Content Knowledge
Content knowledge is an important factor in developing
reading comprehension (Anderson and Pearson 1984; Hirsch
2006), and skilled reading, writing, speaking and listening, as
well as language knowledge contribute to content knowledge.
The literacy standards at grades six through eight make clear
the importance of both content and literacy. Previous chapters
discussed the powerful relationship between content knowledge
and literacy and language development. The following points
highlight the previous discussion:
- Content areas should be given adequate time in the
curriculum so that all students have access to content
instruction. - All students—including ELs, students with disabilities, and
students experiencing difficulty reading—should have full access to core content areas (e.g.,
science, history/social studies, the arts). - Literacy and language instruction should occur across the curricula (complementing and
contributing to content instruction, not replacing inquiry and other content approaches) based
on the CA CCSS for ELA and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects
and the CA ELD Standards. Understandings of disciplinary literacy should guide how teachers
approach literacy in their particular disciplines or subjects. - In English language arts classrooms, students should read and study a variety of classic and
contemporary literature (e.g., novels, short stories, graphic texts, drama, poetry), literary
nonfiction (e.g., memoirs, biographies, personal essays), and nonfiction (e.g., exposition,
argument, functional text, technical accounts, journalism). - In content classrooms, students should read and study texts that are important to the discipline
(e.g., textbooks, primary and secondary sources in history, technical texts in science and other
subjects). - All students should have opportunities to read widely (as an organized part of the curriculum
and independently), and they should have access to a variety of print and digital texts in the
classroom and school library.
In this section, four areas supporting content knowledge are highlighted: understanding
disciplinary literacy; engaging with literature and informational text in English language arts and other
content areas; engaging with research; and planning for wide reading.
Understanding Disciplinary Literacy
The term disciplinary literacy (Moje 2007, 2011; Shanahan and Shanahan 2008; Schleppegrell
2013) refers to the particular ways in which content areas or disciplines (history/social studies,
mathematics, science and engineering, arts, physical education, health, and world languages) use
language and literacy (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) to engage with content knowledge
and communicate as members of discourse communities (e.g., scientists, historians). Fang,
Schleppegrell, and Moore (2013, 1) argue that “learning in the content areas is best conceived of as
learning specialized ways of making meaning within the disciplines.... Each discipline has its own
culture and ways of reading, writing, speaking, thinking, and reasoning.” The authors’ describe the
features of advanced literacy as deployed by disciplinary experts in science, history, mathematics, and
language arts in figure 6.7.
Grades 6 to 8 Chapter 6 | 531