Task 2: What are the language demands of your content area? (Essential Question B)
Academic language, broadly defined, includes the language students need to meaningfully engage with academic content within the academic context. This should not be interpreted to suggest that separate word lists and/or definitions of content-related language should be developed for each academic subject. Rather, academic language includes the words, grammatical structures, and discourse markers needed in, for example, describing, sequencing, summarizing, and evaluating — these are language demands (skills, knowledge) that facilitate student access to and engagement with grade-level academic content. These academic language demands are different from cognitive demands (e.g., per Bloom’s taxonomy). Although there may not be just one accepted definition of academic language, there are a good number of resources available that address the issue of academic language and may be considered in the development of state ELP standards and assessments. For example: Aguirre-Munoz, Parks, Benner, Amabisca, & Boscardin, 2006; Bailey, 2007; Bailey, Butler, & Sato, 2007; Butler, Bailey, Stevens, Huang, & Lord, 2004; Chamot & O’Malley, 1994; Cummins, 1980; Cummins, 2005; Halliday, 1994; Sato, 2007; Scarcella & Zimmerman, 1998; Schleppegrell, 2001.
Pre-Posting –
Part A - Watch the video/PPT on Content Objectives and Language Objectives (See below). Think about the work we have completed already (What does it mean to read? Who are we as readers? Who are adolescent readers? What does research tell us about learning from texts) how does this build the foundation of rethinking how we plan for instruction in our content areas.
Now. . . Think about what it means to be literate in your
specific discipline (e.g., what does it mean to read, write, speak and listen
within your discipline).
Pre-Posting-
Part B - Conduct
an internet search and see if you can find any sites/information on what it
means to be literate in your specific discipline.
Initial Posting – After
viewing the ppt. on content objectives versus language objectives I invite each
member within your small discussion group to share their specific discipline
and what it means to be literate within that discipline (e.g., What does it
mean to be mathematically literate?).
Think about the types of texts (oral and written) you need to read and
comprehend. Think about the tasks that
you are asked to do within your discipline and how is language used to support
and complete these tasks. Post your
interpretation of what it means to be literate within your discipline include
any information you located in your web search (don’t forget to cite your
sources or provide links for others to view).
Fri.
November 8, Initial posting
Response Postings –
Everyone should respond at least once to each group member with a question,
clarification, or addition to the thoughts on their specific information. You might consider other
information, questions you still have as a future teacher, etc.
Response Postings:
By Sunday, November 10: 11:59 PM. Response postings
Content Area: Dance
ReplyDeleteWhat does it mean to be literate in dance?
I found a few articles, some Google docs and blogs about what it means to be literate in dance. I even found a Google doc on 8 steps on building arts knowledge through literacy. What do I think it means to be literate in dance?
First, in elementary students need to learn to read, write and talk about the human body. I think this is one of the most important parts of being literate in dance. They also need to be able to listen to, see, feel and hear the human body. Students do this through observation, refection, and comparing and contrasting.
In secondary education to be literate in dance students need to be able to compose, read, and write their own dances, texts about dances, videos about dance, alignment in dancer, etc. I can think of an assignment I gave the students when creating their own personal values in jazz dance. In the first lesson students are asked to watch two videos and during that time the students write about four different topics: describe (what do you see), analysis (dance vocabulary), interpret (what do you think it means, what kind of emotional reaction are you feeling) and judge ( did the dance work convey the meaning it was trying to portray) what they are seeing. After the students share their answers, they have to justify / explain. This is one example of how I used literacy in dance.
From one the readings I found on the internet. This quote said a lot about what it means to be literate in dance and how life experiences come into play with literacy in dance.
"In understanding the meaning of dance language students are required to consider and rely on personal and other’s life experiences, especially since dance is an expressive art form. To comprehend and compose dance, students therefore need to not only understand the meaning of the different texts, they also need to be able to use those texts in different ways for different cultural and social functions" (Riddle, N/A)
Sources:
http://www.academia.edu/1859913/Forging_Mutual_Paths_Defining_Dance_Literacy_in_the_21st_Century--Dance-based_Dance_Literacies
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4LMDPvLeFzLVnF1bWZvUFlveUk/edit
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4LMDPvLeFzLVE1GcXRHeWwySG8/edit
Literacy Demands in Dance - Lotte Riddle (Document found on Google)
That Google Doc you found on building arts knowledge through literacy looks like a great resource! I think the fact that you were able to find different things is a good sign that educators in general are working harder at figuring how to implement literacy (or on a greater scale) within their content area. Also, the assignment you described which you designed sounds great! It requires many skills (analyzing, interpreting, judging...) that can be built through literacy work. Dance is such a great area as well in that I feel like you will be able to reach a lot of students who may have been labeled as reluctant readers. Finding ways to develop reading and writing skills through a subject that is new or interesting or that the students have a passion in is key! Awesome.
DeleteI think the quote you included touches on an important matter as well-- reading can connect to so many different things. In this instance, literacy and dance are connected to the students personal life experience and a way to expressive themselves. Again, this makes the content more appealing to students and puts literacy into a "real life" scenario.
Your license will be K-12, correct? Ideally, what age would you like to teach?
Keenie,
DeleteYes my license is K-12. If I could chose I would probably go with elementary. I tend to be in love with those students! Although, I just taught 11-12th graders who's focus was dance and they were amazing students! So, I would also do high school... I would probably avoid middle school if I could.
Kaitlin,
DeleteThe assignment you gave to your secondary education students sounds excellent! That really sounds like it would be a very effective way to work on their literacy in the dance field. Since these students have an interest in the field it is a good way to get them writing about something where they hopefully don't dread the assignment. Was that the case for you? How did the students respond to such an assignment?
Chris,
DeleteThey are very passionate students! Dance is their calling! Most students gave at least one -two responses! They were literately one of the best group of students I have ever worked with! I look forward to working with them this spring!
Literacy is obviously a more focused part of the English and Language Arts content area, though that by no means it should be taken for granted, that literacy is naturally ingrained into our content. In an English classroom, literacy has many different layers. It means taking an in depth look at texts and being able to interpret the author's message, analyze characters, and summarize chapters or sections. Language is more complex and technical in informational texts and British or American literature. Literacy in this context has a stronger emphasis on understanding vocabulary, analyzing author's decisions of literary choices, and understanding the historical context the text takes place in.
ReplyDeleteI found a great website that is set up as a question/answer session in regards to literacy. The link can be found here.
http://programs.ccsso.org/content/pdfs/ELA_Complete%20Set_Final.pdf
The article states that literacy in the ELA content area also means a strong focus on creating critical and analytic writers. Students need to focus writing all different types of texts-- from fiction to informational; descriptive to expository to persuasive.
Main literary strategies that should be addressed in the English/Language Arts classroom (as discussed in the article) include:
compare and contrast
determining the main idea
summarize
cause and effect
comprehension
monitoring
listening
making connections
activating prior knowledge
effective note taking
All of these skills should be used in other content areas as well, but is is vital for English teachers to introduce these skills and use them as much as possible, so students are more comfortable using them in their other classes. The article states, "Many “literacy strategies” take no time away from
your content at all. What they do is to help you teach your content in a way that more actively engages your students so they will learn
more." Since literacy is probably the most connected to English Language Arts standards, it is essential that it is truly focused on in our classrooms.
In upper level high school, English classes usually get more diverse and there are more options for students than just the standard English class. Classes like Speech or Interpersonal Relationships may not address literacy quite as obviously, though skills should still be incorporated by teachers into daily lessons. Literacy in these courses may focus more on having effective group discussions, analyzing the relationship between themselves and the world, and become better listeners.
The hope for all middle/high school English teachers is that students come in with adequate fluency skills, so that higher level literacy skills can be introduced and focused on. Obviously that is not always the case, and differentiated instruction should be applied as much as possible so that all students are working towards better reading and writing skills to help them in ALL content areas.
Keenie,
DeleteI feel that I utilize a lot of those literacy skills that you named in dance. My last teaching experience used listening, comprehension, making connections and activating prior knowledge during a discussion! So, I'm feeling like I am on the right track in regards to literacy!
I also like the fact that you acknowledge that we hope by middle school/ high school these students have the skills in literacy that we are looking for but if they don't you are set to give them differentiated instruction, I believe that is very important and to keep that in mind when we go into student teaching!
Keenie,
DeleteI really like what you pointed out from your article about teaching various literacy strategies taking essentially no time out of the content and what it really does is actively keeps the students more engaged while learning more. This is such a great point in my opinion because the teacher can still teach the content that they want/need to but the students aren't only using the same strategy all the time and potentially getting bored with class. It is also to remember how everyone learns differently so the teacher should be mixing up the strategies regularly anyways.
Keenie,
DeleteYou appear to take the view that literacy is about written text, a view that I share. We will both use these reading and comprehension strategies daily to support the curriculum. But I wonder how we can take a broader stance on the idea of literacy and incorporate visual or kinesthetic elements to support the textual emphasis we will place on our students.
When I used think about literacy and physical education, I have to admit that I am guilty of thinking it didn’t really apply. Through the readings and lessons in this class so far, my eyes have opened greatly on how much literacy applies to everything that we do. Since there obviously aren’t many readings in a physical education setting, being literate in the content area comes from discussions and oral instruction given by the teacher and the students. Based on my own interpretation as well as the article that I found, literacy in physical education is achieved when the students can explain/discuss what certain terms, expressions, rules, and/or equipment are or mean and then show the ability to demonstrate this understanding through activity.
ReplyDeleteOnce the students have an idea of certain vocabulary, rules, etc., having the objectives on the board for students to see is important because they can read them and be able to discuss what each object means. Through my field experience this semester, we start every class off by reading the objectives and having a brief discussion on what they mean, what we as teachers are looking for, and what we are expecting. This is set up by having the students answer all of our questions to show their understanding or literacy in the topic.
A very big unit we are in right now is cooperative learning. This is all about the students working in a group of 7-10 for almost three weeks where they have to accomplish certain challenges. Prior to starting, the groups have to develop a list on what they think teamwork is, how to work in a group, and various writing prompts like that on a handout that they get each class period. The students review this at the start of the class before they get their handout with their challenge. A leader reads it to their group, who then all work together to come up with solutions to these physical challenges. As they are now three days in to this unit, the students are working so much better together and really showing they understand how to work together while demonstrating how to read and comprehend various challenges, use physical activity vocabulary, and teamwork strategies to complete challenges. We then recap our classes by what groups did well and how to carry over these skills into their other classes and aspects of life.
The paragraph on cooperative learning goes hand in hand with the article that I found on physical education and literacy. The article points out how physical educators are now spending more time than ever showing students how skills they have learned in PE can be used in other rooms, at home, and in the world. When the students get frustrated with tasks and say “this is too hard” or “this is impossible” we always come back to how things they experience in life will be hard and if everything was easy, they wouldn’t be getting anything out of school or these team building challenges. After a little time, they always figure out what to do! One last quote from the article summarizes this cooperative learning up perfectly: “A good friend once told me that the difference between an academic class and a physical education class is that in an academic class you are taught a lesson and then given a test. In physical education class you are often given a test that teaches you a lesson.”
Article: http://www.nysut.org/~/media/Files/NYSUT/Resources/2010/May/Educators%20Voice%203%20Adolescents/educatorsvoice3_adolescents_06_physed.pdf
Chris,
DeleteI agree with you when thinking about dance or physical education and how literacy is or is not present! We might not think it but it is there! It seems ( at least to me) that dance is a natural language that everyone should know (obviously not the case)! Literacy is shown in dance through physical, verbal, written work and modeling. I never looked at literacy that way! I know bodies tell a story, and can create meaning... is that literacy? I think so! I also give a lot of verbal and physical prompts in dance... all still literacy! Until I had started this class I feel that I would have thought literacy is not present unless it is a written type of work, now I know that is not true!
I would imagine that literacy is more difficult to identify outside of the English/Language Arts content area, but it sounds like you have found many ways to do so! As we talked about the first week of this course: literacy is broad and growing all the time. Even though it may not be as applicable to read all the time in PE class and write numerous paper, being able to have effective conversations with classmates and articulate oneself well is just as important! The cooperating learning program just like a very cool experience for the kids! As you noted, they are working on literary skills in that class everyday, even though it may not seem like it. Learning how to work together to overcome challenges through reading directions, creating a process, and verbalizing a plan are great skill sets to be developing. It is also great that you and your co-teacher check in with the students by going over the language objectives before each class and then recapping at the end how those skills can be transferred elsewhere.
DeleteChris,
DeleteI am envisioning that you must establish a skill based literacy to move forward. Teamwork is a great example of this type of literacy and the reflection that is involved in creating it. Phy ed is a great place to help students understand what these important topics are because of the hands on nature of the class and the abstract nature of the topic. I know we could talk in class for days about teamwork, but those of us that have experienced it feel cheated by the discussion because it is missing an experiential factor leaves a lasting impression. I know from my experience coaching that teamwork has to be learned by doing, not form theory.
The more I understand the nature of the social studies, I realize that it is a discipline that encompasses all types of literacy. Historical literacy is just one aspect of social studies education. All students must be able to comprehend what a text is saying. At times they will be asked to understand simply what is going on in the text and how it adds to the textbook description. Historical documents also include visual-spatial information in the form of maps or numerical data that can manifest in multiple ways. This requires a high level of intertextuality and ability to understand many kinds of information. The concept of historical thinking requires students to assess texts from perspectives beyond their own experience. This is an extremely challenging and labor intensive method of learning. It requires the student to be meta-cognitive and reflective about the text to truly accomplish historical thinking.
ReplyDeleteI have personal qualms about the idea that social studies literacy requires only historical literacy. I am also an economics concentration and I realize that economics literacy may be of greater importance to the everyday life of students once they graduate. Historical literacy is not as appropriate as scientific literacy. Economics has a specific vocabulary and structure that requires a logical, and unnatural, way of thinking. I found myself going back over the section on scientific literacy when I realized the crossover between the sciences and economics. In a way, it is important to understand the general ideas behind literacy and apply them to the varied situations I will encounter as a social studies teacher.
Below are the two sources I have found relating to literacy in the social studies.
http://www.slcschools.org/departments/curriculum/social-studies/documents/Historical-Literacy.pdf
This article emphasizes the idea that historical thinking is a process. It is not the memorization of a myriad of facts, but the use of information to understand unique perspectives.
http://www.financialeducatorscouncil.org/financial-literacy-definition/
It was much more difficult to find out what economic literacy is. There is no formal definition of what economic literacy is. Many times it is blended into financial literacy. And although they are related, they are unique ideas. Financial literacy is a set of rules, where economic literacy is a process in the same way as scientific and historical literacy.
Joey,
DeleteI think as a student I would benefit from your teaching if you included economics! I know very little about economics but if it related to my everyday experiences it might stick a little more. I remember doing some in high school but not a whole lot!
You had great insight to see how literacy is formed into your content area, I came to the same realization on how many ways literacy is present in my content area as well!
The field of Social Studies is so broad and you are definitely right that that means there are various concepts of literacy within the content area. It is great that you are already noticing the differences between history and economics and what skill set would be different for students to develop for each class. In all of the examples we have read for this class, I think history is the main area that is focused on-- so again, its nice that you noticed that may not apply to all areas of social studies. Outside of English/Language Arts I think that Social Studies is the next content area which may be more reading/writing focused. In my methods class however, a survey taken at high schools in California (I believe) showed an alarmingly high rate of students in social studies classes who did not write a paper throughout the entire course-- that really surprised me. While it appears the importance of teaching literacy skills in the various content areas is becoming more widespread, our test scores show that we still have a long way to go. English/Social studies need to stand firm as "literacy buddies" and encourage all content areas to touch on these skills, even though they might be more apparent in our subject areas.
DeleteJoey,
DeleteIt sounds like you are very aware of how literacy plays big role in the field of social studies. I know from our readings that when they would talk about social studies, I had never realized before how many different types of literacy play a part in the field. Then when you think about economic literacy, it only adds to everything going on!
Thanks Kat. Keenie, I have been having discussions in my methods class and with my coop teacher about how to assess students. Therefore the statistic that states many children do not write papers does not surprise me. We have become accustom to writing these and assume our students should do the same, but we have to realize what a paper does. It requires high levels of synthesis and analysis, two areas that by definition are not easy to reach. Most of our students have not had the time or training for this to be a worthwhile assessment. It should be a goal, something we are building students up to.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteKat,
ReplyDeleteThe conceptualization of dance as an experiential and creative/evaluative process at two different levels is quite intuitive. How does the educator build these skills to being more creative and evaluative? Perhaps I am still hung up on the semantics of literacy, but how are texts used to support the development of bodily awareness? The more I understand about teaching is that it is not about the content. We are teaching skills and developing a student's ability to create and verbalize thoughts.
Joey,
DeleteI wouldn't focus only on body awareness for texts. I would look at texts with history, texts for researching, biographies, magazines... texts used in composition, creative learning, arts integration. All different types of text with a literacy component. All skills students could use, and build on.... depending on their focus.