Really? Reading in Science, Math, and Social Studies?

In Reading Apprenticeship

"An abiding focus is how supports for all the dimensions of Reading Apprenticeship, together with metacognitive conversation and extensive reading, work together to support engaged disciplinary learning.  The multiple text reading, modeling and argumentation inquiry is intended to underscore how close reading supports rigorous disciplinary learning."

So does that mean we all need to become reading specialists in order to better support engaged disciplinary learning?  Absolutely not, rather, you will need to merely tap into the invisible, unstated practices of science/math/social studies literacy that you already have.  You will have the opportunity to make those processes visible to yourself and your students.  Your students will in turn make their thinking visible to you allowing for deep disciplinary conversation and ultimately great understanding.  The strategies are not new and 'fancy-fangled' but rather being made explicit and utilized on a routine basis until they become inherent in our students so that they too can think, problem-solve, and learn like others in your field.

Reading Strategy: Identifying Irony

Driving home on Friday from the Leadership In Reading Apprenticeship Conference:

It's everywhere.

The Great RA Shift

I've noticed that my classroom/teaching has been making a gradual shift.  It is significant, yet unfinished, and terribly exciting.  My colleagues studying RA this year have also expressed similar thoughts.  As I was reading Reading for Understanding by Schoenback, Greenleaf, and Murphy (2nd Edition) I came across this line that described what we are experiencing.

"When classrooms are places where teachers do things for students or to students, teachers are doing all of the intellectual work.  When classrooms become places where teachers do things with students, the intellectual culture of the classroom shifts, and students have a purpose for investing in learning."

Admittedly, I am nowhere near mastering the art of Reading Apprenticeship.  In RA the teacher serves as the mentor of the student apprentices who are learning how to read, think, and learn in a specific discipline; in my case science.  Amazingly, despite the snail's pace of my learning curve, the change is beginning to happen and it is truly invigorating after 11 years of teaching.  There is a new sense of hope on the horizon and I am genuinely excited to share in this process with my colleagues.

So What Is Reading Apprenticeship?

The phrase Reading Apprenticeship has been a bit 'foggy' for me for quite some time so I have been on a quest to 'de-nebulize' the idea for myself and perhaps help a few others along the way to make sense of it all.

One of the major principles behind RA is that the teacher is an expert in the content and discourse of their subject matter.  The students in their classroom are therefore the apprentices under the care of the expert teacher.

So what does that look like?  I have begun a list of thoughts about what RA entails.  In order to keep the list going throughout our time, I have placed it on the next tab - just click here or on the tab called Reading Apprenticeship.

Note On Range & Content of Student Reading

I found this quote quite interesting from the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects (page 60)

Reading is critical to building knowledge in history/social studies as well as in science and technical subjects.  College and career ready reading in these fields requires an appreciation of the norms and conventions of each discipline, such as the kinds of evidence used in history and science; an understanding of domain-specific words and phrases; an attention to precise details; and the capacity to evaluate intricate arguments, synthesize complex information, and follow detailed descriptions of events and concepts.

Welcome to Berkley's Reading Apprenticeship Blog.  Here we will post updates and create a forum for questions and responses!  You can follow the blog via e-mail by using the "follow by e-mail" link found on the right hand side of this page!

Tracy