Running head: Philosophy of Disciplinary Literacy

Philosophy of Disciplinary Literacy

Holly B. Shaiyah

Arizona State University

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Today, it is important as educators to have their students practice to be literate in all

content areas. This may seem like a large task to achieve but it can be done. “A disciplinary

literacy approach emphasizes the specialized knowledge and abilities possessed by those who

create, communicate, and use knowledge within each of the disciplines” (Shanahan, 7). A

student should be proficient and literate in all of the content areas they are learning about. This

is an important concept to remember when making lessons because students who do not

develop “effective literacy practices in the early years may not have the reading and writing

skills they need to successfully read and write the complex texts required in middle and high

school” (Annenberg Learner). This statement means that students have met and learned the

basic strategies for comprehension. This includes genres from making connections, making

inferences, asking questions, summarizing texts, and connections. Although students have

developed the basics of these skills, students do not accurately know how to be literate in the

content areas they are studying. As a teacher who will teach the content area of history, it is

especially important to be literate because it shows that a student is historically literate and can

understand the depths of history through different disciplines.

To fully understand the philosophy of disciplinary literacy, an educator has to know the

three tiers that make up disciplinary literacy. The diagram educators use to explain this is by

using a pyramid. That being said, at the bottom of the pyramid is basic literacy and this refers to

having skills uncovering and having knowledge of high frequency words. In the middle of the

pyramid is intermediate literacy and this refers to having “skills common to many tasks,

including generic comprehension strategies, common word meanings, and basic fluency” (BCPS
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Literacy Field Guide for Educators). Lastly, at the top of the pyramid is disciplinary literacy and

this refers to having skills that are specialized to science, math, writing, history, and reading.

Understanding this pyramid is very important for educators because teachers want and should

strive to have all of their students be at the top of the pyramid and be literally disciplined. By

doing so, students can fully understand each content area and apply these skills to any real

world scenario they encounter. As educators in a classroom full of students who are eager to

learn, it is important to properly educate their students to be disciplined in the content area

that they are teaching.

“Disciplinary literacy in history refers to a broad set of reading, writing, and thinking

practices that are aligned both to the work of historians and the approaches they take to such

work” (Annenberg Learner). There are many ways to implement disciplinary literacy in a social

studies classroom. Teachers can lead their students to ask questions, question sources, consider

different perspectives, question the quality of evidence that is being given, and form a well

developed opinion. It is important that teachers implement these disciplinary literacy concepts

in the classroom. Today, students have a lack of historical literacy because students are not

given the opportunity to think critically about what they are learning about. To achieve

historical literacy, historians “investigate and interpret the past by researching documents and

artifacts—receipts, diaries, paintings, stories—in order to answer the questions they have”

(Annenberg Learner). By implementing these practices in the classroom you can teach content

by investigating primary and secondary sources, developing literacy practices in writing,

reading and have a greater knowledge of historical interpretation, and teach specific ways of

thinking about past events in history.

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It has been proven that teaching students disciplinary literacy has greater advantages

than students who are not taught these methods. “Various assessments have shown that

secondary school students in the United States are not reading well enough to succeed in

careers or college, with particular concerns about their readiness to participate in the so-called

STEM (Science-TechnologyEngineering-Mathematics) professions” (Shanahan, 16). The

importance of teaching disciplinary literacy is at an all time high because students in the United

States are performing at a lower standard than most students around the world. According to

Shanahan, students who make progress in literacy in history, science, math, and reading show

that it gave them better understanding of those literacies in that discipline. Students need that

extra support to help navigate them through being literate in each discipline. Students can not

learn disciplinary literacy without the support of their educators. Teachers need to support

their students so that they can achieve the top tier of literacy.

Historians focus much of their time on past events. They look over documents, texts,

and artifacts in order to create an accurate description of what happened in these past events.

As a teacher, we need to promote this literacy by having students ask and develop questions,

having students differentiate between an argument and a narrative, and having students use

sources as evidence for making claims. These techniques alone have made historians develop

so many answers about the past. In order for students to be disciplined in history, they need to

be ready to read through texts that delve deep into past events. Students need to be ready to

analyze different texts, photographs, and artifacts and make well developed inferences about

these items. These are just many of few techniques that you can do to include reading and

writing in history to improve disciplinary literacy. The importance of discipline in the content
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area of history is so that students can critically think about certain events not only in history but

also in their real life.

Disciplinary literacy goes beyond the classroom. By achieving disciplinary literacy,

students not only understand content beyond what is being taught to them but they also apply

these methods thinking to their real life. Students will be able to problem solve, question

sources, and second guess information that is told to them. This is why disciplinary literacy is

important to be taught in the classroom. More than likely students will take these methods of

learning and apply them to their own life. “Students need to make connections in this discipline

in order to engage in real-world problems and science-related issues that affect their world and

other human beings” (Johnston, Dibella, Martelli). This is an example for students who are

learning about science, they need that connection between the content and what is happening

in the real world. “These literacy practices deepen students’ content knowledge, strategies and

skills so that their learning transfers to real world situations...Such tasks empower students to

discover the real world connections across disciplines and to actively participate in communities

of discipline-literate peers” (Common Core State Standards for Literacy in All Subjects).

Students need these skills to carry them on in their own life and make connections in the

classroom in the real world.

There are many key benefits to applying disciplinary literacy in the classroom. In history,

it teaches students to critically think about information presented to them, finding evidence to

form a well developed opinion, and interpret secondary and primary sources. This then in turn

helps develop these skills outside of the classroom. As future teachers enter the classroom, it is

important to incorporate these skills inside the classroom and have students be disciplined in
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each content area. As for history, “by teaching with practices that approximate the work of

historians—including reading, writing, and thinking practices—history and social studies

teachers can support students in thinking critically about disciplinary content in the classroom”

(Annenberg Learner). These literacy practices help students “engage students in analytical and

critical thought about history that aren't limited to the classroom. They can also prepare and

inspire students to participate in future studies or careers and to become well-informed

citizens” (Annenberg Learner). Disciplinary literacy has proven to make strides of change in

education and it has proven that students who excel in these literacies are more likely to make

connections in real world situations. It is imperative that teachers educate students to become

literate in all content areas.

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References

BCPS Literacy Field Guide for Educators. (n.d.). Retrieved September 06, 2020, from

http://www.bcps-literacyguide.com/html/page121.php

Bringing It All Together - History/Social Studies. (2020, January 20). Retrieved September 06,

2020, from https://www.learner.org/series/reading-writing-in-the-disciplines/bringing-

it-all-together-history-social-studies/

Shanahan, T., & Shanahan, C. (n.d.). What Is Disciplinary Literacy and Why Does It Matter?

Johnston, V., Dibella, K. S., & Martelli, C. D. (2016, October 13). ILA's Blog. Retrieved

September 06, 2020, from https://www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacy-

now/2016/10/13/disciplinary-literacy-and-the-value-of-making-connections

COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS for LITERACY in ALL SUBJECT. (n.d.). Retrieved
September 06, 2020, from
https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/cal/pdf/section2.pdf
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