Resources for Adolescent Literacy in the Content Areas

• Academy Curricular Exchange, Language Arts Lessons, High School (9-12)
  http://ofcn.org/cyber.serv/academy/ace/lang/high.html

  The Organization for Community Networks, Academy Curricular Exchange offers a set of high school English Language Arts lessons focused on active reading and writing.

  
  
• An Exploration of Text Sets
  http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=305

  A lesson plan that supports readers of a range of abilities and experience through the use of text sets. "A text set is a collection that focuses on one concept or topic and includes multiple genres such as books, charts and maps, informational pamphlets, poetry and songs, photographs, non-fiction books, almanacs or encyclopedias. In this lesson, the class community will put together a collection of text sets on topics of keen interest. They will then explore these texts using three key reading strategies: (1) graffiti boards, (2) browsing for key information, and (3) uninterrupted reading/focused freewriting."

  
  
• Apprenticing Adolescent Readers to Academic Literacy
  http://www.wested.org/stratlit/pubsPres/HER/p01green.htm

  Authors describe an instructional framework - Reading Apprenticeship - that is based on a socially and cognitively complex conception of literacy, and they examine an Academic Literacy course using this framework.

  
  
• Beating the Odds: Teaching Middle and High School Students to Read and Write Well
  http://cela.albany.edu/

  This CELA report describes research into effective secondary instruction in reading, writing and English Language Arts. Use CELA's internal search tool to access the report.

  
  
• Building Reading Proficiency at the Secondary Level: A Guide to Resources
  http://www.sedl.org/pubs/reading16/

  With the goal of building a guide to resources, this publication reviews the scholarly literature to determine: (a) current theoretical perspectives and research findings on building reading proficiency at the secondary level and (b) their implications for classroom instruction. Rather than reporting all the factors that can impact secondary-level reading proficiency, the publication presents those for which a research base establishes essential importance and for which there are pedagogical implications. Programs and strategies that align with those findings are described. Available free online in these formats: full text, PDF, searchable database

  
  
• Comprehensive School Reform
  http://www.alliance.brown.edu/pubs/csr/index.shtml?components

  Contains an updated list of the eleven components of the federal program with a clickable Self-Assessment Tool. The components of comprehensive school reform provide a guide for schools to use in creating a comprehensive school reform plan that includes a research-based whole school reform model.

  
  
• Crtical Thinking Overview
  http://www.coping.org/write/percept/critical.htm

  For accessible information about what critical thinking is and is not, go to this Web site.

  
  
• Effective Practices for Developing Reading Comprehension.
  http://www.scholastic.com/dodea/Module_1/resources/dodea_m1_
  pa_duke.pdf

  Research on reading comprehension strategy instruction.

  
  
• ELL Resource: Connecting Students to Culturally Relevant Texts
  http://www.ncte.org/library/files/Free/Journals/tp/TP0152Con
  necting.pdf

  Article from Talking Points where the authors illustrate how connecting readers with culturally relevant books can launch learners on the path to academic success and help them udnerstand who they are. Readers can more easily construct meaning from a text that contains familiar elements because their background knowledge helps them make predictions and inferences about the story. The article includes examples of books that can be used and questions that teachers can ask their students. It ends with an insightful quote by Paulo Freire, "Reading the world always precedes reading the word, and reading the word implies continually reading the world."

  
  
• ELL Resource: Interesting Things for ESL Students
  http://www.manythings.org/

  Website with loads of word games, puzzles, quizzes, exercises, slang, proverbs for ELLs to practice vocabulary, sentence construction, grammar, listening and pronunciation. All the exercises are self-scoring and students get immediate feedback.

  
  
• ELL Resource: Language Arts Instruction and English Language Learners
  http://www.phschool.com/eteach/language_arts/2001_12/essay.html

  Article on a textbook publisher website useful for reading teachers of ELLs. Sections of special relevance are: Differential Preparation for Second-Language Schooling, Second-Language Literacy Development, Implications for English Language Arts Instruction, Instructional Considerations When Preparing Lessons to Support English Language Learners.

  
  
• ELL Resource: Learning Resources at Literacynet.org
  http://www.literacynet.org/cnnsf/

  Web site that offers online English language practice using current and past CNN San Francisco bureau and CBS 5 - KPIX (CBS Broadcasting) news stories. The material is intended for adult literacy and educational purposes. Learners can read the text, listen to the text, and view a short video clip of the story. Each module includes the full text of each story and interactive activities to test comprehension. Learners can use the materials independently or teachers can incorporate the stories into class activities.

  
  
• ELL Resource: LEP Students and the Integration of Language and Content: Knowledge Structures and Tasks
  http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/symposia/first/lep.htm

  This paper reviews research relating to LEP students and the integration of language and content.

  
  
• ELL Resource: Meeting the Needs of English Language Learners
  http://www.ncte.org/library/files/Free/Journals/tp/TP0121Meeting.pdf

  Article from the Fall 2000 issue of Talking Points where the authors offer eight major questions and a student survey to help educators better consider how to create optimal learning conditions. Examples of the questions are: Are students involved in authentic reading and writing experiences? Is the content meaningful? Does it serve a purpose for the learners? The authors make the case that teachers working with multilingual and multicultural students need to not only follow whole language principles but also be informed about second language acquisition theory and research and issues related to diversity. They need to learn about materials that support their students' first languages and are culturally relevant. They also need to develop effective methods to help students whose backgrounds and experiences are different from their own.

  
  
• ELL Resource: OWL Online Writing Lab at Purdue
  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/index.html

  Series of pages that are part of one of the best online writing labs. One can find links to handouts, interactive exercises that help students with grammar problems, idioms, and academic conventions. The section for teachers links to various pedagogical resources, including online journals, lists of other online resources, and an annotated bibliography for ESL instructors.

  
  
• ELL Resource: Principles that Help; False Assumptions that Harm (about Bilingual Learners)
  http://www.ed.arizona.edu/celt/fs7.html

  Web page created by the Center for Expansion of Language and Thinking at the University of Arizona. Each false assumption and helpful principle is briefly discussed. The false assumptions that harm bilingual learners are: 1. Learning proceeds from part to whole. 2. Programs should be teacher-centered because learning is the transfer of knowledge from the teacher to the student. 3. Schoolwork should focus on the future. 4. Learning occurs when students work alone. 5. In a second language, oral language acquisition precedes the development of literacy. 6. Limited English speakers have limited learning potential. 7. Learning should take place in English to facilitate the acquisition of English.

  
  
• ELL Resource: Reading in a Second Language
  http://www.lang.ltsn.ac.uk/resources/goodpractice.aspx?resourceid=1420

  Article which is part of a guide to good practice in teaching languages. It seamlessly integrates what we currently know from research into L2 reading and what should be done in classroom to help students learn to read in a second language. The three main sections of the article are entitled: basic cognitive issues, reading fluency and vocabulary acquisition, and higher-level skills.

  
  
• ELL Resource: Scaffolds that Help ELL Readers
  http://www.ncte.org/library/files/Free/Journals/vm/VM0111Scaffolds.pdf

  Article written by a teacher who used T-charts and sticky notes to support reading comprehension and help her ELL students with the recall and synthesis of key text information. Published in the September 2003 issue of Voices from the Middle.

  
  
• ELL Resource: Social Studies and ESL Students
  http://www.albany.edu/lap/MODULE%208.doc

  Handout that forms part of an Instructional model created by the Language Advocacy Project (LAP) at the University at Albany. This unit deals specifically with social studies. It includes suggestions about where to start with these students and strategies for helping ESL students understand social studies textbooks.

  
  
• ELL Resource: Spelling and the Middle School English Language Learner
  http://www.ncte.org/library/files/Free/Journals/vm/VM0114Spelling.pdf

  Short article published in the May 2004 issue of Voices in the Middle discussing four issues that teachers of ELL students should attend to when helping these students learn spelling. The four issues are: knowledge of the characteristics of the English spelling system, assessment of students' current knowledge, familiarization with the language that the students speak and use of specific instructional strategies.

  
  
• ELL Resource: Strategies for All Teachers in Working with ELLs
  http://www.albany.edu/lap/strategy.htm

  Website hosting modules of an instructional model created by the Language Advocacy Project at the University of Albany. The model was designed to help teacher trainers elicit discussions among teachers about issues in the education of LEP students. Each module includes background notes and transparencies. Topics include: Integrating the ESL Students into the General Classroom, NYS Regulations, Standards and ESL Students and ESL Students and Special Education.

  
  
• ELL Resource: The Inclusive Classroom: Teaching Math and Science to English-Language Learners
  http://www.nwrel.org/msec/just_good.pdf

  Publication prepared by the Northwest Regional Educational Lab for teachers of ELLs. The three main sections are understanding the specialized languages of math and science, linking second language strategies with content instruction and collaborating with other teachers. The second section, which is the more extensive one, discusses thematic instruction, cooperative learning, inquiry and problem solving, vocabulary development, classroom discourse, affective influences and assessment.

  
  
• ELL Resource: Twenty-Five Great Ideas for Teaching Current Events
  http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson072.shtml

  Web page with ideas for working news into the classroom and connecting current events to all subjects. Two examples are finding adjectives that start with each letter of the alphabet and listening for details. The suggested activities are interesting and well-suited for ELLs because they are challenging wihtout being overwhelming.

  
  
• ESL Math and Science for High School Students: Two Case Studies
  http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/symposia/third/spanos.htm

  A paper that documents the experiences of the author in implementing a content-ESL program for high school mathematics and science. It is made up of case studies of one ESL-math class and one ESL-science class. The research questions were: (1) What are the linguistic demands of mathematical and scientific content? (2) How is student acquisition of this content assessed? (3) How can teachers provide contexts for students to utilize learning strategies in acquiring this content? and (4) How is the role of learning strategy instruction in this acquisition process measured? The answers led to recommendations regarding the education of language minority high school students. For example, language teachers should be trained to integrate language and content instruction.

  
  
• ESL Strategies for Secondary Students: Content-Based Instruction, Cooperative Learning, and CALP Instruction
  http://www.tc.columbia.edu/academic/tesol/Webjournal/nicole.pdf

  A short article on how all teachers who work with language-minority students can and must play a part in helping their students to gain content-based instruction (CBI), linguistic ability (CALP), and academic skills, with an emphasis on the importance of cooperative learning.

  
  
• ESL Teacher as a Cultural Broker
  http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/crosscultural.php

  "Web page that deals with the role of the ESL/bilingual professionals as teachers of strategies which help their colleagues and other mainstream staff members understand the role that culture plays in the behavior and reactions of second language learners and their parents. The page contains links to downloadable activities that explore myths in second language acquisition and biases and stereotypes. "

  
  
• ESL Teacher's Role in Intercultural Communication
  http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/_teachers_role_inter
  cultural_c_06908.php

  Short article that discusses the role of teachers of ELLs and the objectives of an effective staff development workshop. It also discusses the "hidden curriculum" (everything about the school that is not part of the academic curriculum) and how it affects ELLs. The Web page links to three handouts that were used in staff development workshops. See also a related article called "English Language Learners and the 'Hidden Curriculum'" (http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/goal3.php)

  
  
• Fostering High Levels of Reading and Learning in Secondary Students
  http://www.readingonline.org/articles/graves1/main.html

  This commentary addresses the "teaching for understanding" approach that has the potential to change the way secondary teachers teach.

  
  
• Guidelines for Teaching Middle and High School Students to Read and Write Well
  http://cela.albany.edu/publication/brochure/guidelines.pdf

  Six features of effective instruction. (From National Research Center on English Learning and Achievement).

  
  
• How the Language Really Works: The Fundamentals of Critical Reading and Effective Writing
  http://www.criticalreading.com/waystoreadtoc.htm

  This site makes the argument that critical reading is essential to making meaning from text and suggests several ways to have students critically read and engage with text.

  
  
• Improving Mathematics and Science Instruction for LEP Middle and High School Students Through Language Activities
  http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/symposia/third/reyhner.htm

  This paper presents an overview of a series of studies on how to improve the education of ethnic minority limited English proficient students in general, and how to improve the education of LEP American Indian students in the areas of mathematics and science in particular.

  
  
• Learning to Learn
  http://english.unitecnology.ac.nz/resources/resources/learnt
  olearn/demands.html

  This article that discusses the language demands of textbook reading and offers strategies teachers and students can use to help with textbook comprehension.

  
  
• Lesson Plan Index of Read Write Think
  http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/index.asp

  Index of lesson plans searchable by grade levels. The lesson plans are thoughtful, well-written, and ask students to engage with the text and with each other. Each lesson plan begins with a theoretical basis, concludes with an assement component, is matched to IRA/NCTE Standards, and links to additional resources.

  
  
• Literacy Education Resources: Early Childhood to High School
  http://reading.indiana.edu/

  This site contains links to online resources about literacy education from early childhood to the high school level. Formerly an ERIC site, the Clearinghouse on Reading, English, and Communication is an information repository of the Indiana University School of Education.

  
  
• LitSite Alaska: Workbooks and Peer Work Index
  http://litsite.alaska.edu/uaa/workbooks/workbooks.html

  This part of the site is full of activities and exercises contributed by educators, parents and students from around Alaska. Each Workbook is divided into sections for multiple skill levels that are grade-specific. Note especially the following activities: Angel Card Discussion Technique, Book Report, Justice and Freedom, Newspapers in Education -- High School Reading, and Writing with Empathy.

  
  
• Mathematics and Motivation
  http://mathforum.org/~sarah/Discussion.Sessions/biblio.motivation.html

  This site explains how student motivation affects mathematics learning and instruction.

  
  
• Metacognition and Its Relation to Reading Comprehension: A Synthesis of the Research
  http://idea.uoregon.edu/%7Encite/documents/techrep/tech23.html

  The purpose of this research synthesis is to examine recent research on the relation between metacognition and reading comprehension, as it pertains to diverse learners.

  
  
• Metacognition and Reading to Learn
  http://www.indiana.edu/~reading/ieo/digests/d96.html

  This ERIC digest is a concise summary of the research on metacognition and reading to learn.

  
  
• Motivating Low Performing Adolescent Readers
  http://www.indiana.edu/~reading/ieo/digests/d112.html

  The focus of this ERIC Digest is on motivating the low performing adolescent in a remedial reading or subject area classroom. The premise is that students who are disengaged from their own learning processes are not likely to perform well in school.

  
  
• Online Poetry Classroom
  http://www.onlinepoetryclassroom.org/

  This website, sponsored by the Academy of American Poets, provides access to curriculum units and lesson plans created by teacher participants in Online Poetry Classroom workshops. These workshops bring middle school and high school teachers together with practicing poets and technology experts to develop new strategies for teaching poetry. The site also contains a searchable database of poets and poems, interactive teacher forums, and a teacher resource center full of relevant links.

  
  
• Proofs and Evidence: Effectiveness of the Five Standards for Effective Pedagogy
  http://www.crede.ucsc.edu/standards/effectiveness.shtml

  Research base for the CREDE standards of effective pedagogy.

  
  
• Reading Next
  http://www.all4ed.org/publications/ReadingNext/ReadingNext.pdf

  This report, based on a 2004 meeting of five leading literacy researchers, outlines 15 recommendations for an effective adolescent literacy program. It also provides concrete strategies for implementing the recommendations and a bibiliography of research supporting each recommendation. Written by Catherine Snow and Gina Biancarosa.

  
  
• Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read
  http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/nrp/smallbook.htm

  An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction.

  
  
• Revaluing: Coming to Know Who We Are and What We Can Do
  http://www.ncte.org/library/files/Free/Journals/vm/VM0101Revaluing.pdf

  Article from the September 2002 issue of Voices in the Middle in which the authors describe a project involving six eighth graders in a bilingual Reading Detective Club with the goal of helping them revalue themselves and what they were able to do as readers. As a result of their participation in the program, students' understanding of reading strategies improved a great deal, and they began to see bilingualism as a resource rather than a source of confusion. The authors make the case that when students believe their thinking and ideas are valued beyond getting a correct answer, their self-efficacy and engagement with reading are likely to increase. The article concludes with recommendations for classroom practice.

  
  
• Secondary Content Teacher Reading Strategies
  http://www.ops.org/reading/secondarystrat1.htm

  This site contains lesson plans secondary school teachers can use to teach reading strategies.

  
  
• Secondary Science Inquiry Scoring Guide
  http://www.nwrel.org/msec/science_inq/guides.html

  Teacher's version of a secondary school science inquiry scoring guide.

  
  
• Shared Spelling Strategies
  http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=48

  Lesson plan intended to help 6-8th grade students "construct" spelling by using sound, sight recall, and analyzing strategies, instead of memorizing lists of words.

  
  
• Support for Sustained Silent Reading
  http://www.angelfire.com/ok/freshenglish/ssr.html

  Research on sustained silent reading.

  
  
• Teacher Resources from the Strategic Literacy Initiative at WestEd
  http://www.wested.org/cs/sli/print/docs/685

  StratLit invites teachers to submit lessons that support students becoming more active readers through a Reading Apprenticeship approach to teaching content area classes.

  
  
• Teaching Composition: Research on Effective Practices
  http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/2/topsyn2.html

  This report focuses on the basic skills of writing.

  
  
• Teen Reading
  http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/05TTT.htm

  This web site, sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American Library Association, provides regularly updated lists of young adult books recommended by both librarians and teens. It also contains information about Teen Read Week, tips to encourage reading, and links to useful sites and publications for educators concerned about literacy.

  
  
• Ten Great Activities: Teaching With the Newspaper
  http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson139.shtml

  Web page that contains ten practical suggestions for classroom activities using the newspaper. The page starts with some reasons why newspapers are effective teaching tools and continues with activities that teach skills such as reading and writing for meaning, map reading, media literacy, sequencing, word meaning, and math.

  
  
• The Case for Explicit, Teacher-led, Cognitive Strategy Instruction
  http://olam.ed.asu.edu/barak/barak1.html

  An overview and discussion of the cognitive strategy research of 1975 to 1990 which has produced an impressive series of results.

  
  
• The Math Forum @ Drexel
  http://mathforum.org/pow

  The math forum has problems of the week as a resource for teachers and students in secondary math classes.

  
  
• Using Collaborative Strategic Reading
  http://www.dldcec.org/pdf/teaching_how-tos/using_collaborative.pdf

  This pdf file, published by the Council for Exceptional Children, gives step-by step instructions and descriptions of Collaborative Strategic Reading and how to implement and support it in the 5-12 classroom.

  
  
• Vocabulary Acquisition: Curricular and Instructional Implications for Diverse Learners
  http://idea.uoregon.edu/%7Encite/documents/techrep/tech14.html

  This document was prepared by the National Center to Improve the Tools of Educators and funded by the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs.

  
  
• Vocabulary Instruction and Reading Comprehension.
  http://www.indiana.edu/~reading/ieo/digests/d126.html

  ERIC Digest describing research linking vocabulary instruction with improving reading comprehension.

  
  
• Webquests for constructivist lessons across the curriculum
  http://webquest.org/

  At this site, view and obtain vetted lessons in 12 curricular areas and all grades, using the WebQuest model, a constructivist lesson format used widely around the world.

  
  
• What Secondary Teachers Can Do to Teach Reading
  http://www.edletter.org/past/issues/1999-ja/secondary.shtml

  This brief article by Vickie Jacobs describes how content-area teachers can use pre-reading, guided reading, and post-reading strategies to support their students' learning.

  
  
• When Students Do Not Feel Motivated for Literacy Learning: How a Responsive Classroom Culture Helps
  http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/clic/nrrc/rspon_r8.html

  This paper offers the perspectives of a fifth grade student and his classmates on their experiences when they did not feel motivated for academic tasks.

  
  
• Writing and Reading Relationships: Constructive Tasks
  http://cela.albany.edu/publication/article/writeread.htm

  This excerpt is a chapter in Writing: Research/Theory/Practice.

  
  

This resource is developed and maintained by The Education Alliance at Brown University. Seed funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Send comments to: loom@alliance.brown.edu