Understanding Content Literacy: Implications and Applications

Content Literacy

Content literacy deals with the issue of integrating literacy skill learning with content knowledge in non-English/Communications classes. There are many useful resources for teachers of secondary content to utilize with their classes to help their students become better readers and writers while not sacrificing content, but in fact making them better readers of content material.

We are all pressured in the current education environment to focus on reading and math often at a seeming compomising of other conent areas. Since these other areas are not (yet) tested, they are seen as secondary in importance. In reality, we can all play a part in increasing student success on state tests through our content areas, not at the expense of our content areas. For example, having students read content articles or textbook passages in Social Studies, taking notes from those readings and interacting with the text can only help students when they are reading passages on our state tests. The strategies are the same, we are simply using different content to meet both the content classroom's need and the more universal need for better interaction with the written word.

Links of Use for Teachers

Check out the links below that will take you to many excellent links that will give you lots of information on content literacy and many new strategies to try out.

• Literacy and learning: http://www.litandlearn.lpb.org/
• Literacy Matters: http://www.literacymatters.org/content/overview/intro.htm
• Choice Literacy: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/main.cfm
• TALK (Technology Assisting Literacy Knowledge): http://teach.fcps.net/talk/index2.asp?nav=clg
• Read - Write - Think: http://www.readwritethink.org/index.asp

We all teach ALL students.