Developing Academic Literacy and Language in the Content Areas v.2

This institute is based on a 21st century approach to literacy, which includes the incorporation of oral language skills, technology tools, and other modalities.

Participants will explore the academic language and literacy practices –– such as listening for the speaker’s point of view or justifying the answer to a math problem –– that students need to be successful within rigorous content instruction. They will also learn how to scaffold participation in these discipline-specific practices, such as creating a model of the planetary system or contrasting two different cultural versions of a story. Participants will have the opportunity to design activities to bridge from students’ own literacy practices to classroom literacy tasks, including close reading and argumentation. Sample unit plans from social studies, English language arts, and science are used as examples of student tasks related to developing language and literacy in content instruction.

Throughout the two days, activities that teachers can implement in the classroom will be modeled. Strategies are applicable to newcomer students, students with limited or informal education, bilingual learners, as well as students at intermediate and advanced proficiencies in English.

The institute is designed primarily for content and ESL teachers or other school specialists who instruct in the middle grades and high school. Collaborative teaching teams and teacher leaders are especially encouraged to attend.