the chapter take a great deal of time and effort. One of my professors in the MAT program, made the suggestion to start by trying to create 1 or 2 of these integrated, inquiry-based units of study each year. Some uber-talented, uber-energetic young teachers might be able to do more, but take the pressure off yourself.

This is just a quick piece of advice: If your classroom/school is limited on books or supplies, I would recommend looking for resources in Goodwill, yard sales, Craigslist before spending money on new materials! Keep an open mind about what could help you throughout the year.