Content area
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This is my first year teaching writing. I must say that I am not enjoying the experience. I don't feel that I was given proper training or instruction. I am concerned that I am not giving my students the best learning environment that they should have. It seems like I am falling short. I am eager for some help and encouragement.
-Brenda, fifth-grade social studies teacher (2013)
Hearing Brenda's statement was not new to either of us. As educators and researchers who work with content area teachers, we often hear similar sentiments. In fact, statements like Brenda's can be found throughout the literature surrounding content area literacy and disciplinary literacy (Fisher & Ivey, 2005).
The conversation surrounding the argument that reading and writing should be taught across the curriculum has been taking place since the early 1900s. William S. Gray, an educator and researcher who influenced the world of reading during that era, helped "popularize the content area reading instruction slogan, 'Every teacher a teacher of reading'" (as cited in Moore, Readence, & Rickelman, 1983, p. 424). Later, Austin & Coleman (1961) recommended all teachers take a course in reading instruction. Over the decades, content area literacy instruction has explored the literacy skills, practices, and strategies necessary for students to be successful readers and writers across all subject areas. However, educators have noted the tensions, issues, and conflicts that exist when content area teachers are encouraged to teach reading and writing (Fisher & Ivey, 2005).
As school districts are implementing the Common Core State Standards (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010), more teachers are discussing disciplinary literacy and the implications for the middle school classroom. While the issues, tensions, and conflicts with content area literacy are well documented, content area teachers may be unsure about what disciplinary literacy is and what it means for their instructional practices. Like Brenda, these teachers might now be "required" to teach reading and writing without feeling confident about doing so, understandably unsure about the role of literacy in their classroom. With that in mind, we wrote this article with two goals. First, we begin to explore and provide insight into the term disciplinary literacy. Second, we provide specific examples of...