COMMENTARY

Disciplinary Literacy
ADAPT NO T A DOP T

Victoria Gillis

This article argues that all teachers are NOT reading teachers, nor
should they be. Adapt rather than adopt is the approach suggested,
with examples of adaptations provided.

R
secondary teachers hear when we say, “every teacher
ecently, I was reading online and came a teacher of reading.” This sort of pronouncement
across an item titled “All teachers are liter- just turns secondary teachers against ideas that, when
acy teachers under common core” (ASCD, implemented, can improve student learning and
April 17, 2013). My first thought was, “Oh, no – not their literacy simultaneously. I know whereof I speak
again. We can’t go back there!” The “back there” to because 40 years ago, I was one of those content area
which I refer is the quicksand of “every teacher a teachers forced against my will to attend a “reading
teacher of reading.” This notion, dating from the early meeting.” I wrote about this in a First Person piece
part of the previous century, has hobbled our efforts to several years ago (Ridgeway, 2004); suffice it to say, I
improve adolescent literacy for more than 75 years. was opposed to being told by a reading person how to
Every teacher is not a teacher of reading. This may teach science. It was in my attempt to show the read-
seem like anathema to readers of JAAL, but if we are ing supervisor that she could not tell me how to teach
to make a difference in adolescent literacy, we have to science that I discovered the power in appropriate
approach the problem in a different way (Moje, 2008). disciplinary literacy practices in science, such as ex-
Albert Einstein said, “The definition of insanity is do- plicitly linking data (evidence) to inferences and con-
ing the same thing over and over again and expecting clusions, focusing on multimodal reading, and
a different result,” which, it seems to me, is what we’ve attending to vocabulary. These practices turned my
been doing in adolescent literacy for far too long. unmotivated junior high students into engaged learn-
Secondary teachers are experts in specific ers and solved classroom management problems at
disciplines, and as such have no desire, let alone the same time. The key, as in many parts of life, was
sufficient knowledge, to in how I envisioned literacy instruction in my
teach literacy (Moje, classroom.
2008; Ridgeway, 2004). Initially, literacy never crossed my mind;
Although literacy pro- instead, I was trying ideas that might improve stu-
fessionals may not dents’ learning in science. I did “think alouds” as I
mean to turn science or Victoria Gillis is a Professor and read diagrams and text before they were assigned; I
Wyoming Excellence in Education
history or mathematics Literacy Chair at the University of did not assign every page because some passages
teachers into reading Wyoming, Laramie, USA; e-mail were so poorly written that I directed my students to
[email protected].
614 teachers, this is what skip them and read the diagrams instead; I assigned
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 57(8) May 2014 doi:10.1002/jaal.301 © 2014 International Reading Association (pp. 614–623)
reading after students had engaged in a lab and dis- students communicate about civic, political, and
cussion so that they had constructed sufficient prior personal issues of importance to them in ordinary
knowledge to comprehend the text; and I focused on language. This seems to me a call for teaching ge-
vocabulary, emphasizing morphology. I envisioned neric reading and writing in content area classes –
literacy instruction as science instruction – they the status quo. However, students must understand
were the same thing for me. Perhaps this is the dif- the ideas and content associated with these civic,
ference between conceptions of content area reading political, and personal issues and must understand
and disciplinary literacy. Often, content area reading how assertions are made and supported in the vari-
seems to impose generic reading strategies on ous disciplines from which the issues are drawn in
content-specific text whereas disciplinary literacy order to communicate their ideas clearly and ef-
considers content first and asks, “How would a scien- fectively. Additionally, students need to understand
tist (or historian, mathematician, or writer) approach the technical language (vocabulary) they use to
this task?” For many content teachers, “adding” lit- communicate about these issues. These under-
eracy to their curriculum means adding something standings are the focus that Moje (2008, 2010/11)
separate and divorced from their content. It is like suggests. Heller’s stance is that secondary students
having a Mercedes sitting in the garage and looking are not capable of reaching the goals set by Moje
at it as something extra you have to drive once a (2008) and that perhaps secondary teachers are un-
week or so because you are forced to do so, rather prepared to help them do so. Brozo, Moorman,
than appreciating that the vehicle will take you Meyer, and Stewart (2013) agreed with Heller that
someplace. Content area teachers do not see the Moje’s (2008) call for students to be apprenticed in
seamless integration of appropriate literacy practices disciplinary ways of thinking was perhaps
as an option because most don’t think like that. They overreaching.
are focused on content, and these days of high-stakes However, Juel, Hebard, Haubner, and Moran
testing only reinforce that focus. Content area in- (2010) described first graders learning about how
struction integrated with discipline-appropriate lit- scientists and historians think, and Cervetti and
eracy practices was powerful, effective, and more Pearson described research in which elementary
efficient than instruction in my classroom prior to students were engaged in doing science and were
my exposure to content area reading. I did not select simultaneously learning about reading and writing
a general strategy, such as KWL or Directed Reading- practices in science. Cervetti and Pearson’s stance
Thinking Activity, to implement in my classroom. that it does not make sense to teach comprehen-
Instead, I chose strategies that accomplished my con- sion of scientific text isolated from engaged explo-
tent objectives and adapted them to fit my teaching ration and scientific inquiry strikes a chord with
style, context, and content. In my classroom, content me as a science teacher. If primary and elementary
determined process (Herber, 1970), and as I read the students can learn discipline-appropriate ways of
current dialogue among secondary literacy scholars, thinking, why do we assume secondary students
it seems we have come full circle. cannot do so?
In 2008, Moje suggested that perhaps it was Brozo et al. (2013) call for a “middle ground.”
time for those in secondary literacy to put content Their position is that content area teachers can be
first, rather than literacy. She noted that the gen- approached in such a way that they are less resistant
eral approach in content area reading had been to to content area literacy instruction. I agree, but I
Disciplinary Literacy: Adapt not Adopt

promote inclusion of literacy instruction in con- have two issues with Brozo et al.’s argument. First,
tent area classes, and this approach had not worked Hal Herber’s (1970) seminal book did call for liter-
(see also Bean & O’Brien, 2012/13; O’Brien, acy instruction in content area classrooms, but his
Stewart, & Moje, 1995). Moje suggested that the mantra was content determines process. This crucial
goal of secondary literacy should be “teaching stu- element seems to have disappeared from the discus-
dents what the privileged discourses are, when and sion. Herber was the consultant on the content read-
why such discourses are useful and how these dis- ing project in Central Florida in which I was a
courses and practices came to be valued” (2008, p. participant. My work with Joy Monahan and Herber
100). In a response to Moje (2008), Heller in 1973/4 instilled in me the idea that first you look
(2010/11) suggested that secondary schools should at the content you want to teach. Then you deter-
focus on general education and aim to have mine the sorts of strategies that will help students 615
COMMENTARY

learn the content. Content first. It was an idea I of what I mean by adapt rather than adopt. In the
could agree with as a science teacher, and one my following discussion, I hope to show how Response
content area reading students can relate to as well. Heuristic (Bleich cited in Tierney, Readence, &
Second, Moje’s (2008) call for students to be ap- Dishner, 2000; Alvermann, Gillis, & Phelps, 2013),
prenticed into the various disciplines was not a call a strategy that originated in English, can be adapted
to make high school students experts in any field for other content areas. Response Heuristic was de-
(Moje, 2010/11). Brozo et al. called for a blending signed to foster readers’ inferences about an au-
of the two approaches, and noted that some strug- thor’s meaning and create space for the reader’s
gling adolescent readers may need the generic read- personal interpretation of literature. In English,
ing strategies of content area reading. Faggella-Luby, students need to understand what the “experts” say
Graner, Deschler, and Drew (2012) make this argu- about the meaning of a piece of poetry or litera-
ment and provide an example to illustrate their ture, but it is also important to allow students to
point drawn from history. They compare a personalize their understanding of the literature.
discipline-specific strategy that teaches students his- Response Heuristic accomplishes these seemingly
torical reasoning practices in order to reconcile dif- opposing tasks. Essentially, Response Heuristic is a
ferences in primary sources with a generic compare three-column graphic organizer in which the first
and contrast strategy, and claim that the latter is column targets literal information, the second col-
more appropriate for struggling readers because it umn targets inferential/interpretive thinking, and
can be generalized to any content. But it cannot. the third column targets application level thinking.
Not at the high school level, where history students However, the strategy must be adapted for use in
are expected to compare sources and note when different content areas (Alvermann et al., 2013).
each source was generated, who generated it, any In an English class that is reading Hurston
biases involved in the author(s) of the source, and to Their Eyes Were Watching God (1998), and focus-
consider other events and sources that are related, to ing on figurative language, Response Heuristic
note any language that might provide clues to bi- might be completed as in Figure 2 on page 618.
ases. The sorts of analysis expected of high school In a history class studying 20th century history,
students cannot be addressed by generic literacy students might be asked to read from their text-
strategies that simply have students compare and book, identify one to three significant events de-
contrast two sources. I think the problem identified scribed in the assignment, the immediate effect(s)
by Faggella-Luby et al. (2012) of struggling readers and perhaps long-term effects or unintended con-
incapable of handling discipline-specific thinking sequences, and provide evidence for their asser-
strategies can be mitigated by increased scaffolding tions (see Figure 3). Students need to be able to
5 7 (8 ) M AY 2014

for these struggling readers. For example, in the his- make these connections and be able to provide
torical reasoning illustration, a history teacher might supporting evidence for them. Response Heuristic
provide students with an Inquiry Chart that helps provides an appropriate frame to support students’
support their comparison of the sources in question historical thinking.
and simultaneously develop historical thinking as In science, Response Heuristic can be adapted
J OURN AL OF A DOL E SCE NT & ADU LT L ITE RAC Y

seen in Figure 1. to help students make connections between data/

This provides scaffolding for students’ histori- observations, inferences, and conclusions. The
cal thinking, enabling struggling adolescent read- example shown in Figure 4 relates to a class activity
ers to accomplish the task of comparing the sources. in which students view a video of sodium, then cal-
Having struggling readers work collaboratively pro- cium, reacting with water (this must be presented
vides additional support as well as opportunities for as a video because solid sodium is no longer al-
students to discuss their emerging understandings. lowed to be kept in science labs, although as a
The current discussion, in a nutshell, is one of young science teacher 45 years ago, the demonstra-
general literacy strategies vs. discipline specific tion is one I used with students to great effect).
strategies (Fang & Coatoam, 2013). As a former In mathematics, Response Heuristic can help stu-
science teacher, my experience is that strategies dents focus on the process of problem-solving (Polya,
adapted (rather than adopted) to fit the content 1973), and might have four (rather than three) columns.
(discipline specific strategies) are more effective I must thank my math colleague, Dr. Linda Hutchison,
616 than general literacy strategies. Here is an example for the adaptation in Figure 5 and Leigh Haltiwanger,
FIGURE 1 Historical Thinking: Inquiry Chart Topic: Civil Rights Movement: Rosa Parks

Disciplinary Literacy: Adapt not Adopt

617
COMMENTARY

FIGURE 2 Response Heuristic in English Class

FIGURE 3 Response Heuristic in History

5 7 (8 ) M AY 2014

doctoral student, for the problem illustrated. Leigh that students improve their literacy and content
commented that the heuristic forces students to gener- knowledge simultaneously. When presented in this
ate a plan, something they frequently skip, and that it light, content area teachers are more willing to con-
helps students identify their prior knowledge and forces sider ideas presented in content area literacy
reflection on the process (personal communication, courses. I must tell you, however, that as a science
J OURN AL OF A DOL E SCE NT & ADU LT L ITE RAC Y

December 2, 2013). As a science/literacy person, I teacher I cared little about students’ literacy. I
needed disciplinary experts to help me adapt this strat- wasn’t opposed to students improving their literacy,
egy for a discipline with which I am not as familiar. but my focus was on their learning science, and ap-
Note how in these examples, a strategy is propriately so. It took many years before I realized
adapted to reflect the kinds of thinking found in what I was doing; initially, I was just thankful the
the different content areas. As a content area strategies worked. But once I perceived the literacy
teacher, this is the kind of “secondary literacy” that principles operating in science literacy, I was able
was helpful to my students – scaffolding that helped to be more focused and purposeful in my instruc-
them acquire the habits of mind in science. This is tion, which increased my effectiveness as well as
the kind of scaffolding found in Juel et al.’s work instructional efficiency. Even then, however, I did
with first graders (2010) as well as the work re- not fully appreciate the complexity of literacy in
viewed by Cervetti and Pearson (2012). science.
Secondary teachers need to understand how lit- A number of researchers have noted differ-
618 eracy can be used as a tool for learning so ences in literacy practices across the disciplines
FIGURE 4 Response Heuristic in Science

Disciplinary Literacy: Adapt not Adopt

619
620
J OURN AL OF A DOL E SCE NT & ADU LT L ITE RAC Y 5 7 (8 ) M AY 2014 COMMENTARY

FIGURE 5 Response Heuristic in Mathematics

(Johnson, Watson, Delahunty, McSwiggen, & that to read science text, you have to move between
Smith, 2011; Moje, 2006, 2007, 2008; Shanahan & the various semiotic systems as you work in order to
Shanahan, 2008; Wilson, 2011). In the following comprehend the text. In contrast, history text might
discussion, I focus on literacy in science to illus- be a video of an historical event, photographs, jour-
trate the complexity involved in reading secondary nals, diaries, or maps. Students must learn to read
texts, because this is the discipline that I still con- these artifacts, including primary documents that
sider my academic home with respect to teaching might contain archaic language and vocabulary
in secondary schools, but use examples from other (Draper et al., 2005; Nokes, 2013). Clearly reading
disciplines to illustrate major points. science and history texts require different complex
In science, reading is multimodal and readers cognitive processes. Neither reading nor English
must read diagrams, experimental results, graphs, teachers possess the requisite prior knowledge nec-
and prose alternating among these semiotic sys- essary to teach students how to read or write in sci-
tems as they think about what they are learning ence, social studies, or mathematics.
(Shanahan, 2009; Shanahan & Shanahan, 2008; Being a “teacher of secondary literacy” is more
Wilson, 2011). Diagrams, photographs, and graphs accurately being a teacher of discipline appropriate
each present important information in science text- literacy practices, and this cannot be divorced from
books in contrast to social studies texts that use sufficient content knowledge to understand the
photographs less in support of the prose and more epistemology and philosophy of the field from
for graphic design purposes. Diagrams are not read which the text is drawn. One difference between
left to right, top to bottom; it depends on the struc- science and math is the idea of proving something.
ture of the conceptual representation. Some con- In science, one can disprove but cannot prove any-
cepts are processes (for example, photosynthesis or thing beyond a shadow of a doubt (thus, all those
how a bill becomes a law) and are best represented “scientifically proven” reading programs are oxy-
as flow charts. Other concepts are structured as morons); but in mathematics, proving something is
part-to-whole (the structure of a leaf, a lever, an the name of the game. This difference in philoso-
atom, or a map of the United States) and are best phy is important for science and mathematics
represented as labeled diagrams. Concepts such as teachers (and students) to understand.
the classification of animals, plants, elements, As you can see, literacy at the secondary level is
lenses, or parts of the government are hierarchical much more complicated than selecting a strategy
taxonomies that are best represented as branching to use with a particular text passage. We truly don’t
tree diagrams. The structure of the content deter- want every teacher teaching reading. Frankly, they
mines the kind of graphic that best represents the are not prepared to do so. What we DO want is for
concept (Alvermann et al., 2013). But the multi- teachers to teach discipline appropriate literacy
modal nature of science involves more than dia- practices, which vary according to the content area
grams and prose. - not to produce disciplinary experts, but to pro-
In science, text may very well be a graduated duce students capable of critical thinking about the
cylinder. Reading might involve reading the vol- issues important to them. In order to accomplish
ume of a liquid in it and knowing to read from the this goal, it is incumbent on adolescent literacy
bottom of the meniscus. Text might be a wet mount professionals to collaborate with their colleagues
slide of pond water, and in order to read it, one teaching discipline-specific courses, including
Disciplinary Literacy: Adapt not Adopt

must know how to move the slide as you examine it those housed in Arts and Sciences and those in
(if you need to see the top portion of the slide, you education methods. Johnson et al. (2011) working
have to move the slide down toward you in the op- in mathematics and geography exemplify a team
posite direction). Or text might be a chemical reac- approach to understanding these disciplines and
tion that changes color, produces a gas, or gives off exploring similarities and differences between
or absorbs heat. In chemistry, text includes symbols them, as viewed by content area experts. As a result
(Al, H2, CO2), numbers, diagrams, and prose. Text, of their discussions and explorations, they discov-
in its broadest sense, can take many forms (Draper, ered two strategies that are particularly well-suited
Broomhead, Jensen, Nokes, & Siebert, 2005), and for mathematics; these strategies are think aloud
teachers and students need to understand this im- and math circles (adapted from literature circles).
portant feature of scientific text and understand They also discovered that although Cornell notes 621
COMMENTARY

were spurned by the geographers, Inquiry Charts

were enthusiastically taken up as suitable graphic Take Action
organizers in geography. STEPS FOR IMMEDIATE IMPLEMENTATION
This is a case of perfect symbiosis – agricul-
ture, art, dance, English, mathematics, music, • Select a concept to be taught in a discipline
physical education, science, social studies, and the- such as math, science, or social studies.
ater education professors possess the deep content • Determine what students should know and be
knowledge necessary for successful navigation and able to do as a result of instruction.
creation of texts in these disciplines while literacy • Select a literacy strategy that supports students’
professionals bring knowledge of text, comprehen- learning of the identified content.
sion, and composing processes. Together, we can
• Adapt the strategy to promote disciplinary
find common ground. appropriate thinking and processes.
• Use the adapted strategy, and reflect on its
effectiveness in order to refine the strategy for
References the next time you use it.
Alvermann , D.E., Gillis , V.R., & Phelps , S.F. (2013) Content
area reading and literacy: Succeeding in today’s diverse Example: In science, the content targeted might
classrooms (7th ed.) New York : Pearson. be the kinetic molecular theory of matter
ASCD SmartBrief (April 17, 2013). All teachers are literacy (matter is made up of molecules that move
teachers under common core. Alexandria, VA : Association continuously, depending on the amount of
for Supervision and Curriculum Development . kinetic energy they have). Targeted scientific
Bean , T., & O ’ Brien , D. (2012/13). Past and future directions
processes might include observing and drawing
in content area literacies . Journal of Adolescent & Adult
inferences, and then making connections
Literacy, 56, 275 –278. doi:10.1002/JAAL.00138
Brozo, W.G., Moorman , G., Meyer, C. & Stewart , T. (2013). among the inferences to develop conclusions.
Content area reading and disciplinary literacy: A case for These scientific processes are essential in
the radical center. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, science. A good strategy to help students make
56, 353 –357. doi:10.1002/JAAL.153 these connections might be an adaptation of
Cervetti , G., & Pearson , P.D. (2012 ). Reading, writing, and Herber’s (1970) Three Level Reading Guide.
thinking like a scientist . Journal of Adolescent & Adult Rather than using the Three Level Reading
Literacy, 55, 580 –586 . doi:10.1002/JAAL.00069 Guide as it is described for text (see Alvermann
Draper, R.J. , Broomhead , P. , Jensen , A.P. , Nokes , J.D. , &
et al. 2013, pp. 222-224), adapt the strategy so
Siebert , D. (2005). (Re)Imagining content-area literacy in-
struction. New York : Teachers College Press.
that Level 1 has observations, Level 2 has
Faggella-Luby, M.N., Graner, P.S., Deschler, D.D., & Drew, inferences, and Level 3 has conclusions. As
5 7 (8 ) M AY 2014

S.V. (2012 ). Building a house on sand: Why disciplinary students complete the guide (now a thinking
literacy is not sufficient to replace general strategies guide), they might be required to identify the
for adole s cent le a r ner s who s t r u g g le . To pic s in observations that support each inference, and
L an g u a ge D i s or d e r s , 32 ( 1 ) , 69 – 8 4 . doi : 10.10 9 7/ the inferences that are connected to each
TLD.0b013e318245618e conclusion.
Fang , Z., & Coatoam , S. (2013). Disciplinary literacy: What
J OURN AL OF A DOL E SCE NT & ADU LT L ITE RAC Y

you want to know about it . Journal of Adolescent & Adult

Literacy, 56, 627– 632 . doi:10.1002/JAAL.190 Moje, E.B. (2006 , March 6). Integrating literacy in the sec-
Heller, R. (2010/11). In praise of amateurism: A friendly cri- ondary school content areas: An enduring problem in en-
tique of Moje’s “Call for Change” in secondary literacy. during institutions . White paper presented at the 2006
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54, 267 – 273. Adolescent Literacy Symposium. Retrieved June 5, 2009,
doi:10.1598/JAAL.54.4.4 from http://www.umich.edu/~govrel/adolescent_symp.
Herber , H.L. (1970 ). Teaching reading in content areas . html
Englewood Cliffs, NJ : Prentice-Hall. Moje, E.B. (2007). Developing socially just subject- matter in-
Johnson , H., Watson , P.A., Delahunty, T., McSwiggen , P., & struction: A review of the literature on disciplinary literacy
Smith, T. (2011). What is it they do: Differentiating knowl- teaching. Review of Research in Education, 31, 1– 44. doi:1
edge and literacy practices across content disciplines . 0.3102/0091732X07300046
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 55, 100 – 109. Moje, E.B. (2008 ). Foregrounding the disciplines in second-
doi:10.1002/JAAL.00013 ary teaching and learning: A call for change. Journal of
Juel , C. , Hebard , H. , Haubner, J.P. , & Moran , M. (2010 ). Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52, 96 –107.
Reading t hrough a disciplinar y lens . Educational Moje , E.B. ( 2010 /11). Response: Heller ’s “In Praise of
622 Leadership, 67(6), 12 –17. Amateurism: A Friendly Critique of Moje ’s ‘Call for
Change’ in Secondary Literacy.” Journal of Adolescent &
Adult Literacy, 54, 275 –278. doi:10.1598/JAAL.54.4.5
Nokes , J.D. (2013 ). Building students’ historical literacies:
More to Explore
CONNECTED CONTENT-BASED RESOURCES
Learning to read and reason with historical texts and evi-
dence. New York : Routledge.
✓ For an article describing an adaptation of the Three
O ’ Brien, D.G., Stewart , R.A., & Moje, E.B. (1995). Why con-
Level Guide to a Thinking Guide, see Ridgeway, V.G., &
tent literacy is difficult to infuse into the secondary school:
Padilla, M.J. (1998, November). Guided Thinking. The
Complexities of curriculum, pedagogy, and school culture.
Science Teacher, 65 ( 8 ), 18 –21.
Reading Research Quarterly, 30, 442 – 463.
✓ See http://www.voiceofliteracy.org/posts/45157 for a
Polya , G. (1973). How to solve it . Princeton, NJ : Princeton
podcast by Dr. Cynthia Shanahan on how professionals
University Press.
think in a variety of disciplines: Baker, E.A. & Shanahan,
Ridgeway, V.G. (2004 ). One teacher ’s journey. Journal of
C. ( 2012, January 16). Gleaning insights from historians,
Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 47, 384 –388.
mathematicians, and chemists about how they read
Shanahan, C. (2009). Disciplinary comprehension. In S.E. Israel
within their disciplines. Voice of Literacy. Podcast
& G.G. Duffy (Eds.), Handbook of research on reading com-
retrieved from http://www.voiceofliteracy.org
prehension, (pp. 240 –260). New York: Routledge.
Shanahan, T., & Shanahan, C. (2008). Teaching disciplinary lit- ✓ See www.thinkfinity.org for lesson plans and other
eracy to adolescents: Rethinking content- area literacy. instructional resources. Thinkfinity.org links to lessons
Harvard Educational Review, 78, 40 –59. and resources from National Geographic, the
Tierney, R., Readence, J., & Dishner, E. (2000). Reading strate- Smithsonian Institute, the International Reading
gies and practices: A compendium (5th ed.). Boston : Allyn & Association (ReadWriteThink), and the International
Bacon. Society for Technical Education, among others.
Wilson, A.A. (2011). A social semiotics framework for conceptual- ✓ See www.pbslearningmedia.org and search for
izing content area literacies. Journal of Adolescent & Adult teachersdomain.org for videos, interactive web-based
Literacy, 54, 435– 444. doi:10.1598/JAAL.54.6.5 activities, and more. A video, frozen frogs, is an
excellent introductory activity when teaching about
Literature Cited adaptation or metabolism in science. [Teachersdomain.
org was a stand-alone site until recently when it was
Hurston, Z.N. (1998). Their Eyes were Watching God (Classic edi-
acquired by Public Broadcasting.]
tion). New York: HarperCollins.

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