Figure 6.7. Advanced Literacy in Four Disciplines[S]cientists construct theoretical explanations of the physical world through
investigations that describe, model, predict, and control natural phenomena (Yore et al,
2004). The task of... historian[s], on the other hand, is interpretive, investigating events
in the past in order to better understand the present by reading documents and examining
evidence, looking for corroboration across sources, and carefully thinking about the human
motivations and embedded attitudes and judgments in the artifacts examined (Wineburg,
2001). Mathematicians see themselves as problem-solvers or pattern-finders who prize
precision and logic when working through a problem or seeking proofs for mathematical
axioms, lemmas, corollaries, or theorems (Adams, 2003). Language arts experts attach
great significance to the capacity for creating, responding to, and evaluating texts of various
kinds (Christie & Derewianka, 2008). These varied ways of meaning-making call on particular
ways of using spoken and written language as well as a range of multimodal representations
(Coffin & Derewianka, 2009; O’Halloran, 2005; Unsworth, 2008).Source
Fang, Zhihui, Mary J. Schleppegrell, and Jason Moore. 2013. “The Linguistic Challenges of Learning Across
Disciplines.” In Handbook of Language and Literacy: Development and Disorders. 2nd ed., edited by C. Addison
Stone, Elaine R. Silliman, Barbara J. Ehren, and Geraldine P. Wallach, 1–2. New York: Guilford Press.From this perspective, speakers and writers make
deliberate choices about how they use particular language
resources and how they organize their spoken or written
texts (e.g., speeches, debates, arguments, stories). These
choices depend on the discipline in which they are being
produced, among other things. Proficient users of language
in particular disciplines make language choices (sometimes
unconsciously) to meet the expectations of their audiences.
These choices include the use of precise vocabulary, how
sentences and paragraphs are structured, and how ideas are
connected throughout an entire text so that it is cohesive.
Audience expectations are determined by the nature of the
communicative activity (e.g., talking with someone casually
about a movie, persuading someone in a debate, or writing
a science report); the nature of the relationship between the
language users in the activity (e.g., friend-to-friend, expert-
to-learner); the subject matter and topic (e.g., photosynthesis in science, the U.S. Civil War in history);
and the medium through which the message is conveyed (e.g., a text message versus an essay).
These register choices, as linguists have found, vary from discipline to discipline and from situation
from situation. (See chapter 2 of this ELA/ELD Framework for a discussion of register.) A major task
for teachers is to support all students in understanding how to shift registers and make informed
language choices that meet the expectations of different disciplinary contexts.
Shanahan and Shanahan (2008), in describing their investigation of the literacy practices of
experts in mathematics, chemistry, and history, indicate that each group approached reading quite
differently and valued the literacy strategies that “mirrored the kinds of thinking and analytic practices
common to their discipline” (56). Although disciplines share certain features in their use of text and
academic language, they also employ unique practices. Selected strategies that align with those
disciplines include the following:
Proficient users of language
in particular disciplines make
language choices (sometimes
unconsciously) to meet the
expectations of their audiences.
These choices include the use
of precise vocabulary, how
sentences and paragraphs
are structured, and how ideas
are connected throughout an
entire text so that it is cohesive.532 | Chapter 6 Grades 6 to 8